Can't decide on Dining Plan

[TwisterMomma]

We are doing it for the first time on this trip. Before I changed our hotels to a split stay, I thought the whole week might have been a little much, but we were going to enjoy it! I would have a hard time ordering what I really wanted if we were paying directly out of pocket. My husband and I really loved the all-inclusive experience on the last adults-only trip we took, so I know we will enjoy it.

Now, we are going to have it for half of our stay and it is a nice compromise. Although, I couldn't make it work to cover the day we are eating at Asherkus and Biergarten...that is going to hurt.

 

[MickeyMomV]

Back when the dining plan fist came out you would save "up to" 30% and we would get it for every trip. In the last 5-10 years that has dropped to about 10% (at least that was the last time I seen a percentage associated to it). Now, we only get the DDP if it is in a package like Play Stay Dine or if it is "free". We are not the people that feel we need to eat everything on our plate to get our moneys worth. We just like to ability to try different things and desserts (love the desserts) that we would never justify if we didn't have the dining plan. If we were paying OOP or with gift cards we would never try some of the things on the menu and we would never do the deserts. We don't always get the most expensive things on the menu as you don't have to in order to breakeven but at the same point if you order the cheapest things you will lose money. As we see it, you are on vacation - Eat a few nicer meals - Try a few deserts - if you don't clear your plate, don't obsess about it and when it is all done..... Go walk another 8 miles around the park.

 

[danyoung56]

We just like to ability to try different things and deserts (love the deserts)....

Me too! There's the Sahara, the Mojave, the Gobi . . . the list of deserts goes on!

 

[LeighM]

My husband and I love the dining plan and we always manage to break even or save a few dollars. That's especially true when we go during Food and Wine and use the snack credits for the more expensive menu items. But all of my friends with young children who had the dining plan ended up losing money because children just don't eat that much. A friend of mine didn't listen and got the deluxe dining plan for their first trip. They left with a lot of unused credits and brought home a bunch of overpriced snacks from their food court LOL. It was also hot when the time of year they went and their kids didn't really have much of an appetite during the middle of the day.

 

[ARO]

We saved almost $100 using the dining plan when we went in April of 2016. But you really need to plug in your choices into www.distripplanner.com, as another member suggested. We were only on Disney property 2 nights, but able to spread out our credits over 3 days. The kids enjoyed the extra treats, that we probably would not have otherwise purchased. We also did two character buffets which of course are pricy. Not sure if we would get it for a complete on site stay, but it was great for a split stay.

 

[KrzyKtty]

We saved almost $100 using the dining plan when we went in April of 2016. But you really need to plug in your choices into www.distripplanner.com, as another member suggested. We were only on Disney property 2 nights, but able to spread out our credits over 3 days. The kids enjoyed the extra treats, that we probably would not have otherwise purchased. We also did two character buffets which of course are pricy. Not sure if we would get it for a complete on site stay, but it was great for a split stay.

That is a pretty cool tool. I definitely recommend using it. I did so after my own independent calculations, and they were pretty close.

 

[mustlovecats]

We tend to go with the dining plan for convenience since we also estimate that we will break even. We like to order expensive things without worrying about the cost. And I love to order dessert. The dining plan lets me do those things without feeling guilty about how much everything costs while on vacation.

 

[Dana223]

I am going to Disney World in August with 5 friends. Flying in early one morning and leaving late 6 days later. I did the math to find that if we spend $55 a day on food it will be worth it. With a table service meal, quick service, and 2 snacks a day I think it will be at the $55 a day. I also like the convenience of paying a head of time.

 

[captainkidd]

I broke it down on that calculator and though it was close on paper, in reality, we would spend a lot more with the dining plan. It estimated we would spend $180 at Via Napoli. That's 3 times what we would spend.

 

[dmatt87]

I worked it out realistically by looking the menus and knowing our usual family eating habits, and it worked out to a saving of about $150 for a 6 night trip for 3 people. I have 4 character meals, including CRT for lunch, and only one breakfast, so it does make a difference to have the plan. Even if I brake even in the end, it's still a win because it will have been mostly prepaid!

 

[Kingoglow]

Like many here, I tried the DDP on my first trip as an adult. It really did add a whole layer of complexity to our plan. We stayed on property for a week and it felt like we were constantly bouncing from meal to meal. By the end of the vacation both my wife and I were simply refusing the desserts (I couldn't eat another chocolate cake).

If a family has growing boys in their teens I totally understand why the dinning plan would be great for them. But for 2 adults,
the dining plan was too much for us.

All that is being sold to you is convenience. You can plan and plan and plan but you will still have to put in effort to save money on the plan. Convenience works for many families; I totally get that.

I have 2 suggestions.
The first, is to skip the DDP. Eat where you want and when you want. Save every receipt, even the snack receipts. Then do the math when you get back home in order to see if the dinning plan works for your family. Then next trip, you will have your answer going in.

My second suggestion, if you would like to add the convenience to your trip, is to buy the QS plan which is the cheapest of the options. It probably wont cover all of your meal expenses (depending on how your family eats) but at least you wont have to stress about any remaining credits at the end of your trip. Preload your vacation with meals that you want to enjoy (TS or signature or character buffets) and use those credits up. Then pay with cash at the end.

 

[King Racoon 77]

I worked it out realistically by looking the menus and knowing our usual family eating habits, and it worked out to a saving of about $150 for a 6 night trip for 3 people. I have 4 character meals, including CRT for lunch, and only one breakfast, so it does make a difference to have the plan. Even if I brake even in the end, it's still a win because it will have been mostly prepaid!

This is how i worked out our dining plan also. Took the total cost and then priced up what we would normally eat and it works to about $100 pp we are losing on the dining plan over 14 nights. Bearing in mind that we are both large coffee drinkers and i haven't accounted for any snack credits then we will easily break even. I don't mind if we don't save a percentage but it is the ease of having pre-paid that swung it for us.

 

[Weather_Lady]

From the restaurants you've chosen, my guess is that you WON'T save money on the DDP. (To save, you need to choose the highest-priced buffets and family-style restaurants worth 1 TS credit.)

FWIW, I ran the numbers for my family's upcoming trip. (2 bona fide adults, 1 11-year-old "adult," and 1 9-year-old child). Even with two more-expensive meals thrown in ('Ohana dinner and Biergarten, as well as Sanaa, La Hacienda de San Angel and Via Napoli, plus 1 snack per person, per day, and 1 CS meal per day), the dining plan would cost us about $1,125 (with tips, and we'd still have to pay for one TS out-of-pocket since the DDP is 4 TS credits short of covering all of our planned meals), while paying out of pocket for all of the same restaurants would barely approach $900 (with tips) -- a savings of $225 over the DDP. This is due to the way we tend to order (e.g., the 11-year-old still likes to order from the kids' menu at a la carte restaurants, I don't drink fountain beverages, only one of us gets any use out of the refillable mug, DH and I split one dessert at dinner, etc.).

 

[KrzyKtty]

We are doing the DDP this time for the first time. We are paying for two TS out of pocket. However, this time we are doing a TON of buffet style lunches and diners, so we are breaking even or saving a bit of money. Next time when we go, not sure I will bother. I will probably just use our rewards $ to pay for the food.

 

[Jeff456]

In the UK we are awash with "Free" dining promotions for almost the entire year which obviously means paying full rack rate for rooms as a result... The dining plan is therefore forced upon us I guess!
I like the convinience that it is prepaid, with sterling performing poorly at the moment vs the dollar it is somewhat of a relief that things are paid for, in the not too distant past I have been when the pound had breached the $2 mark, now we are down at $1.25.
My problem with the Dining Plan is that I feel tied down and obliged to eat a table service meal nearly every day this cuts down park time.
I am a bit of a commando though and would happily stay at the park from opening to close every day of my trip, table service dining disrupts this.
If it is near break even for you why not put the money aside instead? That way you can tell yourself the money would have gone on the dining plan, then you can be more flexible, if you save money great, if you spend slightly more you no doubt had more flexibility as a result! The QSDP on the other hand I really like, basically everything prepaid, no tips and no feeling tied down, not sure of the economics of it though! Personally staying in a deluxe this time so "free" regular dining plan included, I know I could eat C/S instead but then it would feel like a waste!

 

[larryz]

Me too! There's the Sahara, the Mojave, the Gobi . . . the list of deserts goes on!

Displaying your dry humor again, I see...

 

[MSCollins77]

Hello everyone. First I'd like to say thank you for all of the wonderful information I've found on the boards. I started reading everything I could find last year before my son and I made our first trip to WDW. We ended up having a great time thanks in no small part to all of the available info here.

We have a return trip booked at the YC 8/9-14 and this year as he's a year older we're going to try to forgo mid-day naps and do late afternoon TS seatings for a mid-day break. I'm trying to decide if the Dining Plan makes sense for us. I've even gone so far as to make a spreadsheet with what I thought we would eat, but with a 5 yo and even with a 37 yo, 6 months out it's tough to really know what we'll feel like eating on any given day, so I'm looking for a more general approach. We have ADR's at the following:

Cape May or Garden Grill (character b'fast) one will be canceled
Tutto Italia
Captain's Grille (Lunch)
BoG (Lunch)
Kona Cafe (dinner)
Teppan Edo

Going through those menus as well as QS menus just trying to take averages, and accounting for the snacks, I seem to be almost even with paying out of pocket. What I can't account for is the value in the drink cup and of course if we will actually spend what I've assumed. Looking for any advice when prices seem to be a wash for the DP either way. Or if anyone has had a similar menu and what their experience showed. Thanks!

I don't think the regular dinning plan is worth it but the dlx is a little over 100 per person per day (I think about 109) and if you were to do all table service then it turns into a good value. yes you do have to factor in tips but if you figure that you then have the option of an appetizer and dessert at each meal plus two snacks a day and the mug it is worth it when it opens you up to almost any restaurant for any meal on property.

Also if it goes on a Disney Visa you have 6 months to pay it off interest free as it is part of your package plus a few extra reward dollars.

Whenever I try to estimate how much it would cost to eat per day at Disney out of pocket I do not base it on three table service meals
with all courses and I do not factor in the snacks and I continually come up with a savings of no more than $20-30 per day. I compare that to the trade off of the mug two snacks three able services meals with all the courses and always come to the conclusion that the savings is not worth knowing the exact cost of food and being able to spread it over 60 months. The savings is also not worth giving up the ease of using credits on magic bands and not having to worry about what to order and not order.

 

[Raegansmommy]

We went this past December after not going for 6 years. Last time we were there out daughter was under 3, so we just paid for her meals. I sat down and made a spreadsheet with what I figured we would eat. We did a lot of character meals and some were buffets. My calculations showed we would save $200 by paying for the dining plan. We are a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children). We actually ended up splitting a few quick service and table service meals that we did breakfast at our resort a few days and also another character breakfast. For us, we saved. I also like the convenience of not having to think about how much we are spending on meals. I like our trip to be paid for in advance. Enjoy your trip!

 

[danyoung56]

Displaying your dry humor again, I see...

See what you did there? I'm only funnin' - at least I'm not getting yelled at this time!

 

[Tuvalu]

See what you did there? I'm only funnin' - at least I'm not getting yelled at this time!

Funnin' is just as bad as desert or dinning.....