which plan?

[Frozen2014]

Trying to figure out best dining plan for us. Would like 1 sit down meal each dinner and I can see us wanting a sit down breakfast on some mornings with a quick light lunch.

Also one day will be offsite so I can only see us grabbing breakfast onsite. Arrival day would be dinner and departure day we would only need breakfast. We're planning on Cinderella Royal table for one dinner which is 2 credits.

So which plan makes sense?

 

[cajmom]

I would do the plan where you get 1 TS, 1QS and 1 snack. However, I would recommend looking at the menus of where you want to eat and make a list of how much each meal will cost and then total that up. Then compare that to the cost of the dining plan, since one day you will be offsite. It may be cheaper to pay oop then get plan.

 

[abdgeek]

Trying to figure out best dining plan for us. Would like 1 sit down meal each dinner and I can see us wanting a sit down breakfast on some mornings with a quick light lunch.

Also one day will be offsite so I can only see us grabbing breakfast onsite. Arrival day would be dinner and departure day we would only need breakfast. We're planning oc Cinderella Roy
al table which is 2 credits.

So which plan makes sense?

It sounds as if you would be choosing between the regular dining plan and the deluxe dining plan. The regular dp will give you 1QS, 1S, and 1TS. The deluxe gives you 3TS and 2S. If you do the dp, you will probably need to pay OOP for some meals. The DxDP would be great on the days you wanted 2 TS meals, but you would lose money when you substituted the QS for lunch.

Even though you have a rough idea of what you will do, try to determine exactly how many and what type of meals you will eat. That will make it easier for you to decide which plan is best.

For argument sake, let's say that you will be at WDW for 3 days. On the regular dining plan, you will have 2QS, 2TS, and 2 snacks for the two nights you are there. You don't have to use any of your credits on the day you will be off site if you don't want to.

 

[shanejoseph]

My advice would be the regular dining plan. If you have a few more "desired" table service meals than you have actual credits, use wdwinfo.com to determine which are the best values (most expensive if paying out of pocket). Then use your credits for those, and pay out of pocket for the rest. I've found this is less expensive than the deluxe dining plan. Now if you definitely want to just totally live it up, and have a very large appetite, go for yhe deluxe!

 

[kP72]

Regular DDP would probably be a good choice. We did the Deluxe DDP and it ended up being too much food and ADR's. Even though we used some of those credits for 2credit restaurants, it felt as if we were constantly eating!

We went home with leftover credits... not a good choice for us, but it may be to your liking.

 

[purple figment]

It sounds like you are trying to decide between the regular dining plan (DDP) and the Deluxe Dining Plan (DxDDP). Do you want to get a dining plan regardless of whether or not it would be financially cheaper for you to pay out of pocket? Some like the convenience of the plan because it's prepaid and they don't have to worry about prices on the menu.

Based on what you described in your first post you probably would be fine with the regular DDP. You'll have 1 TS, 1 CS and 1 snack per night per person. Although you are thinking of a few sitdown breakfasts, unless you're referring to character meals, breakfasts tend to be inexpensive and a poor use of a TS credit because it only includes an entree and beverage (no dessert component).

If you are looking at a dining plan in terms of whether it will save you money you can look at the menus to get a general idea of what you would order and see it it adds up to the approximate value of a credit. The DDP is $58.66 per night per adult so figure a TS is worth $37.50, the CS is $17.50 and the snack is $4. The cost of the dining plan includes tax, while menu prices do not so figure an additional 6.5% tax on menu prices. The children's plan is $18.88 per night.

The DxDDP is $104.94 per night per adult (3 meals, 2 snacks) and $29.51 for a child. Since credits are good for 3 meals per night with no differentiation between TS and CS this averages out to $32 per meal (after subtracting $8 for the 2 snacks). While it is easier to get to $32 because lunch and dinner both include an appetizer, it does result in a lot of food and time at restaurants. From your original post I don't think the DxDDP would be practical.

Here are links to sites with menus where you can see which dining plan works for you or possibly it'll be better skip the dining plan and pay OOP:

http://allears.net/din/dining.htm
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/disneydining.cfm

Fixed price meal prices - buffets and family style:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3108466

 

[Frozen2014]

Thanks for the great advice. It looks like we'd be best with the regular dining plan, which were our initial thoughts. I wish they'd have a plan in-between where you got 2 TS / day (and who needs 2 snacks on top of 3 sit down meals)?

I don't want to have to go through each menu and work out what we'd be ordering beforehand, but I do like the idea of looking at the menus, so at least we could get a general idea and thus, use the 6 table credits on the most expensive sit down places.

As for breakfast, maybe one would be a good one (e.g. chef mickeys), but good to know that most sit downs are still cheap, and not worth the TS credit with no dessert.

Purple figment, yeah, I do kind of like the idea of having a dining plan and so not having to worry about prices at each meal....but if its a total waste, then its not worth it. It does sound like the standard dining plan would make the most sense.

One thing to confirm...if we are staying from Sunday to a Saturday, it would be a total of 6 TS, 6 QS and 6 snack each, right?

 

[purple figment]

One thing to confirm...if we are staying from Sunday to a Saturday, it would be a total of 6 TS, 6 QS and 6 snack each, right?

Yes, checking in Sunday and leaving on Saturday is 6 nights so it will be 6 of each credit per person. Plus the DDP comes with a refillable mug.

 

[Frozen2014]

Thank you. Will figure out all our table dinners then, and pick the top ones to use from the dining plan and the others out of pocket.