Can't make decision! Dining Plan or Not? Help!!!

[B-Ball Vol]

I've wrestled with this "dining plan or not" decision for the last several months to the point of exhaustion. I need your help. Here are the details to my dilemma:
My family of 5 (wife, me & 3 kids-11, 9 & 6) are staying 7 nights on property, so potentially we could have 7 table service meals. We currently have 3 ADRs that are set in stone with other families that will be at the World. For other meals, we would use all counter service restaurants. For breakfast, however, we will just eat in our room before we leave for the day. As best I could calculate, after accounting for tips 3 table service meals, occassional desserts, snacks, drinks, etc., it would cost us roughly $1,000 for food.
Now, for the dining plan, of course we would have more nice dining opportunities. All snacks prepaid, desserts & drinks (non-alcoholic) included and so on. It would cost us roughly $1,175 once tips are included.
So what do you think? Help me decide please!

 

[plaz10]

Honestly. I don't think the dining plan would be helpful with such young kids. They probably won't eat that much and you might spend more than you originally would.

I personally am doing the DDP (one month from yesterday!) but only because I got a free pin code. Normally, I think it would be way too much food with the dessert and the table service every day. But I am excited to get super full!

I also don't like DDP because the ADRs make for a very scheduled day. I normally enjoy just seeing where the day takes me. But this next trip will be different so we'll see if I enjoy the more rigid agenda.

 

[cemeb4dk]

I am in your dilema for my Oct trip. I have a 4 year old daughter that wants to do alot of character meals. So I did the math cash + tip then Dining plan plus tip. We came out ahead on the dining plan. The reason I figure this to be true is the price of the kids dining plan due to the price of a kids buffet. So that is where the ground is made up. I was anti dining plan until I did the math, it was not a huge savings but maybe $100 or so.


Here is my post when I had just done the math so it was fresh in my head:
I am just about 6 months out from our Trip, and getting our plans together to make our ADR's. We have used the old DP when everythign was included, app and tip, and it was a great deal, but too much food. This upcoming trip, I looked at all the menus of where we wanted to eat. I have a 4 year odl daughter so we are doing a few character meals. So I added up the costs of paying cash, for these meals and then added lunch and a snack price for the trip. Then I did the math of the dining plan. Then added tip 20% to all and we will come out ahead on the DP. Not by much I think around $100 or so. Where I think the DP got its edge was the character meals on the kids price. Instead of it being $17 + for each meal for my daughter on the meal plan its only $12 for the entire day. So thats where I think the gain was had. As I am not a fan of the dining plan it actually works to our benefit on this upcoming trip.

We are DVC members and this will be our only trip to Disney for a few years, so I even looked at TIW card and just buying 1 annual pass at our discounted rate, and the rest of us just getting day passes ( 8 days) and that was more than the DP and cash options. But we were getting an annual pass and a years worth of 20% off meals. But for this trip we wont be returning in time so it wasn't a viable option.

So in closing its not for everyone, take some time do the math and see if it works for you.

 

[swimmom]

If you don't mind planning ahead for those 4 other TS meals & spending another $175, I would go with the Dining Plan. You wouldn't be able to get 4 TS meals for your family of 5 for $175!!!

I wasn't a fan of the DDP at first, but we really do enjoy it now. Every trip we try a new TS restaurant, and of course return to some favorites. I also like taking the time to eat a meal and regroup. We are usually refreshed and ready to go again after we sit down for awhile over a nice meal.

You know your family best, but if your kids don't mind taking a break from the parks for an hour - hour & a half, it could end up being beneficial to your family.

 

[JillC LI]

Another option you have with the Dining Plan is to try out a Signature restaurant for 2 credits that would otherwise cost an arm and a leg out of pocket. Our family of 4 likes to have one sit down meal every day, so we go with the dining plan every time.

 

[RiversideBunny]

Not.

 

[stlbobby]

There are other considerations with the dining plan other than just cash. If you are the kind of person that enjoys having all the ducks in a row before leaving, having pre-paid for your food will make you vacation a more relaxing experience. It will also help keep costs in line because you will have a running total of credits and it will be clear when you are going over budget. With kids, especially pre-teens, the dining plan can make it easy to keep impulse buying in check.

These are just some considerations to think about, these may not apply to you or your family, but others might.

 

[Monty]

Other factors to consider:

• What kind of room discount might be available for the time you're there? Room-only discounts on most resorts other than Values will often save you more than the total cost of the Dining Plan.
• Would buying an AP for one or more member of your group get you an AP discount on your resort that's better? Then add in the shopping discounts and other benefits of having an AP, including the Tables in Wonderland dining discount, which often save me more than DDP.
  [*]Would you utilise all the credits you would receive using DDP?
  

It's never entirely black and white, each trip and each group have different factors to consider.

 

[cegrant]

I think the question you really have to ask yourself is, how much do your kids eat? Can the younger ones share a meal or do they each need their own? If they can share (which I think is likely, Disney portion sizes are not at all skimpy), you are probably better off skipping it.

Also, keep in mind that the policy states that kids have to order off the kids menu if one is available. That will usually limit their choices dramatically.

Finally, what kind of resort are you staying at? Especially if it's a deluxe or DVC resort, you are often better off getting an AP, using the AP room discount and snagging a TiW card. For example, my family of 8 (including 4 grandparents, my husband and I and our two kids 1 and 4) are going in October and will be staying at BLT. Historically, the room discount for AP holders in Oct at a DVC property has been around 40-45% for that time of year. This will save around $400 a night...far more than enough to justify the cost of the AP, the cost of the TiW card, and the loss of the 'free' dining.

Besides, when we go out to dinner, do we really need 6 appetizers, 6 entrees, a kids meal and 6 desserts? Hell no. We'd all have to buy extra plane seats for the trip home.

 

[John]

The dreaded DDP or not thread... It seems on this topic no one is right and no one is wrong...Heres my two cents worth.

I suggest you buy it. I think for your size family it makes alot of sense. Having young children it will be a much more of a relaxed vacation when you already know where you are having dinner. The last thing you want to do is decide on a whim where you want to eat. Kids thrive under structure.

Everyone has an opinion on this.....but you have to decide how does it fit your family. As far as the kids eating alot of food. You can purchase the kids plan for them. What is your kids eating habits?

Plus I think the DDP is a great way to schedule character meals. Having a schedule with your large family is an excelent way of maxamizeing your time. Some say its restrictive....but maybe that fits your childrens "nap" time etc. $175 maybe a price for a piece of mind. The real difference is $175 and haveing a schedule VS Not having a schedule. But in reality if you use ADR's weather you pay for the DDP or not you still have a schedule.

Have you been to WDW before? Will you plan to go again? For a $175 maybe its worth finding out. This will give you an education as weather to use it next time. If you dont you will always wonder if you should have.
I know $175 is alot of money to all of us. But atleast you can pretty much know in advance what your dining budget is.

I have done it both ways, I prefer to buy it I love the fact of having everything paid for before I leave the house. (yes ..minus the tip) I even go as far as looking at the menues and planning our meals ahead of time.

 

[mickeysshoes]

We like the plan and last two years we have gotten free dinning so we upgraded to the deluxe plan so we could have more of the nicer meals. I like having the plan for the simple reason your food is paid in full before you go (other than the tips) and dont have to worry about that for spending cash. With all the options for the plans how could you go wrong. We think half the fun of going to WDW is planning everything before hand. We have long talks at dinner aboat where we want to eat on which nights while on vacation (after the park hours are out) so we can make the most of our vacation. We also like have the snacks we tend to use them for a quick breakfast..water, fruit or bagel. It was worked out well for us. Good luck and have a great vacation.

 

[lovepooh]

Here is my 2 cents for whatever its worth:ROFLOL:

We have been to disney 5 times in the past in the past 5 years and we didnt get the diney plan the first time around, we spend around 1000.00
like you are saying you would. However we were always worried how much money we would spend how much was this and that on the menu. LEt me honest the cost of disney's food is "sticker shock"

Then I did more research and the next time we went was in Feb the following year and I thought I would give the dinning plan a try. I was also waffling like you back and forth but in the end we decided to go for it.

I loved it!! we could go to any counter service/ TS and order what ever we wanted on the menu and not worry abut the cost. Really the tip its peanuts for the type of meals. You can not beat the character meals. Think about the pricing for the character meals. 30.99 just for one adult that will add up quick.

I know there is debate on to use it or not, For our family which is a family of 6 close to your size its a must we wont go without the dinning plan.
I have 2 small kids and sometimes their hungry and sometimes not. You know this as a parent- so weather your buying out of pocket for your kids or using the dinning plan your kids will eat the same.

enjoy on whatever choice you make, its disney after all!:sohappy:

 

[We<3Disney]

We have four kids, 7, 8, 11 and 12. We love the dining plan! We try to eat at a few new places each visit as well as a few old favorites. We would not try to eat this many sit down meals without the plan. I also love that we have our meals paid for in advance! :sohappy:

 

[Tiger45]

I have a family of 4 and we always get the plan and here is why I recommend getting it. The benefit of paying an extra $175 is that you get 4 more table service meals that re not fast food, which if you calculate this out you would otherwise spend $120 for each table service. If you use counter services for these meals you will easily pay atleast $40 per meal. So 4 TS meals for $175 or 4 QS meals for $180+? So this is a no brainer to me, get it and enjoy the TS meals and get a couple character meals lined up for you and your kids.

 

[graphite1326]

not for me

I did the dining plan once. The convenience was nice, but there was just too much there for me to eat. You are paying (upfront) for everything, drink, entree, dessert, etc. My family of 4 are not that big of eaters, and usually don't eat dessert. A lot of food went to waist. Therefore a lot of money went to waist. We also eat our breakfast in the resort which we brought with us. We always eat at one nice place per stay. But the rest of our meals are usually fast food (I'm there to have fun not spend alot of time eating). I kept most of our food receipts from our last trip and the total bill was about $650.00. With snacks that I may have not kept track of I figure about $800.00 for a 6 day, 5 night stay. To me it's not worth it.

 

[B-Ball Vol]

First of all - thank you all for your input & help. Much appreciated.

Now for some more details that have been questioned:
We have gone a few times before (last trip, September '08), but we aren't planning another one for a while.
We are staying at the Poly with a 40% off code, saving more than what the dining plan would cost.
In the past, we have gotten the plan for free (probably adding to my hesitation to buying it).
Also, it is a lot of food. Some of which we wouldn't eat without the plan.
On the other hand, we do eat dessert and sodas, especially on vacation!

Thanks again everybody!

 

[ml123_9]

Personally, I would add it just so you can indulge in some of the nicer table service meals including character meals. Unless you are only planning on the 3 ADR's and eating quick service the rest of the time it may not be worth it then. My wife and 4yr old and I are traveling to the Kingdom next month and I just added the dining plan the other day. So you pretty much have until 3 or 4 days before you travel to add it, if you decide to. For us staying 5 nights, it was only $479 extra. We also have 4 ADR's, including character breakfast, so for us, it's worth it.

 

[Dwarful]

Well here's two more cents to add to your confusion. We have done WDW with and without dining plan...the current QS plan, the current regular TS plan and the previous plan with apps and tips included. What does your nine year old like to eat? If they eat real food, they might not be happy with the kids plan unless you eat at a lot of buffets. Most of the TS kids meals are glorified QS kids plans and the portions have really gotten smaller over the last few years. Some of the adult meals have been pared down in size as well. If you are on the plan and are traveling during a busy time...summer, Christmas, etc. you might try for late breakfasts or early lunches to cut down on your wait time. Last summer we had TS meals that took close to 3 hours because they were so overbooked. That really cuts down on your park time. This last trip we opted to just wing it, except for 2 TS meals. This really made things easier. We weren't planning our days at the parks around our meal schedules.

 

[fbp]

Use this equation to help figure out potential savings on the dining plan:

 

[roadtripper]

Another thought...don't know if it will save you any money, but might be worth pricing out.

Go ahead and pay out of pocket for the three meals you have scheduled with the other families in the world. Consider the Quick Service only meal plan to cover everything else. This will get you 2 Counter service meals and 2 snacks plus the refillable resort mugs for each person. This might take away some of the burden of watching your spending as you go. Also, a few of the CS restaurants will allow kids to order off of the regular menu. I figure it never hurts to ask...the worst that can happen is they say no.