Help me decide between dining plan and dining plans plus

[qv09vvp]

The downlow

Group of 6 adults. 2 are newbies. The rest Disney vets

We hit the parks early grabbing quick stuff out of the fridge (dvc)

We generally do a evening sit down

With the plus plan we can put in some brunches that allow us to hit some of our favorite meals without affecting our early touring.

Just worried it's too much food but kinda happy not to have to do groceries in the room.

Can anyone give me so insight or thoughts to sway one way or the other?

 

[Gehrig1B]

We eat when, where, what, and how we like (4 adults) paying out of pocket and never come close to spending what the middle plan costs. No restrictions and no worries. I would skip the DDP altogether. We love having groceries in the room. If you are DVC why not use Tables in Wonderland?

 

[nekonekoneko]

The standard dining plan means generally a counter service lunch and a dinner ADR is the best use of the credits. Maybe a snack for breakfast coupled with eating something quick in your DVC villa would be the best way to tackle the morning hunger.

The plus plan means upping the number of ADRs, which is a lot of food. Also, the best use of the points, at least monetarily, is with character meals, Storybook Dining at Artist Point, or eating a lot of steak and seafood from menus. It will also mean taking advantage of the alcoholic or specialty beverages at each meal.

If you don't dine like that, and, like Gehrig1B said, you're DVC, maybe look into the Tables in Wonderland to see if it's a better deal for you than the dining plan.

 

[sharonabe]

We generally do a evening sit down

With the plus plan we can put in some brunches that allow us to hit some of our favorite meals without affecting our early touring.

Just worried it's too much food but kinda happy not to have to do groceries in the room.

Alcohol is probably going to be your deciding factor. If you'll have a drink with dinner every night, then either plan will probably save you some money.

For choosing which one, if you'd prefer to have a brunch or two over eating QS or maybe hit up a signature one night, then the new plus plan will work best.

For either plan, you need to "spend" about $40-45 per TS credit to break even. My advice would be to hold off on adding any plan until after you make your ADRs. See what's available and what you want to do as far as adding in a brunch here and there. If the ADRs are there and the math adds up, then you have your answer.

Remember, that last line of yours "happy not to have to do groceries" has some value too. The dining plans do add value other than financial, especially if you're close to the break even point with the math.

 

[CraigInPA]

You should do the math. Generally, Disney says you'll save 20% on these plans. But, that only works if you order the most expensive items on the menu, eat all the snacks, and use the unlimited refill mug extensively. As a DVC member, you may (depends if you are blue card member) get a discount at many of the sit down restaurants. If you have a Disney Chase Visa, there are discounts for that. As mentioned earlier, Tables in Wonderland could also give you discounts.

My wife and I used to buy the deluxe dining plan. Over time, the plan became more and more expensive. By carefully comparing how much it would cost to continue with any dining plan based upon how, where, and what we like to eat, we figured out that we would save money by paying out of pocket and using available discounts. Recent trips showed a savings of 25% over the dining plan, despite our enjoyment of deluxe dining. This is primarily due to us never really using snack credits, my wife preferring an appetizer and no dessert, neither of us drinking alcohol at lunch, and (except for Narcoossee's whole Maine lobster) generally not ordering the most expensive things on the menu.

 

[gharter]

Agree with doing the math.
We get grab something quick for breakfast (that we brought from the store).
We had the free DDP once. We found it was too much food for the way we eat.
If we had to pay for it, it would be far cheaper to pay OOP. I understand people liking not having to worry about budgeting for food as its prepaid.

 

[Pumbaa_]

For DxDP, can you picture 6 apps, 6 entrees and 6 desserts at every single meal? (Not bfast)
It’s not as food heavy at signature restaurant, the portions are intended for multiple courses.

as the pp have said, it is a math exercise

 

[qv09vvp]

Sorry. I need to clarify. I was not ask ing my about the deluxe (3 ts) a night. I was asking about the new plus version. (1ts plus 1cs/ts) a night.

we would do either plan for convenience. Just wondering if it's too much food or if it would just eat up too much park time.

 

[Pumbaa_]

So the only difference between the 2 is you have either 2 meal credits OR 1 ts and 1 ts. No apps involved

so it again comes down to a math exercise. And knowing your touring/dining style.

 

[StageTek]

I'll just add a PLUS 1 (or 5) to those recommending do the math. It can take a little time, but it will show you if it's worth it or not.

For us no dining plan has ever been worth it. We don't always eat every meal. We don't always order the most expensive item. And we rarely eat all the snacks allowed on the various dining plans. So OUR style makes the dining plans more expensive than out-of-pocket.

With Magic Bands we haven't found any extra convenience with the dining plan. They just scan the band and off we go.

 

[sharonabe]

Sorry. I need to clarify. I was not ask ing my about the deluxe (3 ts) a night. I was asking about the new plus version. (1ts plus 1cs/ts) a night.

we would do either plan for convenience. Just wondering if it's too much food or if it would just eat up too much park time.

If you normally eat 2 meals per day at the park, then it won't be too much food. However, with the plus plan, you do need to eat the majority of your meals at a TS restaurant. That does mean a little more time for eating. It also means you will be tipping for all meals, so that cost needs to be considered. The only "extra" food you have with the plus plan is you'll get dessert at all meals if you do all TS meals.

Like I said, decide/make your ADRs first and then decide if the plan(s) fit.

 

[scrappinginontario]

It's personal but for us we find the DDP works well for us. Although we would occasionally like to try a signature restaurant, we don't need the additional food (plus added time, cost and tipping that comes with that).

Are you the type of people who like to spend a lot of time in restaurants? I find our ADRs normally require extra time for eating, often transportation there and more. Will you want to take time away from the parks for that?

 

[nkereina]

I would also suggest doing the math. Make a plan for the ADRs you want. Look at the menus and select roughly what everyone would want to order and add up the out of pocket costs. Then revisit the menus again choosing what the dining plan entitlement gets you, and add up the dining plan costs. Add 20% gratuity to each total (often gratuity will be more on DDP since people are usually ordering more food with DDP). Since you're considering DDP, I'm guessing the cost isn't scaring you away. You may be surprised to find you can dine at the same restaurants for a lower cost because you're not forced into ordering food you otherwise may not order. Remember, you're paying for each element of each dining plan entitlement.

If you decide to go with either plan, I would re-think having breakfasts in the room. Each person on the plan will have two snack credits per night to use also. You are paying for them. It would be better to use those to grab a muffin or a bagel or something like that for breakfast, so that you're not stuck with a bunch of unused snack credits at the end.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

It is easier to break even or save money on the DDP than on DDP+ for some of us. DDP is $77/night for adults and includes the sales tax, which is like buying $72.30 in food OOP. If you use the conservative $5/snack estimate, that leaves $62.30 for a QS and a TA meal that can include alcohol and specialty drinks, which often cost $8-16 on their own. Easy, in my book, when all our TS meals are character meals and we all got either specialty or alcohol drinks.
For DDP+, it's like buying $88.84 OOP before tax. If you spend $10 on snacks, that leaves $78.84. A meal like Artist's Point covers that, but two ADRs a day for every day of your trip will eat into your time. Still, a couple of character meals and even a $$$ breakfast at BOG could make it worthwhile. I think the DDP+ might also work for people doing character meals some days and maybe eating lighter on other days with two snacks and using the two TS credits on one Signature meal.
You have to figure out where you want to eat and plug in the numbers.

 

[ucf_knight]

We eat when, where, what, and how we like (4 adults) paying out of pocket and never come close to spending what the middle plan costs. No restrictions and no worries. I would skip the DDP altogether. We love having groceries in the room. If you are DVC why not use Tables in Wonderland?

This. I don’t understand the appeal of the dining plan at Disney at all. Paying cash you will save money and be able to get exactly what you want and not feel the need to get the best bang for your buck when you are strapped to the plan. When the plan first came out years ago it was a no brainer but now I would never do it.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Because Disney does a fantastic job of marketing the plan and offering special packages.
or cousin Eunice said we must get it
or the guy at work had it and said how easy it was
or
i can keep going

 

[qv09vvp]

Thanks all. Discussion over due to co bid restrictions that came out yesterday

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

This. I don’t understand the appeal of the dining plan at Disney at all. Paying cash you will save money and be able to get exactly what you want and not feel the need to get the best bang for your buck when you are strapped to the plan. When the plan first came out years ago it was a no brainer but now I would never do it.

It saves families like mine hundreds of dollars. I get that it doesn't do that for everyone, but it does for us, in our current make-up of adults, Disney adults, and children. It saves money for people who like doing multiple character meals, some of which cost as much as one day of the plan (Story Book Dining, HEA Dinner at 1900 Park Fare). It saves money for people who like the biggest, most expensive snacks in the parks, ones that are closer to $10 each than the general $5 estimate. It saves money for people who want a specialty or alcoholic beverage with their meal. Whether it costs less than OOP, simply offers the comfort of pre-paying, many people that vacationing with the plan IS freeing and allows people like me to get exactly what I want, things that would cost more OOP and thus I wouldn't indulge in them.
In short, the plans exist because people vacation and eat in different ways. So the plans offer options that some guests will enjoy.
YMMV

 

[mom23guys2]

I guess this question is moot for now.