WDW just raised dining plan prices.

[Kimberle]

I haven't seen it mentioned here or in a blog. They were increased around $2-$7 pp per day (adult), depending on type of plan.

 

[pinnocchiosdad]

I haven't seen it mentioned here or in a blog. They were increased around $2-$7 pp per day (adult), depending on type of plan.

Every trip we debate buying the dining plan. We may be done.

 

[OKW Lover]

Never found the dining plan to be worth it for us anyway.

 

[FloridaDreaming]

We've enjoyed the dining plan a few times, when we've gone for free dining. When we started doing AP, I'd price up to see if it was worth paying for it. DH would make it worth it but, my ordering habits wouldn't since I'm a basic (sandwich, chicken or pasta dishes, no seafood...) eater. And I was always too full from the plan to enjoy some of the other great treats there are to enjoy. That alone made me decide against it.
I suppose if I were planning a getaway that included more character or signature meals, I would revisit the option. I'm currently pondering if the TIW is worth it. Especially since we're local now.

 

[gr8leg8]

I like to use the dining plan numbers to set an oop budget for future trips.

Will menus reflect a bump also?

 

[Michele]

Never have used the dining plan but i was considering it for our next trip in October.

I just sat down for the 1st time today and looked exactly at how much the dining plan would cost versus if I paid for the exact same stuff I would eat oop.

Bottom line, I will save 52.55 total for a 4 night trip not using the dining plan. ( that's just for 1 person) and that's at the rate posted here on the DIS

 

[SaraMc]

We went off the dining plan on our last visit and switched to Tables in Wonderland. For us, it worked out better. But its different for everyone. The freedom to get what we wanted and not have the fear Im waisting $ we had pre-paid to be there. We would often share things since the portion sizing is so hudge on many items and our kids would share meals too.

For us it worked out.

 

[bekkio]

We did the quick service plan for our last trip and still felt like it was too much food! The best place that we used it was at Wolfgang Puck's Express - we ate dinner there twice. I'm not sure if we'd do it again, but it was definitely easy. One night, we ate around the World Showcase, using one meal and sharing each one so we could try different things.

We didn't really use our refillable mugs much though - too much soda just with the lunches!

 

[Cherinva]

We love the dining plan...we get the QS...(TS is way to much food and takes up too much time from touring the parks)....it works for us.

 

[rwdavis2]

Never have used the dining plan but i was considering it for our next trip in October.

I just sat down for the 1st time today and looked exactly at how much the dining plan would cost versus if I paid for the exact same stuff I would eat oop.

Bottom line, I will save 52.55 total for a 4 night trip not using the dining plan. ( that's just for 1 person) and that's at the rate posted here on the DIS

I agree. We got the DDP this past January (steep discount) and it was more food than we normally eat. Although we eat breakfast in our room. I just don't think it would ever be worth paying full price.

 

[lugnut33]

Have not done it for years and will not ever do it.

 

[ADP]

We don't do the dining plan anymore either. The recent price increase probably has to do with the new mugs and the mug refill technology. Somebody's got to pay for it.

 

[DanenRox]

I'm glad for those who enjoy the dining plan but in our opinion it makes no financial sense. DDP is so grossly overpriced and the food quality is fair, occasionally good. Renting a car and eating off-site works best for us. Also, as DVC'ers, we utilize our kitchen very well. How we loved getting free dining when the appetizers (and tips too, I think) were included! Since then, no thank you.

 

[wiigirl]

We love the dining plan...we get the QS...(TS is way to much food and takes up too much time from touring the parks)....it works for us.

 

[3happydancers]

We are planning a big trip next year and staying on DVC points. My first thought was to buy the dp for our party of 6 for 9 nights but if my calculations are correct, that would bring the food cost to about 3000.00. I am thinking that we could eat quite nicely for 9 nights without the dp. We will have a full kitchen (not necessarily to cook but for quick breakfast foods and on the go sandwiches. In between we can choose a few select restaurants to dine at and some good quick serves like Wolf Gang Puck's to eat at. I know all businesses have overhead and that keeps going up, but I cannot see how the dp prices are justified.

 

[rwdavis2]

(Per the Quick Service plan)

From listening to the Podcasts here and their evaluations, they say that unless you order the most expensive items at every meal it's probably cheaper to pay out of pocket.

 

[drakethib]

Decided a couple of years ago it was no longer worth it.

 

[Aliceacc]

Last year we didn't do the dining plan, choosing to book room only and get YES park tickets instead.

I hated it.

I felt as though we were hemorrhaging money. It got to where I would go into a restaurant, and look at the prices instead of the entrees.

When we crunched the numbers, we pretty much broke even, even with the money we saved on the YES tickets. We certainly didn't save enough to make us consider another trip without the DDP.

 

[teacherlisa1978]

Last year we didn't do the dining plan, choosing to book room only and get YES park tickets instead.

I hated it.

I felt as though we were hemorrhaging money. It got to where I would go into a restaurant, and look at the prices instead of the entrees.

When we crunched the numbers, we pretty much broke even, even with the money we saved on the YES tickets. We certainly didn't save enough to make us consider another trip without the DDP.

This is us exactly. The money just flies, leaps, out of our wallets at Disney as it is. I know we could look at menus, set a budget, and set aside gift cards ahead of time for meals-in fact, that's what we are doing for our trip to Disneyland in October. But at WDW I don't want to worry about the money and if I should order a soda or not to save a few bucks on vacation. It works for us, especially this last trip when we had our 2 year old to share with. It's really nice to set the whole budget ahead of time and have it paid off before vacation so we can have the luxury of desserts and stress free dining on vacation. And not seeing my husband tense up when the bill comes is darn near priceless!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[kbelle8995]

Never found it to a viable option for us. We visit for a very long weekend. I don't want to have to spend my vacation worrying about the Dining plan.

It just didn't seem worth it for that short period of time.