Dining Plans: Worth the cost?

[SquierJosh]

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?

 

[SquierJosh]

Ugh, this is too much to think about with all the other planning.

Are you paying for meals or credits? Sounds like some restaurants are more expensive, so why wouldn't everyone just get a plan and go to the most expensive meal every time?

It's just me, my wife, a 6 year old girl, and a 2 year old boy going. Would every person need a plan? There's no way the kids would eat what they're paying for every meal.

 

[FrostyNaples]

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.

I don't use the word 'budget' while on vacation. Instead, I substitute with the words 'within reason'.

If i had to pinch every penny, and then budget every penny, WDW would not be for me. My value is convenience and fulfillment.

Real world tuned out, "within reason".

Should you get the dining plan? Choose either option A) or B)

A) You park your car in a 3rd party extended lot at the airport to save a few bucks on parking
B) You take a car service (not a taxi, more like a small town-car) to and from the airport

Ultimately everyone's perception of value will vary, I certainly don't look at vacations like extreme couponing, just not wired that way.

 

[SquierJosh]

I'm not necessarily out for budget either, but I don't want to spend $1000 on a plan and only get $600 worth of food because I didn't understand how it all works. We tend to share food and buy our own snacks, so based on what that calculator website is telling me, I shouldn't purchase a plan.

I don't use the word 'budget' while on vacation. Instead, I substitute with the words 'within reason'.

If i had to pinch every penny, and then budget every penny, WDW would not be for me. My value is convenience and fulfillment.

Real world tuned out, "within reason".

Should you get the dining plan? Choose either option A) or B)

A) You park your car in a 3rd party extended lot at the airport to save a few bucks on parking
B) You take a car service (not a taxi, more like a small town-car) to and from the airport

Ultimately everyone's perception of value will vary, I certainly don't look at vacations like extreme couponing, just not wired that way.

 

[FrostyNaples]

Ugh, this is too much to think about with all the other planning.

Are you paying for meals or credits? Sounds like some restaurants are more expensive, so why wouldn't everyone just get a plan and go to the most expensive meal every time?

It's just me, my wife, a 6 year old girl, and a 2 year old boy going. Would every person need a plan? There's no way the kids would eat what they're paying for every meal.

Yes, all would need the plan. Don't let others talk you in or out of it.

Pull up the plans, what each would cost per person, per day.

Pull up some sample menu's, see what your meals are going to cost.

Put the two side by side, and figure if its worth it to you.

All the info is out there.

 

[FrostyNaples]

I'm not necessarily out for budget either, but I don't want to spend $1000 on a plan and only get $600 worth of food because I didn't understand how it all works. We tend to share food and buy our own snacks, so based on what that calculator website is telling me, I shouldn't purchase a plan.

Correct, not for you.

Me, i don't share

 

[Monty]

With myself and my son, at a Value resort it works out to about a break-even on "free dining". At a Moderate or Deluxe, "free dining" is costing us more than the combined davigs of room discounts and TiW.

That's only if we maximize the cost of every entree we order rather than actually ordering what we want and eat in the pattern the plan provides for. So it is simply not worth it to us. Ever.

Convenience of having Disney hold my money instead of me earning even meagre interest on it never made any sense to me either.

 

[Yankee Dale]

We've been the last two Januaries and got a deeply discounted dining plan as part of their Stay Play and Dine promotion. It's come out in October each of the last two years. With that promotion it was a good deal for my family (two adults one kid). Without a discount I think it only makes sense if your going to a lot of character meals.

 

[smk]

I have made a promise to myself that when a discount comes out for next year, whatever it is, I am jumping on it! I am suffering because I did not plan well this year and we are not going at all. THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN TO ME NEXT YEAR! We have never gone with free dining, for two diabetic adults it never made sense to us. We eat well, small meals, I tend to need something every 4 hours to balance out, but eat more proteins than carbs. And...planning ADR's is not my thing but I would do the QS plan and take the carbs off the burgers, or go with Cosmic Rays and have chicken. PLUS, we will have TWO grandbabies by next fall, the more the merrier! One will be almost three the other a mere 6 months old but I can share with the two year old, he eats like a horse!

So, my lesson, even if the DP does not make sense I am booking it, cause I will not miss out on going another year!!

 

[loriloughs]

We are going to Disney in a few weeks for the food and wine festival and got a Disney package that included the "free" dining plan. I had difficulty getting times I wanted at the restaurants I wanted. Prime dinner times were already taken when I booked in May! Because we are going during food and wine, I booked a couple restaurants that require 2 credits so we would' the stuffed all the time and enjoy the little bites they sell at Epcot. And we were told we could use snack credits.You have small children and your daughter would love character breakfast in Norway with the princesses and your son with Winnie the Pooh at Magic Kingdom! When we went in the past when our daughter was young and before they even offered a dining plan at all, we always stayed outside the parks in a hotel that offered free breakfast. We would splurge on one character meal each time we went as they are expensive. When I found that Disney was offering free dining again this year I sat down and crunched numbers. If I booked our hotel at a discounted fall rate and added tickets and the meal plan I would be spending $500. more than booking the whole package. I have spent much more time planning this trip than any other with the new fastpass+ and dining. So, bottom line, crunch some numbers, decide if you have the time and energy to plan and go with your gut. Have a wonderful and magical vacation!

 

[dreamfinder]

Are you paying for meals or credits? Sounds like some restaurants are more expensive, so why wouldn't everyone just get a plan and go to the most expensive meal every time?

It's just me, my wife, a 6 year old girl, and a 2 year old boy going. Would every person need a plan? There's no way the kids would eat what they're paying for every meal.

Every person in the room over the age of 3 needs the same dining plan. The 2yo is no charge, as long as they share plates with someone else, if you need to order them their own meal, that you have to pay for out of pocket.

You are paying for credits, but each credit is applied towards a course, not a dollar value. So each meal includes an entree, so you can order anything that the restaurant has listed as an entree (as a general rule of thumb). There are people that do indeed order the most expensive meal every time. However, typically that is the only way to come out ahead of the dining plan. Look at the QSDP. It currently costs an adult $41.99 per night. That includes two QS meals, and one snack per day (plus one refillable mug per person). If you go to MK, the most expensive QS meal that I know of might be lunch at BOG. $13.49 for the tuna nicoise, $4.19 for a cupcake, and $2.99 for a soda. Thats $20.67 for what I believe is the most expensive CS meal in MK. So you then do dinner at Columbia Harbor House, $10.99 for the Seafood Mac & Cheese, $3.99 for the chocolate cake, and $3.19 for soda. Thats $18.17 for dinner, totaling $38.84 for the two meals. Figuring $5.19 for the most expensive snack, your total is $44.03. So in that case, yes you would save $2.04 for the day. However, if you only wanted the Croque Monsieur at BOG, that's only $11.49, so suddenly you are only saving 4 cents on the day. And if you wanted the lobster roll at CHH, that's only $10.49, so now Disney is making 46 cents off of you. If you want a Mickey bar, thats only $4.00 for the snack, so another $1.19 in profit for disney.

Similar numbers apply for the DDP, which is one CS and 1 TS per day and currently costs $60.64 per adult. Sticking with that meal at BOG at $20.67, your $5.19 snack, and then doing dinner at Crystal Palace (range of $37.99-$43.66) you would end up saving anywhere from $3.21 to $8.88. But if you didn't want to do a character meal/buffet, and went to Tony's, had the tenderloin for $23.99, chocolate cake for $5.99 and soda for $2.99, thats only $32.97, so $20.67+$5.19+$32.97, thats $58.83. so you once again end up losing $1.81.

This is why you need to run all the numbers for what you would eat and compare them to what the plan would cost you. We can post tons of ways to save money on the dining plan, and tons of ways to lose money on the dining plan.

 

[JillC LI]

I see that everyone has responded to your monetary question about whether the DDP is worth it, and that depends on your family's needs. Let me just respond to your comment about the food not being so great at Disney. Our family has had some truly wonderful and delicious meals at Disney table service restaurants (as well as some quick-service ones), and some great character interactions as well. Don't knock Disney food!

Are you paying for meals or credits? Sounds like some restaurants are more expensive, so why wouldn't everyone just get a plan and go to the most expensive meal every time?

You can certainly do this (although Signature restaurants will "cost" you two credits, not one). And you can order the most expensive item on the menu as well. But if you want to try different places and different foods and have different character experiences, this could get boring. Trying different restaurants is part of the fun of our Disney trips. Oh, and btw, we ALWAYS get the dining plan. It works for our family of 4.

 

[Daxiegirl]

Sounds like some restaurants are more expensive, so why wouldn't everyone just get a plan and go to the most expensive meal every time?
.

Also, you should be tipping your wait person....and that can get costly if you are always ordering the most expensive items on the menu.

 

[FrostyNaples]

Also, you should be tipping your wait person....and that can get costly if you are always ordering the most expensive items on the menu.

It's funny how that works, that tipping is based on the value of the meal... $10 plate gets less tips than a $20 plate, yet they take the same amount of 'taking order time' as well as foot steps to and from the kitchen...

While my tipping percentage varies on the service itself, its crazy that the total amounts are governed by the cost of the plate...

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

We are actually big fans of the Dining Plan, but as other posters stated, there are many factors to consider. We love the idea that everything is paid for before we arrive. IF free dining is offered, we do upgrade to Deluxe. (and this is the only time we will use 2 credits per person to eat at a Signature restaurant) With the regular dining plan, the best advice I can give you, is use your snack credits wisely. Instead of using a snack credit for a bottle of water, get a cupcake! Regarding tipping; they do print on the receipt the *recommended amount*. This of course, depends on your service received.

 

[SAV]

We tried the QS plan once when it was "Free" to us(back when it was 2 snacks per day) and my wife tallied up all of the receipts on what we would have spent. It ended up that we came out a bit ahead on the deal. The next trip they changed it to only 1 snack per day and when she tallied up all of the receipts, we were basically at even money for the trip. We also found that we were so full from the meals(Because you get a vat of pop and a dessert with each meal) that we weren't eating all of the wonderful snacks from around the parks because we were too full. On our last day, we still had some meal credits left that we didn't use and ended up taking some Yak & Yeti to the beach with us because we didn't want to waste the credits. So we stopped getting the DP and would rather pay out of pocket for what we want.

 

[bchbm2022]

I really used to like the dining plan and still miss all those amazing restaurants, but I cant justify the cost of even the quick service when compared to our eating habits. They always give you those desserts with every quick service meal and we do not eat them. Some of those meals are so big we dont even finish them. While the table servicefood is amazing, again its too much for us for every single night. We are gonna do 1 or 2 table service restaurants on our next trip and then quick service others without all the extra desserts and then bagels or cereal in the room for breakfast. Based on our eating habits we would save quite a bit of money just paying. But it really depends on your eating habits

 

[Dog Ate Mouse]

Now the DW and I always do the Deluxe Dinning plan. The plan has some pro's:

1) 1 Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, + 1 Snack per person per day
2) You can almost eat anywhere you want.
3) Bill is paid for and all you do is show up and eat.
4) Menu is open and 2 soft drinks, 1 appetizer and main course and dessert per person.
5) Promise that you will never be hungry in WDW while on vacation.

Cons

1) Still have to make reservations like anyone else in advance of your trip
2) Way to much food to eat and we wind up skipping lunch most of the times
3) Tips are NOT included
4) This plan does cost more
5) Like all the plans some places to eat do require two Table service credits
6) I really do hate having a schedule for meals, but that is the nature of the beast in WDW
7) Fultons our favorite is not on this plan. I have to buy a really inclusive and expensive plan to get this resteraunt on the plan along getting the tips included and tickets to Cirque included and so on. To me this plan is way to expensive. I have done it a few times and we were glad we did. But this plan is a once in a Blue moon plan for us.

Work Arounds:

1) We are full from breafast and only need a snack to hold us over till dinner
2) Extra credits from lunch that we save goes to the resteraunts that require 2 table service credits.
3) So we really take advantge and try all the best or high rated places to eat that we can.

Is It Worth it?

For us it is. We always stay at the moderates any more and our favorite part of vacation is really going out to eat at different places that we never have tried or going back to must do places to eat. You see, we look at it that some people really want that deluxe resort experience and we really want that just go and eat anywhere and not worry about it experience. Yes I do have to buget tips, but we are on vacation and this is what makes us happy and adds to our WDW experience. For the two of us, we feel pampered and care free. Yes we pay for this like anyone else, but to the DW and I is well worth it. We do eat early in the AM and have dinner most of the time around 6:00 PM. So with all the walking in the parks we do work off that breakfast and a tad off the dinner. We go back to the resort at night after going to DTD and go swimming until about 12:30 and start it all over again.

 

[sxeensweet]

Now the DW and I always do the Deluxe Dinning plan. The plan has some pro's:

1) 1 Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, + 1 Snack per person per day
2) You can almost eat anywhere you want.
3) Bill is paid for and all you do is show up and eat.
4) Menu is open and 2 soft drinks, 1 appetizer and main course and dessert per person.
5) Promise that you will never be hungry in WDW while on vacation.

Cons

1) Still have to make reservations like anyone else in advance of your trip
2) Way to much food to eat and we wind up skipping lunch most of the times
3) Tips are NOT included
4) This plan does cost more
5) Like all the plans some places to eat do require two Table service credits
6) I really do hate having a schedule for meals, but that is the nature of the beast in WDW
7) Fultons our favorite is not on this plan. I have to buy a really inclusive and expensive plan to get this resteraunt on the plan along getting the tips included and tickets to Cirque included and so on. To me this plan is way to expensive. I have done it a few times and we were glad we did. But this plan is a once in a Blue moon plan for us.

Work Arounds:

1) We are full from breafast and only need a snack to hold us over till dinner
2) Extra credits from lunch that we save goes to the resteraunts that require 2 table service credits.
3) So we really take advantge and try all the best or high rated places to eat that we can.

Is It Worth it?

For us it is. We always stay at the moderates any more and our favorite part of vacation is really going out to eat at different places that we never have tried or going back to must do places to eat. You see, we look at it that some people really want that deluxe resort experience and we really want that just go and eat anywhere and not worry about it experience. Yes I do have to buget tips, but we are on vacation and this is what makes us happy and adds to our WDW experience. For the two of us, we feel pampered and care free. Yes we pay for this like anyone else, but to the DW and I is well worth it. We do eat early in the AM and have dinner most of the time around 6:00 PM. So with all the walking in the parks we do work off that breakfast and a tad off the dinner. We go back to the resort at night after going to DTD and go swimming until about 12:30 and start it all over again.

******You get 2 snacks (not just 1 as noted in your post) per person per night with the Deluxe Dining Plan. ******
This makes the deluxe a great option during F&W Festival @ Epcot.

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

This helped me realize it wasn't for us.
http://seeyareelsoon.wix.com/seeyareelsoon#!dining-plan-calculator/cxc0

 

[Devin Nikole]

I have been using the dining plan since it's inception, but with the price increases I'm now debating whether or not we will use it. Especially since I have 10 & 11 year old girls that will now be considered adults - $60 per day for meals for them is just not realistic! Disney needs to change their age limits, IMO. But as we know that will never happen..

I think for the ages of your children (the 2yo will be free and with the sizes of portions can easily share off of someone else's plate, the 8yo will be around $20 per day with the Standard Plan which is what I recommend) I would go ahead and use it, but use it wisely. There are many websites that have lists of which restaurants give you the best bang for your buck (ie, which ones to eat at to actually turn a profit on your plan). .com has a great table for that. I recommend dinner at O'Hana! I also like to eat character meals too, because it gives you the opportunity to meet characters while you dine - saving you time in those dreadful meet & greet lines.