Disney Dining Plan

[SteveP]

Hello - I'm new to the boards and I need help! We're really on the fence as to whether to add the Disney meal plan to our package. I know it's been previously discussed but, it seems like such an investment ($720 for three of us for nine nights) additionally, we're spending two days at Universal but still staying at POFQ. I made the following pro/con list but I still can't decide.


Pros:
Better meal quality than we would likely have if we didn't take the program - we would tend to order cheaper meals to save money
Pre-paid so we know where we stand
Seems easy to use - just walk in and order what we want without looking at the prices

Cons:
Tracking the plan and remaining meals
Limited flexibility with restaurant selections - some of our favorites aren't included
Possibility we may spend less without using the program - It's a lot of food!
Seems a bit restrictive with a constant focus to "get your money's worth"

I would love to hear from anyone who's used the plan on the ease, value and if you were happy with it and would/wouldn't do it again. Thank you!!

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[JPVonDrake]

Hello - I'm new to the boards and I need help! We're really on the fence as to whether to add the Disney meal plan to our package. I know it's been previously discussed but, it seems like such an investment ($720 for three of us for nine nights) additionally, we're spending two days at Universal but still staying at POFQ. I made the following pro/con list but I still can't decide.


Pros:
Better meal quality than we would likely have if we didn't take the program - we would tend to order cheaper meals to save money
Pre-paid so we know where we stand
Seems easy to use - just walk in and order what we want without looking at the prices

Cons:
Tracking the plan and remaining meals
Limited flexibility with restaurant selections - some of our favorites aren't included
Possibility we may spend less without using the program - It's a lot of food!
Seems a bit restrictive with a constant focus to "get your money's worth"

I would love to hear from anyone who's used the plan on the ease, value and if you were happy with it and would/wouldn't do it again. Thank you!!

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Well maybe I can help.

Tracking your meals could not be easier. Each time you used one of your meal entitlements, your will receive a receipt with the number of Table, Counter and Snacks your family has left. Note most snack locations don't offer receipts but all table and counter service locations do.

There is only a very small number of locations not included. Basically you can't eat at a restuarant not operated by Disney. This included most all of Downtown Disney, all locations in the Swan / Dolphin and some of the countries of World Showcase in Epcot. That's about it. All restaurants in Magic Kingdom, Disney MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom (excluding Rainforest) and nearly all Disney Resort locations are included. Before you leave home, go to disneyworld.com to print out the official list. (Note: Disney has added both restaurants at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, but the list has not been updated yet)

Once you check in all the entitlements are pooled together for maximum flexibility. If your little one is a light eater, you can pay for their table meals and then used these extra table meals for signature locations and dinner shows. If you don't eat at Disney on the days you go to Universal, you simply enjoy 3 meals on some of your Disney days.

Also keep in mind that if you are staying at a Moderate or Deluxe Resort, you do have a refrigerator in your room. Great to store your desert or other leftovers for that all important midnight snack!

Look over the menus at allears.net and figure if you would be spending about $25 per adult for a sit down table meal (remember to figure in both tax and tip), and about $8 per adult for a counter service meal (again don't forget to add tax.) Very easy to do even without ordering both an appitizer and a desert. For your child's meal, figure if you would spending over $5 per meal, again easy to do.

Eat at least $2 snacks (all snacks cost over this) and your saving money.

Hope this helps your decision! :sohappy:

 

[SteveP]

Wow - this all makes good sense. Thank you for the information - I think this is worth doing. Thanks again!!

 

[Laura]

Have you considered getting an annual pass? We're staying 9 nights and an Annual Pass is going to save us over a thousand dollars - you can use it to take 20% off all your sit down meals (it's $50 for the discount card to do that). There's no way we could afford a 10 day trip without the annual pass discounts.

For us - we never buy snacks in the park, usually we have 2 counter service meals and 1 sit down meal per day. So the "snack" that comes in the dining plan was stupid for us. Saving the 20% off every sit down meal equates to about how much you would save by using the Dining Experience.

So really - if you get an AP you can save a fortune on your resort stay, AND pay about the same for dining as you would with the dining plan package.

 

[Laura]

Oh and just so you can see the math - for myself, my husband, and our 2 toddlers we spend about $22 (including tax) on each counter service meal. So if you figure 2 counter service meals per day - that's $44. Then the sit down meals are around $50 including tax and tip (utilizing 20% discount) for all 4 of us (our youngest is still free). So we'll be spending about $94 per day on food.

With the dining plan it was about $83 per day for us (including tax). So we're basically paying an extra $11 per day to NOT use the dining plan, but because of that we get to eat 3 full meals per day instead of 2 meals and a snack. So I just find it to be a better value to not use the plan and use the AP discounts instead. (Plus we'll be saving about $100 per night on our resort stay because of the AP).

 

[SteveP]

Wow - I never even thought of that (Disney rookie mistake). Our trip with the exception of the meal plan is all paid for but this is great information for next time. Thank you!!

 

[DisneyMarg]

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?p=956256#post956256

Steve, did you see my MYW Dining Trip Report? This is an account of how we used it. It worked very well for us. We could certainly eat more cheaply, but we really enjoyed being able to order whatever we wanted - including snacks whenever we wanted them.

 

[SteveP]

DisneyMarg - The detail you've provided is amazing!! Thank you so much for the information - I'm printing your report to use as a guide for our trip in May. Sounds like the biggest problem with the meal plan is the fact that I'm going to gain ten pounds on this trip!! Thank you again for sharing!!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

initially I thought this was a fantastic option however when I looked at the menus available at Allears I quickly realised that the Dinning plan may not be the route for us. I also have joined the dinning experience via an AP discount and hope to make savings that way. One of the factors forus wasthat everyone has to be on the package and we are doing some non disney days and my Father in law says he probably wont be up to doing a park each day so why pay for meals that wont be used.

 

[DisneyMarg]

DisneyMarg - The detail you've provided is amazing!! Thank you so much for the information - I'm printing your report to use as a guide for our trip in May. Sounds like the biggest problem with the meal plan is the fact that I'm going to gain ten pounds on this trip!! Thank you again for sharing!!

Believe it or not my husband actually lost a pound and a half! If only I could be so lucky. I walked just as much as he did, and ate half as much, and gained 2. Arrrrgh.

 

[tnemgif]

It is a bit pricey but the biggest pro for my family is not having to worry about "should we go here or should we save our money for something else?" I'd say go for it, it's really fun just to be able to go almost wherever you want.

 

[wannabeBelle]

DisneyMarg - The detail you've provided is amazing!! Thank you so much for the information - I'm printing your report to use as a guide for our trip in May. Sounds like the biggest problem with the meal plan is the fact that I'm going to gain ten pounds on this trip!! Thank you again for sharing!!

Hey there Steve, Welcome to the Boards!!!! Everyone here has already given you such great advice so I wont seek to pile on more other than to say JPVon Drake is a Cast Member who books these types of packages everyday and so knows all of the little ins and outs that may make this package worth it for you. DisneyMarg did an absolutely amazing job of detailing out her experience with this plan, which seemed to suit her family perfectly!!! I am also an AP holder and got the Disney Dining Card as you have to buy a room/ticket combo in order to even opt for the dining package!! On my last trip I think my card pretty much paid for the fee to join!!! It is a great deal and a lot more inclusive in terms of restaurants that participate. The only catch to that is the 20% is only available on sit down meals, no counter service at all. It is inclusive of all food and drinks ordered, even alcoholic drinks!!! I Am sure you are going to have a great time whichever plan you choose!!! Belle