Disney dining plan--Am I looking at this correctly?
 

Okay, I'm sure everyone is sick of talking about this (and yes, I've looked at allears and disboards, etc.), BUT I wanted an opinion of whether or not I am looking at this correctly.

We are going to Disney in March, me, my husband and our 10-year old. I have been successful in making reservations and we will eat at a sit-down restaurants every night but one (which is good because one of restaurants, Flying Fish, will take two dining credits). I am now leaning against the dining plan for two main reasons: one, my daughter is charged as an adult and while I wish I could say she is a sophisticated eater, she will be mostly ordering off the children's menu, and 2) it includes dessert with every meal and we really don't eat dessert (I think when we went to Disney before and used the DDP you could order an appetizer instead of dessert).

So what I did was, I looked at all the menus and guessed what we would order, estimated how much breakfasts and lunches cost and totaled that up and it came to $100 less than what the DDP will cost. We aren't big snackers either, although I think you can get bottled water as a DDP snack. Am I missing something in how to figure this out?

Thank you for indulging this long post--if you have an opinion or can tell me how it worked out for your family, I'd love to hear about.

Thanks in advance from a totally snowed in Mary in D.C. who has this to obsess about. . .

Everybody has their own algorithm. If you looked up the menus and factored in tips and taxes and whatever and came out ahead OOP then that is what you should do. When we last went, we did the dining plan and I did the math and it made sense for us. Mostly as we were doing lots of character meals and buffets. I have small kids but they are big eaters with sophisticated appetites. OOP would have been more (but just barely) so it was better for us with the plan.

I know some people like the plan as then they don't have to think too much about money while there. They take comfort in knowing that everything is paid already. It helps with their saving and planning.

I think you analyzed the plan far better than Disney wants people to. If it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work.

We used the a dining plan a few summers ago because it was a bonus offering during a slow period for WDW. It worked great for us. but we do eat dessert and my kids will eat anything including snails.

We didn't take the dining plan either as we wanted flexibility to eat outside of Disney and it worked out cheaper too.
We don't eat dessert either but I do think we would have eaten more food if we were on the dining plan (not a good thing IMO!).

Our last experience with the dining plan was consistent with your estimate. The upside to the dining plan is the "vacation mentality". You can go where you want, get what you want and not restrain yourself to what you usually would get. The dining plan is an extravagance, not an economy.

Though we've never done the dining option, I am not surprised with your findings. Disney travel "packages" are often not the least expensive option. However, as noted above, we have found them to nice treat / splurge.

We haven't done the dining plan because I figured out it would be more food than we would eat otherwise. You will not go hungry if you don't do the dining plan.

thanks everybody--as you can tell snowbound with lots of time on our hands :)

appreciate all the replies!

Mary in snowy D.C.

The only reason we do the dining plan is because our "kids" are 17,21 & 23 and eat a LOT. Here are the pluses & minuses on the DDP. Pluses-- 1.) You can eat at restaurants you wouldn't normally eat at. Le Cellier in Canada at EPcot was great! But I wouldn't have spent the money on our own. Our bill for the 5 of us was $260 (which of course we didn't have to pay). Likewise we enjoyed eating at several other "fancy" places. 2.)You don't have to worry about what you can or can't afford on the menu. Order whatever you want. 3.)Since you prepay for the plan, there are no surprises on your credit card when you get home.(Except for #1 below)
Minuses-- 1.) You STILL have to pay the tip! And as I recall its 18% figured for you. That was another 50 bucks$ for our pricey meal! The first time we used the DDP (several years ago) the tip was included. Not any more. 2.) You will eat a LOT less if you're not on the DDP. There's no way around that. We even had a hard time using up all the snacks because we weren't hungry after such huge meals. 3.)You will probably spend more money on the DDP than if you were buying your own food.
That being said, with our family circumstances I would still buy the DDP again. With yours, probably not.

ag swimmer--in your case, yes, the plan makes good sense and for me 3 years ago, when my daughter was still a "child" which, of course, she still is(!), but I think not now.

Thanks again!

Mary

We did the dining plan once and would never do it again.

1) There were simply some days where we found out we didn't really want to eat a TS meal. credits were wasted.

2) Now that the tip is no longer included we don't save as much money.

3) We generally don't eat dessert when at disney. Maybe because we enjoy getting mickey bars or some other treat during the day. We love visiting Main street bakery in MK or France's Passterie in Epcot so we save room for those treats.

Eliza--good points all!

Thank you

Tips are not included in the DDP.

I found the dining plan worth it.

4 of us, mature women, went to DW in Jan. We had the counter service dining plan becauce one of us loved it. I would not do it again: too much fast food, no flexibility, you have to be in a park to eat. It seemed we were planning more around meals than activites. Maybe you have to with young childre. Many of my Disney-holic friends say what was once a great deal is no longer so good. I would not do it again. To burn up snacks, we all carried home 5 or 6 rice krispy treats. I'd rather have had the money to buy a beer or glass of wine.

We have gone to Disney numerous times with our kids. From our perspective, we find it a better option to pay for the Club level service at one of their deluxe resorts as that covers our breakfast, sometimes dinner, and drinks. After a full day at the parks, you can't put a price on that last option.