Disney Dinning Plan Your Thoughts?

[jacobcary1]

Many people choose to use this option for saving money or just to make life easier. I have used it once and thought it was ok but kind of a hassle keeping up with all the points.

[Amy]

Many people choose to use this option for saving money or just to make life easier. I have used it once and thought it was ok but kind of a hassle keeping up with all the points.

There is a thread already devoted to this topic...you can find more information here...
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6961&hilit=dining+plan

[secondstar]

I have never used it in the past. I always thought it "boxed me in" regarding meals. However, on our upcoming trip, we are going to try it for the first time.

[Satchel T]

I love it simply because it does make life easier. We usually get it for free so then it really makes life easier. If we had to pay for it I'd really have to sit down and figure out if it was worth it or not.

[Amy]

I have never used it in the past. I always thought it "boxed me in" regarding meals. However, on our upcoming trip, we are going to try it for the first time.

Did you get it for free as part of a package? Or are you paying for it out of pocket? If you are paying for it, I am interested in hearing if you think it was worth the cost after you return!

[lonepalm]

I have only had the privilege of staying onsite once and we got the quick service plan for free. I thought it was great. We stayed at the CBR and there was plenty of choice for what to eat and use the credits for. With that being said, based on the way my wife and I usually eat and tour the parks, we would never use anything higher than the quick service plan. I think it would be too much of a hassle to have to make ADRs months and months and months ahead of time for a table service. If you could go to any WDW restaurant you wanted to when you travel to WDW, then we would consider a higher meal plan, but we don't like to plan THAT much in detail. We tour at a relaxed pace, but we hate wasting time to eat a meal.

[Amy]

I have only had the privilege of staying onsite once and we got the quick service plan for free. I thought it was great. We stayed at the CBR and there was plenty of choice for what to eat and use the credits for. With that being said, based on the way my wife and I usually eat and tour the parks, we would never use anything higher than the quick service plan. I think it would be too much of a hassle to have to make ADRs months and months and months ahead of time for a table service. If you could go to any WDW restaurant you wanted to when you travel to WDW, then we would consider a higher meal plan, but we don't like to plan THAT much in detail. We tour at a relaxed pace, but we hate wasting time to eat a meal.

That is our view as well. We like to see and go and not feel like you are missing something by taking an hour or two to eat. We had the quick service meal plan this past trip, but only because it was included with our package for free. It was nice for my Mom, F1gment, because she needs to eat well-balanced meals and this way she didn't have to worry about having money with her, or whether or not the meal was too expensive. She actually ate some of "my" meals since you really only got 2 meals and 2 snacks per day but she ate 3 meals every day. I also think that trying to plan out ADR's months and months in advance would take a lot of spontaneity out of our trip.

[Soarin08]

My family refuses to not do the DDP on our trips. We find, for the 4-5 of us (4 if my sister sits out as always), that it is cheaper for us to dine than to pay out of pocket. I can get it for $27.99/person so we find that to be a complete bargain, especially considering how pricey some places can be!

Now for me, when I go in July on my own... no. I'm not getting it. I'll pay out of pocket for myself.

[Len90]

If you can get it for $28 a day as a CM it might actually be worth it. If you treat yourself to a decent dinner you will already be getting your money's worth without the snack and counter service.

I honestly feel that the DDP is only worth it if you can live strictly to it and don't deviate from it. I believe the current price is like $50 per person per day. You need to eat a nice dinner and use both your counter and snack credits. I've actually put a lot of thought and time into my calculations. There will be some days where you will make out really well on the plan, some days where you just cover your cost for the day, and then some days where you will not get your money's worth. In the end, it is just a lot easier to eat on your own and not feel obligated to eat according to the plan.

[rphillips14]

We couldn't go withour free dining-it saves us (A family of 5) several hundred dollars. This is my wife's favorite part of our trip-making the reservations, getting the best places, finding the best deals. She loves it!! We have a trip planned soon and were eating at almost all new places. It makes the trip seem new although we are Disney regulars. We LOVE the dining plan!!!

[fancyfeet]

Since the first time I used the dining plan, I was hooked. Not only does it make the food cost cheaper, but it's so freeing to not have to worry about looking at the prices on the menu or counting out money at the end of the meal. My friend and I know we are going to eat at as many table service restaurants as we can so using all the allotted meals is never a problem for us. I'm "that person" who makes all my reservations at 7am on the 180th day away from my trip because I have a ton of favorite restaurants I want to make sure I get into. The first 2 years we kept all our receipts and added them up at home. Every year the receipts were more than than what we paid for the dining plan and sometimes you can get a Free Dining Plan with your package. I would 100% recommend the dining plan.

[Amy]

Since the first time I used the dining plan, I was hooked. Not only does it make the food cost cheaper, but it's so freeing to not have to worry about looking at the prices on the menu or counting out money at the end of the meal. My friend and I know we are going to eat at as many table service restaurants as we can so using all the allotted meals is never a problem for us. I'm "that person" who makes all my reservations at 7am on the 180th day away from my trip because I have a ton of favorite restaurants I want to make sure I get into. The first 2 years we kept all our receipts and added them up at home. Every year the receipts were more than than what we paid for the dining plan and sometimes you can get a Free Dining Plan with your package. I would 100% recommend the dining plan.

I was going to add up the receipts, but with quick service dining, there was no total on the receipt, just $0.00. Unless we luck out and get the plan for free on our next trip, I doubt we will utilize it again.

[Len90]

Since the first time I used the dining plan, I was hooked. Not only does it make the food cost cheaper, but it's so freeing to not have to worry about looking at the prices on the menu or counting out money at the end of the meal. My friend and I know we are going to eat at as many table service restaurants as we can so using all the allotted meals is never a problem for us. I'm "that person" who makes all my reservations at 7am on the 180th day away from my trip because I have a ton of favorite restaurants I want to make sure I get into. The first 2 years we kept all our receipts and added them up at home. Every year the receipts were more than than what we paid for the dining plan and sometimes you can get a Free Dining Plan with your package. I would 100% recommend the dining plan.

I was going to add up the receipts, but with quick service dining, there was no total on the receipt, just $0.00. Unless we luck out and get the plan for free on our next trip, I doubt we will utilize it again.

I've actually tried calculating it using approximate values and it seems like you could potentially make out ahead if you really do it as fancyfeet describes. However, my family would not be able to consume that much counter service and snacks. We actually tend to do a table service breakfast and dinner so it would be VERY costly for us and we would probably either have extra credits or just use credits for food that would never get consumed.

[theBIGyowski]

As others have said...it is worth it if you:

1) Eat a ton of food every day of your trip
2) Eat the more expensive items every time you eat

If you cannot do those things it really isn't worth it. The DDP is worth it if it is free...but I don't see myself every paying for it because DW just can't eat that much food and even if the prices are close, I'd rather pay out of pocket and know I have control over how much I spend.

But for larger families it can definitely be worth it.

[disneylizzy]

I love the dining plan b/c its prepaid and once I get to the world I feel like I have free reign to eat what I like. I know it makes vacations more structured due to the advance reservations needed at most table service restaurants, but that doesn't usually bother me.

The structured-ness does bother my husband though, so we now have Tables in Wonderland and we use that instead. Its good, but again you feel more of the pain from spending $25 an entree at the disney restaurants and w/ the dining plan you don't b/c you already pre-paid for it and it seems like you're getting a "value".