Who should use the Free Dining Plan?

[Dizzyworld]

Is the free dining plan a good deal only if you plan to do lots of TS? If you are planning on just grabbing food from CS, does the dining plan still make sense?

I'm still trying to figure out how you tell if the dining plan is for you.
Thanks.

 

[pezpam]

If you prefer all CS meals, you may do better without the DDP. If you like a TS or a character meal each day, the DDP may save you good money.

Try going to allearsnet.com to look at the menus and prices. Get a rough idea of what you'd spend per day on food, adding on tax and tip. Compare that to the cost of the DDP for your family - the DDP includes tax and tip unless you wish to tip extra. If buying the package means forgoing a room discount, add that into the equation.

For us, an added benefit of the DDP is that for about what we'd spend on CS meals each day, we can 'upgrade' and try TS restaurants I normally wouldn't pay OOP for. It's also nice to have the food already paid for - we found that with a little creative scheduling, the DDP plan was all the food we needed and we had several snack credits left over that I used to pick up snacks for the plane ride home.

 

[eblack0409]

Check out the menus on www.allearsnet.com and see where you think you will eat and check out the prices...if you are going between Aug 13 & Sept 30...the DDP is FREE!!!!

Just add it up....it will help you make a more informed decision!

 

[mkymouse4ever]

For us being just 2 adults no kids and staying at a deluxe it is not a deal. I did better with aaa discount on the resort and hopefully better yet if an ap discount shows up. (fingers crossed). So I figured it out too with paying rack rate at the resort the 2 of us even eating ts didn't save me anything. I have a disney dining card for the 20% off that will help also.

But do as they advised work it out depends on your resort, what discounts you might qualify for, how many people you have, how much they eat, & what type of resturants you want to use.

mky

 

[DJNOWICK]

It also tends to depend on the ages and how many in your party and whether you stay deluxe, mod or value. The more adults (for DIsney purposes) and for values/mods, the better deal you get with free dining. That said, we have 4 adults in a deluxe resort -- best AP discount I'd get is $100 and the free dining is worth almost $400 to us.

Jackie

 

[brymolmom]

Personally, I think the DP only makes the most sense if you and your family like to eat a lot of meals (three full meals a day) and if you truly want a TS meal each day (some people like to sit and relax from the hustle and bustle, some prefer to grab something quick and get back to the parks). Also, if you like to eat at a few of the more expensive restaurants and/or character meals it might make sense.

We've only gotten DP when it has been offered for free. Otherwise we bring small items and eat in the room for breakfast and bring sandwiches to the parks - so it doesn't make sense for us.

 

[Dizzyworld]

Thanks for the input. We have the free dining set up for a short stay at AKL. The kids are old enough that they are now considered adults, although they still eat like kids. We are doing the 7 day cruise which is lots of meals. Our other option is staying at the Swan with a teacher's discount. We only have one TS scheduled. I guess as I type this it is clearer for this trip to do the Swan and grab food on the go. I will also take another look at the menus to see if it comes close to what we are paying. The difference is about $500. I'm just not sure we'll eat that much food over three full days and one evening (we arrive after 6 PM).

Thanks for listening.