Should I Purchase the Disney Dining Plan ?

[googilycub]

Better to pay in advance for excess food you will just throw away... makes perfect sense.

It is not your money, so it doesn't have to make sense to you.:shrug:

As for the DP, my family uses it every time we go. With the ADRs you list I think that the DDP should save you money, however that all depends on what you order.

 

[Magical Dreamer]

I agree..... 1 table sevice a day is more than enough.

1 table service can consume up to 3 hours of your day if you need to go to a different resort or park to honor your reservation.

A counter service is still more food than a typical meal outside of the World and they are quick & easy.

 

[NeriBeri]

I agree..... 1 table sevice a day is more than enough.

I think it really just depends on what someone's plans are for the trip and how long they are going.

While 1 table service is more than enough for one group, it's not enough for others.

For us, our trip is about the parks and the food and dining, so two table service meals a day is exactly what we're looking for.

I guess it just depends on how much time people have and what's important to them.

I'm curious to hear from the OP. What did you decide?

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

It is not your money, so it doesn't have to make sense to you.:shrug:

Thanks for setting me straight on that ... and a good laugh. :lol:

 

[cslafferty]

I think it really just depends on what someone's plans are for the trip and how long they are going.

Very true. On previous trips, my husband and I have travelled with our 3 teenage children. The goal on those trips was attractions, not food, so we grabbed most of our meals "on the run." However, we're coming Aug. 16-21 with our now adult daughter, and this time we would like to try some TS restaurants that we have never tried before. We decided on the Deluxe DP. While we know this will be more food than we need, it is the most economical way for us to try the restaurants we'd like to try. For parks like EP (WS), the restaurants ARE the attractions. Yes, we will probably waste a lot of food. But, like someone posted earlier, it's our vacation! Have fun!!:slurp:

 

[erstwo]

Hello, We will be going down Dec. 24th:xmas: - Jan 1st:sohappy:, staying at the Pop Century, This is my first time I booked various Dinner reservations in advance due to the peak season. I wanted to know since I've never purchased the Disney Dining plan, should I ? How much is it etc.. And is it beneficial with all of the reservations i have ?

Below are the reservations that I have booked during my stay:

Cinderella's Royal Table (*Already Payed for in advance)
Tony's Town Square
Crystal Palace
Chef Mickey's
Le Cellier Steakhouse
Teppan Edo
50's Prime Time Cafe
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater
Rain Forrest Cafe (Not part of the DPP)
Tusker House Restaurant
Sanaa
Liberty Tree Tavern
Hollywood & Vine
Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
T-rex cafe (Not part of the DDP)
** I left a few breakfast / lunch / dinners open incase I wanted to just eat in the hotel or perhaps some one can recommend a particular restaurant that I don't have on my list.

Thanks!

Hello there! :wave:

I know some are concerned about the amount of time you will spend eating, but since you are going at one of the busiest times of the year, I actually think you should worry less about time.

When we went at Easter, we had the Deluxe Dining Plan, we ate at TS for breakfast, lunch and dinner and LOVED it! The parks were so crowded, there were few rides we could enjoy anyhow, so we just had some great leisurely meals and enjoyed Disney's great service! Now I know some people would prefer just the opposite - to have more time to wait in lines for rides or grab fastpasses or whatever, but we just enjoyed more shopping and dining and saved most of the rides for the less busy times we've visited.

Just my 2 cents! Have a great trip! :xmas:

 

[GeoDonJac34]

One mistake we made during our first trip was booking multiple buffets in one day. This might not be a problem for everyone, but for us we found ourselves not hungry at our dinner reservation. but if your booking early breakfasts and a later dinner you should be ok. But with all of your meals planned it won't leave too much time for the parks. But then again I'll be in NE Pa. in the cold while you will be at Disney soooo.

 

[kverdon]

Hi,

I'll try and get back to your original question on whether or not to get the disney dining plan. Its your time in the parks, you get to enjoy it as you wish :animwink:. We love both the attractions and the dining at WDW so its fun to do both.

It really boils down to what you want to eat and where you want to eat it. For example, the dining plan includes a desert per person but not an appetizer. This does not work well for my wife and I as we are not big desert fans and would rather have a single appetizer than 2 deserts. This makes us not a real fan of the dining plan. You guys may be different.

As to the cost benefit. Its a bit of a pain but you can figure that yourself. You can find the menus online for all the restaurants both here and at Allears.net so what can be fun to do is to go through your trip, pull up the menus for the restaurants you are going to hit and add up what you think you would order. If you find yourself tending toward appetizers instead of deserts then you may be better doing it out of pocket. If you trend towards more buffets or think you might be happy with entrees and deserts the dining plan might work for you. The best part is that the information is readily available so take an afternoon or evening and add it up! (you may want to eat first as this exercise can make you rather hungry )

The other advantage of the dining plan is that you set your cost up front and then don't have to worry about it. You sacrifice some dining flexibility (desert instead of appetizer) in favor of a set cost but some folks may like that.

take and have fun!

Kevin and Mona