Pros & Cons of the Dining Plan??

[tigger334]

I have read a lot about the Dining Plan, it seems like you get a lot for your money, but there has to be some cons to this as well. Can anyone give me the pros and cons of this?

Thanks!!

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

For me the biggest thing against the dining plan is that you end up spending hours waiting to be served in restaurants during your stay. My family is just too impatient for this. Also, my kids are 12 & 10...we would have to pay adult prices for the dining plan. They would never eat as much as the plan allows. In our case, we'd spend more money on the plan than we would buying meals outright. Plus, so many people get wrapped up in ordering the most expensive thing on the menu, at the most expensive restaurants, trying to turn the plan into an even bigger savings that they don't really order what they want and would enjoy.

 

[bleeps]

I have read a lot about the Dining Plan, it seems like you get a lot for your money, but there has to be some cons to this as well. Can anyone give me the pros and cons of this?

Thanks!!

I think it depends on your park and dining style. We just returned from our 3rd trip to the World; first time on DP. We are me, DH, and DS (7). We plan all our days, happily, in advance, and make our ADRs at the first possible date to do so. Having nice, sit-down meals is a very important part of the trip for us. We're happy to be flexible with choosing counter service meals on the fly, although we've always got a general idea of what we want to eat and where. We always buy water to drink in the parks, and enjoy an occasional box of popcorn, Mickey bar, etc.

All that said, we LOVED the DP! Totally got our money's worth, never one iota of hassle from any CM. Yup, alot of food -- we didn't always eat everything on our plates (to be honest, we rarely do), we didn't always order everything we were "entitled" to -- but it was still a huge savings for us. We even left one snack credit and three CS meal credits behind that we easily could have used, but we'd already done so well on the plan that we didn't bother.

If you like nice sit-down meals, enjoy advance planning, and feel that the food portion of your vacation is part of the experience, then go for it. If you are happier taking each day as you go and aren't that concerned with where you eat, then it might not be worth it for you. We would absolutely do it again. Hope that helps.

 

[Hopefully]

We (DH, DS - 27, and I) went on the Dining Plan in October. We were very pleased and we would do it again.
We have been to WDW many times, and maximizing our touring time in the parks is no longer an issue for us. As a previous poster said, you need to plan on spending an hour and a half, or more, at each TS meal. This is just too long for some folks, and there have been some complaints about this here on the DIS.
We enjoy a nice sit down meal both at home and on vacation. So one TS meal a day fits our style.
There was a lot of food, but we also did not always eat it all or order everything we were "entitled" to. I reviewed menus on allearsnet.com before deciding on the plan. We looked at restaurants we would choose, and the menus to see what we would order and decided that we felt the plan would work for us. Once the decision was made, we did not try to "Maximize" the plan by eating at the most expensive places or by ordering the most expensive meals. We ate where we wanted and ordered what sounded good to us at the time. All in all we enjoyed ourselves very much and we saved over $450 than if we had paid for the exact same meals out of pocket.
Hope this helps.

 

[nbodyhome]

I wouldn't buy the dining plan for myself. I was very fortunate to try it for free in October, and did enjoy it. But we had lots of credits left over, it just was way too much food. I think that programs like the refillable mugs and the dining plan just encourage overeating/drinking and such - I certainly wanted to get everything I was entitled to, and walked several hours a day extra to work it off.

That said - if that is the way you eat on vacation (one table service, one counter service, one snack), then it really is a good value if you use it to the fullest. I think that the average that I'd have spent each of the 3 days if I'd eaten at the same restaurants was about $70.00 ($50 for table, $20 for counter, $2.50 for snack). But then, I'd not normally have eaten at those places, I'd just go to the Boardwalk for a slice of pizza, or a kids meal in the fast food place in Japan, or a smoothie at the Earl of Sandwich. I'd be spending $38.00 next year for meals when normally I would spend $10 - $12 or so a day. So it isn't a value for me, but it might be for you. We had a bunch of meals left after 3 days, I couldn't imagine doing it for a week or 10 days. But YMMV.

 

[nbodyhome]

I wanted to say also that the free dining plan was so helpful for me, because I can discuss the dining plan now with guests as far as my experience. I have a number of guests who've said they'd not get it again, too much food - others who have said that it was the best thing ever. It is a better deal, IMHO, than the Silver Plan, much closer to how many people eat.

 

[jann1033]

we have yet to use the dp but our last trip we did use kvl vouchers and q& C vouchers which end up being the same amount of food, pretty much the same set up but without the snacks. if the dp is still offered as is for a reasonable price when we go we definitely will get it. we never eat more than 2 meals a day and probably would use the snack credit for a drink but even if we do not want all 3 courses for ts, most places you would come close to breaking even on that meal alone with a snack.( unless you live on sandwiches which we never do) if it is possible when we go, i can forsee using our cs for brkfst and then husband and i splitting some ts and doing 2 a day. we split with the kvl vouchers and usually ate cs for dinner but there really isn't that much more food splitting a ts than getting your own cs, maybe even less. plus we'll have our gd who will be to young for the dp and we can share with her no problem

since we intentionally take a leisurely lunch instead of going back to the hotel i don't mind spending the time. also we enjoy the ts as much as any other attraction in the parks since we view it as part of the whole wdw experience.

we always make adrs and have our meals planned as to where and when so that is not an issue with us although if you are the type who doesn't i can see where that would be annoying( just like not planning would annoy me)

the only other con i can think of is that hopefully the rests. will calm down since it seems this might be at least partially the cause of the lack of ability to get adrs. but that would be the same if you personally use the dp or not.

 

[pezpam]

We've done two longish trips - one with the DP and one without.

The first trip, no DP. We ate mainly at counter service places and had no complaints. Wherever we happened to be when we were hungry, we ate. However, I could only spring for one character meal and a couple of inexpensive sit-down meals during the trip.

The second trip, we got a good deal that included the DP. Frankly, with one adult and one child on teh plan, we spent about the same or a bit less than we normally would on food, but what we got was definitely several cuts above what we'd normally eat. First, DD *loved* the fact that we could do mroe character meals. While several sit-down places served us a LOT of food, we ate what we wanted to and didn't try to clear our plates and wind up too stuffed to ride the rides. The one con for me was that you have to have your days planned a lot farther ahead of time so you can make your reservations and then actually get to them - choosing ahead of time which days will be in which parks and then being there so that you aren't in MK suddenly realizing you have 5 minutes to get to AK for your ressie....... Plus, I guess that we did skip getting into some ride lines if I wasn't sure that we'd be back off the ride before the reservation time for a meal, which was a bit of a pain - if we'd not had the DP, wee would have ridden the ride and then grabbed something to eat.

All in all, I think a LOT depends on your travel style. For us, the DP was a great deal, but if we went back, I'd honestly debate whether the timing issues made it worthwhile to buy in again. With a kid in tow, it's nice to have meals pre-paid, but it's also nice to be able to be flexible with our time........

 

[Demon Llama]

Having been to WDW on a very tight budget a few times, and once on the dining plan, I can honestly say that the tone of the one trip with dining was very different.

If you do have time to spare for a nice sit-down meal, than I absolutely recommend it. There are so many fantastic restaurants to check out with delicious foods and elaborate atmospheres that it really enhances your trip and opens your eyes to things you might never have considered to try before.

Yes, it takes planning. Yes, it takes up precious park time. It really depends on the type of vacation you're planning on taking.

We're planning on going back in September 2006 and no matter what, we are buying the dining plan.

 

[LoveWDW]

We (two adults) were very happy with the dining plan. We ate places we would never have thought of. We had 2 guests one evening and treated them to a nice place also- the bill before drinks came to $222- so the DP was a considerable savings even for just that one meal, and I didn't cringe when I got the bill. We never based what we ordered on which was the most expensive, instead we ordered what we would really like without regard to the price- something we never do. It made for a relaxing and delightful experience.

 

[DVCJEN]

In general it is just way to much food. It seems a bit like food dominates the vacation.

 

[nbodyhome]

In general it is just way to much food. It seems a bit like food dominates the vacation.

Definitely - I enjoy a couple of nice sit downs in a week, but not every day.

Densie

 

[Cookie Princess]

There were pros and cons to the dining plan. Cons: Thanksgiving Day full each day; the eating part of the vacation wasn't as flexible as in the past if we had an ADR we felt like we couldn't cancel or we would "waste credits"; snack choices were limited and can get old on a longer vacation; and it took quite a bit of park time (we are used to this). Pros: food is paid for ahead of time so you can order whatever you like and splurge; you are more apt to try a variety of new foods; you save money in the end; the plan is easy to use; and you get to experience more WDW restaurants than normal. We plan to use the dining program again next year!

ADVICE: People on this board tell you to try and maximize your credits (don't use the counter service for breakfast as no dessert, don't go to a signature restaurant, you must take a dessert to go, etc). I say, don't worry about it. The more I relaxed and ate where and how we wanted to, the more fun I had. Tailor the trip to your family's personal eating style/habits. You will still save money!

 

[handicap18]

We loved using the DP. We used everything except 1 snack.

One thing I didn't like about it was having almost every night set up in advance for dining. Almost to much planning.

We would definately get the DP again. Although I think I would include 1 or even 2 of the signature resturaunts to take up some of the TS and leave 1 or 2 days free for what ever including all meals.

We did do a character meal for breakfast and TS for dinner one day, but even that was a lot.

In total we did 5 character meals (2 breakfast and 3 dinners) along with H&V and Alfredos.

Next time I think I'd do only 3 or 4 character meals, including 1 of them for lunch (maybe even CRT to take up 2 credits) and eat at 2 places in Epcot instead of just the 1. There are way to many great resturaunts there to pass on.

The absolute best thing about the DP,,,, not having to worry about paying the bill when it comes. Just hand them your Key to the World and have no worries!!

 

[thelionqueen]

There is a lot of food for the $$ and it is definitely a must for our family. We don't have to worry about maximizing time in the parks, so having nice meals is perfect.

We had the dining plan for free in Oct. and saved $1800.00 (if we had paid for it, would have saved over $800)

Will always get the dining plan if we are able to, makes our vacation much simpler, nicer and more filling

 

[tndisneyfan]

To me the biggest pro is it is paid for in advance. When I went to order I just got what I wanted and didn't worry that it was too expensive. The biggest con is paying adult price for a 10 year old.

 

[aviva5675]

We are going in November and using the DP. Seems a great savings and nice to have it all paid for. I figure we will pay OOP for some breakfasts, which is fine. We dont mind the time used for a sit down meal. I plan to have the TS restaurants figured out and will call 180 days out to get the ADR.

Here's the thing- in reading the boards there seems to be alot of comments/complaints about having ADR but still waiting about 30 mins to be seated. We went in Dec 02, and had ADR, probably all early- 530-600, and never had to wait. Are the restaurants now much more crowded? More walk ins? People on the boards ADR later and thus wait to be seated? We never had a problem and enjoyed everywhere we ate. Im wondering if things have deteriorated in general and things are more hectic, or????

 

[nbodyhome]

I am the opposite in that I'd rather hold onto my money as long as possible, and not pay for dining, etc. up front normally.

There are obviously many pros/cons to the dining plan. For those who use it, it can be a GREAT deal. I highly recommend it for people who eat the counter service, table service, etc. every day. I can't. So the main question you have to ask - are you up for eating that much every day? If so, then definitely consider it. If not, and you like to hold onto your money as long as possible - stick it in a short term CD, get a room-only discount of some sort and go ala carte.

Denise

 

[Cookie Princess]

Here's the thing- in reading the boards there seems to be alot of comments/complaints about having ADR but still waiting about 30 mins to be seated. We went in Dec 02, and had ADR, probably all early- 530-600, and never had to wait. Are the restaurants now much more crowded? More walk ins? People on the boards ADR later and thus wait to be seated? We never had a problem and enjoyed everywhere we ate. Im wondering if things have deteriorated in general and things are more hectic, or????

The restaurants are definitely busier, and it is harder to just "walk in" to a restaurant. We did have longer wait times than previous years at some restaurants (Le Cellier, Sci-Fi, Boma, 50's PT, etc.) even with our ADRs. Also with many of the diners on the plan now eating appetizers, meal, and dessert the dining will take longer. We noticed this for us. I wouldn't say it was overly hectic, but we did notice a difference.

 

[tigger334]

I just want to thank everyone for their opinions! I still not so sure what we are going to do, since I am traveling with my dh, mil, bil, sil and nephews. I think it may be harder to do with all of them.