DDP worth paying for for my family of 4?

[Mom2Stitch]

Love the dining plan, it gives you freedom to choose what you want and usually from where you want. It can be cost effective, depending on how your habits and how you eat. We got free dining for our September trip, after I made a list of our must do restaurants and wish lists, I quickly figured out that we were going to have more sit down meals than credits. We are upgrading to deluxe dining, actually a great deal since we only have to pay the difference between regular and deluxe. For us dining is a big part of the vacation, we enjoy sitting down to escape heat and crowds. Being able to grab an ice cream or cupcake when we want and not worry about the cost is great.

 

[babesboo99]

Love the dining plan, it gives you freedom to choose what you want and usually from where you want. It can be cost effective, depending on how your habits and how you eat. We got free dining for our September trip, after I made a list of our must do restaurants and wish lists, I quickly figured out that we were going to have more sit down meals than credits. We are upgrading to deluxe dining, actually a great deal since we only have to pay the difference between regular and deluxe. For us dining is a big part of the vacation, we enjoy sitting down to escape heat and crowds. Being able to grab an ice cream or cupcake when we want and not worry about the cost is great.

My family loves to sit down and eat as well and get away from the crowds. We are using the DxDDP for the first time this October and we are looking forward to it. We used the regular plan before and we thought we would try this out.

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

We loved having the plan when our kids were under 10 - we did the math each time and always came out ahead. Now that they're both over 10, we do much better with no plan and just paying OOP.

 

[Baklava]

My family loves to sit down and eat as well and get away from the crowds. We are using the DxDDP for the first time this October and we are looking forward to it. We used the regular plan before and we thought we would try this out.

This is us too. Rather than go back to the hotel we use TS meals as a break. We loved the DxDDP! (Also, snacks make great gifts for those back at home.)

 

[babesboo99]

This is us too. Rather than go back to the hotel we use TS meals as a break. We loved the DxDDP! (Also, snacks make great gifts for those back at home.)

That' one thing I am looking forward too. I want to bring some snacks home do you know if I would be able to bring anything back from MK on Main Street?

 

[Minniesgal]

We hate the dining plan. No way would we spend that much or eat that much without it. Also I don't get people saying the convenience thing since you still have a bill with every meal for tips and drinks.

We find it ties us to Disney food and to eating in restaurants. Sometimes we want to go offsite or have something simple in the room. We can't do a TS every day and enjoy it we just get so sick of eating out.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We just booked our Christmas 2017 package.
We paid for the dining plan (of course. No one gets it free over Christmas)

Not true...we did...for 14 nights this past Christmas...actually Christmas and New Years....you just have to get in under the free dining...we arrived December 18th and the free dining promo was still on for another day or two...if you start with the free plan, it lasts your whole trip (up to 14 days because that is the longest package you can book).

And of course, we upgraded to the Deluxe Dining Plan so we ended up paying some but we used much more in our 15 day trip!

I love the dining plans because I am a cheapskate! I am the family that does want the most expensive items most of the time, we don't eat out a lot at home and if we do it is not nice places, it's chain restaurants and McDonalds in transit form one kid's event to another, and I am the mom who is always watching the cost of everything.

With the OP's family and planned TS meals, I think the plan is a good bet.

 

[DrunkJam]

Not true...we did...for 14 nights this past Christmas...actually Christmas and New Years....you just have to get in under the free dining...we arrived December 18th and the free dining promo was still on for another day or two...if you start with the free plan, it lasts your whole trip (up to 14 days because that is the longest package you can book).

And of course, we upgraded to the Deluxe Dining Plan so we ended up paying some but we used much more in our 15 day trip!

I love the dining plans because I am a cheapskate! I am the family that does want the most expensive items most of the time, we don't eat out a lot at home and if we do it is not nice places, it's chain restaurants and McDonalds in transit form one kid's event to another, and I am the mom who is always watching the cost of everything.

With the OP's family and planned TS meals, I think the plan is a good bet.

I did not know this. Mind you, we couldn't fly that early to fit in with term times anyway, so, we'd never get free dining for our dates, even if they did work out the same in Uk...Still, it still works out for us to pay for it anyway...

 

[jlhill4444]

We have tried all different ways- regular dinning, deluxe and oop with TIW. What we found is that we actually prefer a dinning plan of some sort. Even with TIW I found myself not getting what I wanted because of price, and really skimping on snacks because they are not discounted. We have a 10 day trip planned for 2017 and have booked deluxe for that trip. We are excited about the idea of allowing the kids to get a snack when they want one and not worry about paying for it. We may use other methods again, but for this trip it is deluxe. Each trip is different however, so that may change.