Dining Plans vs Tables in Wonderland

[r3ngels]

It has been years since I have done either. Pros and Cons?

We have table reservations every night and we will be there for 9 nights. Thought?

 

[CarolynFH]

We prefer TIW because we frequently order appetizers and almost never order dessert. Also, TIW covers alcoholic beverages, which we sometimes order as well. So for us it's a better value.

 

[Hopefully]

How many in your party? The usual "Rule of Thumb" is you need to spend about $500 and after that you begin to realize savings with the TIW Card.
Look at the menus and see what you would normally order. If you would eat a QS meal, A TS meal and a snack each day and fi an entree, dessert and non alcoholic drink mimics your dining style, the DDP might work, If not the TIW might work. Just paying OOP could also be the cheapest way for your group. You have to do the research yourself to determine what is best based on your own preferences.

 

[supersnoop]

It has been years since I have done either. Pros and Cons?

We have table reservations every night and we will be there for 9 nights. Thought?

Judging by your signature, TiW.

In my opinion, there are two separate questions. First, does the dining plan save you any money? Unless you have kids aged 3 to 9, you'll lose money on the plan 98% of the time. Therefore, paying out of pocket is a better choice than the dining plan.

The second question is, will you spend at least $500 on applicable dining? If you have five people for 9 nights, with a table service meal each night, then it seems exceedingly likely that you'll spend more than $500. That's the break-even point for TiW. If you qualify for some other discounts, like DVC, AP, or Disney Visa, then your break even might be a little higher, but typically not by much. Those discounts are lower, not accepted at as many places, and don't cover alcohol.

So, I'd go with TiW for your family.

 

[geek+nerd]

Don't forget that TiW is good at some QS places, too, thereby increasing your potential savings.

 

[imahistorygeek]

We prefer TIW because of the ability to eat whatever we want. Sometimes we just want appetizers as main meals. We never eat dessert. The dining plan is just way too much food.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Big plus of the TIW would be the availability of using it on more than one trip if you plan accordingly. And because of that, an even bigger plus is that it helps in your efforts to talk your better half into another trip sooner just to "save money". Kind of like an ace in the hole.

 

[Jing]

We don't qualify for TIW or it would be a no brainer over the DDP. We save on the DDP even with just 2 adults, but would save more on TIW for the booze alone.

 

[ColoradoDis]

We like the TIW option too. It works great for us and as the PP said, you can use it on more than one trip.

 

[IndyRnRfan]

We would like to try tiw but don't qualify either. We did ddp with 4 adults and saved about $200 for 10 days in '13. We are doing oop this time though.

 

[Toadi]

We have tried the dining plan and TIW; I kept all receipts in order to track the costs. Dining plan did not work out for us; we are not dessert eaters, but like appetizers and adult beverages. We had to really work at making the dining plan cost effective for us and felt like we ate way too much food. IF we can justify two trips in a year, we get an annual pass and do TIW. For us, TIW has been a better value than the dining plan.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We love our TIW card. We always go to table service meals every night, usually 3 or 4 of us. And we always order wine and other drinks. So a 50 bottle of wine quickly becomes 40 and a meal for 4 at California grill which costs about 200 or more is reduced significantly. Ours ran out in April. We are due to go back in. November and then again in March. We will definitely get another in November so it will be good for 13 months.

 

[tasha99]

We tend to get booze and apps, so TIW. If we get dessert, it's one for the table, and not everyone wants an entree, so the DDP doesn't fit how we eat.

 

[r3ngels]

Thanks guys! I looked at our restaurants and prices.. and looks like TIW. We will spend more than $500 and don't do dessert with dinner.

You guys are awesome!

 

[HopperFan]

Done both and agree with group, TIW saved us more. We order water with our meals, maybe one dessert (a waste with DDP) and prefer appetizers and it includes alcohol. We also use it at places like Splitsville at DTD and add the valet perk. And we are there 5x a year at least. We even stopped getting the Free Dining because we do better with room discount and TIW.