Alternative to the Dining Plan About This Page:

[WDWHarpua]

Hello everyone,

I wanted to post today because I see questions about the Dining plan just about every day, and the main question is, "Is it worth it?"

My simple answer to that question is always, "Maybe." It may be worth it to you, but it may not be worth it. There's no real hard-pat answer to that question . I'll give two examples from my personal life.

In December 2010, I went on a 4 day, three night trip with my Girlfriend to experience Disney during the Holidays. We had the Deluxe Dining plan, and after doing the math, we spent more money by upgrading the plan than we would have if we had paid out of pocket for each meal. We also probably would have chosen different meals and spent even less if we had been paying out of pocket.

That said, It was TOTALLY worth it. because we tried food we wouldn't normally have tried, and we broadened our culinary horizons. We ate at some great restaurants and that made our trip more special to us. (yes, we could have eaten there anyway and paid out of pocket, but that's not the point, the point is we had no fear about what we ordered because it was already paid for)


In April 2011, We took a trip with My parents, My sister and Brother-in-law and nephew(10). We all decided to do the Dining plan and I scheduled one TS meal per day. For Beth and I, it was great. For Mom and Dad, They probably spent too much. They generally share a meal and so they were getting two meals and eating half of them. So it wasn't a great plan for them. For My Sister, It was worth it as my nephew eats like a linebacker... But She hated the regimented schedule of having to be at a restaurant every night at a certain time. She wants to just do her thing. The problem with that is that you aren't guaranteed availability at any TS restaurant if you don't book them 6 months out...

That said, on our next trip I'm planning an experiment. We're going to find out how much the Dining plan would cost, then put that money on a Gift card, and only use that gift card for meals and snacks. +20% for tips, of course. I think we'll wind up with money left over.

On the dining plan, we tended to buy the most expensive item on the menu just to "make it worth it" and we got our desserts, which we didn't always eat... So if we're paying out of pocket, I think more often we'll only buy what we want. Maybe one night we'll share a couple appetizers and a dessert, and not even get an entree. Maybe another night we'll skip the appetizers and desserts and just get an entree. I have a feeling that we'll save by doing this.

So, my alternative to the Dining plan is to build your own dining plan. Some people JUST get the dining plan because they pay up front and don't have to worry about paying when they're there, and it feels more "All inclusive" But I counter that if you buy the gift card in advance, you're doing the same thing. It's all paid up front, and the gift card is just like having a "meal card"

The last thing I want to point out is this: If you buy alcohol, don't forget to factor that into your pricing, as alcohol isn't covered in the Dining plan, so you can't expect to use the same gift card and still see a savings if you're adding alcohol to it. Maybe ask the server for a separate bill for the Alcohol and pay with another method.

[phoebec]

I like your idea. We got the deluxe plan last trip and really liked it. I'm not sure we got the most out of it for the money, but we liked the flexibility and the "no worries" aspect of it. I am very interested to see how your experiment works out.

[kurtholley]

Will be watching for the outcome of this was going to keep track this trip of what we eat. we would eat the same thing if on the plan or not so maybe next year might do the GC thing good idea

[katydid]

Great idea! I'm looking forward to seeing how your experiment turns out. This sounds like it might be a very good alternative to purchasing the Dining Plan. (I'm one who likes having the peace of mind of having our dining pre-paid.)

[panixx]

We had the Deluxe Dining Plan this past December and it was really nice not having to worry about paying for meals.

I do feel it took alot of time out of the parks for us though.
We also felt like we were constantly eating as there was way too much food.

Currently we are debating doing the regular dining plan, tables in wonderland, or just paying out of pocket for our trip in October this year.

[chezp]

Interesting idea - I look forward to hearing how your experiment pans out.

[Professor_Whistleteeth]

Cool idea. I am looking forward to seeing the results of your experiment.

One thought crosses my mind though when I hear the discussions about buying a gift card for all the dining. If I lose my KTTW and I am at a restaurant, anyone in my party can use their key and still have access to the dining plan until I can get my key replaced at the resort. If I lose my gift card I have no such protection. It is like losing the cash. So I think that should factor into the value analysis. After all, relaxation and peace of mind on a vacation is one of the main reasons for going on a vacation.

[CurtInKS]

IMO, the dining plan for us is more about cash flow than savings. We are hoping to get the free dining for our trip, but if not, what we have been weighing is, what will be easier for us, saving back enough to pay for each meal individually once we are at the park, or giving that money to Disney instead and having those meals paid for. I'm sure this isn't a problem for many here and many of the posters here do some pretty extravagant trips. But we are a paycheck to paycheck family, so for us it might be easier to do the dining plan rather than hope we are able to hold only that much money from now until September. Like I told my wife last night, we could give $20 a week to Disney until the dining plan is paid for, or try and save back $20 a week. Which is more likely to be there in September?

[Colexis Mom]

I like your idea. I have about $800 Disney reward points that I'm cashing in before our trip, and will use that for our meals. The DDP doesn't really work for us, both for time constraints, and the costs (2 kids that are now "adults" who don't eat all that much)!

[WDWHarpua]

Originally Posted by CurtInKS

IMO, the dining plan for us is more about cash flow than savings. We are hoping to get the free dining for our trip, but if not, what we have been weighing is, what will be easier for us, saving back enough to pay for each meal individually once we are at the park, or giving that money to Disney instead and having those meals paid for. I'm sure this isn't a problem for many here and many of the posters here do some pretty extravagant trips. But we are a paycheck to paycheck family, so for us it might be easier to do the dining plan rather than hope we are able to hold only that much money from now until September. Like I told my wife last night, we could give $20 a week to Disney until the dining plan is paid for, or try and save back $20 a week. Which is more likely to be there in September?

Remember Free dining isn't the only discount that's available. If they offer a room discount during your timeframe, it may be more of a savings to take that discount. Though when adding kids to the mix, the free dining is almost always a better savings. For us, since we're just two adults, getting the 35% room discount would be a bigger savings, and then putting the Dining plan money on the gift card is a way to make it not feel so regimented when we're there, but I get the peace of mind of having it paid for in advance.

[Dave Marx]

I like your approach a lot.

Speaking purely from the scientific research perspective, you do run a risk of biasing the test in favor of the preferred result - either running out of money because you want DDP to win, or intentionally spending less than you might have in order to ensure you don't run out of money on the card (staying within budget).

But that said, if the card helps you to maintain your meal budget, and at the same time you ate as well as you wanted to... It's still a winning strategy in my book!

[WDWHarpua]

Originally Posted by Dave Marx

I like your approach a lot.

Speaking purely from the scientific research perspective, you do run a risk of biasing the test in favor of the preferred result - either running out of money because you want DDP to win, or intentionally spending less than you might have in order to ensure you don't run out of money on the card (staying within budget).

But that said, if the card helps you to maintain your meal budget, and at the same time you ate as well as you wanted to... It's still a winning strategy in my book!

I think it's all a personal preference thing rather than a scientific method thing. For me it'll probably work great, because on DDP we ordered so much food which we didn't eat. We felt forced into ordering expensive meals over what we REALLY wanted at some meals. For some people they only order what they're going to eat anyway. There's no 100% surefire plan for everyone, but I think this'll work for My needs. As they say, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).

[kurtholley]

After thinking about this more I think tonight I am going to fiqure out if it is a savings for us. I have a Itunes app WDW Dining and it has all the restaurant menu's with prices in it. We already have the reg. dining plan for our upcoming trip and all of our ADR's. We would pick the same thing to eat on the plan or not so should be easy to fiqure out. I know even with the DP we are going to have more OOP things added. that I will consider also,Daughter LOVES the crab cakes at OKW and appitizers don't come with the DP so will be OOP.

[debic]

Originally Posted by Professor_Whistleteeth

Cool idea. I am looking forward to seeing the results of your experiment.

One thought crosses my mind though when I hear the discussions about buying a gift card for all the dining. If I lose my KTTW and I am at a restaurant, anyone in my party can use their key and still have access to the dining plan until I can get my key replaced at the resort. If I lose my gift card I have no such protection. It is like losing the cash. So I think that should factor into the value analysis. After all, relaxation and peace of mind on a vacation is one of the main reasons for going on a vacation.

We use the KTTW card to charge to room and then use the gift card to pay the charges so there is no risk of losing the gift card. Keeps that peace of mind!

[mcc0313]

I think it is a great idea, I definitely look forward to hearing the results. We were always DDP people but with my youngest now an adult, we decided to try another method last trip. I had an AP so we went with the TIW card...we came out cheaper with the TIW then the DDP, plus I think we ate more how we liked to eat. We had appitizers when we wanted to, we split meals, we went without desserts if nothing caught our eye. Definitely was a lesson learned