Those who don't like the Dining Plan,

[lisaross]

I'm just wondering why? Do you spend less $ on food and how. I am going in August but not on the dining plan because i got a discount rate at CBR through a CM and already bought my park tickets. But it does look like a good deal. Just trying to see how i can save $ on food or how you do if your not on the plan.

I will be me and my husband and our two boys 4 & 6.

We are planning on doing 1 TS each day - either lunch or dinner. Thinking maybe the kids will split meals when we do the CS meal -

any tips.

lisa

 

[sean-1966]

We are really debating this. We tend to only eat at table service restaurants. I don't think we'll use all the CS meals. It could end up costing us more.

 

[FINFAN]

We like to book TS for as late a lunch serving time as possible....it is usually a bit less expensive and we are basically having an early dinner. We tend to sleep in tho, so we have a late breakfast and then *Drunch*...we have found that it is not too hard to book these times either. Some places stop lunch very early tho, so we tend to go where it is offered almost up until 4 or later. We have not been to WDW since 12/04 tho, so some times have most likely changed. My kids can usually split any meal also, whether it is counter orTS...they are somewhat picky, and we go in the summer when it is hot, we do not like feeling overstuffed in the heat...Also, the Boardwalk Bakery has some great food and great prices. We have ordered snadwiches to go from there and brought them to MGM or Epcot with us, and then snacked a bit through the day. To us, if we do add DDP to our trip this summer, it will be for the enjoyment of the restaurants that we have not booked due to budget before, or character meals...but, we do like our park tiem and do not want to be spending most of it eating...it is really a personal preference. I think you will have a great food exper. either way!


Pam

 

[blueroses]

I just got back from a 5-night trip and am going to write up a dining report that includes why the dining plan is not right for me and my husband, but here are some of the main points.

I need to eat every 3-4 hours which means I'm not hungry enough for a full TS meal.

Almost all the TS restaurants we visited were 2 credits which means we would be going out of pocket by the 3rd day of the trip.

I don't want to be preoccupied with food, which I would be if I had already paid for it.

The only thing I want influencing my meal choices is how hungry I am and what I feel like eating (as opposed to "is this 'worth' 2-credits?" or "is this snack covered under the plan?")

My AP savings on my room MORE than made up for the money potentially saved on the dining plan ($130/night).

I'm in the middle of running the numbers from the trip, but based on the choices we made the dining plan would not have saved us money. We did spend more than $38/person/day but would have w/ the plan too. I hope to post my dining report this week.

 

[Servants of Evan]

Now I must say that I like the dining plan, but you can save money if you're a family which:
Does not order appetizers (or will only order one and split it between everyone).
Does not order desserts (or splits as above).
Is perfectly happy eating counter service for each meal.
Have small children who are used to eating off Mom & Dad's plate.

If the above are "true" for your family you can save money over the dining plan. I always HIGHLY suggest people check out the fantastic menu selection at allearsnet.com and sit down and determine what they are likely to order. Add tax and gratuity and arrive at a true estimation of what their family will be spending daily on food. Let the numbers help make your descision. If we had to, we could all survive on chicken fingers, hamburgers, etc for the length of our stay. (Sorry Vegans, this isn't to punish you, just to illustrate a point). Anyway, if that sort of food works for you, then you're fine. If you desire something more, than the dining plan is a good option.

 

[lillygator]

it's not that I don't like the DP, we've never used it. We get AP or FL discounts on rooms, have annual passes, have the DDE card and really don't have a use for it!

 

[patsal]

Before December I was never able to use a DP since we are AP holders and have DVC. In December I booked a package and tried the DP. It made a difference in allowing us to go back to eating like we did before the kids were considered adults for dining purposes.
Example, we cut out 50% of the character meals, had our TS meal at lunch, and split three CS meals between the four of us ordering water and maybe an extra order of fries. We had the DDE card, which was worth it at the old price, and helped to save $$. I started to cook in the villa--i don't mind it but it isn't as nice as not having to cook on vacation.

In December we followed our old eating habits. Everyone was able to get what he or she wanted-no hassles, no worrying about Mom ordering something she didn't really want to accomadate sons desire for steak--just an example. At CS I didn't have to worry about making the choice for everyone to share. We saved much more money in that week than the DDE saved us for the whole previous year. No one felt pressure to eat anything they didn't want and in some cases a dessert or appetizer was skipped. I am also not one to spend spend spend on snacks, so the kids having the flexibility to get a snack or drink was welcomed. Occasionally we shared three CS meals as the amounts of food were just too much, this gave added flexibility since we could throw in a breakfast or two at hte food court.
On our last day we still had snacks left and ended up bringing severl items home with us.

 

[drogerstn]

I'm just wondering why? Do you spend less $ on food and how.

• We average less than one TS meal per day.
• We eat TS meals for lunch or breakfast which is much cheaper than dinner.
• We don't order appetizers or desserts.
• We have a cooler and visit the grocery. (drinks, breakfast food, lunch items)
• We often eat breakfast in our room which saves time since some eat while others are using the bathroom area and visa versa.
• A few times we eat lunch in our room during a midday break.

We don't want to spend a big part of our evenings eating dinner. We spend a whole lot less on food than we would if we purchased the dining plan.

 

[Desnik]

We had added the DP for our upcoming trip. It will be me, DH, DD(8), DS(3). I have debated this over and over in my calculating and I am going to cancel it. We simply cannot eat that much food! I think the DP is great and can save lots of money. However, I will not waste food! My 3yo will eat off of my plate at TS restaurants, and at CS can share with my 8yo who eats like a bird! They would never be able to eat appetizers and desserts and we never order that for them. As far as DH and myself, we never eat dessert and can get by without an appetizer most times. We have ADR's for only 5 TS places for a 9 day trip. We know we can eat at CS the rest of the time. For me it isn't so much the fact that I want to save money, I just don't want to waste food!! We are also DVC'ers and can get a discount at some places, we do have AP's so I can also get the DE to save some money but I doubt I will buy it this trip.

 

[eliza61]

We are really debating this. We tend to only eat at table service restaurants. I don't think we'll use all the CS meals. It could end up costing us more.

Sean,
This was our dilemma also. We are a family of 4 (2 teenage sons) and didn't really think the snacks and Cs on the DDP plan would work for us. first, all of us are healthy (code for "we love to eat" )eaters, so the snacks are pretty much useless. No way is a mickey ice cream bar going to make my teenagers happy. Although we have 1 or 2 CS in the parks, after a few days of this we generally start having TS lunches. We are planning on purchasing 1 annual pass and then get the DDE card. This allows us to save 20% on all TS meals (including alcohol). this will probably work better for us.

 

[Matt'sMom]

Our family was one that tried the DDP last Fall, taking advantage of the 'free' DDP package deal... and would not go with the DDP again.

Yes, it was nice to know we had our meals basically 'paid for' in advance, and could order whatever we felt like off of the menus without regard for the prices. But it was way too much food for us, and we felt our entire trip ended up being planned around our ADRs for the TS meals. Even with sharing most meals (two entrees or combos between three persons), and not using up anywhere near all of our alloted credits (we honestly just couldn't eat all that food!)... we still felt extremely over stuffed a lot of the time. Based upon what we typically choose to eat while at WDW (and how much that costs), purchasing the DDP would not have been any savings for us at all. But then when they offerred the 'free' DDP package deal, it seemed like it might be worth a try. I wouldn't do it again though, even at the reduced cost (the 'free' DDP offer requires that you forfeit any other discounted room rates--so it does have a cost, especially if you are giving up a room discount at a deluxe resort).

We've found that we really don't like to take the time out to eat at a TS restaurant each day, and prefer to just hit a few of our favorites now and then. And a lot of the CS combos are more than large enough for us to share. So our food budget while at WDW tends to run well under the daily cost for three adults on the DDP (DS is now 10+). Winging it (with the exception of a few carefully chosen ADRs) is just a lot more comfortable for us, not to mention less expensive in the long run.

Now if Disney would consider changing the DDP to be more flexible (with 'options', like the MYW tickets), so that we could purchase just the CS and Snack options (1 per person per day) for our length of stay... that would work great for us!

 

[estnh]

We are really debating this. We tend to only eat at table service restaurants. I don't think we'll use all the CS meals. It could end up costing us more.

We used the plan for the first time last year on an eight day trip (two adults and two older teens), and I couldn't believe the savings. We added our checks when we got home, and would have saved a few bucks EVEN IF we had not used any snacks or counter service. For example, we had a check at the Kona Cafe for dinner of $ 239.00; another at the Concourse for $ 234.00, and most of the others were high $100's. The dining plan was $ 140 per day for 4 people (it was $35 then--since gone up a few bucks). It paid for itself easily WITHOUT any counter services or snacks.

Granted, we ate way too much (its fun to eat too much on vacation!), but still, IMO, this is one of the few bargains offered at WDW, and should be considered carefully.

 

[Disney Fool]

Frankly, with the AP discount, I saved so much on the room, I didn't need a dining plan. I also have the DDE card. Saved more money with that. I played with the numbers, I saved more $$$ without it.

 

[Lanshark]

I don't want that much structure in my vacation. With two teens we bring snacks in the room, get up late and usually only eat two meals a day.

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Last year, DH and I didn't get the DDP. I now wished we would have. We spent just about (if not more) for food than the plan would have cost (and we didn't even get appetizers or dessert). We did eat offsite twice as well.

This year I opted for the plan. Here are the reasons:

* I like to have everything planned out, so it is no big deal to make ADR's.

* I like that everything is prepaid and I don't have to worry about what things are costing (I do not feel like I am going to base my meals getting the most for my money either).

* DH and I can try more at each place, since we will each get an appetizer and dessert. That means more variety.

* As far as I know, Disney doesn't make you take desserts or appetizers. So, if I don't feel like having one or the other than I will just say no to them. Thus, I am not wasting food.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Not everyone fits the plan.

Assuming one is paying for the plan.
If you're on a limited budget, you can do better on your own at the counters, sharing meals and the like to get by. Some people are very light eaters and like chicken or veggies. Those don't usually add up to much cost even at the sit downs.

Assuming one is considering the free plan. In some rooms, particularly at the deluxes, A Triple A or AP discount may indeed be bigger than the free plan. It would make sense to keep those and then pay for, or not pay for the plan as per the above.

 

[Pembo]

We were there last summer with our kids, 2, 7 & 9. We did not do the dining plan. We did 2 character breakfasts, 1 character lunch. We have found that WDW gives you WAY too much food. We always split meals even dh & I. We ate mostly counter service which is what my kids like. We ate breakfast in the room and had a couple lunch/dinners in the room as well. (sandwiches, chips, etc). As for snacks, I carried fruit snacks and granola bars.

We went in June and it was HOT! We found that we weren't really very hungry because of the heat. Light meals were much better.

Personally I can't even imagine eating an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert at WDW. I'd be sick with that much food and if I'm paying for it I wouldn't want it to go to waste.

 

[crisi]

I don't know if I like it or not. Haven't had a chance to do it yet.

Some concerns:

Its a LOT of food. We are people who do a sit down each day, but my DH and I will usually split desserts and appitizers.

Balancing signature meals - we do one or two signature meals a trip, which means we are paying out of pocket.

The value of the DDP vs. the DDE. The math here can get tricky, but since we are alcohol drinkers, we can get a better deal from the DDE.

Other concerns I don't have, but I think are really valid:

Time: Sit down dining consumes a lot of time - not just in dining, but in getting there, waiting to be seated, etc.

Flexibility: I'm a big fan of "if you want a sit down meal, make an ADR" but the dining plan basically means you've paid for them up front. Currently if we skip an ADR and grab chicken fingers, that's our choice and we aren't out money. We usually end up skipping or moving one.

Cost: The dining plan is a great value, but there are cheaper deals to be had. Eating offsite, eating counter service, splitting meals, doing a little in room dining or using the microwave at the food courts. If you are really on a budget, $35 a day per person is about $15 a day more than you NEED to spend.

Party makeup: If you have a ten year old that is happy eating off the kids menus, a teenager who eats nothing but salad, a senior who thinks a big meal is a little broiled chicken - the dining plan may not work out well.

 

[schatterjee]

I think it's just a matter of how you eat. We could and always have in the past spent less than with the DDP. We just didn't do that many TS and we're DVC so I cooked. But our trip this Oct. we're doing DDP sort of as a splurge. I can't wait to try all the restuarants and order things I might not if I were paying OOP. Also our little one will be 4 this trip and much more equipped to sit for a meal.

It only works for you if it works for you!

 

[beckasher]

We are taking our 2 young grandkids 5 & 6 again this year. We got AAA rates at POP for $656 tx included and got our tickets discount from a broker, $872 with hoppers. Our food will consist of 5 evenings of buffets & all you can eat charactor meals. We eat at the food courts for breakfast and usually grab a snack there also in the afternoons when we return for a swim or rest. The other 2 nights we do Prime time & Sifi which are much cheaper than the others. We can't eat the appertizers nor desserts at that time and pick them up later. So based on what it cost us for food last year we will be saving about $200 NOT being on the dining plan which would be $2404. Even on the dining plan, we would still be buying desserts, snacks, etc in the afternoon and when we returned from the park. Most of our meals are done at Crystal Pal., LLT, H&V, & Garden Grill which are all you can eat anyway and are charactor dinners. We stayed at a moderate last year and still didn't spend $2404 and ate at the same places. The DDP just doesn't work for us.