Dining Plan or not?

[j2k]

We have not decided yet on whether to get the dining plan or not. I was thinking we'd get the basic plan for CS meals since we don't really want to waste time at TS restaurants. Our final payment is due soon and I need to decide. I'm actually thinking of forgoing the dining plan because I'm afraid it will give us too much food. I'm thinking we could eat without overheating and spend less money by paying OOP. Am I wrong to think this? My DD doesn't eat much so she could mostly share with DH and myself.
Does anybody have experiences to share?

[hel5165]

On our recent trip we decided to forego the dining plan. We didn't want our vacation planned around dining reservations. We had a nice dinner at Chefs de France one day and another two meals at resorts. The rest of the time we opted for counter service meals and for the entire week we spent $457 including our daily cocktail. We don't eat desserts so the CS isn't good for us.

[Jeri Lynn]

I personally love the dining plan. We like to have one sit down meal a day and don't mind having our dining reservations in advance. It's also nice not to have to carry that extra money around to pay for the meals that day.

If we didn't have a sit down meal each day I probably would not get the dining plan, maybe the quick service plan.

[A Big Kid]

Our experience is that it is too much food. We eat more than we would normally. It is more expensive for us than if we would have paid as we went along. At the end of our trip, we are scambling to use all of our credits so the mouse doesn't "get over" on us. And do forget to factor in the tips. If you are not normally having a TS as opposed to a CS, you are going to have to factor in that extra $$ for tips and those can add up quickly.

[mgmnut]

We normally get the DP and end up stuffing ourselves the whole trip. This coming trip we decided to just get the QS Plan and pay OOP for any TS meals we decide on. We normally like to sit down for at least 1 meal a day also, but last trip the ressies got in the way a few times so we are cutting back. We have made 3 TS reservations for the next trip and the rest will be CS.

[Dulcee]

We really like the dining plan, but to be fair we always do a TS meal at night and really enjoy TS breakfast most mornings. We've done WDW a lot and don't feel the need to spend every second in the parks and we don't have kids. Vacation for me pretty much revolves around food and I appreciate the ease of it all being prepaid, whether it saves me money or not.

For our upcoming trip we're going with the deluxe dining plan. Most days with a breakfast in the morning, snacks for lunch and a signature restaurant at night. 12 ish reservations for a 9 day stay.

[Scar]

... we don't really want to waste time at TS restaurants.You have answered your own question. Why pay for TS credits if you are not going to use them?

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

You have answered your own question. Why pay for TS credits if you are not going to use them?

And the CS plan doesn't offer much (if any) savings. It sounds like you're better paying OOP and enjoying meals as you want, instead of "having" to eat to use up the credits.

Especially with light eaters, it may be easier, cheaper and more enjoyable just to share meals, have snacks, etc.

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

This topic shows up quite frequently. Very rarely do I read someone say that the QS plan is monetarily worth it. I think you can make some justifiable arguments going with the regular DDP, but as you said you don't want/need TS so the regular DDP makes no sense. The downgrade is to the QS plan, which we've never done but I believe gives you 2 CS instead of 1TS/1CS.

We had toyed with the QS plan on our upcoming trip but very quickly I figured I'd be much better off OOP, we don't need desserts with every CS meal and when I added up the total cost for what would be 3 adults (one kid +10) and 2 kids, I definitely could spend less than that OOP.

Fortunately free dining came along and solved all the problems.

[MargaretMessler]

I know some people who say they go with the DDP even though it doesn't offer much REAL savings for them, just to be able to know food is taken care of and not have to budget it in. Me, only if it's free, otherwise I go OOP.

[KAT1811]

I personally love the dining plan. We like to have one sit down meal a day and don't mind having our dining reservations in advance. It's also nice not to have to carry that extra money around to pay for the meals that day.

If we didn't have a sit down meal each day I probably would not get the dining plan. . .

:ditto: We get the dining plan for the ease of it. I don't care if it saves me money or not. We have 4 children and travel with my parents so any way to simplify our trip is fabulous.


. . . I appreciate the ease of it all being prepaid, whether it saves me money or not. . .



Pretty much exactly the way we feel.

[KAT1811]

Although I should add that we plan a table service meal each night of our trip in the fall. When we travel for our "girls trip" in the spring(my mother, 3 DDs, DS, and myself) we do a room only and pay OOP for any table service meals we may do. We go for an extended amount of time in the fall (17 days) so we travel at a slower pace and appreciate the break of a TS meal at the end of the day. In the spring we are in the world for about a week and spend most of our time playing, with a couple TS meals factored in so the DDP wouldn't go with our vacation plan for that trip.

[dizneydeb22]

Choosing to dining plan or not is a very personal decision. I've read some pretty intense debates on the subject. I say, do what you feel comfortable with! We are also those people that do the DP for the convenience of it. We also travelled with 3 teenage boys at one point, so the dining plan made sense for us as we did a lot of buffets. :mickey:

Now we are just spoiled and prefer to do the plan.

That being said, I can also see the point of the people that don't like the DP. Sometimes is simply does not make sense from a $$ standpoint.

There are benefits to both. You just need to weigh which would benefit your family!


Good luck with your planning, and I hope you have a vacation filled with much pixie dust!

[i'm grumpy]

We only had CS meals and didn't have breakfast every day. So the DP would have been more expensive.

If you have Visa rewards, they are great for food.

[TIGGER17179]

I know some people who say they go with the DDP even though it doesn't offer much REAL savings for them, just to be able to know food is taken care of and not have to budget it in. Me, only if it's free, otherwise I go OOP.

I just made my reservations for October and this is the first time I'm doing the DP and I'm doing the DDP since it's our honeymoon we will want to go to some nicer places since my soon to be DH hasn't been. Anyway I was told that in the fall the DDP in the past was offered for free for a reservation. If this is true I will be very happy. Has anyone seen this? Also you have to look at the places the dining plans include most of the places I like to eat like SCI FI isn't on the basic plan. One reason why I went for the Deluxe,You get both.

[Imalismom]

Nothing has been announced as of yet, but yes, in the past there has been this offer.

[mgmnut]

I Also you have to look at the places the dining plans include most of the places I like to eat like SCI FI isn't on the basic plan. One reason why I went for the Deluxe,You get both.

SCI Fi is on the basic dining plan, no need to go with the Delux Plan to eat here.

Below is from the 2012 Dining Plan Brochure:

"Disney’s Hollywood Studios®
50’s Prime Time Cafe (L,D)
Hollywood & Vine (D) B
Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano (L,D)
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant (L,D)"

[mgmnut]

SCI Fi is on the basic dining plan, no need to go with the Deluxe Plan to eat here.

Below is from the 2012 Dining Plan Brochure:

"Disney’s Hollywood Studios®
50’s Prime Time Cafe (L,D)
Hollywood & Vine (D) B
Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano (L,D)
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant (L,D)"

Sorry, unless you were refering to the QS plan as the basic and the 1 TS 1 QS Disney Dining Plan as the Deluxe.

[disneynarula]

We like the dining plan. I don't think it always saves money but I like having everything paid for up front. I also like going to a TS and not feeling guilty about ordering something expensive.

I think we break about even considering the low cost of the kids dining plan.

[ledudes]

We usually get the dining plan because we go when it is included for free. We happen to really like having a table service meal each day. If you don't care about the table service, I probably would say skip the dining plan. Most people don't have dessert after lunch AND dinner so you would probably save some money by just eating small amounts when you want to. I think for table service it is worth it but not just for counter meals.

[j2k]

Ok, so we decided to pay OOP for meals and not use the DDP. I think it's the right choice for us this time.
Can we "charge" our meals to our room key and apply our Disney Rewards to the balance prior to checkout?