Does anyone forego dining plans to save money?

[jamioday001]

That is our usual plan, to just eat on our own. Wondering if most people do the opposite!

We have a large family, so we do Garden Grocer for room, eat breakfast bar/fruit in room, pack everyone same basic sandwich lunch with fruit.

Then we buy one snack at park in afternoon and eat out for dinner in parks.

We feel like it saves us tons of money. Wondering what your feedback may be. Thanks!

 

[epcotobsessed]

We did the math and are trying the DxDP this time around because it will save us several hundred dollars vs. paying out of pocket for our ADRs. Haven't been on a dining plan since 2010 but the inclusion of alcoholic beverages and our desire to do several character buffets this time around made it more than worth it. If you do not drink or do not like or plan to do any buffets, the dining plan probably does not save you any money and can even cost you money in many instances.

 

[jamioday001]

We are realistically interested in about two character sit down meals (dinners) while we are there for the week. We'd like mostly counter service/ casual meals. Is it possible to exchange table service meal credits for counter service meal credits?

 

[jamioday001]

I should add that we appreciate the addition of wine/beer to the plan!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

We are realistically interested in about two character sit down meals (dinners) while we are there for the week. We'd like mostly counter service/ casual meals. Is it possible to exchange table service meal credits for counter service meal credits?

You can, but you might be better off to do the QS plan and just pay for the 2 TS meals OOP.

 

[Marionnette]

That is our usual plan, to just eat on our own. Wondering if most people do the opposite!

We have a large family, so we do Garden Grocer for room, eat breakfast bar/fruit in room, pack everyone same basic sandwich lunch with fruit.

Then we buy one snack at park in afternoon and eat out for dinner in parks.

We feel like it saves us tons of money. Wondering what your feedback may be. Thanks!

I'm sure that would save a ton of money but it's not how I care to eat whether at home or on vacation. We don't do the dining plans (except when we have a split stay with a single night at the beginning of our vacation) mostly because we qualify for other discounts. We also own DVC, so more often than not, it's easy to have a healthy breakfast and snacks in the villa. It kind of makes up for the oh-so-good unhealthy foods that we eat while in the parks or at dinner.

 

[Marionnette]

We are realistically interested in about two character sit down meals (dinners) while we are there for the week. We'd like mostly counter service/ casual meals. Is it possible to exchange table service meal credits for counter service meal credits?

It's probably not a good use of your credits to exchange all of those TS credits for QS meals. It might make more sense to either go with the QS plan or just pay OOP for all of your food.

 

[TeresaWen]

Not to save money but to eat healthy. We book an offsite villa with a full kitchen. We eat breakfast in our villa (usually eggs & turkey) and take our own snacks & wine to the pool on our relaxation days. We may have one or two dinners in too. If I had to eat three meals a day out there is no way I could take long vacations. Especially important during the food & wine festival

 

[KenHutch]

It probably a ton cheaper and healthier to do your plan on vacation but my view it is vacation so I cast caution to the wind and just enjoy myself. When we went deluxe a couple of weeks ago I downgraded us to the basic dining plan and the girls (9 and 17) are already working on me to go deluxe for our 2021 trip so they can eat at Jiko, Narcoossee's and Yachtsman.

 

[sponica]

I brought down gift cards in the amount a dining plan would have cost us. We usually eat appetizers and don't always get dessert, so for me it was about spending the money where I wanted to spend it.

 

[Rich M]

We do the dining plan so that we have everything paid for in advance and not have to worry about it once we are there. For us the dining experience is a major part of our vacation. I like the DxDDP as I am not a big fan of most of the quick service locations and prefer sit down meals with the option of getting a app. I personally don't want to be on vacation and cooking and preparing things but I believe you could save a ton of money if you don't mind doing the work.

 

[Rich M]

I brought down gift cards in the amount a dining plan would have cost us. We usually eat appetizers and don't always get dessert, so for me it was about spending the money where I wanted to spend it.

This sounds very interesting to me. Out of curiosity did you put the amount of the DDP or DxDDP on there? Did the amount you have on the gift card cover your tips also? I am thinking I might try this as I am about to pay $1200 for 2 days on DDP and 3 days on DxDDP plus extra for tips too so wondering if I put that $1200 on a gift card and order the exact same way I would if I got it minus the stuff I would have left on the table would give me some spending money for goodies lol

 

[BEASLYBOO]

We save money and calories by skipping the dining plan. 3 full restaurant meals a day takes too much time out of the day and it's too much food to be able to ride and walk around comfortably. We aren't breakfast people, just a croissant or a bagel, coffee and it's done in the room. Late morning we'll get a snack at the parks, and then a QS lunch, but that may be back at the resort for a swim and a cool down and it might be a homemade sandwich, not even QS. Dinner is usually a very late ADR or if staying in a villa, cocktails & grilling by the pool. Children are grown, and as a result thank goodness the character buffets are done! We like a bit of spontaneity with the vacation, we may opt for an afternoon at the Outlet Mall if the weather is bad, or just a chill by the pool. I despise the regimented feeling of too many ADR's. Worse of all, my Mother taught me to eat everything on my plate, I can't leave it to be thrown out, so skipping the DP absolves me of guilt.

 

[sponica]

This sounds very interesting to me. Out of curiosity did you put the amount of the DDP or DxDDP on there? Did the amount you have on the gift card cover your tips also? I am thinking I might try this as I am about to pay $1200 for 2 days on DDP and 3 days on DxDDP plus extra for tips too so wondering if I put that $1200 on a gift card and order the exact same way I would if I got it minus the stuff I would have left on the table would give me some spending money for goodies lol

I think we had about 1300 in gift cards so a little more than the DxDDP plan for 2 adults for 5 nights. But it was also our souvenir money as well. We didn't go over budget by much and I did pay some tips with cash.

Also we went to Le Cellier and Tiffins and had more than a couple gran marnier slushies at Epcot...and a margarita (or two)...so this method works well for us considering our dining (and um, drinking) preferences. I feel even if we were on the DxDDP we would have spent more than the plan anyway because of the slushies...

 

[bumbershoot]

The plans don’t work for how we eat, so they’ve never been a savings for us. I’ve run out plans through the various calculators multiple times and OOP has always come out better.

We have generally done one TS each day (lunch or dinner), a QS, and if it’s a big family trip we have started with breakfast cooked in the villa (by the men in the family). We also tend to go offsite more than once because we love Sweet Tomatoes (big savings over Disney and really nice food) and the vegetarian options at YardHouse (not a savings lol).

 

[Moliphino]

I would never pay for a dining plan (we will go for the free dining packages if it's the best discount), but I also will not cook on vacation. Aside from carrying a breakfast bar or the like around, I would buy all meals in the parks/resorts. I mostly just find the dining plans to be too much food.

 

[Arazia]

No matter how many times I ran the numbers, I couldn't get any of the dining plans to save our group money.
Normally, we share an appetizer/desert (or two) at most restaurants and 2/3rds of our group doesn't really drink.

For some people, bringing food and such is a great plan to save money.
Everyone else really needs to look at what/where they'll be eating and the actual costs because a lot of times it just isn't worth it.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

No matter how I've done the numbers, it has always been cheaper for us to NOT do the dining plan.

 

[KelNChrisKYDis]

We've never done the dining plan, and I don't see that changing for us. We typically eat a breakfast of granola bars or cereal in the room, and take a few snacks with us to the parks. We either have a bigger lunch and small plates/snacks/apps for dinner, or vice versa for lunch. it is definitely cost saving, but also keeps us in check for how much we're eating. Even with all that walking around (over 85 miles on our last trip), I still managed to gain weight!

 

[BrianL]

I'm not particularly concerned about it from a cost perspective, but I do eat in the parks. I mostly do quick service with one or two table service meals in a week. I also may only eat one actual meal a day, so I don't feel that I spend too much on food. The dining plan would definitely not work out cost wise for me. I would not want to carry sandwiches and such, but I could see it being convenient enough to toss a couple of granola bars or something into my pocket. For me, if it doesn't fit into a pair of cargo shorts, it doesn't come with me to the parks.