What???? No Dining Plan...Are you Crazy Mom??? - Our Dining Experiment

[tyandskyesmom]

Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes

We decided we were hungry so we stopped at Yak & Yeti. It was 10:17am but they were open and serving. While Cary ordered and waited we went to find a seat. There was plenty of tables some with umbrellas, some under shade and some in the sun. I always hear people talking about the lack of seating here but I thought there was a lot??? Maybe they've added more or maybe you just have to eat there at 10am! We found a table in the shade and grabbed napkins and forks and waited for Cary.

We shared the Teryiaki Beef Bowl...Marinated Beef, Carrots, Snap Peas, Onions, Mushrooms in Sweet Teriyaki Sauce with White Rice...

...and a coke.

This is a pretty big portion. If I was starving, maybe not to share but since we knew there were other things we wanted to try and it was still early we decided to share and we were plenty help over until the next stop. It was really good too! Skye snagged a little of the white rice but would not even try the veggies (even though she loved pea pods and carrot because they have teriyaki sauce on them. There was nothing on the menu they wanted and I talked them out of just getting a standard kids meal here and into waiting for something better.

We really liked this and we would for sure come back to get another when OOP or if we ever did a CS dining plan (don't see it happening but I won't rule it out).

It was getting a little crazy in there by the time we left but I think it was really just two large families with a lot of little kids.

Our total here was $16.17 so it's kinda a lot for one plate of food and a pop but it was really good and less like fast food than a lot of other places that would have cost the same or more.

TOTAL : $16.17
TOTAL so far... $455.34

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Harambe Market

We ran into the Harabme Market and decided to check it out.

Skye didn't want anything here. So Tyler decided on the Kids Chicken Skewer...Glazed with BBQ Sauce. Includes two selections: apple wedges, carrot sticks, or fresh broccoli spears and choice of small lowfat milk or small water.

...with apples, carrots, and a water. I don't know if the menu has changed or if we were able to just tell thrm to leave the BBQ sauce off (yep, won't eat it like that). Skye snagged the carrots and helped him with the apples. All the time he was eating he asked her if she wanted some and she continually told him no. Then on the last bite she said yes...well guess what? She loved it. Tyler said it was not all dried out like he thought it looked and he was afraid it would have some odd seasoning or something but it was a pretty basic, well cooked chicken.

Cary and I split a Kid's Karubi Ribs...Glazed with BBQ Sauce - Includes two selections: apple wedges, carrot sticks, or fresh broccoli spears and choice of small lowfat milk or small water...

...with broccoli and apples and a water. Skye snagged our apples and a piece of broccoli. These were really good too. Being the good mommy I am I let Tyler have a piece and he loved it and was sorry he was such a picky person then. There was a ton of meat in this kid's meal. It was tender and not much fat. Overall, what we had here was all great. It was pretty empty when we ordered and by the time we had our food people were streaming in. Which was part of the reason we did not get more.

Cary also had a Sagfari Amber beer here. I don't have a pic and I don't remember what he said about it...sorry!

We were here at 11:08am so right after it opened which is probably why there was no one there when we ordered. It is acute little set up but I could see it being very crowded in there when it is a peak meal time because it is kind enclosed and that makes it feel like a small area.

This would be a great place to spend CS credits.

TOTAL : $25.01
TOTAL so far ... $480.35

 

[oceanmarina]

Joining in here, really enjoying your dining report. Love how you are keeping a tally and grand total simultaneously - as our next trip will be our first without a dining plan it's really helpful - thanks for sharing all that information. Love the pictures you have included as well!

Everything Pop

We had decided to get two refillable mugs to share. We do like having our own because we all like to drink different things at different times and Tyler carries a back pack so when we're done with them we have some place to put them. We did not like the new times filled mugs. Skye like to mix sometimes and she had a little bit with this sometimes.

It was just after 11am when we arrived. The only lunch place open was the pizza counter. And there was one breakfast place still open. I did not want breakfast and I did not want pizza. They were getting other counters ready for lunch but there was a woman standing at the end of the line telling people kinds rudely that they were not serving lunch yet. She was not letting you stand in line to wait either.

So I decided I'd wait. Everyone else was happy with pizza. I also don't like the slices they serve now. We liked the individual pizzas. One of my problems was that the slices are hand cut so of course, they are not all the same size. And it seemed like a lot of the time, you got a piece that had been sitting a while waiting for someone to order it. And even as early in the lunch services as it was, they only had one piece of pepperoni left!

So Tyler got the Monster Slice of Pepperoni Pizza - with a caesar salad (but subbed Chips).

And Skye and Cary got Monster Slice of Cheese Pizza - with a caesar salad.

And the cashier was the only one out and she was slow. I get that she has to explain dining plans and such but then when she got to us and we were paying cash, things should have gone quickly...but they didn't.

Any way, they liked their pizzas. The chips were really good and I don't even usually like potato chips and expecially not the hard kind like these were but they were good and salty. The salads were good too but I think they were afraid of running out because there's barely any on their plates.

The plastic wear was empty, most of the ice machines were empty, and the drink stations were full of sticky spilled pop all over the place. Must have been one heck of a breakfast rush that completely cleared out before we arrived!?!?!?!

So they got theirs and a table and they started eating. I waited, munching on Tyler's chips. They had checked out at 11:09am.

TOTAL = $69.18

At about 11:20am, they started taking people at the one counter I wanted. So up I went. They had one person taking the order and then filling part of it and placing it on the back counter for someone else to finish...but no one else was there???

I ordered the Picnic Burger - with grilled hot dog, cheddar cheese, sauerkraut, onions, picklets, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, vine-ripe tomatoes, with a choice of two sides...that I got fries and pasta salad for.

The fries were good and hot. Tyler and Skyler snagged them. Pasta salad was good. Cary really liked it and ate a lot of it. The burger was all mine. It was good. Not great. Very greasy and fell apart really easily. I would probably have been better off eating it with a fork and knife. I don't know that I'd order it again. I mean it was good but eh...I don't know.

But now here's my issue. Do you see how much food is on my plate? Did you see how much food (mainly the salads) that are on the other plates? Ya. Mine was $4.00 more than theirs but I believe that would be because my hamburder cost more than their pizza...the sides are negligible!

I rang out at 11:24am.

TOTAL = $14.90
Grand TOTAL = $84.08

So far I was very disappointed with Everything Pop.

TOTAL so far... $99.08

At first when I saw your receipt I was like how could it be that high, & then I saw the mugs, but even after taking the mugs into account it still seems like a lot.

We get back to Pop quickly and f course we have munchies (we didn't get munchies on the Deluxe Dining Plan!). We headed into Everything Pop and grabbed a Tie-dyed Cheesecake ...

and a King Whoopie Pie...which was peanut butter, chocolate, banana, and bacon. We didn't get a picture tonight but Cary got that again another night and I believe I have a pic then. It was very good but really needed milk! Skye ate her cheesecake for breakfast. It was very good but it was better when you got an actual slice of cheesecake not a prepackaged product.

TOTAL = $7.58
TOTAL so far... $145.59

Just showed my DD that picture of the rainbow cheesecake, she was like "i'm so jealous that i'm not in Disney right now!"

Wolfgang Puck Express

We headed over to The Marketplace for lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express. Our order was placed at 2:25pm.

We ordered and grabbed a nice window seat after we got our drinks (we each got our own this time)...

It was not very crowded at all and it was nice and cool inside so we did not venture to an outside table. Our food was brought out in about 10 minutes.

I ordered the Margherita Pizza...Fresh Mozzarella, plum Tomatoes, Basil.

It was super good! The idea was for me and Skye to share. This pizza might have been my favorite in all of Disney!

Skye for the Caesar Salad...Parmesan, Tomato Crostini, Caesar Dressing.

I of course got the Tomato Crostini and it was super good Bruschetta on there! It was a basic salad but between that and the pizza, it was plenty to share for us and not too bad a meal on the health meter.

Tyler and Cary both got the Spaghetti & Chicken Meatballs...with Basil, Parmesan.

It was a huge portion and the meatballs were giant. The last time we had this here (a very long time ago) we had one big mush of a meatball in the middle of the pasta and it was disgusting! Like maybe not cooked all the way??? This time it was a few meatballs and they were well formed and cooked all the way. Tyler is a recent meatball lover and he scarfed them down and loved them. Didn't even realize they were chicken. Both of the guys practically licked their plates. And wouldn't let us have any!

We took our time eating and it gradually got a bit more crowded as we sat there. We had our drinks refilled a few times (a waiter comes around asking if you need refills or anything else).

We absolutely loved our meal here and we will come back I am sure.

Our total for this meal was $69.55 so not a cheap counter service but really not much more than our Everything Pop meal on arrival day but a much, much better one in quality and quantity!


Total : $69.55
TOTAL so far...$356.72

Looks like a great meal, have not been there but after I saw the margarita pizza, I'm putting it on our bucket list! Looking forward to reading more updates

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Joining in here, really enjoying your dining report. Love how you are keeping a tally and grand total simultaneously - as our next trip will be our first without a dining plan it's really helpful - thanks for sharing all that information. Love the pictures you have included as well!




At first when I saw your receipt I was like how could it be that high, & then I saw the mugs, but even after taking the mugs into account it still seems like a lot.



Just showed my DD that picture of the rainbow cheesecake, she was like "i'm so jealous that i'm not in Disney right now!"



Looks like a great meal, have not been there but after I saw the margarita pizza, I'm putting it on our bucket list! Looking forward to reading more updates

It was definitely an experience.

Ya, sticker shock was a killer! I think that's one of the reasons I enjoy the DxDDP so much...it's not like real spending money when it's already paid for.

Tell your daughter not to feel too bad, we're not either! LOL (but will be again in 88 more days with the DxDDP so I imagine you can figure out which way we leaned after the end of this experiment!).

Wolfgang Puck was really good and very like a TS in that once you order you're kinda waited on. It wasn't a cheap meal but it was one I didn't mind paying for since it was more like real food that the usual CS places and the quality was there and the servings were very large. We are generally not sharers (as I've hinted to a little in this report but decided to keep our temper tantrums mostly to a very minimal talk here...LOL) but at Wolfgang Puck Skye and I had a really great meal by sharing so we were happy.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I'm enjoying your dining review. Like you we are DXDP fans. Every time I start to plan I think we can go OOP, but DH is quick to remind me that dining is big part of vacation for him and that I would be worrying more about money than eating what I wanted. For our family I think it usually works out to our advantage because DH and DS are big eaters and do enjoy the more expensive steak and seafood meals. We work it out to have 2 sit down meals a day so we don't feel stuffed. And for Mother's Day I'm going to the California Grill brunch, something we wouldn't normally pay for, I'm really excited about it.

Your Wolfgang Puck food looks so good, that spaghetti looks so amazing! Love your sugar breakfast, at DHS we always have cupcakes for breakfast-it's tradition, lol.

 

[FrancoFun]

I am loving all the details of your dining report. Thanks for all of the tallies as well as the totals. We are doing our first on-site Disney stay in the summer, and have decided that OOP makes more financial sense that the DDP for us, based on the numbers I have crunched. We have one son, but I have some food sensitivities and digestive issues so I know that there will be times where I will share a meal so as not to get overly full. We have a mix of TS and QS planned, of course with snacks. Reading everything you guys did is great, even if (from what I seem to be reading between the lines) you did not find it as enjoyable as having the dining plan.

 

[SGMCO]

DH and I are going without the Reg. Dining plan this upcoming trip because since its just the two of us, I didn't want to be tied down to Reservation times (only making 2 TS one will be for ROL Package).
We are not big dessert eaters so I think the cost of snacks really adds up, we won't be eating desserts.
It is a bit scary not having the DDP but it's also a bit exciting.

 

[DrunkJam]

Thanks for this. It's really interesting to see the comparison. I have enjoyed your previous dining report(s) too.
We are looking forward to our first try of the DXDP when we go in December. We ALL like a sit down breakfast, and the kids really want to eat with the characters sometimes too, but with the DXDP we can do this AND get some of the signature dining too. We like to take a bit of time out for dinner to have a calming effect.
But there are a LOT of great counter service options too! Can't try EVERYTHING in one trip...More's the pity...

 

[KC Mouse]

We are coming to WDW with out the dinning plan for the first time this year. I am so worried that we are blowing an opportunity for savings. Someone talk me off the DDP cliff!

 

[leebee]

I'm curious... where and what do you normally eat when you are on the DxDP? I'll be interested in seeing your comparison totals, although we already know what your conclusion will be. It seems to me that you are doing a lot of grazing, eating at odd times, eating kid meals, etc., instead of having real meals. Did you do all counter service, or did you do some table service? DD and I have done the DDP (not deluxe) and through sharing meals (shared cs breakfast, shared cs lunch, each have our own ts meal) we've managed to eat 3 meals a day but we ALWAYS spend $200-$300 less when we pay OOP. For us the DDP loses value as we don't normally eat desserts or drink sodas with our meals, or maybe will share one dessert if we find something irresistible. Also, sometimes we choose to share a few appetizers and a salad and call it dinner, which is always cheaper than 2 entrees at a table service meal. Everyone finds the dining "plan" that works best for them; I'm glad you tried this experiment and am looking forward to your final totals.

 

[leebee]

We are coming to WDW with out the dinning plan for the first time this year. I am so worried that we are blowing an opportunity for savings. Someone talk me off the DDP cliff!

Chill... you will be fine! To battle sticker-shock, look at what you actually would have spent if you bought the dining plan. Pre-paying for the dining plan makes it feel like you are eating "for free," but you aren't. Keep that number in your memory if you start to panic about what you are spending. Also... maybe get a pre-paid visa/master card, or a couple of disney gift cards, to use for paying for food. That way you won't feel like you are constantly shelling out money (although I think it's good to be reminded of how MUCH a Disney vacation actually costs... money doesn't grow on trees, after all!).

Also remember that you will be able to order YOUR WAY. As I mentioned above, we don't drink sodas or eat many desserts, so this was always a loss for us on the dining plans. We always also find the dining plan to be so much food. DD and I are happy sharing a bounty platter for breakfast regardless of how I'm paying... maybe we just don't have huge appetites? I don't know... but we would never choose to order/eat as much food at a TS as the dining plan automatically provides.

I have found that having a dining "plan" in my head helps. I always plan where/when we'll be eating each day. That way we aren't constantly grazing and spending money randomly. DD and I will spend time pouring over the menus at allears.net to help us decide where and what to eat. There are SO MANY OPTIONS at WDW. I am not sure I have ever eaten a burger or hot dog (except when we choose Casey's, obviously!) at Disney. I think you can eat well when paying OOP, and save money; we always do!!

 

[FrancoFun]

I have found that having a dining "plan" in my head helps. I always plan where/when we'll be eating each day. That way we aren't constantly grazing and spending money randomly. DD and I will spend time pouring over the menus at allears.net to help us decide where and what to eat. There are SO MANY OPTIONS at WDW. I am not sure I have ever eaten a burger or hot dog (except when we choose Casey's, obviously!) at Disney. I think you can eat well when paying OOP, and save money; we always do!!

I agree with being able to eat well and save money! If I had a kid that was actually a Disney kid, and would want the kid food, I can see how we might save. But with a 10yo with a very broad palate, we'll be able to save paying OOP. We have plans for meals laid out for our trip. Sharing 2 appetizers amongst the three of us at table service and getting one dessert to share will often be the plan, and at counter service we will often be okay with two meals (like at Pecos Bill) to share.

 

[catccc]

This is a great thread! So what was the finally tally, and how many days total was that spread over? We did the QSDDP for our first trip last year, and it was a huge value with the ability to substitute, but since they took away dessert and swapping seems to be limited to resorts at best, it may not work as well for us.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

I'm curious... where and what do you normally eat when you are on the DxDP? I'll be interested in seeing your comparison totals, although we already know what your conclusion will be. It seems to me that you are doing a lot of grazing, eating at odd times, eating kid meals, etc., instead of having real meals. Did you do all counter service, or did you do some table service? DD and I have done the DDP (not deluxe) and through sharing meals (shared cs breakfast, shared cs lunch, each have our own ts meal) we've managed to eat 3 meals a day but we ALWAYS spend $200-$300 less when we pay OOP. For us the DDP loses value as we don't normally eat desserts or drink sodas with our meals, or maybe will share one dessert if we find something irresistible. Also, sometimes we choose to share a few appetizers and a salad and call it dinner, which is always cheaper than 2 entrees at a table service meal. Everyone finds the dining "plan" that works best for them; I'm glad you tried this experiment and am looking forward to your final totals.

Hey there! If the past probably at least 7 (if not more) trips when we have been on the Deluxe plan we have been in The World for 14+ nights. So we eat everywhere. On a trip like that, we would normally do all the Character breakfast buffet/all you care to eat meals. We would usually do most of the signatures. And the rest of the credits we would fill in one credit lunches and dinners. With Skye being tiny and not super adventurous in the eating department before, a lot of times she would get a kid's meal (after she wasn't a kid anymore) and we'd get more TS in. And we would order all that came on the plan. We have gotten to try a lot of things we would not have if not doing the plan...escargot, cheese plates, etc...

It is not how we would normally eat at home...no way! But when we are on vacation we enjoy it.

On our next trip in 58 days, we have DDDP for 5 nights then Skye is dancing in Universal for 3 nights, dancing on a cruise for 3 nights and then we are back at Disney for three more nights with no dining plan...and it was really, really hard planning because we had so few days! We finally went with ADRs at ...

ON THE DDDP (mostly)...
Skipper Canteen (L)*
California Grill (D)

Teppan Edo (L)
Narcoossee's (D)

Be Our Guest (B-OOP but am probably cancelling it)*have had dinner but not breakfast
Tony's FOF package (L)
BOATHOUSE (D)*

Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package (L)
Flying Fish (D)

Tiffins ROL package (L)*
Jiko (D)

Planet Hollywood (L)

OOP...
Morimoto (D)*

Kona Café (L)
Via Napoli (D)

Tuskerhouse (late B)
Yak & Yeti (D)

Homecomin' (L)*

The venues with the * are new for us, the others have always been fit into the rotation. I am figuring that by the last three nights we should be sick of eating...well, probably not but we should be able to do it cheaper. We are not big on sharing. Tyler wants a steak for every meal if he can arrange it. We pinch pennies at home so DDDP allows us to not have to do that...it's just in my nature...I tried on this trip to not think about it but those prices ate stifling sometimes!

We did do a lot of grazing and sampling because we knew there were a lot of things we wanted to try so why fill up at one place when we could graze and eat at a lot of places. We tried to hit off times if we could because it was summer and we did not know what to expect anywhere at any time...didn't want to stand in line forever just to eat. We do end up with a couple of TS meals but I just didn't get there yet...and life is kicking my butt right now! One of them was a "I'm sick of CS meals...what can we get an ADR for" meal...the other was planned. The unplanned one was great, the planned "do over" one was ok but proved to me that it is not someplace we need to rush back to no matter how much praise it gets on these boards. LOL!

 

[kiramay]

Sprinkles

And we stumbled upon Sprinkles...

While we love cupcakes, that wasn't the only draw...this was...

The line was slow moving but we waited. It was probably 15-20 minutes. We looked at the options available thru the ATM and made out choices.

And since I was so bad at taking notes I don't know what they were. I think Tyler's was Red Velvet, Cary's was strawberry (maybe), and I know Skyler's was a Sprinkle (which was white cake with white frosting completely covered with sprinkles!). No one ate them at the time but We all dug into Cary's later that evening. It was really good. We put the other two in the fridge and ate the other two the next day. Skyler's was really good and my favorite of the three. I am not big on red velvet but Tyler loved it so he enjoyed his. I don't have my receipt from the ATM here but each cupcake was just over $5.

It was a fun novelty getting a cupcake form an ATM machine. Now we've done it I would go back for sure but I'd probably drag them away form the ATM and head insude to see what other sugary delights are on the offer!

We added the cupcakes to Skye's Coke bag and headed on.

TOTAL : $16.00
TOTAL so far...$422.67

We LOVE Sprinkles cupcakes! We don't have one close by so we have driven an hour each way to the Chicago location, and my husband brought back a box of 9 from Las Vegas.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We LOVE Sprinkles cupcakes! We don't have one close by so we have driven an hour each way to the Chicago location, and my husband brought back a box of 9 from Las Vegas.

There's a Sprinkles in CHICAGO?!?!?!?!

I did not know that...and apparently neither did the kids because I am sure we would have had out butts there by now!

 

[deide71]

I honestly do not understand how one suffers from sticker shock at $60 for a counter service meal, but $440/day + tips ( likely running at least another $100/day) does not give you sticker shock?
Right now looking at your next trip dining plans you are looking at $3200 for DxDP plus tips and then additional meals out of pocket. Have you considered one of you getting an AP and Tables in Wonderland? You may be able to get an AP rate on your resort as well?
I have crunched the numbers 10 ways until Tuesday and the only way I can make any plan work numerically would be the deluxe plan with a character breakfast and a signature dinner. But I know ther is NO WAY we can eat 4 apps, 4 entrees and 4 desserts at every dinner, and I would rather have breakfast at Boma than Chef Mickey's...but then the Savings isn't there.

 

[deide71]

There's a Sprinkles in CHICAGO?!?!?!?!

I did not know that...and apparently neither did the kids because I am sure we would have had out butts there by now!

When I stayed at the Waldorf in Chicago, Sprinkes was about one block down from the hotel.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

I honestly do not understand how one suffers from sticker shock at $60 for a counter service meal, but $440/day + tips ( likely running at least another $100/day) does not give you sticker shock?
Right now looking at your next trip dining plans you are looking at $3200 for DxDP plus tips and then additional meals out of pocket. Have you considered one of you getting an AP and Tables in Wonderland? You may be able to get an AP rate on your resort as well?
I have crunched the numbers 10 ways until Tuesday and the only way I can make any plan work numerically would be the deluxe plan with a character breakfast and a signature dinner. But I know ther is NO WAY we can eat 4 apps, 4 entrees and 4 desserts at every dinner, and I would rather have breakfast at Boma than Chef Mickey's...but then the Savings isn't there.

We only have the plan for the first 5 nights. The last 3 nights at OOP. So it's closer to $2100.00 for the plan.

And that, right there..."I honestly do not understand how one suffers from sticker shock at $60 for a counter service meal, but $440/day + tips ( likely running at least another $100/day) does not give you sticker shock?"...is exactly why each family has to judge the dining plans on their own.

Yes, $60 for a couple of mediocre pieces of pizza some chips, a small scoop of Caesar salad and a hamburger, IS A LOT OF MONEY to me. To you, maybe it isn't. I'd just assume eat at McDonalds where my family can get more food at half the cost and in a lot of cases (but not all) enjoy it more. But, a $300.00+ meal that consists of filet and lobster (or something equally as indulgent for us)and including appe and dessert while having it pre-paid will win for me every time!

At home, if we go out to eat, at most, and it would be a VERY special meal, very sparingly occasionally might hit $150.00 and that would probably have me freaking out. Trying to see where we could cut corners...it's just me. On a regular, everyday basis, we would most likely be at a chain restaurant (Chili's, Applebee's, things like that) where $100.00 is a lot. And we don't do this because we can't afford it, we do it because I just can't see spending that much money on food on a regular basis or just because I didn't feel like cooking.

So when we are on vacation eating the way the DDDP allows us to, is part of our vacation cost. I am fully aware that we could share things (and even though it is not common practice in our family, we do sometimes even on a dining plan) or not order things we weren't going to eat every last crumb of, but who wants to do that on vacation?

I see it kind of like hotel choice. Maybe you splurge on a deluxe venue, to me, that's a waste. Because I could sleep and shower in a room cheaper. We could splurge on Grand Floridian but to me, WHY? All I do there usually is sleep and get ready to go. I can do that at Pop. Don't get me wrong, we have stayed at AKL and Yacht Club. We have stayed at Caribbean Beach and Port Orleans. We have also (and mostly) stayed value...because the value, for me, is in the food.

We have had APs in the past. And never bought Tables in Wonderland. We don't drink enough to make that end of it worth it. And usually we are in on free dining (even our Christmas trip that we got our last APs on we had a free dining upgrade) so it really hasn't be something that sound that appealing to us over other options.

It's all in what you value on YOUR vacation. When all is said and done, even with the meals we may end up paying out of pocket for for Skyler, a few alcoholic drinks here and there, and tips, we will still have eaten more food cost vs DDDP cost. And if we had paid OOP for all the food we will put in our faces, we would have spent more than what we are paying for the DDDP. We would NEVER eat like that without the DDDP...not because we wouldn't want to but because I couldn't let us.

When people ask if the dining plans are "worth it", it's kind of an unanswerable question. Only you can decide what worth you want to get from it. For us, and we're done some research on this, it is worth it. Can we go without, of course. Do we want to, NOPE!

 

[deide71]

We only have the plan for the first 5 nights. The last 3 nights at OOP. So it's closer to $2100.00 for the plan.

And that, right there..."I honestly do not understand how one suffers from sticker shock at $60 for a counter service meal, but $440/day + tips ( likely running at least another $100/day) does not give you sticker shock?"...is exactly why each family has to judge the dining plans on their own.

Yes, $60 for a couple of mediocre pieces of pizza some chips, a small scoop of Caesar salad and a hamburger, IS A LOT OF MONEY to me. To you, maybe it isn't. I'd just assume eat at McDonalds where my family can get more food at half the cost and in a lot of cases (but not all) enjoy it more. But, a $300.00+ meal that consists of filet and lobster (or something equally as indulgent for us)and including appe and dessert while having it pre-paid will win for me every time!

At home, if we go out to eat, at most, and it would be a VERY special meal, very sparingly occasionally might hit $150.00 and that would probably have me freaking out. Trying to see where we could cut corners...it's just me. On a regular, everyday basis, we would most likely be at a chain restaurant (Chili's, Applebee's, things like that) where $100.00 is a lot. And we don't do this because we can't afford it, we do it because I just can't see spending that much money on food on a regular basis or just because I didn't feel like cooking.

So when we are on vacation eating the way the DDDP allows us to, is part of our vacation cost. I am fully aware that we could share things (and even though it is not common practice in our family, we do sometimes even on a dining plan) or not order things we weren't going to eat every last crumb of, but who wants to do that on vacation?

I see it kind of like hotel choice. Maybe you splurge on a deluxe venue, to me, that's a waste. Because I could sleep and shower in a room cheaper. We could splurge on Grand Floridian but to me, WHY? All I do there usually is sleep and get ready to go. I can do that at Pop. Don't get me wrong, we have stayed at AKL and Yacht Club. We have stayed at Caribbean Beach and Port Orleans. We have also (and mostly) stayed value...because the value, for me, is in the food.

We have had APs in the past. And never bought Tables in Wonderland. We don't drink enough to make that end of it worth it. And usually we are in on free dining (even our Christmas trip that we got our last APs on we had a free dining upgrade) so it really hasn't be something that sound that appealing to us over other options.

It's all in what you value on YOUR vacation. When all is said and done, even with the meals we may end up paying out of pocket for for Skyler, a few alcoholic drinks here and there, and tips, we will still have eaten more food cost vs DDDP cost. And if we had paid OOP for all the food we will put in our faces, we would have spent more than what we are paying for the DDDP. We would NEVER eat like that without the DDDP...not because we wouldn't want to but because I couldn't let us.

When people ask if the dining plans are "worth it", it's kind of an unanswerable question. Only you can decide what worth you want to get from it. For us, and we're done some research on this, it is worth it. Can we go without, of course. Do we want to, NOPE!

I am glad it works for you, and I am glad you have done the research. Enjoy your trip.