Disney Dining Plan..... worth it?

[SamandChel]

So this always seems to bring mixed opinion but I'm going to try it anyway. Is the Disney dining plan worth it. I've used the Disney dining plan many times while also paying out of pocket many times. Usually, I feel I break even with no significant difference. I usually opt in for it mostly out of convenience and the ability to pay everything off ahead of time so no bills to come home to. What's everyone's opinion.

 

[Kingoglow]

I will add my take on the DDP in the event that a first time visitor researches it here.

If you are a first time visitor to WDW, my advice is to take advantage of DDP. Make this the one thing that you do that you do to ease your mind on your trip. If you are going for the first time, the food prices at the park can be a bit of a shocker. You don't want to experience anger or frustration every time your family goes to eat.

Just buy a plan.

Of course you can save money by paying out of pocket and carefully selecting where (and when) you eat at WDW. This is no different from choosing not to go out to eat while you are home. But since you are on vacation buy a plan, go out to eat, choose experiences and food that you normally would and have a good time.

 

[SDisney90]

I will add my take on the DDP in the event that a first time visitor researches it here.

If you are a first time visitor to WDW, my advice is to take advantage of DDP. Make this the one thing that you do that you do to ease your mind on your trip. If you are going for the first time, the food prices at the park can be a bit of a shocker. You don't want to experience anger or frustration every time your family goes to eat.

Just buy a plan.

Of course you can save money by paying out of pocket and carefully selecting where (and when) you eat at WDW. This is no different from choosing not to go out to eat while you are home. But since you are on vacation buy a plan, go out to eat, choose experiences and food that you normally would and have a good time.

I agree entirely with you. The prices can be very shocking especially somewhere like Ohanas at 50-60?? a person. Great advice there

 

[Ben_since_1971]

I'll preface my comments by saying I have mostly used the DP when I have gotten it 'free' as part of a package, although I did pay for it on one vacation. My reasons for liking it:

• Convenience. I am a planner, and my wife is somewhat of a finicky eater. It's nice not having to play the 'what do you want for dinner' and 'not cheeseburgers again' game that we used to do on past trips. Being able to plan meals in wife-approved restaurants ahead of time is huge to me.
• Cost/value/variety. I have seen all the comparisons between OOP and DP on cost, and for me, it is an apples to oranges comparison. If I were paying OOP for all my meals, there is no way I would do all the restaurants we do eat at. They are just too expensive. What I have done is compare what we would have done vs. cost of DP and some years OOP would have been slightly cheaper, some years DP would be cheaper, most years it's a wash. Where we get the value is where we decide to eat and do. I load up on the 2-fers - HDD, Yachtsman steakhouse, CP dinner package. The CP is the only of the 3 I would normally pay OOP for. The other two I would not. Using DP credits allows me to while maximizing the 'cost' of the plan. This also allows us to take breaks from Disney eating and eat off property (we always have a rental car).
• Convenience again. I look at the DP as making my vacation virtually all-inclusive. As I said before I am a planner and I love being able to plan my meals ahead of time and not worry about impact on spending money budget when I get there. It's paid for.

I can see where others don't like it, and I will readily agree it can be a lot of food (just ask the 12lbs I gained on my trip two weeks ago ). But for me it works and I like it. So it is most definitely worth it. For me. YMMV.

 

[officialtom]

... Another option: using a QS credit for breakfast instead of a snack credit, skipping lunch and having a nice dinner. Did this once and it worked well in EPCOT with our ADR at Garden Grille.

There are so many ways to work within the DDP, and this is one we use a lot.

Alternatively, we use a snack for breakfast (e.g., bagel, muffin, yogurt), QS for lunch, and "fancy" TS for supper; --or-- fancy "QS" breakfast (always a buffet), snack for lunch (e.g., pretzel, fries), and QS for supper. We never use a TS for lunch.

 

[BrianV]

Isn't this choice similar to the one you get when you go to a random Marriott for breakfast. You can order off the menu or get the buffet which includes juice and coffee and all you can eat. Entres might be $12. Coffee $2. OJ $3. The buffet, $15.

When you leave, you can assess your experience by looking at your bill and feeling your tummy. Whether you come out ahead really depends on how hungry you were and what you ordered. Usually if you order just a breakfast entre and skip the beverages, the menu is cheaper. If you get a side of bacon, oj, coffee, and sweet rolls, you should have ordered the buffet.

In other words, there is no right or wrong answer. As with all things, it depends.

 

[BigRedDad]

A lot has to do with how much you eat. All meals are generally large on the Dining plan. It also creates a mentality of having to get your money's worth versus getting what you want. I do not want to be on a plan that forces me to look for the most expensive restaurant, the most expensive item on the menu just to break even. Then, after making those plans, finding a way to fit food for 2-3 people into my stomach.

We have done the QS dining plan (it was free) and the regular dining plan (1 TS and 1 QS meal per day). In both cases, we had so many credits remaining that I had a giant Disney bag filled with Mickey Rice Crispy treats converting TS and QS meals over to snack just to use them up. I also offered people free meals off my plan on the last night just to get as much as we could out of it.

For us, we can share a QS meal. If we have a TS meal, it is usually a buffet/family style. Appetizers are usually more than enough as a meal for us as well. It saves a ton of money and belly fat.

 

[petersenjp]

To be perfectly honest. I like the DDP. I would rather pay up front and not worry about anything while I am down there, vs opening my wallet every meal. I may pay a little more then what I would spend, but for me, convenience wins out.

 

[JIMINYCR]

It has worked for us. There hasnt been a huge difference in savings but every little bit helps. We check out our restaurant menus ahead of time, price things out that we probably will eat for our meals, add the snack items in and we find it worth doing.

 

[jencor]

We used it for the first time this last fall and I will go back to not using it. I liked the fact it was taken care, but felt I did not get the value I wanted and was trapped at times to eating when I really did not want to. Also I found it took time out of my schedule cause it always took longer then I wanted. I say set a budget aside and use it. Enjoy the trip and it looks like it might be a honeymoon, so congrats.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

So this always seems to bring mixed opinion but I'm going to try it anyway. Is the Disney dining plan worth it. I've used the Disney dining plan many times while also paying out of pocket many times. Usually, I feel I break even with no significant difference. I usually opt in for it mostly out of convenience and the ability to pay everything off ahead of time so no bills to come home to. What's everyone's opinion.

Have you ever considered buying prepaid Visa Cards ahead of time? It would have the same result as "paying everything off ahead of time with no bills to come home to". That way you can "prepay" the equivalent of the cost of the DDP in prepaid Visa cards....much more flexibility.

 

[BigTxEars]

We love it and think it is worth it. That being said we are going back for a week in 17 days and will not use the DDP for the first time. Call it a test I guess, we are seeing how we do without it.

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

Have you ever considered buying prepaid Visa Cards ahead of time? It would have the same result as "paying everything off ahead of time with no bills to come home to". That way you can "prepay" the equivalent of the cost of the DDP in prepaid Visa cards....much more flexibility.

This. I never understand the paid ahead of time argument. I did exactly what you said. We didn't look once at prices when we ordered. We ate and drank what we wanted. At the end of the trip we didn't spend any extra OOP. That included alllll of our meals, snacks, drinks and souvenirs.

 

[SamandChel]

@Dad 2 M & M I like the idea of preparid visa cards but I could only ever do one since each has fees. May be better to do prepaid Disney gift cards. This way no fees and you can ensure ahead of time where you go accepts them. What I have done before is used Disney dollars. Give some out to each person as a daily budget and that's what they have and then you know you can only spend what you expected. Just can't get them in advance unless you want to pay $15 shipping

 

[Mrs.W9000]

This. I never understand the paid ahead of time argument. I did exactly what you said. We didn't look once at prices when we ordered. We ate and drank what we wanted. At the end of the trip we didn't spend any extra OOP. That included alllll of our meals, snacks, drinks and souvenirs.

we did that on our last trip for the first time and loved the convenience.

 

[lilclerk]

For our next trip, I think I've finally convinced my friend to take the money we would spend on the dining plan and put it towards Disney gift cards from Target (Red Card discount FTW.) Then we can just eat what we want. He likes the convenience of having the DDP paid for up front (well, every time he's gone, it's been free but it won't be on our next trip) but I hate only being able to get certain things. Neither of us are big on dessert, we're more likely to get an appetizer to split, if anything besides an entree. Plus we'd both rather snack around instead of getting QS meals every day. And we always spend a day or two at Universal, so we end up scrambling to find a way to use those QS credits and usually end up with a couple left over.

I really think this will work out better for us.

 

[dreamfinder]

It's pretty much never going to be worth it for my family. At most we get one drink at a CS meal, and never get desserts. TS meals are usually entree only, and we will split maybe one snack a day. We don't eat to their prescribed plan, so we would always lose money.

If you eat to the plan, and perfectly to the plan, yes you can save money and it may be worth it. But if you deviate a bit, you will at best break even and will very likely lose money.

 

[sgtmgd]

Part of our Disney experience is the food, there are many really good places to eat. I personally cant abuse my body at age 46 with 5-8 days of counter service (fast food) lol. We like to have a sit down meal each evening to take a break for a couple hours and re-charge before heading back to the parks. Often those sit downs will be signature restaurants as my taste buds have become more expensive the older i get. I could afford to pay as we go but I simply prefer the "convenience" of the DDP. We do the deluxe plan and generally will eat a breakfast buffet, or "brunch" and use the 2 credits for dinner at a signature add the snacks in and it works out just fine..but then again Im fortunate to not be counting pennies...but rather calories lol. If you haven't tried some of the signatures you are missing out on some great pieces of the Disney experience.

 

[SamandChel]

Our trip next week we have decided to skip the dining plan. primarily because of where we are eating. We only eat two meals a day at most when at Disney so we ocassionally did the Disney dining plan with 1 ts 1 qs & 1 snack but didn't want to have to play games with entitlements since places like California grill take two and most places we are eating would take two. also we always had extra snacks so we would load up on candy and such that we really didn't want at the end of our trip haha. Cash will be king this trip!

 

[Disnee4Me]

Yes for worth it I met value financial/convenience between dining plan and out of pocket.

I think the main problem with the dining plan is a lack of flexibility. would be nicer if you could choose course amount or at least be able to pick appetizer or dessert. Two people go out to Dinner share an app and a dessert instead of two desserts. While some places let you others won't let you do this and its kind of weird to ask. Lol.

Only Disney could make me sick of desserts haha haha

That's the problem with my family. My DH is more of an appetizer lover, while I love me my sweets. Wish they gave you the option of one or the other.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

@Dad 2 M & M I like the idea of preparid visa cards but I could only ever do one since each has fees. May be better to do prepaid Disney gift cards. This way no fees and you can ensure ahead of time where you go accepts them. What I have done before is used Disney dollars. Give some out to each person as a daily budget and that's what they have and then you know you can only spend what you expected. Just can't get them in advance unless you want to pay $15 shipping

Wow...did the Visa Gift Cards always have fees? I could have sworn I used to buy a $25 card for $25. Just checking on line, they now are over $27 for a $25 card...I had no idea! The only bummer with Disney Cards is the fact they are Disney specific.....

This. I never understand the paid ahead of time argument. I did exactly what you said. We didn't look once at prices when we ordered. We ate and drank what we wanted. At the end of the trip we didn't spend any extra OOP. That included alllll of our meals, snacks, drinks and souvenirs.

Just to be sure here...you agree, correct? If so, we found buying the equivalent DDP Cost in Pre-paid Visa cards resulted in, just as you have stated, eating the food we wanted (not an entree, dessert, and drink at each meal) AND had enough left over for our t-shirts as well.

Another "issue" with the DDP is we ended up "touring restaurants"! I must say it was really nice for a couple of trips to tour restaurants, but it didn't take long to visit most of the ones in the Parks we wanted to try.

The DDP did, however, make us appreciate TS more than ever before, and now we do make it a point to hit our fav ressies (now OOP) on each trip!!