What happens if I don't add the dining plan?

[PrincessTiffany]

I didnt ad the dining plan though. So now I need to find out buffet style restaurants they have that are a little more budget friendly.

I love Disney, and I hate to say it, but their are not budget friendly buffets on-site at Disney. Sorry.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

my first trip we just ate at wdw for 10 days but have never done that again, you have to have a hired car and go to restaurants just to get something other than burgers, chicken and pizza. have a wonderful holiday

We were just at Disney for 8 days in December, we never ate off-site, and I didn't eat a burger or pizza the entire time we were there. CS and TS has many, many more choices than burgers and pizza.

 

[maxiesmom]

OP--Keep in mind that if you want to do a lot of buffetts on Disney property, you need to make reservations (ADRs) for them ahead of time. Walking up day of to a Disney buffett and getting seated is not likely. You would have to be very very very lucky.

 

[Granfan]

The Dining plan has some great aspects as some have stated, but I have some negative memories that pop up every time I think of it. So I may not get it again.
I definitely sensed an attitude from some servers as soon as they found out we had free dining. Especially a girl at le Cellier who refused a request to sub rice for potatoes, was rude about everything. Also, I was very careful about keeping up with credits, but when we finished eating at Brown Derby the server informed us we had no more credits. After getting a manager to check the card history and a
very long wait, we found out Tusker House had removed double credits twice!! It was fixed but I just don't have a good feeling about it like I once did. Still debating about whether to get deluxe dining in December or not.

 

[CathieArms]

We were just at Disney for 8 days in December, we never ate off-site, and I didn't eat a burger or pizza the entire time we were there. CS and TS has many, many more choices than burgers and pizza.

Ditto that. We were the in '09, and I'm absolutely certain I didn't eat a single pizza the whole time. I did eat ONE burger, but that's because I'd heard such great things about Sci-Fi.

I had German, Norwegian, Italian, Japanese, character meals...you name it, we had it! And not a single pizza, and only one burger the whole time. Good times!

 

[GOOFYsince71]

I agree with many of the other posters.

Allears.net can help you price things out - or you can go to the Disney dining forum. A number of posters have actually done the number crunching for their trips and if you look at a few, you can find someone with similar eating habits. Good luck!

for the TIP

 

[disneyjunkie]

The Dining plan has some great aspects as some have stated, but I have some negative memories that pop up every time I think of it. So I may not get it again.
I definitely sensed an attitude from some servers as soon as they found out we had free dining. Especially a girl at le Cellier who refused a request to sub rice for potatoes, was rude about everything. Also, I was very careful about keeping up with credits, but when we finished eating at Brown Derby the server informed us we had no more credits. After getting a manager to check the card history and a
very long wait, we found out Tusker House had removed double credits twice!! It was fixed but I just don't have a good feeling about it like I once did. Still debating about whether to get deluxe dining in December or not.[/QU How did the servers know you had free dining?

 

[VAN]

We've been twice with free dining; however, I don't think I'd ever pay for it.

too much food
had to be too structured
Still had to leave money for gratuity on high-priced items and dessert (e.g. $6 dessert that I wouldn't normally order =$1+ tip)
I like a salad or appetizer, but they were OOP
Also like a cocktail - OOP

So, to eat like I would normally eat without the DDP would be WAY less expensive. I enjoyed the FD while we had it, but the second time, I really noticed that the menus were pretty similar (e.g. steak, fish, chicken, vegetarian). Because the menu prices were so inflated, I ended up leaving a tip that was similar to what 2 CS meals would have been!!!!

 

[La2kw]

I'm trying to decide if I really need the dining plan or not.

Can you really have a good time WITHOUT the dining plan? Does it really save money to eat off campus? My husband is a big "buffet" lover. Are their good places you can go eat off campus or is it a be hassle or headache to go somewhere else to eat?

I'm in a valley of decision here. I'd hate to skip the dining plan to save money on the trip.. and then get there and WISH we had it.

I don't vacation for the food- WDW is a giant theme park and the food is nothing to write home about. Besides, it's just food. Of course you can have fun without a dining plan. It's only been around a few years and WDW was way more fun before they invented the stupid dining plan anyway.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

so if i was taking a trip to WDW then i really don't need to do the dining plan?

It's a personal preference, as you can see from this thread.

Personally, I think the DDP is the best thing WDW has come up with in years, it's the reason we will always stay on-site, and won't go back to WDW without it.

 

[TDC Nala]

I won't touch the dining plan. I don't like the way it forces me to order (must get entree and dessert, must order all three courses on deluxe, etc. Of course if you don't want the dessert you don't have to order it - but you've already paid for it, and you won't get your money back if you don't.) Back when there was only one dining plan and it included appetizers and gratuities, it was kind of silly not to use it. Now? It really depends on if you like the idea of prepaying and meticulously planning all your meals or not. You can save some money on a dining plan if you generally eat the way it is set up, but if you don't (you share meals, you skip meals, you like appetizers, etc) it gets harder.

Obviously no one NEEDS to do a dining plan if they don't want to. But some like having their meals paid for, some like going to the restaurant and being able to select anything off the menu without thinking about the price, others are going to buffets where everyone would pay the same price anyway. It's even possible to save money on the dining plan if you work it correctly (and it's more difficult to do that now than it used to be in some cases.)

And you can spend an entire Disney trip never once eating a burger, chicken or pizza if you know where to go.

 

[LisaTC]

I agree with Nala...probably good thing she is a Moderator!!

I think one could make the DP work for them with strategy. I wouldn't necessarily look at it as a cost-saver or a budget breaker, either way for a party of 2. If you have dietary needs/restrictions, etc. or eat 1 larger meal/day on vacation, it probably wouldn't be your best bet. A family of 5, especially if you have boys! Yikes, it could really save!! Our eldest boys could eat a cattle ranch of food. My DD7 now eats like a mini-adult and we often split an entree & she doesn't go for the kids selections too much., ie ckn fingers, mac 'n cheese, etc. However, since your hubby is a buffet aficionado, perhaps it would be cost effective for you. Check out the menus and associated prices at

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningmain.cfm

http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

and see where you come out with restaurants that look enticing to you.

There seems to me to be more to free dining than just cost. Some like it for the convenience and not paying OOP for much. Some like to eat at the same places each time they go to Disney. Some like the Deluxe plan. Some like to sit down for a meal each day. All of these would probably do well on the DDP. I don't eat in the manner in which they offer the plan. To me the perfect plan would be a modification of the CS plan with 1 CS/day and 2 snacks. That would be my plan! The snack credits are great on the CS plan for the Food and Wine Festival, btw.

I think some have posted that the DP makes them feel as if they are obligated to use the credits and find themselves motivated to plan around that. Some who have done both the DDP and OOP, find that OOP, they can choose "better" or more "freely"

I think you need to decide how you eat, what you like to eat and how convenient you want it to be. JMO

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I won't touch the dining plan. I don't like the way it forces me to order (must get entree and dessert, must order all three courses on deluxe, etc. Of course if you don't want the dessert you don't have to order it - but you've already paid for it, and you won't get your money back if you don't.) Back when there was only one dining plan and it included appetizers and gratuities, it was kind of silly not to use it. Now? It really depends on if you like the idea of prepaying and meticulously planning all your meals or not. You can save some money on a dining plan if you generally eat the way it is set up, but if you don't (you share meals, you skip meals, you like appetizers, etc) it gets harder.

Obviously no one NEEDS to do a dining plan if they don't want to. But some like having their meals paid for, some like going to the restaurant and being able to select anything off the menu without thinking about the price, others are going to buffets where everyone would pay the same price anyway. It's even possible to save money on the dining plan if you work it correctly (and it's more difficult to do that now than it used to be in some cases.)

And you can spend an entire Disney trip never once eating a burger, chicken or pizza if you know where to go.

Saving money is the main reason to get the dining plan. We are going to eat at lease 1 sit down meal per day, dining plan or not, so the DDP saves us about $300.00 vs. out-of-pocket. I think it can be a savings for most families, maybe not couples or single travlers, but it can for families.

 

[TDC Nala]

Even for families, depends on the size of the family, ages of the kids and the way they prefer to eat. If they don't do buffets, don't order drinks or desserts, and/or prefer to share meals, then the dining plan won't necessarily save a family money either. If you have older kids who won't eat from the adult menus, unless you are planning a lot of buffets you may just want to buy them kids meals.

The dining plan isn't one size fits all, those contemplating it should "try it on" (figure out where you might eat and what you might order) to see if it fits your group and your trip.