The Dining Plan - Why don't some people like it?

[kristie73]

I'm happy to read this post. This is our frist trip to WDW and we did NOT get the dining plan. I kept wondering though if we should have. We did make dining reserverations for the evenings and one morning breakfast, but we made them around the parks and places we'll want to be that day. I don't think we'll be ordering dessert except once for my husband's birthday. I'm also expecting my light eating kids to just split a kids meal. I know it won't be much but with snacks and other stuff, I think they'll be fine. Even my husband and I may split an entree. Or we'll order and appetizer and a salad or something. I'm not trying to eat "hog wild".

 

[MK2010]

Thanks for this thread. We do free dining. It works for us because we have a family of 6 and only go during value season and we love the character meals. However, I've always heard how it isn't that good of a deal. So I really enjoyed reading how other people dine. Now, I understand why there will be times when free dining isn't a good value. We will continue to do the dining plan as long as my children want to eat character buffets. But when my husband and I go back just the two of us, I think we'll take the % off room offer!

 

[gonzalj1]

Bottom line is it will only save you money if you:

1) Eat at expensive table services and order expensive items
2) Tend to use your table services for dinner not lunch
3) Can fit exactly into the plan (i.e avg one table and one counter a day for the regular plan). This is our biggest issue with the plan.
4) Like desert and don't mind skipping appetizers
5) Don't have an AP (TIW card saves more money most of the time)
6) Don't leave even 1 left over credit.

That's a lot of conditions to save a little over OOP.

Biggest advantage is you don't have to "worry" about eating at expensive places since it is all pre-paid, which for many can add a lot to the vacation.

I disagree with most of the above. My family and I (2A and 2C) typically get the DDP (we are DVC members so we have to pay for it) and we save between 10-15% on average per trip. We are not big eaters, don't always use every credit, don't even look at the prices so I can guarantee we're not always ordering the most expensive item and have analyzed the TIW and it would cost us more.

The fact is that everyone has to do the analysis on their own and determine the right thing for them. Understand the rules and constraints and make an informed , personal decision. Those that simply state that the DDP is a bad deal are only representing their situation. For others, including my family, DDP is a great deal. It allows us to eat at the places we like and save money. We don't mind the "down time" of a nice sit down meal. It gives us an opportunity to unwind and cool off from the heat while being served a nice meal.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

DH is not big on "rides" but he looks forward to going out for dinner on vacation. The hardest part is planning which parks to tour in advance by looking at the hours & when EMH's are offered but once I get that settled in my mind, then I'll make our ADR's based on where we're going to be anyway.

Having done DDP only once, I saved all our receipts & compared them when I got home & found we saved about 10% over what it would have cost OOP. Without DDP, we probably wouldn't have ordered drinks & desserts at all the counter services, but it was nice to be able to get a nice cold drink while touring in the summer heat.

For our next trip, I booked ADR's & estimated the cost, then added $19 for CS & snack. I found that DDP costs approx. the same if paying OOP & until you actually save those receipts to compare, it's going to be your best guess whether it'll save you money or not. Since my numbers are close, I'm opting for now to start saving & will probably pay OOP unless a dining deal is offered, then I'd gladly take the deal But I can cut out the dessets, a lot of the drinks & just carry water bottles if paying OOP and 180 out it's hard to finalize ADR's so those are always subject to change and can be scaled back a smidge by doing lunch vs. dinner &/or not doing CRT this trip if no dining promo.

I don't think it's that people don't like the DDP, I think it just varies with people if it works our for them. And as others posted, they either don't want to fret over making sure they get a good value for what they've paid &/or they don't want to do as much planning.

 

[PaulaSB12]

Its really up to how you eat on holiday whether its worth it or not. I do like the plan (I enjoy the deluxe dining plan and am happy Rainforest cafe and TRex are on it now) that doesn't make right for everyone though. Its a bit like coffee many people here drink coffee I can't stand the stuff doesn't make coffee bad just something I avoid. So you either like the dining plan or you don't and buy food oop.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

We wouldn't pay for the dining plan because it would be far too much food for us. We would rarely have an appetizer, main and dessert, certainly not several times a day. We saw so many people on the dining plan on our recent trip and we know we would have ALOT of waste. One most days, my sister and I shared at least one meal everyday and that was still plenty. The servings are huge at Disney for us.

If it were free dining, we would be more inclined to take it but we wouldn't pay for it.