Why do you choose to do, or not do the dining plan?

[Tricia1972]

I choose not to do any of the dining plans because when I eat what I want, when I want, I would loose money doing a dining plan.

I've now officially tried them all and none of them worked for us or felt comfortable.

However, the trip that we did with the Tables in Wonderland card was reasonably priced and the bonus was that I got to do exactly what I wanted. I ordered steak when I wanted and ordered chicken when I was in the mood.

I got home and added up all of my receipts. We saved over using a dining plan.

Last trip we did the DxDDP and were very unhappy with food by the end of the trip.

The plans work great for a lot of people on the boards, they just don't fit us.

 

[tinkerbell555]

we went last october dh me dd16 ds10 ds9 friend14. We got the qsdp free.When I asked my son what was his most favorite thing in disney he said it was the free food. They loved the refillable mugs. We paid oop for the sci fi restaurant. They enjoyed it. They said these were the best burgers at Disney. It was still a burger to me. Good nontheless.We went back and forth about whether to upgrade the dining. I'm glad we didn't.

 

[juliebean]

We have the Deluxe planned for next week. I was going to do the regular - but once I realized the out of pocket was going to be more than upgrading to the deluxe, it became a fairly easy choice.

But, we have two "kid" kids and the girls wanted to go to CRT and we needed dinner for the night we arrive, as well as meal for the full day on our last day. Having credits for those reasons just made more sense. Than and I don't feel like fighting for a counter service table in April and my hubby is an expensive restaurant guy - appetizers and dessert are normal for him at a restaurant.

I'm sure we'll reconsider next time when we have kid "adults" and depending on flight schedules, but we are going to live it up next week, lol. We can never go when free dining is offered - but I am totally JEALOUS of those who can!

 

[pooch]

for the past 5 years (reg DDP). This year we had to upgrade QSDP to Reg (staying at Pop) for an add'l $22 per day for the 2 of us. Because DD & I don't mind staying at a Value, a room discount is not worth it for us. (Now, when I take my grandson to AKL...!) We love a TS meal each day to get a break from the late Aug/Sept heat. We regularly split our CS meals. This time, I am picking DD up in Sarasota at the end of her year long internship, heading to WDW for a last fling on her Fl resident pass and then driving back to CT. I expect we will have enough CS credits left (like 4 or 5) to feed us for the 2 day driving trip.

As another poster said, if one of the 3 plans fits your eating habits while on vacation, then the DDP is right for you. If it doesn't then OOP is probably the way to go. We don't worry about maxing value. We are comfortable and familiar enough with it to truly enjoy our dining experiences using the DDP.

No right or wrong answer here.

 

[catra121]

Convenience is my number one reason for choosing the dining plan. I always choose deluxe dining now because I prefer TS meals over CS meals. If I didn't have the dining plan I would probably not do as many TS meals and I certainly wouldn't be ordering desserts and appetizers at every meal...BUT...I like being able to have those things while I am on vacation. The good meals are a big part of what I like out of my vacation. And having everything prepaid and taken care of already when I arrive is great. I feel so relaxed when I am on vacation at Disney World...and a big part of that is the dining plan.

 

[mcd2745]

Convenience is the main reason for me. I like the idea of having pretty much everything outside of souveniers paid for once I arrive. Also, we really prefer to do TS for breakfast and dinner and will mix in some character buffets. I'm not that wrapped up in the monetary aspect. Maybe I save a little, maybe I don't. Either way, I will order what I want that day. I'm not going to blindly order the most expensive items just to try to maximize savings.

 

[TDC Nala]

I have done the dining plan in the past. The pre-2008 version that included tips and appetizers...it was sort of silly not to do that, especially when they opened it to DVC members.

Now, the dining plan is this: You pay Disney ahead of time, and you agree to limit yourself to eat at restaurants on Disney's list and to order the courses Disney says you can order for your prepayment (entree, dessert, beverage on the regular plan for example). No thanks. I like the option to go to Il Mulino or Bluezoo, I also like the option to order two appetizers instead of an entree.

Of course there is the possibility that I could use all my credits up and also select food that costs more on the menu than the prepayment did, ostensibly saving money in the process. Not worth giving up the freedom to eat where and what I want. And it's harder to save money than it used to be.

 

[nellyru]

First and foremost- convienence!
Not having to worry about what we are spending on food is a big deal and makes the vacation much more of a vacation!

And I do believe that as a family of 5 doing at least 1 Sig meal and a couple Character meals we save money. Maybe not a ton, but in my book it all counts!!

 

[bjtriche]

We always use the dining plan mainly for the convenience. But, the most important factor for us in that it forces our family to take a break and relax as a family. Touring the parks in a hustle and bustle style wears you out and having that sit down meal each day slows us down a bit.

 

[magicbob]

I've never used DDP before. Whenever I crunch the numbers it would cost us MUCH more than OOP. But then, we don't do TS every day (maybe once or twice during stay) and we haven't sprung for "deluxe" meals like CRT in years. The last time was not long after the name change I think. The time before that it was still King Stefan's Banquet Hall!!!!

For our upcoming trip I've been debating taking the plunge for DDP. I've run the numbers again and it just costs a lot more than OOP for us. Using 2011 rates, for a family of four DDP is $183.96 per day (not including gratuities). We spend $75-100 per day for food (that includes gratuities for TS meals) and don't feel like we're scrimping or denying ourselves from eating what we want. Of course, my wife can't each very much and I try not to even though I can. Also, our kids are too old for kid's menu (daughter in college and son in 8th grade), but too picky to eat many of the offerings that my wife and I would choose. They're happiest with pizza or chicken tenders. I'm considering splitting up for some meals... sending the kids for CS while we have a nice TS meal. I feel guilty "deserting" them though.

So, bottom line, even using our high figure of $100 per day for food (although we average less), DDP costs us 84% more than paying for meals OOP.

Even if we go with QSDP, that's $139.96 per day. That's 40% more than we usually spend and doesn't include the couple of TS meals of which we do partake.

Also, I factor in that we might just not be that hungry on any given day. If we decide on light meals, it sometimes costs less than one full meal (even at CS). If we've pre-paid DDP, then some credits will be wasted or we will just end up essentially paying full meal price for our light lunch snack.

 

[C&G'sMama]

Because we like it.
It's not about money because we could always figure out a way to eat more cheaply without it. But we like it. Our kids are hearty eaters and adventurous eaters, they love bok choy, cous cous and parsnips so... I agree that the kids menu choices leave a bit to be desired so for sit-downs we do mostly buffets. And for counter service we try to find places that have a little something different.

This trip our DD will be an "adult" and it will be the first time we've gone that our our son has been GF so the limited kids' choices won't be as much of an issue. He'll actually be thrilled to have chicken nuggets and fries as he doesn't really get much of that with his allergy (other than homemade).

I'm an accountant too and I hate dealing with money on vacation as I do enough of that every day So.. our trip is paid for and I don't have to worry about it now. ADR's have long been made.

51 days 'til we leave.

Ooh and this trip we're trying Citricos for the first time, the kids will be at a kids' club.

 

[aubriee]

I go to WDW several times a year and have done either the basic or DxDDP every single trip since they first started. My thinking was that they sort of fit the way I eat (although none of them fits exactly) and I love having everything prepaid and never even glancing at the price of items. This past Dec I did a split stay and was on the DxDDP for both. I have an AP so do not have to buy park tickets, plus I prefer the Signature restaurants so it made sense. I have never done the counter service plan and have no desire to do so. There are very few CS restaurants that I like. However, this coming Sept/Oct trip I really wanted to dine at alot of the restaurants that don't accept the DDP at all so am going to pay OOP for meals that trip. I'm a little nervous about it, but excited too. I checked the prices on the menus at allears and found that I'll be spending a little more than if I was on the basic DDP, but quite a bit less than I would on the DxDDP. I'll be eating mainly TS with only a few CS thrown in, will be getting alot of appetizers and only a few desserts.

I refuse to skimp on vacation and want to eat whatever I'm in the mood for without looking at prices though, so I do like that with the DDPs I can easily do that. I'm afraid that $20.00 cheese plate may not look as good if I have to pay cash for it. Plus I like knowing that I don't owe anything on my credit card when I get home.

 

[Disneyhenry]

I looked at a menu just at one place DH plan on eating at and saw a meal there would be at least $50 for the 2 of us, that convienced me, i was then sold on the DDP. We are not fast food eaters either so knowing that my enjoyable meal is covered at least once a day is nice
Plus I kinda feel like it is prepaying our food LOL