is it really worth it?

[disneymoon_0307]

I am going on my Disneymoon in March of 2007 and I was wondering if the Disney dining plan is really worth it for two people? We are planning on eating at LTT and Sci-Fi...places like that. Is it better to just pay for it down there or go ahead and purchase the dining plan?
Thank you!

 

[Servants of Evan]

If you haven't already gone to allearsnet.com and checked out the menus, please do so now. Take a good look at what is offered at each restaurant, consider what you are likely to order, and then do the math. Don't forget to add for beverages, tax and gratuity! Compare that to what the DDP costs and arrive at your own conclusion. Personally, I recommend it -- but it depends on what you anticipate eating.

 

[disneymoon_0307]

Thank you for the information. I didn't know about the allears website thanks for the help.

 

[ssdeverell]

DH and I think it is worth it. We received it for free in September, but are paying for it this year. Plus, with it being your honeymoon and all, you could use it to eat somewhere really special and not worry about the price.

 

[bicker]

We did the math, and based on certain decisions, it wouldn't so much save money but rather give us more variety for the same money.

 

[Ilovestitch]

We did the math, and based on certain decisions, it wouldn't so much save money but rather give us more variety for the same money.

Same with us--- we usually don't order appitizers/desserts so I assumed the dining plan wouldn't be worth it. But the cost of DDP comes out to the same as we spend if we buy our food out of pocket so it makes sense to get the dining plan so we can eat anywhere and get anything. So we aren't really saving money, but it is more convenient.

 

[jjohnson]

Same with us--- we usually don't order appitizers/desserts so I assumed the dining plan wouldn't be worth it. But the cost of DDP comes out to the same as we spend if we buy our food out of pocket so it makes sense to get the dining plan so we can eat anywhere and get anything. So we aren't really saving money, but it is more convenient.

I noticed all your trips. Do you have AP's & still some out about the same? I'm still on the fence whether to do the plan because I would be giving up the AP rate on the room.

 

[drogerstn]

Servants of Evan summed it up pretty well.

We eat occasional TS meals. These are usually for lunch and maybe one breakfast buffet over a 7-day period. I estimate that we'd have to increase our food budget by over $250 for my family of 4 over a 7-day period if we purchased the dining plan. The real value in the dining plan comes into play for supper, especially if purchasing appetizers and dessert.

Also, the Dining Plan would be less convenient than dining without it.
We want to be flexible in determining our afternoon and evening park visits. I don't want to be committed to an advance reservation in the evening or to wait for seating at a TS restaurant.

 

[I'm No Fool]

It's your honeymoon. Get the dining plan, eat nothing but the best meals, and worry about food budgets when you return with your future offspring.

 

[Russell]

We decided against the plan for two reasons:

1. It gives you too many appetizers and deserts for us.
2. It locks us in to too many counter services places. We enjoy stopping at table service, having soup or salad and resting a bit during the day.

 

[aunt kelly]

We did not get the dining plan for our trip last week and here are the reasons why we felt it didn't work for our family of four:

1) We never order four appetizers and four desserts (sometimes we split one appetizer and one dessert among the four of us)

2) We arrived late at our resort the first night and left very early on our last day-we didn't eat any meals at WDW either day

3) We wanted to eat at Rainforest Cafe at AK (family tradition) but it is not on the dining plan.

4) My 11-year-old still likes to eat off the children's menu (and most Disney restaurants still let her) but we would have to pay the full adult price for her under the dining plan. Our thirteen year old orders off the adult menu, but usually orders nothing more adventurous than a burger and fries.

5) My kids would much rather be riding rides than lingering over a three course meal, so although we usually eat TS at least once a day, we tend to eat at the more informal, less pricey places like Sci Fi

6) We like to be more flexible w/ our eating and snacking than the dining plan allows. For instance, we bought a huge tub of carmel corn at Sleepy Hollow to split among the four of us. It's a family favorite and we enjoyed it very much. Had we been on the dining plan, we could not have justified buying a snack that wasn't on the plan. We also enjoy buying refillable mugs to use at our resort and couldn't justify the extra expense had we been on the Dining Plan.

7) We saved $40 buying our park tickets from Ticketmania. We could not have bought our tickets from Ticketmania and selected the Dining Plan.

We ate what we wanted when we wanted last week, and there was only one day that we came close to spending what we would have spent per day on the dining plan. Of course, my family circumstances are very different from yours. If it was just my husband and me, we would probably enjoy going to some of the nicer restaurants and I think we could easily justify the cost of the Dining Plan.

Best wishes and have a great honeymoon!

 

[bicker]

We decided against the plan for two reasons:
1. It gives you too many appetizers and deserts for us.

The appetizers and desserts are not mandatory. And we computed that the Dining Plan was still about the same price as OOP even without them.

2. It locks us in to too many counter services places. We enjoy stopping at table service, having soup or salad and resting a bit during the day.

That would be a deal-breaker. We're normally the same way, but we're bringing guests next year, so we'll probably not want to stop for a TS so often -- any more than once a day.