Which dining plan should we choose?

[EmilyGahr]

This is assuming dining plans are back for our trip in early 2022...

We are constantly debating what dining plan makes the most sense for us. Two adults, mid-20s.

We typically have a Signature (2-credit) meal for dinner every night, and a lunch, then use snack credits for breakfast at Starbucks or something similar. Because we typically use three credits per day (1 signature and 1 regular) as well as snack credits, we always have the Deluxe Dining Plan. However, one appetizer per person as well as a dessert is WAY too much food and sometimes we don't want them!

Do we go with the Deluxe plan again and just not order appetizers or desserts when we don't want them? Seems like a waste of money.
Do we go with the Dining Plan Plus and pay for lunch out of pocket? But the difference between the Plus and the Deluxe is only $24 per person per day!
Do we just pay for everything out of pocket and skip the dining plan all together?

Big dilemma here, would love to hear your thoughts!

 

[lovin'fl]

May not come back so I wouldn't waste time trying to plan out DP just yet.

 

[Dakota731]

We eat similarly to you and are going to try the dining plan+ this trip if offered to try something new. It’s a money maker for Disney so I’m predicting it will return sooner rather than later

 

[HiStitch626]

Take a look at the menus of the restaurants you would like to eat at. Add up the cost of what you would most likely order and compare it to the cost of the dining plans when they return.

We did the deluxe plans several years ago and thought it was worth it, but we did do a character breakfast every day and a signature for dinner.

 

[Marthasor]

I think this is very hard to answer right now as, even if dining plans do come back, we don't know what the future plans will look like, what they will cost or what they will include.

 

[CynBeth]

We are 3 adults who eat almost all meals at TS due to food allergies but adding up what we would eat did not make the DP worth it for us so we buy gift cards ahead of time in the amount we believe we will spend for the meals plus tip using my Disney Visa card to purchase so I earn points.

 

[chris benton]

With just two adults, the math should be extremely easy to figure out which way to go. You can easily figure out how much one of the plans would need to cost to either save or cost you more money. If they are offered again, you can know how much they will need to cost per night to figure out if you'll be saving or losing money before you see the new DP prices. Just check a few menus, realistically price out what you'd order (that's the hard part, imo - some of the "meals" are easily enough for two ppl, and I am a PIG.) You have to remember, anything you leave on the plate, or any credits you don't use, OR if you use those credits on stuff you'd never buy otherwise - that's pretty much a waste of money. The dining plans have never worked in our favor. I almost got to make one work on one trip, but it just seemed like too much work. I'm sure they are great when they make sense, though. We always eat ourselves silly, and don't really hold back if we want something, we get it, and wind up paying much less out of pocket. We just can't keep up with the amount of food on the plans, with the stuff we like, and the way we eat.

 

[JenBush]

It’s probably not worth putting too much thought into right now since no one knows when the dining plans will come back, what the dining plans will include, and how much it will cost. Your best bet when they do announce dining plans again is to compare the price of the dining plan with the price of meals where you plan on eating. I normally buy gift cards for dining. Gift cards give me more flexibility in my dining choices and I can buy discount gift cards are Costco, Sams, or Target.

 

[B-Ride]

If you consider $24 per day per person "only" then I would go for it.

 

[tbelle3]

Deluxe Dining Plan all the way even if you skip out on an appetizer or dessert here and there...and in the signatures try a cheese plate for a different app/dess option as they are so good!

 

[brockash]

This is assuming dining plans are back for our trip in early 2022...

We are constantly debating what dining plan makes the most sense for us. Two adults, mid-20s.

We typically have a Signature (2-credit) meal for dinner every night, and a lunch, then use snack credits for breakfast at Starbucks or something similar. Because we typically use three credits per day (1 signature and 1 regular) as well as snack credits, we always have the Deluxe Dining Plan. However, one appetizer per person as well as a dessert is WAY too much food and sometimes we don't want them!

Do we go with the Deluxe plan again and just not order appetizers or desserts when we don't want them? Seems like a waste of money.
Do we go with the Dining Plan Plus and pay for lunch out of pocket? But the difference between the Plus and the Deluxe is only $24 per person per day!
Do we just pay for everything out of pocket and skip the dining plan all together?

Big dilemma here, would love to hear your thoughts!

I wouldn't even look at it until something is announced...if it does come back we have no idea what will be changed or the price...whicj I'm sure we'll be more than it was.

 

[MomOTwins]

The deluxe plan is generally a pretty good deal if you eat TS lunch and Signature dinner, especially if you order drinks, even if you don’t always get desserts/apps. We like you like snack credit breakfast. Snack credits wre also handy if you like in park snacks or Epcot booths. I was so shocked that without the DDP we were paying sooooo much for breakfast and snacks every day on our recent trip!

 

[DisneyHardin]

We did the Deluxe Plan the last couple years and really liked it. We would generally eat a buffet type breakfast about 10:30 or early lunch about 11:00, have snacks in the afternoon and then a Signature dinner.

 

[Mazz519]

Dont see it coming back but we used to get the deluxe...last time we went we didn't get a plan and just ordered whatever we wanted when we wanted... Wound up spending less money that way

 

[HMANSION LOVER]

Read article here that discussed the topic of whether or not it would be back and the answer was " the Disney dining plan is a huge money maker for Disney in more ways than one so it will be back". The person who wrote the article had no guidance as to when, but reiterated that they make big money. And they don't see any reason that after the dining restrictions put in place by the state are lifted and they can get enough cast members back on property that resuming the dining Plan would be forthcoming.

 

[HiStitch626]

I wondered how it is a money maker for Disney in “more ways than one”. The obvious answer is that people purchase the dining plan and then don’t actually spend all of it. They may leave some credits unused, or maybe order meals that don’t add up to the cost of the dining plan. But, I’m not sure how it would be a money maker in other ways.

 

[ajgardner]

We are deluxe diners all the way. Even if we end up forgoing the dessert or appetizer (or we just have a small bit of it).

 

[MomOTwins]

I wondered how it is a money maker for Disney in “more ways than one”. The obvious answer is that people purchase the dining plan and then don’t actually spend all of it. They may leave some credits unused, or maybe order meals that don’t add up to the cost of the dining plan. But, I’m not sure how it would be a money maker in other ways.

(1) Because you have to pay the equivalent of 2-3 meals onsite every day of your trio when you might otherwise dine off property one day or buy groceries
(2) it discourages guests from going to universal/sea world/beach as a day trip because they are locked in to meals, so they pay for a longer disney park ticket
(3) keeps people at the parks or resort hotels where they may spend $ on other things like gift shops
(4) incentivizes Disney hotel stays for people who like an all inclusive feel (not available at Swolphin or good neighbor hotels)
(5) once you are at a disney restaurant you may buy extra stuff not included on the plan like a second alcoholic drink, appetizer (if not on deluxe plan) or souvenir tinkerbell/buzz lightyear cup for the kiddos (guilty of all these things)

 

[chris benton]

Anyone ever think they drive customers into making them more profit by pricing things higher that cost less to produce?
If the steak meal is 35.00 and the chicken meal is 30.00, a dining plan diner might opt for the steak because they've prepaid for a credit that might have a theoretical value of less than 35.00. But if Walt's price to produce each meal is 10.00, then they profit more on the steak, and push customers into thinking they are getting the better value. It doesn't matter too much to the customer, they are just gonna pay whatever the price is. Kind of along the lines of when I see my grocery store selling an item at 2 for $4.00 one week, and the next week, they have the same item as "Buy One Get One Free" at $4.50. Some people will perceive the value differently, even though the underlying dollar amount is clearly off.

Walt isn't stupid. Not even remotely.

 

[Orion Nebula]

Anyone ever think they drive customers into making them more profit by pricing things higher that cost less to produce?
If the steak meal is 35.00 and the chicken meal is 30.00, a dining plan diner might opt for the steak because they've prepaid for a credit that might have a theoretical value of less than 35.00. But if Walt's price to produce each meal is 10.00, then they profit more on the steak, and push customers into thinking they are getting the better value. It doesn't matter too much to the customer, they are just gonna pay whatever the price is. Kind of along the lines of when I see my grocery store selling an item at 2 for $4.00 one week, and the next week, they have the same item as "Buy One Get One Free" at $4.50. Some people will perceive the value differently, even though the underlying dollar amount is clearly off.

Walt isn't stupid. Not even remotely.

Your right and to be honest people work REALLY hard to maximize the amount they spend. So much so that there are a bunch of guides on how to make the DP an actual "value". Like you said I will opt for the most expensive option many times to do just that. Steak obviously is a main one. I like steak but sometimes will eat it even if that chicken dish sounds better. Not always but I have caught myself falling into that mindset more than once.