Should we dining plan?

[WDW_Emily]

My boyfriend and I are traveling to the world April 18-April 25th. Our dinning window just opened up and we are planning four sit down meals during that time. We were looking into the dining plan for the convenience of having the trip completely paid for before heading down and only needing to worry about souvenirs. However, after crunching some numbers, I'm not seeing the value of the dining plan and how our daily eating would add up to about $70 per person per day. Here is what our eating schedule will be looking like:

Day 1:
- Breakfast at airport
- Quick Service lunch at resort
- Dinner at Boma

Day 2:
- Breakfast at resort
- Snacking around the world
- Quick service dinner

Day 3:
- Breakfast at The Plaza
- Quick service lunch (maybe Be Our Guest lunch)
- Quick service dinner

Day 4:
- Breakfast at Resort
- Lunch or dinner at table service in DHS (any suggestions here?!? I struggle with food in DHS)

Day 5:
- Breakfast at Tusker House
- Lunch/ Dinner Quick Service

Day 6:
Universal.......

Day 7:
Park hop day. Planning for a nice dinner in the parks (Suggestions?!?!?)

Day 8:
- Breakfast at resort
- Snacks for lunch
-Dinner in the airport


Would you get the dining plan? We are also big coffee/tea drinkers in the morning so the $40 resort mug value for two people comes into play as well. If you have any dinning suggestions for our blank spots post them below! The boyfriend has been since he was around 6 so he isn't much help with planning

 

[Weather_Lady]

Given your dining selections, I think your preliminary calculations are correct: buying the dining plan would be significantly more expensive than paying out of pocket.

If you plug your plans into the calculator at http://www.distripplanner.com, it will help give you a good idea of the relative costs, and will tell you roughly what you'll pay out of pocket, or for each of the possible Disney Dining Plans (quick service, regular, deluxe). I just did a quick mock-up, which assumed the purchase of 2 refillable mugs, 2 snacks per person per day, counter service breakfasts whenever you said "breakfast at resort," counter service meals for all of the lunch and dinners where you didn't specify, and TS meals at Mama Melrose and Coral Reef as placeholders for the TS meals you hadn't decided on. The out-of-pocket estimate was $300 less than what you'd pay with the standard Disney Dining Plan.

For in-park TS dinners that won't break the bank, I'd suggest Yak & Yeti at AK, Skipper Canteen at MK, or Via Napoli (for pizza/salad) at Epcot. (No suggestions at HS, sorry! Mama Melrose, Sci-Fi and 50's PrimeTime are all okay, but none stands out from the others in my experience). At a higher price point, Liberty Tree Tavern at MK and/or Biergarten or Coral Reef at Epcot. Do you have a Disney VISA card? If so, you can get a 10% discount at several onsite TS restaurants (including Boma, which is one you mentioned) if you pay with it at the restaurant. https://disneyrewards.com/vacation-perks/walt-disney-world-perks/

Double-check this, but virtually all of the onsite hotels (all except a couple of the values, I believe) have in-room coffeemakers and coffee (not sure about tea), so you don't need to depend on a refillable mug for your morning fix. They also provide disposable cups with lids, so you can take it with you. (If you're picky about your brand, you can even bring your own coffee pods from home, and you may want to bring teabags in any case -- just Google around to see what style of coffeemaker you'll have.) I'm not choosy about it myself, so DH and I always just drink the free in-room coffee, with a splash of our favorite flavored creamer from home.

 

[WDW_Emily]

Given your dining selections, I think your preliminary calculations are correct: buying the dining plan would be significantly more expensive than paying out of pocket.

If you plug your plans into the calculator at http://www.distripplanner.com, it will help give you a good idea of the relative costs, and will tell you roughly what you'll pay out of pocket, or for each of the possible Disney Dining Plans (quick service, regular, deluxe).

For in-park TS dinners that won't break the bank, I'd suggest Yak & Yeti at AK, Skipper Canteen at MK, or Via Napoli (for pizza/salad) at Epcot. (No suggestions at HS, sorry! Mama Melrose, Sci-Fi and 50's PrimeTime are all okay, but none stands out from the others in my experience). At a higher price point, Liberty Tree Tavern at MK and/or Biergarten or Coral Reef at Epcot. Do you have a Disney VISA card? If so, you can get a 10% discount at several onsite TS restaurants (including Boma, which is one you mentioned) if you pay with it at the restaurant. https://disneyrewards.com/vacation-perks/walt-disney-world-perks/

Double-check this, but virtually all of the onsite hotels (all except a couple of the values, I believe) have in-room coffeemakers and coffee (not sure about tea), so you don't need to depend on a refillable mug for your morning fix. They also provide disposable cups with lids, so you can take it with you. (If you're picky about your brand, you can even bring your own coffee pods from home, and you may want to bring teabags in any case -- just Google around to see what style of coffeemaker you'll have.) I'm not choosy about it myself, so DH and I always just drink the free in-room coffee, with a splash of our favorite flavored creamer from home.

Thank you for the tip! I'm going to explore that site today! DHS is always a struggle for me I always leave their table service not too impressed

 

[DisneyJoe]

My boyfriend and I are traveling to the world April 18-April 25th. Our dinning window just opened up and we are planning four sit down meals during that time. We were looking into the dining plan for the convenience of having the trip completely paid for before heading down and only needing to worry about souvenirs. However, after crunching some numbers, I'm not seeing the value of the dining plan and how our daily eating would add up to about $70 per person per day. Here is what our eating schedule will be looking like:

Day 1:
- Breakfast at airport
- Quick Service lunch at resort
- Dinner at Boma

Day 2:
- Breakfast at resort
- Snacking around the world
- Quick service dinner

Day 3:
- Breakfast at The Plaza
- Quick service lunch (maybe Be Our Guest lunch)
- Quick service dinner

Day 4:
- Breakfast at Resort
- Lunch or dinner at table service in DHS (any suggestions here?!? I struggle with food in DHS)

Day 5:
- Breakfast at Tusker House
- Lunch/ Dinner Quick Service

Day 6:
Universal.......

Day 7:
Park hop day. Planning for a nice dinner in the parks (Suggestions?!?!?)

Day 8:
- Breakfast at resort
- Snacks for lunch
-Dinner in the airport


Would you get the dining plan? We are also big coffee/tea drinkers in the morning so the $40 resort mug value for two people comes into play as well. If you have any dinning suggestions for our blank spots post them below! The boyfriend has been since he was around 6 so he isn't much help with planning

Dining plan would give you 7 TS meals, 7 QS meals etc (the plan is based on each night of your stay).

Since you only plan on 4 TS meals, and you are going to Universal one day, you would need to eat a few signature (2 credit) meals to really get the value from the dining plan.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Well if you crunched the numbers and you'd be paying more if you go tht DDP then don't get it.

Personally if I'm not on the DDP I will not eat at any TS locationsand that's how it works out to be cheaper.
If I want to eat at several TS locations the math always works out for me to get the DDP..

I recommend Sc-fi at DHS.

For a "nice" meal I'd recommend Cali Grill or Yachtsman Steakhouse.

 

[HoustonHorn]

One thing you might consider is the QS dining plan. Not sure on the value necessarily, but we like it because, like you, we do not eat a TS meal every day. So we pay out of pocket for those and use the QS meal credits for the breakfasts at the hotel and other QS meals. And the QS credits can be used for 3 snacks. So you can use a QS meal credit at Starbucks for coffees for you and your boyfriend and a bottle of water to split (or a pastry or a third coffee).

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

One thing you might consider is the QS dining plan. Not sure on the value necessarily, but we like it because, like you, we do not eat a TS meal every day. So we pay out of pocket for those and use the QS meal credits for the breakfasts at the hotel and other QS meals. And the QS credits can be used for 3 snacks. So you can use a QS meal credit at Starbucks for coffees for you and your boyfriend and a bottle of water to split (or a pastry or a third coffee).

I don't think the QSDP is a great option for the math in most cases. Convenience sure.
QS breakfasts at the resorts are CHEAP so paying OOP is better money wise.
Also remember that they removed dessert from QS meals and only added 1 snack credit when they should have added 2.

 

[Nottamus]

My wife and I started going to WDW on the TS dining plan, but when we bought into DVC that changed.

We did the math, and even with 2-3 (sometimes 4) TS meals a week, and the rest snacks or QS, we save money by doing it all OOP.

For coffee, we just bring in a bag of Starbucks or something, and use in room coffee maker. We drive in, so bringing a case of water is easier for us - eliminating the need for refillable cup.

 

[Shouldigo12]

My wife and I started going to WDW on the TS dining plan, but when we bought into DVC that changed.

We did the math, and even with 2-3 (sometimes 4) TS meals a week, and the rest snacks or QS, we save money by doing it all OOP.

For coffee, we just bring in a bag of Starbucks or something, and use in room coffee maker. We drive in, so bringing a case of water is easier for us - eliminating the need for refillable cup.

I'm guessing by TS you mean standard? On that plan you should have had 7 TS credits a week- it makes sense you would lose money if you were only planning on using a Max of 4.

 

[Shouldigo12]

I'm usually the first one to defend the DP, but honestly I don't think it's a good fit for you. If you want the trip paid, a suggestion I've heard is to take the cost for the DP and buy a Disney gift card for that amount. You can just use the cards your meals and use any extra on whatever else you want.

 

[Nottamus]

I'm guessing by TS you mean standard? On that plan you should have had 7 TS credits a week- it makes sense you would lose money if you were only planning on using a Max of 4.

Correct...we had a week of one TS one QS then a snack a day...that plan

actually....it wasn’t for us...we like to be a little more “in the moment” with meals. Pick places on the fly.

we kinda morphed into the 2-3 dinners a week because it fit us.
Anyone else’s mileage will vary