Year of 100 Questions: #70

[King Triton]

Wow, 70 already. Another month or so to go...

I'll give you a couple of assumptions again for this one. The question is: do you stay using the Disney Dining Plan or do you stay with no dining plan? What I want you to assume is that there is no discount to the room and no "free dining"...you would have to pay for it.

Y100Q71 will be in Nightlife, Shops and Water Parks, which is a little unusual...so look for it on Thursday.

One last reminder: the review of questions 51-60 as well as links to earlier reviews can be found here:
Review of Questions 51-60 (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=108388)

[January-2007]

We stay with no Disney Dining Plan. We're getting Free Dining in September, and that's great, but I don't think it will become a habit because we can't justify the cost. We do a lot of TS lunches and breakfasts, the DP is wasted on those. Also we're AP holders so we would have to purchase a package every time we wanted to get it.

[biodtl]

Definitely DDP. I think it's a good value, but maybe the biggest benefit for me is the pre-paid aspect. I like being on vacation and not having to budget or worrry about money.

[Tink's Mom]

We do not use the dining plan. It is just too much food for us.

[mook3y]

For my family. Its a good deal!

[disneymom15]

No dining plan. Like previous poster, to much food for us.

[jenperich]

I answered visit with the paid dining plan. I haven't ever been without the dining plan yet, but I agree with biodtl by saying I really like the idea of going on vacation without having to be on a budget. The prepaid aspect really means a lot to us. I hope we enjoy it as much as we're expecting to. :)

[Jen66]

We have never been able to go during free dining because of my work schedule, but we always get the dining plan. We really like sit down meals on vacation and feel the money spent is well worth it!

[disneymom07]

I voted with the dining plan, without it, we probably wouldn't eat at as many TS or character meals. We went once with it and once without it, and it was definently better with it.

[darthmacho]

I haven't studied the ins and outs of the dining plan, but I prefer more freedom and flexibility when dining.

[Mickey91]

If at all possible, stay with the DDP. We love going and having the food part of our vacation paid for. Leaves more for souvenirs and spur of the moment extras.:mickey:

[4ubie1]

While i am definately one for eating, I can not justify having the dining plan..that is just way too much food!!:sick: Granted, I love a challenge..but i would also like to enjoy WDW and not be laid up in my room with a sore stomach :ill:

[DSNYMOM4JJ]

I have never been to Disney without the Dining Plan...I love the time to just sit and talk to my family over a meal about what they enjoy the most about the day, what they might like to do again, and so on...the value you receive witht he dining plan vs. having to pay for meals is anothe great reason to purchase the plan...even if you don't eat all the food or justeven order lite meals..just to get off your feet and be out of the park atmosphere for an hour or so really helps to relax and enjoy the vacation.....

P.S. Let me ask you this? If you were going anywhere else on vacation would you not have to stop your day to eat some quick meals...or even plan to try a hot spot restuarant in the city you were visiting...that's just the way i look at it...I'd be spending the money whether I was at Disney World or someplace else...and the plus side is we can pay in advance....

TTFN:mickey:
Kristine

[Tynkerbelle]

We always do the dining plan now - every trip since '05. Tried it out while it was free and decided that it was worth the extra money.

We like to eat well and I do like the idea of most of my meals being pre-paid - we generally do more TS than we have points to cover, but it still makes more sense for us to do the DDP than to pay OOP for every meal.

It can be a good value, depending on your eating habits and budget (increasing a 10 night, two person trip by about $800 may not leave more money left over for other things)...

[kathiep]

I doubt we'll ever go without the plan again.

I absolutely love the idea of not having to bring out your wallet every time you need to eat. I can just enjoy my entire vacation without worrying about sticking to a budget.

I think that if we didn't do the plan, we'd do a lot less nice TS meals.

I also think we do many more character meals than we would without it.

[sleepingbooty]

Love the dining plan. The only way we'd go without it, is if we were trying to save a lot of money and planned on only eating CS or offsite. I've run the numbers, and just adding two TS and you're already spending more than if you'd bought the plan.

[GrmGrninGost]

I love the DDP. It is wonderful to have the food paid for in advance. :mickey:

[MsMin]

We are not going w/ the dining plan this time b/c we want to have room for the Food and Wine festival goodies! We have enjoyed the plan and plan to use it in the future!

[snifflesmcg]

I love being on the DDP and not having to worry about the cost of meals. The only reason I am going again this year is because of the DDP.

[beksy]

Definitely DDP. I think it's a good value, but maybe the biggest benefit for me is the pre-paid aspect. I like being on vacation and not having to budget or worrry about money.

I agree! I like to have the food costs for the most part already paid for so I don't have to worry about the $$. Also, we love to eat, so we come out ahead! :cloud9:

[big blue and hairy]

I didn't answer this poll yet. I'll have to try to remember to answer when DW and I get back from our July/Aug trip. This will be the first time we use the DDP, so I'll be able to give an informed answer...:thumbsup:

:sulley:

[Spaceship Tigger]

Basically if the DDP is not free and there are any AP or AAA discounts available, then the DDP is not worth it. Any time I calculate our potential budget using the paid-for DDP vs other discounts, the DDP is always the highest. And that's even with eating the same food in every instance.

[tyandskyesmom]

If considering there is no room only discount and no free dining I'd say go with the DDP but we never have yet because there is always some type of discount on room only when we go so we have comeout ahead with out it.

[dolphinmickey9170]

I like the fact that my bottomless pit of a teenager daughter :secret:, don't tell her, can order what she wants without the worry of breaking the disney bank. :blush:

We love the DDP!!!:number1:

[momef3grls]

In the past we went without the plan and it was ok. We ate a lot of CS which was ok but I am on vacation too and would like to eat more than just a hamburger or chicken fingers. Now that the princesses are older the appetites have increased also, so we need more meals that will fill them up for a longer period of time (youngest DD could out eat the little Japanese guy that always wins the Nathan's hotdog contest:)). While the dining plan gives me more food than what I can eat I have 4 others who are more than happy to eat the rest. Another good aspect as the other poster's have said is that everything is paid for before you ever get there.

[Septbride2002]

I voted no dining plan. For us it would be a waste of money. We don't eat enough to justify the expense of it. Plus I like more freedom and flexibility.

~Amanda

[avantgardeinker]

The DDP is the reason we're staying on property this year. Otherwise, we would just use my in-laws' time share and stay off property.

162 more days!!
:mickey:

[AllDisney]

We used the DDP for the first time Dec.06. We eat a "big" breakfast (eggs, waffles etc.). We grab a snack around 1:00PM and by the time dinner rolls around we look forward to sitting down to a nice relaxing dinner and going over all the cool stuff we did that day.

It's really great to have everything paid in advance . I think in the long run it's cheaper for us to use the DDP than to purchase our meals without it. We always eat at the high end restaurants.....after all it IS our vacation.

We are taking advantage of the free dining this Sept. and really looking forward to it. We are saving big $$$ by doing so. Can't wait....65 days & counting:thumbsup:

[grumpycajun]

Definitely with the DDP. Once it's paid for - no worries!

[princessjojo]

P.S. Let me ask you this? If you were going anywhere else on vacation would you not have to stop your day to eat some quick meals...or even plan to try a hot spot restuarant in the city you were visiting...that's just the way i look at it...I'd be spending the money whether I was at Disney World or someplace else...and the plus side is we can pay in advance....

Unless money gets so tight that we can't go without the DDP we will always have it unless it changes drastically. I try to look at it the same way I would going on a cruise or an all inclusive resort. They incorporate the cost of the meals into the quote they give you initially and you never consider what it may cost if you didn't pay for any food. You never really question it. As has been said several times over by many others, we just love the time to just sit and relax in the a/c and enjoy great food and each other.

[LoriMistress]

We prefer no dining plan. We like to be able to eat whereever we want without any issue or feeling like we're wasting our money.

[mainemajor]

I go with the plan. I love to eat!

[Lizzie]

We are trying out the dinning plan free for the first time in September. But we have never used it before. But as our family gets bigger I think we might especially after trying it out in September. And Charachter meals with kids are awesome less time waiting in line to see them.

[tinksmom02]

We paid for the DDP in January and felt it was well worth it! We found one sit down per day provided just the right amount of downtime, and all the character meals we did allowed up to skip those characters in the parks.

We did some TS breakfasts, which technically isn't getting the best value, but I think we more than made up the difference at some of the other places we ate at.

Plus, it's nice to have your meals pre paid, so you only have to worry about :beer::marg:!!

We're lucky enough to be going back for Free Dining in Sept, but I would never do Disney without the DDP again!

[KAT1811]

Love the DDP, even when I have to pay for it. We always eat much more than what we "pay" for. Plus I love sitting down at one TS meal per day and taking the time to talk to each other while not running around or waiting in line. It is also a nice break from the heat and the madness of the parks. Sort of a little time out I guess!

[Tink#64]

We've never done the DDP. DS's 9 & 11 & myself don't eat enough, alot of times we share & sometimes still have leftovers. We had friends that just got back, they did DDP & loved it. But they spent as much for their package for 4 as we did our entire trip w/souvenears & all for same four! We also don't do many table service meals, we feel it takes alot of time & we're there for so many other reasons, not spending our time in a restaurant. I inquired about the plan last trip & CM told me that we could not get our AAA discount on room if we did DDP, so for us it's a no brainer. We just can't justify the expense, but I can definitely see how one could become very spoiled with all of the wonderful meal opportunites! We may try it when DS's are older & threaten to eat us out of house & home!:funny:

[RAIDER]

We dont use the DDP ..we like to do as we please

[BritCody]

I am an account so I constantly crunch numbers and I have sat down and taken the menus from WDW and figured out what my family would more than likely eat verse what they would get on the DDP and every time we would save $$$ on the DDP. Not to forget the convenience

[Here we go again...]

We love the dining plan. We got it free in September, then went back in November without it November. We liked having the plan more.
We ate at nicer restaurants with the plan. I agree that it is a lot of food, but we cut our meals down to just 2 a day when we go on the plan. We get a pack of donuts or something with a snack credit for the morning just to hold us over till lunch. We eat our lunch then have a nice, early dinner.
I am so happy that they offer the dining plan to DVC owners now.:cloud9:

[c&d]

We did it in April for the first time. We'll do it again. It worked out really well for us.

[Becky'sMom]

I actually stay at my time share outside WDW, but if given the choice I would forgo the dining plan...I like to have all possible options open to me. Not confined to a certain number of higher end restaurants or limited to certain places. As far as budget, I plan my vacations a year in advance and make a game of saving up spending money - so by the time the vacation is at hand I have lots of money for everything.
Lauren

[SodaPopMGK]

With 3 teenage boys the dining plan is a must for my family.

[k_reile]

without free dining I would not eat at that many sit down resturants...hubby and I would probably get something quick to eat and only eat at a few sit down resturants.

[lightyearfan]

we did the DDP for the first time this past trip and let me just say that every trip from here on out to WDW will be with the DDP!! :mickey::thumbsup:

Victor

[DawsonAR]

We would do without the plan. The plan makes us want to eat too much.

[Bethanymouse]

:DWe always get the disney dining plan because it is such a huge part of our vacation! We love eating at all of the different resturants and being on the dining plan makes it so easy!

[jszczur5]

After having the DDP (for free) last fall, my husband said he would never go again without it. When not on the plan, we would breakfast at our hotel, eat at a CS in the parks, and then drive off-site to Outback or Olive Garden etc. for dinner. Add all that up and it costs more than the DDP, for less food, less convenience and less variety and atmosphere. We were planning on paying for DDP this fall, but our trip just happens to fall during the free dining plan offer. LUCKY US!!

[spoiledraf]

We actually do the premium plan that includes the 5 star restaurants. It's our four days of luxury. The lines for rides aren't our cup of tea. We'd rather be pampered.

[#1disneyfan]

We prefer to go with the DDP regardless of whether or not its free. I like the fact that its prepaid and i don't have to worry about the $$ while we are there. We like to eat, so we really enjoy this aspect. Plus we get to try other restaurants that we normally wouldn't. I am actually really upset that we can't add it next year for the land portion of our cruise.

[mdearmas]

My DW and I never used the dining plan because most of the time we dont each get an appetizer and dessert and everything so for us it doesn't add up!
:goofy: