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

[Liljam]

We never bother doing it! Too much food for us! We were looking at almost $500 for the Quick Service plan this year if we decided to do that (because we really only do about 2 TS total and one of our favorites doesn't even take the DDP!) We spend about $350 a week on food (including table service) and then our group spends about $300 (about 5-7 people) on things like waffles, lunch meat, cereal and other items for our villa. We don't eat desserts with every meal, and the only plus I could see was using snack creds as souvenirs! I think there are tons of ways to go without the DDP, but it can also be great if you eat a lot of food or prefer to have dessert with your meals.

 

[bumbershoot]

We had a great time with dining without the plan. We did, however, upgrade to APs and then decided to buy a Tables in Wonderland card, which gives you 20% off most table services and a few counter services (food courts at the values and pizzafari are the ones that come to mind).

One place I can really recommend for off-site buffet-type food is Sweet Tomatoes! It's really close to DTD and is very very reasonable. They are a Fresh Choice company (also known as Zoopa in some areas) and have a very tasty salad bar, soups, pastas, etc. If you want to check them out, sign up on their website ahead of time; they have coupons by email and even by mobile phone; my cousin had a coupon on her cellphone, showed it to them, and it worked for their family's charge.

 

[ambertides]

We eat off site all the time. It seems to take about 2-3 hours from leaving the front gate of a park until we get back to the front gate of one (unless we wander and do some shopping at the outlets as well).

If you have an AP, you can also see if Tables in Wonderland would be beneficial for you if you do eat on site.

 

[dragonfly08]

I've been to WDW probably 15-20 times or more in my life and have never, ever been on a dining plan. I don't think I'm missing a thing. The way my kids eat, even a QSDP is probably more costly than feeding them OOP, especially if I bring their favorite snacks with me so that I know they have healthier things they like (we have a family history of upset tummies at Disney so I try to minimize the likelihood of that by keeping familiar foods on hand!).

 

[jm106]

We have been to WDW many times and have never done the dining plan. Not sure why you think you couldn't have a good time without it

We eat at a mix of TS and CS during our stays and never leave WDW property. We always have a great time!

Honestly, to me, there is no appeal in trying to keep track of dining credits. We eat where we want, when we want (subject to the pre-selected & reserved ADRs). And as far as discounts go, we have done better with PINs or room-only discounts than we would w/ free dining plan (when that has been a promotion)

No stressing! You are going on vacation - have fun!

DITTO- You are welcome to eat at any restaurant or couter service WITH OUT dining plan, its just an option IF you want it.
We dont and we have a lot of fun. Fun is being in WDW not dining plan to save you money.
We will sit along side those with DP and those with out, bet you cant tell the difference from the amount of fun we will be having

 

[disneygymmom]

We have been on many trips to WDW without the DP and had a blast.We were so busy having a great time we often put off stopping to eat.Much cheaper and healthier!......Then we got a PIN for free TS DP. Although it was a hassle making all the ADRs we fell in loveIt just added to the magic! Now my family cant imagine missing our favorite restaurants. Were spoiled! I say if you can afford it do it but you will have a great time either way.

 

[ZoZo]

You don't have to have it...however, the time it takes to leave the property and get back isn't worth it in my honest opinion.

The answer above is misleading. You do not have to leave WDW property to eat if you don't have the dining plan. Anyone can eat at any WDW restaurant, whether they have the dining plan or not. If you don't have the dining plan, you just pay for your meals "out of pocket" (OOP), just as you would at any restaurant anywhere.

I have never used the dining plan, but eat all my meals at WDW restaurants. For me, none of the dining plans make sense because I'm a fairly light eater. I eat breakfast in my WDW resort hotel room. I tend to grab quick snacks on the go and only eat at Table Service restaurants 3 or 4 times during my one-week trip.

I did look into the Quick Service dining plan, but even that was too much for me, especially since I eat breakfast in my room (or split meals with one of my travel companions). I decided against the Quick Service plan on my last trip, but might try it in the future.

 

[FanofWalt&Mouse]

We've been with & without the dining plan. The free dining is what got us to stay onsite for the first time! However, with or without the plan we enjoy dining all over the "world." Without the plan, we tend to eat TS at lunch instead of supper because of cost. Also, the plan is a lot of food!

 

[Pig Pen]

We've done both and we prefer NO dining plan. It's just way too much food for us, and too much structure. During our last 3 night trip we ate whatever we wanted and ended up spending $210 including tax and tips. During that time we ate 2 TS meals (Tusker House & The Plaza), several counter service meals, and lots of snacks.

The DDP would have been $92 per day PLUS tips. Also several things are not included in the DDP, like appetizers and certain beverages. I like soup/salad with my meals and no dessert.

 

[JLR]

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 agree with many of the other posters.

What I like about the dining plan:

1. Having it paid off before I go (except for gratuity)
2. Not having to look at the prices when I am ordering or wondering if the meal at Akershus is worth it.
3. I feel MUCH better about character meals

However, unless you are planning a lot of character meals or have a teenager eating machine, you can easily spend less even while you eat well at WDW.

1. Many of the QS meals are big enough for 2 (Cosmic Rays at MK, Flame Tree BBQ at AK, Sunshine Seasons at Epcot all offer HUGE meals). Even some of the burger and fry combos are easily shared if you are not huge eaters. This is significant enough that we inadvertantly had FOUR QS meals left on departure day to get rid of.

2. Even at ADR meals you can share some of the entrees or eat an appetizer for your meal.

3. What is likely, is that you may choose to eat fewer ADR table service meals which will save you a fair amount. I eat about 2 - 3 more TS meals on the dining plan (for a 8 - 10 day vacation) than I would otherwise choose to do if paying out of pocket.

So it really depends. I was going to skip the DP this trip, except that I changed my mind and decided to do character meals. Because of that, I added the DP - mostly so that I wouldn't resent the cost of a character meal. It is totally psychological.

For others who love to have a TS meal every day or who eat hearty, the DP can be a great bargain!

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!

 

[eliza61]

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.

We go all the time without it and manage to have fabulous vacation. We tried it one time and it saved us exactly 78 bucks. not worth the hassle for us.

 

[NMAmy]

I think going without the dining plan is much more fun and relaxing. I've done the math several times and even though we eat a TS meal each day, the plan just barely breaks even for us. If for some reason we were to skip a TS meal, we'd be in the red. If I'd paid for the plan, I'd be spending more time worrying that we were ordering the right entrees to make it worth the price we'd paid Disney in advance.

I just take the money I'd have used to pay for the dining plan and use that for meals. We don't skimp or worry about what someone is ordering --we're on vacation and everyone gets to splurge and eat whatever they'd like. I never spend the full amount and I'm not making any effort to save any of that cash.

I can see how it would be a savings if you had little ones and were going to a lot of character meals. My "little one" is 20 so we're good with skipping the pricy buffets except for Biergarten.

 

[jenny-d]

We just got back from an 8 day trip...this was our first time not doing the dining plan since DD turned 10 and I could not see paying $42 a day for her. I hated it!! Despite saying we would not do it, DH and I examined the price of everything and complained about all of the restaurant costs. I felt like I didn't get things because they were too expensive. Even though all in all we saved just under $100 vs doing the dining plan, next time I would do it just to have it all paid for ahead of time. Granted it is too much food, but I just like not having to worry about it!

 

[MissionMouse]

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? ...

Yes, without a doubt. TS dining was far better prior to ddp going mainstream and used as a booking tool.

... Does it really save money to eat off campus?...

You will loose a lot of time if you plan on eating off Disney property. Just note purchasing a DDP does not instantly equate to savings and Disney is counting on guest forgetting about their tickets and the money they already paid for each one of those tickets saved on the memory of your card.

...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.

We always have paid out of pocket with the exception of one trip and the greatest waste was with the ddp. It does not fit the way we vacation at Disney. We enjoy club level with signature restaurants and snacks.

 

[leebee]

We have vacationed at WDW 23 times, stayed onsite 4 of those trips, and used the dining plan once, when it was free dining. Usually, we eat at CS places in both resorts and parks, with a few sit-down meals at our favorites (Boma, Crystal Palace, Kona, maybe one more). This past August, DD and I did 9 nights at POP, using DME and the busses so we didn't need to rent a car, and had a free dining upgrade, from QSDP to DP at no additional charge (booking agent made an error and Disney honored the original price quote). It was cheaper for us to pay rack rate at POP than it would have cost to stay offsite and rent a car, so it made sense. We really liked being on free dining as it gave us a chance to try all the restaurants we'd only admired! However, it was WAY more food than we'd normally eat. DD and I shared breakfast every day at POP, then used our TS credit later in the day for either late lunch or supper. The snack credits were used, usually mid-afternoon. We took a couple of storage dishes to put our desserts in and frequently ate them after returning to the hotel in the evening. It was just too much food for us... we had several CS credits left over.

SO... IF staying onsite and using dining plan is cheaper, we would do it again. However, if I could get a sweet deal on a room, we find it cheaper to skip the dining plan (or skip onsite all together, but that's another thread for another day!)

 

[Cafeen]

While I'm a "fan" of the dining plans, I'm also a realist and know that it nowhere near suits every circumstance and every family's vacation style. If the structure/cost is not what you are looking for, and you wouldn't take full advantage of the plan (all credits used, mid to higher priced locations, desserts eaten, etc) then it's not going to work to your advantage.

Each "style" has its pros and cons, and only you can truely determine where your individual situation will fit. However, from your description, I would agree with most others here that it doesn't sound like you and the DDP would be a good match . So, enjoy not having to stress over if you're being efficient on the plan or not. At the end of the day, you've had a great day at Disney, are you going to be that concerned with a few extra dollars spent or saved? I know I'm not .

 

[Amy162]

I really think it depends on what type of meals and snacks you plan on eating. If you are planning on multiple character meals, then yes, it's a good deal, they average close to $30 per adult. If you plan on ordering the most expensive things on the menu and dessert with every meal, yes, it's a good deal.

We've done the regular dining plan twice and the quick service plan once. We did enjoy both of them, but really liked the freedom the QS plan gave us. But even with the QS plan, it was SOO much food. Yes, it's a good value and will save you money if you use every credit you have and order the pricer stuff from the menus.

We've decided to go without any dining plan for our upcoming trip. It would cost $650 to add the QS plan to our package. After the last trip, we had close to 15 snack credits and 2 or 3 meal credits leftover. What a waste! And we had dessert with almost every meal, which is something we would never really do, especially if we are paying out of pocket! We are not doing any character meals this trip, and only have 1 ADR booked. We will have our car and are planning on driving to the waterparks and DTD often, so stopping for lunch or dinner to or from those trips won't seem like much of a hassel.

Take a look at allears.net and review the menus. If you are not going to be driving yourself and relying on disney transportation, it may be easier to have the dining plan. Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

I agree with many of the other posters.

What I like about the dining plan:

1. Having it paid off before I go (except for gratuity)
2. Not having to look at the prices when I am ordering or wondering if the meal at Akershus is worth it.
3. I feel MUCH better about character meals

This is EXACTLY why I buy the DDP

 

[gorkt]

It really depends on how you like to eat. I don't like to eat the way DDP would force me to eat. I eat light meals or appetizers and I like to graze on snacks. Me and DH often split meals and desserts. It is just too much food for our family and too restrictive. I debate the DDP every trip and decide against it. I collect my receipts and I've either come out ahead or even money wise.

 

[tony609]

Here's some info since you said hubby likes buffets. For example if you go to chef mickey's for dinner on the dining plan it's 1 ts credit each out of pocket it's a $72.00 meal approximate. I will never go to Wdw and not be on the dining plan.eating off site , to me is a pain and looses so much fun in the park time. N'joy you trip !