The lowdown: Dining Plan or not??

[kseg95]

Hello!

I had made plans to take a trip with my friend to Disney in the spring but unfortunately things fell through and we were unable to go. Much to my happiness my Prince Charming arrived and swept me off my feet. We are in the midst of planning a Disney trip. Were both in college and while he's graduating this year and working, there won't be much cash to play around with. I was wondering what the deal with the dining plan REALLY is. The past 3 trips my family alone has taken we've used it, but that was for 3 of us. As a couple, is it cheaper to pay OOP? (Family used the table service plan, I can't remember the name. One up from the quick service.)

If there are any die hard number crunchers who would do this for me id owe you big. For a 7 day, 6 night trip would it be cheaper to use the dining plan or pay OOP. We'd most likely be eating at Le Cellier, 50's Prime Time, Be Our Guest, Beaches and Cream, Cosmic Rays, Friars Nook, and the food court at the resort.
What would for lunch & dinner every day and maybe a few breakfasts be at these places and then what the dining plan would be.

Any other advice on the dining plan would be appreciated also. Thanks in advance!!

 

[Marionnette]

Hello!

I had made plans to take a trip with my friend to Disney in the spring but unfortunately things fell through and we were unable to go. Much to my happiness my Prince Charming arrived and swept me off my feet. We are in the midst of planning a Disney trip. Were both in college and while he's graduating this year and working, there won't be much cash to play around with. I was wondering what the deal with the dining plan REALLY is. The past 3 trips my family alone has taken we've used it, but that was for 3 of us. As a couple, is it cheaper to pay OOP? (Family used the table service plan, I can't remember the name. One up from the quick service.)

If there are any die hard number crunchers who would do this for me id owe you big. For a 7 day, 6 night trip would it be cheaper to use the dining plan or pay OOP. We'd most likely be eating at Le Cellier, 50's Prime Time, Be Our Guest, Beaches and Cream, Cosmic Rays, Friars Nook, and the food court at the resort.
What would for lunch & dinner every day and maybe a few breakfasts be at these places and then what the dining plan would be.

Any other advice on the dining plan would be appreciated also. Thanks in advance!!

Why not take a look at the dining plan calculator available at http://seeyareelsoon.wix.com/seeyareelsoon#!dining-plan-calculator/cxc0 ?

It will give you a good idea as to what your OOP costs would be vs. getting the dining plan. This is so much better than having people who do not know you or your dining preferences try to figure out what is the best deal for you.

You can also go to http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm to look at the individual menus and do the math yourself, based on how you think you would order at each place. Don't forget that there is 6.5% sales tax on food.

 

[Anthony1971]

No one can answer this question as it depends on many variables.
You need to go to the Dining board and do some research on what is best for you. You should start by looking at the menus and asking what you will eat and add it up.... (please also look for free dining promotions as this may make it worth it for you instead of a room discount)
We used the DP twice... once when it included the APP and TIP and Two snack and was a fair price but even then it was to much food for us for a week and had almost all the snack credits and a few meals left. The other time was a short trip before a cruise when it did not include the tip and APP and it worked fine. Would we use it now... NO we spend way less in a week even with a child (and the value so said they add to the price) Please note we are two average size adults and we will eat a sit down meal for lunch and in that case most likley have a kids meal for dinner or we will have two CS meals. we own DVC so Breakfast is in the room.
As I said it is personal we feel Disney gives you a lot of food we can not eat that much for that long... 2-3 days yes longer no... But even for a short time we do not feel it is worth the price as we can eat almost anywhere we want and pay the same or less unless we order the most expensive thing on the menu at the most expensive places.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

If Your in college and need to save money don't get it. It also dictates you touring as you cannot miss a meal or you will not only lose your paid credits but also the $20 cc hold.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[momto3pirates]

If you are just trying to save money, you can certainly eat OOP for less than the DDP will cost. There are meals that are big enough to share. With my family, we often snack our way around the world and only eat one meal per day. We also eat breakfast in our room before we leave for the park.
On the other hand, if you are going to eat at expensive places no matter what, the DDP may save you a little.

 

[Angie789]

I echo the other posters who recommend that you look at menus and use the dining calculator to answer this question specifically for your circumstances.

However, the down & dirty answer is that the dining plan is NOT worth it for 2 adults (assuming we are talking about paying for a plan here - free dining is a whole different thing). There can be some (slight) savings with kids if you are doing expensive character meals, but usually paying for the dining plan is a break even proposition IF you are actively trying to choose the most expensive options. Even one or two non-maximizing choices means you lose money on the dining plan.

I suspect you'll discover that OOP is the way to go, but do your homework first!

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

I echo the other posters who recommend that you look at menus and use the dining calculator to answer this question specifically for your circumstances.

However, the down & dirty answer is that the dining plan is NOT worth it for 2 adults (assuming we are talking about paying for a plan here - free dining is a whole different thing). There can be some (slight) savings with kids if you are doing expensive character meals, but usually paying for the dining plan is a break even proposition IF you are actively trying to choose the most expensive options. Even one or two non-maximizing choices means you lose money on the dining plan.

I suspect you'll discover that OOP is the way to go, but do your homework first!

This!!!!

 

[Marionnette]

Just to help you compare costs, OP, the price for 2 adults on the DDP for 6 nights in 2014 will be $703.92. That does not include tips or extras like alcoholic or specialty drinks, appetizers or certain menu items that are excluded from the dining plan.

 

[kseg95]

I think I'll have to sit down with my honey and pick out each meal we'd like to have and build our cost around that. Neither of us drink so that will cut down on costs as well. Thank you for the help! Does anyone know when Dis offers free dining. As students we'd really only be able to travel in the summer.

 

[ariel71]

If you have questions about very specific topics, you'll be able to do more research and get better answers on the board that addresses that specific topic. I would go to the DDP board under "Disney Restaurants" - you'll find these types of questions asked and answered many times.