I've heard positives and the negatives of buying a dining plan. Being a DVC member we always winged are meals, snacked in the parks (if we wanted) then went to our reservation Dinner and back to the room where we could make what ever. I know there are different plans but what are the advantages. Will appreciate any enlightenment.
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Dining plan or NO Dining plan ?
- Thread starter Daddyoh
- Start date
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
The calculator at distripplanner.com might be helpful to you, if you have an idea where you might like to eat.
Here's my take (with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy):
Do you plan to eat exactly one counter service meal, 1 table service meal and 1 snack, per day? If so, you might want the DDP.
Do you believe there's an instrinsic value in pre-payment that makes it worth it to prepay, even if it costs a little more in the end? If so, you might want the DDP.
Do you enjoy giant fountain beverages and desserts with every meal? If so, you might want the DDP.
Can you easily find things you enjoy in the entree section of a menu, without requiring any substitutions (e.g., appetizer or salad as your meal)? If so, you might want the DDP.
Are your children all aged 9 or younger, or if any are older, are their tastes and appetite sufficient to be satisfied by ordering from the adult menu every time, at 2-3 times the cost of a child's meal? If so, you might want the DDP.
Do you love the freedom of being able to choose any entree on a menu regardless of price, even if you know that you might "lose money" on your DDP investment if you order less-expensive entrees? If so, you might want the DDP.
Can you limit your restaurant choices to 1-credit table service venues (or are you comfortable eating at 2-credit places, knowing you'll have to pay for an additional meal out of pocket every time you choose one)? If you, you might want the DDP.
We've tried the DDP and it was both convenient and fun, but all we did was "break even" on the cost of things we wouldn't have purchased if we were paying out of pocket, anyway -- the amount of food that went to waste was a little shocking. For my family, the DDP doesn't save us anything -- in fact, now that my son will be over the magical age of 10 on our next trip (meaning he'd be priced as an adult), we'd pay far more for the DDP than we will out of pocket. We also want to try some signature (2-credit) restaurants, which are never a good value on the dining plan. It also doesn't really fit the way we like to eat, if we're ordering what we most want (rather than just trying to choose things that maximize DDP value). I like to drink water instead of fountain beverages, and especially at lunch, sometimes prefer to order a salad or an appetizer or two as my "entree." We never eat dessert except at dinner, and even then, usually order a couple of desserts for our family of four and split them. My son would often prefer to order from the children's menu instead of the adult one, and there are times we just want a hamburger instead of a salmon fillet. Also, we don't all necessarily want a snack every day, and the refillable mugs get used only a time or two. I've used distripplanner and consulted restaurant menus, and if my calculations are correct, we'll save at least $200 this time around by paying out of pocket for 1snack/1TS/1CS per day instead of using the DDP, even with 3 signature restaurant meals. The savings will increase even more if/when my 10-year-old orders some of his CS meals from the children's menu, which I anticipate he'll prefer to do in most cases.
Here's my take (with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy):
Do you plan to eat exactly one counter service meal, 1 table service meal and 1 snack, per day? If so, you might want the DDP.
Do you believe there's an instrinsic value in pre-payment that makes it worth it to prepay, even if it costs a little more in the end? If so, you might want the DDP.
Do you enjoy giant fountain beverages and desserts with every meal? If so, you might want the DDP.
Can you easily find things you enjoy in the entree section of a menu, without requiring any substitutions (e.g., appetizer or salad as your meal)? If so, you might want the DDP.
Are your children all aged 9 or younger, or if any are older, are their tastes and appetite sufficient to be satisfied by ordering from the adult menu every time, at 2-3 times the cost of a child's meal? If so, you might want the DDP.
Do you love the freedom of being able to choose any entree on a menu regardless of price, even if you know that you might "lose money" on your DDP investment if you order less-expensive entrees? If so, you might want the DDP.
Can you limit your restaurant choices to 1-credit table service venues (or are you comfortable eating at 2-credit places, knowing you'll have to pay for an additional meal out of pocket every time you choose one)? If you, you might want the DDP.
We've tried the DDP and it was both convenient and fun, but all we did was "break even" on the cost of things we wouldn't have purchased if we were paying out of pocket, anyway -- the amount of food that went to waste was a little shocking. For my family, the DDP doesn't save us anything -- in fact, now that my son will be over the magical age of 10 on our next trip (meaning he'd be priced as an adult), we'd pay far more for the DDP than we will out of pocket. We also want to try some signature (2-credit) restaurants, which are never a good value on the dining plan. It also doesn't really fit the way we like to eat, if we're ordering what we most want (rather than just trying to choose things that maximize DDP value). I like to drink water instead of fountain beverages, and especially at lunch, sometimes prefer to order a salad or an appetizer or two as my "entree." We never eat dessert except at dinner, and even then, usually order a couple of desserts for our family of four and split them. My son would often prefer to order from the children's menu instead of the adult one, and there are times we just want a hamburger instead of a salmon fillet. Also, we don't all necessarily want a snack every day, and the refillable mugs get used only a time or two. I've used distripplanner and consulted restaurant menus, and if my calculations are correct, we'll save at least $200 this time around by paying out of pocket for 1snack/1TS/1CS per day instead of using the DDP, even with 3 signature restaurant meals. The savings will increase even more if/when my 10-year-old orders some of his CS meals from the children's menu, which I anticipate he'll prefer to do in most cases.
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Disney4family
Well-Known Member
We always got the DDP and even splurged to try the Deluxe. Last month was the first time we didn't get it and found we did better (as DVC members) to use the Tables in Wonderland card. This was our first trip with both kids being considered as "adults" on the DDP. Using the calculators and spreadsheets people have suggested on here before the trip, we thought we would use TIW instead. I saved our receipts for everything and added it all up. We did save money without the DDP.
Did we miss having things prepaid? Honestly, no. And - actually - we loved the freedom NOT having the DDP offered. We didn't have to worry about using all of our points or not, or going over or not, or trying to make a counter service meal out of breakfast snacks or not or any combination of anything you can think of. We already booked next year's trip and plan on using TIW again.
Each family is different. This works for us. We're comfortable with our decision and are enjoying the freedom and savings of not using the DDP.
Did we miss having things prepaid? Honestly, no. And - actually - we loved the freedom NOT having the DDP offered. We didn't have to worry about using all of our points or not, or going over or not, or trying to make a counter service meal out of breakfast snacks or not or any combination of anything you can think of. We already booked next year's trip and plan on using TIW again.
Each family is different. This works for us. We're comfortable with our decision and are enjoying the freedom and savings of not using the DDP.
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matt9112
Well-Known Member
to me the value is in the table service. knowing that every night we are sitting down for a real meal. side note we always go this time of year for free dinning plan.
we are staying at POR and qualified? i wonder why you didn't. i know they only allocate so many rooms.
we are staying at POR and qualified? i wonder why you didn't. i know they only allocate so many rooms.
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Mickey5150
Well-Known Member
I'm always in WDW for F&W eating tons of little things so unfortunately I don't think DDP would work for me. I'll need to try it some day outside of F&W.
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AVeryDifferentDisneyDad
Active Member
Ok.... here's my 2 cents.
We'vve been blessed to able to go to Disney 4 times in 12 years. We have used one of the Dining Plans every single time for one simple reason: convienence.
Although a secondary reason would be "planning."
I am evidently MUCH too frugal for some folks on here. I spend thousands of dollars on ticketsm travel and food, the LAST thing I am going to do is hang out by a pool in my resort. Heck, we are at freakin' DISNEY people. I can layout by a pool in my own darn neighborhood!! For FREE!
We carefully plan our trip based on parks and meals. We make reservations to do Character Dining once EVERYDAY we are there. The foood is usually above average and the enertainment is the whole REASON we're at Disney and not Hilton Head. I love being able to make a reservation, show up, eat, play and zap my Band before heading back to the rides.
For US, the Dining Plan is a no brainer. Hiwever - full disclosure - we often have Snacks left on every Band the day we leave. My kids simply go to the snack place of our resort and load up on stuff for the 7 hour ride home. Still works out in our favor.
We'vve been blessed to able to go to Disney 4 times in 12 years. We have used one of the Dining Plans every single time for one simple reason: convienence.
Although a secondary reason would be "planning."
I am evidently MUCH too frugal for some folks on here. I spend thousands of dollars on ticketsm travel and food, the LAST thing I am going to do is hang out by a pool in my resort. Heck, we are at freakin' DISNEY people. I can layout by a pool in my own darn neighborhood!! For FREE!
We carefully plan our trip based on parks and meals. We make reservations to do Character Dining once EVERYDAY we are there. The foood is usually above average and the enertainment is the whole REASON we're at Disney and not Hilton Head. I love being able to make a reservation, show up, eat, play and zap my Band before heading back to the rides.
For US, the Dining Plan is a no brainer. Hiwever - full disclosure - we often have Snacks left on every Band the day we leave. My kids simply go to the snack place of our resort and load up on stuff for the 7 hour ride home. Still works out in our favor.
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boufa
Well-Known Member
I prefer the QS dining plan for us. (Of course this is always a personal decision). We don't enjoy sit down. Maybe once or twice a trip, be rarely even then. We are at a theme park and sitting down at a TS restaurant takes time from what I came there to do.
I went to various websites that have the menu's and I looked at them, and tried to pick random items that I thought we would eat. Once I picked a big meal, once i went burgers and fries. I added it all up per day, to see how close we came to the cost of the plan. Figured in the mugs (silly, but my wife loves them, wouldn't pay for them cash, but getting them certainly has "value"). Added in the snack credit, and looked to see how close we would come to the cost of the plan.
Several days we saved money, several days we lost, but none of the days were huge winners and none were huge losers. These were not "planned" meals that we had to stick to, just random examples of what might happen. In the end the QS plan is a wash for us, we might lose a little money, but the mug (wife's happyness is hard to quality in dollars) and the convenience of not caring what things cost or the financial effect of that snack is... makes the plan for me worth it. I might lose a few dollars, but not enough to worry about.
I also am not one of those who tries to MAX out the plan. I don't always have to order the most expensive thing, there is no pressure to ensure that I get my money's worth every credit, every day... I don't waste them... but I also don't change my life to get the most out of them.
This goes for snacks... cheap snacks are cash, and the closer to $5 or over they are, the more likely it will be a snack credit...of course that changes as you have credits left towards the end of the trip.
I went to various websites that have the menu's and I looked at them, and tried to pick random items that I thought we would eat. Once I picked a big meal, once i went burgers and fries. I added it all up per day, to see how close we came to the cost of the plan. Figured in the mugs (silly, but my wife loves them, wouldn't pay for them cash, but getting them certainly has "value"). Added in the snack credit, and looked to see how close we would come to the cost of the plan.
Several days we saved money, several days we lost, but none of the days were huge winners and none were huge losers. These were not "planned" meals that we had to stick to, just random examples of what might happen. In the end the QS plan is a wash for us, we might lose a little money, but the mug (wife's happyness is hard to quality in dollars) and the convenience of not caring what things cost or the financial effect of that snack is... makes the plan for me worth it. I might lose a few dollars, but not enough to worry about.
I also am not one of those who tries to MAX out the plan. I don't always have to order the most expensive thing, there is no pressure to ensure that I get my money's worth every credit, every day... I don't waste them... but I also don't change my life to get the most out of them.
This goes for snacks... cheap snacks are cash, and the closer to $5 or over they are, the more likely it will be a snack credit...of course that changes as you have credits left towards the end of the trip.
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