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Planning a trip w/o dining plan
Educating myself with the other threads floating around here I've decided the dining plan is no longer for us. (Unless it's free, of course.) We've taken advantage of the dining plan for every trip since it was first introduced. So I have no idea how to budget for a day at WDW anymore. Can anyone help?
We like to sit down for at least one meal per day. Counter service is fine for another meal. Most breakfasts we eat in the room. The only snacks we purchase might be a Mickey bar or some popcorn. (We bring our own water bottles from home.)
About how much should we budget per day for a family of 4? We have 2 adults and 2 kids (ages 8 and 9).
How do you plan for dining at WDW?
~Maureen
"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."~Walt Disney
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Ok. So now I see another post that has been started singing the praises of the dining plan. With plenty of comments agreeing with the OP.
Am I the only one out there to consider NOT using the dining plan? Can you eat at WDW on less than $50 a day that includes a sit-down meal?
Anyone?
~Maureen
"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."~Walt Disney
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Originally Posted by iheartdisney
Ok. So now I see another post that has been started singing the praises of the dining plan. With plenty of comments agreeing with the OP.
Am I the only one out there to consider NOT using the dining plan? Can you eat at WDW on less than $50 a day that includes a sit-down meal?
Anyone?
1) Personally, DBF and I do not see the value in the DDP, for us and how we eat. If we ate everything that the DDP provides, sure it's "worth" it, but you're not certaintly not going to save hundreds, atleast I don't think so. But again, it's personal preference, eating habits, etc.
This past trip in January for instance we ate at:
1) O'hana (Dinner)
2) Cape May Cafe (Dinner)
3) ESPN Club (Late lunch)
4) Beirgarten (Lunch)
5) Whispering Canyon (Lunch)
6) House of Blues (dinner)
7) Garden Grove (Breakfast)
8) Beaches and Cream (Lunch)
and several counter services
We did not starve or want for anything, paid OOP and came hom $200.00 under budget, our budget was $600.00 for the week. (Food only, tips are based under a different budget). So for us, we still ate some pretty pricy meals, ie Cape May, O'Hana. Most days we ate a lunch like ESPN Club, Beirgarten and Whispering Canyon and were not hungry for the rest of the day so those were our only meals.
Moral of my tangent lol is that I think you have to compare your eating habits, personal preference, etc., into the decision of whether or not the DDP works for you or not.
2) For a just DBF and I, it's impossible to have one sit down meal for two of us under $50.00. I mean I don't have a calculator in front of me or the receipts, DBF handles that, but from every receipt I am running through my head, it would be impossible for your family of four to eat under $50.00 a day and to include a sit down meal, unless you split a counter service meal between you and a table service meal between you. We do not go with kids but to give you an example or a starting point, we budget $75.00 per day for food, some days we come out less very rarely do we come out more. But we went with $600.00 and only spent about $400.00. It would have cost us: $825.00 give or take some cents for the dinning plan, so I would rather have the $425.00 to go into next trips budget, than have $0.00 in next years budget.
But again, this is all my personal opinion and preference, each is different.
~*~Tonya~*~
1st = 1992
ASMo = Jan. 6-12 '07
POP = Jan 5-11 '08
BWV = Jan 6-16 '09
BCV = Jan 12-22 '10
BWV = Jan. 21-29 '11
BWV = Jan. 21-28 '12
BWV = Dec. 8-15 '12
BCV/BWV=Jan. 24-Feb. 1 '14
BWV = Jan. 16-24 '15
BWV = Jan. 29-Feb. 6 '16
BWV = Jan. 20-28 '17
BWV = Jan. 26-Feb. 3 '18
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All our trips to WDW have been with the DDP. For our upcoming October trip, we will be paying OOP using the TiW card instead. It kind of scares me not to have the DDP since I don't have to think about "paying" for meals at the time we dine. I liked that it is all pre-paid. On the other hand, think the TiW card will actually save us more money than the DDP would.
Last trip I had a lot of snack credits left over. Bought some cashews from the gift store before leaving for the airport. I was so stuffed the whole time, and that is with the regular DDP. I could really skip the desserts. We will still be doing at least one TS per day, maybe a TS lunch as well.
Marci
Many visits. Live 20 minutes from the parks.
Work at Universal Studios in Diagon Alley. Ollivanders/ wand magic.
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I never do the dining plan, we had it once when someone paid for it for us as a gift and the amount of food was waaaayyyy too much. Having left over snacks is not an asset, you paid for that and now you are just grabbing extra food that you would have never otherwise eaten. I also dont think alot of people are prepared for the tip as the way they eat on the DDP is not how they eat in reality. And dessert with every meal? it all ends up just not being healthy or truly economical. I bet if you choose wisely and dont drink alcohol you could make it on $50 (with breakfast in the room one cs and one ts)
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Originally Posted by iheartdisney
Am I the only one out there to consider NOT using the dining plan? Can you eat at WDW on less than $50 a day that includes a sit-down meal?
Anyone?
Are you asking about $50 per person per day or for a family of four? If you are asking per person, than yes! You should be able to eat all your meals each day for less. But how often do you like to do TS meals? Do you ever eat in your room breakfast? Do you plan to share any meals/appetizers?
You should be able to look at menus and figure out places/costs of items you would likely order and have a good idea what your costs are. There are other websites where the menus are pretty up to date that you can calculate that out.
How about sharing desserts? Bringing your own water or bottled drinks to the parks when you eat CS meals...there are many ways to cut costs and save. It just takes a little pre-planing.
Like one of the other posters...there are just two of us and I usually budget for $600 for a 6/7 day trip. We never go over budget and we are always under anywhere for $50 or even over $100 less than I planned to spend just depending on our appetites during the week. We eat more during winter trips and less during hot weather trips.
Romans 11:33-36
1983, 1989 - Off Site
2003 - April ASMo
2004 - June POR
2005 - April POFQ
2010 - May POP and Dec CSR
2013 - March F&G POP
Weekend Trip Summer 2013 - Off Site
2015 - Sept- AKL/CBR
DEC - BC/WL
2017 - July - Disneyland & D23 Expo!
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Originally Posted by TinkerbellT421
1)
but from every receipt I am running through my head, it would be impossible for your family of four to eat under $50.00 a day and to include a sit down meal, unless you split a counter service meal between you and a table service meal between you.
I should have clarified....$50 per person/per day (which is about what the dining plan costs.) Sorry!
~Maureen
"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."~Walt Disney
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Originally Posted by iheartdisney
I should have clarified....$50 per person/per day (which is about what the dining plan costs.) Sorry!
lol!! Okay good, then yes I think that would be plenty! Except with O'Hana and Cape May, off the top of my head, I dont know their exact costs but it would be pretty darn close to $40 or so per adult if that helps you at all
~*~Tonya~*~
1st = 1992
ASMo = Jan. 6-12 '07
POP = Jan 5-11 '08
BWV = Jan 6-16 '09
BCV = Jan 12-22 '10
BWV = Jan. 21-29 '11
BWV = Jan. 21-28 '12
BWV = Dec. 8-15 '12
BCV/BWV=Jan. 24-Feb. 1 '14
BWV = Jan. 16-24 '15
BWV = Jan. 29-Feb. 6 '16
BWV = Jan. 20-28 '17
BWV = Jan. 26-Feb. 3 '18
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Thanks, Tinkerbell, forever a child, spinner and Disney4us!
I think we ARE going to skip DDP this time. As other posters have said in the other posts - it's A LOT of food. At home, we only have dessert about 4 nights a week. Never mind, twice a day. And if our daughter joins us, she and I often split meals. I'll budget for $50 per person () per day and hope for a little left over at the end of the trip!
~Maureen
"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."~Walt Disney
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The only time we've ever used a dining plan is if it's free. We are hit & runners, usually doing counter service, and as you said with you and your daughter, we've found we can split alot of stuff and be satisfied instead of stuffed, AND save money. We love our dessert but again, tend to share it.
(Now I say that, and it sounds all good and stuff, but truth is, I do tend to spend more on snacks as I'm not as stuffed from dinner - ESPECIALLY at Epcot.)
Contemporary Resort, 06/03
Pop Century Resort, 6/05 and 12/08
Disneyland's Paradise Pier, 10/06
Carribbean Beach Resort, 09/07
Coronado Springs Resort, 01/10
Wilderness Lodge, 6/14 - The Susie Angel Celebration
Pop Century Resort, 02/16 - Princess Half Marathon
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Originally Posted by iheartdisney
Thanks, Tinkerbell, forever a child, spinner and Disney4us!
I think we ARE going to skip DDP this time. As other posters have said in the other posts - it's A LOT of food. At home, we only have dessert about 4 nights a week. Never mind, twice a day. And if our daughter joins us, she and I often split meals. I'll budget for $50 per person ( ) per day and hope for a little left over at the end of the trip!
That sounds like a good plan, maybe plan an extra $100.00 somewhere along the lines so if anything unforseen happens you have a little extra cushion. Maybe you are in the mood to splurge on something expensive or something happens you don't have to stress about it. Just a thought. And you should be fine if once and a while the mood strikes for you to have a desert or a snack, that's what DBF and I do, we make a seperate column budget for "Together money" which means we splurge on a couple of frozen lemonades, a desert, a pretzel or snack, and those splurges come out of that money. A lot of times at dinner if the mood strikes we will split a desert because a lot of times we are so stuffed from dinner that each of us having a desert makes us want to
~*~Tonya~*~
1st = 1992
ASMo = Jan. 6-12 '07
POP = Jan 5-11 '08
BWV = Jan 6-16 '09
BCV = Jan 12-22 '10
BWV = Jan. 21-29 '11
BWV = Jan. 21-28 '12
BWV = Dec. 8-15 '12
BCV/BWV=Jan. 24-Feb. 1 '14
BWV = Jan. 16-24 '15
BWV = Jan. 29-Feb. 6 '16
BWV = Jan. 20-28 '17
BWV = Jan. 26-Feb. 3 '18
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Do your kids eat of the childrens menu? If so you should do fine at 50.00 per person if you are counting your children for 50.00 a day also.
Next trip Oct. 2013 Yatch Club Resort club level
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We are going to skip the DP on our next trip too. I just want to see what i like better.
~Beth~
1st trip Nov. 24, 2006-ASmovies (4nights)
Nov. 25, 2007-ASMovies (6 nights)
Sept. 6, 2008-ASMovies (6 nights)
Nov. 28, 2009 ASMovies (7nights)
Nov 28, 2015 AOA (7 nights)
December 10, 2016 AKL/Pop (7nights)
Nov. 25, 2017 AsMusic (8 Nights) Next Trip March 4 AsSports (4 nights)
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$50 a day per person. You can do the DDP for $45.99 per adult and $11.99 per child (3-9).
Mark
Sheraton World 05/75
Band trip 01/78
Sheraton 06/84
Sheraton 06/87
Wilson World 06/89
Comfort Suites 10/89
Ramada 03/01
Ramada 04/02
Ramada 04/03
Ramada 04/04
Allstar Movies 06/05
Vacation Village 06/06
Pop Century 04/07
All Star Movies 6/11
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This is how DH and I have always done our trips... and remember some days you can always just do all counter service and not mess with a sit down meal esp if you are planning a long day and just want something quick for dinner and relax in the hotel. You can look at menus online and get an idea of what everything costs esp for kids. Of course I also haven't had to plan out buying meals for kids (we took DS first time last year and he was only 1 yo and he ate off our plates)... but for DH and I, at a sit down (we usually get alcoholic beverages and sometimes an appetizer.) and factor in tip... we always spend at least $100 for most sit downs. But then daytimes were never too bad, sometimes we'd split a CS and eat our own snacks, etc.
Next trip - Sep29-Oct4! Free QS dining at POP. First trip with both kids. (6th total visit)
"In dreams you will lose your heartache"
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I would never use the dining plan -- even if it's "free." The resort discounts are always a better than deal than paying the rack rate and taking advantage of the (not so) free dining plan promotion.
You can definitely eat at Disney for $50 per day, even with a table-service. You may have to avoid the signature locations, but all the "one-credit" places should fit within your budget, especially if you plan to split dishes.
We never order all the beverages and desserts that come with the dining plan. We generally just drink water and share a dessert. For most people (I said most, not all) the dining plan is a bad deal.
The poster formerly known as Disney_nut
Last Trip: 5/11 -- Swan
Next Trip: 10/11 -- Port Orleans - Riverside
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Originally Posted by crmark1
$50 a day per person. You can do the DDP for $45.99 per adult and $11.99 per child (3-9).
But TS tips are not included in that total, so tack on another $25-30 per day for tips, especially if you tend to choose the more expensive items on the menu.
$50pp per day as an estimate may be a little on the high side. I was going to say $50 per adult and $25 per child per day, which brings you to $150 per day. But that's if you have dinner as your TS meal. If you eat lunch as your TS meal, then it might cost you less. However, the Dining Plan only makes financial sense if you're using the TS credit for dinner. Plus, appetizers are extra (and don't forget the tip on that) and you can get sick of desserts at each lunch and dinner real fast.
You can actually find somewhat economical TS dinners at WDW, like Trail's End Buffet or pizza at Via Napoli. While the pizza at Via Napoli is expensive for pizza, if you only have pizza, non-alcoholic beverages, and split a couple of gelatos, you can have a dinner for four (two adults and two kids) for about $75-80 (tax and tip included), which is an inexpensive TS meal for Disney.
Amanda
Mom of Jay and Sam
'Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor
mantengase alejado de las puertas'
CR - Jun 76, 85 & 89
BLT - Nov 11 & 13
Poly - Jun 80 & Jan/Feb 07
WL - Jun 97, Sep 05 & Dec 08
Next - Jersey Week 2015 Baby!
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The question was how do we plan for dining at WDW so . . .
I start out every trip by figuring out what restaurants we want to eat for breakfast and supper and what counter service places for lunch. Most of the members of our extended family have defined food interests, such as DH will almost always go for the pork dish, my niece will go for a thick cut of beef, and I want seafood.
Once we have those places figured out, I use the posted menus to figure those costs.
Then I add up the estimated costs, compare to DDP, add in tips, and estimates for alcoholic beverages.
Most days we save at least few dollars using the DDP. I refigure this every trip because we expect some year that the DDP saves no money and then we'll just pay out of pocket. I also figure this every trip because the various extended family members want to know what their trip costs are.
Each family is different, with their own points to consider. I like to do the cost estimating while my sister would figure whatever the DDP cost would be worth it so she wouldn't look at the price column on the menu while on vacation.
As for how much should you budget each day? You could look at some menus and get some ideas from there. You could certainly make $50 a day per adult work depending on choices.
Jan
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We also love the QS Plan....it is cheaper and it works really well for us! We just like the idea of having everything paid for in advance. That way, we are not worried about what to order and how much we are spending and can just relax and get whatever we want. We worked out both ways a few years ago and the cost was pretty much the same as if we had paid OOP.
Of course, everyone is different. Like it was said before, you have to take into account what your family usually eats and where you want to go.
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Originally Posted by MushuGrl
The only time we've ever used a dining plan is if it's free. We are hit & runners, usually doing counter service, and as you said with you and your daughter, we've found we can split alot of stuff and be satisfied instead of stuffed, AND save money. We love our dessert but again, tend to share it.
This is pretty much where we are, too. We enjoy it thoroughly, but DD(adult) and I are often content splitting things and we do fine when we don't get it, too. This time it was a good deal (free), actually better than the resort deal for us. Looking forward to it!
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4 P,Mu,AKL
5 S
6 Pp,CB,G 30
7 S/D,CB
8 CB,G 30
9 Mu,CBP/Or,P
10 CBP,P
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12 Mu,CB,AA AK
13 P 35
14 P,CB,Mu
15 P,FQ,C,M,S
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