It's WAY too much food!

[Dopey420]

Got the regular DDP. It's way too much food for us! It was like a marathon of eating! We split meals and ended up with counter service credits left over that we traded for snacks.

When I saw something I wanted to eat, it was like, "No you can't have that because we have XYZ Restaurant in 2 hours!"

Didn't enjoy it. Plus I don't need a drink and dessert with EVERY meal. I was so sick of soda. No more DDP for us!

This word has been banned from my vocabulary: buffet

 

[sharonabe]

It's not the way we eat either, so we haven't gotten it in years.

Did you think to/try to trade your dessert or drink for a snack item at QS places? That might have helped with the too much soda issue. You can also ask to trade your dessert at a TS for a small salad/veggie or soup. They may or may not be able to grant your request, but most will have something.

 

[Lisaloo]

Agreed. We will never do the dining plan again (even though I feel like I have said that before...).

 

[mzsarah10]

Completely agree!! A few trips ago, my husband looked at me on the last day and said I can't eat any more. We haven't done the plan since. This last trip I compared and we actually saved money by not doing the plan. The kids were not tied to only chicken nuggets and fries. We were much happier.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We eat good when we are there. Got free dining for the fall 2016. Can't wait to pig out!

 

[loves to dive]

We quit doing it years ago. When we first started going it was what the deluxe plan is now, 3 TS meals a day and a snack or two, tip included. We would actually buy it then. Then they switched the regular plan to 2 TS and snacks, o.k. still we would get it. Then they went with 1 QS and 1 TS, we did it one year with that (I think it was free dining and I was too lazy to do the math) and after that decided no more. As I've gotten older I don't eat as much as I used to, we prefer not to be tied down to a certain type or amount of meals a day. Now my son usually skips breakfast since he likes to sleep in, I'll do a QS meal, we tend to do a QS for lunch and I usually get a kid's meal, and more often than not we will get a TS for supper but I'll only get an appy and salad, we both have adult beverages and neither of us are big dessert people.

 

[Lee & Kerry]

A lot of eating and planning goes along with the dinning plan to get the most out of your money. We have bought the plan in the past, however now if we don't get free dinning it is not worth it, as many many times it has got to the point of I can't eat anymore and I can't stand to look at food. Grazing is cheaper and takes way less planning. We do and still will eat at some of the sit downs that we really enjoy.

 

[ghoulardi]

Tried it once and hated it. We like to stay open to trying new things esp. at Epcot.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

I love food, and I can eat an entire buffet by myself. I've never been to Disney and have been considering the regular dining plan. I've looked at most of the menus and priced it out and I'll definitely make out better financially purchasing the dining plan. I'm at the point where I'm about to purchase the deluxe dining plan.

What I'm finding is planning my restaurants out is proving to be very never racking, and after reading everyone's post ( and not knowing the size and portions of Disney meals) I'm wondering if I would be better off cancelling the dining plan completely and just paying out of pocket.

 

[sharonabe]

I love food, and I can eat an entire buffet by myself. I've never been to Disney and have been considering the regular dining plan. I've looked at most of the menus and priced it out and I'll definitely make out better financially purchasing the dining plan. I'm at the point where I'm about to purchase the deluxe dining plan.

What I'm finding is planning my restaurants out is proving to be very never racking, and after reading everyone's post ( and not knowing the size and portions of Disney meals) I'm wondering if I would be better off cancelling the dining plan completely and just paying out of pocket.

Give us an idea of how many nights you're staying, where you're thinking of eating, and the make up of your party (adults/kids), and we'll help you figure it out.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

Give us an idea of how many nights you're staying, where you're thinking of eating, and the make up of your party (adults/kids), and we'll help you figure it out.

It's going to be me and my fiancee (she will be my wife when we leave, we're honeymooning in disney). We are staying 7 days (only counts for 6 credits on DDP).

She loves the 50s, so right now we are looking at Beaches and Cream and the 50s Prime Time Cafe.

We currently have reservations at Boatwright's for dinner, Lunch at Be our Guest, dinner at Coral Seas, dinner at SciFi Dine in, and Le Cellier.

I know we are going to earl of sandwich one day for lunch. And whether she comes with me or not, I'm going to Biergarten (I'm in love with German meats and beer).

I'd love to do breakfast at crystal palace and I really want to try to hit up BOMA, and Whispering Canyon.

I can sit down and eat a 24 Oz steak, baked potato, and salad and still have room.

The misses how ever, eats like a mouse...

 

[sharonabe]

It's going to be me and my fiancee (she will be my wife when we leave, we're honeymooning in disney). We are staying 7 days (only counts for 6 credits on DDP).

She loves the 50s, so right now we are looking at Beaches and Cream and the 50s Prime Time Cafe.

We currently have reservations at Boatwright's for dinner, Lunch at Be our Guest, dinner at Coral Seas, dinner at SciFi Dine in, and Le Cellier.

I know we are going to earl of sandwich one day for lunch. And whether she comes with me or not, I'm going to Biergarten (I'm in love with German meats and beer).

I'd love to do breakfast at crystal palace and I really want to try to hit up BOMA, and Whispering Canyon.

I can sit down and eat a 24 Oz steak, baked potato, and salad and still have room.

The misses how ever, eats like a mouse...

Well, if you add in Biergarten, you're at 8 TS credits for a 6 credit stay, so you would have to find a way to pay for two of those OOP. If you can add in the last 3, then even with the two QS you have planned, you're 5 shy of the 18 credits on the DxDDP. With what you have planned, fitting in those extra 3 is going to take up more time than I would want to when at Disney, and trying to fit in another 5 would be way too much time away from the parks, for me. So the first thing you need to decide is how you want to spend your time for this trip. If eating and eating well is important, then I would say go for the DxDDP and fit in some more meals. Tip: If you decide to do that, you may want to change up somewhat and do more signature dinners along with one credit breakfast or lunch.

My gut says since it is your honeymoon, you probably should do at least the DDP for the peace of mind of having it all paid for and that "all inclusive" feel many enjoy about the DDP. Then, since your bride eats like a mouse, perhaps she could do OOP at Le Cellier and order an app and side to share with you (but you'll need to share a little of your steak and dessert!). That takes care of 2 of the extra credits. The other two could easily be taken care of at either Beaches, 50s, Sci-Fi, or Be our Guest. Just take a look at the menus and see what entree she might enjoy and pay for that OOP. Again, be sure to share your dessert with her! You use the DDP credits for your meal every time since you will probably order the more expensive entree anyway.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

I believe, after careful consideration, I'm going to keep the regular dining plan just for the peace of mind of knowing necessities are paid for and I'm going to put some cash to the side for other foods and what not.

I wish there was a way I could purchase 1 deluxe plan and one regular plan, I believe that would be the perfect combination for the 2 of us.

 

[persimmondeb]

I love food, and I can eat an entire buffet by myself. I've never been to Disney and have been considering the regular dining plan. I've looked at most of the menus and priced it out and I'll definitely make out better financially purchasing the dining plan. I'm at the point where I'm about to purchase the deluxe dining plan.

What I'm finding is planning my restaurants out is proving to be very never racking, and after reading everyone's post ( and not knowing the size and portions of Disney meals) I'm wondering if I would be better off cancelling the dining plan completely and just paying out of pocket.

If you are a big eater, it's almost certainly worth it.

I never feel like paying for the DxDP, but I'm sure we could do justice to it.

I know lots of people think it's too much food, and I believe them, but I don't get it. We always have a few goodies out of pocket because it isn't quite enough.

It does require more thought, but I've never not saved money, and never been sorry I had it. And I usually get CS, which is harder to get ahead with.

Interestingly, I went with my sister, who DOES NOT eat the way my family does, and we still saved money. Now, she had no issues with the "value math", but she's a vegetarian, and a very dainty eater. We ended up taking some of it with us as "take-out" for the train, but it all got eaten and enjoyed, and the value of it was over the out of pocket cost.

One meal at Wolfgang Puck Express (particularly the salmon, which is delicious) will tend to put you ahead, and the 3 snack/1 CS can definitely be to your advantage (1 credit=3 grande extra-fattening everything drinks at Starbucks).

 

[Nancyg56]

Our best time was when we had one room on dxddp and one on regula plan. It was awwesome because we love appetizers and always split them at home, so 1/2 our party ordered the ap and we all shared. One nice thing was that the girls were allowed to order the adult steaks and they little piggies ate the entire thing! Definately a great use for our entire party