Is Disney Dining Plan worth it?

[eddiemcgarrigle]

I've paid for it, I've gotten it free (basic) and upgraded to the regular DDP and next year I get it free. I like sitting down to a meal and putting my feet up for a bit instead of waiting in a large queue and hoping to find a free table. It also helps slow things down from the hectic rush of the parks.

 

[dopeylover]

I know it's never 'free' but it is truly less expensive for our family, esp. when we typically do at least 1 sit down a day, and we had extended family in tow. I like that 97% of my vacation is paid for ahead of time. It takes a lot of stress and thinking out of my actual vacation.

 

[JAG107]

DDP doesn't make sense for us at all as DVC members. For 9 nights this year, we had groceries in room, ate 4 TS meals and the rest CS and snacks and many alcoholic drinks, and we spent under $500 for 2 of us and 2 kids under 3. Even the QSDP would have cost us more than this, and we wouldn't have had any TS meals, plus any other OOP extras. We did QSDP once for free and it was just too much fast food. We ended up with a bunch of leftover snacks at the end of our 9 days. We also got sick of feeling the need to order the most expensive entrees to get the most value out of the plan, even though it was "free". Disney is counting on this happening, I'm sure we aren't the only people that give in when they just want a salad and forego the chicken and ribs combo from Cosmic Rays.
I guess maybe we'd do the plan again if they offered DVC a 50% discount. Otherwise it'd be a waste for us. We're not going to do signatures with our little ones, and how many character buffets can a family endure for a week really? They don't get old after 3 or 4?
DDP is all win for Disney, and their long term strategy is paying off nicely when you look at the numbers that have been posted. They get guests basically guaranteeing they will be buying the most expensive food all week long and getting the money in advance.
Also, has the quality of the food kept up with the cost increases over the past 7 years? Even factoring in fair inflation? It's definitely losing its edge as a good deal every year that goes by.

 

[DVC4bestvacations]

I asked the dvc facebook group which they would choose DDP or TiWL.
TiWL won with a "vote" of 30-1

I do see where it would depend on your families specifics. We are a family of four my kids are 19 and 16 and like to eat. They aren't dessert eaters (at least after a meal) so we would be paying for a dessert they didn't eat.

We bought annual passes this time (we'll be there 1/13-1/20) and another 7 days within a year. We will be able to use TiWl again for our second stay.

If you are a DVC member only 2 days left to buy premium annual at $300 off

 

[hiptwinmama]

We did the Deluxe Dining Plan once... and only once. For my family, it was wayyyyy too much food. The reason we like the standard dining plan, is I like having everything paid for before heading down on vacation. Plus, I like having ADRs, I base my day on where we plan to eat that day. (It kind of ensures me that the must dos while at Disney are done/seen/experienced) If we decide to do a Signature Restaurant, we pay OOP, as much as I love the food at Disney, I don't think any restaurant is worth 2 credits. If you break down the cost, thats more expensive than a dinner at Ruth Chris.

I totally agree... The DDD is way too much food, plus if you have 3 ADR's every day when in the heck would you have to do any rides.

 

[Fantasmic]

I totally agree... The DDD is way too much food, plus if you have 3 ADR's every day when in the heck would you have to do any rides.

Totally agree, 3 ADRs a day is crazy

 

[trs518]

I sat down once and ran the numbers on the cost of the Dining Plan vs. eating out of pocket. Out of pocket was always cheaper, unless for every meal we ate at the the most expensive restaurants.

 

[minnielaw]

We have done the DDP (standard plan) for each of your three WDW trips. The first trip in 2007, we paid out of pocket for the DDP. At that time, the plan included an appetizer with the TS meal and gratuities were included. We had 2 adults and 2 children and the plan was totally worth it. We utilized every credit.

The second year, 2010, the DDP was offered free during our stay. We had 3 adults and one child. My youngest was upset the entire trip because he was "forced" to order from the kids menu. I did not do such a great job tracking our credit use and we ended up being short credits at the end of the trip and had to cancel a TS dinner. Just poor planning on my part.

This year, we rented DVC points and decided to pay out of pocket for the DDP. Our children were now all over age 9 so we had to pay for 4 adults. YIKES! The cost was about $1,700 for 8 days. We enjoyed the plan much less this trip. I wanted to order items that were not on the plan (sushi at Kona) and it seemed like WAY too much food with 4 adult portions. We were given a free refillable mug, but Boardwalk Villas does not have QS to refill your mugs--we could take our mugs to Boardwalk Bakery where they would give us a drink in a cup, not in our mugs. I would have been content to eat snacks many days instead of lunch and we found that we prefer a hot breakfast to start our day.

I think the DDP was a great way to become acclimated to the WDW eating scene. We tried lots of restaurants that we may not have tried had we had to pay out of pocket. We forced ourselves to slow down and eat in TS restaurants. We made ADR's which avoided melt downs over where to eat and long waits for tables at TS restaurants. Now that we are familiar with the parks and know what we like, we don't need it any longer.

So, my conclusion is that DDP is a great way for new visitors to WDW to experiment with the dining and try out different restaurants. For veteran WDW visitors the DDP may not make as much sense unless your family can optimize the savings and make the DDP worth the cost.

 

[baloofigment14]

DDP is a lifesaver to us. If you love your food then this is for you. If we didn't get the dining plan free then we probably wouldn't be able to go because the sit own meals can be very expensive without it.

 

[hiptwinmama]

DDP is a lifesaver to us. If you love your food then this is for you. If we didn't get the dining plan free then we probably wouldn't be able to go because the sit own meals can be very expensive without it.

Ditto... I that is how we feel.

 

[Obi]

my family and i have made the dining plan work for us. saved a little money once and lost a little another time. we basically break even with the dining plan. i've checked the #'s the last few times. keeping the receipts of the meals with the pricing on it, total them out and compared to the price of the dining plan. we never lost or gained more than $20.00... so, we like the dining plan basically for the convenience of it since we usually break even on it... it works for us. some people it doesn't work out for them and i don't blame them for not getting the dining plan...

so, i guess the moral to my story is..... if it works for you, then great! by all means get the dining plan.... if it doesn't work for you, then great! by all means don't get the dining plan.... in the end, go with whichever choice that will make you happy.