Booked the dining plan - here's why it's "worth it"

I saved my OOP receipts, def. spent less than paying for the DDP, but that was for two people who don't drink. All 12 of us bought the dining plan, with no discount for our upcoming trip but we got a good room discount so we are very happy! And bonus...we get to drink...a first for us. I'll probably pass it on to my adult boys...they'll be happy.
 
The DDP doesn't work for us either. We don't drink soft drinks and even though we'd enjoy the alcohol or specialty drinks now included, we don't need nor want 2 each a day. There are snacks we like that aren't on the DDP, like the Nutella waffle. We go through at least 2-3 of those a trip. Daughter and I share a lot. Neither of us have a big appetite and we like the same type of food so why not? Last trip, I kept receipts and we spent about 2/3 of what the QSDP would have cost us and what we spent even included 2 TS meals and having a big lunch at BOG with no sharing and appetizer, entree, and dessert. We eat what we want, where we want, and when we want and save money OOP. We buy gift cards ahead of time for what the DDP would cost and it's always nice to bring a nice chunk of that back. And there is always another Disney trip (land or sea) that we will use it on
 
Why does Disney push the DP so much? To “save” us money? So they can make less profit?

Because they make a huge profit. People are forced to stay on property because it’s already paid for. So many people just blindly buy it having no idea how much they need to spend per QS, TS & snack credit just to break even. Your prepaid snack credit is worth what now? $5??? I’ve been behind so many people using their snack credits to purchase $3 bottles of water or soda. They may as well pay $3 cash for the drink then set fire to an additional $2. Disney is raking in the cash because situations like that happen all day long.

Last month I was behind a woman at the Grand Floridian food court. She was with her husband and two kids getting breakfast. They were checking out of the resort that day to go home. They still had 12 QS & 9 TS credits left plus a bunch of snacks!!!
 
$ wise it is less expensive than OOP if you have a large family who love to eat. If you are able to modify how you eat, drink water and share a lunch or two, it is more expensive.
 


$ wise it is less expensive than OOP if you have a large family who love to eat. If you are able to modify how you eat, drink water and share a lunch or two, it is more expensive.

Not even close to correct. Large families who "love" to eat still don't necessarily always want to order the most expensive things on the menu. Sometimes, you just want chicken. You don't have to just drink water, share, or even modify how you eat to come out ahead OOP. My family does NONE of those things and we come out way ahead out of pocket. If you get the dining plan, you eat how DISNEY wants you to eat...that's the only stone cold FACT in this whole discussion.

There is no "right" answer. All families, and their eating habits are different. Everyone has to do their own math to see how it works out for their family.
 
Not even close to correct. Large families who "love" to eat still don't necessarily always want to order the most expensive things on the menu. Sometimes, you just want chicken. You don't have to just drink water, share, or even modify how you eat to come out ahead OOP. My family does NONE of those things and we come out way ahead out of pocket. If you get the dining plan, you eat how DISNEY wants you to eat...that's the only stone cold FACT in this whole discussion.

There is no "right" answer. All families, and their eating habits are different. Everyone has to do their own math to see how it works out for their family.
Agreed, I was using my extended family as an example. For them, it's worth it because of how they eat. For me, going as a couple, it was far less expensive, and we did eat at all our favorites, including the more expensive ones. But we did share some lunches, and we happen to be water drinkers, so we did save a significant amount of $.
 
Agreed there is no right or wrong answer.. To each his own. I love the DDP especially when it is FREE.. ;) We haven't gotten the FREE DDP plan in probably a decade. :( The last time we purchased the DDP (a few trips back) I certainly enjoyed the convenience and didn't pay any attention to what it might have cost OOP. Our last 2 trips were OOP and i know for certain we saved a few pennies because we didn't do a TS every day.. My wife and daughter shared meals at CS many times... not because its cheaper but because that is how my wife eats... She might grab a quick snack somewhere while me and the kids pop into Pinocchios or she might just eat the salad off of one of the kids plates....

We have a few must dos... or must eats if you will. She has to eat at Tusker House once and I have to eat at Via Napolis EVERY TIME we are at Epcot!!!! The kids are more than happy with CS meals or even quick snacks... My wife is a stickler for bringing in snacks and water not because its saves money but because it saves time.. She hates stopping to eat during prime time hours.. she will stop late in the evening when she is getting run down but from RD-6 or so... she is hammer down...
 
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Why does Disney push the DP so much? To “save” us money? So they can make less profit?
Also a spreadsheet family, we always come out ahead using the dining plan. We blew a lot of money on food on our first trip to WDW back in 2004. Since then, we’ve always gotten the dining plan and saved quite a lot. We are good at making snacks into meals. This year will be our best yet now that I will be bringing along my protein shakes for lunch. I can’t handle 3 big meals a day. Big breakfast/shake & piece of fruit (snack credit) for lunch/big dinner.
 
I remember our first trip using the DDP (free).. it was the original or regular if you will that included a snack, a CS and a TS each day. The last day as we were waiting on the Bus back to the airport, my wife checked our credits and we had quite a few CS meals left over... (half dozen or so). We were more attentive the next time we had the DDP (free) to make sure we used 'em all before the last day...

I think that should have been our first clue that the DDP may not be for us.. if you have quite a few credits left over as your leaving on the Bus back to the airport, it might not be for you..
 
OP - glad you find it a good value.

I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I don’t really understand when people say they like it for peace of mind or that it makes meals less stressful. Honestly, I think if anything it will make meals more stressful for us, being limited on what we can order, keeping up with credits, making sure they charge us correctly. Paying to eat whatever I want which I’ve already budgeted for seems much simpler to me.

However, we are trying it for the first time this trip, and I am excited about doing more TS meals then we’d normally do and visiting a few places we would normally only do for a one off special occasion.

I run the numbers every trip, and this is the first time it is going to save us money. We didn’t get free dining, but we pretty much did. I’m still not sure how it worked out this way, but a package with dining, ended up being around $300 less than paying out of pocket for the room, UT tickets, and only the 3 TS adr we wanted to do. If you factor in all the meals and snacks we are getting on the DP, its more like a value savings of about $800. No idea how I caught such a good deal.

I hope we come to enjoy it as much as everyone else.
 
A lot of people point out that with the DDP, they don't feel like they have to order the cheapest thing on the menu... that they can order what they want regardless of cost. Then someone responded, the other side of it though is that with the DDP, many feel like they HAVE to order the most expensive thing to make it worth it. I can definitely see both sides of it. When paying OOP, I am one that will order chicken over steak since it's a lot cheaper; however, I really like both so it's not a biggie. But I'm also one that can't stand wasting money so I would be one that would feel like I have to get my money's worth with the DDP. Even though we haven't felt it was worth it in years, I was doing an analysis the other night and found something I would totally order because it sounds delicious. But it was only $10 vs other items on the same menu close to $20. If I had the DDP, I would probably order one of the higher priced items even though I really want that $10 sandwich!! Final decision was the DDP is still not for us. We will go in March without and just keep ever single receipt to go over so we'll know for our trip in December. We have a growing tween boy on our hands (he'll be 12 in March but is already over 5'5" and eats a LOT) so maybe that will change our minds. I just know that we are going to continue eating what, where, and when we eat.
 
I am not a big proponent of the DDP - but it has its place.

Next trip is a group where some will spend through the roof on food and others would complain about prices the whole time (all adults) - so I insisted we do the plan. This way I just book the meals that I know the group will enjoy and not worry about the fights. (I'm a planner so I will probably keep the receipts and see how we came out overall).
 
We will go in March without and just keep ever single receipt to go over so we'll know for our trip in December. We have a growing tween boy on our hands (he'll be 12 in March but is already over 5'5" and eats a LOT) so maybe that will change our minds. I just know that we are going to continue eating what, where, and when we eat.

As a mom of two teens, let me HIGHLY recommend the refillable popcorn bucket. We were there for 5 days, and refilled it 7 or 8 times. You can't get it with the DDP, but it's a great snack for $1.50 refills (and filling).

I always say - never do disney without the dining plan or memory maker!

Then I guess I'll never do Disney again as we don't get either. Only did MM this time because we got a great military discount and split that cost with my DSiL. Doubt we would get it if we were on our own even with the discount.
 
I can definitely see for lighter eaters and nonbooze people the plans not being worth it. I'll definitely check with one of the calculators when I get home to see what we would have spent.

Wait, why is the dining plan better for people who drink alcohol? We are light eaters but moderate drinkers. I have never seen alcohol included in the dining plan?

I don't buy the DP because I don't want to keep track of credits or be roped into appetizers or desserts or drinks I don't want, and we don't do TS every day (more like once or twice a trip). I do go armed with gift cards bought at my grocery store with a credit card cash back of 6% and gas perks too.

OK, so I saw the thread below that says everyone can get an alcoholic beverage. This is news to me! I haven't seen it in the regular restaurant threads. I may have to take a second look at the QS plan! Beer is pricy.
 
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As a mom of two teens, let me HIGHLY recommend the refillable popcorn bucket. We were there for 5 days, and refilled it 7 or 8 times. You can't get it with the DDP, but it's a great snack for $1.50 refills (and filling).

Yes, I think we might need to do that... THANKS!!! Our daughter is 5'4" barely 100 pounds at 18 yet our 11 YO son is already over 5'5" and 110 pounds and eats twice as her! I have no brothers so this is totally new territory for me lol. Hubby was 19 when we started dating and he ate a lot, but didn't realize it started this young :rotfl:

His 12th birthday is during our trip and he wants 12 snacks on his 12th birthday. I will definitely make sure some of them are somewhat healthy and meal worthy but have no doubt he can do it!!!

The next day is our daughter's 19th birthday. We are doing the Rapunzel breakfast as a surprise for her... Rapunzel is her absolutely favorite so she will be thrilled!
 
OK, so I saw the thread below that says everyone can get an alcoholic beverage. This is news to me! I haven't seen it in the regular restaurant threads. I may have to take a second look at the QS plan! Beer is pricy.

The price of QSDP for adults is $52.50 per night. If you figure $5 snacks, your entrée and beer still need to total about $21 just to break even.
 
A lot of people point out that with the DDP, they don't feel like they have to order the cheapest thing on the menu... that they can order what they want regardless of cost. Then someone responded, the other side of it though is that with the DDP, many feel like they HAVE to order the most expensive thing to make it worth it. I can definitely see both sides of it. When paying OOP, I am one that will order chicken over steak since it's a lot cheaper; however, I really like both so it's not a biggie. But I'm also one that can't stand wasting money so I would be one that would feel like I have to get my money's worth with the DDP. Even though we haven't felt it was worth it in years, I was doing an analysis the other night and found something I would totally order because it sounds delicious. But it was only $10 vs other items on the same menu close to $20. If I had the DDP, I would probably order one of the higher priced items even though I really want that $10 sandwich!! Final decision was the DDP is still not for us. We will go in March without and just keep ever single receipt to go over so we'll know for our trip in December. We have a growing tween boy on our hands (he'll be 12 in March but is already over 5'5" and eats a LOT) so maybe that will change our minds. I just know that we are going to continue eating what, where, and when we eat.
This is true! I've been back and forth about getting the dining plan because it's so hard to tell months in advance if it's worth it.

My husband almost always orders something with chicken breast or fish if we eat out (not a huge fan of steak). I told him I ran the numbers and with us ordering 2 snacks per day plus dessert and alcohol with each meal it will still most likely cost us less without the plan because we don't eat the more expensive meals like steak often enough.

His response was get it anyway, it's easier to have everything paid and I'll eat steak a few times. I guess some people just like the plan and a fully paid vacation. lol.
 
This is true! I've been back and forth about getting the dining plan because it's so hard to tell months in advance if it's worth it.

My husband almost always orders something with chicken breast or fish if we eat out (not a huge fan of steak). I told him I ran the numbers and with us ordering 2 snacks per day plus dessert and alcohol with each meal it will still most likely cost us less without the plan because we don't eat the more expensive meals like steak often enough.

His response was get it anyway, it's easier to have everything paid and I'll eat steak a few times. I guess some people just like the plan and a fully paid vacation. lol.

Definitely hard trying to figure it out! We do mostly QS cause we have no idea where we will be when. I don't want to plan my park days around we are eating. I like to do it the other way. For my analysis, i estimated what we would eat at 10 different places and then averaged them. Slightly off but i think a good estimate. I purchase a GC for the amount of the dining plan to get that prepaid feeling lol. Any extra will be used for shopping or for our next trip!

As far as dessert, I don't think it is included in the QS anymore. So that might skew your numbers some. Being able to get alcohol can definitely help boost the value but only some of the places offer drinks we would like. Some only carry beer that we would NEVER pay OOP for. And then there are those drinks, like the Grey Goose Slush, that I like to get but wouldn't be included since it's not offered a QS location.

I'm glad it works for some. Truly wished it worked for us but we will see come March when i compare our OOP to the DP.
 

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