dining plan vs eating at rv

[auntie]

You know.. people go back and forth with this issue. It's such an individual choice. It really is what works well for your own family given the way you dine and the ages of those in your party at that particular time. Only you know that. In all the years we've been going to Disney..we've never done any type of dining plan. Did it last year for the first time..and loved it. That being said I'm feeding a 16 year old who is 6'3" tall.....and we do at least one table service meal each day. One look at the menu prices..and it just made sense, the $40.00 was a bargain. Plus..it was just fun. (okay..it doesn't take much to amuse us! ) All that being said when my husband and I go to FW in August.. just the two of us..we don't plan to use the plan. We are hoping to purchase a couple of AP's(so as to use them for a trip next year also) along with a Dining Experience card. So..what works one trip..won't the next.
Also..I've read countless posts over on the dining board where it's just my impression, but parents are hit with a type of "sticker shock" reality when they reach that point where their little kids ...aren't so little anymore and the adult price kicks in. The get annoyed that there isn't a junior rate for eating. The kids are probably not eating as much as an adult..but let's face it ..by the time they're 10..they are eating more than a 3 year old. So the parents have had a good long run with the $10.00 price..and need some time to adjust to the increase. It may well mean that you don't do the plan and pay out of pocket for a couple of years..along with some quick meals in the camper. Then pick up again with the plan a couple of years later when the kids are older and you feel it's worth it again. If you're not using and AP or Dining Experience card, I do think it does come back around to being a decent family value..if you are scheduling at least one table service meal a day. Again..it's back to menu's to decide

 

[dtum]

I agree with GracieJane. We plan on eating one lunch at TE, breakfast at camper and a light meal at camper for the other days. spend much of our time at park and don't want to waste it sitting in a restaurant. Think we may make a trip to downtown disney and shop around and will probably stop and eat lunch over there also. We always take p'nut butter and jelly and lots of fruit if we need a snack when we get back from the park at night, but usually just go to bed because it's late.

 

[auntie]

If you are paying out of pocket, I'm sure he can order from the kid's menu. Nobody will ask for ID.

When we paid out of pocket and my son was about 11/12..he was odering off the kids menu if nothing appealed to him on the adult menu..and we were never asked about his age. Granted that was four years ago..but still maybe a better option for the OP.

 

[des1954]

When we've gone to FtW for extended vacation (1 week or more)... I cook ahead and freeze a few meals (chili, pot roast, etc) and then heat things up in the microwave. I also have a few meals to grill (burgers or hot dogs - steaks) and we love to go to the food courts at any of the resorts that have said food courts for meals. (Don't forget your re-fillable mug!)

What we've done is this... eat light breakfast, go to a park til 1 or 2pm, come back to FtW & eat our "big" meal, go back to a park & eat a CS snack for dinner, close said park & then back to FtW. Of course, we always have to reserve one evening for the "Giddy-Up & Go Chicken Dinner" from T.E.!!

If you plan ahead, you don't have to do a lot of cooking while at FtW!! It's easy on you & easier on the budget! If you use disposable cookware, plates, cups & flatware, it's even easier!!

 

[terri01p]

Love the dining plan but it's way to much money , I would rather cook at my tt or go off site...Checkers is your friend

 

[des1954]

Checkers is your friend

My DH LOVES Checkers!!! I prefer 5 Guys Burgers & Fries - but they're not as conveniently located as Checkers, alas!!

 

[ntsammy5]

Lets not forget CiCis either! The grandsons love that place. So do I.

 

[des1954]

I often do these for a quick & filling breakfast...

Go to the freezer section at Wal-Mart & purchase

1 Bag of frozen egg patties (for lack of the real name) 18 count

1 Bag of Pre-cooked frozen pork sausage patties 18 count

English Muffins

American Cheese Slices

Directions: Split, toast and butter one english muffin. Wrap one sausage patty in a paper towel & place on microwavable plate & put one egg patty (unwrapped) next to sausage on same plate. Cook on high for 90 seconds or until heated; when egg & sausage have finished cooking, place on the toasted english muffin (remove the sausage from paper towel first - lol), top with cheese slice, pop back into microwave for about 10 seconds to melt the cheese & enjoy!!

I love to eat, and it shows!!

These are far better & cheaper than McDonald's.

http://smiley.smileycentral.com/download/index.jhtml?partner=ZSzeb096_ZN&utm_id=7924

 

[Tent Camping Mom]

Only at the buffets will you need to pay adult prices for the 10 and 11 year olds. DS is now 12 and the past 2 years we were offered kid's menus at all our TS dinners. Once I even mentioned that he was already 10 but they said it's no problem.

I have to agree, with 4 adults, paying out of pocket is the way to go. I created a spreadsheet a couple of weeks ago for someone just to give an idea how the DDP doesn't work for 2 adults and 1 "Disney Adult." I also did a comparison for two adults and a 9 year old and in that case the DDP was better than Out-of-Pocket if you are doing a Dinner Character Meal every night.

Here's the link to my web server that has the spreadsheets (in Excel) and also some pages you can view if you don't have Excel.
http://home.mchsi.com/~stuffy2000/DDP/CompareDDP.htm

This is similar to the workbook I used when I was trying to decide if the DDP would work. Needless to say, Out-of-pocket worked better for us. I have plans on updating the spreadsheet so that more meals and more family members can use it to evaluate....that is if anyone is interested.

 

[Skyw]

I like to eat off Disney too. Unless it was free (like in Sep), I won't get it. Last year we went off site several times. We have a 4 year old, so didn't hit the parks all day. Having said that.......I have been to the parks without kids or with teenagers and it would be worth it for the dining plan. I was giving my DSD (step Daughter) and her cousin $30 a day each to spend on food. Not including breakfast. They rarely came back with any extra money.

 

[AlyLynn]

I am planning on about 2 weeks at the fort in Dec and to save some $ am considering not doing the meal plan this time. We are a family of 5 and with the changes in the plan and 2 of my kids( 10 and 11) considered "adults" with the pricing I am thinking we might not do the plan this time. Anyone else feeling the same way? It would cost around $170/day plus gratuity for us to be on the plan.
I am worried that having most of our meals in the rv will be a downer since we usually do the meal plan. This would be our big trip/vacation for the year. Maybe a few well picked dinners out would make up for it. Any thoughts?

I know how you feel--we are a family of 6. We are cutting back on our "dining out" in December because the prices are so high. Eating in the RV doesn't have to be a "downer", just well planned. We usually try to do a breakfast buffet out mid-morning, and a light snack/lunch, and then go back to the camper for dinner. (Dinner is usually in the crockpot or Bar-B-Que).
The kids are just so happy to be going this Christmas that I'm sure it will be fine! (We did this our last trip, and they were fine--They got to spend time at FW and relax for a while)

 

[mamaloya]

No one has yet mentioned the fact that the DDP no longer includes the tip. So, after dinner you still have to pay the 18% gratuity. We used to do the dining plan, but now that the tip is not included, we don't. We can do it cheaper out of pocket, but liked the convenience of it all paid up front. Disney took the convenience out of it.

You can still eat most of your meals out. We buy muffins and waffles and such to have in the camper while we get ready in the morning. We eat the other 2 meals out. The only time we cook at the camper is on our off days. We then throw some burgers on the grill. Really no cleanup that way and one of the guys do the cooking. The only thing I do would be to toss fries in the oven or just open a bag of chips.

I guess what I am trying to say is that it doesn't have to be DDP or cooking. I also like that w/o the dining plan, we don't have to do ADRs everyday which gives us a lot more freedom.

 

[auntie]

I assumed the OP knew what the dining plan included. Also..you don't have to leave 18%..the tip is now left up to you. So if you don't think the service warrants an 18% tip..then you don't have to leave one. It's the Disney Dining Experience card that requires the 18% tips. Even with that..a good many people leave a 20% tip for good service, so they may feel they are saving by having that gratuity automatically added.
While the original Dining Plan has changed and does not include the appetizer or gratuity...it's still a pretty good option for some...you have to compare the out of pocket to what you'd pay for the plan.

 

[fortcampers]

We just did our first camping trip at FW and we only had lunch in the parks. My family aren't big breakfast eaters and we planned in advance to grill while we were there. I think we spent something like $100 at the Wal-Mart supercenter on food when we got down there and spent maybe $50 a day on lunch/snacks in the parks. We had 5 people---2 adults, a 6'0 tall 185 lb teenage boy, a 12 yr old and an 8 yr old. We spent 6 nights so we spent about $400 for food for those 6 nights/7 days. To me that is a lot cheaper than the food plan. If I had money burning a whole in my pocket, I might do the dining plan. Having the convenience of not having to come back to the camper while in the park is a big plus, but on the other hand, it gave us time to come back and kick back and relax. I swore this time we weren't going to go from sun-up to long past sun-down like we have done in the past. It was a much more enjoyable trip.

 

[Tent Camping Mom]

I assumed the OP knew what the dining plan included. Also..you don't have to leave 18%..the tip is now left up to you. So if you don't think the service warrants an 18% tip..then you don't have to leave one. It's the Disney Dining Experience card that requires the 18% tips. Even with that..a good many people leave a 20% tip for good service, so they may feel they are saving by having that gratuity automatically added.
While the original Dining Plan has changed and does not include the appetizer or gratuity...it's still a pretty good option for some...you have to compare the out of pocket to what you'd pay for the plan.

I agree. Although I used 15% as the standard in my spreadsheets because I was choosing the traditional tipping standards. 15% for standard service, 18% for good service, 20% for excellent service. Which at WDW, we have always gotten good service. I've yet to recieve standard service and only on DCL have I received excellent service. So really, our "Disney Standard" is 18%.

 

[LarryJ]

We did what was sort of the forerunner to the DDP a couple of times back in the 1980's where you got "tickets/coupons" for like one lunch and one dinner each day and it included appetizer, entree, and dessert. It also had no restrictions on things like lobster, etc. and was good, but we were in our 30's back then and do way could I eat even a single day on the DDP now. We pay OOP and now use the DDE which we really like. We usually only eat out about every 3 days at a Disney restaurant, but that is over a 30 to 45 day stay and eat all the other meals less a few CS, a Turkey Leg, or even a "baked potato" in Liberty Square at the trailer.

When the boy's were smaller we always did at least one character breakfast for them, but when they got into their teens we never have breakfast anywhere but in the trailer. As far a cooking in the trailer you just have to get some experience. DW learned a ton when from 1996 to 2006 we dry camped Thurs till Sun for Penn State home games and learned how to keep the preparation and dirty cooking pots down to almost nothing and the outside grill is your friend. I've even cooked a 5lb prime rib roast on it along with baked potatoes and squash and it was great Cornish hens are also great on the grill. The secret is prepared sauces packed flat in a ziploc bag or even a couple of meals for the first couple of days prepared frozen and then put in the frig to thaw like veggie soup, chili, etc.

Larry

 

[Michelle GT]

We were just discussing this and decided that although we eat out at a lot of the Buffets and theamed resturants it was cheaper for us because we always have Breakfast in the Rv and we also eat offsite several times during our 10 day stay. We buy two cases of Juice at Sams and also water and mostly cereal and snacks. We also carrry sandwhich stuff just in case.
We will see you in Dec. I think we skip June this year, the first time in many, many years.


I hope we see you there. I really want to go, but now I am considering waiting till next summer to go. As I look up some of the restaurants I want, it seems the ones I am interested in charge extra for the holidays. I wonder if it would be better to wait till the summer and stay longer. Christmas is great this year because we can go for 2 weeks and my kids would only be out of school for 2 or 3 days.
But waiting till next summer seems like a long time.

 

[Michelle GT]

oops,
I tried to copy what Becky1960 wrote, but I wasn't very successful.

 

[douglisa]

I am confused, one person said they do not allow ddp for campsites because they allow 10 people. When I was checking prices it gave me the option of getting ddp. The site was during value season, we will be tenting. I assumed it was the cheapest site. So what is the price difference between the sites that allow ddp and the sites that do not? Thanks in advance.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Actually, what was said and is true....they dont offer the FREE DDP to campsites......Disney offers free dining to resort guests to increase attendance during the down time(8/24-9/20, the begining of the new school year). But this offer doesnt apply to FW guests(except for cabins) because of the large amount of guest allowed on 1 site....Disney would lose a huge chunk o'change issuing free dining to 10ppl per site.