Dining plan addict deciding to go without for the first time

[GillianP1301]

I will start by saying I love the Disney dining plan and I have never not used it in the last 7 annual trips I've been on. I have had free dining each of those trips and most times I have upgraded to the deluxe plan. Because my son was under 10 and we were able to take advantage of him being able to order adult meals as a child, we have always more than gotten our money's worth. Last year, he was 10 and I still had the free dining (regular plan), but I did not upgrade to deluxe because I was better off paying OOP for our extra TS meals.

Fast forward to this year and for the first time, I was able to save a few hundred dollars more than the bounceback free dining by taking advantage of the room discount offer w/CDN ticket discount even with purchasing the regular dining plan outright. Once I started planning my meals (we do 2, sometimes 3 TS a day), I decided to up to paying for the deluxe plan. I ran the numbers again and I will be very close to breaking even financially. So, I made the decision to just drop the dining plan all together. I have no intention of changing my plans for how many meals (I still have 30 credits worth on my 10 night trip), but I'm really curious to see how the $ works out. I figure at worst, I will spend OOP what I was going to spend on the dining plan, but there is a possibility I may spend less because I can see that I will likely forego either an appetizer or dessert for many of the meals. I also don't always have the alcoholic beverage with my meal and of course my son doesn't either. I'm not overly concerned about the per-pay aspect because I will just keep the money I save in my account until after the trip rather than paying it out 30 days ahead of time.

I'm not posting this to be anti-dining plan, I still feel there can be a lot of advantages depending on the individual situation. I guess I'm posting mostly for some reassurance that I won't regret the decision, it's a tough crutch to throw away. I will definitely keep close tabs on everything I spend and see how it all works out in the end. Wish me luck!

 

[sharonabe]

I think you'll be happily surprised at how much you save. Just don't talk yourself into ordering the lesser expensive options; eat what you WANT to eat. Maybe even enjoy a couple apps instead of an entree. The freedom can be just as addictive!

Start doing some research on snacks that are NOT on the DDP that you may have missed in the past like the nutella waffle at Sleepy Hollow, refillable popcorn bucket, the $7 shake you can get from the lounge at 50s prime time, the GIANT pretzel in Germany. With all the meals, you won't need too many snacks, but splurging on some you haven't had in the past can be fun.

 

[Magical2017]

We have never spent more money on food when we skip the DDP. We do use it as a guide to help budget, and consider tips. There is always money leftover that can be spent on souvenirs. We eat what we want, when we want. If we did a lot of character meals then we would probably not come out ahead. The only one our boys want to go to is TH breakfast.

 

[SomDayMyPrnceWillCom]

I went without the dining plan for the first time on our spring break trip last year. The way my family eats, the dining plan works for us. I came out about even on the last trip but realized I tended to order less expensive things or skip things I normally would have gotten on the dining plan. I've done the regular dining plan as well as the Deluxe and I prefer the Deluxe but depending on my budget for that trip decides what I go with. I'll stick to the dining plan on my trips from now on though. I wish you luck and hope it goes great for your trip!

 

[Moliphino]

Start doing some research on snacks that are NOT on the DDP that you may have missed in the past like the nutella waffle at Sleepy Hollow, refillable popcorn bucket, the $7 shake you can get from the lounge at 50s prime time, the GIANT pretzel in Germany. With all the meals, you won't need too many snacks, but splurging on some you haven't had in the past can be fun.

We'll be without the dining plan for the first time in ages on our next trip and I'm excited to eat ALL the non-DDP eligible things. Nutella waffles, lounge food, I'm so ready. I'm also excited to not be completely stuffed to the gills at all times. The DDP is really too much food for me, but the free dining deals have usually been the best discount for us.