Pros and Cons for Disney dining plan

[goofyfordisney]

I'm trying to decide if we should do the Disney dining plan for our upcoming trip. I've looked at some of the menus on allears.net...it looks like it would be a good deal--I'm just not sure if I will be able to eat all of that food!

What have your experiences been with using the dining plan? Did you think it was a good idea, or did you feel like you would have spent less money paying as you go?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

 

[ceecee]

I love trying appetizers and with that and dinner and a beverage you almost have the dining plan paid for. Don't worry so much about maximizing the plan that you don't get what you like, personally 2 desserts and a sweet snack (Mickey bar) is too much sugar for us in one day. So the snacks can be drinks and we could skip the CS desserts for the better ones at TS.

 

[firemanx]

all i know is i stayed stuffed all day. I did CS for breakfast and ate an early dinner around 4 and was stuffed till late when i would use my snack @ the hotel foodcourt

 

[PrincessAurora]

I find that it is valuable for me. I like to eat in the higher end restaurants, not worry about price and have that flexibility. I ran numbers of what we would pay "ala carte" and if you use it mainly for adults and at sit down places, it is worth it.

If you have kids that don't eat much and mainly go to counter service places, it is usually not worth it. You can check out the menus on Deb's site at AllEars and run numbers yourself.

 

[madge]

I love the idea of the dining plan.

I hate the planning part of the meals. It is driving me crazy. Our flight plans changed, as did our park touring...it has been nearly impossible finding PS at the table service restuarants. Maybe it's our party size? Not sure....but it has been VERY frustrating :/

 

[goofyfordisney]

Ok, I thought I had a list somewhere of all of the places that are partcipating Where can I find a complete listing?

How does the dining plan work? Do you just show your room key? How does this work at the snack stands?

Thanks again!

 

[Frantasmic]

I'll help you out.

If you have children between the ages of 3-9, the dining plan is a good idea if and only if you want to try a variety of dining experiences. You can use their credits for other dining opportunities.

For example, I have the paid dining plan for a trip in November. 7 days, 6 nights. That gives me 24 credits. For 7 days, I have 6 breakfasts, 7 lunches, and 6 dinners. I expect to be able to use only 3 Counter Service credits per event, so that gives me 8 Counter service options (8 x 3 for 24 CS credits). So, all of a sudden, I have "extra" credits since I am sharing with my kids. I can now feed my family on the extra day I am there, or have a breakfast that I hadn't planned on having rather than Pop Tarts and oatmeal in the room.

I also currently have 7 TS options. 3 of them I will have to use 1 TS credit each since they are buffets (3 x 4 = 12). The other 4, I can probably get away with 3 TS credits each since my son will either share or I will pay for him to eat mac cheese or something off the kid's menu. So, the other 4 TS events would be 4 x3 = 12. I have managed an extra table service from the credits by sharing the meals.


If I had two teen-agers, I think it would be a given that the plan would pay for itself.

It all depends on your family, your eating habits, and how much you want to experience at the parks.

 

[dyna]

DH and I used the free dining last week and to pay for the dining plan for ourselves we'd come out fine on it.

My teen DD we would loose money on. DD a very very very picky eater if her mac is turned the wrong way on her plate she won't eat her mac and cheese that she likes but if it looks slightly different than I make she won't eat it won't even try it.

DD never eats much at any one time either.

DD and I could share some meals tho she will eat Ceaser salads but only half a salad would prolly fill her up and she would prolly eat my dessert. If I was lucky she'd let me taste it lol In other words with careful planning I'm sure the dining plan could still work with DD along.

 

[tennismom]

The dining plan worked very well for my family of five (2 adults, 1 teen, 2 11-year olds). It was alot of food, more than we usually eat, but when I ran the numbers, it saved us money to go with the dining plan. I think it depends on where you would normally eat. We did not really try to "maximize" the value and simply ordered what we would have/wanted, with the exception that we did try some appetizers and desserts that we may not have otherwise.

If possible, we had them box up the dessert for us to enjoy as a snack. We would share one or two and box the others for later. We went for the fresh fruit or dessert items that would keep.

I think if I were to do it again, I would share meals with one of my 11-year olds. It was just too much food for them, and me, to finish on our own. Hope this helps.

 

[keishashadow]

I'll help you out.

If you have children between the ages of 3-9, the dining plan is a good idea if and only if you want to try a variety of dining experiences. You can use their credits for other dining opportunities.

For example, I have the paid dining plan for a trip in November. 7 days, 6 nights. That gives me 24 credits. For 7 days, I have 6 breakfasts, 7 lunches, and 6 dinners. I expect to be able to use only 3 Counter Service credits per event, so that gives me 8 Counter service options (8 x 3 for 24 CS credits). So, all of a sudden, I have "extra" credits since I am sharing with my kids. I can now feed my family on the extra day I am there, or have a breakfast that I hadn't planned on having rather than Pop Tarts and oatmeal in the room.

I also currently have 7 TS options. 3 of them I will have to use 1 TS credit each since they are buffets (3 x 4 = 12). The other 4, I can probably get away with 3 TS credits each since my son will either share or I will pay for him to eat mac cheese or something off the kid's menu. So, the other 4 TS events would be 4 x3 = 12. I have managed an extra table service from the credits by sharing the meals.


If I had two teen-agers, I think it would be a given that the plan would pay for itself.

It all depends on your family, your eating habits, and how much you want to experience at the parks.

It's a wonderful plan, we used it in Feb and had no complaints. Just wish we could purchase it staying on DVC points w/MYW tix purchase.

You might want to keep a keen eye on these boards to see if your plan to use child credits for other dining opportunities (PC for using kids credits for adults?) will still work. No, I'm not judging you, your interpretation certainly is not in a minority. Absolutely nothing wrong with sharing meals, except @ the LTT & they'll charge you a entertainment fee @ dinner if you don't order a meal. There has been quite a bit of talk that this loophole is not long for the Dis World - good luck in your plans, enjoy the magic.

 

[goodeats]

I still haven't decided for my trip in December. If it were free it would be a no-brainer, but to pay for I'm not convinced yet. Here's our specifics:

2 adults (my sister and I, both mid 20's), 7 nights with AAA discount at WL

Sit down meals planned:
California Grill 2 credits
Crystal Palace-Breakfast OOP
Chefs De France - Dinner 1 credit
Kona Cafe-Dinner 1 credit
Boma-Breakfast OOP
Le Cellier - (CP package) 1 credit
LTT - Lunch OOP
Artist Point 2 credits
Kona Cafe - Breakfast OOP

The rest would be counter service when needed. We don't have huge appetites, but like to try new things. Last trip we had the discovery magic plan and it was great. We'd probably have a ton of counter service credits left over since we share a lot. All those OOP meals concern me, but since we don't go to WDW every year we want to eat where we want to eat.

So right now without dining plan:

Food Estimate incl Alcohol ~$1,000
CP Package ~ 100
Total 1,100

With dining plan:
35*14 - $490
AAA discount - $220
OOP meals and alcohol 350
1060

So now I'm leaning with the dining plan, but I'm just not sure. What if my $1,000 estimate is too high, what if the $350 OOP and alcohol is too low?! Ugh! Why do I stress myself out like this?!

Anybody have any additional insight? Am I missing anything?

 

[Frantasmic]

Even if I can't use the credits like I posted above, I still will feel the Dining Plan was a good option. I'm not trying to abuse the system (I've seen the pros and cons of the positions); in fact, I bet I end up paying for some adult dining as well as some of my son's dining. I'll use the credits in that manner if they let me; if not, I'll still enjoy the experience and pay for a meal OOP if I need to.

I think that the fact that gratuities is covered in the dining plan makes it a given for just about anyone. If you deduct 15-18 percent of the 34.99 daily fee for adults for a gratuity, you get about $28 daily for the cost of a snack, a lunch, and a dinner basically. My company's per diem in just about every city I go is more than that so I know that to be able to get those meals/snacks for that price PLUS not have to worry about a gratuity is pretty good. I know the prices at Disney run high and so that seems like a pretty good deal for an adult, no matter what your eating habits are.

 

[teentoddlermom]

The dining plan is such a good deal that you better book it before Disney realizes that they should really raise the price. We had it from 8/11 to 8/18, ate at great places, and gained weight because it is too much food!
They're bound to change the plan, it is too beneficial for the guest! There are no cons.

 

[agotta]

I find that it is valuable for me. I like to eat in the higher end restaurants, not worry about price and have that flexibility. I ran numbers of what we would pay "ala carte" and if you use it mainly for adults and at sit down places, it is worth it.

If you have kids that don't eat much and mainly go to counter service places, it is usually not worth it. You can check out the menus on Deb's site at AllEars and run numbers yourself.

I agree. Dh and I are so excited to eat at a TS almost every night. I don't think it will be too much food. We are going to bring some small stuff for breakfast and and then eat lunch and dinner off the plan. If it ends up being too much, we will share lunch and breakfast. And the snack doesn't have to be a snack, it can be water. It sounds silly but I can't wait to have popcorn We never get it, mostly because we don't want to spend money on it!!

 

[joanchris]

I think that the fact that gratuities is covered in the dining plan makes it a given for just about anyone. If you deduct 15-18 percent of the 34.99 daily fee for adults for a gratuity, you get about $28 daily for the cost of a snack, a lunch, and a dinner basically. My company's per diem in just about every city I go is more than that so I know that to be able to get those meals/snacks for that price PLUS not have to worry about a gratuity is pretty good. I know the prices at Disney run high and so that seems like a pretty good deal for an adult, no matter what your eating habits are.

Gratuuities are even included?? So you don't even have to tip?
Wow I didn't know that!
Joan

 

[keishashadow]

Although the gratuity is included in the MYW dining option, feel free to tip extra for special service; your Server will appreciate it.

 

[Maybelle]

We loved the dining plan simply because whenever we have gone away before, we have always been, shall I say, cheap! about our meals in order to save money for other things. It was really nice for a change to be able to order appetizers and dessert and not have to worry about the cash involved (except for what we were saving overall) because it was already paid for in advance.

It was really a treat for us and we thoroughly enjoyed stuffing ourselves and trying lots of new and delicious things!

 

[tidoublegger]

We're using the dining plan for myself, dh, and dd 7 next March. We love Epcot and are looking forward to trying some of the restaurants we've never tried. We plan on doing some character meals too. It should more than pay for itself!

 

[have2getaway]

Absolutely nothing wrong with sharing meals, except @ the LTT & they'll charge you a entertainment fee @ dinner if you don't order a meal. There has been quite a bit of talk that this loophole is not long for the Dis World - good luck in your plans, enjoy the magic.

It's not a problem if everyone in your party orders a meal, but you simply choose to pay for one of the meals out of pocket? I was hoping to do this to eat at more character breakfasts? I have heard that this is allowed? I'm not talking about sharing meals, because my dh & ds eat way too much for that--I would starve. Any thoughts?

 

[keishashadow]

It's not a problem if everyone in your party orders a meal, but you simply choose to pay for one of the meals out of pocket? I was hoping to do this to eat at more character breakfasts? I have heard that this is allowed? I'm not talking about sharing meals, because my dh & ds eat way too much for that--I would starve. Any thoughts?

Perfectly permissable to pay for a meal or add on an extra item paying cash using the dining option. The "loophole" I was refering to possibly ending soon, is the popular practice wherein: a family uses all options for adult meals, paying for the childrens meals out of pocket, effectively giving them extra adult meals for the price of childrens.