Dining Plan - Pros and Cons - Math Never Lies

[IMADisneyFreak]

Ok, so now I am looking for input on the best way to calculate if it is worth using the dining plan. We used it for the first time on our '13 trip and loved it only because of its ease of use. We didn't need to carry a lot of cash around in the parks or have credit cards with us. And I didn't feel like we were eating all the time, just our QS (lunch) and TS (dinner) each day and then a snack whenever it felt right. What do you do when factoring in the pros and cons of using the plan?



For me, the math never lies....so....I factor in what I think meals will cost me for my family of four. I figure it can run about $35-$50 bucks a day per person if I break it down by breakfast ($5-$10), lunch ($10-$15) and dinner ($20-$25) and that might be conservative because it depends on which restaurants or ADRs that are factored in and doesn't include snacks or buying bottled water, etc. For a family of four that could average $140-$200 a day and over the course of a week the total would equal $980 to $1,400.



When we used the plan in ’13 it cost us $1,052.24 as part of our package for our week's vacation. When we had our dinners we made sure to go "all out" and had the expensive items on the menu which means we actually would have paid more out of pocket for the week than using the plan. For me, it seems the plan is the way to go but I am wondering what other opinions are and if I am overlooking something that would change my mind for our next trip to Disney...

Thanks!

[deedee73]

We usually order the more expensive items as well and I love the convenience & the freedom of not looking at prices on the menu for a change. To make an informed decision though I would truly look at the menus online and make a rough estimate of probable choices & costs versus the DDP. If it is very close which is how ours have come out I usually go with the DDP for the added convenience.

[mechanic]

I lean against it. Unless it's free, with more than 2 people in room. Or you are big dessert fans. We had qs plan , ended up cashing in 9 credits. Took 27 bb8 rice crispy treats home.
But seriously, one thing I would not like would be feeling like I had to order the expensive item instead of what I really want. We don't eat at table service every day, it takes too much time.
In your math, you priced oop breakfast, lunch and dinner, meal plan only covers 2 meals so did you add that cost in?
The convenience factor is nice, but generally no cash needs to be carried with a magic band. Satisfaction of everything being prepaid is the only real draw in my mind.

[buzznwoodysmom]

When my husband travels to Disney with us we get the dining plan. Only so that I don't have to hear him say how expensive everything is several times a day! If it is paid ahead of time = out of sight out of mind for DH! Lol. When we travel without hubby we don't get dining.

That said, we don't typically eat all that comes with the dining plan. We never order 4 desserts for our table at any restaurants on a normal basis. So if I base cost off of what we order we may come out ahead on the dining plan. If I base cost off of what we would normally eat we can do better without the dining plan. Seems like a lot of waste if you ask me.

[ChipDale2708]

We just came back from a week at WDW and I am now on the fence about the dining plan. I have been against it because I have thought the 2 of us do not eat enough to justify the price of the plan. We have been there w/ free dining and loved the convenience of it but again felt like it was too much food. This trip I kept every meal receipt typically a sit down and a quick service each day (and not the most expensive items) not including what we paid for snacks or beverages, and then priced out the dining plan - it came within about a $50 difference between out-of-pocket & the plan; the plan being more but my food total didn't include snacks or beverages. I have probably figured something wrong, but if I came somewhat close to this with further research, I will consider the dining plan next year. We felt the food prices this year had increased to the point where we actually paid attention and noticed the pinch.

[Dulcee]

For us the convenience factor usually wins out. I like having the bulk of the trip paid for in advance and not having to keep tabs on whats left on the gift card etc.

I think for us also $20-25 would be low for what we spend per person on dinner. DH generally gets the steak and I'm not usually far behind. For us though, a lot of the trip is about where we eat. If its not terribly important to you I can see where the dining plan becomes more of a "must get our money back" kind of situation.

Honestly the best trip we ever had was when we got free dining on our honeymoon trip and upgraded to the deluxe plan. We spent a small fortune on tips and alcohol but we still came out way ahead on the cost of food.

[princessgirls]

For our upcoming August trip, when I booked it it was at FULL price. No discounts, and NO "Free" Dining or room discounts...By far the most expensive trips of the 10 we have done. Ouch. I did include the dining, because you know I cut costs, I don't get a glass of wine when we take the kids out for dinner, I am mindful of stretching our dollars, but you know, for vacation, I want to eat and do what I want, so the Dining while NO CHEAPER than probably doing it out of pocket, has everyone eating well on vacation and the cost right up and front. I will not be sharing my lunch or drink, I will not be concerned with various costs of entree's that we want to order, and I will be using my disney reward dollars debit card for tips. And as luck would have it, a Dining promo came out and we saved $700 on the cost of our trip, and did not have to change our reservation. Now the dining is a "deal". It is not "free" but a good deal. Just my two cents....
Julie

[1DisneyNut]

For us the dining plan always costs more so we do out of pocket. Everyone vacations at WDW differently so it depends on how you vacation there. We don't go to WDW to eat, we go there to ride rides, see attractions and shows. Eating is just something that must be done while there. We also despise being tied to dining reservation times and trying to work our fun time around them and worrying if we have time for one more ride before we have to go to a reservation. Breakfast isn't included in the dining plan so that doesn't figure in. For lunch our cost is usually around $50 or so for the four of us. We do most dinners at counter service as well but ones other than the typical burgers. We typically have one or two sit down meals and because getting Dinner ADRs often requires reserving 6 months in advance we don't do them and instead just find something open at lunch or sometimes see if there is an opening available for dinner in the park we are in that day. We don't eat desserts or very many snacks and usually bring a few bottled waters and drinks in with us so we don't spend a whole lot of those items either.

We got free dining once and hated the ADR's so much, we cancelled all of them for the rest of the week on the second day and just winged it from there.

We drive down so we also jump in the car and go offsite to nice restaurants for dinner and sometimes drive to one of the beaches to a seafood restaurant. We have even left WDW a few times and drove over to City Walk at Universal to eat because you don't have to fool with 6 month ADR's over there.

So basically, we typically come out a little cheaper out of pocket but the main thing is we don't have to deal with the frustration of making ADR's 6 months out not knowing exactly what park we will be in on any given day and also we don't have them hanging over our heads every day and worrying about what time it is all afternoon. I mostly hate the dining plan for the same reasons I hate FP+....the preplanning and logistics of making it to them.

[Itchy]

We love the dining plan when it is free. I did some math about a year ago and it came out to about $700 for the 2 of us for 6 days if we paid for the dining plan. From that we decided that if we were not able to get free dining then we would just pay out of pocket.

For $700 we could by more food that we could eat.

So far we have not needed to use plan B for paying our of pocket.

Happy planning...

[IMADisneyFreak]

In your math, you priced oop breakfast, lunch and dinner, meal plan only covers 2 meals so did you add that cost in?
The convenience factor is nice, but generally no cash needs to be carried with a magic band. Satisfaction of everything being prepaid is the only real draw in my mind.

Good point, I overlooked the fact that I will still be paying for breakfast out of pocket even with the dining plan. I also did not take into consideration the fact that everything can be charged to the room and then pay the bill when the trip is over. Because I have never done that I guess I have it stuck in my head that I would need to carry cash when actually I don't need to.

Everyone has made good points which is exactly what I needed (I have never heard of allears and I will check that out). Keep the comments coming!

[joonyer]

Your right, the math doesn't lie. So, how long do you think Disney would offer the Dining plans if they were losing money on them? You can bet that Disney has done the math, and that they make a lot of money by selling the plans. Of course they make a healthy profit on selling all food and beverages under any format, but they wouldn't offer the dining plans if they lost money on them. They want you to buy the DDP, because the math shows that (on average) people buying the DP pay spend more for food than those who pay OOP for their food/drinks. We bought the DDP (once) for a six day trip (family of four), back when it included Appetizers and Gratuities. we enjoyed it, but it was far more food than we would have ever ordered paying out of pocket. On our next trip, we went for the same length of time and spent about $600.00 less on our food for the week than what we had paid for the DP. Granted, we did not order the same quantity or eat in the same places, but we ate what we wanted (with our budget in mind). Since then, we have used the DDP only when it was free and we had to pay peak room rates anyway due to holiday season.

The bottom line: Use the DDP if you want to, but don't be fooled into thinking you are getting a bargain or a discount, unless you are a big spender, TS meal every day, kind of family anyway.

[IMADisneyFreak]

Your right, the math doesn't lie. So, how long do you think Disney would offer the Dining plans if they were losing money on them? You can bet that Disney has done the math, and that they make a lot of money by selling the plans.

True, and another good way of putting it in perspective. As more people respond to this post the more I intend on researching my other options. If I simply put the money aside instead of paying it up front as part of my package I might find that we come out ahead. And I would just charge meals to the room, keep track of our meal cost and stay within budget. But...the DDP makes it so easy...lol

[mgmnut]

We used to always get the dining plan for the conveinience and thought cost was right in line. Downside, We all walked around like ticks about to pop with all the food on the plan. We did one trip out of pocket, ate what we wanted when we wanted and did not look at prices etc. Everything went on the card linked to the room, even snacks, sodas, waters. etc. In the end we had saved a bunch over what the plan would have cost. We have since always been ala cart on the following trips.

[TheDuckRocks]

Before I retired I was an accountant. If money comes into play for anything I have a budget and a spreadsheet for it. I even keep past records of what we spend each trip (about 2 ten night stays each year). Sometimes we use the DDP, sometimes Tables in Wonderland and often just pay out of pocket.
Here are a few things I have learned:
1) If you use the DDP and use every credit to it's fullest you will be money ahead. If not you will probably break even, unless you go home with unused credits.
2) There are reasons other than money to use the DDP. Convenience, it sure is nice to just fling your arm out. Traveling with older kids, here's the menu you get an entrée, beverage and dessert - figure it out. When you are gifting a trip to others.
3) When we pay out of pocket it has always been less expensive.
4) My personal pet peeve - to many desserts and snacks.

[VacationDisney]

We use the dining plan when free and not free. We look forward to a relaxing TS meal after the end of a busy day at the park. Always have. Always will.

I went to the restaurants that we would be eating at for dinner and added up what the 2 of us would order for dinner. I order what I want and don't care about the price. I am on vacation after all. I will tell you that neither of us order steak, which, at most places, is the most expensive item on the menu. Having done this and taking into account that we share, sometimes the CS credit for lunch, we make out ahead of the game. We pay OOP for breakfast.

It's worth it for us but understand if it doesn't work for everyone.

Hope this helps!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

We are fans of the dining plan but for us it's mostly the convenience factor and not having to worry if I have enough money to order what I really want. We will probably always use the plan for those reasons. Having said that I will say the value has gone down since we first starting using it. The first time we used it was in 2005 and not only was the entrée and dessert included but it also included an appetizer and tips. They took appetizer and tips off the next trip we took and lowered the price like $1 per person, not a huge savings really. Every year since then the price has gone up. They are now including the refillable mug so that makes it a little better if you are big soda or coffee drinker.

[HoosierDisneyFan]

This type of post is a reoccurring theme on the forum for many, many, many years. I always find it a little funny. You have your "DDP is a waste crowd" and your "we love DDP crowd". The true answer is it all depends. Frankly if you pick to be on the DDP or not should not it should not matter to fellow WDW fans but somehow it does. Here are things we like about DDP that go beyond "the math" but bottom line is that everyone should make their choice based on what matters to your family.

1) The food is prepaid. If we were paying out of pocket I would probably buy the less expensive items on the menu (ie get the chicken instead of the steak reasoning). I would be thinking about the cost (thinking how much items cost and if the "extra" for the expensive menu item was worth it) instead of enjoying my vacation with my family. But with DDP I can get whatever I want on the menu and not worry about the price (because it is prepaid).

2) Dessert! We generally do not have dessert with every lunch and every dinner (does anyone?) throughout the year. BUT we are on vacation and it is fun to have dessert with our meal. If we were paying out of pocket we would not order dessert for most Disney meals but we can on the DDP because it is already included / paid for.

3) Restaurant selection. Again if paying out of pocket we would likely weigh the cost of the restaurant into the equation of where to eat. With the DDP we select the restaurant we want to eat at without regard of prices (with the exception of the 2 credit restaurants which we can always pay out of pocket if we choose).

4) Snacks. Some how the cost of snacks seldom is discussed in these posts. It is fun to have your favorite snack (dole whip, cupcake, pretzel, popcorn, etc.) throughout the day. Even if you have "left over" snack credits you can get package items at the resort gift shop for the ride / flight home.

5) Refillable resort mugs. Some people love them (we generally use them once a day). Other people could care less but it is an added benefit of DDP.

So do we save money? Depends if you are comparing the cost of DDP vs the items actually ordered OR the cost of DDP versus the cost of the items you would have ordered not being on the DDP. I know we order more food on the DDP than if we would have not on the plan. But this is part of the vacation fun for our family. I would say we do not save money on DDP but our enjoyment of WDW is increased dramatically. Isn't this why we are on vacation?

[IMADisneyFreak]

This type of post is a reoccurring theme on the forum for many, many, many years. I always find it a little funny. You have your "DDP is a waste crowd" and your "we love DDP crowd". The true answer is it all depends....

...I would say we do not save money on DDP but our enjoyment of WDW is increased dramatically. Isn't this why we are on vacation?

Excellent reasoning, and at the end of the day that is what it is all about. I figured that the topic has been discussed many times on this site but I wanted to get a perspective on whether I was missing something. To me, it is all about the numbers and what you pay but your comment "Isn't this why we are on vacation" holds true. I still plan on checking out the menu's to get an idea of what we would pay oop but I can also end the debate by simply buying the dining plan and go have fun!