Dining plan vs on your own

twoweirdos

New Member
Original Poster
there are restriction on what you can order?
I knew there was on WHERE you went...i just thought at any of the chosen places you could get whatever you wanted
entree app desert..bev,,etc
all according to which plan you have
It seems like some people are saying ONLY select places and only select menu items
Just when I was thinking...yeah...just maybe
 

Dwarful

Well-Known Member
To my knowledge you can order any entree or dessert you wish. Any nonalcoholic drinks are allowed as well. When we used the plan at Kona's the girls all had non-alcoholic pina coladas or something like that. can't be souvineer style with glow cubes or anything like that, but slushes, milkshakes, nonalcoholic etc. Also at some restaurants add ons will be extra...like steak and lobster. But there isn't two sets of menus and most every place takes DDP but some count as two credits.

My point was look when you are going...it may very well be cheaper for you to use the DDP. If you are going when seasonal pricing is in effect than chances are it will be cheaper because of the inflated rates at the sit down restaurants esp. the buffets. One buffet dinner could be $38 for one adult. So if you add on your counter meal and snack you'd be hard pressed not to meet that day's cost. But if you aren't doing one sit down per day or two on one day and none the next then it might not be worth it.
 

twoweirdos

New Member
Original Poster
ahh ok
i think i had read a post and the person said something like your desert choice being a prepackaged cookie
which i took to mean...no,,,you dont get the desert choices,,,,they hand over some random cookie
lol
im dumb...hahahah
 

erasure fan1

Well-Known Member
It all boils down to a couple of things:
1. do you mind being so restricted in your plans because of dinning reservations.
2. What are your eating habits. (always sit down, how much do you eat...)

For us, I have yet to come up with a savings or advantage to the dinning plan. First, we dont eat enough to justify the cost. 2nd, we HATE being tied down so much and having to revolve everything around when and where we are eating.
 

Mickey is King

New Member
Did anyone get the dining plan and enjoy it?Did you save money?
Im soo confused over the options and cost
I wish there was a lil booklet/brochure that covered it all
tia


Well, if you take advantage of some "nicer" eateries for Dinner- you CAN save a bit and eat better at the same time.:dazzle:

DDP is ALOT OF FOOD

We go when it's offered FREE- in this case, YES! you definitely save a bundle on a 7 night or more trip.

Eat up, it's almost more food than you can eat.:)
 

twoweirdos

New Member
Original Poster
It all boils down to a couple of things:
1. do you mind being so restricted in your plans because of dinning reservations.
2. What are your eating habits. (always sit down, how much do you eat...)

For us, I have yet to come up with a savings or advantage to the dinning plan. First, we dont eat enough to justify the cost. 2nd, we HATE being tied down so much and having to revolve everything around when and where we are eating.
in the past we have gone the TURKEY LEG and kids meal route because we were BROKE(prolly should not have gone to WDW hahaha)
now---well we still are but i can have time to save up for the next trip
we still may eat the same
Im comparing costs to see whats the better deal
i dont mine being restricted if we have ADR becausse i would have made them with evertyhing in mind
i am a HYPER planner
last time we took the itenerary ---sic) from the back of a guide book and FOLLOWED IT to the t
 

Mickey is King

New Member
in the past we have gone the TURKEY LEG and kids meal route because we were BROKE(prolly should not have gone to WDW hahaha)
now---well we still are but i can have time to save up for the next trip
we still may eat the same
Im comparing costs to see whats the better deal
i dont mine being restricted if we have ADR becausse i would have made them with evertyhing in mind
i am a HYPER planner
last time we took the itenerary ---sic) from the back of a guide book and FOLLOWED IT to the t


Also, a nice sit down dinner at the end of a looong Disney day is so nice.
ADR's combined with DDP= win win situation

We even traded up 2 "sit down" vouchers for "deluxe dinner" maybe try the poly for the dinner show
 

twoweirdos

New Member
Original Poster
aye
getting older:eek:
hhahaha
chicken nuggets only is kinda...uhmm..where is the real food?
since we would have more time this trip...and DH gets less dear and more CRANKY if eats junky for too long
i cook well and often at home...so he wants veggies,,,salad..fruit etc
a burger once in a while is cool.,,but he would need some real food after a while
I jst wish it was cheaper...but it is what it is and no one is making us go
ist trip we went cheap and BUDGET ALL THE WAY
offsite hotel for cheap
2 1 day tix
ate poptarts for breakfast
turkey legs one day
kids meals the next
and i do recall DH having a bit of a WDW meltdown,,,,:ROFLOL:
so i said STAY RIGHT HERE
walked over to the UK...bought a yard of beer with the 10 bucks i had been saving for a souvenir...brought it back to him and said
DRINK THIS AND CHEER THE BLANK UP
we are at BLANKING WDW
hahaha...two people walking by heard me and cracked up laughing
 

twoweirdos

New Member
Original Poster
It all boils down to a couple of things:
1. do you mind being so restricted in your plans because of dinning reservations.
2. What are your eating habits. (always sit down, how much do you eat...)

For us, I have yet to come up with a savings or advantage to the dinning plan. First, we dont eat enough to justify the cost. 2nd, we HATE being tied down so much and having to revolve everything around when and where we are eating.
btw
i love your username
 

Dwarful

Well-Known Member
I think that might have been me..with the prepackaged cookie. The desserts on most of your counter service meals are all prepackaged desserts..usually it is a choice of choc. or carrot cake, a prepackaged cookie or sugar free brownie. The Seasons at the Land does offer real desserts on the plan. The sit downs offer real desserts. My point in all of this was: if you don't normally buy a dessert at the counter service, I wouldn't include the cost of that in your comparison...when we had the ddp we almost never ate the counter service desserts and we would see a lot of them left unopened on tables or offered to other people. So there really isn't value to something you aren't using. That was my whole point. Sorry if I confused you...now have a creme brulee for me ;)
 

worldfanatic

Well-Known Member
All money issues aside........I prefer to go it myself because I've got enough planning and schedules to be concerned with when at the World.
The last thing I need to worry about is if I'm getting full value for my dining plan dollar.

I just order what I want, where I want, when I want it.
For me, that's what being on vacation is all about.:shrug:
 

whitney37354

Active Member
We saved a couple hundred dollars with DxDP because we did mostly character meals, with a few CS in between. I was struggling to get a bunch of snacks before we left to use up all our credits, though.

I can't decided whether or not to use DP next trip. DH wants a hot breakfast and it was nice to sit down and take a break from the parks. Once we decide where to stay, I'll go through the menus again to see what my picky eaters would actually eat, compare costs, and go from there.

It's be a few years before we go back, so I can stock up on Disney Gift Cards between now and then and the cost won't hurt so much!
 

erasure fan1

Well-Known Member
btw
i love your username
Thanks, the one thing I love as much as Disney, Erasure!:lol:

in the past we have gone the TURKEY LEG and kids meal route because we were BROKE(prolly should not have gone to WDW hahaha)
now---well we still are but i can have time to save up for the next trip
we still may eat the same
Im comparing costs to see whats the better deal
i dont mine being restricted if we have ADR becausse i would have made them with evertyhing in mind
i am a HYPER planner
last time we took the itenerary ---sic) from the back of a guide book and FOLLOWED IT to the t
We are huge planners too. But the problem with having the ADRs for everything is adjustments. Unfortunately it makes it really hard to adjust on the fly if something has to change for some reason.
 

gwhb75

Well-Known Member
The main reason we go with it is for simplicity. I like having everything paid for rather than tracking how much we've spent on meals each place we eat. There may or may not be savings depending on where you eat but the savings or extra costs are marginal compared to what you would pay on your own.
 

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