To Dining Plan or not??? That is the ?

[Tigger i luv DISNEY]

My best friend and I are headed to WDW for 10 days... we will both be 21 years old and graduating University!

I'm stuck as to whether or not I should get the dining plan? How much is it per day? and how does it work?

We plan on eating only like twice a day (we aren't huge breakfast people) more like early lunch 11am, after touring, and then early supper like 5pm then snacks before nightly show - ice cream/popcorn etc.

We plan on eating at Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace, Rainforest Cafe (downtown), Ohana's (maybe), Tony's (maybe) and one Epcot Restaurant (still deciding)...

Other than that - so one big meal a day (with ADR) one small quick something...

Worth it???

 

[jpgoebel]

It really depends. In the past, my wife and I have used it for the convenience of not having to worry about our meals. We found it was too much food and that we tended to order the most expensive thing. Also we found that a day before our trip would be up we would have an ungodly amount of snack credits left. This was no problem as we loaded up at Goofy candy company for the trip home.

However this year we are using the Tables in Wonderland Card. This will allow us the flexibility of eating where and what we want and get a 20% discount on Table service as well as alcoholic drinks. If you are a Florida Resident, AP holder, or DVC member you can get this card. Cost is $100 or $75 if you are an AP holder. Check it out

 

[copcarguyp71]

Check to see if free dining might be available for you for the dates of your stay. That is an awesome gimme! Also the meals you listed can get quite expensive and along with one quick service meal they can add up fast so I think I would probably go with the dining plan rather than a big bill at the end. The snack items are great to keep in the room and we never finish them all but coming home with a stash of Mickey rice crispy treats is not a bad thing!!!

 

[dogbert03]

I get the dining plan on every trip, as it has definitely been worth it for my wife and I. We usually get the plan with one table and one counter service meal. While we may spend a little extra on additional snacks, we find that our food choices for the regular meals would have cost more had we not done the dining plan. My parents will do the plan that includes only counter service meals, but even then they prefer getting groceries and making food in their room.
It is an easy way to budget the food aspect of your trip if you don't spend any additional money (which is a big reason we like it so much, not worrying about setting aside food money).

 

[Lisa71]

I would do the dining plan...this is a big occasion and you can eat without looking at the menu for prices....and it should be plenty of food... you can double up and dine at signature places, and save some cash for oop treats! I love the DDP!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Dining plan will give you one snack, one counter service and one table service for every night of your disney resort stay. You have to purchase at least a one day park ticket to get dining plan. This sounds like your day - one sit down meal and a second smaller meal, and in this case you get a snack.

Tax is included but not tip unless booking some of the 2 TS meals like dinner shows or Cinderella's Royal Table. No appetisers are included either.

TS and CS meals include a non-alcoholic beverage and dessert. Consider if you'd want to drink that much pop or eat that many desserts.

And add a snack on top of that.

Of course you can order, say a bottled water for a snack, or sometimes substitute some fruit instead of a higher calorie dessert, but in general do you think you'd eat that much every day?

I read a lot of posts that people like DDP because they don't have to worry about the cost since it's paid up front. There's something to be said for a carefree vacation and you may find this a nice way to go. But if you are budget conscious and would worry about having to order the most expensive items to get your money's worth, rather than what perhaps you'd choose if paying al la carte, on top of if you wouldn't normally eat so many snacks, desserts or drinks, then you may find it's not really for you.

Have fun whatever you decide and BTW, CONGRATUALTIONS on finishing school! Good for you

 

[raven69david]

Based on your post, do NOT get the dining plan. You will end up spending more than you'll actually eat. For our family of 3, the DDP does not make financial sense to get. We spend less paying for our food than if we were to get the DDP. We've been doing this for years and we've done the math based on what we spend on each trip for food and it's definitely not worth it for us. It's always fun seeing those on the DDP buying up tons of snacks on the last day of their trip to make sure and not waste their snack credits.

 

[hooch11bear]

We have always questioned this every time we have visited. We do not eat counter services usually, so that's why we never got the regular dining plan. When we considered the deluxe dining plan, it seems like way to much food, considering our daughter is 13. I wish they offered something for teens. She could never eat an appetizer, meal and desert for every meal. I'm not sure I could do that either. My SIL has 3 kids under the age of 9. She made the comment that when her kids are over the age of 9, she won't be getting it anymore either. It looks like we are paying OOP this year too!!

 

[Z28KatCar]

I thin this really depends on how much you like to eat at a sit down meal. There is a lot of food involved. Each meal includes drink, entree & dessert. Our family loves the DDP and get it every time we go. Good Luck!

 

[GC&S]

The cost is around $51 /day. If you are going to eat a CS and a TS service everyday you might break even or save a couple $ doing the DP. With the basic DP you also get a refillable mug. Plus a snack once a day (up to $4). If it were just my husband and I, we would do the DP. But we now have a 10 year old Disney adult and she won't eat $51 a day. Look at the prices on the menus and see the cost of the TS you think you might go to and then add the CS cost (we budget around $10 for CS). That may help you decide.

 

[mmmears]

For my family it has never made sense to pay for the dining plan. Other people think it's a great value.

The only real way for you to figure this out is to read the menus (they are posted on allears.net), guess what you will order, and see if you would come out ahead on the dining plan or if you pay a la carte. I know it's work, but it pays off in the end.

 

[Mcert01]

We've done it both ways. If we are staying at Fort Wilderness it doesn't make sense because we eat several meals at our RV. If we are staying at one of the hotels it pays off, particularly if your party will all be eating adult meals.

A big benefit, as some have talked about already, is that you can eat what you want, where you want without worrying about prices on the menu. With the high quality choices now at Disney this is a big advantage.

You also have the ability to do one or two really nice "signature" meals at a place like Artist Point, California Grill, etc., or even do a show like the Hoop-de-Doo Review. These require 2 sit downs, but it is an option you can consider.

Overall, if the numbers are relatively close (and they will be staying on site), the freedom to eat at some fantastic restaurants and not look at the prices tips the scale to the plan in my opinion.

 

[jg32268]

I've found that dining plan is great way to save money with snacks and drinks while in the parks. At the end of our stay we have lot of unused snack credits, but the dining plan allow us to have Mickey Ice Cream bars and bottle water when we needed them through out the hot days in the park.

 

[jlc1123]

This is my family of four first Disney vacation and we chose the dining plan because it was one least thing I had to worry about. I made all of our ADR at our 180 days and now are just planning our days around that.

 

[Hopefully]

We have done the math and the DDP works in our favor. It meets our dining style. We choose a light breakfast in the room, a QS lunch mid day and a sit down TS evening meal. DH always orders dessert as well. We don't drink tons of soda, there are other choices for your included beverage.
As others have said, only you know if it will work for you. It sounds to me like it will.
Take a look at the menus on allears.net and see what you would order and what it would cost. Then you have to do the math.
Also remember that you need to plan ahead to utilize your credits if you decide to get the DDP. ADR's for the TS meals open up 180 days in advance. In park and many popular Resort restaurants book fully way in advance. You need to make ADR's to insure you can use your credits when and where you want to eat.
Good Luck

 

[mmmears]

It really does depend on what you tend to order, where you choose to eat, and how often. For example, my DD and I often split entrees and we almost never order dessert or drinks. This isn't because of the cost; it's just the way we eat. And we often stay CL, so we don't need to buy snacks or eat as many meals in the parks. That's why it helps to look at the menus and figure out if it makes financial sense for you. After a couple of our trips, my DH did the math and said we came out WAY ahead by not buying the DDP.

 

[danceintherain]

Basically, you only have 6 table service meals list and a 9 night stay, so you'll need to add a few more meals in order to even get close to the DP being worth it. If you're content with the 6 meals you have listed and counter service to fill in the blanks, then it's not going to be worth it for you.

We've done both as two adults, and while I prefer paying out of pocket (though we still end up eating very similar to the dining plan) my husband prefers to pay everything in advance and the ability to order the most expensive thing on the menu without worrying about the ticket price.

The desserts basically ended up being the "savings" on the dining plan for us, and since we hardly finished them, it wasn't much of a savings.

 

[diznee25]

My best friend and I are headed to WDW for 10 days... we will both be 21 years old and graduating University!

I'm stuck as to whether or not I should get the dining plan? How much is it per day? and how does it work?

We plan on eating only like twice a day (we aren't huge breakfast people) more like early lunch 11am, after touring, and then early supper like 5pm then snacks before nightly show - ice cream/popcorn etc.

We plan on eating at Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace, Rainforest Cafe (downtown), Ohana's (maybe), Tony's (maybe) and one Epcot Restaurant (still deciding)...

Other than that - so one big meal a day (with ADR) one small quick something...

Worth it???

My husband and I did the Dining Plan on our last trip. It includes a lot of food! More than we could eat....including too many snack credits. Plus my DH didn't like the "credit system." We always had to ask a cashier how many credits were left because they weren't printing out on our receipts....

So it didn't work out for us. My DH even told me a few days ago to NOT get the Dining Plan for our October trip! He just wants to be able to order food, and not worry about what's included (or excluded) from the plan and not feel obligated to get the most expensive entree...it's a lot of work that we don't want on our vacation!

So if that sounds like you, then I wouldn't suggest the Dining Plan. We tried it just to experience it and see if we liked it. Tried it, didn't like it, and we'll go back to just paying out of pocket.

Seriously, you can't go wrong either way. As you can see, the Dining Plan is very popular.

Good luck in your decision!

diznee25