Dining Plan worth having?

[Rachel S1321]

We have a trip booked for Sept10-17th. Our kids are extremely light eaters. Most meals they can split. We have the quick service dining plan on our reservation, but I just have this feeling we are wasting money with it. My kids will be 7 and 3, both are more into snacking then big meals. We are staying at the Art of Animation so we won't be getting free dining if its offered. This is our first time purchasing a dining plan so any thoughts on it are greatly appreciated!!

 

[Tuvalu]

You can find help in a similar thread here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/quick-service-dining-plan-is-it-worth-it.909268/

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

My kids will be 7 and 3, both are more into snacking then big meals.

On that basis alone I'd say your probably going to lose out

 

[Rachel S1321]

You can find help in a similar thread here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/quick-service-dining-plan-is-it-worth-it.909268/

Thank you!!

On that basis alone I'd say your probably going to lose out

Thank you! Just don't want to waste the money, I would rather save it and use it on other things besides throwing their left over food in the garbage. I envision myself sitting at the table calculating the cost of our losses every bite they don't take. From what I understand meal sizes are quite large? Would they be allowed to split meals with out the plan at quick service locations?

 

[dreamfinder]

The only good answer is to run the numbers. Look over the menus, guess what you think you will eat, and add it up. If the total is less than the CS dining plan, then it's not worth it for you. If it adds up to more, then it is worth it.

 

[dreamfinder]

From what I understand meal sizes are quite large? Would they be allowed to split meals with out the plan at quick service locations?

It totally depends on the meal. If you get PB&J with grapes and carrot sticks, PB&J is a standard Smuckers uncrustables, with about 10 grapes in the package and maybe a dozen baby carrot sticks. Some of the other meals are going to be larger or smaller.

At a QS location, no one really cares who eats what. As long as you are able to pay for it, be it using dining plan credits, cash, check, whatever they accept, you can eat it how ever you want. Split it evenly, one person eats all the fries from every meal, whatever. Kids can eat an adult meal, adults can eat the kids meals, as long as you can pay for it, eat it however you wish. My DW and I have split kids meals as snacks on occasion, and other times we each have our own adult meal.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Would they be allowed to split meals with out the plan at quick service locations?

A typical QS burger and fries could quite easily be split between two youngsters, as could healthier options. Your only issue then is the leftover QS meals - if you can use these you may be able to at least break even

 

[Lucky]

Worth having. Not worth paying for.

 

[DarthVader]

Run the numbers - I found these two sites to be very helpful Disney Dining Calculator and Seeyarealsoon

If you're kids are under 10, and you like to do some charachter meals, then its possible to make the dining plan work. I'm going away for a week in April, and I could have easily made the QS meal plan, heck, even the regular meal plan work for me, had Disney not have the wacky policy of forcing 10 year olds onto the adult menu/cost structure. Paying for 4 adults pushes the cost well beyond the threshold of paying for itself - at least for me.

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

I don't think it would be worth the money for you...especially if your kids are light eaters. The kids meals offer a decent amount of food and could easily be split between the two. Save the money for souvenirs which they will enjoy more than food.

 

[jaklgreen]

We would just get an extra adult meal the my kids split. Or when they were really little we would just cut up food off of our plate to feed them. Everyone getting their own meal is a bit of a waste with light eaters. Being out all day in the heat changed our eating habits to more of grazers then big meals. We also tended to stop and rest and snack a bit more. And you drink more water in the heat so you are less hungry.

 

[BrocksDoDisney]

Run the numbers - I found these two sites to be very helpful Disney Dining Calculator and Seeyarealsoon

If you're kids are under 10, and you like to do some charachter meals, then its possible to make the dining plan work. I'm going away for a week in April, and I could have easily made the QS meal plan, heck, even the regular meal plan work for me, had Disney not have the wacky policy of forcing 10 year olds onto the adult menu/cost structure. Paying for 4 adults pushes the cost well beyond the threshold of paying for itself - at least for me.

Thank you for these websites!!! So helpful!!

 

[GeoDonJac34]

Every time a thread like this pops up, it reminds of a time when the meal plan was a pretty good deal. No more.

 

[DarthVader]

Every time a thread like this pops up, it reminds of a time when the meal plan was a pretty good deal. No more.

It certainly can be, and its a huge benefit when they offer it for free.

Now that my kids are 10, as I mentioned, its no longer a great deal. Its too bad that they arbitrarily consider 10 year olds as adults. I understand that at some point they'll no longer be selecting from the kids menu, but I think that will come closer to their teen years. Maybe boys are different but my girls don't eat much

 

[GeoDonJac34]

It certainly can be, and its a huge benefit when they offer it for free.

Now that my kids are 10, as I mentioned, its no longer a great deal. Its too bad that they arbitrarily consider 10 year olds as adults. I understand that at some point they'll no longer be selecting from the kids menu, but I think that will come closer to their teen years. Maybe boys are different but my girls don't eat much

It can be, but you have to make it work. It is not worth it for my family when I do the math. I remember paying less than 40$ per adult per day and appetizer was included.

 

[DarthVader]

It can be, but you have to make it work. It is not worth it for my family when I do the math. I remember paying less than 40$ per adult per day and appetizer was included.

I couldn't get it to work for a 4 adults. The cost is such that I'd be paying in the 3k to 4k range with the plan, and only 2k without it.

 

[jaklgreen]

It certainly can be, and its a huge benefit when they offer it for free.

Now that my kids are 10, as I mentioned, its no longer a great deal. Its too bad that they arbitrarily consider 10 year olds as adults. I understand that at some point they'll no longer be selecting from the kids menu, but I think that will come closer to their teen years. Maybe boys are different but my girls don't eat much

My girls would just split an adult meal or we hit the buffets. They are very good about it at WDW and would even bring it out on 2 different plates. Nothing on the kids menu ever appealed to them so I know they would not eat it if it was ordered. They like more normal food and love Tusker House. My youngest, when she was 7, said they had the best couscous. LOL

 

[SDisney90]

it all really depends...in the end probably not. A few months before our January trip we literally went through every menu, picked out what we would probably get and added it all up. Mind you we went through fountain drinks, refillable mug prices, snack credits, lunch and dinner options. We booked the Stay Play and Dine and actually made out by a very little margin.

It all depends on if their is a deal going on like stay play and dine, and especially what you're eating. If you're not eating somewhere like Ohana's, Boma, Crystal Palace etc with a higher dining price point, IMO it's a waste. if you're eating at a regular table service and order a burger vs the $38 steak, you strike out. The previous year we also did the dining plan, but did not make out. We paid around $100 more or so for the plan but the convenience for me was just worth it. Not having a bill to pay for after a meal, only the tip is great. Always paid cash and had brought enough for that solely.

it's all about the numbers and convenience IMO. Most likely on my next trip I will try without the dining plan and see how we make out I bet we will save a bit doing so..

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

We have a trip coming up in March and decided to do the dining plan. It came out to $63 per person per day. We ended up looking at what restaurants we wanted to eat at and the prices for food we would be interested in eating. We figured if we were going to pay $63 a day for food, then we might as well eat at restaurants that are higher priced.

I'm starting to feel that the dining plan is not so much a "deal," but more of a "treat" for your vacation. If you end up getting the dining plan, it kind of forces you to eat at the more expensive locations to make the plan worth it. For example...dinner at Akershus is $50 per person; that one meal has already eaten up a large chunk. Throw in a burger and a drink and you've already spent more than $63 just in two meals, and that does not include a snack or a dessert. In this example...the dining plan is worth it.