Dining Plan or not?

[bethram]

We like the DDP and feel as though we saved money our last trip. Our first trip the dining plan wasn't an option for us because I booked our room and tickets through RunDisney. I constantly kept my eye on prices and frequently did not order what I really wanted because of the price. Our trip when we had the DDP felt much more enjoyable to me since I didn't feel restricted by how much my meal was going to cost and it was nice to know that our meals were already paid for. We've got two more trips in the works and plan to get the DDP for both.

 

[danpam1024]

We use Tables in Wonderland- 20% everything easier

 

[ShookieJones]

We use the dining plan and enjoy it immensely - However it's not for everyone.


Don't bother doing the math.
Not because that isn't smart but because it's too much work to just find that the cost savings probably aren't there or are minimal.

Here's my take:

If you eat to live and food ain't that big a part of your vacation and\or you're a party of 3 or less I would say -- Don't do it.

If you live to eat, enjoy snacks like premium bars and WDW popcorn (tastes better there for some reason) or look forward to enjoying a nice table meal at the end of a long day at the parks
AND you appreciate the convenience of not having to budget or worry about what you're spending on chow and are a party of 4 or more --- Do it.

I know there's no math in my suggestions, but I was never good at math it makes my brain hurt.
That's my opinion based on my own experience and what I've heard first hand from others on here or in person.

 

[danpam1024]

We use the dining plan and enjoy it immensely - However it's not for everyone.


Don't bother doing the math.
Not because that isn't smart but because it's too much work to just find that the cost savings probably aren't there or are minimal.

Here's my take:

If you eat to live and food ain't that big a part of your vacation and\or you're a party of 3 or less I would say -- Don't do it.

If you live to eat, enjoy snacks like premium bars and WDW popcorn (tastes better there for some reason) or look forward to enjoying a nice table meal at the end of a long day at the parks
AND you appreciate the convenience of not having to budget or worry about what you're spending on chow and are a party of 4 or more --- Do it.

I know there's no math in my suggestions, but I was never good at math it makes my brain hurt.
That's my opinion based on my own experience and what I've heard first hand from others on here or in person.

I've always wondered why people do it because I did do the math (math geek) and it doesn't benefit us (3). What you said about not have to worry about budgeting for food is the only thing that makes sense! We prefer sig dining and would rather just go and pay and not have to shuffle credits.

 

[gooftroop5]

Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. Everything depends on everything else. How long will we be there? Where are we staying? Do we have a kitchen? When are we going and do we have time to make ADRs? Do we have the money to pay upfront so we have the convenience later? And on and on.

I think it comes down to a personal opinion and where or not you can afford to pay upfront. I agree with pp's about checking out the menus at allears. That is how I started as well.

 

[Figgy1]

Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. Everything depends on everything else. How long will we be there? Where are we staying? Do we have a kitchen? When are we going and do we have time to make ADRs? Do we have the money to pay upfront so we have the convenience later? And on and on.

I think it comes down to a personal opinion and where or not you can afford to pay upfront. I agree with pp's about checking out the menus at allears. That is how I started as well.

A magical welcome to you! Great post!

 

[ShookieJones]

I've always wondered why people do it because I did do the math (math geek) and it doesn't benefit us (3). What you said about not have to worry about budgeting for food is the only thing that makes sense! We prefer sig dining and would rather just go and pay and not have to shuffle credits.

I have a close friend who was a math major and he LOVES crunching numbers..I'm sure I could have thrown this at him for a little 'fun' but I know what the answer is going to be.
I will say it's definitely the convenience I mentioned in my original post, but I will also it admit a bit of
psychology comes into play as well :
I love to enjoy a good meal and I especially love our family's evenings around a WDW restaurant table talking about what an awesome day we just had and relaxing.
I don't want that moment ruined by the extremely over priced bill we get handed to us.
It's done it's paid for - I only have to occasionaly nudge my wife a little to give a bigger tip (when applicable) and move on.

 

[rob45]

I am a fan of the dining plan. I like the quick service option.

 

[JIMINYCR]

I am a fan of the dining plan. I like the quick service option.

We did the QS the last trip and it provided us with enough to eat. I was unsure about how I would like it, but wanted to save time by not sitting down for full meals. I went with my son who can get irritable and grumpy if he gets hungry.... but he was happy with it. We still arranged for two table meals which we paid out of pocket, he did want to do Sci-fi diner and Crystal Palace.

 

[danpam1024]

Ok- so DH and I have decided to give a package with MMY and DDP- for the reasons stated above- we don't want to have to budget for food (thanks @ShookieJones). My question about DDP- if on the last night we each have one TS left but want to go to a signature dining restaurant for dinner, would they combine the 2 TS credits for one of us and we pay for the other person's meal? And could we choose who the credits would go towards ( if I got a more expensive meal, obviously I would want to use the credits)?

 

[brifraz]

Also, think about how you eat at home. We tend to eat one large meal a day at home, a smaller meal, and one meal is usually on the fly. So, the standard dining plan fits our habits nicely.

When at Disney, our 'big' meal is usually character dining, which average over $30 for adults and $15-20 for kids - that means the kids DDP pays for itself in just that one meal. Then a counter service with a drink and dessert runs between $15 and $20 which almost makes the adult plan start coming close to being covered. Since any kids food at the counter service is already beyond the value of their plan, it would count toward the parents and make things close to coming out even. Snacks are the bonus - for us that is usually muffins/cinnamon rolls at breakfast - and brings us out ahead of the game.

Without any kids, the value of the plan diminishes pretty quickly - UNLESS you are getting the more expensive things on the menu at your table service meals.

It all depends on how you eat. Check out my trip reports if you want details of our DDP exploits and how the math worked out for us each time.

 

[brifraz]

Ok- so DH and I have decided to give a package with MMY and DDP- for the reasons stated above- we don't want to have to budget for food (thanks @ShookieJones). My question about DDP- if on the last night we each have one TS left but want to go to a signature dining restaurant for dinner, would they combine the 2 TS credits for one of us and we pay for the other person's meal? And could we choose who the credits would go towards ( if I got a more expensive meal, obviously I would want to use the credits)?

Afraid not. That's why many folks don't like to use the plan. You definitely need to plan out your TS credits in advance, but since you need to book almost all TS restaurants in advance, I suspect you are already going to do this. In the scenario you laid out above, you are going to have to pay out of pocket for a meal sometime in there if you want to use credits for the signature dining. Or add another TS meal during the visit and pay out of pocket for the signature meal.

 

[englanddg]

Ok- so DH and I have decided to give a package with MMY and DDP- for the reasons stated above- we don't want to have to budget for food (thanks @ShookieJones). My question about DDP- if on the last night we each have one TS left but want to go to a signature dining restaurant for dinner, would they combine the 2 TS credits for one of us and we pay for the other person's meal? And could we choose who the credits would go towards ( if I got a more expensive meal, obviously I would want to use the credits)?

No, they will not.

 

[minnielaw]

When I joined the boards this was the most contentious issue on here and the opinions were vociferous and varied! Glad to see that the discussion has resumed a normal level

Whether or not to get the DDP is such a personal choice and depends for the most part on your eating and spending habits. We have used the DDP on all three of our trips to WDW and have found the experience varied from trip to trip.

I think that the DDP is the way to go if you and your family enjoy food and the experience of dining out. If you tend to try new restaurants when in a new city and view dining as entertainment...then definitely go with the DDP. The DDP will enable you to experiment with restaurants that you might have avoided if paying out of pocket and will encourage you to plan your meals ahead so that you can secure ADR's at the most coveted spots.
If you and your family view food as simply fuel for your body and are content with snacking, sharing meals and eating a bagel in your room for breakfast...the DDP is not for you. You would probably find it to be too much food and require too much time in restaurants.

Since it is your first trip to WDW, I would encourage you to seriously consider purchasing it. I found that the DDP made a huge difference in our first trip! Becoming knowledgeable about the plan and being forced to think ahead and make ADR's, really made our trip go much more smoothly. To me, there is nothing worse than being tired and hungry in a park and being unable to find a restaurant in which to just sit down and relax. By planning all of our table service meals (and most of our CS meals...sue me, I'm a planner!) we were always able to walk right in the restaurant and know we would have a table within a few minutes. The most wonderful part was NOT WORRYING about the price of any dish and allowing my children to experiment with whatever they wanted. Then I just handed our KTTW card to the server and voila! Of course, I had prepaid for my meal...but not handing over $120 at each meal sure felt good!

On our second trip the DDP was offered free and we took that deal. Our oldest son was now an "adult" by WDW standards and this saved us significant money. We had family traveling with us that had not been to WDW in years (and enjoy dining out) so the DDP enabled us to show them lots of restaurants.

On our most recent trip, we decided that the DDP was no longer the way to go for our family. We were now a family of four "adults" and our DDP cost us $1,500 out of pocket! That just seemed like an obscene amount of money to spend on food for one week. We discovered that we no longer liked being constricted in our ordering choices....at Kona we wanted sushi, but couldn't get it on the DDP. At many restaurants we really just wanted a few appetizers and maybe a dessert or two to share...but can't do that on the DDP.

So, the DDP served us well on our first two trips and we have now outgrown it. On our next trip we are going to go DDP free and see how much we spend out of pocket. My husband and I may try the Deluxe DP if we ever make it to WDW kid free for a few days....but for now...ADIEU my once beloved DDP.

 

[danpam1024]

No, they will not.

that sucks i'm not much of a planner anymore, just like to be more spontaneous. maybe we should reconsider