free dining vs paying

[tink03]

hi all curious we always got free dining but after reading some of this great info on this awesome site i am thinking of just paying while we are there, any comments,thoughts, or ideas. ia mean really what is easier or perhaps better?

[Strmchsr]

The answer to that question is extremely complicated and would depend on 1.) Your family's eating habits (do you eat all of the food on the DDP or does it seem like too much) and 2.) What other discounts might be available. If the DDP seems like too much food and you prefer to share meals or eat less, then paying OOP and getting another type of discount might make more sense. I would suggest using Magical Journeys to help you look at your options to figure out which is best.

[paragon]

We pondered this very question. Typically there are only two of us, DW and me. We weighed the pros and cons. We always save receipts, so it was easy for me to track and tally. What we found out was that we will always eat better, and at places that we would never think to go to-when we use the dining plan. We have yet to think that we get too much food, sure we don't always eat dessert, but we have found that since its part of the meal, we may take a bite anyway. If we were not on the dining plan, chances are we would have either, eaten nothing but burgers and chicken strips-or skipped it entirely and would buy more snack and junk food throughout our trip.
We plan for the time it takes to have a sit down table meal, and it gives us the much needed down time, and as I said, we eat in places we never would have if we had to pay out of pocket.
Its definitely worth it for us, but certainly a personal decision.

[faline]

As Chris noted, the answer is "it depends". Typically, when I go to Disney, it's a party of 2 adults, no children. For us, we've found that free dining does not save us money and we are better served with a room discount and paying out of pocket for what we eat (We do also use the Tables in Wonderland discount card - as annual passholders).

[egospotter]

My biggest thing about the dining plan is having everything (except tips and extras) paid for in advance, it makes budgeting so much easier! Since that's something that's important to me, I jump on free dining every year. Sure if I crunched the numbers I could probably save a little bit more another way, but I'd just rather not, LOL!

Plus, like paragon, I would probably end up at counter service to save the money but would much prefer one table service per day. It is a vacation, after all.

Just something to think about. :)

[princessgirls]

Hi Tink03~

Welcome to Intercot!!! :mickey:

This is a good question and there are many answers, the bottom line is how you like to eat when you are on vacation, and what discounts you want to take advantage of.
For example: When Disney runs a "Free" Dining promotion, then you can't get a discounted room rate on top of that.

For my family of 4, The Dining Plan works for us, I like having most of the food paid for, and we enjoy eating around the world!! I know that if we were paying OOP (out of pocket) for each and every meal, we would be not eating as good. It costs about $40-50 just for lunch or a quick dinner at a counter service location. Average about $120 for a Table Service meal.
I was able to get a "Free" Dining promo for our upcoming August trip, and it saved us $800 on our trip.
Enjoy planning your trip!
Julie:mickey:

[Scar]

Also what level of resort? 40% off a deluxe should always beat free dining.

[MarkC]

The posters above have made good comments. Do remember that the dining plan no longer includes tips, so that could cost you an extra $10-15 an evening meal, depending on how many are in your party. You can do the math if you're so inclined. You also need to consider how much you want to enjoy the different restaurants, vs. how much you want to try and hit the parks hard. Do you have young kids that would fidgit in a nicer place?

We've actually done it both with and without the dining plan, so that is an individual decision. Personally, if there are some places you've never tried because you were worried about the cost, the dining plan is a great choice. Do remember that if you choose it, you will eat every meal on Disney property. For most of us that's going to happen anyway, but occasionally we'll venture out to get a McDonalds or Taco Bell fix. Just sayin'.

[joonyer]

We are almost always on a tight budget, including our WDW trips, so the bottom line for us is $$.
We have purchased the DDP before, (haven't been fortunate to go when free dining plan is offered) back when it included appetizers and tips. It was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed it, but it did not save us money as opposed to what we would have spent on food for a normal WDW vacation. We are a family of 4 (two teenagers now). We simply can eat 3 meals a day, for much less than what the DDP costs, (then or now), because we plan on a budget. That enbales us to go more often to WDW.
We take breakfast snacks to eat in our room before heading to the parks in the morning (muffins, etc.) and then usually eat CS for lunch and supper. And DW and I usually share a CS meal, because it is usually enough for both if us. On a typical week long trip, we might eat only 1 or 2 TS meals. We'd rather sacrifice on food in order to go to WDW more often than go less often and splurge on food.

So if controlling spending $$ really is important, you will not make a WDW less expensive by purchasing the DDP. Remember, Disney is not losing money by selling this option. If you are lucky enough to qualify for the free dining promotion, you need to compare that to what you could save by using a room discount instead. It might save you a little if you are planning on eating lots of TS meals anyway.

On the other hand, If money is no object and you like to spurge with lots of TS meals anyway, then go for it.

[spinnerf]

One thing to remember is the tips. If you are not accustomed to eating in some of the higher priced restaurants, a fair tip can run you $30 or more for 2 to 4 people depending. Add to that any adult drinks and I for one have easily spent close $100 (family of 4) at some resraurants while being on the dining plan. Now I know I could have had a counter service for that same $100. So if it is "budget" you are truly after, not experience, the dining plan may not be for you. Personally the dining plan made me too neurotic about keeping reservations and the "vacation" in my vacation slowly started to fade, dont think I would do it again for that reason.

[princessgirls]

Also what level of resort? 40% off a deluxe should always beat free dining.

Deluxe resorts aren't in my budget...but that's only because we like to do another week or two of vacation, instead of blowing the entire vacation allowance for the year on a deluxe resort.

So that's why the "Free" Dining is better for us. See, every family has their own preference.
Julie:mickey:

[Horizon One]

I have tried eating off site/oop, sit down dining plan and the counter service plan. Here are my pros and cons for both.

Off site/oop
Pros: somewhat greater variety, may save some money by eating cereal and packing a lunch. Giordanos.
Cons: You leave the park most of the time for dinner and then have to come back which wastes valuable Disney time. You are on more of a budget.

Sit Down
Pros: Very unique dining experience, good food and some nice down time for the adults.
Cons: More expensive than counter service, amount of time to eat and get there, kids could get restless depending on the restaurant, knowing what you want to eat in advance as you need to make reservations.

Counter:
Pros: Less expensive than sit down, less time constraints, reasonable food, eat anytime
Cons: some of the selection can be limited (mostly for kids meals)

For us the last two times we have done the counter service as you get maximum time in the park and the food is good.

[javamama]

The past 4 trips we've taken we've done the DDP,even with the club level past trips(we had 2 grand gathering trips so we did lots of TS meals). Now this year we decided to go without the DDP, because we are staying in club level for one so that takes care of breakfast everyday(we will do a character breakfast one day). So instead of paying for 2 adults, and 2 kids on the ddp we opted to pay for the club level room. We also enjoy having a few cocktails by the pool, and after a long day at the parks so the club level room is worth the added cost for us over the ddp this trip, plus the room was almost 50% off.