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Meal Plans - Are they worth it??
- Thread starter Burghdiva
- Start date
PUSH
Well-Known Member
I'm not a great person to ask about this as I've never done the Dining Plan, but we figured it out one year and it wasn't worth it for us. We don't eat big meals all the time, and sometimes we skip a meal and just snack if we aren't hungry enough.
Someone here will answer your question, I'm sure! Good luck!
Oh, and welcome to WDWMagic!
Someone here will answer your question, I'm sure! Good luck!
Oh, and welcome to WDWMagic!
Thank you very much! That was what I was wondering if it was worth the expense! I really wanted to do breakfast at the Crystal Palace which means that I would probably have to purchase the deluxe dining plan. My daugther will be 16 months old when we go so she won't need her own plate. I was wondering if it would be cheaper for us just to eat when we felt like it instead of buying a dining plan and having to make sure that we used all of it everyday.
Minthorne - could you please explain what you mean by this? I'm very sorry but I'm not up on the lingo and how anything works in Disney. This is our very first time going with our 16 month old daughter and it's like the blind leading the blind here. We are going to stay in one of the All Star Resorts. What do you mean by Free or paying?
olinecoach61
Well-Known Member
To jump in here,
They often offer free dining in the fall season to attract more visitors.
We always do the dining plan. It's not or everyone but we like not having to worry about the bill. Make sure you get ADRs for a character meal for your little one!
englanddg
One Little Spark...
There are several tiers of Dining Plan. I get the Deluxe every visit, but I'm there much longer than 2 days.
From time to time, Disney offers "Free Dining" if you stay at a resort hotel, and that's what he's referring to. However, the catch is that you pay full rack rate for your room when you get the Dining "added free", so what he's saying is that the room discounts may be worth more than the Dining.
If you get the Dining Plan, your kid will not be eligible for it (the plan starts at age 3).
However, as a plus, you will not need to purchase tickets for the kid (until age 3)!
For a two day trip, I really wouldn't bother with the Dining Plan. The plan issues credits which you use to pay for your meals. The number of credits is based on the number of nights you are staying.
So, if you are only staying one night, and you get the Deluxe plan, you and your husband would each get 3 credits for a total of 6.
This would easily feed both of you throughout the day, but certain venues charge 2 credits per meal (the rest are 1). However, given the costs you may find that it's not worth it.
That really depends on how (and where) you plan to eat at the Parks.
So, lets take the Deluxe plan (since you mentioned it). I checked on Disney's site booking a 1 night stay with Deluxe for two adults, and it added about $200 to the bill.
You and your husband combined will have 6 credits to spend on meals (pretty much anywhere), and 4 snack credits to spend on things like popcorn, ice cream, drinks, cupcakes, fudge...well, snacks! <grin>
So, you've already indicated you are interested in Crystal Palace. That's one dining credit each, leaving you with 4. The average cost for Dining there (it's a buffet) for breakfast is $27, lunch is $29 and dinner is $41. You indicated you wanted to do breakfast, so...$27 x 2.
So, our current total is $200 - $54 = $146.
You eat lunch at Cosmic Rays (which IF you buy the most expensive items and a drink with dessert it will cost you around $20 a person, or $40 combined.
$146 - $40 = $106
To try and make the costs work, lets say you do dinner at the most expensive venue on the Park that is 1 Dining Credit, Be Our Guest.
If you order the most expensive menu item (~$33), plus appetizer (~$7) (you'll get two), drink (~$3) and desserts (you'll also get two) ($7), the plan almost pays for itself with a 6 dollar deficit.
$33 + $7 + $3 + 7 = $50 x 2 people = $100
$106 - $100 = $6.
Toss in the 4 "snacks credits" you have left and you come out ahead on the plan.
But...here is the kicker. You still have to eat on Day 2!
gooftroop5
Well-Known Member
We have done the dining plan on a few trips. When we were newbies I checked out the menus at AllEars.com. You can also find the prices out there as well. For us it is a matter of how many sit-downs we want to do, if we want to pay upfront and not worry about food, and if we can get our ADRs that we want.
BTW.... Breakfast at Crystal Palace is available on the regular dining plan with 1 table service, 1 quick service, 1 snack per day.
So .....do the math and do what works for you.
BTW.... Breakfast at Crystal Palace is available on the regular dining plan with 1 table service, 1 quick service, 1 snack per day.
So .....do the math and do what works for you.
SAV
Well-Known Member
If it is just you and your 16 month old, I would think the Dining Plan would not be good for you. If you do the regular plan, you will need to plan our meals and have them at set times. With just you and a baby, that doesn't seem feasible that she would be on a schedule to eat when the plan says vs when she is hungry. They have a quick service plan available too, but that doesn't include any of the sit down restaurants.
That said, we did the quick service plan this past June and my wife kept a tally of everything that we purchased on the plan and there was no savings at all. In fact, we ended up wasting a couple of meals because it was so much food that I wasn't hungry and we didn't end up using the credits.
So unless the dining is "free", we will not be getting it ever again. It just wasn't worth paying for.
That said, we did the quick service plan this past June and my wife kept a tally of everything that we purchased on the plan and there was no savings at all. In fact, we ended up wasting a couple of meals because it was so much food that I wasn't hungry and we didn't end up using the credits.
So unless the dining is "free", we will not be getting it ever again. It just wasn't worth paying for.
GoochDSA
Well-Known Member
Dining credits are per person, not per table. A 1TS restaurants, like BoG, is 1 TS credit per person. A 2TS credit restaurant, like Flying Fish or HDDR, is 2 TS credits per person.
Since you have never been before and you are only going for 2 days, if I were you, I wouldn't plan to eat at more than 1 TS restaurant. You are going to want to spend as much time in the parks as you can and giving up those 90 minutes or so may not be something you want to do. You might be better off getting the dining plan that comes with 2 CS credits a day and paying for a TS breakfast OOP.
Also, using TS credits on breakfast (other than Chef Mickey's and Akershus) is an awful use of credits where you will lose money on the dining plan instead of saving.
Since you have never been before and you are only going for 2 days, if I were you, I wouldn't plan to eat at more than 1 TS restaurant. You are going to want to spend as much time in the parks as you can and giving up those 90 minutes or so may not be something you want to do. You might be better off getting the dining plan that comes with 2 CS credits a day and paying for a TS breakfast OOP.
Also, using TS credits on breakfast (other than Chef Mickey's and Akershus) is an awful use of credits where you will lose money on the dining plan instead of saving.
We will actually be staying at the hotel for 4 nights. We wont get into the hotel until 7ish on a wednesday and we didn't see it being cost effective for paying for a park ticket that night when we'll be tired from traveling. We plan on going to Magic Kingdom on Thursday and then we have a wedding to attend on Friday that is not in Disney and then we will do Hollywood Studios on Saturday and then we fly out sunday morning. I'm guessing that we should pay out of pocket for the meals on Wednesday night and Friday morning since we'll need to eat. It will be my husband, my daughter and I. We will be there with my brother-in-law and his family too. We are just wondering if the meal plans will be worth it. I guess I'm worried about how long we will have to wait in line for the quick service meals as opposed to the sit down dinners. If we have reservations for the sit down meals does it still take a long time?
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
The only way to tell if the dining plan is worth it for any guest is to run the numbers. Look at the menus (on here as well as other Disney sites) decide where you want to eat, and what you want to eat there. Then add it all up and see how that total amount compares to adding on the dining plan. To make the plan cost effective, you really need to eat to the plan. So a CS credit includes an entree, drink, and dessert. But if you don't normally eat dessert, or would prefer to drink ice water over soda, you would be paying for food you wouldn't normally consume. The same concept applies if you only want to do 1 TS meal, but 2 days of the dining plan might include 2 TS credits, causing you to eat at a second TS location where you would have otherwise eaten at a CS location.
Personally? It's not worth it. My DW and I never get dessert at CS locations, and rarely at TS locations. We also normally either share a soda, or drink ice water with meals. Not to mention I'm a vegetarian and most of the expensive meals are steak. So we would never come out ahead with the dining plan.
Personally? It's not worth it. My DW and I never get dessert at CS locations, and rarely at TS locations. We also normally either share a soda, or drink ice water with meals. Not to mention I'm a vegetarian and most of the expensive meals are steak. So we would never come out ahead with the dining plan.
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
A CS meal, maybe 5-10 minutes in line, then 10-15 to eat. And thats assuming a slow line. A TS meal, they request you show up early, but yet you may still get seated late. And I would easily figure on 45-60 mins for a TS meal once seated.
As you posted more info, it definitely doesn't sound like the dining plan would work for you. You need to buy the dining plan for each night of your stay. So 4 hotel nights, would be 8 CS credits on the QS Plan, 4 CS and 4 TS on the normal plan, etc. You can definitely use the credits at restaurants in the hotels. But seeing as how you have a late Weds arrival, and early Sun departure, and a wedding on Friday, it doesn't seem to me like you would be able to strategically use all your credits and come out ahead.
SAV
Well-Known Member
The way the plan works is that you will get meal and snack credits allotted for the number of nights you are staying at the resort. So you will be paying for 4 nights of meals, yet only in the parks for 2 days. While you can use the credits at the resorts, you will be away for a day for the wedding, so those will most likely not be used and you will end up paying for a lot of credits that you will not be using.
As for the wait times to get your meal. It obviously depends on the time you visit and the time you go to eat. Normal lunch times are more crowded and you (may) have to wait 10 minutes in line for a quick service meal, but off-peak times it is walk up to the counter and get your food. I have found that a general allotment I use for sit down meals is 1.5 hours each. QS is normally a half hour.
My own personal opinion on the DHS food options are that the QS is pretty awful, but the sit down is good with multiple choices.
GoochDSA
Well-Known Member
It can still take a long time. Depending on what restaurants you are talking about, especially the more popular ones, you could wait 45 minutes or so AFTER your ADR time to get a table, which means if you check in 15 minutes early as is suggested you could be waiting an hour before getting into the restaurant. Again, not all restaurants are like this, but it's also not unheard of. CS is much faster. Even if the line looks long at a CS it moves quickly. And if you are able to swing your meals at off times (like 11AM or 1:30 for lunch or 4:30 or 7 for dinner) the lines are not an issue.
If you aren't going to really be looking to use meals off your dining plan on 2 days you are there, you could end up not using the credits, which could leave you losing money if you are not able to get the dining plan for free. I personally feel that for a first time trip, I think you are safest doing the 1 character breakfast and then just eating CS along the way as you see fit. If you really want to do another TS, you could check guest relations at the park to see what has availability at what times.
Another thing that first timers don't really grasp is that CS is a lot more than just burgers, chicken nuggets and pizza, which forces them to think that they need to overdo the TS restaurants. However, this is far from the case. You could go on a 2 week trip, eat nothing but CS and never have to touch a burger, chicken nugget or (awful) pizza. So don't think that if you don't have a TS meal your stuck with the typical theme park junk food.
If you aren't going to really be looking to use meals off your dining plan on 2 days you are there, you could end up not using the credits, which could leave you losing money if you are not able to get the dining plan for free. I personally feel that for a first time trip, I think you are safest doing the 1 character breakfast and then just eating CS along the way as you see fit. If you really want to do another TS, you could check guest relations at the park to see what has availability at what times.
Another thing that first timers don't really grasp is that CS is a lot more than just burgers, chicken nuggets and pizza, which forces them to think that they need to overdo the TS restaurants. However, this is far from the case. You could go on a 2 week trip, eat nothing but CS and never have to touch a burger, chicken nugget or (awful) pizza. So don't think that if you don't have a TS meal your stuck with the typical theme park junk food.
Okay!!!! Now it's all starting to make some sense...LOL! I didn't realize that we HAD to purchase the dining plans for EVERY night that we were staying at the resort. It doesnt sound cost effective for us to buy them then.
SAV - thank you so much for the advice on the QS meals.
SAV - thank you so much for the advice on the QS meals.
SAV
Well-Known Member
Yes Counter Service and Quick Service are the same thing.
All of the menus are listed on this site, so you can browse them to see what my interest you on those days. There's a link at the top under "Info" and then "Dining".
http://www.wdwmagic.com/dining.htm
All of the menus are listed on this site, so you can browse them to see what my interest you on those days. There's a link at the top under "Info" and then "Dining".
http://www.wdwmagic.com/dining.htm
Mawg
Well-Known Member
I've found that a group of adults can most often times do better out of pocket but start adding kids and the dinning plan becomes more worth it. A kid is only about 25$ a day on the dinning plan. Do a character meal, a counter service and a snack and that's about $40, a $15 savings for the day. An adult is about $60 a day on the dinning plan. Do a Character meal, a counter service and a snack and that's about $55-$60 a day, not much savings if any. If you have kids and plan to eat one expensive Table Service, one Counter Service and one snack a day then get the dinning plan (but still do the math as not all dinning is equal in price). If you are not planning this many meals a day or do not have kids, then go out of pocket.