Cancel Dining Plan and Use Gift Card?

justdru

justdru

New Member
Our wonderful travel agent(s), KK, let us know that our trip qualifies for the $500 gift card and we will be given it during check-in. I'm sure we'll purchase *some* souvenirs but I just cannot see myself spending that kind of cash on products!

We currently have the Quick Service dining plan and will probably only splurge once or twice on a table service meal. KK suggested that we should keep the dining plan because the savings can quickly add up when using it.

However, I can't help but wonder if I should cancel the dining plan and use the gift card for that. $500 worth of food in a week seems like an awful lot... I can't imagine it not being enough money!

The food may cost us more without the dining plan savings but in reality by canceling the dining plan and spending 'free' money from Disney we'd have to put out less from our pockets.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Merry Christmas! :)
 
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justdru

justdru

New Member
Original Poster
Oh, also, canceling the dining plan would be a savings of $390.00. We'll be staying for 6 nights. That roughly equates to $32.50 per person per day on the dining plan.
 
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Shannon_Yensid

Shannon_Yensid

New Member
i'm about 90% sure on this one, but I believe the gift cards are only for merchandise purchases, not food...i'm not positive, but double check with disney (not your travel agent) to be sure. (don't get me wrong, travel agents can be great but as a front desk cast member i saw a whole lot of guests with the wrong info that they got from their agent).

as for if you should keep or cancel the dining plan, it all comes down to how much you plan to eat. if you didn't get the quick service plan, would you get, and use, the refillable drink mugs? would you get a dessert with every quick service lunch or dinner? if you would, the stick with the plan, it does save. but if you don't usually get desserts and snacks all the time and use the mug then i would consider skipping the plan.

have a good one:wave:
 
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happymom52003

happymom52003

Active Member
Shannon_Yensid said:
i'm about 90% sure on this one, but I believe the gift cards are only for merchandise purchases, not food...i'm not positive, but double check with disney (not your travel agent) to be sure.
Click to expand...

The gift cards can be used for food...from the WDW website:
Use the card to cover vacation expenses: dining at your choice of Walt Disney World® restaurants, special event tickets, sports, recreation, tours and more—all this in addition to shopping!

Figure out how much you think you would spend on souvenirs, recreation, etc. If it comes to near $500, then I'd keep the dining plan. However, if you don't think you will spend very much on souvenirs, etc...then why not use it for food? That is what we are doing.

Since we rarely order dessert and rarely eat snacks, and we drink water vs. sodas, etc...the dining plan does not save us a significant amount anyway. Using the menus on allears.net, I added up what we would spend on food for our trip, and the savings was not worth it for us. I think I figured we would save about $50-$75 or even less....not per day, for the entire trip. For us, I'd rather have the flexibility of not being tied down to the dining plan, because if someone gets sick, etc. and can't eat, you don't get your money back. I'm not knocking the dining plan...it is great for some, but not for others...really depends on how/what your family eats.

So if I were you, I'd just do the math on both ways and see which one comes out better. It also depends on if you are trying to save money or not. Obviously you would be going on this trip even without the gift card, so you can look at it two ways....use the gift card to save money on your trip, or look at it as a bonus gift to be used on extra souvenirs, etc...
 
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Monty

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
Since it's a Disney gift card, it doesn't have to be used up entirely during your trip. You can use it to purchase stuff from DisneyShopping.com after your return or on future trips.
 
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justdru

justdru

New Member
Original Poster
MontyMon said:
Since it's a Disney gift card, it doesn't have to be used up entirely during your trip. You can use it to purchase stuff from DisneyShopping.com after your return or on future trips.
Click to expand...

This is very true. It could come in handy for Christmas/Birthday gifts as time passes by but that's about all I can think of using it for. I'm having a hard time imaging myself or my DG wanting/purchasing $500 worth of merchandise/memorabilia.

I'll do the math later today - just wanted to get other input! :)
 
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tagrd

tagrd

New Member
When I saw this deal I was wondering if you could use to gift card to purchase the dining plan. They say you get the $500 gift card at check-in. Can't you then add the dining plan at check-in, and pay for it with the gift card.
 
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Monty

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
tagrd said:
When I saw this deal I was wondering if you could use to gift card to purchase the dining plan. They say you get the $500 gift card at check-in. Can't you then add the dining plan at check-in, and pay for it with the gift card.
Click to expand...
I think you have to add the Dining Plan at least three days before arrival.
 
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countrygrl4

countrygrl4

Member
I was thinking about this too. I was hoping to not add the dining plan and just use the gc. But I like to save money and my friend and I are college students so we are totally broke but when I just did the math bc we will be dong table services bc I like to be served and relax when I eat, if we spent about 30 at our TS it would equal 150 per person and that would equal our gc amount( staying at a value). Although we might stay at CSR so idk yet but I rather spend it on like a tour or something that I wouldnt buy normally bc it is too pricey and just use the dining plan and be able to order ANYTHING off the menu. I like pricey dishes usually so yeah.
 
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