Disney Dining Plans

We use the deluxe dining plan. I am not sure that it saves us that much money, but it gives us one less thing to worry about while we are on vacation. We know how many points we have and make our adrs, so then the only money we have to keep track of is for tips and things we want to buy. I like to keep things simple.

We love the DDP. It allows you to prepay your entire trip, you only need to really worry about money for "prizes". The DDP allows you to make dinner reservations 180 prior to your trip, this allows us to make reservations at our favorite places and new places. We get the DDP plus, gives us one sit down and one quick meal plus a snack for every day we are staying at the disney resort. When you arrive at disney your meals are added to your "key to the world".
I am someone who gets excited at disney and i sometimes forget to eat which then causes me to be sick. But by prepaying and pre booking reservations it reminds me to eat.When i go this year i am going to calcaulate how much my food would cost me if i didnt have the dinning plan.

I love the Deluxe Dining Plan. When I go on vacation I don't want to have to worry about money, I prefer everything be pre-paid and taken care of. The deluxe dining plan just makes that easier for me. The kids (all teens) can order whatever they want, even if it's the most expensive thing on the menu. I never have to say no to desserts because the bill is getting to high.

With our large family everyone can try many things on the menu. It is frequently WAY too much food for us, yes. However we don't have to worry about agreeing on things If I want bruchetta as an appetizer, and the kids want mozzarella sticks, then that's what we get because one for everyone is already included. If I don't want to share my cheesecake, I don't have to. If we want to have a huge brunch in the late morning, that means we're usually headed to a 2 credit meal for dinner. This way we can catch a dinner show or eat fine dining and I never ever have to worry about the cost because it's already paid for.

So, here's the thing. A lot of people questions the "value" of this plan only in terms of saving money. I don't worry about getting the most bang for my buck. I don't believe that you have to eat everything, if you don't want an appetizer, just don't order it. If you're too full for dessert skip it, or have them pack it up and you ca have a snack later. Don't order the most expensive thing just to get the most bang for the buck. The deluxe dining plan should free you to eat how you want to without having to worry about anything. You don't have to make a table service reservation for every meal, but if you want to go right ahead.

For me, though it does save us money, it's really about saving time, worry, and adding luxury. It's easy to use, and for me that's the most important thing.

We always go during free dining plan so yes
Saves us a BOATLOAD of money

JustCar, could you explain what the "free dining plan" is? Sorry- kinda new to this whole dining plan thing

we also use the free dining (my fiance and I both have huge appetites so its great for us and saved us huge money!)

Disney Offers Free disney dining plan for select dates during the value season (September usually)

if you stay at a value resort you get the quick service dining plan for free (2 cs, 1 snack, and 1 refillable mug), if you stay at a mod or delux you get the standard dining plan (1 ts, 1cs, 1 snack and a refillable mug)

I love the dining plan and use it every trip including our annual F & W fest trip. We use all our snack credits to eat our way around EPCOT then do TS or QS at other parks or the resort.
As people above said it's prepaid and one less thing I have to think of when plann my trip
Dee

The dining plan isnt for everyone. Will it save you money? Yes and no. The best bang for your buck are the Ohana's and such which are one credit, but the meals are $45. When its not worth it is say you go to Mama Melrose, and just order a salad or something for $20. So it just depends.

I enjoy it because its one less thing I have to worry about while at Disney. Its payed for. All you have to worry about is tip, and/or alcoholic drinks. Just hand them your room key, and your good to go. So will it save you money? Depends on you to be honest... but it is just one less thing you have to worry about when your at Disney, and it allows you to sit back and enjoy your vacation.

Exactly! Simple as that! Plus if you like to eat & like really good food, you have plenty of credits to have a few Signature meals and not go hungry the rest of the trip. We are not real counter service people. Part of the vacation for us is the fine dining. Thats a really fun part when you are "Grownup", and isn't that what this site is really about!

I, too, like the idea of prepaying for my meals. I like not having to worry about how much the bill is. I planned out my meals last year to put together tip envelopes for each meal. I saved money with the dining plan. Not a huge amount but I saw a savings based on what I planned for.

Exactly, exactly! We like the dining plan and have had it "free" and not. Either way, we like the ease of it, that recurring "One less thing to worry about" everyone has posted about. We have done the math several times just to be sure and for the most part, we do save a little or at the least break even. That said, it has never cost us more than we would normally spend.

I think that Disney does the math, too, and wants it to be a BIT of savings for the visitor without undercutting the 'margin' for them too much. They are tricksy that way!!!

I also want to note that you can upgrade to the next plan, you just have to pay the difference between the plans.

The free dining periods are nice, but when they run those you're always paying rack rate for your hotel room. At the same time they often run hotel discounts. Sometimes you can save more money paying for dining and taking the hotel discount, depending on the hotel you're staying in. That usually works best at the deluxe resorts. A good TA will hep you decided which way is best for your family.

As a DVC Member I don't really get to enjoy free dining, but I do love that we're able to add on the DDP as we want to.

We did the dining plan on our trip for a few reasons, one being the same as most on here, I liked the freedom of not having to worry about food budget. It was awesome to have it taken care of. I know lots of people argue the value of it but what really made it valuable to us was... the places we got to eat at. Andy and I knew that if all meals were coming out of pocket we would only do counter service for fear of spending to much money. Having the dining plan let us experience places we would never have step foot into, such as California Grill, and that makes it all worth it in my eyes.

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*Jennifer Lynn* NDW #38

Check out my blog at Jennifer's Disney Adventures

We love the dining plan because it takes the away of the worry of having enough money to eat here or there and the amount of food you get is fantastic plus not having to cook or buy groceries just makes a vacation all the sweeter. We have found that we always have more than enough enough to eat at meals plus the snacks makes the dining plan a great way to go.

Poppet - Have our answers helped you at all? What are your thoughts on the dining plan?

I have nothing against the dining plan, but I find it only saves me money when I can get it for "free." Otherwise I'd rather pay as I go.