For those who don't use dining plan..

[Tank3434]

So we are taking our first trip in December not using the dining plan and even tho I'm a little nervous about it I still have to prove to my hubby that's it's the right thing to do. I'm just tired of feeling like I can only eat certain meals at certain times and feel like with the plan I often get food I wouldn't normally order because it's "free" such as desert with lunch. I feel like our 2 kids hardly eat and could easily share meals with us and sometimes with each other and I just like the flexibility of eating 2 sit down meals in a day if I want. I'm going to budget around 1000$ for 6 nights for meals.
Just wondering if non dining plan people have any tips on how to save and how to budget ahead of time and what the average cost is. Any other input is greatly appreciated. I must win this battle so we get home and hubby says I was right!!

[Katzateer]

We have never used the dining plan and eat at signature dining a lot. The room discount has always been a better deal for us. Normally we eat breakfast or early lunch at a sit down location and dinner. Sometimes a snack but those meals usually are all we want.

[sisterslovindisney]

We've never used the dining plan. We usually only book ADR's for a couple of dinners and eat counter service the rest of the time. We do more snacking so having a big dinner doesn't really fit for us. We never spend the amount it would cost us for the dining plan.

[markyv]

From someone who has tried both.....out of pocket definitely works better for our family.

[MrPeetrie]

Used it once. Never again. I couldn't stand being "locked into" certain items.

For one, I do not enjoy fountain drinks, but I really enjoy 20 oz. bottles of Coke. Normally, I'd stop at a cart or kiosk, purchase a bottle of Coke, then we'd go into a counter-service restaurant to eat. With the plan, I HAD to get a fountain drink.

Moreover, I'm on vacation and I want to eat the things I normally don't get to eat at home -- namely, the Mickey Bar. I LOVE those and can't wait to indulge in a couple each trip. But the plan made me get a dessert with my meal!

To be honest: I hated everything about it. I hated telling my daughter (then 9) she had to order off the kids menu when she may have wanted something else. I hated telling my wife she had to order a dinner when she may have only wanted an appetizer. From a vacation mindset, it was more work and aggravation then enjoyment.

To be fair, it did save money (sort of.) We added the plan after our original package was already paid off. In order to have the Dining Plan, we had to refund the entire original package to my card, then re-bill me for the room, including the DDP. It increased my total by about $1,050 and checking receipts, we ate about $1,130-worth of food so it saved us $80. But here's the thing: we never would have ordered meals the same way without the plan, so, in all likelihood, we never would have eaten $1,130-worth of food in the first place.

The following year, we tried the Tables in Wonderland plan and liked that much better. We will be using that again this September.

[sisterslovindisney]

I know a lot of people like the DDP because then everything is paid for in advance so I had an idea. Figure out the amount you would have to pay for the DDP and put that on a Disney Gift Card. That way it is still prepaid but you can eat whenever and wherever you want. Any money you have left on your card could be used on other things or saved for next time.

[PopPhan]

I know a lot of people like the DDP because then everything is paid for in advance so I had an idea. Figure out the amount you would have to pay for the DDP and put that on a Disney Gift Card. That way it is still prepaid but you can eat whenever and wherever you want. Any money you have left on your card could be used on other things or saved for next time.

Try to get in to a Table Service restaurant on that plan......You still have to book 180 days out. There are few-to-no walk-ups for ANY of the table service restaurants.

Eating whenever and wherever you want to in the parks is pretty much a thing of the past, unless you want to eat Counter Service all the time and are not concerned what counter service.

[Tekneek]

Indeed. You will have to book ahead, or you're really going to have limitations. DDP is almost always a bad idea these days (with the changes to it), unless you're getting it free (even then it is not always a great deal, depending on what you end up paying for accommodations to get it).

[VacationDisney]

We have used the DDP for as long as I can remember. We like it and it does save us money. I go to the different menus, at the places we will be planning on eating at, add up what we would order for the week. Doing the math, for us anyway, is more economical for us to do the DDP. We eat a good sized breakfast (Mickey waffles or eggs & bacon). Around 1:00 we get a snack (popcorn, pretzel etc.). Dinner is what we look forward to after a full & busy day at the parks. We enjoy a leisure meal and perhaps even get a glass of :wine:

I do wish though that we could get an appetizer instead of dessert. :blush:

[sassafras]

We used to use the Dining Plan, but the last couple of trips, we've winged it. We found we actually saved money since we aren't big dessert eaters or snackers. By just doing it our own way, on our time, we weren't tied to a reservation and if we didn't feel like a huge meal, we didn't stuff ourselves. We booked a couple of sitdowns, but either ate counterserve at the parks or went to various resorts to their food courts or restaurants or Downtown Disney. The good thing about the resorts is the variety of food from one to the other and if you purchased the reuseable mugs, you can take them with you there and not have to pay the price of a drink. A lot of the resorts will have actual "plate type" dinners in the evening and they're not bad priced. For example, POR, we get fetticini and it's big enough to split between the two of us and still have some left. POF has a fried chicken dinner that good and not bad priced. My hubby says from now on, unless the dining plan is free (and it won't be for us as we are DVC members), he won't buy it.

[#1donaldfan]

I have used both and prefer out of pocket better and out of pocket does save a few dollars. Several trips ago I kept every single receipt from snacks, drinks to meals and once added up it was a small fraction less than the DDP. We did not short ourselves either, we ate what we wanted and where we wanted. We typically spend around $1,000 ish, if not just a bit more on meals over a week for 4 of us, so you should be fine. You can get discounts at some locations if you use a Disney Visa, keep that in mind. :mickey:

[Tekneek]

We have used the DDP for as long as I can remember. We like it and it does save us money. I go to the different menus, at the places we will be planning on eating at, add up what we would order for the week. Doing the math, for us anyway, is more economical for us to do the DDP. We eat a good sized breakfast (Mickey waffles or eggs & bacon). Around 1:00 we get a snack (popcorn, pretzel etc.). Dinner is what we look forward to after a full & busy day at the parks. We enjoy a leisure meal and perhaps even get a glass of :wine:

That's awesome. The only way to really know if it works out for you is to go and crunch the numbers. A reminder that everyone's situation is unique.

[luvkatiebug]

We are also trying the no dining plan this trip. I never thought I would get tired of dessert until a week at Disney on the dining plan. I wanted an appetizer every now and then. I don't know if it will save us much money, but I just need some variety. My youngest and I can snack on small things and be satisfied without a definite 3 meals a day. :mickey:

[i'm grumpy]

We’ve only had the dining plan once because it was free. We only eat when we are hungry and it’s quick service meals. No time to eat. :D

[CynBeth]

I know a lot of people like the DDP because then everything is paid for in advance so I had an idea. Figure out the amount you would have to pay for the DDP and put that on a Disney Gift Card. That way it is still prepaid but you can eat whenever and wherever you want. Any money you have left on your card could be used on other things or saved for next time.

That is what we do. We use our Disney Visa to pay for the gift cards so we earn rewards points as well.

[Tank3434]

Thanks guys. Is still def plan on making dining reservations I just want to be able to eat as many sit down/counter service meals I want in a week not what the plan tell me I have left. My kids are little so Im sure we will have lots of character meals. Gift cards are a great idea and I can lick them up now and then if I get any extra $$$

[MargaretMessler]

For me it is break even at best, so I would never pay for it. We had it for free our last trip, and it was great not having to spend OOP for the most part. We got the QS plan staying at a value, and booked a couple TS meals which we had to pay for. But some days we only eat one real "meal", or prefer to have an appetizer AS a meal, so we would much rather have a room/package discount.

It does seem to make financial sense for families with smaller children who are planning a lot of character meals or buffets though