Roughing it

[Bass T-bone]

We have been on the dining the last several trips to the world, but for our next visit (last week of January 2010) we are going to pay entirely out of pocket for meals.

Those of you who have already done this, how was it? Did you miss the dining plan? Was it a better or worse experience? Were you treated differently by your waiter?

Your thoughts please...

[Ms. Mode]

We thought about giving up the Dining Plan for our Jan trip, after adding it up the cost looked about the same.

I'm wondering about this too :)

[MOJoe]

Since my family has never used the DDP, i can't give comparisons. But i can say that i have never felt like i was roughing it or missing out on something by not being on the dining plan. In fact, for me it is just the opposite. By prepaying, if we skip or miss an ADR, i would be upset. And if someone wants something other than what is included, either less or more, then that can be a problem. Furthermore, though i may be imagining it, but it seems the servers seem relieved when i tell them that i pay cash.
I can see how some families need the structure of the DDP. But for mine, it has never made much sense.

[Ms. Mode]

MOJoe does have a point here, the wait staff do seem different after you tell them you're on the plan. However, we have ordered things in addition to the included items before and just paid cash, they don't care. :mickey:

[megustamex]

We have enjoyed it both ways. The problem we have with the dining plan is that we don't want to eat at sit-down restaurants or be on a schedule every night. We've gone for free dining twice, and both times we felt that food was the focus of our trip. It's nice to eat great meals on a vacation, but there's so much more to a Disney trip than just the food (otherwise I'd just stay home and eat out in Chicago). I like that I can just eat when I feel like it when I'm not tied to that TS meal.

We don't usually set a dining budget when we go, and I do make several reservations ahead of time for TS, but we realized that we only do TS about 2-3 times per week when we aren't on the dining plan. We are just usually too busy doing things at the park to bother with TS when we're not tied to it. We usually average about $100 a day for food for the week for 4 people, eating TS 3 times. (We bring our own breakfast cereal, and that isn't included in the dining plan anyway).

The waiters don't treat us any differently whether we're on the dining plan or not.

[Goes4FastPass]

We can go 100% either way.

We enjoy the DDP when we get it "free" at various times but then TS meals are so much in demand (other free DDPers) we must do that whole ADR square dance. Between ADRs, FastPasses and show times we end up with Disney by Appointment.

Much as we enjoy restaurants, our non DDP stays at WDW feel lest food driven.

[BigRedDad]

I have done both. I am not sure of the actual savings of either way. All I can say is that it was far too much of a pain for me on the DDP. There were too many things to schedule. If we were having fun somewhere, we would have to stop and make the trek to the ADR. It became a point to having to schedule activities around meals. We wound up dropping 2 TS meals just because we were sick of scheduling around them.

This time, we are using the QSDP. We always have to have a quick service meal, they do not waste time because you just hope into one when you are hungry. I do not have to schedule any activities around meals. I will see how it goes. Personally, I am relieved more on this coming trip than I was on the previous.

[SBETigg]

I've done both, and I regretted not having the plan. The service was comparable (actually better on our trips with the plan, but only slightly) and when we did the math, we would have saved money with the plan. So I guess it all depends on your dining style. But servers are servers- there are good and bad. To think that being on the plan or not had anything to do with your service is just a diner's perception, or so that is my opinion from having done it both ways.

[rubato]

We've gone without twice. I liked the freedom. Who wants to eat a big ol' meal everyday at an exact certain time? We are doing the plan this time and I am seriously second guessing it. Of course, I scheduled all the ADRs, but then, I started really thinking about it. I had ended up planning meals at the most expensive 1TS restaurants, just so I could, in fact, get my moneys worth. This is not how I would normally eat. I like good food, but I also don't always want a steak (which is usually the most expensive meal). So, I may cancel. I like that we can do a character meal for 1TS, but I'd be just as happy doing a breakfast and that's not a savings on the dining plan.

So, to answer your question, it depends on where you REALLY want to eat. If you're happy with mostly CS and the TS restaurants are somewhat affordable (by Disney standards), I think it makes sense to pay OOP. If you want to eat at Le Cellier every day, get the dining plan. ;)

[Bass T-bone]

If you want to eat at Le Cellier every day, get the dining plan. ;)

If only I could...:laughing:

Thinking about not having the dining plan makes me think that the time flexibility will be nice.

[Gator]

Although it seems like WDW trips seem more about eating than shows and ride with the DDP, I like it because I was sick of eating hamburgers and chicken nuggets everyday.

[Seasonscraps]

We purchased the DP once or twice but went back to paying OOP. We still eat at TS places we just didn't feel like we HAD to because we already paid for it. We ordered what we wanted to eat not because it was included with the plan or because it gave us the best bang for my buck. We saved money too since we bought less food then was provided by the plan.

The only difference I noticed in service was the insistance of getting a dessert when we were on the plan. Even though it was included we just really could stomach another dessert and saw no need to bring it to our room to throw out at another time. I suspect this was done to pad the bill so we would tip more. Other then that, the service was the same with or without the plan.

[WelshieLover]

Last trip we did the dining plan this trip we will not (the trip before it we did not). I think we will like it better without it. Sometimes my husband and I like to share a counter service meal and we never want a dessert from a counter service eatery. Also I would rather order an appetizer for the table and a couple of desserts for the table to share. I felt with the dining plan we felt obliged to get desserts all the time and always felt like we were getting too much food. I compared our trip in 2007 (no DP) to our trip in 2009 (DP) and I felt we were not really saving any money because we would never have ordered all those desserts (don't get me wrong we love our sweets but...). So for this January we are going out of pocket but won't limit ourselves, just eat what we are hungry for.

[Polynesian Dweller]

Although it seems like WDW trips seem more about eating than shows and ride with the DDP, I like it because I was sick of eating hamburgers and chicken nuggets everyday.

That certainly was the way it used to be. Thankfully Disney has added a lot of options at CS locations. The last two trips, both without DDP and 7 nights, we didn't have a single burger or any nuggets.

As for the DDP, for us all the TS was just two much food. We are most comfortable with 3 evening ones in 7 nights. So the DDP simple isn't cost effective for us and with options like Sunshine Seasons, Tangerine Cafe etc. we did just fine and had good food at that.

[jonahbear2006]

we can get by without the plan. if i were to get it again i think we will go with the counter service. which is funny cause i despised the idea earlier this year. We have learned that we really dont like the table services cause we dont want to have to be anywhere at a certain time. It just doesnt work for our kids and they are not eaters, so paying out of pocket is fine cause even my 9 and 7 year old can share a meal and still not finish it all. this time we are just taking similar foods to what we see on the childrens menus, eating at the campsite, and then gonna take off with a few snacks and then spend our money on desserts and specialty items, like the dole whip. CANNOT WAIT FOR THAT!!!! Id much rather buy them caramel apples and see the smiles on their faces than hear, "mommy, i cant eat all of this!" with an exhausted face. I guess none of us are big eaters and we seem to function better on smaller quantities at a time.

[jonahbear2006]

oh, and the other reason id go with the counter service plan is bc of the price of tips. That really dug into our spending cash last trip.

[Seasonscraps]

I also wanted to add that there are some restaurants that we love that do not take the plan (Shula's & House of Blues in particular). It was hard to justify spending more on food when we had the DP but these are our 2 favorite restaurants.

[Bass T-bone]

What spoiled it a bit for me is when they changed the policy that the tip was NOT included like it had been before.

[c&d]

We've done it both ways and it works both ways for us. The one thing we like about the DDP is the snack. We just like the fact that we could run down to Roaring Forks and get a soft serve ice cream or grab a popcorn in the parks. If we weren't on the plan we wouldn't be having the snacks.

We also save some of our TS' to eat at Artist Point or California Grill and just have CS dinners sometimes.

[DisneyFr33k]

What spoiled it a bit for me is when they changed the policy that the tip was NOT included like it had been before.

And removing the appetizers. Our first trip we didn't have the dining plan. We only ate at counter service places and were sick of the same variety of foods (chicken nuggets, hamburgers etc). The second trip we got the dining plan - when appetizers and tips were included. It really made our vacation feel speical - like we were being pampered. Since then, we've gotten the dining plan and have enjoyed our table services.

However, this last time I saved all our receipts and wrote down what the costs would have been if we paid out of pocket. The cost of the plan for all 4 of us almost matched perfectly with what we would have paid out of pocket. So, it really isn't the value it once was - unless you get the free dining (which we did this last time).

Just my :twocents:

[Disney Doll]

We don't use the ddp. I don't like the idea of scheduling every meal and we have always found plenty of selection with counter service. We usually only plan 2-3 ADRs in a week long trip. Plus, I prefer lighter meals when I'm doing so much walking so the dessert isn't something I would care about. If we ate lots of big meals we might come out ahead using the dining plan, but it doesn't make sense for our usual eating habits.

[Bass T-bone]

Yeah, it's just going to be the three of us. The larger the party, the more the Dining Plan would be cost effective I'm sure.

[MinnieMommie]

We have done both and prefer going without the plan. What I am doing on our upcoming trip is making ADRs for the TS places I absolutely do not want to miss. We are winging the rest.

Depending on your eating habits the plan can be a really good thing. People whose entire party will eat a CS and TS each day make out well. You have to stop and think about what you will eat each day and then do the math. You may come out better with the plan. You also have to think about how scheduled you like to be on vacation. I have good friends who need to have reservations set as far ahead as possible for each day they are at the World. They always get the plan.

Also consider if you plan to do signature dining. You will need 2 TS exchanges for this. I prefer to pay out of pocket for this. Several things to weigh in on the decision but all in all I have had good dining experiences each way.

As far as service with or without the plan not sure how to answer. They do ask you if you are on the plan. In the past when the tip was included in the plan I think we received better service when not on the plan but I'm not sure it makes a difference now.

The end of January is not a crowded time at DW so reservations may be a bit easier to come by when you visit. :mickey:

[DisneyFan1979]

We had the DDP for the first time on our last trip during a free dining period. We did not notice any discernable difference in service.

We had lots of fun eating at different restaurants and trying desserts, but we would only do it again if it were free because we just don't eat enough such that it would be a good value. So I agree with others that it all depends on your eating preferences.

We also enjoy having an early dinner and then late-night drinks and dessert or appetizers back at the hotel or at Downtown Disney and that doesn't work so well with the plan.

[TheVBs]

We went in May and didn't go with the DDP, even though we had the two previous trips. Frankly, I was relieved! We just don't need a sit down meal every day and it made our days far less scheduled. We still ate at our favorite restaurants and tried a new one. The DDP just isn't a good value for us. We almost never order desert. Sometimes it's just too hot for a heavy meal, and sometimes our DDs split a meal. We have never noticed a difference in service either way.

[LibertyTreeGal]

haven't done WDW without plan, but as Disneyland doesn't have one, I can honestly say that the amount we spent on food (without desserts or appetizers) was unbelieveable.

Of course, that was before gratuities were not included so it may not be as big a discrepancy now.