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

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.
Thanks! I said I included dessert when calculating each meal but I really just added for TS. If I added for QS it was with a snack credit =)
 
We've been to WDW three times and had free DDP the first two times, free QSDP the last time. I did the math--free dining was WAY better than any other discounts. We enjoyed the freedom of not worrying about cost. However, if we had to pay for it, we definitely would not buy it. We took TONS of snacks home because we just don't need that much food. Often 3 meals for the 5 of us was plenty, and our kids weren't little, 2 of them were teenagers.
I'm certainly not going to say the DDP isn't worth it, though, as for MANY people it is, just as for MANY people it is. I do hope those who are considering it at least do that math, though!
 
I’ve run the numbers too and for DH and I we save enough to make it worthwhile.. we are definitely meat eaters and tend to order the steak, the lamb, the duck - the more expensive stuff. We also planned a few signature meals and maximize our snack credits at food and wine festival.

The other benefit is it’s already paid for (except tip) and we don’t have to worry about it when we go unless we get any extra drinks during dinner. Having it all set before we even get there just makes the trip so much more worry-free. And that to me makes it worth every penny
 
We just had our trip a few weeks ago with the DDP; I was crunching numbers last night and our family of 4 (3 at adult rate and 1 child) would have saved so much money if we had paid OOP. Hundreds. :( Never again, unless it's Free Dining. Oh well, live and learn right? We did have fantastic experiences and yummy food at every meal which is the most important part.
 


I just went through all the menus and snacks and figured up what it might cost us . I compared it to a quote for the dining plan we got a couple of days ago. The dining plan would cost us around 50.00 more than OOP. There are only 2 of us though.
 
I just went through all the menus and snacks and figured up what it might cost us . I compared it to a quote for the dining plan we got a couple of days ago. The dining plan would cost us around 50.00 more than OOP. There are only 2 of us though.

Did you add the 6.5% tax to your OOP calculations? At $50, it might be worth it to get the plan just to have it prepaid and if you forgot the tax, you're probably right at breaking even.
 
Did you add the 6.5% tax to your OOP calculations? At $50, it might be worth it to get the plan just to have it prepaid and if you forgot the tax, you're probably right at breaking even.
Yes and also added the cost of mugs. No wait I added 6 % I will go figure it up again.
 


I had remembered the mugs but forgotten the tax but that only added $67 some dollars. Boo. LOL sigh....
 
I just went through all the menus and snacks and figured up what it might cost us . I compared it to a quote for the dining plan we got a couple of days ago. The dining plan would cost us around 50.00 more than OOP. There are only 2 of us though.

You'll also get true flexibility not being on the plan. If you're too full for dessert, you don't pay for it. If you're not hungry enough for a full meal when you get to the restaurant, you can just order an appetizer. Eat ANYTHING you want, rather than be restricted by the dining plan.
 
You'll also get true flexibility not being on the plan. If you're too full for dessert, you don't pay for it. If you're not hungry enough for a full meal when you get to the restaurant, you can just order an appetizer. Eat ANYTHING you want, rather than be restricted by the dining plan.
True and it doesnt include appetizers which we have seen a few we would like to have. I figured up our prices again with 6.5 % tax and came up with an estimate of 680.00 without the mugs and with the mugs it is $718.00 for 5 nights. The dining plan is 754.00.Mugs are 18.99 now?
 
True and it doesnt include appetizers which we have seen a few we would like to have. I figured up our prices again with 6.5 % tax and came up with an estimate of 680.00 without the mugs and with the mugs it is $718.00 for 5 nights. The dining plan is 754.00.Mugs are 18.99 now?

I never figure the mugs into the equation, because we rarely use them at the resort. We just never have time to eat at the resort, and it's a hassle to go to the food court to fill them. When we used the dining plan, they just became a "free" souvenir.
 
I never figure the mugs into the equation, because we rarely use them at the resort. We just never have time to eat at the resort, and it's a hassle to go to the food court to fill them. When we used the dining plan, they just became a "free" souvenir.
I agree it seems like a hassle to go to the food court to fill them up. We have not used them much. I thought maybe we might this trip since we are staying at POFQ and it is a small resort.
 
I never include the price of the mugs when running the numbers. We try to avoid pop, so we don’t use them either.
 
I run the numbers (I love spreadsheets), and the dollar amounts are always really close. I do not assume everyone orders the most expensive items. Part of this could be that the TS venues we select are pricier?

While we could probably save money sharing meals, in that scenario, somebody almost always has to compromise. I want everybody to order whatever they want. We don't go annually, so not like you can try something next time. Next time could be years away. Sometimes, we'll share a CS meal but then use the leftover credit for a breakfast we can share the next morning.

Everybody is legal, so order that wine.

We fly, so if we wanted to pack our own snacks or light breakfasts, we'd have to figure out a way to get it all in into the luggage, which is kind of a pain. Anyway, we will eat at the resort/in the parks for the duration of the trip.

I did one, too! Used actual selections off the TS places we always choose. Also factored in all other discounts allowed TIW, DVC, and AP - the DDP wins before the inclusion of alcohol! The only things that are a bit of a pain - sometimes wanting an appetizer that is OOP and/or if dessert can't be substituted for salad/soup.
 
Everyone values things differently. Sometimes it isn't about cost savings at all. It very well could be convenience or the idea that all the meals are paid for in advance. I'm doing it this year because every one in my party is on the dining plan, and it would be way too confusing to have me paying separate every time we eat out. So, I am spending more, but it makes me part of the gang...LOL!

It also takes the pressure off of everyone - we are paying for our adult DD and her fiancee - I don't want them to consider the $$ of the selections or worry about paying for a snack (or thinking they shouldn't charge it to the room). They are both active duty soldiers on vacation. And, Mama's got this! There is plenty of opportunity in the world to worry about $$ for the rest of their lives.
 
I agree it seems like a hassle to go to the food court to fill them up. We have not used them much. I thought maybe we might this trip since we are staying at POFQ and it is a small resort.

We were surprised how much we used them last year. Our TS tend to be in resorts so we were always passing through somewhere (+ pool time) - and they have choices besides soda.
 
To Dining Plan or Not to Dining Plan? That is the question. I love these discussions and I am also a nerd who runs the numbers every time. Our first trip, we did the Deluxe and that was way too much food, but hubby (now ex hubby) insisted. The next two years were regular dining plan because we love character meals. We had tons of snacks leftover on all three trips. This May, I am NOT going to do the dining plan. Even with BOG, Spirit of Aloha and 5 character meals, I believe I will save money paying out of pocket. Here's why:
I gave up caffeine and soda last year, so I will order a case of water and take it into the park with me and order water with all my meals. So, any and all drinks will be wasted on me.
DD12 will eat a huge meal one day and snack like a bird the next. If she's not hungry, I don't want to keep buying meals, especially if we can split one.
I have been on the ketogenic diet and practicing intermittent fasting, so I may only eat one big meal a day and a snack that I bring into the parks, like macadamia nuts. I will also probably order a lot of a la carte meals in order to avoid all of the carbs.
I don't drink alcohol and I try to curb DD12's sugar consumption on vacation to something reasonable. If she had a shake with her burger, she would not get a dessert or snack. And she probably wouldn't be hungry for it unless she didn't actually eat the burger.
Also, with all of these new restaurants open at Disney Springs, I have several i want to try and I don't want to be bothered with which, if any, might take the DDP.

As for the "order the most expensive thing on the menu" idea. I recall being instructed at Sanaa and Boatwright's which items were actually included on the meal plan and the most expensive items were excluded. You also have to scan the QS menus to see which snacks are included and sometimes the ones we wanted were not included. So, IMHO, the dining plan is not all it's cracked up to be if you want to eat what you want, when you want. And that's my motto for this trip. I want and need to be able to omit or subsitute sides, etc. And I don't want DD12 to feel like "Mom's meal came with a dessert and she can't eat it, so i guess it's mine". My diet should't cause my daughter to develop a weight issue, KWIM? That being said, even if I were not dieting, I would still not purchase the dining plan this year based on what I learned the first three years.

Now, that doesn't mean I never will again, you just never know. There's really not a right or wrong answer on this topic. It's just what works for you!
 
I think I've done a spreadsheet every trip and over and over again it wouldn't save us money. The one time we had it was the first time we stayed on property and I was nervous about food cost. We were using DME with no rental car at all. It was nice knowing for sure how much we were going to spend on food. We found that it wasn't the best for us though...We aren't really big eaters, but everyone usually wants to order their own thing. We only have the occasional soda or adult drink. I do like not having to worry about how much an item is on the menu, but I didn't like worrying about trying to use up all the credits. We like TS meals, but on our upcoming 7 day trip, we only have 4 or 5 planned. More than that, feels like too much time away from other things we want to do. We felt like our time was kind of tied to the meal plan when we did it. For us, it's better to just order what we want and not worry about fitting it into the meal plan. My latest spreadsheet has us saving $50 per day buy not being on the DDP...and that's with me predicting that everyone orders whatever they want.
 
I think DDP can work for some people, especially if it is “free”. We are DVC so pay full price for the Dining Plan if we choose to use it. We were there the week of New Years and I kept track of everything. We did not do DDP, I did buy Tables in Wonderland even though we were there on New Year’s Eve and Day which are blacked out. We had 6 adults and one child, 8 nights. I did have discounted gift cards from Sam’s, but since I would have used them either way I did not include the discount in my analysis.

8 nights for 6 adults and 1 child:
Deluxe DDP : $5,899.92
Regular DDP : $3829.52

Actual food costs: $2,981.67+150(TiW)= $3131.67

We did eat most breakfasts in the room, a full kitchen allows us to do that. Just frozen breakfast sandwiches, cereal, etc. I don’t like to cook on vacation! I spent $122 at Publix for food for the week and brought cases of water and some snacks with us. We ate at TS restaurants 8 times and QS 6 times, so pretty close to what we would have gotten credits for on the regular Dining Plan. We ate at Tusker House (breakfast), Crystal Palace (breakfast), SciFi (lunch), Turf Club (dinner), Rose & Crown (dinner), Biergarten (lunch), Skippers Canteen (lunch), and Be Our Guest (dinner) for our Table Service. We also had one large snack/appetizers at the Nomad Lounge which I don’t believe is on the Dining Plans. We also had in the range of 83 snacks. We did not go hungry by any sense of the word and we had no restrictions on what our kids ordered (three of our “adults” are teenagers). We also had an alcoholic beverage (or two) a day for each of the three adults of legal age. Several of our TS meals involved having two appetizers instead of an entree. For us the DDP really doesn’t make financial sense. The regular plan would still be $697.85 more than we actually paid, the Deluxe an astounding $2,768.25 more. On either plan, we would have had another 30 or so snack credits to use up at the end. I just don’t need that many Rice Krispie treats! :earboy2:

The one time we did use the dining plan was back when appetizers, dessert, and tip was included. I also had 2 still in the “child” category which is where I think the greatest plan savings is. We thought it was overly restrictive and did not fit with our eating patterns. My son had a stomach bug in the middle of that trip so we had to shuffle ADR’s around and ended up keeping some I would have canceled if we were paying OOP and trying to find last minute locations at the end of the trip when we had unexpected credits left from the meals we had to skip when he was sick.
 
You'll also get true flexibility not being on the plan. If you're too full for dessert, you don't pay for it. If you're not hungry enough for a full meal when you get to the restaurant, you can just order an appetizer. Eat ANYTHING you want, rather than be restricted by the dining plan.
Baffles me that ppl still use this line, that one is restricted or forced to eat certain things. I think some people don't know that you don't have to spend a point per person at every meal. You just use them when you want. Appetizers are not relevant. So what if you'd have to pay for an app if you're on the DDP. You'd have to pay for it if you weren't too. If you only want an appetizer for dinner then order that and use the point at the next place. Say you and your significant other split a meal and an app. DDP is perfect. With cash you'd have to pay for the meal and the app at both places. On the DDP you'd use your point for the meal (and share a dessert even better) and pay for the app. At the next place you'd use the other person's point for that meal and pay for the app. You just got 2 meals -- with appetizers and shared 2 drinks and 2 desserts for the price of 2 apps you'd have bought anyways. DDP has many great benefits. Flexibility to apply your points in the most optimal way you choose is one of its benefits!
 

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