Thoughts on Dining Plan??

[Cvones]

I'm in the process of booking our stay and wondering what those that have used the Dining Plan thought about It?

 

[Jahona]

Besides having to factor in tip for Table Service restaurants, I've always liked using the dining plans. It's more of a convenience than a cost saver for the majority of people. You can save money if you compare what you get when you order. At the same time you can also save money buy buying al carte and drinking water and skipping desert. On the other hand if you have Table Service credits you might try restaurants that you normally wouldn't have gone to on your trip, I know I did.

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

As Jahona said, the key to the dining plan is that it really does not save you money. The benefit is that you pay for you food in advance, so that while you're there, all you have to worry about is how many credits you have left for various types of dining (Table Service, Quick Service, Snack, etc.).

 

[Courtney6682]

We are big fans of the DDP....we like the idea of everything being pre paid...like everyone else said above me it will not save you tons of money but depending on where and what you eat you can come out ''ahead'' Look at a few menu's of places you would like to eat and price out what you would probably order...from there you can get a good idea if the plan will work for your family

 

[Cvones]

That's what I'm trying to figure out. Does it make life easier or not? Will I be making myself crazy trying to make sure we are on track and utilizing what we signed up for or are we better off paying as we go?
Also how does it work with character dining? From what I read it looks like character meal equals a table service.

 

[sxeensweet]

You will here every opinion about it good and bad because it's pure personal preference, but for us personally me and DH we love using it for the convienience factor etc. Also we usually don't lose any money on it as we usually break even. But mainly we like the idea our meals are pre paid.

 

[Jahona]

So depending on which plan you go with the Quick Service plan is the most flexible since it doesn't require reservations. My last trip I used the standard Disney Dining plan, 1 QS and 1 TS a day. I made all of my dining reservations for my party a head of time and figured out how many credits I was going to use and were to use them. I knew I was going to be going to Universal for two days so I used one of those days credits for a reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table. For quick service I usually used those for a late breakfast or early lunch. My table service meals were usually Dinner reservations.

 

[MickeyMomV]

Love using it!!! Never go without it.

That said there are a lot of people on here that use it on a regular basis and there are a lot of people that think the DDP is the devil and believe it is a waste of money and will "never eat all the food you get with the dining plan". I would suggest that you do the math and see what works best for you based on what you eat and if the dining part of Disney is as much of the magic as everything else. For us it is....

 

[sxeensweet]

Love using it!!! Never go without it.

That said there are a lot of people on here that use it on a regular basis and there are a lot of people that think the DDP is the devil and believe it is a waste of money and will "never eat all the food you get with the dining plan". I would suggest that you do the math and see what works best for you based on what you eat and if the dining part of Disney is as much of the magic as everything else. For us it is....

Agree with this also ^^^^

 

[Ben_since_1971]

The biggest benefit I have seen with the DP is no longer playing the 'Where do you want to eat tonight' game. Never fun, but when you and your significant other are at the end of a long park day, even less.

I also like the convenience and the sense of 'all-inclusive'. I know it isn't, and I know I am probably not saving much if anything, but it does make my trip a little easier.

 

[Disneyfreak Jen]

I've gotten it for free in the past this past trip I paid for it, just to not have to worry about carrying all that cash on me. I'm not a huge eater, and the portions they give are a lot. In my findings, it's good if its free but I wouldn't pay for it again. I felt obligated to eat everything to get my moneys worth….I really didn't need the desserts that come with lunch and dinner…or the almost 10 pounds I put on last trip. This upcoming trip I have it for free again, but I'm being more careful about what I eat.

 

[Mukta]

Which dining plan are you thinking of using? If it is the standard one, look at menus now.

Consider if you want a QS and TS entree, dessert and non-alcoholic drink each day. It was an unhealthy amount of dessert for me on 10-14 day trips.

Know that if someone doesn't feel like eating, you will lose that money.

Pick a QS and a TS you would like to eat in each day. pick the entree, dessert, and drink you would want. Total up the $ amount and see if it is close to $60 a night.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

I'm in the process of booking our stay and wondering what those that have used the Dining Plan thought about It?

We go about deciding the good old fashioned way: pricing paying out of pocket vs buying the plan and see what is cheaper/what meets your needs more.
With the standard dining plan we have gotten before, it includes a soft drink and dessert which DH and I do not need. The portions are usually large so sometimes a children's meal hits the spot at quick service locations.

The best answer is to look at what it would cost (look at menus and literally ball park what you and your party would typical order from the restaurants you're interested in, factor in snacks and waters too) and compare what that would be against the dining plans price. You may be surprised.

 

[DarthVader]

I was a big believer in it, especially when my kids were younger but now that they're adults, i.e., 10 years old. I re-looked at the cost.

What I found invaluable was these two links
http://www.distripplanner.com and the spreadsheet found here: http://seeyareelsoon.wix.com/seeyareelsoon#!dining-plan-calculator/cxc0

The latter link is very helpful and while the costs are estimates they're close enough to reality that I was spending anywhere about 400 dollars more with the dinner plan then without.

Perhaps if I wasn't forced to purchase the adult dinner plan for my 10 year olds I could make the DDP work but not this time.

 

[MickeyMomV]

I was a big believer in it, especially when my kids were younger but now that they're adults, i.e., 10 years old. I re-looked at the cost.

This is the only thing about the dining plan that bothers me. My son is now 11 and for our trip in February we had to add the adult plan for him. He did think it was cool as we let him get anything he wanted on the menu which at Le Cellier and The Yachtsman meant the Filet Mignon. He thought it was awesome and since we had the plan we did not care.

The only thing I will say about not getting the plan is don't get caught in the QS rut. Some people only get "value" if they are eating a kiddy meal sitting on a bench or curb eating the hotdog, burger, or nuggets. Enjoy the restaurant experience that Disney offers. Out of the estimated 148 restaurants on property we have been to about 63 of them. Each one offers an experience that is different and unique. Don't get stuck going to the same QS location every time you are in the park because that is where you find "value".

 

[DarthVader]

I will say about not getting the plan is don't get caught in the QS rut

I totally understand what you're getting at, and sometimes a good sit down meal is in order. For us, we're not going to be living off the QS meals morning/noon/night, but we are picking and choosing where we eat. You can also find healthy QS meals as well, so the kids are not eating burgers and fries every day, every meal either.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I find the dining plan to be completely inconvenient, because you have to line up your dining habits exactly with what the plan offers. Let's say you're going for a week. If you would normally get exactly seven quick-service meals (with desert), exactly seven table-service meals (with desert), and exactly seven snacks over the course of your week, then go for the DDP. If you would normally do five, six, and nine, then you're out of luck. I find it to be much more of a hassle trying to manage my credits, which can only be used for certain things, than to just bring cash or gift cards and get what I feel like on a given day. In addition to the structure that doesn't work for me, I don't like paying for desert when I would normally rarely order one. When I've done DDP, I technically came out "ahead" of what the menu price would have been for everything I got, but 75% of my deserts went uneaten. One thing they've done to remedy this is I believe you can now get something like a bottled water as your desert at a QS meal, but YMMV.

You can also find healthy QS meals as well, so the kids are not eating burgers and fries every day, every meal either.

Absolutely. The misconception that "quick service" means "burger and fries" is misguided. There are a number of different and fantastic options in every single park. I usually get a hot dog at Casey's once per trip, but I can't remember the last time I had a QS burger at WDW.

 

[MickeyMomV]

I find the dining plan to be completely inconvenient, because you have to line up your dining habits exactly with what the plan offers. .

It sounds like its Table service you find inconvenient and not the DDP. Regardless if you have the DDP or not you need to plan all of your TS meals, make the reservations, and plan around them. With the increased traffic and new reservation sites the days of walking up to any TS location and just getting a table are almost gone. I don't know how many times on our last trip I seen people walk up between 6:00 and 7:00 to the podium only to get told the restaurant is booked for the rest of the night.

We never eat all of our deserts either but we each get a different one and give them all a try. Again its all part of the dining experience.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It sounds like its Table service you find inconvenient and not the DDP. Regardless if you have the DDP or not you need to plan all of your TS meals, make the reservations, and plan around them. With the increased traffic and new reservation sites the days of walking up to any TS location and just getting a table are almost gone. I don't know how many times on our last trip I seen people walk up between 6:00 and 7:00 to the podium only to get told the restaurant is booked for the rest of the night.

You misunderstand. I don't object to planning in advance. I have all my ADRs booked for my January 2016 trip, and I'm happy to have them. What I don't like that's specific to the DDP is lack of flexibility with how many of each type of meal I eat. I'm going for seven nights, but there's a chance I might want to do ten table service meals. There's a chance I might only want to do five. I might want to eat four snacks and no formal "meal" one day. I have no problem planning that stuff in advance from an ADR perspective, I just want to be able to choose exactly what I want rather than pay for more or less. So yes, I have to plan my table service meals regardless of the DDP. But the DDP forces me to plan a specific number of them. Maybe it's more than I want and I'm paying for something I wont use. Maybe it's less than I want and I end up paying for things out of pocket anyways.

We never eat all of our deserts either but we each get a different one and give them all a try. Again its all part of the dining experience.

See, to me that's not "part of the dining experience." That's "flushing money down the toilet." It also speaks to the convenience argument I made before. If I want to share an appetizer and a desert with my wife, that option is taken away from me on the DDP because I've already paid for two deserts. I could pay for the app out of pocket, but then I'll be much to full to enjoy those deserts.

 

[dreamfinder]

Do the math. That's the only way to look at it. If your eating habits eat to the plan, and you make the numbers work then it's worth it. Some people are happy eating dessert with every CS meal, and always ordering an entree at a TS meal. Personally we have never purchased a dessert with a CS meal, and sometimes eat appetizers for dinner instead of an entree. Things like that don't work out well with the dining plan as you end up with food you don't need or want.