To get the meal plan or not

[Dean]

I am sorry I don't have the time to prove it to you , then prove it again then prove it again after that so ill just say ok , and move on .

That's fine, I thought maybe we could learn something. The only way I can see getting that value for adult meals if one uses it legally is to only eat at the most expensive locations and choses the most expensive options at every point along the way. Easier to do if you want a bunch of steak or for short trips, much more difficult for other situations. Even then you're still adding an extra 18-20% of the added value you wouldn't have spent in tips if being reasonable.

 

[BestDadEver]

That's fine, I thought maybe we could learn something. The only way I can see getting that value for adult meals if one uses it legally is to only eat at the most expensive locations and choses the most expensive options at every point along the way. Easier to do if you want a bunch of steak or for short trips, much more difficult for other situations. Even then you're still adding an extra 18-20% of the added value you wouldn't have spent in tips if being reasonable.

I am not adding anything . I would normally eat higher end meals on vacation and tip that much anyway . I have trip report if you want to look it up , that details my meals if your that interested.

 

[omalley1118]

So my family and I are going to disney is February for six day and we are not sure if we are going to get the meal plan or not. We have always gotten it in the past but not sure this time. There is myself the wife and to little princess 5 & 3 and like all kids it is hit or miss if they are going to eat that much. We have three ADR made Already chief Mickeys, Be our guest, and Hollywood and vine. Other then that we are planning to eat quick services and maybe one more sit down meal. So here are my two questions. 1) are we better with the meal plan or not? 2) What quick services do you all recommend? Thank you in advance for all your input.

Hmmm..... I haven't read the replies yet, but I am sure they are varied. We ALWAYS got the meal plan and loved it. Then we did Tables in Wonderland once and liked that also. I'm not sure we will do the meal plan again. One issue is that there is soooo much food. DH and I always feel as though we overheat with it. My son is 10 and doesn't each much. We are going again in October, and I'm really not sure what we will do.

Our favorite character meals are Crystal Palace and 1900 Park Faire. Both are fabulous and not to be missed!!! There are many good quick services. In MK, I like Columbia Harbor House, Pinocchio's, Ray's. In AK, DH loves Flametree Bar B Q. I love the Pizzaari and Yak & Yeti. In EPCOT we love the one in The American showcase (?). For some reason, we always struggle with HS. I do like the one next to Star Wars. We also eat at Pizza Planet. I hope this helps!!

 

[omalley1118]

Once agai. Thank you all for your input. I am still undecided. I spoke to a CM yesterday and she said that I should wait a week as there might be some deals coming out for DVC member on tickets and meal plans. But we all know that CM do not always know. However a week will not kill me my wife has already made our ADR. I will let you all know what happens thanks again.

Deals??? That would be nice. How do we know???

 

[Dean]

I am not adding anything . I would normally eat higher end meals on vacation and tip that much anyway . I have trip report if you want to look it up , that details my meals if your that interested.

Thanks, I did a quick run through based on your TR post. I assumed 6 nights of DP with 2 adults and 1 child, the most expensive options on the menu, all TS for dinner except breakfast for Chef Mickey's, $3 per adult drink, $20 total per adult QS, $10 per child QS and $5 per snack credit plus I included tax of 7.5% (couldn't remember the exact amount). For buffet's I also included the very highest amount listed where there was a range. I did use all ears menu's since it's much more difficult to navigate for each one for the Disney dining site. I ignored tip which would either be neutral or reduce savings based on your post. Doing that I got a cost for OOP of around $1016 and a DP cost of $770. Given the date of your post, that likely means I overestimated the buffet's by around $35 total and likely overestimated the 2 sit downs by around $5-10 total each. I get a max savings of $41 per day if all assumptions are met. The only ways to increase the value further would be to hit places like WPE for lunch since the combo meals are usually only served at dinner time and using TS for lunches would usually decrease the numbers on that side. Certainly enough to make the DP reasonable if either you would have made the same choices or the choices made were desirable to you.

 

[mistergq]

Labor Day 2013, my wife and i kept every receipt and we discovered it would have made sense to have Disney Dining Plan. It was just the two of us that time. This coming trip for Marathon Week, we got the dining plan for 5 adults (and one infant which doesn't cost anything). We will see how that works out. In May, my Wife and I are heading back for our 10th Anniversary. We are not getting a dining plan that time.

I am split on it's value.

A non-monetary value is that this upcoming trip, we are traveling with my mom and my in-laws. Last time, my in laws would pick up a meal, then my mother felt she needed to pick up a meal, then we would feel that we needed to pick up a meal. This time, by having the dining plan, we eliminate that issue. So to me, that is a huge non-monetary value that will prevent future discussions of things being unfair and what have you.On the one hand, with 5 adults, the dining plan is easier because we eliminate breaking up the meal or having someone say, I got this one, then the feeling that we need to pick up the next one. So that is

 

[Rosy Robin]

I have always loved the DP, and have used it on 2 stays while at POR, and CSR. We always took snacks and waters with us, had way too much food for us, so we would order 3 QS for 4 people. It spread our meals out and worked well for the kids since they would rather eat off adult menus vs crappy hamburgers, etc.
We were there last in Dec 2012, I kept every single receipt to compare to what we spent on the plan. It turned out we paid $810 for DP for Me, DH, DD9, DD 10 (adult age/price/meals). We actually spent $ 1065 in receipts. Including 20%+ For a savings of $245 or 23%. Now, we ate steaks and snacks with high prices to get the most "bang for our buck". But... We ate things we wouldn't normally eat, such as $7 desserts, or $6 smoothies.
This June, we are going, and staying at BLT for our first DVC trip since purchasing during the above stay, and I'm budgeting $600 to include alcohol in parks, a QS everyday, ADRs at Olivia's Cafe, and 50s PT cafe, with other meals at room in the kitchen. I'm on a strict diet and this will help as last time, I gained 8 pounds...
So it's a personal preference for DP. It could depend on each trip you make. Our next trip will be a studio with a DP, as we will have a short 3 day stay.
Good Luck, have fun!

 

[BestDadEver]

Thanks, I did a quick run through based on your TR post. I assumed 6 nights of DP with 2 adults and 1 child, the most expensive options on the menu, all TS for dinner except breakfast for Chef Mickey's, $3 per adult drink, $20 total per adult QS, $10 per child QS and $5 per snack credit plus I included tax of 7.5% (couldn't remember the exact amount). For buffet's I also included the very highest amount listed where there was a range. I did use all ears menu's since it's much more difficult to navigate for each one for the Disney dining site. I ignored tip which would either be neutral or reduce savings based on your post. Doing that I got a cost for OOP of around $1016 and a DP cost of $770. Given the date of your post, that likely means I overestimated the buffet's by around $35 total and likely overestimated the 2 sit downs by around $5-10 total each. I get a max savings of $41 per day if all assumptions are met. The only ways to increase the value further would be to hit places like WPE for lunch since the combo meals are usually only served at dinner time and using TS for lunches would usually decrease the numbers on that side. Certainly enough to make the DP reasonable if either you would have made the same choices or the choices made were desirable to you.

There you go $41 per day . I said around $50 . I'd say the convince of having it pre paying and on your room card , plus any savings is worth it no .

 

[Dean]

There you go $41 per day . I said around $50 . I'd say the convince of having it pre paying and on your room card , plus any savings is worth it no .

I'd say this is the max, unlikely for most to hit this on longer trips though those of us who plan accordingly might be able to do so. To me the prepay is a liability and not an asset due to the risk of losing credits, illness, missing reservations or family circumstances.

 

[KateB]

Once agai. Thank you all for your input. I am still undecided. I spoke to a CM yesterday and she said that I should wait a week as there might be some deals coming out for DVC member on tickets and meal plans. But we all know that CM do not always know. However a week will not kill me my wife has already made our ADR. I will let you all know what happens thanks again.

Let us know if you hear of any deals. I tend to hear about the deals on here before I hear it from DVC.

 

[rkold]

I have always loved the DP, and have used it on 2 stays while at POR, and CSR. We always took snacks and waters with us, had way too much food for us, so we would order 3 QS for 4 people. It spread our meals out and worked well for the kids since they would rather eat off adult menus vs crappy hamburgers, etc.
We were there last in Dec 2012, I kept every single receipt to compare to what we spent on the plan. It turned out we paid $810 for DP for Me, DH, DD9, DD 10 (adult age/price/meals). We actually spent $ 1065 in receipts. Including 20%+ For a savings of $245 or 23%. Now, we ate steaks and snacks with high prices to get the most "bang for our buck". But... We ate things we wouldn't normally eat, such as $7 desserts, or $6 smoothies.
This June, we are going, and staying at BLT for our first DVC trip since purchasing during the above stay, and I'm budgeting $600 to include alcohol in parks, a QS everyday, ADRs at Olivia's Cafe, and 50s PT cafe, with other meals at room in the kitchen. I'm on a strict diet and this will help as last time, I gained 8 pounds...
So it's a personal preference for DP. It could depend on each trip you make. Our next trip will be a studio with a DP, as we will have a short 3 day stay.
Good Luck, have fun!

That was another of my problems with the DP. I gained 8lbs because every meal you feel obligated to order dessert (since it's included) and to get bang for your buck, you're more likely to pick that $5 cupcake snack vs the overpriced $2 banana, and rather than drinking water you want your drink to count, so again $6 for a smoothie. It is possible to save money, even as a vegetarian, but I find I save even more money (and weight) not being on the DP because then I don't get a snack every day and I don't order a drink every day and I don't get dessert with every meal. I prefer TiW. I get a discount when I want to do a buffet or Cinderella's Table, but don't feel obligated to eat more than I should just to try and "get a better value", because is that money really saved if you would have skipped all the expensive add ons?

 

[brertoad]

I think that it depends on how you plan and how you want to eat. In order to find out if it's worth it, you have to know where you are eating for each meal, what you are going to order from the menu, and whether or not you will be diligent enough to use all your credits. If you do not use all your credits you will be losing money.

We've used the DXDP couple times now, but I plan out each meal/reservation in order to maximize the worth of the dining plan. I have found it harder to justify the regular DP and QSDP, but then again, if I planned it in advance, I'm sure there is a way to make it viable. I basically ruled out using 2 credits for signature meals, I think if we do signature we would save more by using our TiW card.

As others have mentioned, you may not want to be forced to eat dessert with each lunch and dinner, some folks may not eat meat - the vegetarian options are cheaper, or if you are light eaters, or you might want to split meals; or you may have a TiW card. We also have a TiW card but will I will plan around the DXDP if we are using that, use the TiW for alcohol or other purchases during those meals.

My best advice would be to make a spreadsheet and figure out how much you would be spending OOP, or with TiW, or with DDP. Otherwise you would be only guessing.

 

[MinnieLee]

We have always used our TIW card and found it works out better than the DDP.. We would rather have the flexibility of not having to worry about ADRs and it includes our "adult" beverages. For us, it works out cheaper also.

 

[tidefan]

We have always used our TIW card and found it works out better than the DDP.. We would rather have the flexibility of not having to worry about ADRs and it includes our "adult" beverages. For us, it works out cheaper also.

Do note that starting Aug 1, TIW will be imposing numerous blackout dates on the more popular restaurants...

 

[OKWMom]

Do note that starting Aug 1, TIW will be imposing numerous blackout dates on the more popular restaurants...

Is this during the high demand times like holidays, etc?

 

[TinkGirl]

We just got back and had a split stay. We had the dd for our second half. For the last few years we have had ddp. This year we chose to cook while at OKW for the first half of the trip. We were so happy when it came time for the fp! Getting dessert is. A big treat and so convenient!

 

[TinkGirl]

We just got back and had a split stay. We had the dd for our second half. For the last few years we have had ddp. This year we chose to cook while at OKW for the first half of the trip. We were so happy when it came time for the dp! Getting dessert is a big treat and so convenient!

Sorry for the corrections! My kids are 17, 18 and 20, an they like to eat!

 

[tidefan]

Is this during the high demand times like holidays, etc?

This is from www.tablesinwonderland.com

Validity Dates:

**Victoria& Alberts will honor Tables in Wonderland discount through July 31st, 2014. As of August 1st, 2014 the restaurant will no longer participate in Tables in Wonderland.

*Beginning August 1st 2014, 1900 Park Fare, Chef Mickeys, Ohana (Dinner Only), Cinderellas Royal Table, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, and Le Cellier Steakhouse will be subject to the additional blockout weeks of: November 23-29, 2014; December 21-27, 2014; March 8-April 4, 2015; May 31-June 20, 2015.

Blockout dates for Tables in Wonderland are Mothers Day, Easter Sunday, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Tables in Wonderland is valid for one year from date of purchase.

 

[Meggysmum]

When I couldn't decide if we would break even on the Meal plan someone suggested to me to work out the cost of the Meal Plan and then load a Gift Card with that amount and use it to pay for all our food.

We found this a great solution as we didn't feel compelled to all have desserts when we didn't want and maybe share 2 starters and 2 desserts between the four of us instead. I am also not keen on most QS dessert options anyway. I am also not a fan of character meals as our children are now teenagers and don't think they are cool! We found that at the end of the trip we had used just about all the money on the card but that also included the tips we had paid so infact we were definitely much better off as we had eaten a TS meal every day.

When we travelled over the New Year holidays we did buy meal plan as it worked out ok since the prices are higher then and TiW can be blackout which we had considered buying.

For QS we like Cosmic Rays at MK as they do a huge variety of dishes and there is usually not too much of a problem finding seating. Flametree BBQ at AK is another favourite.

At DTD the best use of QS credit is Wolfgang Puck Express. You do have a server so you do tip but we really enjoyed the food and thought it was a bargain with a QS credit.