Do Disney Dining Plans actually save you money?

[omgthatsfun]

Hey there!

My family is once again looking into another trip to th World, and this time we plan on going to an on site resort for the second time. We've never used the dining plans they provide, and were wondering the PROS and CONS of each one? Do any of them really save you money?

Thanks in advance :wave:

 

[Monty]

In my opinion, the plans require a fair bit of advance planning and dedication to save you money. If you use TS credits for buffets or either breakfast or lunch you won't save much if anything. If you have credits left unused when you leave you're losing out on savings.

I've found that I can't eat as much as they provide as a rule, so I don't bother with them. I do use Tables in Wonderland and save lots with that.

 

[nepalostparks]

The easy answer: If you like to eat a lot, go to the more expensive restaurants, and always order the most expensive items on the menu, then yes, you'll save money on the DDP.

In reality, like Monty said above, it's more complex. You have to plan ahead, make your ADRS (if doing the Table Service plan, anyways) and be willing to eat - a lot. The plan used to be a better deal when you also got an appetizer and gratuities included.

Personally, I like the dining plan. Does it save me money? A little. If I wasn't on the plan, I wouldn't have eaten at all of the table service restaurants I did, and would have eaten less overall, saving money. But you know what? I'm on vacation. So it's nice to splurge. And having meals basically prepaid takes the hassle of having to worry about how much money you have left for meals and double checking the price of everything.

You'll get a variety of opinions on the subject of the dining plan - it really ends up being what works best for you and your party.

 

[Master Yoda]

If you would normaly order all that the DDP gives you at a meal and you chose the right places to eat (providing you can get into them of course) then it can save you a good bit of money.

If it is offered as a free promotion and you have a party of the correct size staying at the correct resort then it can save you money.

Outside of those 2 parameters it becomes rather complicated.

 

[ZuzuPetals]

The easy answer: If you like to eat a lot, go to the more expensive restaurants, and always order the most expensive items on the menu, then yes, you'll save money on the DDP.

In reality, like Monty said above, it's more complex. You have to plan ahead, make your ADRS (if doing the Table Service plan, anyways) and be willing to eat - a lot. The plan used to be a better deal when you also got an appetizer and gratuities included.

Personally, I like the dining plan. Does it save me money? A little. If I wasn't on the plan, I wouldn't have eaten at all of the table service restaurants I did, and would have eaten less overall, saving money. But you know what? I'm on vacation. So it's nice to splurge. And having meals basically prepaid takes the hassle of having to worry about how much money you have left for meals and double checking the price of everything.

You'll get a variety of opinions on the subject of the dining plan - it really ends up being what works best for you and your party.

I just wanna 2nd everything this poster said. My family falls into the "we would never usually spend this much money on food" category, though. And if you wouldn't usually eat that many sitdown meals or order the most expensive items, you'll also be paying more in tips than you usually would. We realized this on our last trip, when we did the standard plan on a whim.

If you would normaly order all that the DDP gives you at a meal and you chose the right places to eat (providing you can get into them of course) then it can save you a good bit of money.

If it is offered as a free promotion and you have a party of the correct size staying at the correct resort then it can save you money.

Outside of those 2 parameters it becomes rather complicated.

Ah yes but you can't get a hotel discount with the free promotion...which to me, makes it a wash in a way. Guess that also depends on party size and resort level. Basically, the answer is "there's a lot of variables." This is a topic that has been debated to death, so a search should turn up a variety of answers as well.

It is important to consider how you tour the parks. We prefer to not be tied down to ADRs every day. If we decide at 2 pm that we want to hop over to Epcot, but know we have an ADR at another park so we can't, that doesn't sit well with us. We much prefer to graze and snack, only eating a couple of large meals a week. So it just depends a lot on style.

 

[Master Yoda]

Ah yes but you can't get a hotel discount with the free promotion...which to me, makes it a wash in a way. Guess that also depends on party size and resort level. Basically, the answer is "there's a lot of variables." This is a topic that has been debated to death, so a search should turn up a variety of answers as well.

Resort choice and party size is the key. In my particular case we had a parties of 3 adults and 1 child and 3 adults in rooms at Pop Century so the free dining far outweighed any room discount. However a party of 2 staying at a deluxe would have made out much better with a room discount. As with most things Disney there is no simple yes and no answer.

 

[bradandsarabr]

The best thing to do is to look at the restaurants & menus. Figure out what eating there out of pocket would cost. Then just do the math.

 

[wm49rs]

The best thing to do is to look at the restaurants & menus. Figure out what eating there out of pocket would cost. Then just do the math.

I agree. I think we've found that using the TiW card and staying of-site is cheaper than any combination of staying on the grounds and getting the dining plan you can find. Again, it's all a combination of where you're staying on-site, how much you and your family enjoy eating, and how tied down by reservations you want to be. And of course, how much you want to spend.

 

[Mystic]

Resort choice and party size is the key. In my particular case we had a parties of 3 adults and 1 child and 3 adults in rooms at Pop Century so the free dining far outweighed any room discount. However a party of 2 staying at a deluxe would have made out much better with a room discount. As with most things Disney there is no simple yes and no answer.

We took the free dining promo that was available for our most recent trip (Dec 1-9, 2009) simply because after our June trip, we didn't have the funds to cover souvenirs and food. But like Master Yoda said, for us, the room discount is by far the better deal. It's just me and my mom that travel to WDW together so that's 2 adults. For the amount of time we're at WDW it would cost us about $640 (that's for 2 adults) for the basic dining plan. We just booked the bounceback while we were there and we booked the Poly at a 40% off room discount. We just save $1200 on our room for next year. The room discount is twice what a free dining package would be. For us it's a no brainer. If we want to stay deluxe and we can get a 40% room discount, the room discount is going to win every time.

Also just as a side note, we've now done Disney, both on and off the dining plan. We did our June trip off the plan and our Dec trip on the plan. We found that overall we got better service from the wait staff when we were OFF the dining plan.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

I've used it with B4G3 and found it worked out quite well for me. There were days when I made back the amount of money I paid for that just at my sit down meal.

If you get the standard dining plan, you do have to be willing to use your table service credit every day. Also, avoid buffets and eat at the nicer restaurants.

 

[MaxsDad]

Just want to add to what others have said. If you are a big time plan ahead type, the DDP can be a good thing. I wouldn't pay for/add it though until I knew I could get the ADR's I wanted. I fully agree with what the others have said about the make up of your travel party impacting its value. When it's free, it's hard to beat, but there are cases.

You used the word "plans" (plural), so I wanted to touch on another option. We tried the quick service plan earlier this year. It has the benefit of being a more "shot from the hip" plan, as you can't make ADR's at QS. If you are light eaters that don't want to kill an hour or more of your touring time eating a big meal, it is good. Also, you don't tip at QS, so there is not an additional cost. When I used it, we had unused drinks and snack credits left when we checked out.

I did the math using menu's and came to the conclusion that it is at least a break even deal if you are paying for it. ( I only have "adults" in my party, so I can not comment on the value when "kids" are involved). It can be favorable if you eat from the right places and order the right things. For instance, Casey's Hot Dog Meal- $6.59. Pepper Market Grilled Tuna Steak -$19.95.

Check the on line menus that are available, esp. where you will be staying and the places you like to eat at the parks. Add it up.

 

[sanaj2000]

xxx

 

[sanaj2000]

We have used the Dining Plan and have not used the Dining Plan. We have found that with the dining plan we got a better experience, better quality of food, and better service.
It also kept us in the Disney spirit as oppossed to getting in the car, driving to golden coral, and hoping that no one sneezed under the sneeze guard (ewww). My husband ( a super picky eater) always had a terrible time whenever we left the property to go out to I4 to find someplace to eat.
The dining plan may be a little pricey, but I think it's worth it. We know when we are going to eat and where we are going to eat. We can pre-browse the menu to make sure that we are going to like the food. And if, at the last minute we are going to change our plans, we can just call and cancel and go where we want.

IMHO, the dining plan is the way to go (deluxe preferrably).:wave:

 

[lumpydj]

The best thing to do is to look at the restaurants & menus. Figure out what eating there out of pocket would cost. Then just do the math.

I agree. I think we've found that using the TiW card and staying of-site is cheaper than any combination of staying on the grounds and getting the dining plan you can find. Again, it's all a combination of where you're staying on-site, how much you and your family enjoy eating, and how tied down by reservations you want to be. And of course, how much you want to spend.

Exactly what we did! After making our ADR's, I looked at menus and basically figured out how much it would cost (for those that are covered under DDP), then looked at the credits we'd use. We found that for this trip, we would not save money with DDP. Also, we wouldn't save with TIW card either. However, we are planning on going again within the year, so over the span of the 2 trips, TIW may save us overall.

 

[WDW 3]

No dining plan for our family. We don't eat that much. Really we are happy sharing meals quite often. And. And this is the big thing for us, we simply don't like making and being tied to ADR's. A couple a week but not every day.

 

[Mystic]

We have used the Dining Plan and have not used the Dining Plan. We have found that with the dining plan we got a better experience, better quality of food, and better service.

We've had the exact opposite experience. We've found we've had better service overall when we weren't on the dining plan. It was like the servers actually breathed a sigh of relief when they found out we weren't on the dining plan.

Plus I would rather sit down and figure out how much the meal is going to cost me in total and set that full amount aside ahead of time. With the dining plan I have to do the same amount of work just to figure out the tips since we don't like to put the tips on our room, we prefer to pay them in cash.

 

[jim1051]

If you eat a table service dinner every day, I think they do. If you are happy with the fast food joints most of the time, I don't think they do.

 

[tomm4004]

As people say, it depends. We took a 10-day trip a couple years back and did not spend $800 on food for the two of us - the price the plan would have cost ($39.95 per day). We were not limited by budget but by what we wanted to eat. And we ate some sitdowns including Chefs de France, Brown Derby and Citricos. The latter two would have cost two credits, and appetizers and Perrier would not have been included. So for us we could not make the plan pay for itself. We don't want to be tied down by reservations made months in advance. We never have trouble eating where we want.

 

[eddiemcgarrigle]

The dining plan works out cheaper for me as I do like to use the restaurants when on holiday. Now factor in that the daily price of the DDP is less than I pay here for a meal at a restaurant and I still have the counter service meal and the snack to claim then it's easy to see why I've opted for it.

When at WDW, I always like to eat in a restaurant in the evening as constant counter service fare, day and night, would quickly become very unappetising.

 

[tomm4004]

I guess it also depends on what you like to eat. If I was to have dinner at Le Cellier, for example, I would probably have the scallops ($23) and "moose" ($6). That's $29 of my $40. Appetizer would be extra and I wouldn't want a fountain drink. So that would be extra. And I'd have $11 left for lunch and snack. But I wouldn't want much for lunch. And I wouldn't want a $6 dessert every night. So I don't see how I'd come out ahead.