Disney Dining Plan

[cardnl1b]

We're thinking of taking out the Disney Dining Plan, and have noticed how many different plans are out there now. Any suggestions, on which is the better plan for the money, or if it's worth the money?

[DizneyRox]

I don't think any of them are worth the money honestly... None of them fit our eating style and none of them would save us any money.

[cardnl1b]

What is the difference between all of them?

[biodtl]

The "quick sevice" includes 2 counter service meals & 2 snacks per person per day, plus 1 refillable mug per person.

The "regular" plan includes 1 counter service, 1 table service & one snack per person per day.

The "deluxe" plan includes 3 meals - can be either CS or TS, 2 snacks per person per day & 1 refillable mug per person.

Personally, we like the dining plan - we generally go with the "regular" plan. I think it;s a good value, but the biggest reason we like it is the pre-payed aspect.

[Janmac]

It helps to know your eating style, as a PP said. If one of the plans doesn't fit how you and your family like to eat at Disney World, then the plan wouldn't be something you're interested in.

If you have not previously visited Disney World, you might rely on how you typically eat either at home or on other vacations.

You can visit Info Central (see the tabs at the top of your screen) and check out the various menus. You could make some selections to get some ball park ideas as to how much you'd spend without the Disney Dining Plan and how much it might save you.

Many folks like having their meals paid for, as biodtl mentioned. That convenience is the draw, rather than saving a lot of money.

You can also try it for one trip and if you don't feel you've saved enough, don't buy it for future trips.

Before the DDP, we used to eat 3 table service meals a day at Disney, with few snacks. We have usually used the regular Dining Plan, and have usually saved some money - at least $10 per person per day.

We have decided, tho, that on our next trip - still at least 2 years away - if the Deluxe Plan is still offered, we will give that a try to see if it fits with our eating style better.

We don't mind making restaurant choices and reservations months in advance. We are lucky enough to usually be able to travel during low volume times, when we can rearrange reservations, if needed.

Some people are unhappy that the tip is not included in the Dining Plan. It used to be and has not been included in recent years.

Jan

[biodtl]

Some people are unhappy that the tip is not included in the Dining Plan. It used to be and has not been included in recent years.
Yes - it was definitely a MUCH better value in the past. It still saves us money, personally, but it;s definitely lost the appeal it used to have.

[lightyearfan]

well me and dw absouletly love the ddp and wouldn't do WDW without it. we do the deluxe version 3 meals anyway you want 2 snacks each which for me and dw is really 4, just that adds up during your long stays at the park, even if we just did water , plus the pre-paid aspect of it suits us well too, it's nice to know that all our meals are pre-paid, and we do wind up saving close to $265. it may not seem like a lot but it's still savings. now your going to get those who love the plan and those who hate the plan, that's just how it is, but for our experiences with it we have not 1 complaint, ok maybe 1 the tipping part, much better when that was part of it, but oh well. our food habits are as follows, we spend all day at the parks, so we'll start off with a nice ts breakfest at a different resort, then a cs for a quick bite then a 7ish ts meal for dinner, seems like a lot of food, and it is but with all the walking that we do we get hungry at the right times. like i said for us it works, in every sense, and i hope that it will work out for you as well.

Victor

[FriendsofMickey]

As others have already stated, the value is going to be dependent on your style.

For us, we are a three meal family at home. We do not skip meals.

We do the "regular" 1 TS, 1 CS, and 1 Snack per day. It is plenty of food for us and I do not like the idea of sitting three times a day for a sit down meal.

The best way to figure out what the value is for you is to try to look at the menus of places you would want to eat and determine how much money out of pocket would you be spending.
Then compare the daily cost.
Here is an example for us:
(I should mention we always purchase water and gatorade and bring to the park - we drive so this is easily done for us).
Magic Kingdom day:
We use snack credits for donuts (or the like) at the Bakery for breakfast - not normal day breakfast, but hey we are on vacation.
Lunch: - Peco Bills Chicken wrap, large lemonade.
Dinner : Crystal Palace Character meal.
Out of pocket (not including tax or gratuity):
Breakfast: (cinamon roll) $3.49
Lunch: 8.59 + 2.49 = $11.08
Dinner: $29.99
Total out of pocket: 44.56

Total cost per day on plan: 41.99 (47.99 if you are traveling during peak season).

So, for us, it is a savings of a few dollars; however, that is just for this day and does not count that you get a desert along with you CS also. (Though without the plan, I wouldn't purchase it). We also just like that it is done and paid for.

[betteratmk]

We like the regular DDP as well, their are 3 of us DH<myself and DSsoon to be 13!We are not big eaters but we love the choice it gives us. If we happen to want the fillet for 36.00 we can have it! If I were paying OOP I know I would cheap out!!LOL! We do have a TS meal every day, we pick exactly what we want and eat as much as we want, we don't strive to finish every morsel on the plate!Breakfast we pay oop because we are not big breakfast eaters or use a snack to get a bakery item at one of the parks. We would never eat enogh to try the deluxe but I have to admit it sounds like fun!!!:D

[Jennifer_and_Chris]

We are a bit different than previous posters. We have never done the "regular" ddp. We jumped for joy when Disney came out with the Quick service dining plan.

Here is why:
1. With 2 small children, we find that it takes forever to get anywhere - even in the best of conditions! And I get very stressed out when we are late and/or struggling to get anywhere with uncooperative chilren.
2. We also don't want to spend our time at a sit down meal everyday.
3. We love the flexibility of picking when we eat and where we eat at a moments notice.
4. We love that our food is paid for when we get there.
5. We make a couple of ADR's (usually a character meal and a new restaruant experience for our family) and pay out of pocket for those. This is just about the only time that we are committed to being someplace at a specific time.

Since we drive down, we bring our own case of water and juice. For breakfast we do fruit, cereal and oatmeal as my DD is allergic to eggs and that's one meal that is easy for us to make in our villa without too much prep and planning. (except for the 1-2 times DH and I sneak to the Poly for early morning Tonga Toast!). Part of our morning, pre-nap and late in the evening ritual is to take our walk to fill up our mugs with our beverage of choice and browse around the shops and "breathe" in the resort. nothing like a cup of hot coffee overlooking the pool or the grounds and hearing the sounds of Disney background music while DH and I talk about our plans for the day and what we did last night... and most importantly... what we'll do differently next time!

The Quick service plan really suits our family!

[azcavalier]

We have always done the regular DDP for our family. My DW and I are going in May without the kids, and we thought about paying out of pocket until I did the math. We knew what restaurants we wanted to hit, so I looked up what we would most likely order and did some calculations. We definitely will be saving money with the DDP, even as we will be paying out of pocket for a lunch at the Brown Derby.

So, all of our meals for four days on the DDP with one lunch out of pocket is cheaper than paying out of pocket for all of our meals for four days.

*Could* we go cheaper? Sure. But eating at the great restaurants is half of the fun for us. If you do that, then I think it's worth it.

We have been contemplating trying the QSDP once, though.

[renecat]

Last year we did the Deluxe dinning plan for the first time. To much have to be here have to be there. We are doing it again this year but only two meals a day. Either late breakfast or early lunch and then a signature for dinner.
We love the signature resturants. Hope you like the choice you make.