PDA

View Full Version : Dining Plan not worth the trouble?



skadar2
01-28-2008, 11:11 AM
My family of 4 is planning a 9-day trip for Nov 2008, and we are trying to learn about the Dining Plan. The biggest conclusion I've come to so far is that a significant amount of stress and planning can immediately be alleviated by NOT choosing the plan!

Is the stress and hassle over "credit management" and tip awkwardness really worth any meager savings? From what I've read, I think not.

Seems like the vacation would be that much more magical by not fussing over credit timing, eating when we're hungry, and paying as we go.

Am I wrong?

ljv1975
01-28-2008, 11:31 AM
This is our first trip coming up, so I don't have any hands on experience with the plan yet, but here is what I think so far. (BTW, we have the regular dining plan).

If I had it to do all over again I wouldn NOT have gone with the dining plan. It has taken a significant amount of thought and planning to try and get the most from our plan. Between making ADR's and deciding which ones to pay out of pocket for and doing all sorts of math to figure out how much we should try to spend on our CS meals it has been a headache. The last thing I want to do is end up paying more to be on the DP than what the actual cost of our food is. (Of course, this is what Disney hopes for).

Unfortunately for me, I didn't really take a hard look at this until recently and it is too late to cancel the plan as we are within thr 45 day mark. At first I was in the school of thought that said, "The food is already taken care of, one less thing to worry about". Now I think I should have just taken the money spent on the plan and set it aside for dining expenses. Then as you said, we could have made a few ADR's for the places we really want to visit and could just wing the rest of it.

Well, after all that rambling, I would say that on our next trip we will not do the dining plan. Especially since an appetizer and gratuity aren't included this year, it just seems to be a bigger hassle than the few dollars we might save are worth. Of course, I will have to wait and see until we actually go on our trip and see how it all works out, but to be honest I don't think my mind will change.

P.S. If you think you could benefit from the plan try using the worksheet in InfoCentral to see if it would be worth it for you.

skadar2
01-28-2008, 11:55 AM
Thanks for your thoughts. I should also mention that we aren't big "food people". We would much rather spend our time doing other things. Two hours eating dinner versus two hours in the park? Park! So maybe that's the biggest clue right there that the Dining Plan isn't for us.

The last thing we want is for a dining schedule to be the foundation for our vacation itinerary.

As you said, we *do* plan to make a few ADRs for some regular and special dining experiences, but that's about it. The only consequence of which will relate to daily park choices (or hops).

katzctkpt
01-28-2008, 12:01 PM
We have never done the dining plan and after going with my SIL this past year they were on the DP and wanted us to go to dinner with them a lot. Well ressies were made with times etc... and honestly it was just a hassle because you'd be in the middle of something have to stop go back to room to change and get to dinner then usually it was like I don't want this I want something else so, I've decided CS was the way to go with maybe 1 or 2 TS meals not 7 or more. Now if the dining is free take advantage but to pay for it dont

splashtest
01-28-2008, 12:06 PM
If you not a family that eats 3 large meals a day, then don't consider it. It is not worth the money. I added up everything we normally spend and what we would be spending with the plan, and it was not a savings for us. We normally have a small meal in the morning. a snack in the afternoon and a large meal at night. The dining plan forces you to eat a lot of food!!!:sick:

SBETigg
01-28-2008, 12:15 PM
The dining plan is not really a hassle if you're used to table service dining at Disney anyway. Whether or not you choose to go with the plan, you still need to make ADRs well in advance now for the most popular venues (even the not as popular, in many cases) and some pre-planning is required. As for paying, it's no more difficult than paying for a regular meal. It's easy. No problem. In fact, we find it easier because we've prepaid for most of the dining before we even start our vacation. Tipping is not a hassle for us.

If you're used to counter service dining and prefer to skip table service meals, then yes, it isn't worth it.

#1donaldfan
01-28-2008, 12:25 PM
The only real bad thing I see with the DP is that you HAVE to make ressies....without 'em you can miss out.....we like "flying by nite" and eating when WE want to at the time, not plan it out months, and months in advance......with plans you also have to stop what your doing, go back, shower, dress, and head back out to where your eatery may be......just not worth it to us.......:mickey:

Strmchsr
01-28-2008, 12:26 PM
i will affirm some of what's already been mentioned. If you don't like to do big table service meals every day the DDP is definitely not worth it. However, if you want to do any at all you still have to worry about ADRs. Most restaurants no longer have walk up availability, so planning for any sit down meal is necessary. If you only want do eat as you're hungry and do counter service, then by all means forget the DDP.

robemcdo
01-28-2008, 01:26 PM
pluses of the old plan

-Very good value for your money...Family ate about $260 a day and paid 160
-Didn't have to carry around money....20 bucks in my pocket and i"m on my way. No Costanza wallet meant more room on the rides!!
-Forces you into nice restaurants...which is never a bad thing.

Negatives of Old Plan
- Tough to get the restaurant you want...when you want it...unless you're on the phone 180 days ahead.
- Days tended to revolve around eating...Getting to restaurants took away a lot of time
-Way Too much Food!

The New Basic plan now requires you to add the tip, and without the appetizers, the massive value gap has closed considerably. You still eat more than you paid for, but it's not such a slamdunk anymore. If you leave town with unused credits, you're savings are gone.

The Deluxe plan is obscene in my opinion. The whole week will be spent eating, unless you double up on some signature dining places. Decent value for the money again, but at what price??

I guess if you are valueminded park goers, I bet you'd be far better off financially just eating normally out of pocket.

If a big part of your vacation enjoyment is sitting down to a nice sitdown meal, then the DDP can still be a viable option for you.

Donald Duck Fan
01-28-2008, 01:28 PM
I have used the Disney Dinning Plan for my last 2 trips to Disney, and I have included it again in our upcoming Trip in October. To me it makes sense. I pay for most of my meals before I leave:D which I love and removes the stress over what am I going to do about food. Also too it saves money. On our last trip to Disney we save about 25% by using the dinning plan verses paying out of pocket. I compared what I would have paid out of pocket verses what I paid on the dining plan and thats how I came up with the percentage.

To me there is no problem planning this all out. It is actually fun:joy: sitting around reviewing the different restaurants and seeing which ones we would like to eat at. Nothing helps get you excited about Disney than planning your days, meals, shows, etc. Like I said I am not going till October, but I pretty much know what restaurants I am going to be eating at, just need to get close enough to tell my travel agent to book them.

:donald:

D-ko
01-28-2008, 01:58 PM
We truly enjoyed the dining plan. When we had it though, anything off the menu was available and most restaurants were included.

We would have never dined at the Brown Derby at MGM if it wasn't for the dining plan. We also went to the Teppenyaki Restaurant in Japan and ate lobster and steak.

It was truly nice to be able to go into any restaurant and pick whatever I wanted from the menu. I had so many appetizers and desserts as well that I probably never would have tried. I also made all my ADRs from my hotel room when I got there.

I also cannot express the awesomeness of having everything pre-paid. Our package in Sept 2005 was basically $500 person - 5 nights at POR, 6 days park hopper ticks and Disney dining plan. Let me tell you, we felt like we were living large, Disney style! hahahaha

Managing the credits you have wasn't a big deal. It worked out for us really well, and if I hadn't moved into the area, I would totally get another package with the dining plan.

It's all about what you want to do. We got a great deal on a package and wanted to indulge, and it was perfect for that.

lockedoutlogic
01-28-2008, 02:09 PM
Maybe "credit management" is a hassle....

but DDP or no DDP doesn't change the fact that you HAVE to book reservations for the sitdowns you wish to eat at.....the DDP has made it so it isn't possible to just "go with the flow" when it comes to sit downs

hopefully as the plan wanes in popularity...which i fully expect it to start to this year as they have-in essence-gutted it by 25% or more already....then the sitdowns will go back to "casual" arrangements

So you pretty much have to plan if you don't want fast food at all times....and then it becomes a question of whether the DDP is more economically feasible....

ltam16
01-28-2008, 02:11 PM
We used the Dining Plan on our 2 past trips, the last trip was free dining. We enjoyed using it and for what we got it was a great value. This was the "old" plan. We enjoyed going to a lot of character meals and went to many nice restaurants like Whispering Canyon, La cellier, Coral Reef. It gave us an opportunity to see all the deluxe hotels.

However, you really need to plan it out. I would plan what parks we wanted to got based on emh and park hours and then figure out the restaurants based on proximity to the parks. Then at WDW we were set to a time table because we wanted to rest in afternoon and needed time to get back out for our ADR.

I am glad we did it the 2 trips, especially free dining you cant beat it. But for this trip we are not doing it. We are not planning our days really and just going to eat counterservice. There are enough options out there so it won't be like we are eating burgers the whole time. I also have very picky eaters. I hate paying for a meal and having my ds just eat a biscuit!

If you want to experience a lot of different restaurants and don't mind the time it takes to plan and the time it takes during the vacation then go for it.

rubato
01-28-2008, 02:36 PM
We leave in 3 days (Woo Hoo) and we're not using the dining plan. I did, however, make ADRs for 4 nights. My main reason for not going with the plan is that, in my case, it isn't a savings. I normally wouldn't order the filet or lobster, so I can't take that as the cost my meal would have been. When I looked at the menus of the restaurants I made ADRs for, I would be losing money. And, we don't eat big meals any other time. I'm also not going to be needing drinks since I'll bring a bottle of water. I'll have a few Goldfish or an apple for my son to snack on, so the snack credit would be pointless as well.
It sounds like you'd be better off on your own as well. :)

kristom
01-28-2008, 04:29 PM
We've never used the dining plan before, however, will be using it for our trip in August. With two teenagers (16 & 19), it will be worth every penny. I'm constantly looking at prices when we go out, so it will be nice to not have to do that for two meals a day. ;)

We also have specific places we want to try this trip and as everyone knows, trying to get into the "popular" restaurants can be nearly impossible without an ADR.

wendy*darling
01-28-2008, 06:56 PM
If you not a family that eats 3 large meals a day, then don't consider it. It is not worth the money..... We normally have a small meal in the morning. a snack in the afternoon and a large meal at night. The dining plan forces you to eat a lot of food!!!:sick:

As a point of clarification- the DDP does NOT provide 3 large meals a day.
For each night of your stay, you get:
1 CS (counter service)
1 Snack
1 TS (table service)
which is exactly what you described as your family's habits. :mickey:

If your family wanted 3 large meals a day- then you might consider the Deluxe DP.

If you want little to no sit down meals during your vacation- then you are better off paying as you go.

tjstrike
01-29-2008, 08:10 AM
We used the dining plan our last trip and we are using it again in 2 weeks. We ate at soooo many cool sit down table services that we'd never had eaten at without the DDP (because I'm a cheapskate). What we've found to be very convenient for us is to eat late at the park with EMH's that night. That way we get a full day at the park, a full belly to end the day, and usually an empty bus for the ride home becuase the park is closed already.

vamaggie
01-29-2008, 09:34 AM
I would definately run the numbers using the estimator here on Intercot but if your family plans to eat one sit down meal a day, the dining plan, IMHO makes sense. If you are happy eating CS meals all the time then it probably would not be worth getting the dining plan. There really is no more hassle with the plan than paying OOP. You won't have "credit management" issues if you pay OOP, you will just have to budget your money; you will have "stress and hassle over tip awkwardness" (unless you don't tip at all) even if you pay OOP, if you eat any TS or character meals you will still have to make ADRs. IMHO, 9 days of only CS meals would drive my family crazy. The choices are not too varied at the CS places and not too healthy IMHO. Run the numbers, talk with all your family members about what they want/are willing to do and see what works best.

anewvision
01-29-2008, 01:09 PM
If you not a family that eats 3 large meals a day, then don't consider it. It is not worth the money. I added up everything we normally spend and what we would be spending with the plan, and it was not a savings for us. We normally have a small meal in the morning. a snack in the afternoon and a large meal at night. The dining plan forces you to eat a lot of food!!!:sick:

HOSS, Them theres fighting words to the
biggins. I have said the same thing to these
people a # of times. Glad to see someone else
knows a little math.

Spaceship Tigger
01-30-2008, 07:49 AM
I believe that it has certainly been more of a hassle for us. When you factor in two-credit signature dining locations and TS character breakfasts, you then have to figure out how to deal with your TS and CS credits for eveything else. And in the past we have had to figure out when to get the kids something on or off the plan, such as when DW and I had eaten a big character breakfast and didn't need lunch but the kids still did want something.

Also, as others have noted, I had to crunch a lot of numbers to find out if the DDP was even worth it for us to pay full price on the room rate. I've found that the free September DDP was worth it but paying full price for it was not.

scootch713
01-30-2008, 10:44 AM
I plan two buffet or large meals thruout our stay(usually stay 6 nights)... otherwise we just eat as we go. We too do not like to have every minute planned. Don't forget room service too. This is the first year I used it, and was very happy with it, no waiting in line, food was good and I ordered when I wanted(like when we would be showering, resting, whatever). I really think if you are a person(or have a person in your group) who HAS to have a big meal everyday, then the meal plan is worth it.. if not.. then a couple of good buffets and the rest, eat as you go. Trails End Buffett is a good econimical buffet.

aurorafan
01-30-2008, 11:47 AM
We did the "old" DDP when we went in October and loved it :). We love having at least 1 sitdown meal a day, and I loved not having to worry about what everyone was picking in order to stay on budget ;). As someone else said, I planned which parks to be in on which days according to EMH and special events (MNSSHP etc.), and then booked restaurants in that park accordingly. We didn't eat at any restaurants outside the parks (other than our resort ones) because this was our first trip and we didn't want to spend time going from resort to resort.

I do know people who like to just grab and run for food, and for them the DDP doesn't make sense. As others have pointed out though, if you want to have any sitdown meals you'll still have to make ADR's, and you'll still have to tip, so to me it all evens out in the end ;)

lightyearfan
01-30-2008, 12:05 PM
well i must strongly disagree here sorry in advance for disagreeing. unless your going to eat strickly counter service meals than yes you don't need the DDP, but if you do eat TS meals at the nicer resturants that WDW has to offer, than yes you should do the DDP, you'll have to make ARD'S anyway otherwise unless you want to take your chances you probably won't get a seating. and you'll will save considerable $$, for me and dw it comes out to be a savings of over $350, and thats on the basic DDP plan. now that said we also pre-plan our trip so we do now on what day that we'll be spending our time, and once we leave our hotel , we are park people we'll stay at the parks until close, so perhapls that makes it easier for us to choose what TS resturant that we want to dine at. you should do a mock planning and use the DDP estimator in the info section of this website and you'll see how much $$ that you'll be able to save, and it will also tell you if the DDP is good or bad for your family.

Enjoy your trip you'll be at the world so it will be fantastic no matter what you decide to do

Victor

Polynesian Dweller
01-30-2008, 12:31 PM
We have used the DDP up until this year and won't be doing so. We have found we just don't want to do TS and the DDP restaurants all the time. One of our favorites, Portabello, isn't on the plan so no savings there and we typically have only 3 TS throughout a 7 day trip anyway.

Its really how it works for you and for us it isn't worth it and we simply won't eat that much.

However, DDP or no DDP you have to make ADRs. Without them you aren't likely to get in at the TS places.