Disney dining plan yes or no?

cw1982

Well-Known Member
No kidding, wow! Obviously it's not something they make obvious when they advertise...well, obviously :arghh: (Let's rip people off aaannnd then do it again.)
My TR in the Fall may be an interesting one...

I wouldn't sweat it too much yet... maybe just try to look into what the rules are at each restaurant before you go so that you won't be put on the spot somewhere? My situation is very unique... DH and I have both had surgery, so in addition to me being a picky eater, there's only so many things that I can eat much of and still get what I need nutritionally each day. It's a tough balance when we're at the mercy of those kinds of rules. If you're getting the dp as a promotion, like the free dining thing, it may be a better deal than if you were getting a room discount anyway.

I can't wait for that report :)
 

G00fyDad

Well-Known Member
We have used the dining plan every time it has been offered except this last trip of ours. It has always saved us money before, but this past trip it would have cost us nearly $600 more to use the plan. We paid out of pocket and it worked out well. What you need to do is look at menus with pricing, plan out where you would likely go to eat each day, tally that up and see if it comes to more or less than the DDP. Keep in mind that the DDP may not cover all of your meals. For example, if you arrive on Friday and leave that following Thursday Disney will give you 6 TS and 6 QS meal credits, not 7 and 7. They allot them by "nights per stay" and not days. You'll end up with the cost of the DDP plus one more day's meals out of pocket. And thats only if you do not choose a 2 TS option for dining one day.
 

Jennifer66

Well-Known Member
At Coral Reef, 50's PTC, and one other place that we went (can't remember off the top of my head, but I'll come back and update if it hits me), the servers literally said, in no uncertain terms, "Okay. Since you're not on the dining plan, you can order whatever you like." It may very well be that this is only true at certain restaurants. I think this must be the case, because we only had that happen a few times, and we ate TS five out of the six days that we were on property. I never saw a special dining plan menu; it could be that they only bring those out if you are on the dining plan, or it could just be a conversation the server has with guests who are using dp. Either way, I didn't like that, and it makes me think that even if I hadn't had weight loss surgery, I wouldn't have liked the dining plan. I'm too picky of an eater to be dictated by those kinds of restrictions.

I'm certainly no expert, but I believe what the servers meant was there are menu items not included. All diners get same menu, but DP does not include appetizers and maybe some others (like milkshakes not counting as your drink).
 

cw1982

Well-Known Member
I'm certainly no expert, but I believe what the servers meant was there are menu items not included. All diners get same menu, but DP does not include appetizers and maybe some others (like milkshakes not counting as your drink).

That makes sense... but it wouldn't help in my case, because often I order an appetizer as my meal. So again, that would place undue restrictions on us. But for most, that explanation does probably relieve any unnecessary tension I may have just caused.

ETA: if this is correct, then I'm sorry if anything I said upset anyone. I was just speaking from personal experience.
 
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G00fyDad

Well-Known Member
So is there a special menu at Table Service restaurants for resort guests with the Dining Plan?

No. You can order anything from the menu (unless they have recently changed this) except for the appetizers. It still entitles you to one entree (any entree), one desert, and a non-alcoholic drink.
 

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
So is there a special menu at Table Service restaurants for resort guests with the Dining Plan?
Same menu. The reason servers are happy/relieved if you're not on the Dining Plan is that there is less explaining required on their part. With the Dining Plan you are entitled to an Entree, a dessert and a non-alcoholic/non-specialty drink. Some menus have various sections that are not appetizers, but don't constitute "Entrees" and it can be complicated to explain. Guests often try to substitute items, which is also not allowed.
 

unkadug

Follower of "Saget"The Cult
Same menu. The reason servers are happy/relieved if you're not on the Dining Plan is that there is less explaining required on their part. With the Dining Plan you are entitled to an Entree, a dessert and a non-alcoholic/non-specialty drink. Some menus have various sections that are not appetizers, but don't constitute "Entrees" and it can be complicated to explain. Guests often try to substitute items, which is also not allowed.
Monty...you should be dubbed the site's guru on dining plans.

Not to be confused with the site's guru on "dinning" which is someone else completely!
 

cw1982

Well-Known Member
Same menu. The reason servers are happy/relieved if you're not on the Dining Plan is that there is less explaining required on their part. With the Dining Plan you are entitled to an Entree, a dessert and a non-alcoholic/non-specialty drink. Some menus have various sections that are not appetizers, but don't constitute "Entrees" and it can be complicated to explain. Guests often try to substitute items, which is also not allowed.

Thanks for clarifying! :)
 

Daxiegirl

Active Member
Yes, thank you Monty. That explains a lot and gives some relief!:) I had assumed that there would be things not applicable like specialty beverages and others but was worried about the main entrees like the amazing salmon everyone talks about at AP @ WL.

Will you do a TR for your upcoming stay @ BC? That's a resort I'd like to try if we decide to make a 2nd trip one day!
 

DisneyJunkie

Well-Known Member
After having gone to WDW on and off the Disney Dining Plan (usually during the times it's offered for free) we believe the plan is a money saver AND it provides us the opportunity to eat in places we normally probably wouldn't because it would otherwise be too expensive. When on the plan, we've never been denied eating anything we wanted to at the Coral Reef or anywhere else. The only thing we're informed of is what the plan includes and doesn't include.
 

jpittore1

Well-Known Member
This is the seventh time we did the deluxe dining. We usually do breakfast/lunch and a signature dinner each day. I kept all my receipts and we used all of our snacks (mostly at Starbucks-venti size counts as one snack) and over all we saved 20% from list. We never had a restriction on any of the menus. We would purchase again.
 

Much-Pixie-Dust

Well-Known Member
Have done both, and DP has never saved us money. It is convenient and it's nice knowing your food is prepaid, but unless you order the most expensive items, it's not cost effective. It hasn't been in our case anyway. Getting the bill at a ts does tend to have sticker shock. We dread the next time because DD will be 10, an adult in the eyes of Disney. So we won't do buffets anymore. She eats like a bird, so it definitely won't be worth it to eat at buffets with her.
 

Daxiegirl

Active Member
We dread the next time because DD will be 10, an adult in the eyes of Disney. So we won't do buffets anymore. She eats like a bird, so it definitely won't be worth it to eat at buffets with her.

Definitely the problem with kids that have reached that age. We had even considered having our parents not purchase the DDP and then using our 10 year olds meal for one of them and just paying for him and the other adult separately. We tried so many permutations when making our decision, lol.
 

cw1982

Well-Known Member
Definitely the problem with kids that have reached that age. We had even considered having our parents not purchase the DDP and then using our 10 year olds meal for one of them and just paying for him and the other adult separately. We tried so many permutations when making our decision, lol.

One thing I do know for sure is that everyone on the reservation has to have the same dining plan if one is purchased. That was our other issue; if we could have just used one person's worth of dining plan and shared meals, since that's what we did 90% of the time anyway, then we might have been more likely to do it, but not when I only eat four or five bites at any given meal and then can eat no more lol.
 

Daxiegirl

Active Member
It would have worked for us since we have two reservations. It was just getting entirely too complicated and I was stressing out so we just made our decision to just stick with our original plan. If we ever plan a second trip (which from reading about all the amazing things that we won't have time for this time-we will likely will) then we probably won't go with the DDP.
:) Everyone here is so good at listing all the reasons why not to use it that I can totally see the validity of that argument.

We just wanted to be able to try a signature restaurant each day and a slew of character buffets. I'm just hoping now that the menus hold their own with my foodie husband.:joyfull:
 

harryk

Well-Known Member
At Coral Reef, 50's PTC, and one other place that we went (can't remember off the top of my head, but I'll come back and update if it hits me), the servers literally said, in no uncertain terms, "Okay. Since you're not on the dining plan, you can order whatever you like." It may very well be that this is only true at certain restaurants. I think this must be the case, because we only had that happen a few times, and we ate TS five out of the six days that we were on property. I never saw a special dining plan menu; it could be that they only bring those out if you are on the dining plan, or it could just be a conversation the server has with guests who are using dp. Either way, I didn't like that, and it makes me think that even if I hadn't had weight loss surgery, I wouldn't have liked the dining plan. I'm too picky of an eater to be dictated by those kinds of restrictions.
We have used the DDP (family of 4) the last 8 years and have never experienced any 'restrictions'. We order what we like, when we like without any problems. We tend to eat all meals at TS locations with a character meal thrown in maybe once per visit and a semi-annual visit to Hoop Dee Doo Review. We keep track of the actual meal costs and have always saved $$ in the end.
 

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