Dining plan thoughts?

slipperalwaysfits

slipperalwaysfits

Well-Known Member
So many people feel like they don't come out ahead on the DDP and I totally understand. For my family, it's about the piece of mind knowing it's prepaid. Of course, we could always put that money on a gift card to only be used for dining while we are there, too. We enjoy the feeling of a "pre-paid" snack whenever, where ever. Since I drink a lot of coffee at the parks, I enjoy that Starbucks counts as a snack! We tend to eat more table service than sit down, which is why the new premium Disney plan may be best for us. To each their own, I say!
 
Hcalvert

Hcalvert

Well-Known Member
My husband insists on getting the standard DDP each time we go (1 TS & 1 QS). I find that we save money each time, especially since we do order alcoholic drinks (sometimes two meals a day as I do like Sangria which is available at breakfast at Be Our Guest, which is QS and a way to get into the park early). We choose our restaurants wisely as some are not worth it and we will pay out of pocket for (Sci-Fi is one that comes to mind). We may not be getting it in future trips as my son goes to adult-level and I don't think it is worth it at that time and we are not into character dining anymore. The only character dining we go to now is Story Book Dining as we like the food and drinks.
 
slipperalwaysfits

slipperalwaysfits

Well-Known Member
Hcalvert said:
My husband insists on getting the standard DDP each time we go (1 TS & 1 QS). I find that we save money each time, especially since we do order alcoholic drinks (sometimes two meals a day as I do like Sangria which is available at breakfast at Be Our Guest, which is QS and a way to get into the park early)
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We definitely come out ahead on the alcohol! We aren't heavy drinkers, but it's so nice that it's included. When we are on vacation, it's a treat.
 
patsfan24

patsfan24

Member
Original Poster
Weather_Lady said:
For my family (2 adults, 2 kids over age 9, mix of TS and CS dining but no character meals), the Dining Plan would be a colossal waste of money. On our most recent trip to WDW in February 2020, we spent 33% LESS by paying out-of pocket. This is due to a combination of us not choosing to eat as the DDP would want us to (e.g., we prefer more TS meals and fewer CS meals, we can't eat 2 snacks per person per day, and we sometimes like to order combinations of appetizers instead of an entree.)

Specifically, eating wherever we wanted, and ordering whatever we wanted without regard to price (meaning sometimes we had the most expensive entrees and sometimes we didn't), over our 7-day/6-night trip we enjoyed: (1) 7 Table Service meals for 4, including entrees and fountain drinks along with some appetizers, desserts, alcohol and specialty beverages; (2) 1 Signature TS for 2, with entrees and appetizers; (3) 5 CS meals for 4, with entrees and beverages; (4) 1 CS meal for 2, with entrees and specialty beverages; (5) 2 Lounge visits with drinks and/or apps for 2, and (6) 15 snacks. We spent (including TS tips) $1,504.

The DDP would have cost us $2,245 ($1,872 DDP cost + $225 in non-covered TS meals + $80 in Lounge charges + $68 in non-DDP-covered appetizers), and would have resulted in our “wasting” 2 CS credits and 9 snack credits as well as the 4 refillable mugs which we wouldn't have used. As a result, we saved over $721, or 33%, by paying out-of-pocket instead of using the DDP. (In fact, we saved even more than that, as my DDP total doesn't include TS tips -- I just got tired of doing the math.)

Obviously, the DDP isn't one-size-fits-all, but that's how it shook out for us.

More info. here if you want to see where we ate and what kinds of things we ordered: https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads...-february-break-adventure.963612/post-9083242
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Wow....great breakdown! Thanks for all the valuable insight guys
 
M

Madmavis49

New Member
danyoung56 said:
It all depends on how you eat. For me the DDP doesn't work. I like the signature restaurants which require 2 TS tickets. I also like appetizers, which are not included. And I like to drink 2 or 3 glasses of wine, and I'd have to pony up cash for at least some of those. If I'm going to get some stuff on the DDP and still have to pay for other stuff, it just doesn't work for me. If, however, you plan on eating just what the plan offers, going for the most expensive entree instead of what you really want to eat, then it can be a good value.

For me, it's just too much of a headache. I prefer using the Tables in Wonderland, a discount card you can get with an AP, which saves you a flat rate of 20% off of your entire meal, including alcohol.
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Is tables in wonderland accepted at all restaurants?
 
Red Wench

Red Wench

Active Member
It is just me and my parents. I am not old enough to drink alcohol yet and my parents may have one alcoholic drink with dinner and that is it so the dining plan really never adds up for us. By the time I am of drinking age in a few years, I won't be going with my parents anymore and will be going on my own of with a boyfriend or something like that so I will have to reevaluate my plan than if it will work for me and the party i am with.
 

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