To Dining Plan or Not?

[vshimer]

Help!! Our family is leaving in less than a month for Disney and I am perplexed as what to do. When I made our reservations, I weighed out all the pros and cons of adding a dining plan to our package and decided that it probably wouldn't be worth it for us. I didn't want to be tied down to TS times but I wanted to do a couple of character dining meals. I really thought that the QS was a lot of food that we would probably not eat in the heat and since it didn't include the character dinning, I didn't add it. But of course I am now having second thoughts. We took a day trip with the family this past weekend and my growing son ate 2 meals in less than 2 hours. So first question is... if in my situation (there are 4 of us, DH (32), Me (36), DS (14) and DD (9)) would you go ahead and add the QS plan? I still don't want to be tied to TS. Second question...is it possible to add it at this point? I booked our vacation through Southwest Vacations and we leave on July 9. Thanks for your help

 

[Cin]

We had QS last time and ended up with tons of snacks. We took a lot of junk home the last day since we had lots of snack credits unused. As far as the plan itself goes, if you price it all individually the plan is a better option, but truthfully who really orders a dessert with every meal and eats all those snacks? We didn't and threw away a l0t of desserts. If you only order an entree and drink that comes with a side, and you don't snack much you're better off paying OOP. A lot of the entrees were large enough that my hubs and I could have shared and we did that a couple of times. I mentioned to the cast member that I was sharing the plate with my husband and they gave me larger portions, so do speak up. I prefered the counter service meals, the food was just as good, the price was way less than a sit down, and it fit our schedules. No ADR's to work around and lengthy time consuming meals. For the cost though it was only $8-10 more than we would have paid OOP, and for peace of mind alone if you like prepaid, then is it worth ten bucks to you? WhHat you can do is go to AllEars.net and they have menus with prices listed there for all the establishments on WDW property. You can price it out individually and figure out what it might cost you that way out of pocket as compared to the plan.

 

[3pletprincesses]

if you have done the math and you can't save much, I would skip it. We have done Disney many times without the plan and still had a nice trip. The dinning plan is not for everyone especially if you know that you won't be using all the credits and eating all the meals. If yo uare unsure and can't see the value then skip it. you can add it up until 48 hours before your check in date. In the last week prior to check in, they will charge you $50 for changing your plan prior to that if you are adding they don't charge but if you are reducing they will charge penalty. you will however have to pay it in full when and if you decide to add it.

 

[vshimer]

Sounds like I made the right choice to begin with. I got the dining plan the last time we went about 10 years ago and I just remember having to eat all the time! So I think I will just keep it the way I have it. Thanks so much for your help

 

[whacked]

Unless you plan your dining in advance and your focus is mostly on dining, and not other elements of the park, I find it difficult to justify any Disney dining plan unless it's "free".

It's possible to get some savings if you use every element of the plan and try to maximize it, but that costs the freedom of doing what you want when you want. That being said, our family does not generally eat as much food in a day as you get on the dining plans. On our own we often share meals, particularly CS meals as they are often huge.

Remember that some "single serving" CS meals may have more calories, fat and sodium than an adult should have for an entire day. Try the chicken and rib combo at Cosmic ray's with a dessert.

"Free" dining is a significant enough savings I will make the effort to use it. If it's not "free", I don't bother with it, it's just too limiting.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Help!! Our family is leaving in less than a month for Disney and I am perplexed as what to do. When I made our reservations, I weighed out all the pros and cons of adding a dining plan to our package and decided that it probably wouldn't be worth it for us. I didn't want to be tied down to TS times but I wanted to do a couple of character dining meals. I really thought that the QS was a lot of food that we would probably not eat in the heat and since it didn't include the character dinning, I didn't add it. But of course I am now having second thoughts. We took a day trip with the family this past weekend and my growing son ate 2 meals in less than 2 hours. So first question is... if in my situation (there are 4 of us, DH (32), Me (36), DS (14) and DD (9)) would you go ahead and add the QS plan? I still don't want to be tied to TS. Second question...is it possible to add it at this point? I booked our vacation through Southwest Vacations and we leave on July 9. Thanks for your help

I personally think the QS dining plan is a good idea in your case. You have a 14 yr old boy!!! They eat A LOT! Its nice not to have to worry about paying OOP, its already done. If you think you could save money by paying OOP, then go for it if you think its best. But for peace of mind i would go with the QS dining plan. If you have a ton of snack credits leftover, go nuts with the take-home treats like mickey ricecrispy treats etc. There are many choices.

At this point its not too late to add the dining plan. Call Southwest. Im sure they will accomodate your request. If all else fails, call disney directly.

Just my opinion.

 

[Amber1111]

We'be done it both ways, and I much prefer the dining plan over paying out of pocket. We ended up spending almost as much on food as we would have on the DDP, and the DDP is so much more convenient. It was nice to not have to worry about carrying lots of cash around. Oh, we also tried bringing our own snacks, sandwiches, etc but it was hard to enjoy our sandwiches when we could have been eating Disney food! It's really up to you, but for me I don't think we'll ever go without the DDP again.

 

[nurtz]

We always pay OOP and eat what we want, where we want, and when we want. The dining plans just don't fit our eating patterns. Sometimes we just want to share an appetizer and dessert. Sometimes we split entrees. Sometimes we order most expensive items, sometimes the cheapest.We rarely ever order desserts after having an entree...just not hungry enough. We don't ever carry cash for meals...we use our debit card. Comes right out of account, not charged. I don't see the difference in prepaying months in advance, or simply having the money in the account to use as you go. We do have a TIW card for discounts now but in past trips we haven't. All of our trips have been fun and we have eaten quite well without the dining plans. It can be done. I feel our dining is just more flexible without being tied down to a "plan". For us, it works. I think either way you decide to go, it will work fine. Can't answer whether it is too late to add or if you can through Southwest but you certainly don't need a dining plan to eat well at Disney World. If you have decide it really won't save you that much to use, I wouldn't bother with it.