Question?

[Pagirl74]

I just wanted to know if someone could tell me if purchasing the meal deal is actually worth it, I have been reading mixed reviews. I also wanted to know for a family of five for 7 days how much money I should leave for food? It's been a while and I just want to know how much for food.

 

[doulacandice]

I'm wondering that myself.. Also with 6 people in our family but only 4 being serviced will we still be charged the 18%? It doesn't seem fair to us if that is the case since our two little ones won't be serviced. I need to sit down add up what we could possibly eat in one day and see if it's worth it I guess.

 

[Disneydreamer5]

There are 7 in my family, 2 adults 5 children. For us it was well worth it and made the trip so much easier.Its all paid in advance so there was no need to carry much money around which is always a plus.
It depends on your family. Are your kids small or teenager? Are you big eaters or not.
My kids were all early teens except my 7 year old. When you break it down it comes out to around $36 per day/per person.
Somedays it did feel like too much food but I think thats becasue we didn't space it out enough. If you go for breakfast, then have your snack mid day, then a later dinner it wouldn't feel like too much but when you eat lunch at 1 and have dinner at 6 it was too much too soon.
The main question you have to ask yourself is ...Is your family the type of people who like a nice sit down dinner on vaction or a grab and go cause if you are good with a fast burger then I would say its not for you.
However if you like the idea of have a nice sit down meal,. where you can relax and enjoy then I say go for it.
Let me know what you decide. Hope I helped you alittle.

 

[Aliceacc]

I struggled with this one a long time. I won't know till August whether it was a wise choice or not. But we got it, and here are some of my reasons:

- I LIKE a sit down dinner. Without the meal plan, we would be having mostly fast food.

- At worst, we'll break even. My 9 year old eats like an adult, so I'm fine with spending the money for him to eat like one. But if I add up a typical day's meals, the meal plan isn't going to cost us more than doing it on our own.

- We're staying on site, at the Contemporary. And we'll be there for 6 nights, 7 days. I'm planning on lots of down time-- back to the hotel pool each day for lunch, etc. TAking time out for a sit down dinner is part of what I want from this trip-- a time to relax in all the craziness. And, again, without the meal plan, that number of dinners would be too expensive.

- Most of the character meals are included in the meal plan. There's no way we would spend the money for more than one if we weren't on the plan.

-My son LOVES steak. So I'm planning one dinner at Le Cellier (at Canada in EPCOT). WAAAY out of our price range if it were out of pocket. Likewise, when we last went in 1990, we had a lovely dinner at the Coral Reef in EPCOT-- another budget breaker. I'm not intentionally planning my meals around the expensive restaurants, but with 3 small kids, it's nice to have the opportunity to include some.

 

[Sophie_2003]

Hello,

we are a family of 3. We do not get the meal plan because we just do not eat that much, and I pack tons of snacks from home (DD and Dh are both grazers, so I always have a little cooler with fruit, juices, cheese, etc).

We find that portion size is just too huge. When we eat CS DH and I usually split an adult meal, DD gets a kids meal and does not eat the whole thing. We ate at different TS restaurants and again shared a meal (Dh and I get a salad and a meal together). we do not do this to be frugal, just aren't that hungry and are finding portion size out of control...

So, depends if you are big eaters or not!

 

[browniemtb]

Disney Dining Plan - is it worth it? My family thinks so. Throughout the day you get a snack, counter service, and a sit down dinner including some character meals. We've used this plan 3x and love it. Now they have a deluxe plan that covers more sit down meals, not sure if that is worth it when you have kids in tow. Cost wise adults I believe are $37.99 per day of stay and kids 2-10 or so are only $10.99.

Brownie

 

[pednurse]

For us it would have been a waste of money(FYI, we are a family of 4...myself, DH, DS9, DD5). It worked out MUCH cheaper to do all counter-service meals, which also worked out better for the way we vacation...without tons of scheduling. I can't imagine having to rush around HAVING to be at a certain place at a certain time in order to eat. Plus, we would have been wasting a ton of food. We ended up NOT going with the food plan, bringing breakfast food & snack items with us to eat (and that suitcase made the perfect place to pack suveniers for the plane trip home!), and eating all counter-service meals for lunch & supper. We also saved money by knowing that my DD does not eat a ton of food, so when we ate at a burger place, we would order a double cheeseburger for me with an extra bun (60 cents) and split the burger & fries. Also, we were not interested in doing any character meals as DS & DD are very shy and just wanted certain autographs and didn't really want to interact with any of the characters. You can check out menu items & prices at allearsnet.com for an idea on how much you'll spend if you go without the dining plan. But that's what worked out best for us....the dining plan would have been a waste of time and money for us.

 

[Momvic5]

The dining plan is definitely worth it for my family of five. At this time, my family is considered to have 3 adults (includes our 11 yr old) and 2 children. I can't remember for sure, but for 7 days of food for all 5 of us, I think we paid an extra $900.00 for the dining plan. The dining experiences are very much part of the excitement for my family, and without the dining plan, we would not be able to experience the majority of them. Many times our bill total would have been over $200.00. Now I have to say that if we were paying for the meal directly, we would not have indulged ourselves in the same way, but that is why my family loves the dining plan. We eat and indulge in foods that we normally have to pass up. My only complaint is in the children's menus. There is not a lot of variety, and while everyone else is eating like kings, the children are eating almost the same thing every meal. This may be fine for very young children who are very picky but for older children who enjoy a variety, the menu is limited. However, the amount of food everyone receives is enormous, so there is always plenty to share and enjoy.

 

[Rylee]

I just wanted to know if someone could tell me if purchasing the meal deal is actually worth it, I have been reading mixed reviews. I also wanted to know for a family of five for 7 days how much money I should leave for food? It's been a while and I just want to know how much for food.

How old are your children?

How do you like to vacation... what your style? On the go, grabbing a burger and fries... prefer relaxing meals, or at least one a day?

My family loves the Dining Plan. I, personally, could not stand to eat "fast food" (Counter Service)for several days. My husband likes the convenience of having it all paid for in advance, and not needing to carry large amounts of cash into the parks or charging everything. If our older children vacation with us, we sometimes split up for awhile, and it's nice to not worry about them having enough money if they get hungry.

We always scheduled a Table Service meal per day, even before the meal plan was available. I consider it a relaxing break in our day.

You can check menus and prices at the allears site. Choose a TS meal and a CS meal, consider what your family would most likely order and add it up.

If you choose to use the DP, make sure you make Advance Dining Reservations as soon as you can. Even if you don't use the DP, but want to experience a character meal or a particular restaurant, you need to make ADR's for TS meals.

 

[Elmo888]

If you plan to eat one TS meal per day even without the DDP, then it is probably worth it. If, as others have stated, you only plan on eating CS meals or meals in your room, then it isn't worth it. We like the relaxing meals and the variety of food.

I crunched the numbers (check allears.net for menus and prices) with the TS restaurants at which we planned to eat, and it is worth it. Even after removing one TS restaurant, it is still worth it. The children's buffet prices are $11+, and the DDP is only $10 per day per child. Even without the CS and snack included, you can come out ahead. If there are only adults in your party, I'd take a closer look at the numbers.

 

[solfan68]

This question. People keep asking this question. It might be easier to answer why the sky is blue.

Had you asked me during 2007, I would have said absolutely. Tip was included. At the sit down venues you got an appetizer and desert. I was able to get a snack while strolling down Main Street and just have them swipe a card and away I went. Our family, in fact, did use the Disney Dining Plan on June '07 trip.

Going forward, I would still say "likely". Appetizers and tip have been removed. But I still like knowing that I don't have to look at prices and calculate every little penny. Even if its a wash with regard to how much I pay and how much I eat, the value of having my meals prepaid is certainly of value to me.

Again, ask 10 DISers and you are likely to get ten answers.

 

[Queenie16]

After many attempts to get the DDP, as we have previously stayed in DVC rentals or at the Swan and Dolphin which were not participating, we finally were excited to be able to enjoy the BENEFITS of the DDP during out last visit in November, 2007 at the BCV.

We personally enjoyed having our meals prepaid, as well HOWEVER, we found the food to be ENTIRELY TOOOOOO MUCH to eat during our stay of 7 days. We are DEFINETLY going to do the DDP during our visit in November of 2008 at the BCV again although we are disappointed that appetizers and gratituty will NOT be included in 2008. All good things must come to an end!!!

If you do get the DDP, KEEP TRACK of what you have left.
--We were able to use counter service for TWO BREAKFASTS as we SHARED our counter services between two adults for lunch/dinner, whichever we were using it for.
--DON'T let anything on your DDP go to waste. Try to find ways to utilize all the you paid Disney for.We even gave two orange juices to a man at the food court because we didn't want them and had prepurchased our DDP in essence.
--SNACKS: Pick the CLOSET item to $4.00, such as bags of pretzels or Goofy candy to enjoy on the plane ride home or as a "special" treat in your weeks after visiting Disney World.
--DON'T let your unused credits go to waste!!!

Overall, keep in mind that it is Disney and they are trying to make a profit and keep in business. The DDP is a good idea and everyone has their pros and cons as to this idea. Please PM me if you need to as I will not be subscribing to this thread.

 

[doulacandice]

As far as keeping track of your meals, do they give you some sort of card or is it printed on a receipt how many meals you have used or have left???

What's the best way to keep up with this?

 

[gottagetback]

Had you asked me during 2007, I would have said absolutely. Tip was included. At the sit down venues you got an appetizer and desert. I was able to get a snack while strolling down Main Street and just have them swipe a card and away I went. Our family, in fact, did use the Disney Dining Plan on June '07 trip.

Going forward, I would still say "likely". Appetizers and tip have been removed. But I still like knowing that I don't have to look at prices and calculate every little penny. Even if its a wash with regard to how much I pay and how much I eat, the value of having my meals prepaid is certainly of value to me.

I totally agree. We have free dining in September and that was definitely worth it for my big eaters - teenage boys and DH. It was great to just relax and let them order whatever they wanted. I don't know if it would be that great of a deal with younger kids or those who eat little.

On the negative side, the dining plan takes a lot more planning and you lose a good bit of flexibility. Next time we go (if we don't go during FD) we may just try to hit a couple of TS meals and eat CS for the rest. If you know where to go, there are some pretty good CS options.

 

[Ellielovesdisney]

I think what you used was printed on the receipt...I can't remember if it said how many were left I'll let you know after next week!!
We are using the DDP for DM, myself, and DD next week. She is only 4...but always wants to order her own meal. We are going during "holiday pricing (don't get me started)" so many of the buffets and character meals are more expensive next week. For the kids the DDP is definitely a money saver...for the adults it would probably be a wash for us, but we are not big eaters.
The holiday pricing threw us over the edge in favor of the DDP as Boma and CP are some of our favorite eateries.
I don't think children under 3 are counted as patrons and you should not be charged a group rate gratuity for them. The good thing is they can eat from buffets for free!

 

[Rylee]

As far as keeping track of your meals, do they give you some sort of card or is it printed on a receipt how many meals you have used or have left???

What's the best way to keep up with this?

Yes, they have the number of remaining meals on the bottom of each receipt.

We never had any problems using it, but I have seen others post on this board that they have had more meals "swipe" off the card than they actually used. Check the receipt after each use.

I think for $10 per night, the DP is a excellent value for the children, but be aware that some of the children's menus can get repetitious. My 9 year old son (A "Disney Adult", when we go next year) has very developed taste buds, is a healthy eater and likes a variety of foods. He was bored with the children's choices. It worked out okay, as we did some creative swapping of food... shared some off our plates, traded appetizers or desserts with him, or sometimes one of our older daughters switched CS meals with him because he has a bigger appetite than they do. I'll happily pay the adult price for him next year.

For picky eaters or children who enjoy a variety, buffets are the best deal.

 

[mindyd]

Hi...

What I did was go on all ears and look at the menus at the places I wanted to eat and priced it out what it would cost out of pocket and what I would pay on the dinng plan. For us it was cheaper doing the dining plan we are doing alot of character meals so just that one meal basically almost paid for the adult priced and did for the childrens prices. So the way I figured was basically we were getting the counter service for free.

 

[tadamom]

Hi...

What I did was go on all ears and look at the menus at the places I wanted to eat and priced it out what it would cost out of pocket and what I would pay on the dinng plan. For us it was cheaper doing the dining plan we are doing alot of character meals so just that one meal basically almost paid for the adult priced and did for the childrens prices. So the way I figured was basically we were getting the counter service for free.

This is the exact same thing I did. I went to the website that had every restaurants menu and I figured up what we would all order with the cost, tax and tip if it applied and the dining plan was much cheaper for us. In my particular family, their was me, DH, DS (5) and DD (2). Since we were able to get appetizers, we always had plenty of food for my DD to eat. We just bough an extra drink.

With the new changes to the DP, the next time we go I will have to go back through the menu's again and see if it is worth it.