To Meal Plan or To Not Meal Plan...

[atlantis804]

Hi All!

What are your thoughts on purchasing the meal plan if you are staying on site? Is it worth it? We aren't big sit down, fancy meal people. It's nice once in a while, but not a regular thing for us.

What are the food costs like? Could you easily spend $150-$175 a day on four people for food? Or could you do a decent breakfast at the resort (Pop Century) plus snacks and maybe a burger & fries or something for dinner a do it for significantly less?

When on holidays, we normally like to do good size breakfast that carries us through to dinner and maybe a snack or two thrown in along the way.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

 

[mickeywho?]

The best way I've found to look at this is to actually price out a couple of days meals. You can find menus with prices on a couple of sites - ie. www.allearsnet.com
If your total $ spent on, by your example, "a good size breakfast and a snack or two" comes close to $38 then you really aren't saving any money by using cash.
While many "complain" that the dining plan wastes money because it is sooo much food (it really is way too much food!) if you like to sit down for a table service meal even once a day you are budgeting better value - there are some amazing breakfast buffets that cost $20+ per person so for $18 more you have another full meal (fast food) plus a snack and you don't have to worry about the pricing on the menus.
If you are going with kids - for under 10 big or small eaters I've definitely found it worth while - for over 10 picky small portion eaters it's a waste of money.
Check out the restaurants you want to try - and remember that if you don't think you'll eat that many table service meals you can use 2 ts credits for a dinner show like Hoop-de-doo or Spirit of Aloha...

 

[SeanK]

The meal plan is a great deal, the only problem i have is you need to buy it with your hopper pass which needs to be bought from Disney.

So some discount sites like mapleleaftickets.com and ticketmania.com you can't use, so you lose that discount.

I didn't go with the meal plan in may and figured i would save money on my hopper passes but after the trip i figured it out and i would of saved more money if i went with the meal plan and got the tickets from my travel agent or from disney.

What you get with the meal plan is:

1 Table service including appetizer, entree, dessert, or full buffet, non-alcoholic beverage)

1 Counter Service (including entree/combo meal, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverage)

1 snack that is 4.00 or under

It's around 38 usd per day for teens and adults and 10 or 11 for children.

if you didn't have the meal plan and were paying cash you would be looking at 10-15 bucks per counter service, 20-40 for a sitdown meal and then snack! Go for the dining plan! it's well worth it!

 

[kidangel]

We had Free Dining last fall, and while we enjoyed it very much, our experience has led us to decide that we won't be paying for it when we return this winter.

You'll find it helpful to do some investigating into menus/restaurants/prices, and also to consider the typical eating habits of your family. Also, your touring habits.

Free, it was definitely worth it - paying rack rate only added $200 to the cost of an eight day trip.

Here's why we won't be doing the Dining Plan:

For five of us, it would add $1200 to the cost of the six day trip. ($40 per day per person - the youngest kid is now 10, so we're all "adults").

We simply don't normally eat like that. Table service is nice, but we're not a TS-a-day kind of family. Plus, paying out of pocket, we've found that, at "menu" restaurants (as opposed to pay-one-price), servers will often let our 10 y.o. order off the children's menu, and our incredibly picky 14 y.o. as well. If they won't, then we'll probably split adult entrees. We found that sharing meals gave us ample food when we were on Free Dining, although then we did it to be able to save credits to do Hoop De Doo.

The time factor - all those table service meals take TIME, and food just isn't important enough to us to want to give up almost two hours from touring every day. More if you add "commuting" to restaurants at the resorts.

The flexibility factor - we usually make ADRs, but try to keep the ability to go where the wind blows. I hated, hated, hated having to stop what we were doing and leave to go eat. There was no, "Oh, we're having so much fun, let's blow off the ADR at Tony's, grab a hotdog at Casey's and if we're hungry again in three hours we'll snag something at the hotel food court." The UOG recommends ditching the touring plan if it's not working - planning your touring around your meals, as you almost need to do to make the Dining Plan "worth it" makes this much harder.

The "full" factor - this is partly about flexibility and partly about comfort. Like I said, we're light eaters, and we did share meals, etc to address this. However, all those "meals" - we were sluggish and feeling full all the time, which interfered with the spontenaety. My kids ADORE sitting by the fountain and having bread and cheese in France at Epcot, it's a highlight of our trip. They just think it's neat. Well, we happened to hit France two hours after our late lunch/early dinner at Le Cellier, and were too stuffed to even contemplate bread and cheese.

We ate more than we ever had in our lives, but still had 5 counter service credits and 14 snack credits left AFTER lunch, on the day we left. Plus, three different times I gave away 2 counter service desserts to people sitting nearby. Which, again, because it was free, was okay, but it would have been like paying for $100 or more worth of food that we didn't eat.

So, for grazers like us, who want to spend as much time in the parks as possible, I don't think paying for the dining plan is worth it. Also, if you have kids that eat like adults, it's worth it, but not if you have "adults" that eat more like kids.

Shelley

Read my Disney Blog!
http://movershakerbirthdaycakebaker.blogs.com/remember_the_magic

 

[GrannyEv]

I went with the plan so that I wouldn't have to worry about making sure I had enough money for food. My DGD is only five and not a big eater. But the small amount extra that it's costing me is worth it. I am going after the "free" plan so had to pay for mine. I figured it out and yes it's a little bit more but now I don't have the worry about making sure I keep enough cash for food. We are also eating at some places we normally wouldn't have eaten at otherwise. And I'm also including a few character meals like Chef Mickeys.


Wow I'm out of months and down to days now!!

Hugs
Granny

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

We're doing it b/c we like to sit down for 1 meal a day and taking mil I know we'll be doing counter service at least once a day too - when I looked at the menu's and prices it was worth it for us.

Plus I like that I don't have to worry about what I spend on food.

Look at the menu's on allearsnet and see what you would spend on food and go from there.

 

[drag n' fly]

We are going to WDW for the first time. We decided to purchase the ddp for ease of planning. Being newbie we just felt planning our day should not include where to eat at the last minute. ADR work much better for us. We will get to eat at places we might not normally try. On previous trips to DL that was my hugest complaint was having to find decent places to eat with out ADR at the last minute. We ended up eating a lot of crummy meals. We look forward to the TS. It allows us some down time and to relax and talk with each other about our day. So what if we missed an attraction or two. Just something to look forward to on the next trip. It is suppose to be a holiday, not burning the candle at both ends coming home exhausted. Each family is different...some love the commando style of holidaying and maximizing their time and money. For us it is also about spending a leisurely afternoon at the pool because we need to. For us the ddp was the perfect choice.

 

[cdnmickeylover]

We did the free dining plan last year and are paying for it this year. We sat down and figured out where we wanted to eat and what it would cost if we paid OOP and included our DDE discount. We figured it would be cheaper going with the dining plan than paying OOP. We also figured out the gratuity and tax which are included in the dining plan.

We enjoy eating at table service restaurants and they really are (to us) the highlight of the vacation. We've been to WDW many times so we aren't into commando touring anymore. The TS gives us a nice break. We are working our way towards our personal goal of eating at all the TS restaurants at WDW.

The dining plan doesn't work for all families though and you really do need to sit down and look at the menus and semi plan out what you'd order and where you would eat to see if it's 'worth' it. If you don't want to eat at TS restaurants then don't get the dining plan it will not be worth it.

Fiona

 

[mickeywho?]

Just remember - you do need to make ADRs for table service restaurants even if you are paying out of pocket. Don't think ADRs are just for those with DP or you might be out of luck for some of those big breakfasts!

 

[bbangel]

My mom and I are doing the dining plan because then we don't have to worry about ordering the more expensive things on the menu. Some of the table service meals we have planned will cost over a hundred dollars for the two of us. Without the plan we wouldn't even consider spending that much on a meal. And I think we would get sick of counter service since we are there for 10 days.

 

[dsneygirl]

We are doing the meal plan next week. I like the pre payment factor. Last time we used it other than alcohol and a few OOP snacks we didn't pay anything extra. Also enjoying once nice sit down meal a day is a great part of the trip. Allows you to get out of the heat and chaos for an hour.

It's all how you want to do you trip. If you don't want to "waste" time to eat a big meal than I wouldn't bother with the DDP.

 

[madonna31]

The Disney Dining Plan is a no-brainer for us. We get it every time.

Let me give you a sample of what one day of food would be for one person with this dining plan (all prices are in US funds).


• You wake up and head over to Ecpot for about 10:00AM.

At Epcot you eat brunch at Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavilion.

• You eat the Grilled Salmon with Mashed Potatoes with Kalamata Olive Pesto ($ 9.09), a Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie ($ 1.49) and a bottle of water ($ 2.19). You've just used your counter service meal for the day

From there, about 1 - 2:00PM, you are looking for a refreshment so you cash in your snack voucher for cold, refreshing Diet Coke ($ 2.50) at the nearest snack-cart location You've just used your snack voucher for the day

Then you head to your 5:50PM dinner reservations at Le Cellier Steakhouse in the Canadian Pavilion at Epcot.

• You eat a Shrimp Cocktail with wasabi slaw and horseradish chili sauce ($ 9.99), Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon - wild mushroom risotto, white truffle and herb beurre blanc, topped with fried parsnips ($ 27.99), Strawberries and Balsamic Ice Cream ($ 6.99) and coffee ($2.00). You've just used your table service/buffet voucher for the day


If you were not on Disney's Dining plan, this day would of cost you $65.97 plus gratuity in food.
But seeing as you were on Disney's Dining plan, this day only cost you $38.99!

 

[drag n' fly]

The Disney Dining Plan is a no-brainer for us. We get it every time.

Let me give you a sample of what one day of food would be for one person with this dining plan (all prices are in US funds).


• You wake up and head over to Ecpot for about 10:00AM.

At Epcot you eat brunch at Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavilion.

• You eat the Grilled Salmon with Mashed Potatoes with Kalamata Olive Pesto ($ 9.09), a Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie ($ 1.49) and a bottle of water ($ 2.19). You've just used your counter service meal for the day

From there, about 1 - 2:00PM, you are looking for a refreshment so you cash in your snack voucher for cold, refreshing Diet Coke ($ 2.50) at the nearest snack-cart location You've just used your snack voucher for the day

Then you head to your 5:50PM dinner reservations at Le Cellier Steakhouse in the Canadian Pavilion at Epcot.

• You eat a Shrimp Cocktail with wasabi slaw and horseradish chili sauce ($ 9.99), Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon - wild mushroom risotto, white truffle and herb beurre blanc, topped with fried parsnips ($ 27.99), Strawberries and Balsamic Ice Cream ($ 6.99) and coffee ($2.00). You've just used your table service/buffet voucher for the day


If you were not on Disney's Dining plan, this day would of cost you $65.97 plus gratuity in food.
But seeing as you were on Disney's Dining plan, this day only cost you $38.99!

Your making me hungry please!

 

[kidangel]

I feel like I should offer some clarifications, since it appears that I've come off as a "theme park commando".

Having made so many trips to WDW, we no longer feel the need to "do everything". However, since we are paying around $50 a day to be in the parks, that is where we like to spend as much time as possible, especially since our upcoming trip is only five days long and happening at a time of year when the parks close earlier.

It's not that we dislike sitting down to eat - it's that we like touring more. And relying on Disney transportation adds a whole new dimension to dining, time-wise. We made the most of Free Dining, and tried a number of restaurants we'd always wanted to try, but in the end, there were things that we regretted not doing differently. We seriously underestimated the time to get from our resort to park to another resort to eat, etc. and that's just not time we're willing to spend.

Again, I don't think there's a "DDP good" or "DDP not good" standard. There was certainly a great sense of "no worries" in knowing that everything was paid for ahead of time.

You just have to look at your own interests, your dining style, your budget, etc. And even of you don't go DDP, the poster who mentioned ADRs is absolutely right -if there are TS restaurants you have your heart set on, you still need to make ADR, especially now that DDP has gotten so popular.

Shelley

Read my Disney Blog!
http://movershakerbirthdaycakebaker.blogs.com/remember_the_magic

 

[michelle1]

We have done DDP twice now (free) and it was great. If we were paying for it I don't think we would skip it and just pay for our meals. We are not big eaters and the amount of food you get is far too much for us to consume and both times we ended up with CS left over and this past trip we had 14 snacks left by our last day. 2 CS meals for 4 of us is enough food and even though we were on the dining plan we still shared some meals because I hate to waste the food. I guess it depends on the kind of eater you are and if you plan on doing alot of character meals etc it is well worth it. I will admit, it was nice not to have to factor in meals when planning how much spending money we needed!

 

[pollioni]

In short, I watch what I eat when I am at home but when I am on vacation I want to enjoy myself. DDP is a no brainer for me also.

Disney has some of the best resturants in central fla. With the DDP I save $$$ which is what we all want.