reasoning for the dining plan?

[alisonwonderlnd]

Ok.i made up a lil mock schedule for our meals with the qs dining plan for 2012
And......im guessing its not disneys idea for it to save you money.
because it didnt really
i added up what we would.most likely eat and no savings
What am i missing? Is it convienence? ( sic)

 

[lilclerk]

What am i missing? Is it convienence? ( sic)

Pretty much. If you're getting the most expensive meals on the menu, you can definitely come out ahead with the DDP, but you have to think about it. And it is harder to do with the QS plan than the regular DDP.
The best part of the DDP is knowing everything is done and paid for before you go.
The free dining promotion can definitely be a good deal if you're staying in a value resort, though.

 

[Tink ッ]

I got free dining plan (QSR) for my whole stay of 14 days with the package I booked, and that's two snacks and to quick services every single day So I'm definitely saving on it.

 

[sbkline]

As with all businesses, Disney is out to make money and the more money that you save, that's less money that they make. So no, they don't intend for you to save money using the dining plan. Yes, you can save up to 20% (or whatever the current percent estimate is) if you do it right, but like the previous poster said, you have to think about it and plan for it. And Disney knows that probably 9 out of 10 people don't. Sure, 1 out of 10 people (or maybe even 2 or 3 out of 10) will put in enough thought and planning to actually maximize the savings of the Dining Plan, but Disney is counting on that other 9 out of 10 (or 7 or 8 out of 10) to just prepay and then eat wherever they want without putting any thought into maximizing their savings. They are counting on you wasting a table service credit on the $16 entree, or forgetting to use that last quick service credit before you leave, or leaving with a handful of snack credits still unused. They want to make the dining plan appealing enough for tons of people to buy it, but if everyone used it to its maximum value, then Disney would lose money. And again, the whole purpose of promotions like this is to MAKE money. Not by being dishonest, but by giving a real opportunity for savings while knowing that the majority of people will not use it to its full value.

 

[Crush Dude!]

I got free dining plan (QSR) for my whole stay of 14 days with the package I booked, and that's two snacks and to quick services every single day So I'm definitely saving on it.

Quick question?

Why did you not go for OKW or SS??

Cheaper plus free dining plan

 

[Abbyjoe]

Not paying out of pocket while on vacation is why we always do it. We have been 5 times- 3 times we happily paid for the dining plan (2 times free). We make our dinner reservations 180 days in advance so we get can get the most bang for our buck.

 

[GenerationX]

The advantage to you in the Dining Plan is that if you already intended to eat at WDW and are a fanatically good planner, you'll save money. Otherwise, you'll spend more.

The advantage to Disney is that they kept you from eating outside of the World and they kept you on property longer, which increases the chances you'll buy other things. I don't have the numbers, but I suspect that even if you maximized the plan, Disney would still profit from your dining. The margins would be significantly lower than for the folks who don't plan as well, but I'm sure Disney would still come out ahead.

 

[kasey1988]

I got free dining plan (QSR) for my whole stay of 14 days with the package I booked, and that's two snacks and to quick services every single day So I'm definitely saving on it.

if your traveling in 2012 i believe it has changed to only 1 snack per day.

We will be taking advantage of the free Dining as well in 2012, we decided to upgrade to a moderate resort to have the full ddp (im really excited to try lots of diffrent sit down places!).

 

[Hakunamatata]

One thing most people forget is that gratuity is not included. So if you consider that you are having to tip at a sit down, but not at a counter service, you may even be paying more considering to get free dining you generally are paying full rate for room and park tickets.

 

[disney magic 06]

We had the dining plan for the first time this year as it was free (it doesn't affect the room rate here like it does in the US), but were surprised at how much we enjoyed it. There were the obvious advantages of trying places we wouldn't have had we been paying out of pocket, and not caring if we chose the most expensive items on the menu etc. However one of the best things for us was not having to work out out who owed what for the meal when the bill came - we are 3 adults and have vastly differing tastes - one eats very little, one eats lots, two of us drink etc. It was so easy! Just hand over one of our keys and it was sorted.

We enjoyed it so much we have booked the same again for next year

 

[Tink ッ]

if your traveling in 2012 i believe it has changed to only 1 snack per day.

We will be taking advantage of the free Dining as well in 2012, we decided to upgrade to a moderate resort to have the full ddp (im really excited to try lots of diffrent sit down places!).

Yeah I've heard about that. But that's not true for the UK package I bought Our deal was if we booked a moderate resort before nov 15th, we got $150 spending money, 14 days of ultimate Disney tickets for the price of 7 and fre QSR for our entire stay with two quick services, two snacks and a free refillable resort mug for all persons in the party. In addition to that we get a lot of discounts and preferred viewing of the fireworks in both Epcot and MK.

 

[Tink ッ]

"if your traveling in 2012 i believe it has changed to only 1 snack per day.

We will be taking advantage of the free Dining as well in 2012, we decided to upgrade to a moderate resort to have the full ddp (im really excited to try lots of diffrent sit down places!)."

Yeah I've heard about that. But that's not true for the UK package I bought Our deal was if we booked a moderate resort before nov 15th, we got $150 spending money, 14 days of ultimate Disney tickets for the price of 7 and fre QSR for our entire stay with two quick services, two snacks and a free refillable resort mug for all persons in the party. In addition to that we get a lot of discounts and preferred viewing of the fireworks in both Epcot and MK.

 

[PRNCSAurora]

The number one reason DH and I used the DDP was so that we didn't have to pay out of pocket (except breakfast and gratuities) for our food. We considered the plan part of the vacation expenses and were able to pay it all off prior to getting to the parks.
Also we probably would not have eaten at as many table service restaurants, and if we did, I know we would have spend more time figuring out what we could afford than what we actually wanted.