I'm planning on going to DW in 2015 and it'l be the first time I'm paying for it all myself not parents and I'm trying to work out the cheapest way to do it. Was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the dining plan option and explain it to me and if it really would be worthwhile? I will be staying in a disney all star resort but do also plan on spending days at universal, IOA,seaworld and bushgardens if that has any impact?
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Disney Dining Plan
- Thread starter Matthew Wilkinson
- Start date
Mukta
Well-Known Member
There are 3 main dining plans. Each of them give you credits based on how many nights you are staying in a Disney hotel. Tickets are not relevant.
I can give you the prices for 2014. I guarantee the prices will be higher in 2015, but I can't tell you how much higher they will be.
Quick service plan is $39.64 a night. It gives you 2 quick service meals (entree, dessert and drink), one snack and a refillable mug. You can use the mug for coffee, soda etc in any WDW hotel. It is not used in the parks.
The Plus Dining plan is $58.66 a night. It gives you 1 quick service meal (entree, dessert and drink), 1 table service meal (entree, dessert and drink), one snack and a refillable mug.
Deluxe dining plan is $104.94 a night. It gives you 3 meal credits (appetizer, entree, dessert and drink), 2 snacks and a refillable mug. You can use the credits for a mix of TS and CS, but you won't get your money's worth that way.
Now, you are on a budget. Start looking at menus on this site, allearsnet and wdwinfo. See if you will want a dessert with every meal. If not, the DDP might not save you money. Also look at what you might like to order at different places. If you cost comes to less than the DDP, it might not work for you.
Also read mousesavers.com. They have a lot of useful info on saving money in WDW.
http://www.mousesavers.com/walt-dis...ney-world-meal-snack-drink-discounts-coupons/
I can give you the prices for 2014. I guarantee the prices will be higher in 2015, but I can't tell you how much higher they will be.
Quick service plan is $39.64 a night. It gives you 2 quick service meals (entree, dessert and drink), one snack and a refillable mug. You can use the mug for coffee, soda etc in any WDW hotel. It is not used in the parks.
The Plus Dining plan is $58.66 a night. It gives you 1 quick service meal (entree, dessert and drink), 1 table service meal (entree, dessert and drink), one snack and a refillable mug.
Deluxe dining plan is $104.94 a night. It gives you 3 meal credits (appetizer, entree, dessert and drink), 2 snacks and a refillable mug. You can use the credits for a mix of TS and CS, but you won't get your money's worth that way.
Now, you are on a budget. Start looking at menus on this site, allearsnet and wdwinfo. See if you will want a dessert with every meal. If not, the DDP might not save you money. Also look at what you might like to order at different places. If you cost comes to less than the DDP, it might not work for you.
Also read mousesavers.com. They have a lot of useful info on saving money in WDW.
http://www.mousesavers.com/walt-dis...ney-world-meal-snack-drink-discounts-coupons/
PrincessNelly_NJ
Well-Known Member
Personally since you want to save money, I would go during September. Low price and crowd season, and free dining plans are often offered during that time. It would save you a ton of money. We used our left over dining credits to try signature restaurants when we went to Universal and Islands of Adventure instead of staying on property.
Sadly September won't be an option for me, I will be studying at university all year so only have summer to pick from sadly. June is looking like the cheapest option in terms of time of year.
PrincessNelly_NJ
Well-Known Member
Ahh I understand. Well, definitely if you can, order the vacation DVD and make a profile on the disney website... maybe they will help you get a pin code.
Get friends to go, that spreads the cost. Or try renting points from the DVCRentalStore to stay deluxe for 1/3 of the typical price.
I also use the www.distripplanner.com to get a rough idea of how much food will cost me and then compare how the dining stacks up to paying out of pocket.
rwdavis2
Active Member
The dining plan is not designed for guests to save any money. Only when it is discounted or free will you save money. The only real exception is if you eat a lot of buffet character meals. If you are diligent you can probably break even on the regular plan. With the quick service plan it's almost impossible to break even.
We had a discounted regular plan last year and I thought it was too much food through the day. So if I had paid full price we would have lost money.
I would recommend you pay out of pocket.
We had a discounted regular plan last year and I thought it was too much food through the day. So if I had paid full price we would have lost money.
I would recommend you pay out of pocket.
As stated above, you need to look at menus and realistically see if it is a good value for you. How much do you normally eat, what types of restaraunts, are you going to visit, any special dining experiences? If you are on a tight budget lodgimg amd food are the main places you can control cost. Tickets are at a set price and you dont have a lot of say in travel costs except drive or fly. You can eat off site and/ or stay off-site and see considerable savings. You have to balance that with staying and eating in the Disney bubble. In gambling and in visiting Disney, the house has the advantage. the DDP is designed to get them maximum profit. We always use the dining plan, but one of the main reasons is simply the peace of mind of paying everything off before I go. I wouldn't eat dessert if I was paying out of pocket when I'm there. I go ahead and over indulge since its already paid for. We go for 12+ days at a time and eat a lot of character meals and at least one quick and one table service every day. Since we are park commandos we always use our snack credits during the long days. I'm not wealthy but we can afford to go amd be well within our means and I like my uninterrupted escape from reality.
erasure fan1
Well-Known Member
The dining plan is definitely not a money saver. That's not to say it can't be a good value, because it really can be. We have always found that with our dining habits, out of pocket has always been the way for us to save some money. Its not hard to get your moneys worth out of the plan, I know we did the one time we did it. The food cost though was significantly more than the years we went out of pocket.
3Caballeros
Well-Known Member
It depends on what type of person you are...and as stated above, your dining habits.
For now, my family is not big on sit down meals. Breakfast in the room (cereal is brought & milk is bought at the resort), eat midday lunch at the park and if hungry we grab something later in the evening. But I carry a backpack of raisins, sunflower seeds, peanut butter crackers, etc that are eaten as snacks thru the day. So we don't skip the dining plan to necessarily save money, but it is not ideal for us.
For now, my family is not big on sit down meals. Breakfast in the room (cereal is brought & milk is bought at the resort), eat midday lunch at the park and if hungry we grab something later in the evening. But I carry a backpack of raisins, sunflower seeds, peanut butter crackers, etc that are eaten as snacks thru the day. So we don't skip the dining plan to necessarily save money, but it is not ideal for us.
JillC LI
Well-Known Member
I personally like the DP but if you are planning on spending so many days off Disney property, it definitely will not be worth it for you. You get a day's full of meals for the number of nights you are spending in a Disney resort. You can't get fewer. So you will likely waste a lot of credits since you will not be eating at Disney every day.
lilclerk
Well-Known Member
This is a great idea. This way, you aren't limited on what you can get, and you can use it at the off-site parks too.
HRHPrincessAriel
Well-Known Member
I've been snagging $15-$25 gift cards on my weekly grocery trips. It depends where I am in my weekly budget. I plan to use those when we go. It doesn't feel like I'm forking over a huge ammount this way.
stevehousse
Well-Known Member
The dining plan is best when staying on property and eating at expensive places. If u r going off property a lot, I wouldn't suggest it.
However, the dining plan can be a money saver is u spend your dining credits propely. I just added up everything for QS and TS for our visit, not including snacks and desserts, and the dining plan does save us money...
However, the dining plan can be a money saver is u spend your dining credits propely. I just added up everything for QS and TS for our visit, not including snacks and desserts, and the dining plan does save us money...
Dafid Duck
Well-Known Member
Will you be driving your own car throughout your trip? Orlando and Tampa are more than an hour apart.
You may want to consider a split stay on/off property in August. The free dining usually begins in mid August. You could stay off property (cheaper) and visit all the other parks. Those days you need to pay for food out of pocket anyway. Then stay on Disney property later in the month and get free dining before going back to school.
We enjoy the dining plan and use it for experiences we wouldn't normally do if we were paying out of pocket, like character buffets and signature dining events (2 TS credits).
baggienath7
Well-Known Member
Make sure you book when the dining plan is free; unless a better offer arises that will suit you better ie 30% discount. We had free QS last year and it did save us so much money but the only reason we 'saved' is because we didn't have to pay for it in the first place.
If you are planning on spending some days off Disney then eat on I.Drive or anywhere that is not at a theme park. That way you will actually save money.
If you are planning on spending some days off Disney then eat on I.Drive or anywhere that is not at a theme park. That way you will actually save money.
No that's another issue I have, staying on disney property what is the best way to travel to the non disney parks without a car? In terms of money and getting their quickly?
tmstephe
Active Member
I second this. Same with my family. There is definite value in not stressing over that $10 cheeseburger. When it's already paid for I just order what I want, not what I think I should/can afford.
JillC LI
Well-Known Member
If you're talking about one day in another park, you can do a taxi or shuttle. But if you're talking about multiple days off Disney property, it will probably be cheapest to rent a car for a few days. You can pick up at Alamo right on Disney property if you don't want to get it at the airport.
Dafid Duck
Well-Known Member
I took a taxi to and from SeaWorld one day a few years ago. The driver went the main road, got stuck in traffic for about 45 minutes and it cost me a $30 fare. Returning that same day with no traffic, the fare was $20. Last year I drove my own car, learned a back road and was at SeaWorld in twenty minutes. (Ask someone for directions, my navigator would have taken me the most direct way but also the most traveled.)