Worth it?

[grampahenry]

Is it really worth it when you have people with wildly different food interests?

 

[FCDub]

The dining plan's "worth" is entirely subjective. If it comes back, you'll need to look at menus, decide where you'd like to eat, and what you'd like to eat, and do the math.

 

[Meglen]

They had Dining Cards on sale. Like a pre loaded card that can be used for food. Idk if it saves anyone anything I didnt look to close. But as of right now Disney Dining plan is no where to be seen. I would only get it anyway if you wanted to pre purchase food.

 

[loves to dive]

The dining plan's "worth" is entirely subjective. If it comes back, you'll need to look at menus, decide where you'd like to eat, and what you'd like to eat, and do the math.

This. Who knows if it will come back, when it will come back and what it will back as. Do the math. It's a pain but unless you just like the convenience of it, it's the only way to know.

 

[Blanco]

If you will make it work efficiently to your favor, then it sure is. Even picky eaters can make it worthwhile, if it becomes available.

This is where appetite and calculations would play.

 

[RanDIZ]

If you were to actually pay cash for each allotted item at menu price then it’s worth it. The biggest bonus would be in alcoholic beverages. I’ve saved a couple hundred dollars not getting the DDP. And that’s eating at mid to high priced restaurants and not skimping on anything. The plan kind of forces you to eat more and get more so you feel like you’re getting your money’s worth unless you just don’t care and waste the credits. I’d also add that if your dining style will be more character based, it might be worth it since those are among the highest priced.

 

[Hi Pluto]

If you were to actually pay cash for each allotted item at menu price then it’s worth it. The biggest bonus would be in alcoholic beverages. I’ve saved a couple hundred dollars not getting the DDP. And that’s eating at mid to high priced restaurants and not skimping on anything. The plan kind of forces you to eat more and get more so you feel like you’re getting your money’s worth unless you just don’t care and waste the credits. I’d also add that if your dining style will be more character based, it might be worth it since those are among the highest priced.

It also makes you feel like you need to always get the most expensive item on the menu.

I did major math last time we went and we discovered the best use of the DDP was if you had a one night stay with one day DDP, then split stay to the same resort or another for the rest of your nights with no DDP. That one day of DDP gave us mugs, a quick service meal, two snacks and one buffet meal each (The cost came out to be equal to the QS and snacks being "free"). The rest of the trip we used gift cards that I put the equivalent of the cost of the DDP on. Not only did we not have to worry about eating specific items and trying to use up snack credits, but we were able to eat as often as we wanted and whatever we wanted. And used the cards for the occasional non-food item. We came home with almost $300 leftover that can be used for the next trip.

I found that unless you are eating a buffet for every TS meal, and you would normally buy two snacks a day anyway, then it's nearly impossible to save money on the dining plan. It's real purpose is to prepay for your meals and at an up-charge.

 

[Specter]

There are a lot of people with different opinions on the subject of the dining plan being worth it. In the end there are really two ways to look at it; you can do the math and make a factual determination or you can decide if there is value in not having to think about the cost of what you're ordering.

Going the factual route you would need to decide where you wanted to eat and at least narrow down the options of what you would like to have at each place. Will you actually get the included dessert and alcoholic drink or will you pass on those? Normally my wife and I try to be pretty reasonable but when we're on vacation we like to treat ourselves and so we do get dessert every night, and you better believe we take advantage of the alcoholic drink. For the two of us we have found that we usually come out slightly ahead when using the dining plan, and while we sometimes will, we don't always get the most expensive item on the menu. Another point of added value for us is that we often go in March during Flower and Garden, and we enjoy using our snack credits at the different food booths. I definitely consider those a better use of a snack credit than an ice cream bar or a bottle of water. However, once our daughter turns 3 and would be required to get the plan too we're less certain on that. She actually has a good appetite but I don't know that she's physically capable of eating enough to justify the cost of even a child's dining plan.

But then there is the more subjective idea of worth. One thing that some people like about the dining plan is, whether or not they get actual cost value from it, the feeling of the trip being more "all inclusive" and, if they decide to splurge some nights but not all, they don't second guess themselves because they are thinking about the out of pocket cost. I, and most people that would think that way, are aware that they may not be coming out ahead in terms of actual cost but it just removes that sense of hesitation around ordering the more expensive items on the menu if they want to. That is entirely subjective, though.

DW and I have loved having the dining plan on several trips now. In our own personal experience we do not find ourselves eating too much. We also don't mind taking the time for the table service meals. For us it's nice to get off of our feet for an hour or so, talk about what we've enjoyed about our day to that point, and come up with an idea of what we still want to do with the rest of our day.

You will inevitably get people that say that it is 100% not worth it and you'll get some that say that they wouldn't take a trip without it, and in my opinion they are all right. They have all either done the math or taken the time to consider the subjective value (or both) and made the decision that is best for them. I am telling you that to date my family has loved having it, but we are cognizant of the fact that the financial aspect of the picture will change soon as our daughter gets old enough to require the plan and we will reevaluate at that time, looking at both the cost and the perceived benefit.

 

[Marcinr]

Is it really worth it when you have people with wildly different food interests?

I would review the reservations that you want to get and see if it we have found that before they started giving beer as a beverage it wasn’t worth it for us we saved money because we never did the dessert and always got an appetizer