That snap you heard? My camel's back is breaking!

[Dave B]

Ok...I gotta ask:

What are you eating???

Ohana's x2
Le Cellier
Yachtsmen
Minnie's Season Dine buffet and character
Cinderella's Castle
Askerhaus buffet and character meet
Narcossees
California Grill
Luau @ Polynesian

That does not include any QS, or ALL the snack credits we use at the EPCOT food and wine booths

QS------Casey' Corner x4, Satulli Canteen x3 and Flame Tree BBQ x2 are just a few

I never understand how people say it is not worth it, we make out every time

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Ohana's x2
Le Cellier
Yachtsmen
Minnie's Season Dine buffet and character
Cinderella's Castle
Askerhaus buffet and character meet
Narcossees
California Grill
Luau @ Polynesian

That does not include any QS, or ALL the snack credits we use at the EPCOT food and wine booths

QS------Casey' Corner x4, Satulli Canteen x3 and Flame Tree BBQ x2 are just a few

I never understand how people say it is not worth it, we make out every time

Ok...

Wow...they did some studies in the 70’s about salt and sugar...just saying...

But I love food too.

The reason you “make out” is because they have systematically alternated increasing the price of the menus and dining plans to offset each other. Which is fine if it was organic...but it was systematic.

I have great memories of really enjoying the sitdowns at WDW...they mostly ended with the DDP...with a few exception.

 

[Vacationeer]

We've tried Free Food twice and paid for DDP once. DDP probably cost 10% more than our normal OOP style. We stretched those credits to the max for expensive places and foods that interested us. We spent around $900 on DDP and ordered $1400 worth of food and beverages. DDP is not a bargain per se; it does provide a discount IF you'd like to go all out on food for a trip.

Last trip we went OOP and tried to keep our budget within reason to offset the many price increases. We've purposely avoided Pizzafari in the past but found a decent value in their "Family Style Meal'. $20 each when we went ($25 now) included appetizer, salad, entrees, pizza and desert. It was our biggest bargain in WDW that trip.
The negative is that place is LOUD. No tip because order is placed at counter, even though the food is served to your table. At one point people were able to use 1 QS credit for this Family Meal, not sure if still true. Some people were actually able to use 1 QS for 3 people in their family, which may have been a temporary oversight, lol.

 

[Dave B]

Ok...

Wow...they did some studies in the 70’s about salt and sugar...just saying...

But I love food too.

The reason you “make out” is because they have systematically alternated increasing the price of the menus and dining plans to offset each other. Which is fine if it was organic...but it was systematic.

I have great memories of really enjoying the sitdowns at WDW...they mostly ended with the DDP...with a few exception.

Yeah but when we are walking 8-10 miles a day, we sweat out all the salt and sugar, but we definitely try and enjoy on our trips, we do not eat out a lot during the year to save for Disney so we go all out on vacation

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Yeah but when we are walking 8-10 miles a day, we sweat out all the salt and sugar, but we definitely try and enjoy on our trips, we do not eat out a lot during the year to save for Disney so we go all out on vacation

If you don’t mind my asking...where are you from?

That’s demographic research...not a setup.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

We've tried Free Food twice and paid for DDP once. DDP probably cost 10% more than our normal OOP style. We stretched those credits to the max for expensive places and foods that interested us. We spent around $900 on DDP and ordered $1400 worth of food and beverages. DDP is not a bargain per se; it does provide a discount IF you'd like to go all out on food for a trip.

Last trip we went OOP and tried to keep our budget within reason to offset the many price increases. We've purposely avoided Pizzafari in the past but found a decent value in their "Family Style Meal'. $20 each when we went ($25 now) included appetizer, salad, entrees, pizza and desert. It was our biggest bargain in WDW that trip.
The negative is that place is LOUD. No tip because order is placed at counter, even though the food is served to your table. At one point people were able to use 1 QS credit for this Family Meal, not sure if still true. Some people were actually able to use 1 QS for 3 people in their family, which may have been a temporary oversight, lol.

Thanks for that tip about Pizzafari! We will be sure to take advantage of that next trip! We used to be big DP people, but tried it OOP once a while back. For US, we saved a lot of money because we are older and don't eat as much. We sometimes share meals, and I eat a lot of kids meals because regular meals are way too much for me now. We don't overeat too, just to try and make the most out of the DP. We have more room for sweets, treats, etc. whenever we want them now. Won't go back to the DP.
I do understand it works for many others, especially families with teenagers or people who like to dine exclusively on signature meals.
Anyway, ramble over and thanks for the tip!

 

[Vacationeer]

and thanks for the tip!

Another tip I look to trying for myself in the future is this:

Do a split stay at one resort for 1 night and buy the Deluxe DDP for that. It is way too much food but if you plan wisely, you actually have 2 full days to make use of those 3 Table Service credits, 2 snacks and refill Mug. $116.25 per adult isn't too bad using this method. You can go to a Signature meal and still have a Table Service left for the next day. Each of the 3 TS meals include:

• 1 Appetizer
• 1 Entrée
• 1 Dessert* (or possibly a lower sugar substiture like cheese plate)
• 1 Non-alcoholic Beverage (or Alcoholic Beverage, for Guests 21 and older)

For $232.50, a couple could do very well for themselves over 2 days

 

[Phonedave]

Appropos of nothing, WDW raised food prices. (Yes, I know this happens every year, sometimes multiple times. Yes, I know WDW food is expensive. Yes, I know that everyone's price "breaking point" is different.) Dinner at 'Ohana is now near $60 per person, an increase of almost 33% over the $46 per person we paid when we last ate there in 2018 (as in, last year). DH and I talked it over this morning and decided that our limit has finally been reached: tradition be darned, we're canceling our last-night-of-vacation family dinner at 'Ohana in February 2020. (Neither us nor the kids can down enough food to make $60 -- actually $75 per person, with tax and gratuity -- feel worth it, and we'd eat ourselves sick if we tried!)

We plan to take a renewed look at the menus for all of our chosen restaurants as prices are updated over the next few weeks or months, to see if any more cuts should be made. It makes me sad to cancel plans, but it's a little bit liberating, too -- it helps us separate what's really important on a vacation from the things we've started buying simply out of habit.

Have any of you found yourselves doing some creative surgery on your WDW dining plans? Is there anything you cut that you later wished you hadn't? (And do you have any suggestions as to what would be a good, and less expensive, replacement for 'Ohana? We were thinking maybe Kona Cafe...)

We used to eat at a TS almost every night. Our creative surgery is now we eat 2 or 3 TS a trip, tops.

It's just not worth it, nor is it enjoyable.

In my opinion 'Ohana is not good. It has not been good for many a year. It was my then 12 year old that said after a meal there "Dad, we don't need to come to this restaurant any more" That the opinion.

The fact is $60 per person is just insane. I have long been saying that WDW TS pricing, even with the expected theme park mark up, is a poor value. It has just become much much worse.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I never understand how people say it is not worth it, we make out every time

I don't want to turn this into a DDP vs. OOP debate, but the reason some people say it's not worth it for them is because it isn't. All it takes is having one or two kids who are just-over-10 (charged as an adult but not eating like one), and/or an adult or two in the party who've worked hard to lose weight or are otherwise trying to be health-conscious (meaning, a person who's going to order a salad or the grilled chicken instead of the steak and isn't going to want any desserts or fountain beverages or second trips to a buffet, let alone 2 snacks in a day). My family of four reliably saves no less than $400-$500 over the course of a week-long visit by paying OOP instead of purchasing the DDP (in fact, we'll save over $600 on the upcoming trip now that 'Ohana is out of the picture), even though we're still having an average of 1 TS and 1 CS and 1-2 snacks person, per day. I'm glad you enjoy the DDP and find that it works for you, but it shouldn't be difficult to understand why it's not a good fit (let alone a money saver) for everybody.

At the end of the day, sometimes you just have to ask whether what you're getting -- whether you pay for it via DDP or OOP -- is objectively worth the cost. For me with respect to 'Ohana, that's not done by comparing Disney's sticker price with the value of 1 TS dining credit, but by comparing Disney's sticker price with my own real-world assessment of the experience I'm getting in return, as it compares to prior experiences at Disney and at other expensive vacation venues. I don't care if I'm "saving" money off of the cost of a "$300 sticker price" meal by paying for it with $250 worth of dining credits, if that meal is only giving me $200 or less worth of "value" when I compare it with similar restaurants at similar vacation venues. When the sticker price goes up 33% from one year to the next but the experience stays the same and wasn't a bargain to begin with, I just can't justify it any more. I get that there are those who can, and I don't judge them: we've all got our limits and it just so happens that we've just hit ours, and are looking to make appropriate adjustments.

 

[Dave B]

If you don’t mind my asking...where are you from?

That’s demographic research...not a setup.

No worries, originally from San Diego, Calif, now live in Colorado the last 12 years

 

[Dave B]

I don't want to turn this into a DDP vs. OOP debate, but the reason some people say it's not worth it for them is because it isn't. All it takes is having one or two kids who are just-over-10 (charged as an adult but not eating like one), and/or an adult or two in the party who've worked hard to lose weight or are otherwise trying to be health-conscious (meaning, a person who's going to order a salad or the grilled chicken instead of the steak and isn't going to want any desserts or fountain beverages, let alone 2 snacks in a day). My family of four reliably saves no less than $400-$500 over the course of a week-long visit by paying OOP instead of purchasing the DDP, even though we're still having an average of 1 TS and 1 CS and 1-2 snacks person, per day. I'm glad you enjoy the DDP and find that it works for you, but it shouldn't be difficult to understand why it's not a good fit (let alone a money saver) for everybody.

I agree it is NOT worth it if you are going to order salads, chicken,etc and just regular items, or if you have small kids, our kids are 12 and 15, but we use the kids TS credits to our advantage. we eat High End when we go, so definitely worth the value, it is not right for everyone, but if you are going to eat at nice restaurants and order steaks and lobsters, etc., it is a bargain. Our bill at Cinderella's castle was close to $450. under the dining plan it was 8 credits for 4 people and no out of pocket, almost paid for the plan itself with that meal alone, we also use the snack credits for food not sweets, so it really works out for us, I really think it is all about how you utilize the plan

 

[John park hopper]

Our last trip (POFQ) we did 3 TS 1 was at Jiko for our 42 anniversary , Coral reef with the granddaughts they loved the fish tank but the service and food were horrible (never go back) and we did one character TS with Snow White, Cinderella etc for the princess granddaughters. We will probably on the next trip just do Jiko no other table service. We drive and I bring 2 Yeti coolers filled with soda, juice, wine for the wife, milk cereal and snacks ----actually brought a small microwave and for sausage biscuits and danish for breakfast worked out great. If we are in the parks we do QS me burger and fries wife doe a salad and eats some fries. For us the DDP doesn't make no sense. We don't go to WDW for the dining we have some great restaurants here in Charleston that put many of the WDW to shame

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

No worries, originally from San Diego, Calif, now live in Colorado the last 12 years

Very interesting...i would have guessed you hail from one of the more land locked areas with notoriously bad food

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Our last trip (POFQ) we did 3 TS 1 was at Jiko for our 42 anniversary , Coral reef with the granddaughts they loved the fish tank but the service and food were horrible (never go back) and we did one character TS with Snow White, Cinderella etc for the princess granddaughters. We will probably on the next trip just do Jiko no other table service. We drive and I bring 2 Yeti coolers filled with soda, juice, wine for the wife, milk cereal and snacks ----actually brought a small microwave and for sausage biscuits and danish for breakfast worked out great. If we are in the parks we do QS me burger and fries wife doe a salad and eats some fries. For us the DDP doesn't make no sense. We don't go to WDW for the dining we have some great restaurants here in Charleston that put many of the WDW

Jiko isn’t what it was in 2001

No where is

 

[Vacationeer]

Ohana has been seriously on our radar to try because so many fans have loved it. Our trip time is limited due to work/school so carving out time from high cost park hours is hard to justify, more so at $60+ per head

DDP is worth it in select cases. Mostly if your party wants to eat on that level and can maximize the full potential of credits.
Even with Free Food my next trip isn't any real bargain. Free Food only begins to make up for cuckoo resort and ticket rates. Our resort is $700 on weekend nights they're giving us $300 in "Free Food"; WDW always comes out ahead. We're experienced eaters in WDW so we'll try to give them a run for their money. Good luck with that!

 

[Dave B]

Very interesting...i would have guessed you hail from one of the more land locked areas with notoriously bad food

That would be Colorado for sure, food sucks here, now California is amazing when it comes to food choices

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

That would be Colorado for sure, food sucks here, now California is amazing when it comes to food choices

That’s what I’m saying...and probably explains why you might be inclined to “binge” a little in Orlando?

My example of bad food exposure is there was an Olive Garden just outside one of the tunnels that leads into downtown Pittsburgh that had a 90 minute wait for it...and probably still does today

Yummy...bread sticks

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

We let our girls each choose a character meal for our upcoming January trip. The 9 year old chose Tusker House breakfast and the 4 year old chose 1900 Park Fare breakfast. I thought I would surprise them with two others (most likely will tell them on Christmas) so I also booked breakfast at H & V and Garden Grill. With the new price increases, which also makes the tip go up, I’m seriously considering cancelling Garden Grill I’m so bummed because this was the one I was most looking forward to.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

We let our girls each choose a character meal for our upcoming January trip. The 9 year old chose Tusker House breakfast and the 4 year old chose 1900 Park Fare breakfast. I thought I would surprise them with two others (most likely will tell them on Christmas) so I also booked breakfast at H & V and Garden Grill. With the new price increases, which also makes the tip go up, I’m seriously considering cancelling Garden Grill I’m so bummed because this was the one I was most looking forward to.

IMO you should cancel H&V and stick with Garden Grill instead. GG is one of the most interesting restaurants at WDW and would be worth seeing once even without the characters.

H&V is a very basic buffet, that doesn't offer anything special in the way of atmosphere or food. I know it's the only Disney Jr. character meal, but maybe there's another way to get some photos with those characters?

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

IMO you should cancel H&V and stick with Garden Grill instead. GG is one of the most interesting restaurants at WDW and would be worth seeing once even without the characters.

H&V is a very basic buffet, that doesn't offer anything special in the way of atmosphere or food. I know it's the only Disney Jr. character meal, but maybe there's another way to get some photos with those characters?

Oh I most definitely agree, I more thinking of my kids and the characters. They LOVE Disney Junior. We did H&V back in 2014 with my oldest and she still talks about how much she loved that breakfast. I’ve read so many great things about GG though so I am definitely torn. I’ll give it another month or so and really crunch the numbers. We also have BBB booked for them and of course, those prices went up recently too. Just as a whole, this trip is turning out to be more costly than we initially budgeted.