Convince me to get the Dining Plan?

[xchelsearae]

Of all my trips to WDW I have never purchased the DDP. Never found it to be worth it and always felt like it just wasn't as flexible as I'd like it to be. Typically I prefer to grab-and-go for breakfast (parfaits, bagels, etc.), do counter-service for lunch, and table service for dinner... though not always.

The BF and I are starting to think about a 2016 trip and his mom absolutely insists that the DDP is the way to go.

I know it's a hot topic and the right answer is probably different for everyone, but I can't help but wonder if I'm missing out on something great.

So my question is this, what sells you on the dining plan? Is it convenience, value, or something else entirely?

 

[SnipsNSnails]

The regular plan would work just fine for you then. You can use the snack credit for grab and go bf, QS lunch, and TS dinner. You aren't bound to that. You can use two QS meals in one day and two TS another or do a signature. We generally travel with a larger group and we often share QS meals so we aren't over stuffed, save dessert for later or even breakfast etc. We didn't pay for a single food item OOP, never were hungry, and had a few snacks at the end for cookies to take on the plane. We also didn't keep exact track of what everyone used in the group. If you wanted a snack you got it and since we had some left over, it wasn't an issue for anyone. It's probable that the kids might have used more than their "share" of the snacks but grandma and grandpa don't care, everyone got what they wanted so there was no use adding extra stress over obsessively marking everything down.

In the end it is a convenience thing for us more than that it saves money. I'm not sure if it does or not, but we do like having the sodas included and dessert included as it fits with the way we enjoy vacationing but maybe wouldn't do so if it wasn't prepaid. We don't tend to eat in expensive restaurants in our day to day life. Yes, we order soda, rarely dessert, but for a normal meal out, we can feed our family of four for one of the most expensive entrees on most of the Disney menus. Somehow the price isn't as hard to swallow when forking it over up front then when staring at the menu.

You really won't know unless you try it. If you hate it, you don't have to ever do it again, but you might really like it.

 

[preemiemama]

There seems to be a “break even” point where the amount you would spend in a typical day turns out to be more than what you are paying on the dining plan. Look on a couple of planning sites (allears, easywdw, etc.) for the menus of where you want to eat and see if this would be the case for you. It really seems to be an individual thing...

I believe you could do a bagel/muffin as a snack credit for breakfast (and the refillable mug at the resort for a drink), counter service for lunch (include dessert and drink in the price- they are included on DDP), and do the same for dinner. If you are not a big dessert person, or you prefer appetizers, it may not be the most cost-effective. If you would, and you are eating at more table service than character buffets, then it might save you a little bit of money.

We typically do the DDP. Mostly because we WILL use the snack credits (often for breakfast) and the refillable mug when we are around the resort for break or at night, eat a lot at restaurants in the countries in Epcot vs. buffets, and do like to try the desserts. For us, it saves money and keeps us from arguing over money in the restaurants. We order whatever we want to eat- we already paid for it!

 

[Figmentmommy]

Of all my trips to WDW I have never purchased the DDP. Never found it to be worth it and always felt like it just wasn't as flexible as I'd like it to be. Typically I prefer to grab-and-go for breakfast (parfaits, bagels, etc.), do counter-service for lunch, and table service for dinner... though not always.

The BF and I are starting to think about a 2016 trip and his mom absolutely insists that the DDP is the way to go.

I know it's a hot topic and the right answer is probably different for everyone, but I can't help but wonder if I'm missing out on something great.

So my question is this, what sells you on the dining plan? Is it convenience, value, or something else entirely?

Based upon the eating style you mentioned, you sound like the perfect person for the dining plan. The regular Disney Dining Plan has 1 TS, 1QS, 1 Snack per night you stay. You could easily use a Snack credit for a grab n go breakfast and then enjoy your QS & TS for your other meals.

My family often uses the regular Dining Plan. We find it very convenient and like the way it frees us up from worrying about the cost of each individual meal. That being said, my 2 boys- now 12 & 10 are adventurous ( and big ) eaters. We also usually get this under the Free Dining promotion which is a huge value for us. We have only ever paid for the plan back in 2006- what a bargain then with appetizer and gratuity included too! On our tip last month I was amazed at how many QS entrees - before a drink & dessert were priced around $13-15. I could easily spend $50-$60 dollars for our family of 4. If you like to eat or try new restaurants then I think it's worth it.
Happy planning!

 

[disney is my life]

We've gotten the dining plan on every trip except for our first one. Usually it is because it saves us money. For our next trip I calculated the price of the dining plan for our family and then used the menus on allears.com to figure out how much it would cost for the meals we wants. When we broke even we still had 1 counter service meal left and all of our snacks so for us it just made sense to get the dining plan.

 

[sharonabe]

Can you ask her why she thinks the DDP is the way to go? She may just like the all inclusive feel it gives her, and if that isn't you, then it isn't the way to go for you.

With just two adults and no children, it will be difficult to save money on the plan. You CAN save money, but you'll need to do the planning to be sure you are eating at high end TS and QS. You need to WANT both desserts at EVERY meal. You need to WANT soda/coffee/tea at every meal. If you use your snack every morning for breakfast, you won't have snack credits for things at the park. We typically bring our own grab n go breakfast items and eat in the room while getting ready so we can save snack credits for more yummy things at the parks.

 

[Guatemommy]

We like a lot of the character dinners and they tend to be the more expensive TS meals so the dining plan works for us. We had Free dining in 2010 and that was great. I had calculated every penny we spent and even if we had paid for the plan, we still saved about $183.

For our upcoming trip, I kept changing my mind about it, but DD wanted 5 specific TS meals with characters and when I calculated what we would spend on those alone if out of pocket, it seemed better to just get the DDP. We were able to get a stay, play, dine deal so that sealed the deal again for us. Last time we supplemented with garden grocer delivery. This time we decided to just forego that and try paying OOp for the few things not on the plan. I do plan to bring some cereal, protein bars, etc to cut down on bfast expenses. Plus, a kids meal bfast is more than enough for me so I dont think we will even spend OOP as much as we did on GG the lst time.

I think you should try it - once wont kill you and you may enjoy it. For me, it is a treat as I dont have to worry about the cot of entrees, you can have a big steak every night if you want, etc. Plus having a desseet with every meal is a treat too! You can get creative with things so you have food for later too. Often soups are only a snack!

 

[NicoleLarson]

I think it completely depends on what TS meals you plan to eat and what types of food you like to eat. If it's more buffets or AYCE, if you really like steak at every meal, and you like dessert at every meal then yes it will probably be a good value to you. However, if you eat vegetarian, prefer chicken dishes and don't like buffets, and dessert at each meal then it will most likely not be a good value for you. I think a lot of the people that believe the plan is a great value are the same people that got it 5 years ago when the same plan minus the mug was $40. we took 6 trips this year and only one time did it make sense for us and we do almost all character meals. You could always add up what the dining plan would cost you and put it on a gift card. Any extra you would have you can buy whatever you want.

 

[Barbanellie]

When our group of 6 (adults only) were debating DDP or not, my brother introduced us to the Return on Investment (ROI) vs. Return on Happiness (ROH) concept. ROI is when you save money, ROH is whatever makes you happier, and we plan our vacations to be VERY happy. If the DDP doesn't save you any money (or you break even), but having it all paid in advance, not thinking about it makes you happier, than ROH is high and means DDP is good for you, whereas if the limitations of the DDP (always dessert, no appetizers, no alcoholic drinks, etc.) put a wrench into your vacation plans, than ROH is too low to warrant DDP.

FYI, for us, we opted not to go with the DDP in the end (and believe me, there were a LOT of calculations using menus online, and arguments and discussions! ). We actually paid less than if we'd used the DDP (so a good ROI), and we were happy, always ordering what we wanted (appetizers, desserts, drinks. So also a very good ROH!). That worked out for us, but doesn't mean it'll be the case for every family.

 

[WDWFanForLife]

Of all my trips to WDW I have never purchased the DDP. Never found it to be worth it and always felt like it just wasn't as flexible as I'd like it to be. Typically I prefer to grab-and-go for breakfast (parfaits, bagels, etc.), do counter-service for lunch, and table service for dinner... though not always.

The BF and I are starting to think about a 2016 trip and his mom absolutely insists that the DDP is the way to go.

I know it's a hot topic and the right answer is probably different for everyone, but I can't help but wonder if I'm missing out on something great.

So my question is this, what sells you on the dining plan? Is it convenience, value, or something else entirely?

It is true that it's good for some and not good for others. I'm curious if your BF's mom has used the DDP in the past few years. If not, she may be surprised to see how much it has changed. For example, 10 years ago the DDP included appetizer, entrée, dessert, non-alcoholic beverages and gratuity. Yes, I did say gratuity! You truly had to pay nothing when you went to the restaurant. Then they began taking things away. First it was gratuity (except for dinner shows), then it was appetizers, then several locations began opting out of the program, then they started increasing the cost of the plan based on the time of year you visit (holidays and summer were more expensive), etc.

Keep in mind, 10 years ago the DDP cost approximately $35-$40 per adult per day for the basic DP (1 snack, 1 QS, 1 TS) and now it can cost $60+ per adult per day. You pretty much have to get the most expensive entrée and dessert for every TS meal to have a chance of breaking even.

It also depends on how you like to eat. Are you a dessert person? Do you sometimes like to just get appetizers instead of an entrée? Do you drink alcoholic beverages?

I know that this does not really sound like a response from someone who is sold on the DDP, but at one time my DH and I were sold on it and we would get the DDP for every trip. Unfortunately, though, at some point it began not to make sense for us. We now use TIW. It covers most TS restaurants and is a straight 20% discount off your entire bill, including alcoholic beverages. (However, I believe the only QS locations you can use TIW at are the resort food courts.) If that is something that is available to you (if you are FL resident, DVC, Annual Passholder), I would strongly suggest that option.

Otherwise, I would really take a look at the menus for the restaurants you plan to eat at and see what you might order, add up the cost, and see how the numbers work out for you.

Hope this is helpful! Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

I'll never buy the DDP again, but will take it if included. For me, I don't like the inflexibility of no appetizer, and having a soft drink and dessert included - most of the time not eating them.

We prefer the flexibility of ordering an appetizer sometimes. We always drink water and rarely a desert.....and feel much better not having to crawl out of the restaurant having stuffed our faces because we didn't want to leave food behind that we already "paid for"

 

[cammieanne]

In all of our (nearly 20) trips to DW, we have never purchased the DP. I'm just wondering what people do with the food they don't eat? Do they box up those desserts and leftovers and carry them around the park all day?

 

[Ldynred812]

Regarding dessert leftovers- We rarely have any. HOWEVER, we have 2 adults and one Disney adult plus 2 other kids. So, 5 total with 3 desserts. We all just split them. I will say we took the chocolate chip cookies from Pizza Planet and ate them later...they were amazing!! And at a few places you can get a fruit cup or yogurt for dessert. We never felt like we were going overboard with sweets. We will be doing the QS plan again in July!! So convenient and I don't feel like I have to order the cheapest thing on the menu just to save a buck or two.

Kecia

 

[lyndeah]

It depends on your family. For us it definitely saves money! My family needs 3 a day for sure and at least 1 needs to be a sit down meal. The first time we went what I did was pull up menus from a few random places and add up what it would cost for us to eat there as well as pick 7 quick service and add them up. It has always been cheaper for us to do meal plan. Yes it is a bit inconvenient at times because we have to stick to a schedule (make ADR's) but if you go when its busy its hard to get into the sit down restaurants without a reservation anyway

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I recommend the dining plan for those looking to save money only if: 1) they have children under 10 and they want lots of character meals, buffets or AYCE restaurants (regular plan) or 2) they want to have meals each day consisting of a TS breakfast/lunch and a signature (2 credit) dinner (deluxe plan). I don't recommend the quick service plan at any time. If all you really want is the "carefree" feeling you may get from having the meals prepaid, and it doesn't matter to you if you make back the money you put in or not, then pick the plan that will suit your schedules and dining preferences best and go for it.

 

[worm761]

Are you staying in the same room as his mother? If not, just don't buy the plan for your room.

At first, I loved the DDP. It saved me money and DH the heart attack of Disney prices. But, as they have chipped away at what you get, I am no longer saving any money and am easily losing value. I am not a dessert person. Neither is DH. We are more appetizer type people. So I would have to pay for those beyond the cost of the DDP. I just did the math for our upcoming trip. I did paying out of pocket, TIW, DDP and DxDDP. TIW wins from OOP by a small margine. DDP and DxDDP would cost an additional $500-800 in additional items (F&W and alcohol).

 

[ltullos83]

My wife and I really like the DDP. We are going to WDW in October for the first time since 2010 but it's so nice to have one last thing to budget while we are actually there, and we get to eat pretty much what we want! There's actually a lot more flexibility to the plan than what meets the eye. I think that it's a fantastic value consider all of the options that it provides.

 

[daynaw28]

This is our 1st trip and I will say I am slightly already convinced it is a great thing for our family of 3. Though I would be thrilled to go again and get the free dining, I still feel like having it included in the price makes it feel like free dining while your on vacation. We are planning on ordering from Garden Grocer for breakfast items not only to save cost and "credits", but time too! I didn't look at menus to see pricing, because I am not always sure what I will want that day, even though I know some of the places I am already going to be experimenting new things! I think the dining plan is just part of the experience.

 

[ChloeH]

I agree with the poster who said it can be easier to pay at the beginning and then just use the credits. We travel in a large group of between 9 and 11. It can be hard to swallow handing over $400 for a buffet meal. Much less painful to hand over the credits and just mentally roll the cost into the cost of the trip altogether! That said, we really don't eat enough to make it worth the cost. Dessert at lunch and dinner is too much for us and my nieces enjoy getting salads sometimes as the meal. So it really depends on how you eat!

 

[Missytara]

Are you staying in the same room as his mother? If not, just don't buy the plan for your room.

The mother is not going, just the two of them. The mother is just the one that is telling them that the DDP is the only way to go.

There was a previous post that gave a lot of good feedback regarding this aspect - like she may have gone a long time ago and it was much less that it is now, she may just prefer the "all-inclusive" feeling, etc.