Saved money not on dining plan

[AllDisney]

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

[cuteduck223]

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.

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

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

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.

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.

[epceddie]

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.

[joonyer]

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.

[DizneyFreak2002]

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.

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...

[azcavalier]

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.

[Jillirose]

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!

[DonaldDuckUSA]

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.

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.