Dining Plan - Why is it a deal?

[justavisitor]

The dining plan costs $37/per person per day. Everyday. That gives you 1 Quick Service, 1 Snack and 1 Table service.

If I were to spend (budget) that $37.00 on meals here is a breakdown:
A snack costs normally less than $3.00 that leaves you $34.00 for Quick Serve and Table Service. If the Quick Serve is breakfast and you normally spend $7.00 including your drink. (All drinks are free at your resort if you purchase the Disney Mug.) That leaves you $27.00 for dinner. But what about lunch?

You don't save money using the Dining Plan. You are forced to eat! The Dining plan ensures Disney that you spend at least $37.00 per peson per day.

The Dining plan is just as complicated as the Vacation Club. Comments are welcome.

 

[Monty]

If you want to eat for less than the cost of the plan you certainly can. More power to you. I prefer to eat well on a vacation and would eat the same way with or without the plan. I actually bought a few meals out-of-pocket in addition to what we ate on the plan when DS and I were there in February.

Eating on a budget on vacation isn't my idea of a vacation, but for some it works. My reply to the other post says it all:

Have a read through the pamphlet. It explains what you get and where you can eat.

The simplest way to look at it [for me anyway] is if you enjoy a nice sit-down meal every day, you can't really go wrong. The $37/day each [adult price] is easily covered by just your Table Service meals, DS10 and I ate at great restaurants every time and the bills were well over $74 for the two of us every time [usually well over $100 for the two of us]. So we ate fantastic meals at our sit-down dinners, cheaper than we would have paid for them paying cash and beyond that we also got a snack and a counter service per night that was to all intents free!

I saved bundles, particularly since we would have eaten the same food anyway.

 

[TwoTigersMom]

The only thing I can add to Monty's post is that if you are a lunch eater, I would suggest using your counter service for lunch instead of breakfast. Pay that $7 each out of pocket and use the counter service on a meal that would cost $12 -$14. If you decide to do it, just pick some of the more expensive restraunts that are on the plan and pamper yourself. I'm with Monty on our family would eat at the nicer restaraunts whether we were on the plan or not. So it does save us a lot of money. No matter what have a great time when you go! :wave:

 

[DisneyRoxMySox]

I noticed that you are allowed one serving of a non-alcoholic beverage. I can't remember if you get free refills, do you? If not, I take it you have to pay for more sodas, ice'd teas?

 

[RonAnnArbor]

No - sodas are refilled just like everywhere else.

I think the original poster is referring to their style of eating, and it probably doesn't make sense for the dining plan. I think as it breaks down, most people do NOT spend their counter service credit for breakfast, rather for lunch in one of the parks - and that easily runs 10 -12 bucks per person. Subtract a 4 dollar snack (3 dollars in underestimating the prices at WDW) and that leaves you 21 dollars. Name one sit-down restaurant at WDW where you can get an apetizer, meal, dessert, and beverage for 21 dollars.

Still, for many people the meal plan does NOT make sense. If you do not do sitdown meals and prefer counter service, for example, then your meal plan is a waste of money. Similarly, if you eat in Orlando a few times and not on premises for every meal, that is also a waste of dining plan.

Similarly, there are a lot of people who subsist on fast food and grab-as-you go food, and for them, the meal plan is not worth it.

Finally, there is the other extreme and there are those who dine at V&A and Bistro de Paris which do not accept the dinner credits and again, the dining plan would not be worth it.

But overall, for most families it works wonderfully well and saves much money in the longrun.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

You don't save money using the Dining Plan. You are forced to eat!

I agree.

However, for lots of people, the food at WDW is as important as the rides and shows. If that is your mindset, and you enjoy a table service every day, then you can come out money ahead with the plan.

Some people do not like that sit down meals force you to make Advance Dining Reservations and basically plan your day around that 7:10 ADR. If spontaniety is your preference, then the dining plan will probably cramp your style.

Others do feel that all they do is eat, and an overstuffed tummy is, shall we say, incompatible with certain activities at WDW. If you prefer to stay lean and mean, you're better off with frequent snacking and no big heavy meals.

It really is "to each his/her own." There is no doubt that you can eat well for less than $37 per person/day, even at sit-downs on property.

It is a matter of your priorities, which only you can know.

 

[wannab@dis]

The Dining plan is just as complicated as the Vacation Club. Comments are welcome.

The dining plan is extremely EASY to understand and manage if you take a couple of minutes to read the information. It's a simple concept and it saves a lot of money since most people eat at least one table service meal a day or at least one signature meal every couple of days.

As Monty said earlier, we usually paid for the dining plan and more with our table service meals and had a counter service / snack to use for free. It was a huge savings for our family and we ate at some great locations.

I guess if you plan on eating 'on the fly' and 'on the cheap' then it may not work out, but for the people that I've known that used it, they absolutely felt it was well worth the money and in most cases, saved them money.

Enjoy your trip! :wave:

(watch out for those DVC reps) :lookaroun

 

[drp4video]

We only eat maybe one or two sit down meals at WDW, and sometimes eat off property, so the plan never made sense for us. My DD age 18 now, and I split meals a lot too. The food is not important, we would rather spend time doint rides and exhibits etc, and some rides are NOT good on a full tummy...but like I said, we do try to squeeze in one or two sit downs.

 

[KnK]

I have to agree with alot of what's been said on both sides.

My husband and I decided not to use the plan, but had tried it in the past. We also like to eat at the high end choices that took up 2 choices, that meant several of the days we still had to come up with meals. Also, we like to share items and don't always get 2 full meals.

Even with counter service options it just was not worth it. One of our favorite lunches is to share a turkey leg (yummm) and share an order of cheese fries. Then in the afternoon we could have a Dole Whip or ice cream. We would still have to pay for this on the dining plan.

The other issue is those of us who have AP's. When I did the math, we still saved a lot more by using the room discount as well as the Disney Dining Card.

I am one of those folks who records every cost of Disney vacation. I make a chart that list each of the days, record where we ate and how much we spent. Overall, still came out cheaper to feed ourselves and not use a plan.

 

[kachow]

I honestly don't feel forced to eat. Here's how a typical day in WDW works for me:

Breakfast: bagel and coffee (I don't use the plan for this)
Lunch: Sandwich or Salad with a drink from CS $10
Dinner: Sit down dinner at mid to high level TS restaurant $25-$50
Late night snack: $4

So the meal plan will minimally cover $39 worth of food, and likely more, since the TS meals we eat will likely average more than $25 each. My wife and I actually worked it out with the TS meals we've reserved and figuring a $10 average for lunch and we saved about $100 per person. Using the QS meal for a $7 breakfast in your analysis, when you plan to eat lunch, just doesn't make any sense.

The main thing about the dining plan is it ABSOLUTELY does not make sense for anyone that does not usually eat at TS restaurants, and probably doesn't make sense for people whose TS restaurant choices don't rise above the low level, like Rainforest Cafe or something.

But I'm tired of reading about the Dining Plan forcing people to over eat. Yes, if you only eat at the places that serve giant platters of mediocre food, you'll be stuffed. But if I eat at Le Cellier, we're probably talking about a meal of a shrimp cocktail appetizer, fillet mignon, and a slice of cheesecake. I don't find this a monster of a meal. This is a normal, nice evening out meal, and it will cost probably $45 without the plan. We actually have three really nice meals like this planned for the week we're there, and then a lunch at Sci-Fi and plan to fully use the CS meals for lunches and the remaining dinners, and as I said, we're saving $100 each on the meals that will be covered by the plan.

 

[bears163]

i sat sat down with the people going on our trip next month & we worked out what we normally would spend compaired to the dinning plan. yes you can eat for less but the food you willbe eating will be a tad bit better than fast food. ( stuff like burgers, fries, chicken strips, you get the idea) but with the dinning plan you will get to eat a sit down restaurant everyday. order food you normally would not ordered cause of the cost. it is only going to cost us 90 more than i had for our budget for food. plus now we are going to do a char. dinner. yes you really only get 2 meals a day but for breakfast there are many ways to do that. you could use some of your snacks for that. or use your desert from the night before & save it for breakfast. or just buy it. or just take breakfast bars or pop tarts with you to save money. we did that the past 2 trips. so the result is yes you can eat for less but using the plan will get you some awesome food you normally would not order.

 

[sbkline]

Here are the restaraunts we currently plan to eat at next year, using the Dining Plan:

Alfredo's in EPCOT

Garden Grill

Coral Reef

Chef Mickey's

50's Prime Time Cafe

Tony's Town Square

Does it sound like the Dining Plan would save me money on those places, or are they cheap enough that I would break even at best?

 

[New2WDW]

On our first two trips (2 adults, 2 children (3-9)) I came up with a cost of around $96/day for eating. This was snacks, and counter service meals. We only went to Liberty Tree Tavern once and Chef Mickey's once. The rest of the time I was watching every penny when we went out to eat.:hammer:

Then came the Dining Plan! Which costs just under $100 for my family. So to start I was spending just a couple of dollars more to eat what we wanted! Just the Character dinners alone easily cover the daily fee and we have eaten 2 or 3 a trip along with going to restaurants we knew we could never afford before. Not to mention getting appetizers and desserts that we neve were able to get before. Also the tip is covered in the plan. Don't forget to add that into account if you go to a TS eatery! Beside all that we have gotten the FREE Dining plan so technically it has saved us a whole lot of money!!!!:sohappy:

 

[kachow]

Here are the restaraunts we currently plan to eat at next year, using the Dining Plan:

Alfredo's in EPCOT

Garden Grill

Coral Reef

Chef Mickey's

50's Prime Time Cafe

Tony's Town Square

Does it sound like the Dining Plan would save me money on those places, or are they cheap enough that I would break even at best?

You didn't say if those were all dinners, but for my quick analysis I've assumed they are. The best way to do this is for you to look at the menus and think about what you would HONESTLY get. Not what you CAN get, but what you would get if you were paying for each thing. But for this quick analysis I just looked at the menus and pulled what the average app, entree, and desert (if available was)

Alfredo's: $7 app, $22 entree, no desserts listed = $28
Garden Grill: Buffet = $28
Coral Reef: $6 app, $25 entree, $8 dessert = $39
Chef Mickey: Buffet = $28
50's: $5 app, $15 entree, $5 dessert = $25
Tony's: $5 app, $20 entree, $5 dessert = $30

So you're averaging $30 per dinner, leaving you to only get $8 more value from the CS and snacks to break even, an easy bet given a CS meal will easily cost you that alone. And that's assuming the average cost. There were menu items alot above those averages listed.

And I haven't even factored in tax and tip, which is included in the dining plan. That would bump your average meal plan up 8% for tax, and at least 15% for tip, so $37 per dinner. So yeah, you're already there with dinners, with CS and snacks all savings.

 

[sbkline]

Ya, I would probably be making them suppers, so it looks like I would definitely come out ahead that way, although there is always the possibility of making one or two of them lunches, in which case, I would still probably come out ahead when it's all said and done. Thanks. :sohappy:

 

[meatloafsfan]

With the large sitdown meal and the counter service lunch comes with a dessert, add in the snack and I am not sure I could eat a third meal in the day.

But if I was doing all counter service you can bet I would want three meals in the day:

Breakfast:Mickey waffle with bacon $5.69 + OJ $2 = $8.20 (with tax)
Lunch: Grilled chicken sandwich $6.99 + pop $2.09 = $9.65
Dinner: Pasta and Meatballs with salad $9.99 + pop $2 = $12.75

This totals $30 and there are no snacks, treats or desserts in there. Add in one or two (an extra drink and a dessert at either lunch or dinner) and you are almost to the cost of the dining plan.

I understand if you do counter service because of time, but I don't for price.( of course, if you are eligible for a deep discount like from shades of green or cast member, then the discount would be worth forgoing the ddp)

But really to each his own. For my family, annual passes with the disney dining experience discount card would be a bad investment.

 

[JimboJones123]

cast members would still have to stay at a resort and have a pkg to get the dining plan. If they live in orlando anyways, why would they get a resort stay just for the dining plan?

 

[meatloafsfan]

But cast members can get a deeply discounted room only rate - if they want a package they need to pay the same as everyone else.

 

[shoppingnut]

I'm going in September for a long weekend and getting the DDP for free. I have an AP and the DDE discount card, but this is a great deal since free is definitely a better price than the 20% discount off your meal. I bought the one day base ticket with the package and since my AP needs to be renewed at that time anyway, I will take the base ticket and use it as a credit against my renewal.

My way of looking at things is that each trip may have different needs and the dining plan may work one time and not another. It is also depending on the way you eat and what you like to eat. For me since I generally only eat two meals a day when at the world, breakfast and dinner, this plan works great for me. I use my counter service for breakfast and sit down for dinner. I never feel overstuffed from dinner because when it's time to eat I'm usually hungry enough for the three courses, since I only had a big breakfast. I also don't feel badly about not eating all the dessert when I order it since most times when I am our dining at home if we do get dessert and share one, we rarely ever finish it.

I know there are many people who will only eat counter service, well I'm not one of those, I require to have a sit down dinner every night. That is my time to sit in the a/c to decompress and enjoy a good meal, after all I am on vacation. Since I've been there so many times, it's not like a first trip where I have to squeeze everything in because I know I can just see it next time, as I go about 4 times a year.

 

[Dagger]

I guess as everyone said it's style specific. For our honeymoon, I wanna eat and I wanna choose the meals. Heck, my fiance has picked out what he's eating at some of the places already. We didn't want to be stuck with a ton of reservations but for our honeymoon, having nice meals is a priority. We're going for 3 full days and for example here, let's say we were planning a breakfast, lunch and dinner for each day so that's 3 snacks, 3 Quick service meals, 3 table meals.

Here's the lineup incl. beverages and tips where applicable. This will not include snacks:

Day 1 -
Pepper Market breakfast QS1 (approx 12$ ea. I think this place requires a tip = 24$)
Cosmic Ray's lunch QS2 (approx. 10$ ea. = 20$)
Liberty Tree dinner TS1 (approx. 28$ ea. with 18% tip = 74$)
Daily total - 118$
Subtract Price of DP - 74$
Out of pocket - 0$
Saved +44$

Day 2 -
Kona Cafe breakfast Out Of Pocket (approx. 12$ ea. = 24$)
Le Cellier lunch TS2 (one of the more expensive entrees + app/dessert approx. 40$ ea with 18% tip = 95$)
Les Chefs De France dinner TS3 (approx. 43$ ea with 18% tip = 102$)
Daily total - 221$
Subtract Price of DP - 74$
Out of pocket - 24$
Savings +123$

Day 3 -
Rainforest Cafe breakfast OOP (approx. 11$ ea. = 22$)
Lunch TBD @ AK or MGM QS3 (approx. 11$ ea. = 22$)
Hoop Dee Doo dinner OOP (50$ea. =100$)
Daily total - 144$
Subtract price of DP - 74$
Out of pocket - 122$
Savings -52$


Day 1+44$
Day 2+123$
Day 3-52$

115$ saved and we get to go to every restaurant we wanted to do and I didn't even include the snacks. This is IF we choose to do 3 full meals a day, which a lot of people wouldn't do. Furthermore, we're paying for HDDR OOP!

If we were just choosing to go to those restaurants to try and make the DP save us money, it would not be worth it...but for our honeymoon, we really want to do special things so it was worth it! I'm sure there will be trips where we won't use it and I think that's why the DP works.

If it was such a great deal that everyone should use every time they go to Disney, it wouldn't exist!