Dining plan worth the value?!?!?!?!

[Disneylover1970]

Last trip we had 36 snacks to take home, we had the Quick/Counter Plan. I used the calculator and it’s cheaper for us to OOP. I figured it with 1/2 Counter meals and 1/2 table and only one snack a day.

 

[waltdisfam4]

My family of 4 paid out-of-pocket on this trip and we ended up spending about $800-$900 less than the Disney dining plan would’ve been. I have two teenagers & they didn’t want to go to character meals so that probably kept the cost down. I spent a lot of time working on the calculations prior to our trip and decided that paying out-of-pocket would be a good choice for us. Surprisingly, we spent even less than I had expected! It turned out that we spent a lot of time at the parks and my teens usually preferred to have counter service meals! Many of the meals that I had planned such as California Grill, rose and crown, and Cape May Café were canceled several days prior because the kids decided that they didn’t want to eat at those places & wished to hang out at the parks or the pool instead. I made sure to include our Safeway groceries and also the 4 refillable mugs in my final OOP calculations to be certain I was comparing with fidelity. Final OOP for 8 days for our family of 4 (including tax, tips, 4 refillable mugs, and our Safeway grocery delivery) was a little over $1,400. The dining plan would’ve cost almost $2117 plus the tip for all tableservice restaurants.

 

[Arielfan98]

My family has done the dining plan for most of our traditional trips. Our budget/last minute trips obviously not. Yes, it is true you will save $$ not doing the dp, but you will be inconvenienced in some ways and may miss out on food opportunities. My family is filled with foodies. We love eating more expensive and exquisite cuisine, so for us the dp is worth every penny. Now, if you're the family who prefers a granola bar for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and maybe 1 ts then no probably not. For us eating is apart of the Disney vacation, which I think changes the overall value of the dp. It's all how you look at it.

 

[mousefan73]

For me it was worth the "value" when we used our TS for character or resort buffets. Thanks to the DP that we got with FDing, we were able to enjoy, Boma, Ohana, Chef Mickesy, etc... I think we did all the charater and WDW buffets., here the average costs is over 50 per person.. Also we spread the Nigts over days.... ex. 5 night plan lasts 6 days when you include checkin and out..

for me paying for the DP would only make sense if you do such dinners... A kona sit down averages between 20-30 meal.. So your OOP is also lower..

Please keep in mind having the DP forces you to enjoy more TS and more expensive meals.. meaning add-on about 30-40 dollars in tips for a family of 4 at a character meal. With a DP, you do such meals every day.... that adds up..

We no longer "need" the DP and feel "FREE" not doing it,, saving on tips, more time for parkts as each TS was a min. of 2 hours a day for that ressier.. Some days we only do QS or snacks... our OOP is cheaper..

My suggestion a family doing WDW the first time, it might make sense as then you try all the buffertts, character dining... We have been there and done that.

 

[waltdisfam4]

For me it was worth the "value" when we used our TS for character or resort buffets. Thanks to the DP that we got with FDing, we were able to enjoy, Boma, Ohana, Chef Mickesy, etc... I think we did all the charater and WDW buffets., here the average costs is over 50 per person.. Also we spread the Nigts over days.... ex. 5 night plan lasts 6 days when you include checkin and out..

for me paying for the DP would only make sense if you do such dinners... A kona sit down averages between 20-30 meal.. So your OOP is also lower..

Please keep in mind having the DP forces you to enjoy more TS and more expensive meals.. meaning add-on about 30-40 dollars in tips for a family of 4 at a character meal. With a DP, you do such meals every day.... that adds up..

We no longer "need" the DP and feel "FREE" not doing it,, saving on tips, more time for parkts as each TS was a min. of 2 hours a day for that ressier.. Some days we only do QS or snacks... our OOP is cheaper..

My suggestion a family doing WDW the first time, it might make sense as then you try all the buffertts, character dining... We have been there and done that.

For me it was worth the "value" when we used our TS for character or resort buffets. Thanks to the DP that we got with FDing, we were able to enjoy, Boma, Ohana, Chef Mickesy, etc... I think we did all the charater and WDW buffets., here the average costs is over 50 per person.. Also we spread the Nigts over days.... ex. 5 night plan lasts 6 days when you include checkin and out..

for me paying for the DP would only make sense if you do such dinners... A kona sit down averages between 20-30 meal.. So your OOP is also lower..

Please keep in mind having the DP forces you to enjoy more TS and more expensive meals.. meaning add-on about 30-40 dollars in tips for a family of 4 at a character meal. With a DP, you do such meals every day.... that adds up..

We no longer "need" the DP and feel "FREE" not doing it,, saving on tips, more time for parkts as each TS was a min. of 2 hours a day for that ressier.. Some days we only do QS or snacks... our OOP is cheaper..

My suggestion a family doing WDW the first time, it might make sense as then you try all the buffertts, character dining... We have been there and done that.

At this point, for my family, I absolutely agree with this. Last week, was our first trip without the dining plan, but we have had 5 trips using the dining plan when the kids were younger. Free Dining promos were more frequently offered, and an incredible value, when my kiddos were little. Some of these trips were way back when the DDP included tip & appetizer too! We have, likely, seen most all of the character meals and many other fun WDW restaurants: 1900 Park Fare, Chef Mickey's (several times), Ohana b'fast, O'hana dinner (several times), Kona, Cinderella's Royal Table (breakfast and lunch), Liberty Tree Tavern during the MNSSHP (when characters used to be there & in Halloween costumes), Crystal Palace (breakfast and dinner), Boma , Ohana, Whispering Canyon Cafe (several times), Rose & Crown, Teppanedo, Biergarten, Via Napoli, 50s Primetime, Sci-Fi, Beaches and Cream, Mama Melrose / Fantasmic dinner, Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue dinner show at FW, Rainforest Cafe...etc. We still enjoyed several TS meals on this OOP trip, including O'hana and Via Napoli, but my teens also preferred to visit the TS restaurants that offered less "value" on the DDP, such as Sci-Fi and Beaches & Cream, on this trip. We probably would've paid OOP for these restaurants if we were on the DDP this time, thus using the 2 additional credits for Yachtsman and CG. That would have meant even more time at a restaurant(s) each day, which didn't fit our touring style on this trip. The kids wanted to snack around the world, park hop on a whim/chill at the pool, and have more flexibility. It really depends on what you wish to do on your Disney trip. On our next visit (with just my husband) for our 20th anniversary, we'd like to visit some nicer restaurants such as CG and Yachtsman Steakhouse but I'm thinking that paying OOP will still be our best option with these 2 credit restaurants on the itinerary.

 

[gillep]

My family has done the dining plan for most of our traditional trips. Our budget/last minute trips obviously not. Yes, it is true you will save $$ not doing the dp, but you will be inconvenienced in some ways and may miss out on food opportunities. My family is filled with foodies. We love eating more expensive and exquisite cuisine, so for us the dp is worth every penny. Now, if you're the family who prefers a granola bar for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and maybe 1 ts then no probably not. For us eating is apart of the Disney vacation, which I think changes the overall value of the dp. It's all how you look at it.

I disagree, I think it is more of a personality thing than a dining plan thing. My husband and I plan our Disney trips around our resort and food, we don't do the DP and don't miss out on any opportunities. If anything, we have more flexibility because we can eat anything we want at any restaurant (make a meal out of 3 apps and a bottle of wine) and aren't restricted to what is covered by the DP. I personally find the dining plan to be much more inconvenient and restrictive than paying OOP (even the Deluxe plan). That said, our personalities are such that we eat exactly what we want, when we want, and don't worry about price, for those that would restrict themselves to save money, then I absolutely agree that the plan can be helpful.

 

[GovieMom]

Yes, it is true you will save $$ not doing the dp, but you will be inconvenienced in some ways and may miss out on food opportunities.

We will not be on the Dining Plan this trip. We are going to eat where we want, and order what we want. So.....not sure how we'd be "missing out" on anything. Or inconvenienced.

 

[Elsaalltheway]

We will not be on the Dining Plan this trip. We are going to eat where we want, and order what we want. So.....not sure how we'd be "missing out" on anything. Or inconvenienced.

Yeah, I don't understand how you will be missing out too. I found when not on the dining plan I ate less. I ate where I wanted and didn't worry if it was one credit or two credits, or if it was worth it to use a snack credit or not. And at the end I wasn't standing in long lines trying to buy snacks, I really didn't know if I was going to eat just to make sure I used all my credits.

 

[Elsaalltheway]

Ok and if I'm honest I still have two Disney snacks sitting in my room from three years ago. Yes they are suckers, no, I'm not going to eat them, and I do still have a tin of mints from the last year I'm working on, and one bag of goofy snacks I'm still working on from last sept.

 

[rdaky]

I think it can be worth it if you want to stuff yourselves silly and drink alcohol 2 meals per day. But even that involves some calculating, and trying to order the most expensive thing at each meal to get your money's worth. And make sure you get the most expensive snacks, too, or else you're wasting money.

That being said, we have done the dining plan before and for us it is NOT worth it. Even with eating at whatever restaurant we want, we order what we want (which might include an appetizer or may or may not include the most expensive entree) we order drinks when and where we want them (which may or may not be with our meals) and we buy Mickey Ice cream, Starbucks, popcorn, churros, pretty much whatever we feel like eating. And we still spend less than what the dining plan costs. The only place we are going cheap is on breakfast because we just eat cereal or pop tarts, fruit in the room and then head to the parks for rope drop- and that third meal wouldn't be included in the regular dining plan anyway. The last time we had free dining, we ended up taking about 12 snacks home with us, and yes, they are hiked up Disney prices so you could consider that a value, or you could consider that we stuffed our suitcases with overpriced cookies and rice Krispy treats.

Just get yourself a few Disney gift cards with the amount that a dining plan would cost and use that toward your dining.

 

[Specter]

I think it can be worth it if you want to stuff yourselves silly and drink alcohol 2 meals per day. But even that involves some calculating, and trying to order the most expensive thing at each meal to get your money's worth. And make sure you get the most expensive snacks, too, or else you're wasting money.

Respectfully, I am going to disagree with what you said about having to order the most expensive things on the menu to get your money's worth out of the DP. My wife and I have had the standard DP twice and, given how we like to dine, are upgrading to the DxDDP for our upcoming trip. Based on my rough math we come out just a little bit over $400 ahead having the Dx dining versus OOP. Now, we are foodies sometimes, and particularly on vacation, and we will order appetizers and dessert. We don't always dine this way, but on vacation we absolutely do because, well, it's vacation! And we do get a glass of wine or a cocktail with dinner, and neither of us is opposed to a beer or a sangria, or something along those lines, at lunch...again, when on vacation. We look at it as a time to just have fun and not worry, and the DP allows us to do that by enabling us to order the most expensive thing on the menu if we want, but if we don't, as I said, we still come out ahead, but based on my math most of our entrees come out somewhere around the average to slightly above average cost, but by no means the most expensive. Now, with that said there are just the two of us, both adventurous eaters and neither of us particularly picky and no allergies. Ultimately, this is very much dependent on each of us as individuals and how we prefer to dine and vacation.

 

[Arielfan98]

We will not be on the Dining Plan this trip. We are going to eat where we want, and order what we want. So.....not sure how we'd be "missing out" on anything. Or inconvenienced.

To clarify because I realize I wasn't being specific enough (my apologies): Convenience=not pulling out wallet/worrying about the cost when your meals are prepaid for.
"Missing Out"-Feeling like I have to select a lower priced entree to save $$. As someone else pointed out, my family saves $$ when we select the most expensive items, therefore not feeling like we're 'missing out.'

I also want to point out I am a very fit, 5'2, 120 pound female and I do not "stuff myself silly" as a previous poster noted. Each to their own, but don't ridicule those who choose to indulge on vacation. Some of us are foodies who prefer to sample everything WDW has to offer and the focus of our trip is the food, so no the DP is not 'silly' by the imagination to us.

 

[gillep]

To clarify because I realize I wasn't being specific enough (my apologies): Convenience=not pulling out wallet/worrying about the cost when your meals are prepaid for.
"Missing Out"-Feeling like I have to select a lower priced entree to save $$. As someone else pointed out, my family saves $$ when we select the most expensive items, therefore not feeling like we're 'missing out.'

I also want to point out I am a very fit, 5'2, 120 pound female and I do not "stuff myself silly" as a previous poster noted. Each to their own, but don't ridicule those who choose to indulge on vacation. Some of us are foodies who prefer to sample everything WDW has to offer and the focus of our trip is the food, so no the DP is not 'silly' by the imagination to us.

Again, I think this is more of a personality thing and not a DP or not thing. With or without the DP, at a TS restaurant you still need to get out and supply some form of payment for the tip, so that's moot. Some people worry about the costs of their individual meals, and therefore the DP can be an awesome tool for them, other's don't, and therefore may not see that side of the DP or not argument. With or without the DP I am going to eat exactly what I want at each meal, I am not the type that would get a cheaper option if I really wanted the more expensive one (I wouldn't do this at home either for what it's worth) it just wouldn't even occur to me. So the convenience and feeling of missing out that some may have by having to pay OOP, just isn't a thought or concern to someone else who may have a different personality and mindset. We have only ever done the DP once in all of our 30+ trips (will actually be doing the DxDP again for one night in about 10 days) and I have never once felt like paying OOP was inconvenient, or that I was missing out on anything related to dining, and I also focus my trips on the food (and resort).

 

[Arielfan98]

Again, I think this is more of a personality thing and not a DP or not thing. With or without the DP, at a TS restaurant you still need to get out and supply some form of payment for the tip, so that's moot. Some people worry about the costs of their individual meals, and therefore the DP can be an awesome tool for them, other's don't, and therefore may not see that side of the DP or not argument. With or without the DP I am going to eat exactly what I want at each meal, I am not the type that would get a cheaper option if I really wanted the more expensive one (I wouldn't do this at home either for what it's worth) it just wouldn't even occur to me. So the convenience and feeling of missing out that some may have by having to pay OOP, just isn't a thought or concern to someone else who may have a different personality and mindset. We have only ever done the DP once in all of our 30+ trips (will actually be doing the DxDP again for one night in about 10 days) and I have never once felt like paying OOP was inconvenient, or that I was missing out on anything related to dining, and I also focus my trips on the food (and resort).

I agree. I wouldn't expect everyone to share the same opinions, I just wanted it phrased more respectfully (like you did), so thank you.

 

[Disneylover1970]

I just used the Dining Plan/Tool Calculator and it came out to less paying OOP, we like to split our meals up between Counter/Table Service and one snack a day(we’re not big snackers), not drinkers, maybe a cold beer once in awhile, I don’t think of us as Foodies and I understand many people are. I’ll take the cost of the DP and put it on a Gift Card.

 

[Ensusieasm]

I just used the Dining Plan/Tool Calculator and it came out to less paying OOP, we like to split our meals up between Counter/Table Service and one snack a day(we’re not big snackers), not drinkers, maybe a cold beer once in awhile, I don’t think of us as Foodies and I understand many people are. I’ll take the cost of the DP and put it on a Gift Card.

Yes! And sometimes I’m too full for dessert, or maybe I want a special dessert someplace else later.

 

[Christinecinti]

I absolutely agree with the poster above who said it mainly comes down to personalities. It's funny because I usually am the person who does watch money/worry about the "value"- comparison shops online for most of what I buy, & doesn't spend on myself (I'm a single parent with a daughter about to start college in the Fall!)... But Disney is the one place that I've actually had zero problem letting go of that. I've always looked at vacations as a "break from the day-to-day" where I work during the year to splurge a bit on that trip. We go where we want, and we order whatever we want. This was back before I had ever heard of free dining, and even in the years we got free dining we still order whatever we want even if it's "off plan". (For me I will say, the dining plan brought a bit MORE worrying about price, since I had to be more 'aware' of what snacks cost, and tell my daughter to "pay out of pocket for that one", and "use plan for that one"... since I was wanting to use it to the best value) Is it worth that extra focus on price if it's free? well of course! But if it wasn't free I'd never pay for it- mainly cause for us it's a very very poor value, but also because I truly would eat more "stress free" without it, if that makes sense.

If I calculate where we usually eat, what we usually order, add drink mugs , still add the 2 snacks daily (even though we surely won't always eat them) and then round up and add a 'cushion' even- we still save a few hundred OOP. That can either bring down vaca costs, or used for other activities on vaca. So if I don't get it free I'll save up and buy gift cards to pay down the room charges but will still order exactly what we want. But that's just me, and I think the personality thing is the main point. If someone is unable to not worry about every dime of every meal without the plan- (while I don't fully "get it" since you ultimately still pay those dimes anyway yourself- just ahead of time)- I do see where for them it helps them enjoy their vaca from their perspective- so whatever works! And for those ppl who do a LOT of TS and the math truly = savings for them somehow, that's great! It just is never even close for us. (and that's rounding very high- we usually eat quite a bit less than I would budget just naturally)

 

[Disneylover1970]

I don’t know if the refillable mug is worth it, maybe not for us, since we don’t spend much time at the resort(pretty much just to sleep). I agree with Christinecinti, sometimes you want a dessert at someplace else or even just order an appetizer instead of a meal. Those of you that do mostly TS restaurants, do you eat late, do you make reservations ahead of time? We found that we were always trying to figure out things so we got to our reservations on time.

 

[Summer2018]

I think it can be worth it if you want to stuff yourselves silly and drink alcohol 2 meals per day. But even that involves some calculating, and trying to order the most expensive thing at each meal to get your money's worth. And make sure you get the most expensive snacks, too, or else you're wasting money.

Characterizing people who like the dining plan in this way is very insulting and unfair.

We happen to save money on every trip using the dining plan. We tend to use QS for breakfast, snack for lunch, and TS for dinner. We never have leftover snacks because we turn them into a meal.

If it doesn’t work for you, don’t use it.

 

[rdaky]

Characterizing people who like the dining plan in this way is very insulting and unfair.

We happen to save money on every trip using the dining plan. We tend to use QS for breakfast, snack for lunch, and TS for dinner. We never have leftover snacks because we turn them into a meal.

If it doesn’t work for you, don’t use it.

I'm not sure how that is insulting? The OP asked for opinions and that has been my personal experience: requiring stuffing ourselves to the max and calculating to make sure we are getting our money's worth. Good for you if that isn't your experience.