The (very late) Verdict
Hi all, my apologies for completely forgetting to post my verdict 
I can't believe I forgot to post it, so sorry!
Anyway my final thoughts are split here - cost wise OOP wins (we spent $938 total for a family of 4 when the deluxe dining plan for us would have been 1793.55. However I did spend S161.00 on Garden Grocer so you can add that to the grand OOP total which makes it $1099.) - FINAL VERDICT - SPLIT VERDICT after my experiences in the future I would still do either the deluxe dining plan or OOP here is the pro/con tally but I put my reasoning for the split verdict in final thoughts.
PROS OF OOP -
1. Saved $694.55 - GRAND TOTAL WAS $1099. vs. Deluxe Dining Plan would have been $1793.55
2. Spent a lot less time in restaurants (mainly in the mornings for breakfast as we never usually do a sit down lunch on the DDP)
3. Had more pool time at resort which was good as it was late August and Florida is usually blazing surface of the sun hot in the summer
4. Our kids enjoyed having in-room breakfast in their pj's - (I would get counter service and bring it up to our villa)
5. Slept in practically the whole trip since breakfast was in the room
6. We didn't really seem to miss the snacks on the DDP as I had snacks from Garden Grocer, but still bought some snacks OOP
7. Was happy I was not paying adult dining plan prices for my 12 year old who only eats off the kids menu
8. Didn't have to worry about unused meal/ snack points - only spent what we needed (Our last morning I'm usually frantically getting a bunch of snacks from the gift shop)
9. Not wasting DDP points for the counter service poolside lunches I usually get every trip for the kids
10. Still ate at some really nice restaurants - Narcoossees / Coral Reef / BOG / Liberty Tree Tavern - not too shabby!! 
CONS OF OOP-
1. At restaurants I felt like I scrutinized every meal choice I made in an effort to save $$ (I feel like I saw price tags as opposed to entrees) - I didn't feel like I had the freedom to order whatever I wanted like when i'm on the dining plan - honestly it took some fun out of ordering on vacation when compared to how on the dining plan I don't shy away from ordering expensive things - Ive done say a lobster cocktail appetizer on the dining plan but I never would OOP.
2. It limited where we ate at times- when I saw how much Cindy's castle cost and Chef Mickey's - there was no way I was going to pay to eat there - but on the meal plan since it's just "points" we would eat anywhere we wanted
3. Felt like we did less this trip - usually on the DDP we have a 9:15 breakfast in a park (and maybe go on a ride or two before we head back to the resort pool as it's really hot)
4. We had less food / tried less foods - when DS was on the deluxe dining plan the past food trips as an "adult" at ages 10, 11, since he is a fussy eater and usually eats off the kids menu we would be able to order any appetizer for him (as part of his meal) from the adult menu and he could still have his kids menu entrée - they would just make it a bigger portion. So we would basically get an extra appetizer to share and would sometimes be adventurous and try something different for that appetizer. The kids would try different things/foods with that appetizer so it led it trying new foods which was fun. OOP I did not always order an appetizer - which I always love doing.
5. Ate at less signatures - usually on the dining plan we have 2 or 3 signature meals (since DH and I usually skip lunch anyway and we make up the points by having a few really nice signature meals)
6. Saw Less Characters - We usually do a character breakfast every morning on the dining plan so since we had in-room breakfasts, we definitely saw less characters this trip
Some Final Thoughts....
Even though the numbers clearly were in favor for OOP, I still feel like I would have a fantastic trip either OOP or on the Deluxe Dining plan. Now that I've done OOP, I'm not saying "never again" on a dining plan. The main reason being #1 on the cons of OOP, I felt like I didn't enjoy ordering like I do when i'm on the dining plan. I guess I like the sense of everything is pre-paid for and I can order whatever I want. I was very mindful of meal prices OOP which just felt less magical to me on a trip. Maybe ignorance is bliss but I don't want to know how much i'm paying for a quasi-lousy breakfast buffet at Chef Mickey's - I just want to have a fun time there and get some great character pictures! 
So What are we doing for our next trip???
On the last day of our trip I booked the bounceback for August 2018- which happened to be free dining plan (as opposed to a room discount). I looked at the 2018 dining plan that was included and since it didn't include appetizers and knowing we like to have a few signature meals, I upgraded to the deluxe dining plan for us. On the deluxe dining plan, we are allotted 60 points, for our 5 night trip using this "dining game plan" here is what I have planned and will use up the entire 60 points provided we don't skip a meal;
View attachment 292969
Anyway I wanted to thank everyone for following along on my trip report.
Sorry the verdict was so late!
Marina
