Disney Dining Plan Savings?

[almeg]

My family of 6 (4 adults and 2 children) will be visiting WDW in early summer 2013. Right now, we are currently booked with Magic Your Way Plus Dining. We've been to Disney many times, using both the DDP and pay as you go dining. If we we plan on eating one "sit down meal" each day and maybe a snack here and there-- is the DDP really a better value?

[Strmchsr]

Not at all. Given how expensive the DDP has become you really have to eat the right way to get any value out of it. I'd say the vast majority of people lose money with it. The appeal for most is the convenience of pre-paying and not worrying about paying for each meal. It's not about saving money. I've totaled it up for our family of 4 and we generally save $300-400 over the course of a 7 day vacation paying OOP as opposed to the DDP and we feel a lot better, too as the DDP was just too much for us. We eat about like you described - 1 TS per day, usually sharing dessert or not getting it at all, and then we snack or share a lunch.

[1DisneyNut]

I agree with stormchaser. When we go, we pay out of pocket and never come even close to what the DDP would have cost. With the DDP, there are so many snacks and deserts, etc. I don't see how on earth people eat all of it. We had free dining a couple of years ago and threw away a ton of food and deserts and didn't use a number of snack credits.

[Capt_redshirt]

While i completely agree with the thoughts of strm and disneynut, id like to add that it really depends on the person.... Im a healthy eater and spending out of pocket vs ddp i see ddp as a plus .... but i chose it more cause i would like to try new and exciting things that i would have said its too expensive if i didnt have the ddp my family wouldnt have gone to the yachtman steak house (the bill would have been nearly 450 with a family of 5) also going at the f&w fest makes the ddp a bonus since most of the food there is = to a snack point. its all about who the individual using it is

[nqi2]

I agree with the captain. I wouldn't eat near the quality of food or try new items if we weren't on DDP because I would cheap out so to speak.

We also use the snack credit to purchase items that we can take back with us (we drive). We love the caramel corn from Germany in Epcot. The small bags are a snack credit, we bring a ziplock bag from home and once we get to hotel we put it in there. Stays fresh and travels really well. Lots of thing from Goofy's candy shop are snack credits and so are the rice krispy treats. Instant souvenirs.
If can you all the items you recieve sometime it's not the obvious use for them.

[phillydan]

We paid OOP on our first trip and we discovered that we hadn't really had a decent meal for the first 2 days, just lots of quick service. Not sure if it was reluctance to "splurge" on a table service meal or not wanting to "waste time" eating a large meal - regardless, it was a mistake.

From that point onward, we went dith DDP (either free or paying for the package). It ensures we make some time to relax and it also allows us to try new (and expensive) things. Plus I like the convenience of having it all paid up front. Since we usually go on "all-inclusive" trips to other vacation spots, this is more familiar to me.

Never really did the math to see if we saved or not, but we never had unused credits at the end of our trip.

[ANG]

I'm sure I could get much cheaper at Disney. But I won't be eating nearly as many healthy and filling options. WDW is a ton of exercise and walking, so I need good food to fuel me. Sure, you can get a salad or sandwich at a Quick Service. But nothing compares to seafood and lean meats you can get at a sit down.

We've debated many times if we should use the DDP and we always do.

[Strmchsr]

But nothing compares to seafood and lean meats you can get at a sit down.

Agreed there. You need a good meal. My family always done a TS. We usually leave off drinks (water only) and dessert for all of us. That, in itself, can be a big savings without sacrificing a good meal.

[Mitzie]

This kind of ties to another thread about pre-loading a card. We are going to try this up coming trip without the DDP...a little nervous about it. We have printed off menus and tried to estimate what our cost will be. I think for us our savings will come with my youngest DD. She is 12 and weighs about 75 lbs. Prefers to each chicken nuggets off the kids menu. With the DDP we are paying adult prices for her. We are also staying club level so where we would of been getting and paying for a dessert with the DDP we know we can grab something sweet in the club lounge. I think I am just nervous about doing something new. My concern is if a place will not let her eat off the children's menu.

[Strmchsr]

My concern is if a place will not let her eat off the children's menu.

You won't have an issue there at all. The only time you can't get "kid's menu" is at buffets. There she would have to pay adult price. But at all the menu locations she can definitely order off the kids menu. No worries there!

[Disnini]

I overheard a family talking about how their 18% gratuities were really getting high because they were always ordering the highest priced items on the menu to " get their money's worth" on the DDP. They also said they were getting tired of eating steak because that was usually the highest priced item on the menu.
We have AP and TIW so I don't have personal experience with DDP but found that family's comments interesting.

[DizneyRox]

I would never use DDP and savings in the same sentence...

Any time I've looked at it, DDP has always been the most exepensive way for us to eat. We have done TiW in the past with pretty significant savings (AND we get to eat what we want, even paying OOP would have been cheaper for us.

[DisneyFan1979]

I agree with others in that it all depends on how you eat and how you schedule your days. As an example: with my 3-person family at a counter-service lunch, we'd typically get 2 entrees to share between us and 3 drinks. Versus on the dining plan we'd be getting 3 entrees, 3 drinks, and 3 desserts. Just from that I can figure out that we're spending less if we pay out of pocket.
We had a package once that included a free dining plan, while we certainly enjoyed trying lots of restaurants and different desserts and treats, we often felt like we were wasting food or felt too full to enjoy ourselves on rides after eating a huge sit-down lunch or dinner.

[hauntedmansiongirl]

We are going to preload a Disney Card for our upcoming trip in April. Three of us are going for 14 nights and the DDP would be over $2300 for us. For my DH and I it is worth it, but when we take our Godson (12) with us it is not worth it unless it is a free dining promo. He only eats pizza, burgers and fried chicken in various shapes and sizes, so buying the adult DDP for him is so not worth it! plus we get so tired of the counter service desserts by day 3, which ends us being a huge waste of food.

I think that you really have to take time and crunch the numbers. We are not skimping out this trip. We are eating cereal for breakfast in the room, but we are eating lunch CS and supper TS every day. Each CS will be about $35 each, TS $75-$100, snacks $15. That is a minimum of $10 cheaper per day and we aren't missing out on anything. When you're going for 2 weeks, every little bit counts. Plus we're excited to try all of the snacks that aren't on the DDP!

Have a great time!

[BigRedDad]

You have to seriously plan and get reservations for the most expensive restaurants. Then, you need to order the most expensive thing on the menu, maybe not what you want, in order to have any chance of getting close to the value.

This is my opinion. I do not know what I want to eat until I smell something or something catches my eye. This type of planning would be:

You'll be here at 5:15PM
Seated at 5:30PM
Order the most expensive thing at 5:40PM
Eat and be done at 6:15PM
Wash hands at 6:20PM
Leave at 6:30PM

I do not want that rigor in a vacation. It is not worth it to me. I am more than happy to grab something to eat at a QS location than be under command and control.

[pcoleman]

I think you need to decide what are your priorities. Picking food only you want, having everything pre-paid, eating portions and not over eating. Here is my take. I like having things pre-paid. May not be exactly cheaper but then I don't have to worry about it. Last trip did CS DDP. We split each choice between two people. So we were able to have CS choices for each meal for each day. Since there were 4 of us we mixed up what we wanted. Each person got their turn on picking the option. Used table service option only once and won't again. Being locked into a park and place at a certain time was awful. I plan but that was too much. I was not hungry at the of ADR's. I did eat at places I normally would not have before but that is not a priority for me. As you can see there is no once answer to this question. It's what works best for you and your family. Hope you have a fabulous trip.

[epceddie]

The dining plans are in place because Disney makes money off them. If they were losing money the dining plans would disappear in a hurry.

[Canuck Park Hopper]

We also had a Free DDP on last visit (QS level) and found that to be a great convenience and fit our eating needs well. It gave us a basic breakfast and late lunch / early dinner. At that time it also provided two snacks per day. So it was more than enough for us portion-wise and I, being the big eater, would rarely leave any plate unfinished.

Even had we paid for the plan, we would have still found it to be a value for us - and the convenience certainly made it better.

We looked at a TS-level plan, but decided against it as it would required numerous reservations and advance planning (we wanted to just go where-ever when-ever rather than be controlled by a pre-set schedule).

We did make a few TS reservations for places we did want to go to, but we only had 4 over 2 weeks.

We finished the trip with a handful of snack credits that we redeemed before leaving as best we could.

Here is my current summary of how we are evaluating whether or not to pay for DPP this time around...

1. Convenience - a plus certainly.

2. Cost - the current QS plan only offers one snack and removes the extra beverage from breakfast (compared to earlier versions)

3. Table Service - too expensive and requires more scheduling than we want while on vacation.

Looking at current dollar-value quotes at various QS outlets, I might expect to pay $15 each meal. Add say $4 for 1 snack ea. day plus tax and I'm at/over the $38 it costs to opt for the DPP/QS. Then we simply supplement meals as needed.

My only real complaint is that they cut it from 2 snacks to just one! A man can't survive on just meat and potatoes alone... he needs at least two ice cream bars per day whilst walking back and forth all day long!

[beksy]

A man can't survive on just meat and potatoes alone... he needs at least two ice cream bars per day whilst walking back and forth all day long!

I love this! Why can't more people understand the importance of ice cream, or in my case Dole Whip Floats?

[BrerGnat]

If you really look at the cost per person per day, you realize that you have to do a LOT of math to make the plan work in your favor and "save" money.

My biggest issues with the DDP are:

1. I would NEVER pay for one of those desserts that come with a Counter Service meal. They are disgusting. At almost $4 a pop for most of them, I'd skip it every time. I'd much rather spend that money on a Dole Whip or Mickey bar. Right there, that diminishes the "value" of the CS credit.

2. I like appetizers and salads with my TS meals, more than desserts. Again...I prefer Disney's numerous confectionery "treats" out in the parks/bakeries. The DDP has no option to have salad and/or appetizer in lieu of dessert at TS meals.

3. I HATE having to wonder if something is a "snack" on the DDP. I don't want my snack choices dictated by what is or is not, by definition, a "snack."

4. It is VERY difficult to get maximum value out of the plan at TS meals. Most entrees are not in the $40 range. MOST of them are in the $25-35 range. At that price, you are giving Disney money.

We have never even come close to spending as much on dining as the DDP would have cost our family. We come in several hundred dollars under every time.