Questions about The Dining PLan

[Gary Smiley]

We have been DVC members for 20 years but have never did one of the Dining plans

We are considering it for this summer for my family travel party of 8 which includes 3 kids under 6

Thoughts pro and con

Thanks

 

[sharonabe]

We have been DVC members for 20 years but have never did one of the Dining plans

We are considering it for this summer for my family travel party of 8 which includes 3 kids under 6

Thoughts pro and con

Thanks

Decide where you WANT to eat first, and then do the math. Are all of you staying in the same room?

 

[ESO]

I love the dining plan. I've done the math several times. For my family, we end up right around breakeven. But, I really like the feel of it--it's already paid, so I'm not looking at the total all the time. Yes, it's a psychological trick. I'm aware of it, but I still like it. We're considering APs this year, so we may skip the plan since we'll be eligible for some discounts.

Things to think about: Consider what kinds of meals you want. QS or TS? Signature restaurants? Dinner shows? I like to make a itinerary/schedule in excel so I can visually space everything out and see if it works. The dining plan you choose may force you rearrange your plans or influence how you eat. Using exactly the right number of TS and QS can be a challenge. And we always have too many snacks. But we enjoy getting candy to bring home. And I'm not gonna lie, extra snack credits have resulted in an ice cream sundae for breakfast on the last day. Think about whether figuring out whether your plans are a "good use of a credit" (you can find this debated all over the place) is going to make you crazy or not. I really like to plan, so having to figure it all out doesn't bother me. If you like to just wing it, you may be better off out-of-pocket.

 

[Gehrig1B]

We had the DDP once. We spent more time trying to decide how to maximize the value than eating what, when, and where we really wanted. Since then we have spent less out of pocket than we would have spent on the plan and we eat a regular routine with no pressure on maximizing our value. For us, the plan was not worth it in any way. Do your own math. One key for us is we often share entrees, appetizers, and desserts and with the plan it was just too much food for us.

Do a search as this is debated all over the place.

 

[mamamelody2]

Yep, you're going to have to price it out.
For us, it is not worth it. We just don't eat that much (Often we would get 3 meals for the 5 of us and that was PLENTY and 2 of the kids were teenagers, not little bitties.)

 

[Colleen27]

Since you're DVC, you can make the decision relatively last minute without any hassle. Make your ADRs first, then look at the math to see if it makes sense to do one of the plans. Usually kids under 10 make it a slightly better deal because QS credits can be used for adult meals if they so choose, but on the flip side, they're stuck with the kids menus at TS restaurants which can be limiting if they don't love typical 'kid foods'.

 

[Nancyg56]

I agree that you should make your ADR's first, and then look at the cost. WE do this every trip, book our meals and then cost them out. For us it is whether we need to add DxDDP or not, but with teh ages of your children, you need to see how many fixed price meals you have. CHaracter meals are a pretty good value on the plan, especially f you have kids under 10.