Whos done Disney Dining???? Recommend it??? Good savings???

Amy_B

Earning My Ears
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
19
Is it worth it???
& if you've been without the dining plan,
does it seem like good savings??

Thanks x
 
We had it for the 1st time last as we got it free. It was really good having it and we were able to do lots of character meals and a couple of dinner shows that we probably wouldn't have done without it. The only drawback is we don't usually plan very much so sometimes we found it hard as we had ADR's and couldn't always go with the flow. We also had several credits left at the end but that was just poor planning on our part as we had several days when we were off property all day.
I can't make up my mind if I would buy the DDP or not again, I would certainly have it if it was free but if I had paid for it and then never used it all I would feel ripped off
 
we have it booked this year as we got it free. We have the regular dining plan with 1 counter service, 1 table service and 1 snack.

We are not going till aug but I'm struggling with it as we dont normally go for many table service meals and at the moment i only have about 8 that we want to try!! we are there for 15 nights so I need to bulk it out a bit to use the ts credits
 
We've done it three times, but would probably never do it again. For the first two times you got a starter, but this has been scrapped and now you get soft drinks, main and dessert. You also get 18% tip added without even being asked.

We found that the lack of a starter was the main problem for us as we prefer this to the desserts, but we could not swap them and ended up paying for a starter and not eating the dessert.

Its great that it includes one counter service per day, which we used at lunch times but would you really have a dessert with lunch - No for us - so it was a waste.

When we got back we looked at Deb Wills site and compared the prices of what we ate on the dining plan to what we really would have eaten had we not had the plan and we did not save any money at all.

I think when we go next time we will not have the dining plan as this will also mean that we can eat at more restaurants outside of Disney.

For convenience yes, but for saving money - it was a no for us.

Tina
 

we booked last sept when disney uk were offereing it free, we had to upgrade from the counter service plan but cost a total of £14 each for the 15nights
 
We had it free but it didn't suit us as we are not really planners and by the time I got around to booking meals we only managed to get lunch time sittings. I didn't enjoy having to stick to planned meals at set times so personally wouldn't do it again, also there was just too much food we never used all our credits.

We have the free counter service this time and I am sure that will be a lot easier for us.
 
You also get 18% tip added without even being asked.

We found that the lack of a starter was the main problem for us as we prefer this to the desserts, but we could not swap them and ended up paying for a starter and not eating the dessert.
Tina

Does 18% get added to all size parties? I thought it was for groups of 6 and over.
Makes no difference to us as I tip around 20% if its not added.
Will work well for us with desserts, don't usually eat starters.

orangetiggs
how did you manage to get it free?
gary

Same with us booked last year, got free DDP (1 TS, 1 CS & 1 snack) and 42% disc off OKW studio. To book now & add DDP its about double price we paid.

Although we are not planners for food I think its going to work well, we always eat at TS every evening anyway but offsite, its going to be a change trying Disney food but doubt I would ever pay for it.
 
We are not going till aug but I'm struggling with it as we dont normally go for many table service meals and at the moment i only have about 8 that we want to try!! we are there for 15 nights so I need to bulk it out a bit to use the ts credits

I've got the opposite problem, having never been before there are so many restaurants i want to try that there's not enough table service credits to cover them.:rotfl:
 
We've done it three times, but would probably never do it again. For the first two times you got a starter, but this has been scrapped and now you get soft drinks, main and dessert. You also get 18% tip added without even being asked.



Tina

Tip is added automatically only for a party of 6 or more.

We have done the ordinary plan a few times and the delux plan on one occasion.

We considerer the plans value for money though no where near what they were when the starter and tip were included.
 
We too had the free ddp last time and will be using it again this August. Our biggest problem on any holiday is where to eat that pleases everyone, not that we are fussy, it's just fancying the same thing at the same time!:rotfl:

The loss of the starter does not bother us at all as you get so much food, we were struggling to eat oudesserts and given the choice, I'd rather not miss out on a dessert.:thumbsup2

We normally do a few character meals that take two TS credits, but this enables us to eat off site when doing Universal etc..::yes::

The only problem as said before, is being held to a plan, but if you do your research properly, you can tie in tour adr's with what is going on at the parks on those days ie: Spectromagic, fantasmic etc....princess:

Not sure if I would pay for it - would probably just book adr's for certain meals which we had never really done before and missed out on a few preferred meals..as places already booked up and too :crowded:
 
We got DDP free for next year too. Same deal as Wayne but we have booked SSR. Dont think we would have taken the DDP if it wasn't free but we are looking forward to trying it, plus with the current exchange rate it's going to save us quite a bit of $.

A tip for those finding it hard to use up your credits, you can try out some of the signiture restaurants as you need 2 table service credits for these.
 
we booked it on or first visit to WDW for the convenience. It worked very well ,we ate exactly where we wanted to but there was alot of wasted food. Generally we just eat a main course, rarely do we eat a desert or starter so when deciding for last years trip and this years - we've said no.

I also found for our boys it was very repetitive food on the kids menu. this year we'll book ADR's every evening, take sandwiches and fruit for lunch in the parks, and have a counter service breakfast in the resort.

We'll most likely save money compared to the DP and get what we want and no wastage.
 
We normally do a few character meals that take two TS credits

The only meals that take 2TS credits are Signature restaurants and Cinderellas Royal Table:thumbsup2

All other character meals are only 1TS :goodvibes

We have done the DDP twice and we found savings with it but it matches our style of eating - CS for lunch and TS for dinner.
 
The only meals that take 2TS credits are Signature restaurants and Cinderellas Royal Table:thumbsup2

All other character meals are only 1TS :goodvibes

We have done the DDP twice and we found savings with it but it matches our style of eating - CS for lunch and TS for dinner.

I stand corrected, but I thought that the Hoop-De-Doo and Aloha shows, whilst not character meals also took 2 TS credits. Has Crystal Palace also stopped the character dinner?
 
I stand corrected, but I thought that the Hoop-De-Doo and Aloha shows, whilst not character meals also took 2 TS credits. Has Crystal Palace also stopped the character dinner?

Hoop de doo and mickeys backyard bbq do take 2 ts. not sure about aloha
 
Hoop de doo,mickeys backyard bbq and poly luha all are 2 credits each
For the hoop de doo and luha, DDP gets you the second tier seating.but the BBQ is first come(run)first seated
Paulh
 
We have used it twice now, first time free, last time paid for it. On both occasions it has been well worth it, well being free it kinda would have to :lmao: My wife has been doing rough calculations since we came back and suffice to say we saved a huge amount using it. What I would say is though that to get full value you do have to put a bit of work in for the restaurant bookings either before you go or on your first morning of the holiday..............the changes in regards to tipping are a bit of a pain though and added an additional $250 approx to our dining this time.
 
We did it when we were travelling with kids and it was worthwhile. But that was when you got an appetizer and dessert at your table service meal and tips included.

I've noticed that none of these things are included on the UK Disney Dining plan this year, aside from at the 2 credit restaurants, so to me, it wouldn't be worth it - unless I was getting it free.

When we went without kids, we had AP's so, we were able to get a Disney Dining Experience card and that gave us better savings.
 












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