I used dining plan for every trip until this one. I kept track of what we spent last trip. I bought gift cards for 300 dollars less and as I finish our trip we ate what we wanted and saved 300 dollars not using dining plan.
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I used dining plan for every trip until this one. I kept track of what we spent last trip. I bought gift cards for 300 dollars less and as I finish our trip we ate what we wanted and saved 300 dollars not using dining plan.
We did the same exercise a few years ago and came to the same conclusion.
Same here. Used the plan several times. The last two trips without. We ate at the same restaurants we would have eaten if we had the plan and spent a lot less money. The plan was different when it first came out and the appetizer and tip was included. Different story now.
Us too! We got the DP when it first came out and found it was way too much food. This trip I'm getting gift cards for dining expenses so everything is paid for up front. The kids will even have their own cards for snacks!
We last bought the DP several years ago (when it included apps and gratuity) when it cost less than it does now. I think it was $39.95 per adult per night. While we enjoyed it, it was WAY TOO MUCH food, more than we would have ever ordered paying OOP.
On our next trip after that we paid OOP for food, ordered only what we wanted to eat and spent $600 less during our 7 night stay (family of 4) (hotel and park passes were the same as before). WE only had 3 TS meals instead of 7, but otherwise ate whatever we wanted.
We are ditching the DP for TIW for the first time this weekend for a quick 3 night trip, if it works out like I think it will we will be doing the same for our 10 day trip in Sept.
To the OP, was this strictly table service dining, deluxe, or quick service?
We also did the same exercise several years ago. Our second trip together the Regular dinning plan came with our package, we tried it, weren't in love with it but went with it. The next trip we bought the regular dinning plan and kept all our receipts. Calculated when we got home and figured in the dessert costs and snacks that we forced ourselves to get at the end of the trip, and had left two counter service credits behind. The next trip, we budgeted as if we would buy the dinning plan, whatever it was per day per person x amount of days, but we didn't physically purchase the dinning plan, we ate everywhere and whatever we wanted, including Fulton's, Ohanas, etc., we still came home with just about $300.00.
I guess it depends on everyone's preferences, but I always disagree in my head that people don't think they can eat where and what the want to if it weren't for the dinning plan. We never limit ourselves and we do just fine without it. But, everyone is different I guess.
Glad it worked out for you, and now you know for future! :thumbsup::mickey:
I always get the dining plan but I don't think it saves money at all.
We always end up going during free dining but I don't think I would ever pay for it.
Most of the time we get the most expensive thing on the menu to make it "worth it" but it never is.
Based on the savings, I'm going to assume Regular TS Dining Plan.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheHD
There is NO way you could save $300 on the QS plan, unless you just don't eat.
Excellent post and thanks for everyone's thoughts. We have only used the DP when it was free, but our next trip will be with 7 adults and may not include free dining.
Once you go Tables in Wonderland, you never go back.
Our last few trips we have had the free dining. If free dining was not offered we'd just pay out of pocket. It would be cheaper for us to go that way for sure:mickey:
The DP is usually a better deal when you have several 3-9 yr olds, and do character meals--thats what we found when we priced it out.
Yeah, that's what I figured at least.Quote:
Originally Posted by BrerGnat
When the dining plan first came out and you were able to get an appetizer, entree and dessert, the plan was worth it. With the changes over the last few years it makes even less sense for us to purchase it. I do understand the folks who like to prepay dining so they don't have to budget while down there. But you have to really crunch the numbers and come up with the answer like the OP did.
We are not really a dessert family so the "new" plan does not work for us. Since we typically get the TiW card, we find that we can eat how we want and not the "Disney" way. The plan simply put is not for us.
I think maybe I should use the words "spent less" on food when paying out of pocket, rather than "saved" since we were not buying the same amount of food or eating as many TS meals, as we did when we purchased the DP. The simple fact is: we spend less money at Dsiney on food when we pay OOP. My guess is that the vast majority of guests do the same.
Disney knows this, which is exactly why they market it so aggressively. The DP may sound like a good deal when compared to what you would pay for the same food, but the bottom line is that it makes guests spend more money on food. Food and drink sales make high profits for Disney.
Yes, I think that is exactly it. We have had free dining for several trips - including our Sept trip coming up. We like it because we would never eat as many TS meals as we do with the DDP. We like to eat at all our favorites plus new places which is part of the fun of our trip. However, if we weren't on the DDP, then we'd probably only feel like we could do half the TS we do now.
Loved it when it first came out and saved a ton. Haven’t done it in years.
I was very suspicious of "mission creep" with what i percieved as the (agreeably cynical) end goal of offering the "value of convenience" over any economic value.
Its posts like these that solidify, and justify, my early concerns.
This was never about saving money, it was about insuring we spent our money nowhere else.
:number1:
This is my philosophy as well. First time we did it, we paid OOP (probably 10+ years ago) but it included the appetizers and gratuity. Our most recent two trips 2010/2012 we had free dining, which for us, a family of 5 (one kid treated as adult) it was too good of a "free" value to pass up in favor of any room discount.Quote:
Originally Posted by AllDisney
That said, if we were to go down when free dining isn't offered, we'd definitely pay OOP and I don't think I'd think twice about it. If on our next trip its offered with a room discount as a counter option, I'd think heavily about the room discount.
The dining plan isn't meant to save people money. Disney is always going to come out on top when it comes to plans like that, because they have better bean counters than the rest of us.
The biggest benefit of the dining plan is getting to pay for your meals up front and not having to worry about paying OOP.
Let me see if I understand: using the DP, you get to pay in advance (no refunds) for food you may not eat, AND you don't have to think about how much more you'll be spending on food with the DP (since you've alreqady spent the money). That doesn't sound like much of a benefit to me. Seems more like a rip-off and Disney's laughing all the way to the bank selling these plans for the "convenience" of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by epceddie
I wish they would offer this to everyone. We used it when we had Annual Passes, but we just can't afford to go to WDW every year, so no Annual Passes for us. :-(Quote:
Originally Posted by Quadstriker
We actually did save money when they offered the free dining plan. We calculated that since our two children are considered adults, and my son loves to eat, that the free dining more than outweighed the 30% off our delux room rate that was offered at the same time. (We eat a lot of TS).
I agree with all of you. I thought that the Free Food was a great offer. Too much food. I thought that the DDP "saved you money" when you paid for it. I saved my receipts and added it up just like most of you. Spent more with the plan.
We have the same results paying OOP for QS meals rather than doing the QSDP. We had free QSDP on our last trip which was nice -- and since we were a party of 5 on that trip it saved us about $1,000 which is way more than any room discount would have saved us at a value resort (where we usually stay).
On our trip a few weeks ago, we were a party of 6...5 Disney adults (real world: 3 adults, 2 teens), 1 Disney "kid" (8 yo). We decided to skip the dining plan and pay OOP. QSDP would have cost us ~$1400. At the end of the 7-day trip, our food, snack, and drink total OOP was $1200. And that included buying at least 2 bottles of water/powerade per day per person. And usually an additional snack per person per day. So to compare apples to apples, we would have had to add another ~$5/person/day to the dining plan total to account for the extra drinks (since the plan only includes 1 snack per day). So our total cost for QSDP + extra drinks/snacks would have been more like $1600 compared to $1100 that we actually paid. We didn't skimp on meals or seek out the cheapest restaurants and everybody ordered whatever they wanted. When we were on the free dining plan, we threw away sooooo much food. This time we ordered only what we were hungry for. Many times I'd only order the sandwich/entree with no sides and then I would pick at the kids french fries (that they never finished anyway). Sometimes I'd order a kids meal for me (which is usually more than enough food). We certainly weren't walking around hungry and we weren't throwing away large amounts of food because we were forced to order desserts and sides with every meal. We'll never pay for the QSDP. And since we typically don't do more than 1 or 2 table service meals per trip (we didn't do any this last trip and no one missed them), we'll probably never even consider the other dining plans.
Would love to skip DP but going with DD and she wants DDP. So after careful consideration will be doing several signature restaurants for dinner and many ts for lunch only way to make it pay for its self. To much food for me though :sick:
Thanks for the info. I decided a few weeks ago that we would also try OOP for QS instead of the DP. I think the elimination of the second snack is what made my decision. I crunched the numbers, and we should spend less than we would on the DP this trip, and I've also included $10 extra for each person per day, in the budget for snacks or desserts.Quote:
Originally Posted by allgiggles
I would defend it, but I haven't paid for it in *years*. We have always planned our vacations around the free dining offering. We love the free DDP.
This trip, we don't qualify for the free DDP (but we do get a discount on the room), and we bought the TIW card for a short trip we took (without kids) in April. We'll be using that for the few ADRs that we have. It will be interesting to see how much we spend.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back for us as well. We might have considered the QSDP for this trip but with the elimination of the second snack, we knew we'd save money paying OOP. The QSDP would have been convenient on this trip as we often split up and the older kids went off on their own for a few hours but I anticipated that ahead of time and made sure I had several $25 gift cards and just gave them one or two of those when they weren't with us. That way they could get whatever meals or snacks they needed (since I don't trust the teens with charging privileges :) )Quote:
Originally Posted by TheHD
I like the dining plan (regular one) cause I would never go to a TS every day without it. I'd do maybe 1 or 2 and just CS the rest. So if comparing it that way, I'm not saving money. BUT, I like getting a break every day and having a TS dinner is nice. Plus I like not having to carry cash or whip out plastic for a $12 meal or a $5 snack. Having the dining plan entices me to get more than just burger & fries; I'm more apt to get something nicer/fancier. Same with snacks: I'll get a sundae or smoothie instead of a Mickey bar.
I don't need the dessert with the CS meal, and wish TS dinner/lunch gave you the option of dessert OR appetizer, but I still like it and will continue to get it.
Since the DDPs inception, we have always gotten it (most often with free dining). That is until our last trip in April. We were at WDW for 2 whole weeks during no free dining. The plan would have cost us a fortune- especially since we took our 13 year old Godson who eats nothing but pizza and burgers, but has to pay full adult prices. I have to admit- I was leery. I like having everything paid for before we leave. So, the compromise was putting $1500 on the Visa before we left. We were pleasantly surprised when that $1500 covered all of our food, our gas and hotels for the trip down (we are a 22 hour drive away)! And we didn't scrimp- we had dessert when we wanted it and had table service meals 12/14 nights, Olive Garden one night and the NASCAR Cafe at Universal one night. We had Counter service everyday for lunch but ate cereal in the room for breakfast. It worked out great! And we weren't eating counter service desserts that we really didn't want. I wouldn't hesitate to do that again! :mickey:
Disney treats guests like they are rubes... 9 times out of 10, Disney is right... Most guests are rubes... the DDP is a waste... It does NOT save you money... It gives the illusion because you already paid... Once people use their common sense, they will realize they are not saving a dime... Yes, they sell the "convenience" and pretend it is a benefit to the guest... it isn't... Just like this NextGen nonsense is not a benefit to the guest...Quote:
Originally Posted by joonyer
That is what we do now. TIW works better for us than the DP.Quote:
Originally Posted by Butters
We have skipped the dining plan the last few years with same results - spent less and ate whatever we wanted. I mainly dislike the dining for it's lack of flexibility - would prefer salad or soup to dessert!
We have come to the same conclusion.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jillirose
We would rather have a appetizer/salad. We're not really dessert eaters mostly because we prefer savory to sweet any day. On the rare occasions where we do get dessert, we tend to split it, so one per person would just be wasteful to us. Two appetizers, however, would probably be demolished. :D