Why do YOU like (or not like) the Disney Dining Plan?

[kniquy]

We love the dining plan!! It makes our vacation feel all inclusive and If you use all of your credits it can work out to be a minimal savings (or you at least break even), especially if you choose a few character meals. Right now with younger kids (10, 10 & 2) it works out and they enjoy a few character meals. Once they get a little older that might not be the case.

We do not do it for the savings but more so that we feel we can budget for exactly what our dining costs will be. We love trying different restaurants are are more inclined to do so with the dining plan. With a family of 5 I am usually seeing where we can save a little money with choosing a less expensive meal vs what i probably would rather eat. With the plan i do not worry or care with the kids are ordering - which is just part of being on vacation. The dining plan fits us with mainly eating 2 real meals per day. With all the walking around it is nice to have a relaxing sit down meal and not feel rushed like you might at a QS location.

Does it save you money? -- not anything to write home about, but if you use all your credits then you make out just fine. I think disney has tried to keep it pretty even where you might save and you might break even that way it is still enticing for many people. Disney will make money when you don't use your credits so that involves much more planning in the early stages to make sure you have your reservations all planned out. I like having to pick a different TS restaurant each day -- how often do you get to do that?

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

I like it for the convenience and not having to worry about what we spend on meals. It certainly doesn't save us money for the simple reason that we would not eat a table service meal every day if paying out of pocket. I also splurge and order items I might not necessarily order if paying out of pocket. I don't like it because you have to book certain popular places so far in advance and get tied into a reservation that you might not be particularly excited about the day of. Another drawback can be that I sometimes feel like I NEED to order the most expensive menu items to make the plan "worth it."

 

[JWigs]

We have been to Disney many times as just a couple and now with our little girl. This is the first trip we are going to take (8 days and counting) and will be using DDP.

The main reason is that we are traveling with my FIL and it's his first time really going to Disney since my husband was a small child.

I don't want to deal with who pays for what or sticker shock for him to see what TS meals could potentially cost.

In the long run, we'll end up only 'saving' around $50 possibly in the end but I think it makes group trips easier to not have people worry about splitting bills, tabs, tips, etc.

 

[pens4821]

After using the dining plan for the first time, I have a couple thoughts. Honestly, I wouldn't get it unless here is some type of discount. We used stay play dine (upgraded to one TS/day) so I think I was worth it. However I don think I'd pay full price for it.

Pro- everything is paid for. While we aren't cheap we also are. Sometimes you'll look at a menu and see a price and decide on something cheaper. This way, you get whatever you want.

cons- while it's nice not worrying about price, you start getting expensive things just to make it "worth" it (well, we did anyway).

it's too much stuff. While we are bigger eaters, we usually get water and have few desserts. Eating dessert every meal and filling up on beverages was too much food for our (pooh sized) family. We also ended up with too many snacks and just got crackers and trail mix to bring home.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Like the OP, we love the DDP for the pre-paid aspect of it and the freedom to order what I want without feeling like I probably should choose something cheaper. I also know that I would have heart palpitations when they brought me an almost $100 bill at Chef Mickey's for 2 breakfasts even if I had budgeted for it.

DH and I don't have kids and we are big eaters, so it works for us. The only thing that maybe we wouldn't eat if we were paying OOP were the QS deserts unless it was somewhere with great specialty cupcakes and we might would just share one TS desert. Other than that, we always use up all our meals and snacks and still end up paying for breakfast and a few other things OOP.

 

[powellrj]

We have only used the dining plan once and that was many years ago when it was not only free dining, but appetizers and tips were included. It was a great deal then and we would use it again if that were still the case.

I don't know where we are eating at tonight, so there is no way I can make plans for any dinner 6 months in advance. We usually start our tip point at 20%, but the meals anymore are so overpriced that 20% on an over priced meal, can really be a chunk of change! I don't think many of the meals are really that good anymore. I will read how wonderful someplace is and try it and then wonder what was suppose to be so great about it.

 

[MamaMaleficent2016]

For us, Disney vacations are as much about the food as it is the parks.

We did the Deluxe on our last trip, our first time on a dining plan, and I loved it. Will never go without it again. I have no idea whether it cost more or less than OOP and frankly don't care. We tend to order what we want when we eat out based on what we are in the mood for not by what costs less. This is our practice all year long so the same applies on vacation.

We love dinner shows and character meals because let's face it... You can have steak anywhere but can where can you have Steak with Mickey or your favorite princess? Only at WDW!! That eats up credits pretty fast. My whole family enjoys hot breakfast as the norm all year round. We are not a cereal and yogurt bunch.

So, you can see this all added together makes the Deluxe perfect for us. Like a previous poster we didn't quite get the hang of snacks (we thought it was just water and popcorn) so we are very excited to use those in a much better way this next trip! Watch out World Showcase!

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

We used to like it when we got it free or discounted (the savings was always better for us than a room discount), and our kids were younger. Now that they're both Disney adults, it would cost is $61 x 4 each day to eat. It doesn't cost that when we do OOP, so the plan for us ends up costing more. Even paying for refillable mugs (which do save us money - we had used them enough by day 2 of our 11 nights to more than make up the cost) we still came out ahead when we didn't have the plan last trip.

I find paying OOP more flexible - if I'm not super hungry I can order a kids meal and not worry that I'm not getting the full value out of the plan. On the plan I feel like I need to make sure my meals total more than the cost of the plan so I'm not losing money.

My husband, on the other hand, prefers the plan - because he feels like he can order what he wants.

On our next trip we have the plan for 4 days, and it was harder planning the ADRs for those days since I wanted to make sure we were eating at least $61x4 each day to make it worthwhile. Our OOP days are much easier to plan for since it's a lot more flexible.

 

[5kidsmommy]

We got it for the first time in November with free dining. We has the regular plan and I wouldn't do it again. It was too much food and felt restrictive and wasteful. Generally we eat table service, one of our favorite things to do is get various snacks from around Epcot and we like to sit down for maybe a quick salad or sandwich. We don't eat out a lot, we prefer eating at home, I love to cook and bake so fancy meals are not something we really enjoy

We also don't drink much soda and we only need maybe one sweet snack a day maximum. The desserts with every meal were too much. We pay out of pocket and spend far less than the cost of the dining plan. It still fells all inclusive because we use the magic bands to pay. Also we only do maybe one table service a week, and we eat breakfast in our room. To us eating at the restaurants is not that big of an appeal.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We go when it's free too. This is why:

1. We do two Dinner Shows and pay out of pocket for those
2. We pay for two Dessert Parties and only do lunch those days
2. This gives us four days of Signature dining for free plus grat and drinks.

 

[OhMari]

I absolutely hate it. too much food for us. We would never eat a Qs and a TS everyday by choice so hate being tied into that because it is paid for.

We go oop and spend less than half what the DDP costs.

Yep, we had it last year, and I felt horrible eating all that food. This year we spent half that amount, I felt so much better.

 

[Lee & Kerry]

We get it when it's free, if not the plan is way to much food and way to hard to organize the reservations and the fast passes and what park you want to go to. And then the biggest issue is the diets we have to do when we get home,,,,

We have done both ways many-many times and this works for us really well.

 

[SunnieRN]

There are a lot of things I love about the dining plan. The QS plan is great when we go during Food and Wine, as we would rather gorge around the world a couple of night, then we're tired of eating. Also in the warmer months, when we eat just to get energy, not in an amount that would justify TS. We also always have enough credits for the grandmunchkins to share a breakfast or a split a meal late in the evening as they have always been graders. That said, even making a lot of higher priced selections, BOG lunch, Tangerines Cafe, a steak meal, from America, etc, it's getting harder to break even, as I usually get the fruit option ( I'm tired of grapes for awhile) as I don't want a dessert twice a day.

When we've had TS it used to be well worth the cost, as I loved steak and some of the other higher priced meals. Now, one of my grandmunchkins is a Disney adult,, at 10, with a chicken nugget, pizza and burger appetite and my daughter and I are vegan/vegetarian. Due to this, on future trips we will most likely forego the dining plan or go during free dining if it is offered.

I will miss the convenience of the plan, as I'm a vacationers, while on vacation. I don't want to have to worry about anything on vacation!! I know, lazy, lol.

 

[MichiganScott]

For us...

DDP free? It's a no brainer to get.
Not free? It's a no brainer to pass.

Convenience is exactly the same, using the magic bands to debit from an account, be it dining credits or money.

 

[jtirishbelle]

We love the dining plan and usually get the deluxe dining

We did a split stay once and for a few days did not have it, and that was horrible because we were nickel and dimeing ourselves.

I love the fact that it is paid off ahead of time, and i don't have to worry about what everything costs.
The dining experience is as much a part of our vacation as the parks (especially character meals).

I do wish they had a plan that had 2 table service and one quick service a day, though.

 

[Reighngold]

I've considered it MANY times and even booked it a couple of times. Then I make all my dining reservations and do math to see what we are likely to eat and if the plan will save or cost us. Every time it's hundreds more than we'd eat without it. Now don't get me wrong, we aren't light eaters, it's just that we don't eat dessert, we don't like steak and we eat healthy snacks we pack in with only the occasional dole whip. We prefer smaller meals more often and being forced to eat large meals all at once makes us sick. So, we never get it and we save a ton.

 

[Reighngold]

Also, at the end of the day, you do have to worry about what things cost because the cost will dictate the tip. So not everything is paid for and you do have to charge things at the end.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Funny, after reading some of the responses, I must be a pig. Because, I don't find it to be too much food. I really do eat three meals a day at home, and I will eat three a day on vacation.

In fact, dining is part of my vacation.

We generally eat breakfast in the room, while we are getting ready to get out of the door. Then we stop for lunch around 11 and dinner around 4. By night time, I am ready for a snack.

Each trip I calculate the cost of the plan and the cost of OOP. If it saves us money, or is close, we go with the plan. If it doesn't, we don't.

Overall, I like the plan. I like the mug to take home. I tend to skimp and try to save if I'm not on the plan. In fact, I tend to try to make the family skip meals if we aren't on the plan.

 

[Srbright]

We love the dining plan for many reasons.

1) Saves us money
1A) We've gone 4 times, one on DDP and 3 times on DxDDP and have always saved money on full price DxDDP vs OOP. I save the receipts and add them together (excluding alcohol and tips which would have happened anyway). We have saved between $50-$200 depending on the trip. Add that to the savings we get for free dining and it's over $1,500 per trip.

1B) No, we aren't pigs. We don't all 4 order an appetizer and dessert every time. We eat throughout the day, often times buying 2 meals to share between us every 3 hours or so. Last time we saved $50 over the plan and still had 6 TS credits we hadn't used at all. We went home with a lot of rice Krispy treats.

2)Pre-payment allows me to budget more accurately (controller IRL)

2A) Yes, I know I could just go to each menu for each place and look at the prices and estimate. This doesn't work well for us because although we map out the big places (CG, CRT, Akershus, Tusker, & BOG) everything else is fly by the seat of our pants. We've been know to change our dinner res in EP 3 times the day of.

2) pre-payment allows me to pay Disney the money and not have to worry about keeping the cash.
2A) yes, I am loaning Disney money, but I wouldn't have made more than $20-30 on it at best. I won't put it on a gift card because if something happens and we can't go I can get the cash back from Disney. I can't turn a gift card back in for cash.

3) Most important of all: I have certain significant neurosis that make it impossible for me to eat out for 10 days straight and not purchase the smallest, cheapest item on the menu even if I don't like it. It would ruin the entire vacation for me and make me miserable and in turn make the rest of the family miserable. Is it reasonable or rational? Nope; that's why it's a neurosis. For our family a Disney vacation would not happen if we couldn't buy the DxDDP.


Stacy

 

[disBEAST]

We've done DDP once, won't purchase it again.

• We don't drink much pop or eat desserts all the time, so the cost of those items sunk into the DDP don't apply to us.
• After calculating multiple trips it provided very little or no savings, unless we tailored our eating to maximize the DDP.
• We don't like tailoring our eating just to maximize a cost I can avoid in the first place.
• While we do make ADRs much of our meal time is spontaneous especially the QS.
• We actually spend much more time in TS restaurants and TiW is a better value for us.