What factors into your decisions as to pay OOP or dining plan

[lisamarie12]

DISCLAIMER- I know that only I can decide what is best for my family. But I am looking for some insight from others on both sides to help guide me. And I know that I am indecisive. That's me.

I am back and forth between getting the dining plan and paying out of pocket. I want to do what makes the most sense. Of course paying out of pocket could be cheaper, because if we do, we will probably eat mostly quick service, drink water, have DD share with us, bring our own snacks, and order cheaper items on the menu.

BUT I don't necessarily want to do that. I want to order what I want, without paying attention to cost. DH is not much of a dessert fan. DD and I are. But I don't need a dessert at every meal. DD barely eats anything. Most of the time she could share with me. But you never know with kids... During the day I would probably drink water most of the time anyway. Soda makes me feel bloated and that's not fun in the heat. But I like a sit down dinner. I like soda with my sit down dinner. And I like to be able to order the shrimp if that is what I want, even though the chicken is $3 cheaper.

I want to be able to do character meals. If we pay OOP, I will do 2 character meals. If we do dining plan, I will do 3 or 4 character meals. And we will do table service at least once per day.

I want to be able to enjoy yummy snacks from the park. But in reality, if I have lunch with a dessert and soda and a snack, I probably won't want to eat dinner. And I can pretty much guarantee that my daughter won't, since she barely eats at home (unless it is bacon and eggs- then the girl can EAT).

So, from those who have made the decision, what did you decide and why? What factored into your decisions?

 

[aaarcher86]

Money factored in, but my biggest factor is the enjoyment of my vacation.

I don't want to cook. I don't want to pack snacks. I like to eat out. My kids love the character meals.

If there was a big monetary difference it'd be one thing, but we've always gotten the DP at a discount in some fashion (we do DXDP). Last trip we tried the TIW card which was great and what we will use from now on since we are DVC.

 

[candacewi5]

The reason I paid for the dining plan is for the same reasons you are considering it. Vacation is a very rare thing for us and I want to truly enjoy it without worrying about the budget. I want to eat whatever sounds good at the time and not worry it happens to be the most expensive thing on the menu. I want to try desserts that I would never pay for otherwise. I want my children to feel free to try different meals. I don't want to worry how much of our budget has been spent or not spent. I plan on enjoying every minute of our trip and no worry. I don't have to bother with the grocery store, snacks, packing food, preparing food, etc. this is a vacation for everyone including me! So that is why we chose to pay for the dining plan. We will start our WDW portion of our trip tomorrow and I will keep track of our food expenses. I am interested in the difference between what the dining plan cost and what we ate. I am a numbers person and want to compare just for my own knowledge. There has to be some value in not worrying about money spent or left.

 

[smiths02]

We are just making the decision to save up and not worry about what we order.
Our problem is we like more TS than DDP (and fewer CS) offers but nowhere near enough to justify DxDP.
I don't want to cook on vacation, but we drive, so having some cereal in our room will be easier than getting 5 people to a meal sometimes.
I also don't want to worry if I buy something off plan (a few snacks are not on the plan, appetizers depending on plan you get.

 

[leebee]

We usually pay OOP. For MANY years we stayed offsite so the DDP wasn't an option. However, we were drawn in by free dining one year and have done that twice. On our last two trips, I considered DDP (paid for) vs. OOP and decided OOP was the way to go for us. Here were my deciding factors:

>All Disney resort rooms now have refrigerators, even the values. This makes it so much easier to store milk, half-and-half, and yogurt in our room.

>We don't eat big breakfasts. Even when we go out to breakfast, DH usually orders his regular breakfast: Cereal, toast, fruit, and DD21 is happiest with yogurt, fruit, and toast. I am the only one who really enjoys a big, all-out breakfast, and if I can't have that, I don't usually eat breakfast at all. (Coffee with half-and-half is a must for all 3 of us, though, and sometimes we make hotel decisions based on whether or not there's a coffee maker in the room!)

>We always have a car with us, so we can easily make a grocery store run.

>We are not dessert eaters, and the DDPs involve dessert at every meal. As a family, we MUCH prefer ordering an appetizer (or two) before a meal to share, but apps are no longer offered on the DDP. This is probably the biggest deciding factor for us.

>We don't drink soda. Usually with meals, we drink water, occasionally unsweetened iced tea. The beverage included with the DDP isn't of much value to us if we are just drinking water (and we wouldn't order soda just because it's included).

I look at paying for food in WDW this way: On MOST vacations, you don't have the option of pre-paying hotel, admissions fees, etc. You go on vacation and come home to the bills (hopefully saved for). OOP meal charges are less than having to come home to the entire vacation bill, so no biggie. The way we actually pay for it? I have a Disney VISA card, which we use for everything and pay off monthly. When we go to Disney, I book a room with a discount and get our park passes from whichever company is cheapest (often UT). I pay off the room over time and pay for the passes when we purchase them (sometimes even buying just one a month, to space out the cost). When we go to Disney (once every other year) I usually have about $800 in VISA rewards money saved up (from the entire 2 years, not just the vacation costs), and that's how I pay for our food. It's kind-of like having a free dining plan that's tailored to our specific likes and dislikes, and it's OK to order whatever we want; I know that even if I end up paying OOP, I am still not paying for the full cost of the meals.

Everyone has to decide what works for their family. On our two most recent trips, we paid OOP and saved $$$ over what we would have paid for the DDP while eating what we like, how we like. (calculated at full cost, not what I paid after the VISA rewards) That's what works for us.

 

[mousefan73]

I would facter in the DP cost per day and then google the restaurants and menus... online you will find a few websites tha show QS and TS menus with prices.. think what you would like to eat and then do the math.

I found the snack credit were only a benefit when we used them for breakfast items ( cereal, bagels, muffins etc..) but for sweet stuff we rarely used them.. due to the included desert in the qs..
At MK we do mainly QS and after the dessert, we would forget about using a snack credit as we were still on sugar shock from lunch or dinner.

Also I found some QS service meals were really big.. were you can split/share for a family.. WE are 4 disney adults ( DS is now 10) and DD with child meal.

I know if we do a QS,mostly likely we will be able to share 3 credits and and a snack to hold us over... as we usually do buffet during the day too.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

We always do the deluxe dining plan. We like to have everything paid for when we get there so we don't have to worry. We are also 3 meals a day people an enjoy sitting down at a meal as much as being in the park. We like trying things that we more than likely would not try at home. If we didn't get the dining plan we wouldn't be getting what we really wanted we would be getting the cheapest thing on the menu and we also wouldn't be able to do as many character meals as we wanted. Let's face it you can only eat so many burgers before food becomes gross to you lol.

 

[butterfly71076]

We usually get the DDP. I have priced it out, on the calculator and using menus, I usually come out ahead by about $25. I loved having everything pre paid, and being able to do multiple character meals. As my DS gets older, if he wants to stop doing character meals then we will look closer at the cost. But right now, it works really well for our family.

 

[dpswift]

Love DP. One trip we went without it we went to Boma and spent more than if we had the plan. If you are looking at cheaper non buffets you are better off paying out of pocket.

The main reason that we use DP is DH loves food, and I get stressed worrying about the cost of meals. We like to do character meals.

One year we went over our kids spring break. I wanted to have the DP so that we could do at least one table service a day. It was comforting to me to know that for meals I would have a place to sit. During busy time tables at counter services can be hard to find.

when we went to Disneyland I pushed to go to the cheaper restaurants to save money. At WDW with the dining plan we go where we want and eat what we want.

 

[GillianP1301]

We always do the deluxe dining plan. We like to have everything paid for when we get there so we don't have to worry. We are also 3 meals a day people an enjoy sitting down at a meal as much as being in the park. We like trying things that we more than likely would not try at home. If we didn't get the dining plan we wouldn't be getting what we really wanted we would be getting the cheapest thing on the menu and we also wouldn't be able to do as many character meals as we wanted. Let's face it you can only eat so many burgers before food becomes gross to you lol.

This is pretty much us as well. We are 3 meals a day people. I find it very comforting to know I have meals planned and already booked for the times we normally eat. One of the biggest things for me for a successful trip with young kids is to keep eat and sleep patterns as close to normal as possible. I don't want to have to be worrying about where I'm going to eat each day, if I can get in when it's time to eat. I also don't like to juggle around trays of food at a QS while trying to keep track of a young child. That's another stresser for me.

So, I guess my real driver is overall vacation enjoyment. Cost is secondary to me, but with DxDP I'm pretty much breaking even, at minimum, so the $ doesn't really come into my decision.

 

[robinb]

DISCLAIMER- I know that only I can decide what is best for my family. But I am looking for some insight from others on both sides to help guide me. And I know that I am indecisive. That's me.

I am back and forth between getting the dining plan and paying out of pocket. I want to do what makes the most sense. Of course paying out of pocket could be cheaper, because if we do, we will probably eat mostly quick service, drink water, have DD share with us, bring our own snacks, and order cheaper items on the menu.

BUT I don't necessarily want to do that. I want to order what I want, without paying attention to cost. DH is not much of a dessert fan. DD and I are. But I don't need a dessert at every meal. DD barely eats anything. Most of the time she could share with me. But you never know with kids... During the day I would probably drink water most of the time anyway. Soda makes me feel bloated and that's not fun in the heat. But I like a sit down dinner. I like soda with my sit down dinner. And I like to be able to order the shrimp if that is what I want, even though the chicken is $3 cheaper.

I want to be able to do character meals. If we pay OOP, I will do 2 character meals. If we do dining plan, I will do 3 or 4 character meals. And we will do table service at least once per day.

I want to be able to enjoy yummy snacks from the park. But in reality, if I have lunch with a dessert and soda and a snack, I probably won't want to eat dinner. And I can pretty much guarantee that my daughter won't, since she barely eats at home (unless it is bacon and eggs- then the girl can EAT).

So, from those who have made the decision, what did you decide and why? What factored into your decisions?

Hmmm ... this is a tough one. On one hand you are in the "sweet spot" for the DDP with a child under 10 and multiple character meals planned. On the other hand, it doesn't sound like you are really a good candidate outside of the character meals. Your DH doesn't eat dessert, you don't drink soda, and your and your DD's appetite is not that big.

I think, given your eating patterns, you would probably just break even. Let's break it down. The DDP will cost you $140 per day. On those days that you have a character meal DINNER planned, you would "spend" $110 on that meal and you would have to spend another $30 that day to just break even. Most adult CS meal entrees are about $10.50 and kids meals are about $6.50 (with tax), so that's close to breaking even even before you add drinks and desserts to the adult meals. You also have $12 worth of snacks per day which should push you over. A lot of people use snack credits for breakfast items. If you book character breakfasts or lunches, you'll probably end up paying a bit more than you would OOP but it may be worth it to you if you are the type to worry about menu prices.

 

[erinmarie2224]

We did the dining plan last year because it was free. I did use the calculator to see what makes the most sense for our family - it broke even based on our meal plans. To your disclaimer it is what works best for your family but I think it is at least worth a try once.

We tried it once and decided it wasn't for our family. We would rather pre-purchase gift cards from Target and use that for food budget.

What we liked -

• snack credits - I think we got the most out of this especially coffee at Starbucks!
• not looking at prices
• character meals. We have a dd3 so we did a few of these.

What we didn't like -

• the amount of food - desserts weren't worth it in IMO. would rather buy something elsewhere or pay for firework party.
• Service (IMO we had worse service on the DDP then off)
• Confusion of CMs - one cashier at the food court wouldn't allow certain items for dessert and other would
• Keeping track of credits - they no longer print them on receipts so we had to go to concierge just to make sure everything was billed correctly.
• food quality - this was the biggest issue for us. we had some bad luck with bad meals at usually good restuarants (GFC for example) the this is our main reason which is leading us to likely eat more off-site.

 

[EmilyS90]

I played with the numbers a bit, and ended up choosing the regular dining plan. It's worth it if you plan to eat at pricier places. we have some character meals planned as well. Really, I just wanted to have most of our food paid for and not stress about it.

I tried really hard to justify getting the deluxe plan, but ultimately it would have cost us 500 dollars more than if we just paid for extra snacks and meals out of pocket.

 

[ibela]

If you plan to do several character meals, then it doesn't matter if you eat dessert or drink soda because it's a fixed price meal anyway. Right now we're 2 adults and 2 children under 10. Our first trip we went OOP because we had a car and figured we'd eat off site. Hated the time it took to leave the park and ended up eating in anyway so got the dinning plan every trip thereafter without considering menu prices. This past trip I seriously considered not getting it so decided to do the math taking into account how we'd normally eat - sometimes sharing QS, having a snack most days but not all, etc. I didn't try to maximize the dining plan o go as cheap as possible. I just made a list of where I wanted our ADRs to be and estimated QS. Then I did the math. With our planned TS, sharing some QS meals, and having snacks 2/3 of the days the dining plan cost was $10 more than OOP. But with the dining plan we'd have 6 additional QS and about 7 more snacks for that $10 so I added it. And when I don't drink soda at meals I like coffee with my dessert so it worked out anyway!

 

[ThistleMae]

I have been back and forth on this question over the last month. I've even looked at all the menus for snack, quick service and dinner....and priced things out. What most people are saying regarding not having to think about food or price...is part of the vacation. After all is said and done...you could save some money by paying oop but...you will be sharing and opting for less expensive meals. When I priced out where I want to eat and what I want to eat, the dinning plan is less expensive. That being said it also depends on your food/meal preferences. I like the buffet's and the character dinners and the resort dinners...all quite pricey. It wasn't cheaper to go oop unless I shared lunches, did an inexpensive breakfast, eliminated desserts and cut back on the more pricey dinners. So....choose wisely. You are on vacation. Do you want to be bringing snacks, sharing meals and watching everything you spend?

 

[cluvsdisney]

For us, it makes more sense to pay out of pocket because what and how we eat just does not fit into the dining plan mold. We don't go to character meals. We prefer TS meals to QS. We would never get pre-packaged desserts with every single QS meal and may only get dessert with a TS meal once or twice on vacation. By paying OOP, we eat exactly what we want, where we want, don't worry about credits or trying to break even and spend less than the cost of the plan. On top of that, since we are DVC members, we can purchase the TIW card which really bumps up the savings.

It is a personal choice and it's different for every family.

 

[dismomtfj]

1. We like sit down meals and love exploring new food items. Being able to share three courses is exciting for our family.

2. Additionally, we are using TS meals as "forced breaks" for family members we know will push themselves until they drop.

3. We love eating out and meals are very special to us (breaking bread together).

4. This also lets us explore "on our own" then we can come together at meals to compare notes, etc.

DDP just works for us. Pre-paid and DONE!

 

[IrishNYC]

We chose to go with the DDP because vacationing at Disney is very different than our usual vacation style, and having everything paid for in advance works better with our Disney vacation style.

Normally when we vacation we rent a house in the Keys with friends, then eat about 2/3 of our meals at the house. With Disney being an out and about all day vacation, it's easier to have those credits there to spend. With one exception we plan to eat breakfast in our room every day as we get dressed. I'll pick up fruit at the resort daily or every other day, and bring cereal. I don't want to carry a backpack full of lunch, snacks, and everything else.

 

[Misha72683]

We've decided we're doing the DDP for a variety of reasons.
- Every time I do the math, it comes out pretty close and I do think we'll end up saving money
- DH would want a refillable mug regardless and so would bff
- The freedom of having it all paid for is the biggest one. I don't have to stress about having enough money to cover food and I'm the type that if I'm paying OoP I'll second guess my decision and try and pick the cheapest options
- With two small children we'll be doing a lot of character meals

 

[maxiesmom]

I first figure out how many ADRs I want to book. And then I run the numbers and see if it would make sense to pay for the dining plan or not. I don't let the plan dictate how I will eat, I plan how I want to eat and then see if the plan makes sense.