A Different View of the Dining Plan

[Friend of Figment]

I know this might seem like heresy to some, but we don't use the DDP to save money. We get the Deluxe Plan. Sometimes we don't even use all the credits. We like it because everything is prepaid. It makes DW like a cruise.
Some have complained that it is too much food. We don't feel compelled to get 3 courses at every meal. If we do, usually we get a salad so the ammount of food isn't really any different thaan a normal meal out. We also find that we drink more water, because of the snack credits. We aren't going to eat all of the snacks so we stop and get water and use credits that way.
We would either do Concierge level or get the DP. The DP is more convenient because we can eat wherever we happen to be.
I'm all for saving money and I see how that can be an interest with the DP, but it does have other benefits.

[BamaJenn]

I agree it tends to make it easier because you've paid ahead of time but it's no easier at the check-out or anything. If we're on the DDP, we hand over our room key, if we're not, we hand over our Visa.

We typically use the DDP every trip but for this upcoming trip we've decided not to. We're going to be there 7 nights and we realized that some meals we may just want to have off property, so it didn't make as much sense this time around.

[DizneyRox]

I've never understood the pre-paid thing. For me, I would rather have the money in my pocket for as long as I could. If you cancel, it's more money you're out, unless you pay for the insurance which I think is a rip off too.

[goofysbabe]

I have to agree as it's a pre-pay thing for us. I like having everything paid for so when it's time to go I just need money for souvinors. We think about the things we are using our credits on so we get our monies worth.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I agree, although we like the idea of saving money, any amount of money, we were initally drawn to the DDP for the "pre-pay" aspect. We like knowing how much the trip is costing us, and we don't get a big surprise at the end when we check-out.

It is easy to "forget" all of the costs involved, and the DDP helps keeps us honest when we look at the cost of a trip.

[prttynpnk]

We definitely love the pre-pay factor and it almost makes dining a game for us- trying to see how much we can save and how many places we can visit. I also feel like it makes me more adventurous when I order!

[meldan98]

We did what was then the Grand Plan in 2000 (I think it is either the Premium or Platinum Plan now) for our honeymoon. We did this because of the pre-paid option. We wanted an exact $ figure so we new exactly what it was going to cost us. We didn't do all the extras, but we did do a few of them and we ate at V&A and Fulton's Crab house. I'm sure we didn't use it to the best of our ability, but it was nice knowing that it was all paid for and we could then just budget our spending money for souviniers. I would love to do this again someday, but now that we have kiddos I'm not sure when that will happen again.

[afowl1017]

When we used the DDP I was amazed at how nice it was not to worry. Prepaid...just go were you want, eat what you want, have fun and relax! Loved it! :number1:

[DisneyHoneymooners]

Ditto for us. We always get the deluxe DP but I dont think we ever use up all our credits. The fact that its prepaid makes things so easy. We'd rather give up a few credits than pack on a few pounds.

[sassafras]

We like the pre-paid aspect and the fact we don't have to worry about carrying lots of cash on us. Plus we either use the snack credits for muffins for breakfast or bottles of water. At the end of our stay, if we still have snack credits, we use them to get the Mickey rice krispie treats to bring back to our friends and our grown sons!

[Disnamic Duo]

When we first heard of the DP I figured what the cost would probably be for us OOP Vs the plan. It was VERY close. So we decided why bother with having to keep track of credits. We did it once (when it was free) and I thought it was a hassle. It's much more relaxing just paying as we go, and not feeling like we have to order things to get our money's worth. Either way you go, you pay with a card (either deducting credits or charging to your room). I think we actually save money paying OOP because we skip meals when we're not hungry instead of eating just because we have credits.

[goofygirl64]

My hubby and I are all for the DDP. Before we started including this, we were always amazed at how much we spent in a weeks time on food and snacks. I also think that it gives you the opportunity to eat at some really nice places that you normally wouldn't think about eating at. We love it!

[tadshome]

We are also fans of the Dining Plan. It helps us budget and is one less thing to worry about.

[Checkers]

:mickey:When it is just DH & me we don't like to use the DP. We like the flexibility. When we take our DD and her family, we get the DP because it just more cost effective.

[Nini5055]

I have done the ddp and now the Dlxddp (for the past 2 years) and love it!!!

We make ADR's for 3 meals per day, but we can also make a couple of shows if we want to...more to entertain us. As my dd is 7, I don't do much of "signature dining" but it is a wonderful option when she is older.

I love having my trip paid for in full (including food) before I even get there...very convenient and allows me to budget the food right in. Since I do the Dlxddp I am budgeting for the maximum AND like another poster mentioned, we get snacks with any extra snack credits for friends back home.

We never feel like we HAVE to eat anything and I never feel overstuffed. As for the argument of taking time away from the parks, we don't do every ride anyway and we schedule our breakfast ADR's for before park openings.

There are so many wonderful ways to use the Dlxddp...signature dinners, shows, character meals...I just love it!!!

[Friend of Figment]

The pre-paid part means to me that I'm not thinking about price when I order. I keep track and we have always come out at least even and usually ahead of OOP. It has also encouraged us to do some things like the Hoop-de-Doo that wouldn't have done for cash.

Part of what I like about WDW is being in the bubble on non-reality - just signing and not thinking about the sollar ammount helps preserve the magic for us.

[Insanity Clause]

This is the first year we are using the DDP and we priced checked on both paying OOP and with the plan and it was very close to honest but we decided to go with the plan because we could eat and some nicer places that we probably wouldn't go to and once we pay off the trip (Which was last week by the way) the only thing we have to worry about spending wise are souveneirs. It takes away from us having to keep track of how much we are allowed to spend because it is already taken care of.

44 Days to go!!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

We save money on the dining plan, but I agree the convenience of prepaid seals the deal

[tjstrike]

For me, I think it's more of I can't be an " El Cheapo " when it comes to food and snacks. We can eat at WDW and not have to tell the kids no, we can give them snacks and not have to tell them no. I can't speak for anybody else, but if we don't get the DDP I try to find every way in the world to save money and worry my head off about it.

[kakn7294]

I like the pre-paid aspect too. Last year, we didn't do the DDP and we felt like we nickel & dimed every meal, trying to keep track of expenses and making sure we didn't go over budget. It actually took away some of the enjoyment of the trip.

[javamama]

We stay in concierge level and get it so we have one nice family meal a day to try to relax--it's usually dinner. It's not about the money at all really, it is a value but we like to try new resturants and this makes it very easy to do so.

[Seasonscraps]

I can't see pre-paying just for convenience when there is no savings and could not be so blase about losing TS credits. I would rather throw money out the window then hand it over to disney for no reason.

[Brooklynos]

We have always done the dining plan and this year we are doing the deluxe dining plan. For us it's about the convenience of pre-paying for all of our meals as well as having the option of doing up to 3 sit down meals a day if we want to. Also, my husband often gets hungry later at night after swimming at the resort so the extra snacks and meal credits help keep our out of pocket expenses down with that. For some it works really well but for others it doesn't fit. For us, it makes our life much easier. :mickey:

[TheVBs]

We just decided today that we would pass on the DDP this year. We had the regular dining plan and all of our ADRs booked. When we found out my m.i.l. couldn't join us for health reasons, it really got me thinking that we just didn't need a sit down meal every day. We're keeping about half of our sit down meals. We chose the places we really wanted to eat at, and we'll do CS for the rest. We did consider the quick service plan, but there were too many variables to really figure out if it would be worth it.

Pre paying is nice! However, the pre-paid part is the only convenience as far as I can tell. I think the savings are marginal unless you really put some effort into thinking about how to maximize it (no way could I live with losing credits), there's often a hassle to make sure you're getting what you're supposed to be. The CMs are awesome and always make sure we maximize what we can get, but this does sometimes draw out the process.

We never penny pinch if we're not on the DDP. We eat what we want to eat because we're on vacation. But very often we would never eat as much as they make available to you and I can't see any sense in paying for something you don't plan on using. I would rather put the money toward souvenirs! :mickey:

[Disney Doll]

I don't get the excitement about prepaying. We set money aside for Disney anyway and we always make sure that we set aside enough that we are not counting nickels and dimes while we are there. You don't spend exactly the same amount on food from week to week at home so I don't understand why people need to know exactly how much their food is going to cost at WDW. If you look through the menus online you can get a pretty darn good figure on what you might spend if you really need to know.

[Ksmith75]

We like it for the pre-paid and the money savings. We like to have as much as we can pre-paid - and yes we do the insurance to - it is not to much money for piece of mind. By the time we get to Disney - all we have to worry about it our rental car, gas, souvenir money and extras! It is a great way to really budget a vacation. That way you know how much you can spend when you get there.....

[Keasmom]

We have used it and not used it. I have stayed on property and of property, I enjoyed not carrying money, or worrying about the cost of lunch however, I added all of our receipts when I got home and added up our meals, we would have saved money by not using it. Since it was only my daughter and I, and we only made a few reservation, it ended up not being cost effective.

I think on commando style trips, don't use it and on longer leisurely trips, where you have time to meal plan and not rush to get everything else is, then do use it. But allears has menus and pricing, if you want to dollar cost average and see what is better.

There are many great and lesser expensive resaurants on International drive and lots of other places. Word to the wise, the McDonalds that is close to ASMu, is more expensive then the other ones in Orlando, or was when we were there last. That really griped me, a lot.

[GoofyforFun]

I believe it was a planning thing.. We took along other friends who were there a few years ago and said he hated that he got hungry and didn't know what and where to eat, he was with his MIL and FIL Then he had to wait in line and starve.
So we sat down and mapped out were he would like to eat and made ADR at appropriate times . breakfast was mostly CS at CBR and dinners were all over WDW.