Disney Dining Plan..... worth it?

SamandChel

SamandChel

Active Member
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.
 
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lilclerk

lilclerk

Well-Known Member
Dad 2 M & M said:
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!!
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I'll agree with this. If we had never done the DDP, I don't think we ever would have considered doing TS meals. At least not as many or as diverse as the ones we love now.
 
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Hisgal2

New Member
I don't have any experience since we've never been to WDW and we are only planning, but my husband is extremely logical, so we try to look at things like this mathematically. I was just playing around with numbers and found that for our family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids- ages 7 and 8) the dining plan that has 1 snack, 1 QS, and 1 TS per day would cost $1277.92 for 7 days (at least for the dates I put in). We broke that down to $45.64 per day per person. For the adults, that is well worth it. We've looked at the dinner menus for restaurants that have sparked our interest and chose meals that we would like without looking at the prices, then, did the math. Dinners alone would put my husband and I over the $45 mark and that doesn't include the QS that we'd probably do for lunch. I haven't concentrated on the kids quite as much yet, but at this point, I'm thinking that we will at least break even with the dining plan. I will say, we are planning on going off property for one day and will probably eat out then, so we are looking at a signature restaurant to use the extra TS. Knowing that the cost is probably a wash because of the lower cost of children's menus (where available.....are they available most places???), I think just the ease of being to get whatever we want without a thought about the price would be nice. This trip is a once in a life time trip for us, so I don't want to have to worry about cost. ...and honestly, we will probably have extra Disney gift cards...or just extra money in our debit account...to use to pay for things like an appetizer here and there or an extra treat.

Dad 2 M & M said:
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.....
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The gift cards have had fees for as long as I can remember. You can watch grocery store flyers for specials that give you gas points when buying more than $100 in gift cards, etc. The discount in gas covers the fee and makes it worth it.
 
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Mrs.W9000

Mrs.W9000

Well-Known Member
Dad 2 M & M said:
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.....
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If it helps, we purchase our Disney gift cards from Kroger and do not pay any fees.
 
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Mot

Mot

Active Member
We found it is a matter on convenience, your dining is prepaid and you don't worry about the cash at the time of purchase. We actually found the cost of the dining plan to be almost equal to dining in the same places without the dining plan. After totaling up receipts we saved about $25.00 by not being on the dining plan for the same length of stay
 
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dreamfinder

dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
Dad 2 M & M said:
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.....
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Visa gift cards depend on the provider. Some charge an upfront fee, others charge a monthly "maintenance fee".

Mrs.W9000 said:
If it helps, we purchase our Disney gift cards from Kroger and do not pay any fees.
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Disney gift cards should never have fees. Any "scrip" style card (basically card that only has value with a given retailer) usually has no fees as they are taking your money direct. The pre-paid Visa cards are issued by a 3rd party that needs to make their money somehow.
 
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Hisgal2

New Member
Mrs.W9000 said:
If it helps, we purchase our Disney gift cards from Kroger and do not pay any fees.
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I don't think she was saying they had fees for the Disney gift cards. I think she was talking about the Visa gift cards, which often do have fees. Our grocery store gives us gas points for every $50 we spend there, but I do not always spend $50 at one time, so I will often buy a visa gift card in the amount of my grocery money budget to get the points and then just use that card for the rest of my 2 weeks (we get grocery money out of the bank every 2 weeks).
 
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wannabeBelle

wannabeBelle

Well-Known Member
Hisgal2 said:
the dining plan that has 1 snack, 1 QS, and 1 TS per day
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Not exactly, The dining plan is based on the number of nights you are staying at the resort, not per day as you are figuring. It still does work out so don't worry there but I don't want you to think you are getting more entitlements than you actually would be. Marie
 
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Bugz

Bugz

Well-Known Member
We like the plan , even though it costs us more it's the convenience and not worrying about cost at the most important time....when you are supposed to be enjoying your vacation.
 
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loriloughs

loriloughs

Member
We used the dining plan twice when they offered "free" dining. Loved the convenience, but we are more appetizer type people rather than dessert, so we ended up paying a lot for appys, wine and tips that it probably wasn't worth it. With the new FP+, trying to schedule meals around fastpasses is sooooo much planning. We are going in May with no meal plan, so we will see if the dining plan was worth it. I think we will not only eat less, but spend less as well!
 
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loriloughs

loriloughs

Member
SamandChel said:
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
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SamandChel

SamandChel

Active Member
Original Poster
@wannabeBelle I agree that it isn't done as Much now and is definitely at the discretion of the server. It is up to them whether or not they do it. Every time ive been able to switch they rang my ap up as a dessert. So it's just if the waiter is willing to do it. Last time I was able to was August 2014
 
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