Is the dining plan worth it?

[ThinkTink721]

For our family of 5, the DDP is worth it! :wave:

 

[Patrick_Ears]

You know me and the wife was talking about this the other night, is it really worth it. Well yes if you ask me. We liked the meal plan because you don't have to leave the parks plus it saves on time. Think about it.... you don't have the meal plan you have to leave the park unless you pay to eat there (makes no sense) then the travel time to get there not counting getting to the monorail along riding the tram back to your car. Then while your out you will eat maybe a Burger King etc etc... Then you come back and it's the same thing over. I just get the meal plan and plan it out like 6 months in advanced.

 

[OurDailyGruel]

I prefer to go OOP instead of keeping track of meal credits, getting steamed at the poor offerings on the children's menus and having to choose a desert to get my money's worth.

But before reaching that decision, I did the same as ggauthier82 did and looked at all the menus and imagined what I would order and how much it would cost. Essentially, I would do the deluxe dining plan if I was staying for one night at AKL and then switching to another resort closer to MK without the dining plan because there is nothing to eat other than table service and Mara at AKL. I would get the refillable mug as souvenir but would not cheat and use it at the other resort - easy to be so scrupulous if you don't drink soda. BUT if I didn't get the ddp and I probably wouldn't even if I do stay one night at AKL, I would just order the naan appetizer at Jiko or Sanaa and never go to Boma. If I didn't have FREE dining, I would probably just order the crabcakes at Narcoossee's at GF instead of having a main course and dessert.

In essence, the dining plan only works for me for one night at AKL but I still wouldn't be getting my money's worth because it forces me to eat what I don't want.

I did enjoy window shopping the menus on allears and wdwinfo though. :slurp:

 

[Penelope]

Wow that is NOT what our experience was like. I Just went through our receipts and about 80% of them have dollar amounts on them here is what our expenses looked like

Hoop Dee Doo Review $231.96
Donalds Safari $94.75
Yak and Yeti $144.88
1900 Park Fare $94.75
Resturant Marrakesh $132.44
Coral Reef $159.73
50's prime time $103.19
Sci-Fi Dine-in $149.59
Ohana $88.96
Le Cellier $169.61
California Grill $268.45
Chef Mickey's $109.66
Spirit of Aloha $231.96
The Crystal Palace $94.75
Tonys $138.74
Raglan Road $137.66
Brown Derby $209.88

For a total of $2560.96
Cost of the Dining plan @$1800.00
Total savings $760.00

I would like to thank you for taking the time to assess your savings and share this with us. I am new here and was not familiar with the dining plan until conducting research today through DVC member's site. I had been thinking "no" to the plan, but after seeing what you get with their Deluxe DDP for a week, and seeing this post, I see the potential for a value of savings here. :sohappy:

I was a skeptic about this plan, as I was annoyed it was forcing me to make an itinerary for our trip since we needed to make ADR's for pretty much every meal, rather than flying by the seat of our pants. But the savings is worth the time to plan and keep an itinerary.

I also like the fact also that you are able to wait until 48 hours prior to arrival time, to add a DDP to your trip stay. If you can't afford the meals in advance, you can budget to save to add that charge right before you leave.

 

[Batphobic]

It's worth it if it's free! And it has been all 3 times we've been in the past... and we got a PIN for free dining that we'll be using in a couple weeks!

HOWEVER -- I'm committed to doing the math this time from what we order and see whether it will make sense to pay for it in the future if it's not free next time we go.

Note that when I planned my ADRs for this upcoming trip I had a lot of lunches planned because we liked that big sit-down break in the middle of the day in a nice air conditioned restaurant... but then I noticed that several of the restaurants have lunch menus with meals half the price (or less!) than dinner prices so we changed those to dinner reservations JUST so that we could feel like we were getting more value.

Even tho I've never paid for the DDP I will say it's always been nice to not have to think about food and money for food while in the park. I wouldn't say yes to getting my kids snacks throughout the day if I was paying for it out of pocket - but with the DDP the kids enjoy getting to pick out one snack any time they want each day.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

Look on the DDP as a way of paying for your meals before you go and thus being able to manage your cash better when you get there.

If your chosen plan has to be supplemented by additional meals / snacks while you're there then its not worth it for you.

Sit down and analise your eating habits before you commit to a plan and work out costs.

Keep in mind you will still have tips to pay even if you are on the DDP.

 

[ryanduggers]

We do not do it for this reason-scheduling. We spend our normal lives living to a schedule, which gets annoying. We go on vacation to get away from all that. We usually do whatever CS is nearest to where we are at that moment, and only schedule one TS per trip, plus T-rex at DTD. Many of our friends think we are nuts, But I tell them to think about how they had to plan their day around their TS reservations. We are not big eaters, and after adding up what we like compared to using the Dining Plan, it just doesn't add up.

 

[WDWmazprty]

We do not do it for this reason-scheduling. We spend our normal lives living to a schedule, which gets annoying. We go on vacation to get away from all that. We usually do whatever CS is nearest to where we are at that moment, and only schedule one TS per trip, plus T-rex at DTD. Many of our friends think we are nuts, But I tell them to think about how they had to plan their day around their TS reservations. We are not big eaters, and after adding up what we like compared to using the Dining Plan, it just doesn't add up.

You really dont have to schedule so much your whole day, I mean, you're going to have to stop and eat dinner every night anyway. At least with an ADR you know you definitely have a place to go and its where you picked to eat. I guess it all depends on what you like too; if QS are good enough for you then it works for you. But, I know we never schedule our whole day around an ADR. Of course, if you're not big eaters, then it makes sense for you not to be on the DDP.

 

[JillC LI]

I would like to thank you for taking the time to assess your savings and share this with us. I am new here and was not familiar with the dining plan until conducting research today through DVC member's site. I had been thinking "no" to the plan, but after seeing what you get with their Deluxe DDP for a week, and seeing this post, I see the potential for a value of savings here. :sohappy:

I was a skeptic about this plan, as I was annoyed it was forcing me to make an itinerary for our trip since we needed to make ADR's for pretty much every meal, rather than flying by the seat of our pants. But the savings is worth the time to plan and keep an itinerary.

I also like the fact also that you are able to wait until 48 hours prior to arrival time, to add a DDP to your trip stay. If you can't afford the meals in advance, you can budget to save to add that charge right before you leave.

With or without the dining plan, these days you really need to book your table service meals in advance regardless if you want to ensure a seating.

 

[brifraz]

Our experiences

Just to help the OP with some of our math (if it does help) from using the standard plan (this is culled from a couple of my previous posts on other discussions):

We get the DDP almost every visit and pay for it out of pocket. We are DVC, so we don't get the seasonal upcharge (as a teacher, we almost always travel in peak seasons). We have crunched numbers MANY times (esp. comparing to TiW) and the DDP always brings us out ahead. Would we rather an appetizer than desert, many times yes. Would we always buy a desert, no. We figure all of that into our calculations. It all depends on how you eat if it is worth it. Also, note that while we do make sure to use EVERY credit, we do not always use them 1 per day like you 'should.' And yes, we do get some food not on the plan, but unless we were not planning to eat that meal, it would have cost us the same either way.

Actual Numbers from last summer: the cost of our standard DDP for 8 nights, 2 adults and 1 child was $770. The actual reciepts from those meals totalled $1040. 20% off of the table service meals from that trip (TiW card) would be $145. The cost of the TiW card is $75 (AP holder). Net savings is only $70.

Day 1 - Chef Mickey's $73, Main St. Bakery $10, Snack $3, Sunshine Seasons $24, Snack $4
Day 2 - Snack $5, Cape May Cafe $68, Snack $3, Electric Umbrella $26
Day 3 - Main St. Bakery $10, Boardwalk bakery $15, Mama Melrose $83, 2 snacks $7
Day 4 - Fairfax Fare $13, Mara $13
Day 5 - Restaurantosaurus $30
Day 6 - Akershus $96, Snacks $10, 1900 Park Faire $100
Day 7 - Mara $25, Lottawatta $30, snack $3, Tusker House $85
Day 8 - Main St. Bakery $20, Snacks $13, Mara $30, Garden Grill $90
Day 9 - Mara $25, 50s Prime Time $65, Studio Catering $50, snacks $15

 

[britdaw]

I've heard some say that it's a waste of money simply because you eat more only because you've already paid for it, you know? Like, you wouldn't normally spend money on that kind of food, but since you already paid, you feel like you need to eat?

 

[brifraz]

I've heard some say that it's a waste of money simply because you eat more only because you've already paid for it, you know? Like, you wouldn't normally spend money on that kind of food, but since you already paid, you feel like you need to eat?

That's why when you do the math to figure out the value for you, you go with what you would normally eat. If you don't eat dessert, don't put that in the equation. If the concern is leftover credits, then don't do the Deluxe, just get the standard. You can always use snack credits to get stuff at candy shops or even just a few drinks for the drive home or bus to the airport.

It is all just a matter of figuring out if it works for you! It happens to work for us on most trips, so we do it. And DDP or not, I always track all our expenses, so running th numbers to see if it is worth it is pretty easy for me.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

my sister is a single mom who doesn't get support from her ex and although she loves her job doesn't make that much a year so when the two of us travel to wdw for our annual girls only trip i do the deluxe dining plan but when i tell her how much her half of the trip is i only give her her portion of the room and tickets. i cover the dining. this way we get to enjoy the signature places we both love but she has no reason to feel limited in any way and we both have a great time. either of us can hand over the keys to the kingdom card and it's all good. it's more food than we'd usually eat but we don't stress over eating every bite on our plate and enjoy trying new things.