Poll: Do you use the DIning Plan when staying DVC?

[Genie+]

Same. It might come close if we were regular alcohol drinkers. But I drink about 2 glasses of wine per year and the spouse has never drank alcohol. We’d have to eat a lot more steak than I’d want to eat to make the dining plan worth it.

And the steak gets boring real quick. Strip loins over and over, and occasionally not good quality. I think WDW has a 3D printer out in the swamp that makes millions of strip loins, string beans and pulled pork every year Those go on nearly every DDP TS menu.

 

[Girlstar30]

I like Satuli Canteen, ABC Commissary, Docking Bay 7, Connections, Les Halles, Regal Eagle, Pecos Bill, and many in the resorts.

I haven't had any of those so its not fair to say I dont like it i need to try it Les halles has been on my list. I tried some breakfast sandwich that people were raving about at animal kingdom qs it was like a guava breakfast sandwich blehhh took one bite and threw it out

 

[Girlstar30]

And the steak gets boring real quick. Strip loins over and over, and occasionally not good quality. I think WDW has a 3D printer out in the swamp that makes millions of strip loins, string beans and pulled pork every year Those go on nearly every DDP TS menu.

This is how I feel about the cruise line Same menus on the Wonder. Every. Single. Time.

 

[Genie+]

This is how I feel about the cruise line Same menus on the Wonder. Every. Single. Time.

Maybe they 3D printed more printers for making food out at sea on DCL

 

[tx911]

I haven't had any of those so its not fair to say I dont like it i need to try it Les halles has been on my list. I tried some breakfast sandwich that people were raving about at animal kingdom qs it was like a guava breakfast sandwich blehhh took one bite and threw it out

I had the pork shoulder breakfast dish at Satuli Canteen once for breakfast and it was fantastic!

 

[CraigInPA]

Oh wow, I think 3 TS per day would be too much food for me.

But again, that's why I wish you could customize your own.

That was the former Deluxe Dining Plan. Those of us who bought it used 2 TS credits for a signature dinner, and the remaining TS for breakfast or lunch. It also came with the resort refillable mug and 2 snacks a day. Lunch/Dinner was app, entree, and dessert. When initially offered, it even covered gratuities. I think back in the 90's I paid about $65 per day for it, or got it as an upgrade to "free dining" for a very nominal amount. My wife and I saved the receipts to see how much it saved us. One year, the savings was close to $600 because we went heavy on character dining and the Narcoosee's whole Maine Lobster (twice in 9 days). Over the years, the price grew and grew. We stopped when the savings went to zero. After that, we continued to save receipts. Now we count how much we save by not having the DDP.

 

[Brian Noble]

I think WDW has a 3D printer out in the swamp that makes millions of strip loins, string beans and pulled pork every year

And the braised short rib. Don't forget the short rib!

 

[Genie+]

And the braised short rib. Don't forget the short rib!

Lol you are so right! They are everywhere

 

[beccasmom]

We have never added the dining plan as DVC members. We do enjoy TS restaurants, but not every day. There are a number of CS eateries we enjoy as well. And I don’t mind preparing a few meals in our room as well - mostly breakfast, but sometimes simple dinners too. This balance seems to work best for us.

We make ADRs for the restaurants we have in mind, but otherwise enjoy more spontaneity while on vacation (which can be a difficult endeavor at WDW these days, but we try). And we tend to visit a lot in the warmer months when eating lightly (more salads, fruit, and Dole Whips vs heavier entrees) just makes more sense for us.

 

[Girlstar30]

That was the former Deluxe Dining Plan. Those of us who bought it used 2 TS credits for a signature dinner, and the remaining TS for breakfast or lunch. It also came with the resort refillable mug and 2 snacks a day. Lunch/Dinner was app, entree, and dessert. When initially offered, it even covered gratuities. I think back in the 90's I paid about $65 per day for it, or got it as an upgrade to "free dining" for a very nominal amount. My wife and I saved the receipts to see how much it saved us. One year, the savings was close to $600 because we went heavy on character dining and the Narcoosee's whole Maine Lobster (twice in 9 days). Over the years, the price grew and grew. We stopped when the savings went to zero. After that, we continued to save receipts. Now we count how much we save by not having the DDP.

Ugh man this would be great for us Since they are all about raising prices it probably would have been way too expensive now for what they want to charge for this kind of plan is what im thinking

 

[Cfabar1]

We did a 2 night MK only stay earlier this year... our meals included over those days:

First Day/Night: Dinner at Ohana
Second Day/Night: Breakfast in Room, Lunch at Columbia Harbor House, Dinner at Narcoose's (Paid Cash for that one)
Third Day (checkout day): Breakfast in Room, Lunch at Contempo Cafe, Dinner at 1900 Park Fare

Between the Dining Plan and the Kids Eat Free, this was a great way to do it... very cost effective...

A couple of things we noticed - our 1.5 year old still required us to buy him food if he wasn't eating the food on our plate... Easier at Ohana and Park Fare... but might have been different had we chosen to eat at say, BOG, and certainly the Quick Serves...

I found myself ordering wine out of obligation rather than a desire to have it... We also didn't have to bring any soda because we had the mugs...

We have a 5 night stay (BLT) and a 6 night stay (AoA Family Suite) planned for this summer... My gut tells me the dining plan will be much less attractive for those trips --- especially with AP 40% off... I may spreadsheet it all out at some point, but that seems like a lot of work... plus the dining plan immediately takes away a lot of flexibility...

My gut tells me, it works best for a short stay if you know what you're doing...

Follow up to this post…

Ran the numbers for our trip… very few quick serves… mostly all table service and breakfast in room…

Dining Plan was about $150 cheaper - but that would include table service each day - which means we’d need to buy a meal on top of that at several venues (all the QS ones at least) for our 1.5 year old… Dining plan also includes alcohol - but only one of us drinks, so it isn’t the greatest savings - plus alcohol at Disney is ridiculously overpriced… we tend to only get it at certain locations as a special treat (for example Old Fashioneds at Topolinos or Enchanted Rose)…

Plus we are planning on eating at Citricos (not 40% off) and Tiffins (is 40% off)…. We may also do BOG which is a 2 meal credit…

So, we are not going to do the Dining Plan… stick with the AP discount, and if we go off the wagon with that and want to be more flexible, that will be fine too… let’s us have dinner in the villa one night, or eat leftovers if we want to…

 

[DisMomNCM]

I have never done the DP before, but will be doing it next week with the Kids Eat Free promo. It'll just be my 6 year old and me, so even just booking one character meal a day pretty much pays for itself (which we would do anyway, because you're only little once!). I think it cost me a little less than $400 and we will be getting breakfast at Akershus, dinner and Rodeo Roundup, brunch at Ohana, breakfast at Chef Mickeys, 8 QS credits, 8 snacks, and 2 refillable mugs.

 

[juxtapose]

No, I'd definitely consider if it they'd offer child price, or even a 20%ish discount to my 13- and 10-year-old. They obviously can't drink alcohol and paying $90+ a day for them to eat pizza, chicken, and ice cream it just not practical.

 

[sethschroeder]

I would do it if:
It was remotely close in pricing but its hard to plan out the credit usage and come up $1k different.
OR
It was actually all meals and snacks like the old days where you can do a breakfast/lunch/dinner along with 2 snacks anywhere you want (outside of like V+A or some other high end restriction)
OR
It was actually unlimited in Quick Service which could never happen because people would just share
OR
Drink plan existed for alcohol like on a cruise ship

In the end its just not worth it as you are paying more for really no actual benefit except now needing to calculate credits and possibly be pressured to buy a more expensive item on the menu to make it worth it.

 

[TDK44]

We plan on only doing it this time on this upcoming trip (our first trip), and likely won't use it in the future. Ultimately boiled down to:

1. We saved by going for a studio this time, so no kitchen to make any real meals. In the future we will be likely be traveling with larger groups and will use 1BRs or 2BRs and will plan to cook meals more often.
2. With the kids free deal, we are only paying for 2 adult dining plans. Did some rough estimates of cost of paying for 2 adults + 2 kids for a modest dining experience with a few splurges here and there and compared it to our dining plan cost. The incremental cost of getting the dining plan and then really being able to go all out with multiple character meals, specialty cocktails at every meal, not opting for the cheaper entrees to save money etc. really made it worth it this time around. Hardly any extra real cost and a much upgraded experience.
3. We'll be traveling during an Epcot festival, so being able to save some normal credits that day and just use a ton of snack credits (which I'd usually think are more throwaway) at the festival booths really adds to the value this time.

 

[jcolvin5]

Short version...used it for one trip (2 adults/2 kids). We generally eat TS every evening and a couple of times for breakfast or lunch throughout our 2 weeks.

Pros:
- Paying upfront/having the cost out of the way. This is the highlight IMO

Cons:
- Too much food overall
- Inconvenient. Just did not fit our schedule well. The cost is fine, but needs to have more flexibility built in (too many 2 TS restaurants)
- Found it difficult to even come close to using snack credits
- Servers hate it, thus causing friction and a less desirable dining experience (IMHO)

Likely won't do it again unless changes are made.