Dining cost without Dining Plan for 5 nights

[Pumbaa_]

https://wdwinfo.com/disney-dining-plan.htm
here you go

 

[Pumbaa_]

I also don’t trust any of the calculators to be accurate

 

[sethschroeder]

I don’t agree w this statement.

The dining plan might save you money but it's not designed to save the majority of people money. If the dining plan saved most people money they would raise the price or eliminate it.

You have to eat so Disney knows they have most people buying food from them regardless.

Another genius move is free dining during slow times to get positive reviews of the dining plan and then the majority of the year most people buy it on recommendations from people who got it for free.

I bought it last trip for F+W and liked it as my parents didn't track the price as much. That being said we still spent more and that was during a festival where we could use our snack credits at booths.

Might get dining plan again but it's more so about not even thinking about menu prices and knowing it will end up costing more than if we paid out of pocket.

 

[sethschroeder]

https://wdwinfo.com/disney-dining-plan.htm
here you go

First link at this link is the best thing for putting together your own calculation.

I would also make sure to account for ease of mind as a benefit even if the dining plan is a little more money. Not worrying about prices of meal is nice on vacation.

 

[sharonabe]

How much is the Disney Dining Plan for 2020? One website says $78.02 per person per night which would be $936.12 for my upcoming trip; yet, the DDP Calculator said the cost for my dates/party is $905.88. I plan on following the advice given above to calculate the costs manually, but I need to know how much the DDP costs before I can do that.

Looks like the calculator hasn't been updated to 2020 prices yet. All the more reason to do the math yourself.

 

[Nancyg56]

The dining plan might save you money but it's not designed to save the majority of people money. If the dining plan saved most people money they would raise the price or eliminate it.

You have to eat so Disney knows they have most people buying food from them regardless.

Another genius move is free dining during slow times to get positive reviews of the dining plan and then the majority of the year most people buy it on recommendations from people who got it for free.

I bought it last trip for F+W and liked it as my parents didn't track the price as much. That being said we still spent more and that was during a festival where we could use our snack credits at booths.

Might get dining plan again but it's more so about not even thinking about menu prices and knowing it will end up costing more than if we paid out of pocket.

It is what it is, and it is not for every family. Disney made changes in the plans a few years ago, adding alcohol, swapping out the CS dessert for a snack, and allowing people to share credits with those not on the plan. I believe the changes made the plans more equitable in terms of value for many. This does not mean buying a plan is a no brainer, it means that if your family's dining habits mirror a specific plan, it may be a value for you. If not, it is not.

The problem I have with blanket statements about plan value is that there has been no thought behind them. No probing to determine what meals have been planned, no discussion about snack or alcohol consumption, no questions about how or if family members would use the refillable mugs, Just a pronouncement that it is next to impossible to save money.

Free dining is a sale, just as room only discounts are sales. What is a value to one family may not be a savings to another. Once again questions must be asked to see what promotion works best, and most often you need to do some math. You need to know what the family would have booked for a package, and you need to know how many people are in the group.

My family bought the plan in December, and my girls who said they do not eat much, ate like there was no tomorrow. They used the refillable mug several times a day, as did my sister and I. We all used our snack credits for breakfast pastries, breakfast sandwiches, desserts options with tea before bed, and Starbucks venti refreshers. Between character meals, a signature restaurant, a parade package, and several conventional dinners, the credits were well used, and food consumed. The only thing that was different for us as a group is that we did not share desserts, and that was the only thing that boosted the gratuity. Everything else was what we normally would have purchased.
If your family would only use a plan for convenience, then why buy it? Put your money on a prepaid debit card or gift card and use it like you would your MB for meals and snacks. If it is true that the cost is more than your family would spend per day, put that amount on a card and just use that, and know your meals are paid for, just as if you had a plan in place. Frankly, I would still do some math to know for sure what would make the most sense, but I woudl never arbitrarily buy a plan just for convenience.

 

[msec]

When we vacation at Disney as a family - My spouse and I pay for the entire trip for both ourselves and young adult kids (early 20's). That being said - we have done trips with the dining plan and without (our dates never seem to coincide with the free dining dates so we always pay for the dining plan out of packet )

We have tracked our dining and snack receipts when paying out of packet to see if we would have been better off just doing the dining plan in the first place - and to be honest - it's almost always petty much a wash for us - so it doesn't really save or cost much doing the dining plan for us - the main reason we will do the dining plan is for the convenience. I love that it is all paid for before we go (except for tips) and we don't need to concern ourselves with the cost of food once there. The even bigger reason is that many times the kids will go off on their own and I don't need to be concerned about $$ for food/snacks for them. I find that when we don't have the dining plan - and if they are going off on their own they don't really eat - even if I gave them $$ or told them to use their magic bands to charge the meal /snacks to the room - it's very weird. I have asked them about it and they just say when they physically pay with $$ or charge it t the room - they cringe at the prices so they get the bare minimum ( I guess that's what living on your own at college does to you - lol!)

So for me - If the 4 of us are going - I like to get the dining plan so that I know no one is obsessing about the food/snack/drink prices and just enjoy themselves. It is also a blessing when dining with a group - many times we will meet up with my brother and his family and go to lunch/dinner etc - and being on the dining plan - one needs to worry about what they oder and who pays for what (you know the awkward few seconds when the bill is placed on the table - do you split it down the middle ??- but gee - they ordered appetizers, entrees, desserts and alcoholic drinks for 6 people and we are a group of 4 and only ordered entries and soft drinks

When it's just myself and husband going - we skip the dining plan and just pay out of pocket as we tend to order less food for 2 us than when the 4 of us go. I think its' because when the 4 of us go - the kids are always excited about going to a TS restaurant in Disney so we dine 'better' when they go - it's a treat because we don't get an opportunity to dine out at a restaurant with them too often when back at home in our normal routine - getting both kids free on same day is tricky (between work and school) so when I get them both for an extended length of time - we like to make the most of it and really enjoy ourselves.

So for us - it usually comes down to the type of trip - if it is for just me and DH - we usually just pay out of packet but if is a family trip - then usually we opt for the dining plan ..

If we do take a family trip and decide to pay out of pocket - I usually budget about $100 per adult per day - if my daughter is going - she likes to order a drink with dinner and will usually get a drink while in the parks - so for her I budget around $125 day.

Hope this helps!!

 

[kapu]

We are going in June and OF COURSE I booked it before the free dining came out. I can't change the airline tickets, so I calculated what I would eat by looking at the menus I would use that day. I don't drink alcohol and don't plan to buy pop. I also left a lot of food on my plate when I went last year. So I know for sure I will buy child portions this time which is way cheaper. Therefore the dining plan won't work for me. My husband of course will eat a horse, so he is perfectly fine buying his adult meal separately. I found that I was eating meals/snacks I didn't want on the DDP because I felt like I *had* to get it or it would have been a waste of money.

So your best bet is to use the Disney menus and add up what you buy each day. Then weigh that against the cost of the DDP.

 

[Pumbaa_]

As I always say, it is a math exercise

all Dining calculators are set up based on average prices and make broad assumptions. The ONLY way to know if it works for you is to do the work. (Or make your kid do it as a vacation homework assignment)

 

[Heather07438]

If you're already planning to spend on buffets, alcohol, festival booths, etc... then DDP can get you a bigger bang for your buck. Kind of like a bonus that ups your WDW food game to try more of the best stuff without distraction of costs. DDP is fun to use.

If I'm spending $70/day avg regardless then $78 DDP could get me a whole lot more, like a $60 TS buffet with $10-15 drink, $30 BoG QS breakfast w/ $10 drink, 2 snacks at $12 (plus refill mug lol). Well over $100, but other days might total $80 or less.

Most people wouldn't spend near as much out of pocket but WDW is expensive and adds up quick. If your estimate is close to DDP cost then I would get it. And go all out enjoying the things that usually make my wallet sad.

Tip- Save some snack credits for Epcot food booths in place of a using meal credit.

 

[CalSea12]

I don’t agree w this statement. It had gotten to where it was difficult to break even. With the changes made, it is much easier to make the plan work for many.

Adding alcohol. This was a huge game changer, imho. W a cocktail around $12-14, that bumped the credit value up for many. Being able to share dxdp credits was the other.

It is still a math exercise, but it is a very good value for many.

I dont agree with it either. Every trip we get the DXDP and save around 7 to 8 hundred each time. I really think it depends on how each family eats. Like for us we eat 3 table service meals a day... mostly buffets and ayce which add up. So that 119 or whatever we pay per day for the dining plan is. nothing compared to the 150 plus we actually get out of it.

 

[BobbyDukes]

I don’t agree w this statement. It had gotten to where it was difficult to break even. With the changes made, it is much easier to make the plan work for many.

Adding alcohol. This was a huge game changer, imho. W a cocktail around $12-14, that bumped the credit value up for many. Being able to share dxdp credits was the other.

It is still a math exercise, but it is a very good value for many.

ONE hundred percent agree with you. The addition of an alcoholic beverage really makes the DDP a little more appealing in my wifes and mine eyes. We did the math one year, saved every receipt, and we roughly broke even with out of pocket spending more. However the kids were younger and ate less food.

 

[RamieGee]

As far as those who say the Dining Plan doesn't save you money, possibly not true for those who consider Character Meals and Shows as part of their total Disney World experience (I do. I want the magic and fun to be weaved throughout, and have it be very different from restaurants at home).

For example, the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan for 6 nights/7 days (18 credits) would cost one adult $119 X 6 = $714. Assuming you'd reasonably eat 2 meals a day on your full days, and 1 meal a day on your arrival departure days, that's 12 meals you'd need to account for.

2 meals a day doesn't seem excessive. If we only ate 1 meal a day my kids would be saying, "When is [insert meal here]?"

The below example is in NO WAY maximizing the plan, because there are a lot of 2 credit meals in here. This is just a selection of character and "fun" meals (and a few convenience meals).

If you don't drink, the alcohol might seem excessive, but it's only 6 drinks over the course of a week's stay, so also not unreasonable.

The below plan is $678 out of pocket - 95% of what the Disney Dining Plan would cost (easily could be 100% of the plan cost depending on specific choice of meals or drinks - I've skipped alcohol on many of the breakfasts and lunches).

BUT...it still leaves you with an ADDITIONAL 3 meal credits PLUS 12 snack credits (worth $50+) PLUS refillable mug ($19.99 value). All of these essentially become freebies for being on the plan. I could easily use the 2 snack credits a day on Starbucks even if I wasn't hungry for snacks. And 2 of the 3 extra meals could be an additional indulgent signature dining experience or just used for quick serve on the go if there's no more room for dining on the schedule.

Crystal Palace Breakfast Buffet (1 credit) = $41
Trattoria al Forno Breakfast Buffet (1 credit) = $44
Hollywood & Vine Breakfast Buffet (1 credit) = $41
Cape May Cafe Breakfast Buffet (1 Credit) = $41 + $10 Mimosa = $51

Cinderella's Royal Table Lunch Pre Fixe (2 credits) $75 meal + $12 Wine = $87
Tusker House Lunch Buffet (1 credit) $54
Biergarten Restaurant Lunch Buffet (1 Credit) $46 meal + $13 Beer = $59
The Plaza Lunch, Starter Salad + Entree (1 Credit) = $29

Be Our Guest Dinner Pre Fixe (2 credits) $62 meal + $13 Wine = $75
Hoop de Doo Review Dinner Family Style (2 Credits) = $72
O'hana Dinner Family Style (1 Credit) = $54 meal plus $13 Polynesian Mai Tai = $67
Ale & Compass Dinner, Entree + Appetizer + Dessert (1 Credit) = $45 meal + $13 Wine = $58

 

[tuckymom]

^^If you want to make sure its right, go under your plans on WDW website and add the meal plan but don't confirm. You new total cost will be there.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Here is the price of the dining plans and what is included

https://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-dining-plan.htm