Dining Plans: Worth the cost?

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SquierJosh

New Member
We're booked for a week in January at Saratoga Springs. We'd prefer to buy some groceries and make most of our meals, but realize we're going to be pretty busy that week. Are the plans worth it? They seem awfully expensive for what I hear isn't the greatest food. Are we better off packing some PB sandwiches and just stopping for the occasional snack inside the parks?
 
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belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
It depends on your party's eating habits. The food at restaurants and quick service is the same food you'd receive if you just paid out of pocket. It's not like the dining plan restricts you only to certain items on the menu (in most cases).

If food isn't a huge interest/priority, and you'd just like to not be hungry, you are better without the plan and worrying about ordering things to justify the cost. We often share drinks, snacks, and desserts, and will only consider the plan if it's "free"/discounted.
 
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Monty

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
Worth depends on whether you're looking for savings or convenience, how many in your party, how you like to eat and whether you can get a room-only discount.

Everyone's answers are going to be different based on those various factors. I have never seen any value to the plans, but I stay at Deluxe resorts with discounts, travel single or with just my son and eat more TS and include alcohol. The savings from Tables in Wonderland work out much better for me. YRMV*

* Your Results May Vary ;)
 
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FrostyNaples

FrostyNaples

Well-Known Member
Monty said:
Worth depends on whether you're looking for savings or convenience, how many in your party, how you like to eat and whether you can get a room-only discount.

Everyone's answers are going to be different based on those various factors. I have never seen any value to the plans, but I stay at Deluxe resorts with discounts, travel single or with just my son and eat more TS and include alcohol. The savings from Tables in Wonderland work out much better for me. YRMV*

* Your Results May Vary ;)
Click to expand...

100% on convenience - one less thing to worry about on a vacation. Pre-Paid, ready to go.
 
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SquierJosh

New Member
Original Poster
Thanks for all the quick responses! So how does the plan work? Is it like a school cafeteria, where you pre-pay for a meal and you get what they serve you? What determines a meal, exactly?
 
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sxeensweet

sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
officialtom said:
1. Yes, if you plan to eat two full meals per day at least. We always go for the regular plan, not the deluxe, because three big meals is just too much food considering the ridiculous portion sizes.

2. The food is unreal. UN-REAL. It's actually one of our favourite parts of the whole WDW experience.
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Totally agree! The Food is our fave part of our trip!! I do not know where people hear the food is not good! We have never really had a meal that was not good whether it was Quick Service or Table Service. And we love them so much we can't wait until we can go back each time!
And we too usually get the regular dining plan and not the deluxe. I have done the math and we usually do save or come out even. So we like buying it for the fact it is at least pre paid for. Also we are never in the room long enough to make our own meals!! Nor would we want to because the food is so good! :)
 
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belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
SquierJosh said:
Thanks for all the quick responses! So how does the plan work? Is it like a school cafeteria, where you pre-pay for a meal and you get what they serve you? What determines a meal, exactly?
Click to expand...
It depends on which plan you select.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/planning-guides/in-depth-advice/disney-dining-plan/

But for example, if you have the regular plan (1 quick service and 1 table service meal), you go to any restaurant that accepts the plan (most do) and you are permitted to order a non-alcoholic drink, entrée, and dessert from their menu. So no, it's not some pre-chosen, 'you get what you get and don't get upset' policy. Selection and prices vary by restaurant though obviously.

Credits are per person, and determined by the number of nights you stay at a Disney resort. So a 4 night, 5 day vacation gives you 4 QS and 4 TS per person.

Basically, getting the plan, especially one that includes TS, requires some planning. You should make reservations for the restaurants you want to go to, and be sure that they accept the DDP. The fancier restaurants require 2 credits. So...research, research, research.
 
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got2lovedisney

got2lovedisney

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
CAPTAIN HOOK said:
.........Free (with 2015 Deluxe Resort stay) :happy:
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Not really free...you're paying rack rate for a room that you might get cheaper with a discount code so there is a cost.

Worth it? Depends. When my DD was a teenager and I used to take her, her friend and my nephew...it was def worth it as they would EAT! Now, with just DBF and myself it wouldn't make sense. We usually end up spliting meals and aren't much into snacking so at this point, I wouldn't do it. My suggestion is to look at the menus of the places you're likely to eat at and price out your meals and then do the math.
 
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lilclerk

lilclerk

Well-Known Member
FrostyNaples said:
100% on convenience - one less thing to worry about on a vacation. Pre-Paid, ready to go.
Click to expand...
Don't forget to budget for tips! But I do agree, it is nice knowing you don't have to spend TOO much on food during the trip. It was a lot nicer back in the day when tips were included. *wistful sigh*

We do free dining since we stay in the values and it works out to be a better discount for us. If we had to pay for the DDP, I wouldn't.
 
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mickey2008.1

mickey2008.1

Well-Known Member
We find the dining plan great with a large party, 5 or more. But for two people, we just pay out of pocket and share many meals, as we are foodies, but not big eaters. We dont need a lot of food, we like to have an appetizer, entree, and maybe dessert. But with a large party, its just great to have it paid for in advance and not have to worry about it. One QS, one TS, and one snack is perfect. Dining locations are readily available for every taste. You can use two TS for a signature one day, and the use a QS for a great place like Wolfgang Pucks Express and still have a great dinner. Much flexibility for the dining plan. It all depends on size of party and what type of meals you want. Food is very good, as long as you know where to0 go. Great QS and TS, also some really poor places. Research, and ask about the forums, many foodies on this site. Also, check out food pics of the day on here, can really help.
 
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A

andy773

Active Member
I found this site to be very helpful in evaluating the economics of the plan:

http://www.distripplanner.com/

I would love to use the plan but just can't get it to make economic sense for the way we eat.

If you're staying at Saratoga Springs, are you a DVC member? If so, as someone mentioned earlier, Tables in Wonderland is a great deal. Here is info on it:

http://tablesinwonderland.com/

Best part is that Tables in Wonderland also gives you 20% off alcohol!
 
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BrianV

BrianV

Well-Known Member
As mentioned elsewhere, room only discounts of 25-30% are common. Free dining has to exceed the value of the room discount for it to be worth it. Put simply, usually not worth it for a delux room, might be for a moderate, probably for a economy.

That said, we were eating at the Scifi diner watching people at the next table force-feed themselves appetizers, meals, desserts, and drinks merely because they were free (I.e. Already paid for as free dining wasn't happening at that time). I felt Ill watching it. We all had water and each had a single meal. The waiter even pointed out that the kids meal can skip the dessert and cost a few bucks less. And we were very very full after lunch.

Decide how much you want to eat. Decide where you will stay and what kinds of discounts you can get. Do the math. For us it never works out. For others, could be...
 
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disneyfirstLJ

disneyfirstLJ

Well-Known Member
For my daughter and I the dining plan was not worth it. The dining plan would have been about $800.00 in February this year because we are both considered adults and we ate less than $400.00 in food. We found we enjoyed doing only a few table service meals and we ate on the fly the other times. It worked out better for us this way. We tend to share food anyway and neither of us eat a lot at one meal. Good luck in making your decision. I know a lot of folks like the dining plan because they don't have to worry about paying for meals.
 
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kasey1988

kasey1988

Well-Known Member
in my opinion it all depends on the family..
as of right now it is just me and my husband traveling, and we enjoy a sit down meal everyday. We have always gone during free dining and have kept all receipts and added up what we would have spent, we always come out ahead of what we would have paid for the dining plan. If the time came when we did not have free dining we would defiantly pay for it, we also love the convenience of having things paid for in advance. We also, make great use of the mugs at the resort which are included in the plan.

Now, my father went with my 5 year old brother, they personally found it to be to much food for a child and did not enjoy having ADR's everyday, because, well, when a child is hungry they are hungry and it may not be ADR time.. they personally felt they did not get their moneys worth (they paid for the plan). They would consider either the Quick service or paying out of pocket next time and booking less table service meals..
 
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dreamfinder

dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
Do the math. A PP provided a link to info about the various levels of the dining plan, but you get a set number of CS, TS, or snacks per hotel night. Look at the menus online, and figure out what you would be likely to eat. Then add up the totals and see how it compares to the cost of the dining plan. If you eat exactly to the plan, then yes, you can come out ahead. If you don't eat exactly to the plan, then you can easily end up losing money. For instance, a CS meal comes with dessert. If you don't normally get one of the desserts from a CS location, that's $4ish worth of food you are paying for and not eating or not wanting but still eating (thus gaining weight on vacation).

Most of the food is perfectly edible. Some of it is great, some is so-so. Some of it is over priced compared to what you would pay in the real world. If you are staying at SSR and planing on getting groceries, you can easily do breakfast in your room for a fraction of the cost at Artist's Palette (CS location at SSR). Lunch, as long as you don't mind schleping food with you to the parks, you can get PB&J stuff for a family of 4 for what one person might spend on a meal. Dinner, many people are tired when they get back from the parks, or making the trip back to the room for dinner isn't always practical.

It all comes down to your group and their eating habits.
 
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