Dining plan or pay per meal?

[Jackiep9]

I'm finding it really hard to price compare! We are traveling with a family of 4 (one 4 yo, one 1 yo, 2 adults) plus 3 extra adults (extended family). We definitely want to do a few character meals and we'll be at disney for 5 nights. How much do individual sit down meals cost if you aren't on the dining plan? We reserved the standard meal plan for everyone and I can't even figure out from the bill how much it was - maybe $60 a day? Do you think we'd really spend that much per person for food if we didn't do the meal plan? Can I still book character meals the same way if we decide to cancel the meal plan?

Yikes this is all so confusing. We're traveling March 3-8.

 

[Master Yoda]

The only way to know for sure is to run the numbers. If all you do is look at food to dollars the dining plan will win almost every time. If you look at what you would actually order the savings begin to erode. What you will want to do is look at the menus for the restaurants you plan on going to, add up what you would normally order and compare the two numbers.

You will make ADRs the same way no matter if you are on the dining plan or not.

 

[sgtmgd]

You can book any Dining reservation regardless if you have the Disney Dining Plan or not. LOL forwarned you opened the age old arguement here about whether to use the DDp or not..(Hatfields and McCoys)

We are going to be there from 11-16 Sept 3 adults and 2 children (well one counts as an adult as she is 11)

We are advocats of the DDP, we use the deluxe plan wich affords us 3 sit down meals and 2 snacks a day..NO we dont sit down 3x a day to eat..however I like maximum flexibility while in the bubble..we generally do a signature sitdown for dinner (counts as 2 credits each) and then either a character buffet for breakfast using the 2 snacks to bridge the gap until dinner or snacks for brekfast and a CS for lunch..The DDP is more conveneint for me as everything outside gratuity is already paid for..I dont have to worry about "how much" money I set aside for food..it's already a fixed cost..makes my budget much easier. the cost of the DDP or paying out of pocket to me is neglible I can make it work either way...in the end I prefer letting people order whatever they want as it already paid for..no muss no fuss

 

[Weather_Lady]

I agree with Yoda.

If you want to do any 2-credit meals (Cinderella's Royal Table, other signature restaurants, Hoop-de-Doo, etc.), it is nearly always a better deal to pay for them out of pocket.

As Yoda says, run the numbers. The cost of the meals can be found in the menu listings here (ignore tax and gratuities for the moment, since you'd have to pay them whether paying OOP or on the DDP): http://www.wdwmagic.com/dining.htm

For the record, I ran the numbers after our last trip, in which we used the DDP. With NO 2-credit meals, and eating only at the restaurants which had the most expensive items (and were thus the "best deal" on the dining plan) we just about broke even. By that, I mean we spent as much for the dining plan as we would have spent, had we eaten out of pocket AND ORDERED WHAT WE TYPICALLY WOULD -- e.g., infrequent desserts and snacks, and the entrees we wanted to eat rather than the ones that cost the most. We technically saved money in that we paid less than we'd have paid out-of-pocket for the same items, but again, those "same items" were far more food than we could eat.

One "plus" of the dining plan is its simplicity, but my take on it is that unless you would order all that food regardless, it's unlikely to save you money.

 

[dreamfinder]

Numbers, numbers, numbers. But run them based on what you would really want to eat. If you go into it saying "I must come out ahead of DDP", then you would potentially end up saving money if that is your only goal. But you may end up eating steak for every meal when you really wanted pasta, or chicken. If you are like my DW and I, we never do desserts at CS, usually share a single drink, etc, we are almost guaranteed to lose money. But other people who each want their own drink, order a dessert every time, do a mickey bar mid afternoon, etc (IE eat to the plan) may come out ahead.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

I'm finding it really hard to price compare! We are traveling with a family of 4 (one 4 yo, one 1 yo, 2 adults) plus 3 extra adults (extended family). We definitely want to do a few character meals and we'll be at disney for 5 nights. How much do individual sit down meals cost if you aren't on the dining plan? We reserved the standard meal plan for everyone and I can't even figure out from the bill how much it was - maybe $60 a day? Do you think we'd really spend that much per person for food if we didn't do the meal plan? Can I still book character meals the same way if we decide to cancel the meal plan?

Yikes this is all so confusing. We're traveling March 3-8.

I'm finding it really hard to price compare! We are traveling with a family of 4 (one 4 yo, one 1 yo, 2 adults) plus 3 extra adults (extended family). We definitely want to do a few character meals and we'll be at disney for 5 nights. How much do individual sit down meals cost if you aren't on the dining plan? We reserved the standard meal plan for everyone and I can't even figure out from the bill how much it was - maybe $60 a day? Do you think we'd really spend that much per person for food if we didn't do the meal plan? Can I still book character meals the same way if we decide to cancel the meal plan?

Yikes this is all so confusing. We're traveling March 3-8.

Simply go to allears.net and look under dining. They have every restaurant in every park with a complete menu with prices. You can decide what you would eat and add the cost and compare to the dp amount per person per day. You can also go to mousesavers.com and read in detail how much the character meals cost.

 

[G8rchamps]

I just used the standard plan this weekend on a 3 night stay, but for our 4 nights in October we are not using it. Oct is MNSSHP on Thursday and Epcot F&W Sat so dining would be too much. I would say we got our money out of it, but you have to plan ahead and use all of it.

Read the menu's. If you are going to eat the steak every night it may be good - but if you are just chicken or pasta you may go OOP. Will you order dessert with every meal for everyone or would you skip or share dessert?

I also fell victum this weekend to paying for appatizers and wine since we had already paid off the dining plan. Hey what's wring with an 09 Silver Oak since dinner was "free"?

We have 2 kids (9 and 6) and on a few ocassions having ADR's has cut into our day. Sat this weekend we needed 1 more hour at MK and then Sunday we ended up killing time in Epcot waiting on our reservation time (did end up with nice pearl earrings for my wife from my kids "finding" the pearls in Japan) I guess i'm becomming a plan for and pay for a few nice meals, but wing it the rest of the trip. Sorry for the random thoughts- good luck and have a great trip.

 

[rt06]

DDP provides plenty of food for less than out of pocket. Plain and simple. A deluxe plan has got to be 5000 calories per day.

 

[LucyK]

For me the main appeal of DDP is having pre-paid all my expenses before hand. I don't have to think about how much money I'll spend on food, it's been already paid beforehand.

 

[MerMom1981]

We did the DP last trip, but we're going without next time. Why? A few reasons
1. You tolerate compromised quality because "it's free". Not having to pay at the end of a lackluster meal allows you to shrug it off and just say "oh well" (Tony's, cough cough)
2. I didn't actually enjoy a single QS meal in 7 days. We tried Cosmic Ray's, Pinocchio Haus, Backlot Express, Restaurantasaurussss & POFQ food court. They we all terrible! Dried out, flavorless burgers & chicken, soggy salads and ridiculously overpriced! Every time we got to the register, I was shocked to see our "total" climb to nearly $60 for two adults & 1 kid. I'd rather hit the deli on Day 1 & eat a turkey sandwich all week. At least it wouldn't cost me $20 per person per day.
3. No one needs that much dessert
4. DP ain't cheap.

So next time I'm rolling the dice on OOP. Maybe it'll be cheaper, maybe not, but at least I'll know I only paid for food a really wanted to eat.

 

[lunchbox1175]

For me the main appeal of DDP is having pre-paid all my expenses before hand. I don't have to think about how much money I'll spend on food, it's been already paid beforehand.

A lot of people say this, and i suppose i understand the appeal of not having to deal with making a payment or thinking about how much you are spending, but prepaying doesn't necessarily mean you are saving money, like some of the others have said. I have a friend that decided to take the money he was going to spend on the DDP and put it on a gift card, he then used that card every time they ate a meal, bought a snack, or drink. He ended up having $200 left on his gift card at the end of his trip, which he promptly used with a bounce back offer for his next trip.

 

[RandomPrincess]

We like the dining plan. Math wise we break even more or less with the dining plan. We also have an advantage last trip we had two kids under 3 so they were getting free meals at many places we ate. This trip we have one child and one under 3. So they will be sharing a child's meal and sharing off our plates as well along with the free meals at some places for my 2 yo. Once they are both paid it may not work as well for us.

 

[bethymouse]

For us it's not about the $$$. It's simply about convenience and the feel of having an "all inclusive" vacation with no worries. HAKUNA MATATA!

 

[Brer Rabbit 33]

I love the dining plan, and I use it every time. I use the standard and its still without a doubt enough food. It's just nice not worrying about how much my meal costs.

 

[Disvillain63]

DDP was more expensive for us than what we would have spent at each meal...do the math and see what works for your family.

 

[Castle Dreamer]

It is just my DH and I. For us, they priced us out of the dining plan a while ago. It was great when it was around $35 per day and included an appetizer. The standard plan is now $58.66 per person for one sit down, one counter service, and one snack per day. If we add up the price of our standard sit down and counter service meals and add an average of $4 per snack, we are definitely saving money paying OOP.

Also, we did not get the dining plan on the last trip and found it quite freeing. We didn't get the counter service dessert which was often just chocolate cake, and instead would try something else we really wanted, like an item from the Main Street Bakery or a Dole Whip a little later in the day. If we wanted a pretzel for a snack, we got one and didn't worry about being hungry enough to eat a full dinner and dessert. If we weren't really hungry, we could just get an appetizer. We still had some dining reservations for the places we really wanted to eat but no longer felt obligated to get the most expensive item on the menu unless we really wanted it. Maybe the plan is still beneficial for some people, but we will never again pay for the dining plan.

 

[tampabrad]

You really have to look at your costs and what you would want to eat. For me, I don't eat big breakfasts. I don't like eggs and heavy breads or waffles just make me tired. If I am at lunch or dinner I like appetizers and entrees, not a dessert fan. Not right after a meal anyway. For the bf and I, we usually spent a bit less oop or just about equal to the dp per day but we are not stuck to the 1 snack, 1qs, 1ts with the restrictions per day per person. In reality we probably do 4 snacks, 1.5 qs and then an app and two entrees at TS. Which probably comes out to about $20 less oop vs ddp. It just isn't worth it to be forced to order stuff we wouldnt eat and still have to pay oop for stuff we want.