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

[Lovetherodent]

If money is tight or saving it is a priority, don't purchase the DDP. My family is all adults, as in all over 18, not just over 10, and 2 of us are 5' or under and 120 lbs or considerably less. Even as college athletes, not big eaters. Considering Disney portion sizes, we could easily split meals and desserts and come out way ahead at table or counter service restaurants.

However, I booked the dining plan. Here's why. I do not want to come home to a bill. Once my vacation is over, all I want to remind me of it are photos and happy memories, not a big smack in the face from my friends at MasterCard. I'm not taking a long trip, if I end up NOT saving the $50 I could have have sharing meals, well that's not the end of the world. One of us has a food allergy, and that complicates where we can eat. Disney is pretty good, but we want to go to places where she feels like she has choices, and sometimes those aren't the most "Disney on a Dime" friendly food venues. And on vacation, I want everyone to feel free to order what they want. When you share plates, lots of times one person has to compromise. The rule at home is "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit," but on vacation, I want you to be able to order what you want. Will it be too much food? Yes, but there's no rule that says you have to clean your plate. When the kids were little and said they were full, I told them to stop eating. I think it's why they didn't inherit my weight problem. Finally, I book some ADRs that charge per person.

 

[nkereina]

I know if we paid OOP, we would rarely (if ever) order dessert, would likely drink water, and would be hesitant to order the expensive entrees. Even if we did the gift card method, we'd be the same way. The DDP lets us order more freely.

In addition, we love the prepaid "all inclusive" aspect and are OK with the fact that we're likely paying more than we would OOP, because to us we're paying for the convenience of the plan. It's nice to know that all our money we're bringing on the trip is solely for tips, alcohol, and souvenirs. Everything else has already been paid for.

 

[Mikie]

My family's preferred eating style is a little like yours, and I would also eat differently if not on the plan - maybe not sensible, but it's just what my brain would do! So, probably the most "fair" monetary comparison would be how we'd eat off the plan (the cheaper chicken, rarely a dessert) to the price of the plan. However, I do WANT to eat lke the plan when at Disney - choosing pricy character meals, soda/tea instead of water, splurging on desserts. I compare THAT price - "what if I ate at all these places anyway? What if I did order beverage and dessert every time?" to the price of the dining plan. If I STILL would save money outright paying for everything, I've "proven" to myself that I can splurge and still be saving money and my brain seems to accept it . If the OOP cost and dining plan cost are close or cheaper on DDP, then I get the plan. It feels magically included and free to just wave your magic band. So far with kids under 10 and plenty of buffets, DDP has been the winner. As we age up, OOP will probably win out.

http://www.distripplanner.com This calculator can help you add it up based on what restaurants you're interested in.

 

[rdw]

If the OOP cost and dining plan cost are close or cheaper on DDP, then I get the plan. It feels magically included and free to just wave your magic band. So far with kids under 10 and plenty of buffets, DDP has been the winner. As we age up, OOP will probably win out.

http://www.distripplanner.com This calculator can help you add it up based on what restaurants you're interested in.

Thanks so much for this calculator - this is exactly what I was trying to figure out for myself! According to this, with a character meal booked every day, the Dining Plan seems to make sense for us (which I expected) - but it was good to see it in black and white. The only thing it couldn't take into account was the special star wars dining at H & V which is 2 TS credits - need to decide if that meal is worth 2. Thanks for posting this!

The peace of mind for not always paying for the meal on vacation alone is worth it! Though I suspect I'll be having breakfast foods and snacks delivered to the room, this helped show that with 4-5 character meals booked (over 5 nights) - DP makes sense for us.

 

[MIGrandma]

We had never purchased the dining plan, until our trip last month. Our DD and her DH and their two children were on it, as were the other set of grandparents. So "to go along with the crowd" we decided to purchase it. We normally eat in the resort food court or counter service places in the parks so this was a whole new experience for us. We paid $355 for the plan for 8 nights. I kept track of the regular price of everything we ate and we ended up eating $888.36 worth of food, so we actually had $533.36 in "free" food for the week. We did have reservations for the table service meals (California Grill, Be Our Guest, Crystal Palace, Akershus, 50's Prime Time Cafe, etc.) and if not on the dining plan we just wouldn't have eaten in those places. I'm glad we tried it, since everyone else in our group had it, but probably wouldn't do it again.

If they allowed you to have an appetizer instead of dessert, maybe. And it annoyed me that at breakfast at the resort I could use a quick service credit for $3.99 oatmeal but wasn't allowed to also have a muffin (dessert), was told "dessert is only at lunch or dinner." Kind of a stupid rule.

 

[supersnoop]

We had never purchased the dining plan, until our trip last month. Our DD and her DH and their two children were on it, as were the other set of grandparents. So "to go along with the crowd" we decided to purchase it. We normally eat in the resort food court or counter service places in the parks so this was a whole new experience for us. We paid $355 for the plan for 8 nights. I kept track of the regular price of everything we ate and we ended up eating $888.36 worth of food, so we actually had $533.36 in "free" food for the week. We did have reservations for the table service meals (California Grill, Be Our Guest, Crystal Palace, Akershus, 50's Prime Time Cafe, etc.) and if not on the dining plan we just wouldn't have eaten in those places. I'm glad we tried it, since everyone else in our group had it, but probably wouldn't do it again.

If they allowed you to have an appetizer instead of dessert, maybe. And it annoyed me that at breakfast at the resort I could use a quick service credit for $3.99 oatmeal but wasn't allowed to also have a muffin (dessert), was told "dessert is only at lunch or dinner." Kind of a stupid rule.

You might need to re-do that math. $355 for eight days is the cost of one person on the quick service plan, so you likely paid twice that if you were a party of two. The quick service plan is the worst value, since each meal is costing you approximately $18, and there are very few counter service meals that cost that much. I think you are including some extra-cost items in your total.

 

[MIGrandma]

You might need to re-do that math. $355 for eight days is the cost of one person on the quick service plan, so you likely paid twice that if you were a party of two. The quick service plan is the worst value, since each meal is costing you approximately $18, and there are very few counter service meals that cost that much. I think you are including some extra-cost items in your total.

You might want to re-read my post. We had table service meals as well as quick service (and snacks) so we were not on the quick service plan. Even so, I think I ought to know what our credit card was charged. We didn't add the dining plan until after we'd made our reservation and made our first payment. I called and added it, we were quoted $355.00 TOTAL for one quick service meal, one table service meal and one snack per person per night for 8 nights.

 

[robinb]

You might want to re-read my post. We had table service meals as well as quick service (and snacks) so we were not on the quick service plan. Even so, I think I ought to know what our credit card was charged. We didn't add the dining plan until after we'd made our reservation and made our first payment. I called and added it, we were quoted $355.00 TOTAL for one quick service meal, one table service meal and one snack per person per night for 8 nights.

Just curious, did you have the Play, Stay and Dine package? Is that how you only paid $44 per day for the DDP instead of $60?

 

[MIGrandma]

Just curious, did you have the Play, Stay and Dine package? Is that how you only paid $44 per day for the DDP instead of $60?

That does sound familiar, so it may have been that. All I know for sure is that I called Disney directly AFTER we booked our vacation, and was quoted $355 TOTAL for 2 adults for the 8 nights on the dining plan and that is what our credit card was charged.

 

[supersnoop]

Just curious, did you have the Play, Stay and Dine package? Is that how you only paid $44 per day for the DDP instead of $60?

That does sound familiar, so it may have been that. All I know for sure is that I called Disney directly AFTER we booked our vacation, and was quoted $355 TOTAL for 2 adults for the 8 nights on the dining plan and that is what our credit card was charged.

If you booked a special, such as "free" dining or the Stay, Play, Dine promotion, then that makes sense. Those discounts usually make the dining plan worthwhile. The normal price for the dining plan, two people for eight days, is $961. At regular price, the plan would have cost $80 more than you actually spent on food.

 

[coolbrook]

We have had the dining plan for several trips in a row lately and just returned from a short trip last week paying oop. We had calculated everything, told ourselves we could have dessert,etc.. Well we hated it! We couldn't keep the prices from affecting what we ordered, dessert, water to drink, not getting the ribs etc. We all agree we will always get the dining plan if we can. ( We book in time.)

As far as drinks, I know some people have said they don't drink soda. I have had chocolate milk, milkshakes, and wonderful mango smoothies (Whispering canyon) for my drink. Different things are available at different places. My family likes the flavored lemonade too.

 

[mydisneykids]

I am going through this decision process right now. Could someone please help me? We are doing a split stay with our DVC. I have purchased the TIW card in the past but as others have said I prefer to have everything paid and not price watch what we are choosing and just enjoy the moment. My confusion comes in here and maybe I should post this as a question in it's own thread:
We are staying at the Villas at Grand Floridian with a LATE check in on a Saturday so will not use any dining credits that day and be staying for 2 nights. On that Monday we will switch to the Boardwalk for 6 nights. I was going to get the QS plan for the Grand Floridian Portion and TS for the Boardwalk portion. But I have Cape May booked for Monday night (our first night at the Boardwalk). I know you can use your credits on the check out day and will plan on using my QS for lunch, but how will that work when we check into the Boardwalk and want to use our TS for that night? I don't want to lose the credits for breakfast and lunch from the first portion of the stay but want to have the access for the TS credit for dinner. I am confusing myself even more trying to explain it.

 

[robinb]

I am going through this decision process right now. Could someone please help me? We are doing a split stay with our DVC. I have purchased the TIW card in the past but as others have said I prefer to have everything paid and not price watch what we are choosing and just enjoy the moment. My confusion comes in here and maybe I should post this as a question in it's own thread:
We are staying at the Villas at Grand Floridian with a LATE check in on a Saturday so will not use any dining credits that day and be staying for 2 nights. On that Monday we will switch to the Boardwalk for 6 nights. I was going to get the QS plan for the Grand Floridian Portion and TS for the Boardwalk portion. But I have Cape May booked for Monday night (our first night at the Boardwalk). I know you can use your credits on the check out day and will plan on using my QS for lunch, but how will that work when we check into the Boardwalk and want to use our TS for that night? I don't want to lose the credits for breakfast and lunch from the first portion of the stay but want to have the access for the TS credit for dinner. I am confusing myself even more trying to explain it.

Yes, you can use your credits from your VGF reservation until midnight of your check-out date and the credits from your BWV reservation on your check-in day for dinner. Just make sure you finish up all your credits from the VGF by midnight.

 

[HockeyIsLife]

I am in love with the dining plan for a lot of the reasons the OP listed. You have more freedom, you spent the money already, so ordering an appetizer that you would like to taste, or the desert that you would like a few bites of would let you be more adventurous.
I also make it my personal goal to see as many of the characters in dining as possible. It makes for SUCH an easier trip to waltz right past lines waiting for Mickey or Princesses, because I just will simply say "nope, we made plans to see them for dinner on Wednesday!"
That being said, here is a tip. Don't bother with the Deluxe. You will do nothing but spend your day trekking from reservation to reservation. We did this for two trips, trying to get the most out of the experience, and found it was exhausting and stressful. And with the way Disney needs to be planned now, with Fast Pass Reservations, etc, its just asking for more stress.
I try and Book one fun meal experience each day, then grab a CS meal, and bring poptarts, etc for a breakfast option. Its a LOT of food, so my kids end up not even wanting to eat everything (they never say no to a Mickey Bar, though).

Good luck! You are on the right track asking these questions.

 

[DisneyKay]

Honestly, I don't think I'll ever do the DDP. I'll be paying quite a bit of pocket every time we go for food regardless, but the DDP will be too much food for us (I never make it to dessert, no matter how badly I want to,) and overall not worth it.
I also want to do a table service dinner every night, and some of the places we're aiming to go would count for 2 credits and we'd end up paying out of pocket some anyway.

 

[supersnoop]

I am in love with the dining plan for a lot of the reasons the OP listed. You have more freedom, you spent the money already, so ordering an appetizer that you would like to taste, or the desert that you would like a few bites of would let you be more adventurous.
I also make it my personal goal to see as many of the characters in dining as possible. It makes for SUCH an easier trip to waltz right past lines waiting for Mickey or Princesses, because I just will simply say "nope, we made plans to see them for dinner on Wednesday!"
That being said, here is a tip. Don't bother with the Deluxe. You will do nothing but spend your day trekking from reservation to reservation. We did this for two trips, trying to get the most out of the experience, and found it was exhausting and stressful. And with the way Disney needs to be planned now, with Fast Pass Reservations, etc, its just asking for more stress.
I try and Book one fun meal experience each day, then grab a CS meal, and bring poptarts, etc for a breakfast option. Its a LOT of food, so my kids end up not even wanting to eat everything (they never say no to a Mickey Bar, though).

Good luck! You are on the right track asking these questions.

I'm confused, or maybe you just haven't actually used the dining plan in a few years. You mention avoiding the deluxe plan but also ordering an appetizer just to taste. Appetizers are only included on the deluxe plan, so you'll have to pay separately for those.

 

[bbak30]

We like the dining plan. We schedule 1 TS meal a day, a few of those character meals. We tend to WANT to order the steak at most TS meals, I don't feel like I have to order it to get my money's worth. I WANT that steak!
But mostly I like it for convenience. I don't have to worry about a budget for food. I don't get upset when the girls don't finish a meal. And I'm also more willing to try something new.

 

[suse66]

We are going OOP this trip as we are staying Club Level at the Beach Club. We will have breakfast, appys, desserts and beverages covered through the lounge. With 3 teenage boys who like to snack but don't always want an adult entree at dinner, it makes sense to be able to choose what we want at the time. We have 6 TS meals planned and 7 CS meals and are saving about $850 by paying OOP. We have done DP and DDP in the past and are looking forward to trying a different way and seeing how it works out for our family.

 

[klinlin]

This is me exactly, only I got a "magical" deal and we are staying the Poly CL this trip. It's my first time without the dining plan, and I am a nervous wreck about it, but with three disney adults who love to eat, but don't necessarily have mature palates, it makes more sense this way. I do miss having it all paid for in advance, but I am stocking up on gift cards.

OP, when you still have a disney "child" the dining plan is the way to go, especially since you want to do character meals. Have a great trip!

 

[HockeyIsLife]

I'm confused, or maybe you just haven't actually used the dining plan in a few years. You mention avoiding the deluxe plan but also ordering an appetizer just to taste. Appetizers are only included on the deluxe plan, so you'll have to pay separately for those.

You are correct, I haven't used the meal plan in coming up on two years and I didnt realize that had been eliminated from the plans. You used to get an appetizer, meal and dessert with a table service meal. I apologize.