Is the Dining Plan worth it? Is there a better way?

[Rich M]

I completely agree. It's all about what makes your vacation better! Would I order a drink if it wasn't included, probably not. That is not to say I wouldn't enjoy one but the price would bother me enough not to. This is one way it makes my trip way more fun on the dining plan. But others it would make them crazy to try to get every penny they paid.

Everyone just needs to figure out what aspects work for them and what doesn't. Such as for me staying at a MK resort makes absolutely no sense, too much money for the convenience of the monorail. I usually don't spend a ton of time in MK as my kids are older. But an EPCOT resort totally appeals to me, (haven't done it yet but soon) because we love HS. Some people say HS is a half day at most without TSL but for us it's probably 3 days of an 8 day trip. It's all in what makes you happy!

Exactly. There is no right or wrong answer and you will never get everyone to agree.

 

[txwdwmom]

Not worth it. My TA told me years ago it wasn't worth the cost. We pay OOP and it's definitely cheaper!

 

[Rich M]

Not worth it. My TA told me years ago it wasn't worth the cost. We pay OOP and it's definitely cheaper!

Do you find it cheaper because you don't eat the way the dining plan makes you or do you find it cheaper and you eat the exact same way as the dining plan and its cheaper for you to pay OOP?

 

[Nancyg56]

Do you find it cheaper because you don't eat the way the dining plan makes you or do you find it cheaper and you eat the exact same way as the dining plan and its cheaper for you to pay OOP?

I think this is always where the rubber meets the road. Whe is it worth the cost or why is it not?

 

[Rich M]

I think this is always where the rubber meets the road. Whe is it worth the cost or why is it not?

Exactly. I am still to have someone tell me that they order an entree, dessert, and speciality beverage. Buy 2 snacks and get a QS meal with a speciality beverage at every meal without sharing and tell me they saved money. If your someone who likes to share meals or only likes to eat one meal a day or orders water only and never buys a snack then obviously the dining plan isn't for you but if you do it the exact same way as the DDP and pay OOP and it cost you less then those are the people I am trying to hear from of how they do it so I can look at that plan and see if it makes sense for me.

 

[Nancyg56]

Exactly. I am still to have someone tell me that they order an entree, dessert, and speciality beverage. Buy 2 snacks and get a QS meal with a speciality beverage at every meal without sharing and tell me they saved money. If your someone who likes to share meals or only likes to eat one meal a day or orders water only and never buys a snack then obviously the dining plan isn't for you but if you do it the exact same way as the DDP and pay OOP and it cost you less then those are the people I am trying to hear from of how they do it so I can look at that plan and see if it makes sense for me.

We are those people. My family generally orders a steak or pork at dinner, we all get beverages, and dessert. I am happy the CS dessert was subbed out for an additional snack because we did like desserts, however they were all becoming pretty similar, and there was just so many boxed chocolate cake even this sweet lover could or would eat. Snacks are generally used for breakfast, or to hold until a later dinner. We pay OOP for TS meals that are the least expensive because I am always overbooked. We do stretch credits as well, because while there are two meals a day covered we do like three meals, so often a meal is split between two people if there is a consensus. It works for us, however I know how we eat, book our meals before I book the plan unless there is a FD promo. In this case we are saving a bunch of money because FD or not, we need to eat, and with 7 even a RO discount would not save us this amount. I have booked combinations in the past, RO and FD, however I have tried every way from Sunday to configure our crew to see if we there was a better option and for this trip there is not.

 

[Rich M]

We are those people. My family generally orders a steak or pork at dinner, we all get beverages, and dessert. I am happy the CS dessert was subbed out for an additional snack because we did like desserts, however they were all becoming pretty similar, and there was just so many boxed chocolate cake even this sweet lover could or would eat. Snacks are generally used for breakfast, or to hold until a later dinner. We pay OOP for TS meals that are the least expensive because I am always overbooked. We do stretch credits as well, because while there are two meals a day covered we do like three meals, so often a meal is split between two people if there is a consensus. It works for us, however I know how we eat, book our meals before I book the plan unless there is a FD promo. In this case we are saving a bunch of money because FD or not, we need to eat, and with 7 even a RO discount would not save us this amount. I have booked combinations in the past, RO and FD, however I have tried every way from Sunday to configure our crew to see if we there was a better option and for this trip there is not.

Thank you for sharing your research. I kind of got sick of the QS stuff so now we opt for the DxDDP. For our trip in October we have DDP for two parts of our trip and then the DxDDP for the other. I can only take so much of the QS options and we have been to Disney World so much lately that the dining experience is part of our trip and not needing to hit every ride anymore. When calculating what we will get we are still saving $150 this trip by using the dining plan. It works for us and we don't calculate it at the end to see if we did save or not. We just like being able to go order what we want and be done with it. It's not for everyone for sure.

 

[Cajun23]

I think this really depends on how may TS you plan to do. We have done both with the plan and OOP.

If the plan is free then probably worth it.

If not, and you plan to do a lot of TS and you want high price items then it may be worth it but also keep in mind you still have to tip.

If you don't want to do a lot of TS the just go OOP.

 

[Nancyg56]

Thank you for sharing your research. I kind of got sick of the QS stuff so now we opt for the DxDDP. For our trip in October we have DDP for two parts of our trip and then the DxDDP for the other. I can only take so much of the QS options and we have been to Disney World so much lately that the dining experience is part of our trip and not needing to hit every ride anymore. When calculating what we will get we are still saving $150 this trip by using the dining plan. It works for us and we don't calculate it at the end to see if we did save or not. We just like being able to go order what we want and be done with it. It's not for everyone for sure.

I stopped calculating, however my daughter always does and will on our next trip. If we were not so many the DxDDP would be my best bet, however I doubt it will pay with the 7 of us. As we get closer I am going to put together a better sheet and look closely at how we will really eat and if the OOP money looks close I will upgrade.

 

[Rich M]

I stopped calculating, however my daughter always does and will on our next trip. If we were not so many the DxDDP would be my best bet, however I doubt it will pay with the 7 of us. As we get closer I am going to put together a better sheet and look closely at how we will really eat and if the OOP money looks close I will upgrade.

That is great. If you can share your results when you get back that would be great. May I ask if the 7 are staying in two rooms by chance?

 

[Nancyg56]

That is great. If you can share your results when you get back that would be great. May I ask if the 7 are staying in two rooms by chance?

No. Originally we were booked in two rooms at the Beach Club, however when FD was offered BD could not accommodate us with that offer. I booked us into a 2 Bdrm villa at OKW, and saved $4300.00 just in dining. Of the two bookings with apples to apples products, no dining on either reservation, the beach club was about $1000.00 more than OKW, so the savings was even more pronounced.

In a perfect world I would have bitten the extra thousand, booked the FD BC and booked DxDDP on one room. My girls wanted BC as their first choice and I wanted to indulge them on this rare request, however as much as I adore these two, I could not overlook that pesky $4300! LOL!

 

[Rich M]

No. Originally we were booked in two rooms at the Beach Club, however when FD was offered BD could not accommodate us with that offer. I booked us into a 2 Bdrm villa at OKW, and saved $4300.00 just in dining. Of the two bookings with apples to apples products, no dining on either reservation, the beach club was about $1000.00 more than OKW, so the savings was even more pronounced.

In a perfect world I would have bitten the extra thousand, booked the FD BC and booked DxDDP on one room. My girls wanted BC as their first choice and I wanted to indulge them on this rare request, however as much as I adore these two, I could not overlook that pesky $4300! LOL!

Either way you will have a great trip. I stayed at OKW for one night and enjoyed it. I wanted to book it for this trip but wasn't available.

 

[Jen1995]

Exactly. I am still to have someone tell me that they order an entree, dessert, and speciality beverage. Buy 2 snacks and get a QS meal with a speciality beverage at every meal without sharing and tell me they saved money. If your someone who likes to share meals or only likes to eat one meal a day or orders water only and never buys a snack then obviously the dining plan isn't for you but if you do it the exact same way as the DDP and pay OOP and it cost you less then those are the people I am trying to hear from of how they do it so I can look at that plan and see if it makes sense for me.

We eat *almost* exactly as the dining plan thinks we should- generally 1TS and 1 QS and 2 snacks a day. And we always have a drink or 2 with meals on vacation. But the spreadsheet still has us losing hundreds on the plan, even buying the most expensive entrees. Why? 2 reasons: 1) we get apps and 2) we would rather share a restaurant dessert or skip it entirely and eat something outside the restaurant as dessert.

I don't understand how the plan allows you to forget about price entirely because you have to tip on the price of what you are getting, right? And aren't you paying for tips the same way someone pays for food off the plan? (Magic band or CC?)

I DO think the plan works for people with lots of disney kids who do lots of character meals though.

 

[Rich M]

We eat *almost* exactly as the dining plan thinks we should- generally 1TS and 1 QS and 2 snacks a day. And we always have a drink or 2 with meals on vacation. But the spreadsheet still has us losing hundreds on the plan, even buying the most expensive entrees. Why? 2 reasons: 1) we get apps and 2) we would rather share a restaurant dessert or skip it entirely and eat something outside the restaurant as dessert.

I don't understand how the plan allows you to forget about price entirely because you have to tip on the price of what you are getting, right? And aren't you paying for tips the same way someone pays for food off the plan? (Magic band or CC?)

I DO think the plan works for people with lots of disney kids who do lots of character meals though.

For me its an out of sight thing I guess because they money is already gone. Even for me the tips is all put on a gift card ahead of time so the money is gone and I don't really think about it. I know it doesn't make sense and the reasoning doesn't sit well with others but I guess it makes me feel better since we keep doing it.

 

[DisneyLore]

We eat *almost* exactly as the dining plan thinks we should- generally 1TS and 1 QS and 2 snacks a day. And we always have a drink or 2 with meals on vacation. But the spreadsheet still has us losing hundreds on the plan, even buying the most expensive entrees. Why? 2 reasons: 1) we get apps and 2) we would rather share a restaurant dessert or skip it entirely and eat something outside the restaurant as dessert.

I don't understand how the plan allows you to forget about price entirely because you have to tip on the price of what you are getting, right? And aren't you paying for tips the same way someone pays for food off the plan? (Magic band or CC?)

I DO think the plan works for people with lots of disney kids who do lots of character meals though.

I like eating the plan way (dessert instead of app) and haven't ever lost money on it and that is with two adults only. But... I do like some character meals (kid at heart!) and even if I lost a little it is still worth pre paying because for me the biggest thing is the worry. When we went once on no dining plan (my sister was with us and at a conference and didn't need the plan) I budgeted $1000 for meals (we tend to be on a strict budget) but what I found was that as soon as we had spent $500, I worried the rest of the trip about what we were spending and if we had enough. The trip became stressful for me, especially when deciding what to order and if we should go here or there.

Now I realize fully that that would not apply to everyone (or even most people) but for me the lack of worry is the biggest advantage of the plan. As for tipping I'm with previous poster I budget 25% of TS portion of the plan (on a GC) and I tip 20%, and if we run out it isn't hundreds of dollars going over it would be a small amount.

***The biggest thing about the plan that people forget is that the tax is included so just make sure to figure it in when calculating the cost of the entrees****

I do know the plan doesn't work for everyone, but boy it works for me!

 

[Nancyg56]

We eat *almost* exactly as the dining plan thinks we should- generally 1TS and 1 QS and 2 snacks a day. And we always have a drink or 2 with meals on vacation. But the spreadsheet still has us losing hundreds on the plan, even buying the most expensive entrees. Why? 2 reasons: 1) we get apps and 2) we would rather share a restaurant dessert or skip it entirely and eat something outside the restaurant as dessert.

I don't understand how the plan allows you to forget about price entirely because you have to tip on the price of what you are getting, right? And aren't you paying for tips the same way someone pays for food off the plan? (Magic band or CC?)

I DO think the plan works for people with lots of disney kids who do lots of character meals though.

The problem is that for some people, the increase in meal cost bumps up the amount of gratuity that you need to budget. That is why folks caution that if you are not normally dining at TS restaurants, or if you normally stick to water and no dessert, a dining plan can be a double edged sword. Your total on paper cost for food can skyrocket. The tax is not added in so that is an overall savings on CS meals, snacks and TS meals, however the gratuity can add up after an entrée, specialty beverage and then dessert. The treat of having a great deal of freedom ordering may not be as much fun once you pay the tip.

I always suggest having a conversation about the "extras" budget before a trip. WE did not do this when a friend and her girls joined us, and I was sorry. We charged almost all tips back to the room, which is a convenience especially if purchasing beverages at the pool or on the patios. My DD was in charge of tips payment, and holy shocker for our friend! There are also the other gratuities to discuss. Not everyone tips valet, bell services housekeeping, and not everyone tips the same percentage. Best to know ahead of time about how much to set aside just for tips, and the shock is not so great.

 

[sanapp]

As a solo traveler and AP holder I always use the DxDP , now I agree that can be a lot of food for most people however what I do is plan an early TS lunch and then an evening signature TS thereby using my 3 credits and always come out on the plus side money wise . I often feel a lot of the breakfast TS are a poor use of a credit and can then use my snack credits for breakfast .

This is exactly how I am doing dlxdp as a solo traveler. I am okay with more time dining. I only do certain rides. More of my time will be take. Just enjoying being in the atmosphere of Disney and relaxing.

 

[WDWFan0813]

I answered "No" on the survey, because it was only two choices. I will generally lean against it personally, but everyone has their reasons for doing it or not. I personally don't feel it's easier because you have to scan your MB (or some other form of payment) with or without. If it gives you peace of mind in ordering, that's great. For us, we have two young girls who don't always eat a ton, so we would generally order only two to three meals as a way to not waste food. Because of that, if we had a dining plan for the full trip I feel like we would be wasting a lot of credits.

One alternative though that I didn't see discussed is a split stay. What we chose to do this time was stay at Pop for two nights and get the dining plan, then moved to AoA for the rest of our trip without it (but we do have TiW as well). This allowed us to get our refillable mugs while on the DDP and chose to put some of our higher value meals during those few days. For example, we did an H&V Fantasmic package and used some QS credits for a BOG breakfast. This allowed us to maximize our value and not feel like we were eating more than we would all week just to try and get our moneys worth.

Ultimately everybody's different, hopefully the OP has enough info to make the most informed decision for their travel habits.

 

[clutter]

Just got back from a 7 night trip. There were three of us the entire time, although we had a switch of people mid-week, so it was 4 different folks. Two were newly minted 21yo, the a third was 26, plus me. now, I LOVE the DDP. Mainly for the convenience and for having everything paid before we even leave. Plus both my dd and I tend to be on the more frugal side, and I just don't want to worry about cost on vacation.

The DDP was roughly $1,500 for three for seven nights. But the more I started thinking about it, the more I realized that we might be better off paying OOP, because a drink, entree and dessert was probably too much food. And that did prove to be true. It was SO hot when we were there, that we really only each had entrees a couple times at TS meals. Usually we shared. As for CS, we ended up not going all that often. Since I didn't want to skimp, I decided to buy $1,800 in gift cards to cover meals. We at breakfast at Boma (twice!), at Le Cellier once (just two of us) and did BOG dinner once. As well as TS dinners every night (50s, Y&Y, Marrakesh, Tutto). Plus lots of stops for libations (all over Epcot, Tiffins lounge a couple times - our new favorite!). We actually ended up with about $100 left on the card. [note - I am DVC so we had 10% credit on most TS meals once I remembered to use it.]

I guess I'm a convert. I doubt we would have used all the CS credits on this trip. Or snacks. And the TS would have been too much, since we never really had a dessert the entire time. But I did like having it prepaid. Now I just have to go back to use up my $$.

 

[djc9699]

We usually get the meal plan and I never eat desert nor do I drink alcohol. My daughter gets desert every meal and sometimes uses mine to have a to-go coke float or milkshake. We do add an appetizer sometimes and we always pay less for the plan than if we paid OOP. We tend to eat more table service so I do pay OOP for breakfasts at times, but in general we eat how we want and do not lose money most of the time. My daughter is a steak lover so that helps and I enjoy some higher priced items. We eat exactly the same whether on the plan or not. I am actually doing the deluxe plan over Christmas this year because we will not want to deal with quick serve in the parks much. I have a late breakfast or early lunch and a dinner planned every day. We are doing the HDD, Candlelight Processional, and a few signature places. Finally trying Tiffens and the Yachtsman. We rarely finish our entire meal, but love to experience new dishes. It is a part of our vacation as I am not a good cook and we eat a lot of baked chicken and veg. meals or crock pot dishes at home, so the dining plan and experiencing new restaurants is just part of our trips. We do wind up taking back snacks (mine, daughter has Starbucks every day and we usually get Japanese snow cones) but they are a treat for later and when I wasn't on the plan I bought some anyway. It really does depend on how you like to vacation. I am sure we could save a lot of money without the plan, but I would not enjoy my vacation near as much.