Do I need the dining plan?

[Timber Wolf]

So we are going to Disney the end of August arriving early Sat morning and leaving Friday our flight is 1:45 so maybe having time to slip in A quick breakfast at the resort not sure yet.

our game plan with this being our daughters first trip to disney at 7 years old we plan on doing a character meal a day two on one day b/c she wants to dine with the disney JR characters & we want to dine for the fantasmic pkg so these are where we are dining

HS Hollywood & Vine B & D (fantasmic pkg)
AK Tusker House D (rivers of light Pkg)
EPC Askerhus B
MK crystal palace D
poly Ohana B

we are not big breakfast people but the menu suits us better at the Askerhus for breakfast,my daughter wants to dine with the disney Jr characters thats why hollywood & vine for breakfast as well as wanting to eat with Lilo & stitch

as far as everything else goes we are kind of up in the air of where & when we want to eat we are staying At AOA which I hear has pretty good food.

at first we figured the dining plan was the way to go but after talking it over with my wife she is having surgery at the end of June and she is going to be on a restricted diet she may still be on a partial liquid or soft food diet so as far as taking advantage of the dining plan it may not be worth the money yes we have character meals planned for everyday but 3 out of the 6 are for breakfast and as far as the lunches & snacks go she is going to be limited in what she can eat.Under normal circumstances we would probably save a little bit going with the dining plan not much but still a little figuring in the two snacks per day but with her having the surgery and being on the light diet I am not quite sure if paying the money now for the dining plan is worth it.

it would be essentially myself & my 7 year old daughter on the plan with my wife participating in the table service mostly buffets where she could grab something light but not really grabbing much in the way of snacks or lunch and if she does it would be something light.

So I am starting to think that the dining plan in my situation may not be worth the money as I would probably spend less out of pocket even with all the character meals with my wifes situation chances are she may be able to eat solid food but if so its going to be on a very light restricted diet.

thank-you

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

No one "needs" the dining plan.
Only YOU will know if its worth it for your situation.
Personally especially when going during FREE dining I generally take advantage of it although for my next trip even though FD is offered it did not work in my favor financially.

 

[dakotix]

I agree with the above statement in terms that no one "needs" the plan. It all amounts to the type of experience you're looking for. The dining plan doesn't really save you anything. As far as your partner's diet restrictions, Disney is AMAZING when it comes to honoring the dietary needs of its guests. My mom went with us one year. She's in her 70s so she has crazy dietary needs. We had scheduled a dinner at Mexico and she wanted pasta with marinara sauce lol. They made it for her with no problem. The chef came out and she spoke directly to him so he would understand her needs.

We do the dining plan because we like it. Its convenient and, for us, negates the financial stress of putting all those meals on a credit card because the dining plan is already paid for. When we get home from Disney we want nothing on a credit card other than a few souvenirs here and there and even then we bring spending cash for those things.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

With that many character meals you might actually save money using the dining plan. Easiest way to find out, add up the cost of all your planned meals and compare that to the cost of the DP. That should give you your answer.

 

[siren0119]

Yep - and remember that for the character meals that are buffets, every member of the party will be charged regardless of whether/how much they can eat. And you can't get dining plans for some of your party but not others if you are all staying in the same room. So if there are places she just won't be able to get a meal, or won't want to eat, you may end up losing money.

Best thing to do is plan out how you would normally eat (include breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks) and price that out. Then look at the dining plans to see if they make sense.

Also if your wife is on special dietary restrictions, once you know where you want to eat (whether on a Dining plan or paying out of pocket), make sure you include special instructions with each reservation. The Disney restaurants are EXCELLENT at trying to accommodate any dietary needs for guests.

 

[PerfessorZ]

When I do a buffet meal at WDW, I generally am good to go for almost 2 meals. Consequently, I usually try to avoid dinner AYCTE meals since I'm just stuffed the rest of the night and kind of miserable. I can't imagine doing two in a day without a lot of physical activity in between.

That said, it seems on this board that you're either a dining plan person or you're not. You'll be judged harshly by the other camp no matter which you decide , so just go with what you feel is best for you.

 

[sharonabe]

HS Hollywood & Vine B & D (fantasmic pkg)
AK Tusker House D (rivers of light Pkg)
EPC Askerhus B
MK crystal palace D
poly Ohana B

All five of these are considered buffet and have a set price. You will pay the price no matter how much you eat or don't eat.

So let's do the math. The total cost for all of you on just these 6 meals is right at $820. Total cost of DDP for 6 nights for all of you is about $1073. So now you need to figure out if you will spend more or less than $253 for the rest of your meals and any snacks you might want. You also need to decide if you and your wife will have alcohol at any of these or the QS meals. You will get one beverage each at each meal if you use the DDP, but you will have to add that to your cost if you pay OOP. DD will also be able to get specialty drinks and adult QS meals if you use the DDP.

 

[GillianP1301]

With that many character meals and a child under 10 you will most definitely save money on the dining plan, kids and character meals are by far where you get the most value out of the plan. Your wife's situation really doesn't impact your costs since she will be charged for each of those meals since they are character buffets, regardless of how much she eats.

 

[Timber Wolf]

I did do some calculations using the dining plan calculator and its almost a push without the snacks add in the snacks and I actually save a little money using the dining plan where it would be hit or miss is the QS meals as we won't be spending as much on those as first thought with her dietary needs the buffets like many mentioned are a set price so it comes down to the two snacks per person per day and the time of year probably plays a big factor into this being we are going at the end of august with the heat at its peak in florida I think the snacks are going to be huge using our snack credits to sit down and get out of the florida heat even if she does not use them me and the little one could still utilize them to take a nice break another month may not come into as much play as going at the end of august with the heat of the sun beating down on us taking that break will be a necessity so 6 snacks a day does add up so that will give the dining plan a slight edge over not using one getting all those snack credits.

thanks for all your input everyone I gave this one alot of thought and no matter which way I price it out it comes close enough that its almost a push with the dining plan vs pay out of pocket add the 6 snacks per day with the standard dining plan with the time of year we are going and the dining plan is probably the safe bet even if my wife eats minimally at the qs restaurants the character meals are set prices and the snacks would probably make up for that with more mid-day breaks for snacktime in the hot weather

 

[marcyleecorgan]

remember Starbucks counts as snack credits

 

[sharonabe]

I think the snacks are going to be huge using our snack credits to sit down and get out of the florida heat even if she does not use them me and the little one could still utilize them to take a nice break

Lots of COLD drinks count as snack credits too. She'll be wanting something cold to cool her off and those snack credits will help her as much as they will the other two of you. Don't save them just because it doesn't seem like a good value. Better to use them and get something you want/need at the time than have a bunch left over at the end of the week you have to scramble to use.

 

[rwdavis2]

I believe the online dining plan calculator that many people reference is way out of date.

 

[Timber Wolf]

its out of date to a degree but close I actually went menu by menu as far as TS meals go it all comes down to the snacks if I don't utilize the snacks pay out of pocket is better but if I add snacks into the mix the dining plan is at the very least a push with paying out of pocket.

considering we will probably utilize the snacks more with a summer trip vs first week of DEC trip I think the Dining plan will work out ok for us.

Thank-you

 

[robinb]

Usually, Character meals with kids under the age of 10 (still considered "Disney Kids") and the DDP is a slam dunk. @sharonabe calculated the out of pocket cost your choices and I could easily see a normal family of 3 spending the extra $50 per day to break even. Only you can determine if your wife will be able to eat enough to make things break even. Can you possibly wait to add the DDP until she's had her surgery? Or, are you booking a special rate? FWIW, "free dining" is offered in August, but maybe not at AoA.

 

[Timber Wolf]

I was thinking of doing that book my table service character meals now then wait till she is done with her surgery at the end of June we are going at the end of August so I can always take it off,it all depends how fast she heals she may be ok to eat solids by then or she may not,shes having gastric surgery so its kind of a wait and see approach if she will be ok with solids in just about 2 months time from when she has her surgery

 

[KayaWildfire]

Just an FYI, you only have to eat at Hollywood and Vine once if you want. You can do the Fantasmic package for the breakfast seating there. We did it just a few weeks ago. No need to go for dinner if you don't want to. Just in case you were confused.

 

[Timber Wolf]

At first I thought that was the case but yes I did realize that you can do either,My daughter wants to see disney Jr and she also wants to see Minnie thats why we are doing both as I don't think she would be able to see Minnie at any other meals.

Thank-you for pointing that out at first I thought that was the case but we would have booked both for the characters anyway.

question though with the tusker house that one you do have to book Dinner for the rivers of light package correct you cannot book Breakfast for the seating Hollywood Vine I found out you could do either I could not find anything on tusker house though

 

[sharonabe]

question though with the tusker house that one you do have to book Dinner for the rivers of light package correct you cannot book Breakfast for the seating Hollywood Vine I found out you could do either I could not find anything on tusker house though

Rivers of Light package is available for all three meals at Tusker.

 

[Timber Wolf]

Thank-you was not sure about that one

 

[robinb]

It is probably best to play things by ear. Keep on eye on the deadline for removing the DDP from your package. In general, you can upgrade to a more expensive package after the deadline but you can't downgrade without paying a penalty.