To Dining Plan or not to Dining Plan?

[Sydnoahmom]

Help me decide what to do please

We are a family of 4, me, DH, DD13 and DS10 (at time of trip). We usually have our trip the week following Thanksgiving, Sunday to Sunday and have never done the DP. We usually do one character dinner meal and eat at 1-2 other TS restaurants. I buy groc in room for breakfast as we are not big morning eaters. The rest of our meals consist of CS. Our food budget is never very large.

This year, we are going Aug 10-17 and I have planned 2 char meals, Fantasmic dinner pkg and one other TS. Not counting brfst in room, my budget comes out to $143/day for the 4 of us.

By my calculations, the DP will cost us $152/day ($37.99 pp for 4 adults). This should be a no-brainer, right?

What I want to know I guess, will we have time to eat at a TS everyday? We are usually the comando types, hitting on EMH park and ending at another, but this time of year, there will be more crowds than when we usually go. I don't want to be tied to ressies each day, but have always wanted to try more TS.

I am thinking we will need to have a TS to take a break from the crowds. Will I have trouble getting ressies during that time?

Other questions: does the $37.99 include tax? We have the Disney reward card that we were going to use for our food, should be exactly around the $1000 point when we go. Can I use this when we check in to pay off the dining plan?

Anyone done the plan and regretted it?

Thank you so much for your help. This will probably be our last trip for some time as DD starts High School next year and our free time will be limited, so I don't want to be disappointed.

 

[septbaby]

The DP is now $39.99 per "Adult", so that will be $160/day vs $143, does your $143 include taxes or will that be extra? The dining plan includes taxes. I am biased toward the DP and if you have not tried it and can afford it, I suggest using it this time:

There is the "math" such that the DP can save money for some families.
There is the, its already paid for stress relief.
There is the "order anything" on the menu (entree, dessert, beverage), no matter the price.
There is the kids being able to have snacks daily, 4 per day for your family.
There is the ability to book a Signature restaurant that you wouldn't normally do on your budget. (Like the Surf & Turf at Narcoossee's).

Good luck with your decision.

 

[goin2themouse]

When making the Dining Plan decision, we didn't look at it from a money aspect so much as a convenience aspect. We know exactly how much to budget for our food (apart from any meals we may take out of pocket).

I think in your situation, you're actually pretty well set. If I understand it correctly, you could order three meal / dessert combos at a meal and the four of you split them (maybe supplementing with an appetizer, side salad, etc.). That would enable you to do a Signature experience or two, or give you even more flexibility with your seated meals.

Another thing I wanted to point out is that there is a huge difference between November and August. You'll likely appreciate the opportunity to have scheduled air-conditioned off-your-feet time when it's just nasty outside.

That's my take on it anyway. Good luck with your decision.

 

[WiscMomof2]

We're in the same boat as you - DD's are 13 and 10. I haven't crunched the numbers yet but I don't think it would be a savings for us this time. I really liked the convenience of it but my girls are pretty picky and wouldn't order an adult meal at a TS under normal circumstances so I can't see how I would spend $40 per day on them unless we did mostly character meals and/or buffets at dinner every night which I'm not sure that we want to do.

 

[redrosesix]

We're in a similar situation. Part of our trip will be the week of Presidents' Day -- we were there last year at that time and had to stand in line 45 min. to get hot dogs on our last day. So we have booked 4 TS reservations (plus 1 that we will drop if we don't do DDP) Unfortunately, over the weekend, we are attending a competition at WWS, which only has quick service, and staying at ASMusic. So, without the special dinners we are doing, the quick service plan would be best for us.

Dang Disney for not being more flexible!!!!! I would gladly have traded 2 QS meals for a TS, or a TS for a QS and snack.

Added to this, we check in to our hotel on a room only reservation 4 nights before our package kicks in, so if we want refillable mugs from our first day on, we will end up with 2 sets - I've already asked - there is no way to get our free refillable mugs early, or substitute a Disney gift card, or anything to avoid the 2 mug dilemma.

No matter which way I look at it, the dining plans just feel like Disney has found a way to make me spend more money than I would have.

 

[septbaby]

Added to this, we check in to our hotel on a room only reservation 4 nights before our package kicks in, so if we want refillable mugs from our first day on, we will end up with 2 sets - I've already asked - there is no way to get our free refillable mugs early, or substitute a Disney gift card, or anything to avoid the 2 mug dilemma.

You don't get a refillable mug in the Dining Plan. They come with either the Deluxe plan or QS plan, but not the Basic plan that inclue 1TS, 1CS an 1Snack per night. So if you want a mug at the start of your trip, buy one.

 

[Vegaslover]

I don't see a savings in this either. I think before, they included an appetizer, but since they don't it doesn't seem like deal. At a one table service meal, entrees are about $15. And we don't eat dessert, well actually we don't need dessert. I would prefer a salad, which we will have to pay for separtely on top of what we are paying on the plan. And a counter service meal is about $7 so how do they get $40 a person?

I need to talk to my agent about it.

 

[Vegaslover]

Hold it. I take some of it back. I looked at where we have reservations and all except on place and it is a good value at most of the places we picked. But it does irritate me that you can't substitute the dessert.

 

[LadyZolt]

Some things to consider:

As one person mentioned, will your 10 year old really utilize the adult menu? If not, the dining plan might not be the best option because you'd have to buy the adult plan for the 10 year old.

The dining plan does not include tips. So at the table service places, you should expect to leave 18% to 20% of what that meal would have cost had you paid for it. For example, Chef Mickey for dinner for four adults would run $29.99 per person, so you'd leave somewhere between $20 and $24 tip.

While I do think the dining plan can be worth it if you are planning on doing a lot of table service meals, I think that it is not always cost effective if you'd rather not do that many. My DD18 and I went for a week in August and did three TS meals -- Sci Fi (we split a burger there), LTT and Le Cellier. The rest were counter service meals and we had light breakfasts of purchased items like milk and granola bars in our room. We spent less than the dining plan would have cost. DH and I are going in May and we've purchased the dining plan because we've decided to do a lot of TS places we've never done, including a signature dining place that takes 2 TS credits on the plan. This time, I looked at the menus online and figured out what we'd be paying for our choices and the dining plan makes more sense.

Think about what you and your family most likely will do and then Google menus online to see what you'd pay out of pocket if you don't have the plan vs. the cost of the plan, and remembering that either way, tips will be out of pocket. Then you can make the decision that's right for you. Have a great time!

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[redrosesix]

Sooo... if I'm understanding this correctly, the payments for the dining plan will not have tax added, but the amount we would pay at a restaurant would have tax added (as well as the cost of a refillable mug - $12.49)? So how much is the tax on restaurant food in Florida? I have to admit, I didn't even pay attention to this when we were there last year -- we used our KTTW and just ordered what we wanted, when we wanted to.

I have read that it may be possible to have TS credits exchanged for QS credits (not allowed, but resort front desk people might be willing to do this) Has anyone ever been able to do this, or to have a QS restaurant use a TS credit for a meal?

 

[Luv2Roam]

In August it will be hot and humid. You may be very grateful to have a sit down meal, even if it is lunch, just to relax, enjoy the A/C and rejuvenate.
However, you may find yourself drinking so many cold liquids you don't eat as much.

I don't think the DDP is for everyone, nor meant to be. For those who have picky eaters, on special diets, etc, sometimes I think it would be easier just to pay OOP and order exactly what you want.

 

[septbaby]

When you pay the DP nightly fee you are paying tax at that time, so you don't get charged "tax" when you redeem those credits. Tax rate at WDW is 6.5%. So you save that amount right off the top when using the DP.

Let's say you go to Chef Mickey's for Dinner, $29.99pp. On the DP it would be 1TS credit. If paying OOP it would cost you $31.94. You'll pay tips whether you pay cash or use the plan. So if you are on the plan for $39.99 a night you will still get a CS meal and snack for the remaining $8.05, a great deal.

If you chose a less expensive meal, say the Plaza in MK: Burger $11.99, soda $2.29 and sundae $4.99 (the least expensive choices). That is a total of $19.27 or $20.52 Cash. So on the plan you'd still have $20.72 to pay for a CS meal and a snack. The Rib platter at Cosmic Rays is $8.99, $2.39 soda and $3.59 cake get you to $15.94 for the CS meal and a $3.99 Dole Whip would also put you over the $40 a night DP cost. Keep in mind $20 is about the least expensive TS meal you can find at WDW.

The Dining plan can be quite flexible and a good deal. You do need to use your TS credits, but it can be good budget tool and a value for many families.