Dining Plan Questions

[Da Bird is Da Word]

I've booked a 6 night/7 day stay for two @ Coronado and currently have the standard Disney Dining Plan on the reservation, which adds $808 to the cost of the package. (yikes!) I'm trying to figure out whether the DDP is worth it or not. From what I've read, it seems you will come shy of breaking even on the plan more often than not, unless you make sure to order the most expensive entrées at the most expensive restaurants all the time. I'm not really too concerned about that though. The DDP appeals to me because of the convenience factor, and it'll be nice to not have to stress over my food budget too much while I'm there. If the DDP rips me off like $50, I'd be okay with that. But anything higher than that then I definitely have to consider opting out of the plan and paying out of pocket.

OK, so my real question is... For my 6 night/7 day stay @ Coronado with a 7 day Park-Hopper, does the Dining Plan cover 6 days or 7 days? The Disney site doesn't seem to be very clear on that. I'm not sure if the number of days covered by the dining plan correlates with how many nights I'll be at the hotel, or how many days...or how many days I've got tickets for, or what. Any clarification on this? Also some thoughts from some of you who've used the DDP versus paying out of pocket would be nice. I really like the convenience factor, but man that plan is expensive! Depending on how badly I'm ripping myself off I may have to opt out. Thanks for your replies

 

[Master Yoda]

It is equivalent to the number of nights in your resort package....in your particular case 6.

The cost for the basic dining plan (1TS, 1 CS, 1 snack/ day) is roughly $62 per day for age 10 and over and $21 for ages 3-9.

The link below will give you an extensive breakdown of the DDP.

http://allears.net/din/basic-disney-dining-plan.htm

 

[Weather_Lady]

The best thing to do is decide where you want to eat, and then take a look a the menus for those places. Do some quick math and see if you think your eating style meshes with what the DDP offers, and whether your restaurant preferences are good uses of TS credits (e.g., with a couple of exceptions, a 2-credit meal is almost never a good use of DDP credits - 1-credit buffets and/or family-style meals ("all-you-care-to-enjoy" will typically give you the most bang for your DDP credit.) There's a calculator tool at distripplanner.com that is quite helpful.

I'm one of those for whom the DDP is not a good deal (unless we visit during a free dining promotion). I don't always want an expensive entree (or any entree at all - sometimes I prefer to get an appetizer or a side salad), I prefer iced water to bottled/fountain beverages, I don't necessarily want a snack every single day, and I almost never order a dessert. That being said, the DDP does now offer some useful substitutions (e.g, at a CS restaurant, you can now substitute a beverage or dessert entitlement or both for any "snack" item from the same menu), so you'll want to take that into consideration when doing your calculations.

 

[JS514]

Like others have said, it really depends on you and your tastes. My wife and I had the same DDP for the same length as you have, and after we totaled up our meals and snacks, we had eaten over $1200 worth of food for $800. Something a lot of people forget about are the snacks. You get two a day, I believe, and a lot of snacks can be around $6-$8 a piece, meaning you could spend nearly $75-$100 on snacks for yourself alone that week if you bought that many snacks without the DDP! Of course, you may say "I don't even want/need the snacks!", then that's something you can take into consideration. I'm a bigger guy, plus I have low blood sugar problems, so it's hard for me to go several hours between meals walking around in a hot park without any kind of substance at all. So it was really nice to be able to pick up a pretzel or some ice cream without having to worry about what it was adding to my food budget.

Also, whenever I was having a hard time choosing which meal on the menu I wanted, I would always just choose the most expensive one

 

[Da Bird is Da Word]

Like others have said, it really depends on you and your tastes. My wife and I had the same DDP for the same length as you have, and after we totaled up our meals and snacks, we had eaten over $1200 worth of food for $800. Something a lot of people forget about are the snacks. You get two a day, I believe, and a lot of snacks can be around $6-$8 a piece, meaning you could spend nearly $75-$100 on snacks for yourself alone that week if you bought that many snacks without the DDP! Of course, you may say "I don't even want/need the snacks!", then that's something you can take into consideration. I'm a bigger guy, plus I have low blood sugar problems, so it's hard for me to go several hours between meals walking around in a hot park without any kind of substance at all. So it was really nice to be able to pick up a pretzel or some ice cream without having to worry about what it was adding to my food budget.

Also, whenever I was having a hard time choosing which meal on the menu I wanted, I would always just choose the most expensive one

Word! I love to eat myself, and the girlfriend gets grumpy when she's hungry Wasting DDP credits would not be an issue for either of us! Another question, is it possible to get the Dining Plan without getting tickets from Disney? Because I can save $100 on tickets thru a third party vendor with a discount I get from my job, and would be cool if I could get the DDP and the savings. I realize this will probably be a no-go.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Don't forget the refillable mugs too! We would stop at the food court every night for beverages, and some of us would use them in the morning for coffee. Drinks can add up too.

 

[Minthorne]

Another question, is it possible to get the Dining Plan without getting tickets from Disney?

You can't. Also you have to plan to pay for tip at any sit down restaurants - the dining plan doesn't include that anymore.

 

[21stamps]

Word! I love to eat myself, and the girlfriend gets grumpy when she's hungry Wasting DDP credits would not be an issue for either of us! Another question, is it possible to get the Dining Plan without getting tickets from Disney? Because I can save $100 on tickets thru a third party vendor with a discount I get from my job, and would be cool if I could get the DDP and the savings. I realize this will probably be a no-go.

Yes. You can do this.

You just do a room only reservation and then add dining.. which ends up making it a package. You still get all of the "package perks" and you can buy your tickets from wherever..or use old ones. The tickets do not have anything to do with that kind of package. I've done it recently and in 2015.

My suggestion with the DDP-
Full disclosure- I did not sit and compare menu prices with the cost of the plan...and I didn't add it up afterwards.
It was fine for me in 2015, even though I still payed for quite a few meals out of pocket.

For 2016 I realized that a lot of places we would be dining do not accept the plan, and we also order room service a few times. So I decided to skip it. I then added 3 nights at another resort after and decided to do it for that (mainly so I wouldn't be so shocked at my bill at the end of the trip). This year it was a waste. (I tried to cancel it before the trip but was unable to). Because of where we are I was left with 2 TS credits, 3 QS credits, and 3 snack credits. To be fair though I lost a day of the plan bc I thought it would automatically start on the check in day of the 2nd leg, but it did not..I had to physically check in to the resort first, which I did not do. If our Epcot day would have counted towards the DDP I would have used more credits.

Basically if you think most of your meals/snacks are going to be at restaurants that accept the DDP, then go for it. Especially in 2017 now that you get 2 snacks instead of a dessert. I think that makes it much better.

 

[Master Yoda]

Yes. You can do this.

You just do a room only reservation and then add dining.. which ends up making it a package. You still get all of the "package perks" and you can buy your tickets from wherever..or use old ones. The tickets do not have anything to do with that kind of package. I've done it recently and in 2015.

My suggestion with the DDP-
Full disclosure- I did not sit and compare menu prices with the cost of the plan...and I didn't add it up afterwards.
It was fine for me in 2015, even though I still payed for quite a few meals out of pocket.

For 2016 I realized that a lot of places we would be dining do not accept the plan, and we also order room service a few times. So I decided to skip it. I then added 3 nights at another resort after and decided to do it for that (mainly so I wouldn't be so shocked at my bill at the end of the trip). This year it was a waste. (I tried to cancel it before the trip but was unable to). Because of where we are I was left with 2 TS credits, 3 QS credits, and 3 snack credits. To be fair though I lost a day of the plan bc I thought it would automatically start on the check in day of the 2nd leg, but it did not..I had to physically check in to the resort first, which I did not do. If our Epcot day would have counted towards the DDP I would have used more credits.

Basically if you think most of your meals/snacks are going to be at restaurants that accept the DDP, then go for it. Especially in 2017 now that you get 2 snacks instead of a dessert. I think that makes it much better.

Unless things have changed, I only think you can do that if you have an AP.

If you just book a room, you end up with a screen like the one below where the DDP is not an option.

I could be wrong though. It would not be the first time.

 

[21stamps]

Unless things have changed, I only think you can do that if you have an AP.

If you just book a room, you end up with a screen like the one below where the DDP is not an option.

I could be wrong though. It would not be the first time.

View attachment 183756

You have to call or have your TA do it.

I did it in 2015 on my own. Then in 2016 my TA did it. I had my vacation (which I then changed) booked back in March, ticketless, I purchased an AP in September.

It's called a ticketless package. You still receive the package book with all of the coupons.

 

[Minthorne]

Unless things have changed, I only think you can do that if you have an AP.

If you just book a room, you end up with a screen like the one below where the DDP is not an option.

I could be wrong though. It would not be the first time.

View attachment 183756

I don't think even AP can do DDP without getting tickets. I know DVC can do it without tickets but only if you are staying on points.

 

[Minthorne]

You have to call or have your TA do it.

I did it in 2015 on my own. Then in 2016 my TA did it. I had my vacation (which I then changed) booked back in March, ticketless, I purchased an AP in September.

It's called a ticketless package. You still receive the package book with all of the coupons.

Well I learn something new every day!

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

Unless we are going when the dining plan is included we do not pay for the plan. Instead we purchase gift cards are Target or BJ's at a discount price before we leave home and use the gift cards to pay for the meals. I've found that I don't always want to eat dessert when I'm finished my meal would rather wait a little while so I don't feel so full walking around the park. Best to do the math and see if it really works for you.

 

[21stamps]

Well I learn something new every day!

I found out by accident in 2015. There was a 30% off RO discount that I wanted. I had a few non expiring tickets left and was playing around with numbers, I figured it would be easier to call. When the phone rep was quoting RO prices, without tickets, she asked me if I wanted the dining plan and memory maker. I said "sure", and booked the package. Decided to not use my non expirings and added tickets a few weeks later.

This year when I finally decided on how many park days, I had to do tickets separate (through my TA) because I ended up getting an AP and did a 6 day ticket for my son. The GF portion was room only, balance due at arrival. WL was room + dining- balance due 30 days before check in.

 

[Master Yoda]

I don't think even AP can do DDP without getting tickets. I know DVC can do it without tickets but only if you are staying on points.

That I know you can do. Originally you had to book the room with an AP discounted rate or at what was called the "AP Annual rate" which was a fancy name for "we are charging you full price, but now we know you have an AP so you can buy the DDP".

No idea what it is like these days.

 

[21stamps]

That I know you can do. Originally you had to book the room with an AP discounted rate or at what was called the "AP Annual rate" which was a fancy name for "we are charging you full price, but now we know you have an AP so you can buy the DDP".

No idea what it is like these days.

This is one of the main reasons why I wanted to cancel the DDP. Once the AP discounts were announced the price of the dining plan didn't make sense. Unfortunately package reservations are apparently completely different than a true RO reservation and can't be switched. Only canceled and rebooked.

 

[Master Yoda]

This is one of the main reasons why I wanted to cancel the DDP. Once the AP discounts were announced the price of the dining plan didn't make sense. Unfortunately package reservations are apparently completely different than a true RO reservation and can't be switched. Only canceled and rebooked.

They are different. A room only reservations is actually done through the resorts. A package falls under The Disney travel company.

 

[21stamps]

They are different. A room only reservations is actually done through the resorts. A package falls under The Disney travel company.

Wait, so did my TA lose money by me doing a true RO reservation when I switched resorts and dates in September? Or do they still get paid a percentage?

ETA- an off subject question, when I cancelled my cruise did she at least get a percentage of what I had already paid before canceling?

 

[Master Yoda]

Wait, so did my TA lose money by me doing a true RO reservation when I switched resorts and dates in September? Or do they still get paid a percentage?

ETA- an off subject question, when I cancelled my cruise did she at least get a percentage of what I had already paid before canceling?

They still get paid...at least I certainly did.

Things just happen differently in the background when you book just a room, vs buying a package.

You know how pretty much every company runs different divisions like they are separate companies...Disney is no different. With a room only you are technically buying a room directly from the resort. When you buy a package with a room and tickets that room is sold to The Disney Travel Company by the resorts and the tickets are sold to them by the parks. They are then resold to you.

The end result is still the same (within a few bucks at least), but that is what happens in the background.

 

[21stamps]

They still get paid...at least I certainly did.

Things just happen differently in the background when you book just a room, vs buying a package.

You know how pretty much every company runs different divisions like they are separate companies...Disney is no different. With a room only you are technically buying a room directly from the resort. When you buy a package with a room and tickets that room is sold to The Disney Travel Company by the resorts and the tickets are sold to them by the parks. They are then resold to you.

The end result is still the same (within a few bucks at least), but that is what happens in the background.

Whew ok good.

I'm still not sure on the DCL thing. I lost $800 when I cancelled.. I know the percentage isn't much, but I hope that Disney would pay her something from that.