Meal Plan suggestion

[Mr. Brass Bonanza]

We're going January 2-9 with four adults and two three-year-old. (Actually, they will be turning three when we get there. Since I'm in charge of paying for all meals, I want to be as economical as possible. For a party of this make-up, what are your suggestions for us...doing the meal plan or paying as we eat?

Thanks! :thumbsup:

[tinkerted]

i suggest you do the dining plan and order the most exspensive things on the menu that you like and get your moneys worth but i would save a dinner for a two pointer.:mickey:

[AHOTE]

I would suggest that you go to the info central section, look under Dining. There's a lot of good info there about the various plans and an estimater spreadsheet to help you gauge if a plan is a good fit for your needs. We always use the basic dining plan for our trips but we don't have children with us and it serves our needs well.

[KylesMom]

Mark, I don't really think there is any clear-cut answer here. Although the Dining Plan comes out to a "good deal" by running the Intercot spreadsheet for my family, we itemized out what we figured we'd eat daily (based on previous trips), and the cost was almost even. We eat breakfast in the room and schedule one TS almost every day. However, there are days where we'll just grab a hot dog or two each instead of a full CS, and while we'll eat Mickey bars as a snack, we're not big dessert people. We've decided to skip it (the dining plan) once again, even though I've been pressured on several occasions to purchase it by the CMs who I've made dining reservations with.

We've also run into one of us getting ill a few times on our Disney trips, and if we'd have paid for the TS' ahead of time on the dining plan, we would have been outta luck.

To really know if the dining plan will be a good deal for you (especially since it's all on your dime), you really need to get an idea of where you want to eat and run the numbers. As AHOTE mentioned, there's a lot of information out there which will allow you to make a good decision based on your own situation. :mickey:

[tys_mommy]

Not sure how this will affect you but remember Disney doesn't charge for children under age 3.

[KylesMom]

Not sure how this will affect you but remember Disney doesn't charge for children under age 3.
And even if the kids turn 3 while you're there, they won't need an admission ticket and can eat off of your plate (buffets) for free as long as your trip starts before their birthdays! So I'd definitely look at scheduling some buffets/character meals! :D

[Mr. Brass Bonanza]

And even if the kids turn 3 while you're there, they won't need an admission ticket and can eat off of your plate (buffets) for free as long as your trip starts before their birthdays! So I'd definitely look at scheduling some buffets/character meals! :D
THAT was one of my questions...if they would get grandfathered in for the rest of the trip. Ok, that's excellent. So paying for meals would only be for four people. Does that change anyone's opinion, or is it still not a cut and dry choice?

[KylesMom]

IMO, you really should take a look at the various buffets and see which ones you'd like to eat at. Obviously breakfast & luncheons are going to be cheaper than dinner . . . and you need to decide if you're going to want to eat a TS each day, or just every other day.

As an example, Crystal Palace would be $21 per adult for lunch, but change it to dinner and it's $28 . . . a lot of your decisions will be based on how your group likes to eat; i.e., big breakfast, small lunch & dinner, or vice-versa.

The one thing you won't be able to get around is the automatic 18% gratuity that will be added to each TS bill for your party of 6 . . . even if you're only paying for 4. :(

[Insanity Clause]

Basically it is going to depend on what kind of eaters your 3 year olds are. If they eat descently then yes, the dining plan is probably a good option and you get to have dinner's you probably would not normally get to have...

[KylesMom]

Basically it is going to depend on what kind of eaters your 3 year olds are. If they eat descently then yes, the dining plan is probably a good option and you get to have dinner's you probably would not normally get to have...
If the OP checks in before the kiddos are 3, then they won't need park tix and won't be eligible for the dining plan - unless, of course, Mr. B purchases park tickets for them just to get the dining plan. Definitely better out of pocket for the youngsters . . .

[TheDuckRocks]

The one thing you won't be able to get around is the automatic 18% gratuity that will be added to each TS bill for your party of 6 . . . even if you're only paying for 4. :(

And that would happen if you were on the dining plan or not and Disney does count everyone, even infants, in the total number of how many are in your party.

[gaffz70]

Just offering my 2cents....
I am always crunching numbers to see what is the best deal for everything. It seems so far here, whether u do the DDP or pay out of pocket, it's going to be close. With that being said, I like the DDP b/c I LOVE being on vacation, going out to eat and not worrying about how much it's going to cost...b/c it's already paid for !!!