Do you do the Dining Plan

[my4kids]

The dining plan worked for us because we did alot of character meals and Hoop-dee-doo. It just came out that if we were doing those anyway, lunch and snack for the day were free. (Plan cost same as character meal a day, so with plan, lunch and snack were thrown in.) I do agree that you get more than you would normally buy. My kids rarely touched their CS desserts. Sometimes I would throw them in the stoller and they would eat them later as a snack. Some went to waste. If we were not doing the character meals, i don't think the plan would have been a good choice for us.

The routine we got into was waking up and having a HUGE breakfast at food court in the resort with our CS credits. We like to sleep in on vacation so by the time we got the 6 of us out the door this was around 10:30-11:00. This would last the kids through late afternnon to get their snack, then we would have a nice huge TS dinner late. We like to stay in the parks late when the crowds are light. Then we would let the kids sleep in since we had been out late the night before....I know this routine would not work at all for most, but it was perfect for us. If we were morning people, I think we would have had a light cereal breakfast in the room early, then used the CS credit at lunch, then had dinner earlier and used the snack credit as a late dessert.....(Or maybe the snack credit could cover your light breakfast now that they have opened up the choiced covered by the snack credit.

 

[marylou]

We were at the parks early everyday so we had something in the room for brkft, early lunch 11-1130ish and dinner between 5 and 6 most nights (had a couple of later ones). Since my kids are adults 21, 19, 16 and a 7 yo the plan worked great. They love trying new foods and have expensive tastes(even the 7yo). We did take desserts home some nights but for the most part we ordered different ones and shared. For us the plan worked because for what we ordered at the TS we got the snack and CS for free. We had most of our snacks left by day 10 (could only get DDP for 10 days) so we had 2 days with no plan. We used the snacks to get enough food to cover us for the next 2 days with small add ons. You can also use the TS credits as CS meals if you wish. The food courts will let you use snack credits for anything under $4 but the shops in the parks are fussier. We got fruit for dessert sometimes. The only times we had a problem were at Pionochio in MK- made a real point of saying that we had to order a kids meal if it was on your card and at Kringla bakery, they said we could only get chunky chocolate cookies for our snack credit when it was marked on their sign as being available on the DDP. It was fun shopping in the food court with that many snack credits. We tried some really great restaurants with really great food.
For us the DDP worked and I would not hesitate to use it again. Our average bill for food sans adult beverages was usually between $200-$400 each TS.
We just joined the DVC so I am glad to hear we can take advantage of this again for our next trip(assuming it continues)

 

[Tiger926]

Used DDE last year, and so with DP this year we are going to save even more money as DDE went up in price. We only eat TS, and small breakfasts, so we are going to use snack credits for breakfast (this will be perfect for us) - small breakfasts we normally ate in our room anyway. We can't wait to try out the DP - we eat very healthy and well at home, and so we always do while on vacation as well - CS will be new for us, so we are anxious to try out some of the healthy CS options for lunch.

We have never and will probably never cook in our villa - it's vacation for crying out loud! We like others to cook for us!

Happy eating to all, Tiger

 

[letsgodisney]

Thank you so much for the info, I can't wait to post my dates for possible rentals

 

[barbarabee]

After much research, I've decided not to do the plan. We are an adult couple, and vegetarians. Our typical eating style is no breakfast, early lunch, early dinner and a snack. Sounds perfect for the plan, but at sit-down restaurants we usually share an appetizer or two, an entree and a dessert. I can't imagine eating that much food, and as vegetarians, the entrees we order are usually the cheapest on the menu. We've got the DDE card, so that works better for us. I don't want to worry about whether or not I'm getting my "money's worth" on the plan.

 

[las3888]

I have to admit I am curious about trying the dining plan (and a bit jealous that it is the biggest rave on the dining board), but I don't think the dollars and cents make sense for us. While it is tempting to not have a food bill, we also do breakfast MOSTLY in the room and lunch usually at counter service, then a sit-down dinner. With that being said, we save 20% with the DDE (and that includes alcohol ), so when crunching the numbers I just don't think it adds up for us. We are not appetizer or dessert people.

 

[BCV23]

I have to admit I am curious about trying the dining plan (and a bit jealous that it is the biggest rave on the dining board), but I don't think the dollars and cents make sense for us. While it is tempting to not have a food bill, we also do breakfast MOSTLY in the room and lunch usually at counter service, then a sit-down dinner. With that being said, we save 20% with the DDE (and that includes alcohol ), so when crunching the numbers I just don't think it adds up for us. We are not appetizer or dessert people.

Actually, you sound like perfect candidates for the plan since you do one counter service and one table service meal each day. You could use your snack option for breakfast. BC Marketplace has a wonderful fruit and yogurt parfait that counts as a snack if you prefer to use it that way. Bowls of cereal, boxes of doughnuts, pieces of fresh fruit all can be used as snack credits at breakfast.

When you number crunched, did you include tax and tip? They are included in the plan.

But the DDE is fantastic for those TS meals, isn't it?

 

[snowiit]

Ok... so for you experts on the DDP. I am going by myself for a short (basically free except for food) trip at staying at SSR in a studio. I was thinking of trying the DDP by myself but wondering if there are enough good counter service meals OUTSIDE the parks. I'm not doing parks this trip.. just a fun relaxing 3 nights. I would love your opinions!

Nancy