So Many Thing Go Into The "Value" of the Dining Plan

[1hero2princesses]

I have seen so many threads of the years about the value of the dining plan. I think it is about more than just money - it is about how you think of money and how you like to enjoy your vacation. The two times we have gone to disney as a family we have gotten "free" dining (wow do people argue on here about whether or not it is really free since you have to pay rack rate!). This year we just decided we think we can go, so free dining is not available. I am currently thinking I will try to book the kids stay and play deal or perhaps use my 35% off code, not sure yet which is less expensive. That, however leads to a debate about the dining plan. We really enjoyed those meals and didn't feel guilty about them. We didn't sit there worrying about how much we spent or whether or not the kids should have dessert. We used the meals as a time to cool down, relax and re-charge. For us, walking out of the park with 3 small kids, waiting for a bus, walking back to our room and then doing it all again is not a relaxing break in the day! Normally at home we get fast food or delivery pizza about 4 times a month. We only go to a sit down restaurant maybe 2 times a year. To have the treat of all those restaurants is such a big part of the vacation to me! I am seriously considering adding the dining plan, even though we are on a budget. All three of my kids are big eaters and do not share meals and at their ages it is still not uncommon to drop a treat so snacks are never a problem for us. It is a tough call, but I know if I don't do it pyschologically it is going to be hard to get my DH to shell out money for more than one or two sit down meals. Just thought I would put my thoughts out there for everyone who is thinking about the dining plan. Oh and I have learned how to "maximize" my spending. Best treats values I think are at main street bakery and that bakery in france. Love those!

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

Another value of the dining plan is meeting the characters without astonishingly long lines in the blazing son. With the ages of your kids, can see them really enjoying eating those meals. The cost of Akershus alone, which is still just a single table service credit, makes the plan a gain for that day. Plus, your little two year old does not need to pay for the DDP, and can legally have her own drink and eat all she likes at the Buffets. What a great deal! Add in the snack costs, and for people with small children, the regular Disney Dining Plan can be a wonderful value.

I just do not think I can stomach standing in another long line in the heat, without shade, to meet a character. I will do the meet and greets indoors, but forget it about outside. When the temperature is akin to floating on the surface of the sun, there is NO ONE for which I am willing to wait.

 

[sunshineNJ]

I say go for the basic dining plan. We are like you we don't do restaurants very often at all. Fast food or pizza about once a week. Your on vacation the kids should be able to have desssert. If we didn't do the dining plan we would not be ordering dessert. I have done the math and it is a good value for us. When one of kids say could i have cotton candy i say sure. It's like a fantasy week. We get and eat almost whatever we want. It is MORE then enough food on the basic plan in my opinion. Where are you staying? Have agreat trip.

 

[Bete]

it's still a good deal. Supposedly Disney discounts the plan to attract people to get it. They are always advertising it's up to a 30% savings compared to OOP.

The biggest draw for me financially is that sales tax is included in the dining plan.

I'm like anyone else and would love to get the free dining promo and I've been lucky enough to do that 6 times. I have paid for it, too.

I agree it's a nice treat to go for better meals at Disney. It's a vacation; so, I say enjoy and get DP.

 

[vicki_c]

it's still a good deal. Supposedly Disney discounts the plan to attract people to get it. They are always advertising it's up to a 30% savings compared to OOP.

Yes up to 30% IF you eat the same way paying OOP that you would on the DDP. I think for many people the answer to that is a "no." For educated people like on the DIS that are spending multiple hours pouring over their ADRs with spreadsheets, you might be saving that 30% or so, or else you wouldn't buy the dining plan. But for the general populace, I don't believe they are saving 30% over what they would have spent without the dining plan. Even your own post says it's a treat to go for the nicer meals when you're on the DDP.

There is no discount given by Disney for the DDP, but all the people that don't get their money's worth make up for the fewer number that do. There are lots of people who add the DDP to their reservation and don't make a single ADR, not realizing that they need to.

 

[wintershawl]

What I love the most about it is that all the restaurants are so unique. Even if we do eat out a lot at home (Which we tend to since it's just two of us), the dining experiences aren't the same. Also, my husband and I love to meet the characters too! This is a great way for us adults to get some character time without having to wait in line. I don't think I'll ever do Disney without the dining plan. I know those who are more budget minded may think otherwise. I have just come to love the restaurants, themes and characters, as part of the entire Disney experience!

 

[2Tiggies]

Everyone has made some really good points on here. Hmm, you didn't leave muc for me to add

One thing I have come to be aware of through reading these boards is the 'reverse anxiety' that some seem to suffer with a dining plan. They get so bent on maximizing the credits that they are worrying anyway. Quite honestly, if you manage a break even you haven't lost a thing and most people manage to make some sort of gain with the plan if they eat most of the meals, snacks and desserts.

I pointed this out because one of the advantages, as some have mentioned, is not having to think about what you are spending. I agree completely with this - just as long as you are not thinking about how much you need to spend to justify having the plan.

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

Everyone has made some really good points on here. Hmm, you didn't leave muc for me to add

One thing I have come to be aware of through reading these boards is the 'reverse anxiety' that some seem to suffer with a dining plan. They get so bent on maximizing the credits that they are worrying anyway. Quite honestly, if you manage a break even you haven't lost a thing and most people manage to make some sort of gain with the plan if they eat most of the meals, snacks and desserts.

I pointed this out because one of the advantages, as some have mentioned, is not having to think about what you are spending. I agree completely with this - just as long as you are not thinking about how much you need to spend to justify having the plan.

Haha, I've done that! Wouldn't do a lunch ADR for the sheer fact that I wouldn't be maximizing the credits, even though it worked better oin our plans. Urgh! There's no perfect answer! I did the spreadsheet comparison, and while I could prob save about $50, the other benefits are the major selling points:
ITs already paid for.
We LOVE having the sit-down meals each day.
I can eat filet anywhere it's available (will only do that on vacation.
I don't scour the menus hoping everyone will order cheap.
I won't cringe when hubby orders a $3 soda instead of water.
We've got to try so many amazing places we probably never wouldve tried if we weren't on the DDP.
So yes, I'm a fan!
Everybody can have dessert if they want it.

 

[havoc315]

Yes up to 30% IF you eat the same way paying OOP that you would on the DDP. I think for many people the answer to that is a "no." For educated people like on the DIS that are spending multiple hours pouring over their ADRs with spreadsheets, you might be saving that 30% or so, or else you wouldn't buy the dining plan. But for the general populace, I don't believe they are saving 30% over what they would have spent without the dining plan. Even your own post says it's a treat to go for the nicer meals when you're on the DDP.

There is no discount given by Disney for the DDP, but all the people that don't get their money's worth make up for the fewer number that do. There are lots of people who add the DDP to their reservation and don't make a single ADR, not realizing that they need to.

Actually, for the basic DDP, Disney advertises that it can save up to 20%. To really exceed 20%, you really need to maximize every credit. If you do CS lunch every day, and a character meal for every dinner, then the savings may come close to that 20%. If you do all you CS meals at WPE, and have steak at every TS meal, then you could possibly exceed 20%.

If you sometimes actually prefer cheaper entrees, or you skip some desserts, or use CS for breakfast, or you TS for breakfast/lunch, then your savings could be far less than 20%.

In fact, you can eat 2 moderate TS meals per day OOP for less than the cost of the ddp.

 

[2Tiggies]

Haha, I've done that! Wouldn't do a lunch ADR for the sheer fact that I wouldn't be maximizing the credits, even though it worked better oin our plans. Urgh! There's no perfect answer! .

I think we also have to accept that not everyone sees 'value' in the same context. For me it really has to work with my plans and I want to eat what I feel like at the time. For some it is all about the monetary value and that is fine. I know that there are people who make it a challenge to try and maximise the value to the limit and while that sounds like too much effort for me on vacation, I can quite see how that could be turned into a bit of fun.

My priority is maximising my days as I please which is why QSDP suits me. If I didn't like the choices or if I had to work for it, I wouldn't use it anymore unless perhaps there was a significant saving in it, with no effort on my part (yeah right ).

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Also adding to the value is the more kids you have. We have 4 kids, one is a Disney infant and one is almost a Disney adult. The younger one is free but eats like the kids, the oldest doesn't eat like an adult but definitely more than a kid (both in amount and type of foods). The DDP used on character meals and buffets is a huge savings for us. We too don't eat out much at home, but we like the character meals when we head to Disney. It's not only fun and magical, but a huge time saver when we don't have to wait in lines and seek out characters.

 

[njkt]

I agree with the others who point out that the value of the dining plan depends a lot on how you use it. For my family, it has always been a money-saver and allowed us to thoroughly enjoy our vacations. You absolutely need to make ADRs which means deciding in advance which park you want to visit each day. You also need to know the best places to use your CS and snack credits. It's definitely true that Disney makes a profit off the dining plan because so many people waste it. We were at one of the water parks once and I saw someone use TS credits to pay for lunch from the quick-serve place - unbelievable!

My tips for making the most of the dining plan:

Don't waste credits on inexpensive snacks like bottled water. If it costs less than $3 we pay cash. It's also worth it to know where the "best" snacks are in each park (for my money, nothing beats the French bakery).

Along the same lines, there are some CS restaurants that give much better value. Sunshine Seasons in Epcot is a good example.

Keep in mind that, unlike TS credits, CS credits do not differentiate between children and adults. You are "supposed" to get children's meals for children on the dining plan but you can use the credits for an adult meal if you prefer.

As for your TS meals, obviously everyone has their own preferences. Buffets are all-you-can-eat but the food is not always as good as other restaurants (Boma is an exception IMO). As others have pointed out, the character buffets allow kids to see and interact with their favorite Disney characters without waiting in long lines.

Hope this helps!

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

It is worth it to me, even if it isn't free dining. I love the freedom of pre-paying for meals. We actually might even end up spending more because not paying for the meals during the trip makes us feel more free to get appetizers and drinks that we might not get otherwise.

 

[3pletprincesses]

I knowwhat you mean. that being said, we had free dining plan booked for end of May but after re-tinking (memorial weekend) and playing around with the kids play free. I came to the conclusion that we would pay exactly the same price to go the first week of May with kids play free and pay for the DDP then going memorial weekend and get free DDP. Check your numbers, you might be as lucky as we were. I would never go back to WDW without the plan with 3 young kids. It's just one less think to worry about on vacation. I know everything is paid and don't have to worry about it

 

[jpkkld]

Worth it for us too - even at full price! We are 2 adults, 1 child.

Here are some of my thoughts as I work on my ADR's:

"WOW - Akershus Princess breakfast would cost us $120 with tip. There is NO WAY I would EVER pay $120 for breakfast if we weren't on the DDP!"
AND
"If we can get the Princess breakfast the first day, we WON'T have to wait in as many princess lines later in the week."

"In one week, I will eat German, Asian, African, Italian, Moroccan,and Japanese. I guess I don't mind giving up a lukewarm delivery pizza every week for the next few months!" (Just one of the ways we "make up" the "extra" cost of the DDP)

"How many shows can I fit in this time? Wait, where's the website that gives all the show times? Gotta make sure I schedule the ADRs 15-25 minutes before the shows start!"

I'm good at maximizing the DDP, but we also eat where we want (i.e., not EVERY meal is the best value on the DDP). I run multiple spreadsheets to justify the expense. And I always say "We COULD eat cheaper without the DDP. But then we'd miss this. And that. And the other! Nope. Gotta do x, y, z, so DDP it is!"

Now if only they'd do free dining during the winter when we go on vacation...

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Worth it for us too - even at full price! We are 2 adults, 1 child.

Here are some of my thoughts as I work on my ADR's:

"WOW - Akershus Princess breakfast would cost us $120 with tip. There is NO WAY I would EVER pay $120 for breakfast if we weren't on the DDP!"
AND
"If we can get the Princess breakfast the first day, we WON'T have to wait in as many princess lines later in the week."

"In one week, I will eat German, Asian, African, Italian, Moroccan,and Japanese. I guess I don't mind giving up a lukewarm delivery pizza every week for the next few months!" (Just one of the ways we "make up" the "extra" cost of the DDP)

"How many shows can I fit in this time? Wait, where's the website that gives all the show times? Gotta make sure I schedule the ADRs 15-25 minutes before the shows start!"

I'm good at maximizing the DDP, but we also eat where we want (i.e., not EVERY meal is the best value on the DDP). I run multiple spreadsheets to justify the expense. And I always say "We COULD eat cheaper without the DDP. But then we'd miss this. And that. And the other! Nope. Gotta do x, y, z, so DDP it is!"

Now if only they'd do free dining during the winter when we go on vacation...

Exactly my thinking. Would I pay $180 OOP to have breakfast in the castle or $150 to have breakfast with the princesses in Epcot? I'd want to, but would probably talk myself out of the experience when it came right down to it. I'd probably eat CS everyday for 2 weeks and be crabby and miserable. This way it's paid for in advance, and I don't stress if DH wants the filet at Le Cellier or the kids want a dessert after dinner.