First trip to Disney

[cypressaggie 0]

I am looking for some advice for the dining plan. I am leaning toward the standard dining plan. I know we will eat at the trailer, so was thinking that we will to enjoy some of the 2 credit restaurants. Looking for advice on how other campers do the dining plan. I am not going to be spending my time at Disney fixin elaborate meals, but I can take something out of the freezer, etc and throw it together. I am looking forward to eating at some of the great restaurants.

Suggestion are very welcome. Can't wait to get to the Fort and Disney, we have never been before.

Liz

[HappyCamper...Deb 61]

WELCOME LIZ!!!!! :)

I'm not exactly an expert on the dining plan topic, but I'm sure someone here will be ready to help you.

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

We went to Ohana last week, it was awesome!

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

One think I would suggest is to look at purchasing one AP and comparing the discounted rates of the sites and being able to add the dining plan or purchasing the tables in wonderland card and comparing prices.

We have done the deluxe and it is WAY TOO MUCH. You will end up dreading having to eat!

I know others have done the regular plan and will come along to help. One con of the plan is that you have to plan to eat. It can complicate things or make it easier! When are you going? If it is during holiday periods, you will definitely need to make reservations.

[cypressaggie 0]

next summer arriving June 20th,

[Brent... Just Brent 83]

I've done the deluxe and the regular. It's a lot of food. And with the regular, the TS credits are the catch. They also include a dessert. That's even more food and something I wouldn't normally order. I did the math and it just didn't make sense for me the last few trips. Then again, I'm not in the parks all the time, so I just eat when I feel like it at the site or when I'm out and about.

[Onkel Hans 25]

BradyBzLyn has in the past posted some informative links to the Disney Food Blog that covered Disney Dining Plan snacks, single-credit dining, and a guide for kids on the DDP; from the Touring Plans Blog she linked the worst value table service.

I think she posted one about two-credit dining, but I can't seem to find it. I believe the conventional wisdom is that using the DDP for two-credit dining is not the greatest value because you rarely get a meal at a signature restaurant that is twice the value of what you could get at a regular table service.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Excellent recap of info, Onkel Hans - thanks! :D

We haven't done the DDP in a while, but one of the things we enjoyed most about it was taking advantage of some signature dining and trying places we wouldn't have normally if we were paying out of pocket. Unless you're consistently ordering the cheapest thing on the menu, you can definitely maximize your money there.

In general I'd say that it's not worth the money if you have people in your party that are going to order burgers and chicken every time. In that case you may be better off paying out of pocket. I usually tell people to "crunch the numbers" - look at menus online and do up a sample of a few days of how you'd NORMALLY eat and what it would cost you, then compare it to the cost of the DDP and what you'd get there, factoring in that you still need to pay the gratuity on top of that.

We did an apples to apples comparison last year and it turned out that, for the way we like to eat on vacation, even with some signature meals thrown in, the DDP wasn't worth the money for us. In our case we have APs and a TiW card, and the discount there made it much cheaper to just pay out of pocket.

It also gave us the flexibility to eat when and where we wanted. The 2 things we grew tired of with the DDP were the amount of food (we're "good eaters" and it was still too much for us) and that we felt like we were scheduling our entire trip around dining reservations.

One thing to consider with Disney Dining in general, and the DDP in particular, is that you'll need to be sure and book ADRs for your TS meals ahead of time. And when it comes to some of the most popular places, you'll want to make them right at the 180 day mark if you possibly can. It took us 3 years/trips of trying to finally get an ADR for Le Cellier!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

My brother recently had the dining plan and said he felt like he was a slave to it. He stated he and his wife always felt like they had to order the most expensive items and dessert so they felt like they were getting there money's worth. Sometimes you just want something light or maybe a burger. He stated they were always more concerned with using all their "credits" than just walking around and enjoying themselves.....if you will be staying at the Fort, (or off property camping) you could always eat breakfast before you go to the parks and pack a lunch to take with you......then you would only need to be concerned with dinner. Just something to consider. We usually do this to save on money bc you are right....everything WDW related is expensive.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Plus if we are gonna spend money on food at the parks, we want to use it on dole whips, cinnamon rolls, popcorn, ice cream, etc!

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

...they were always more concerned with using all their "credits" than just walking around and enjoying themselves...

This was us too, and it's a big part of what eventually turned us off. I think if you can be ok with the fact that you may NOT use all your credits, and that it's still worth the money for you, it can work. But if you're like us and want to make sure you're getting every last penny out of it, maybe not.

I have to say though, the last time we used it we saved our meal receipts to see what we got for what we paid and we came out waaaaaaay ahead.

BUT... that was before they started making you pay the gratuity out of pocket, we did some signature dining and we definitely tended towards ordering the more expensive stuff on the menu.

I still think the "worth it" question comes down to how your party wants to eat and what they eat.

For example, last year we thought that since we were going to be there for F&W the entire time, we might do the QS plan to take advantage of the fact that you can use snack credits for most F&W items, and we don't often use up all the snack credits anyway.

So I crunched the numbers in general and it turned out that when we factored in the other meals we were likely to have, it was still cheaper to go the TiW discount and out of pocket route.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

We never get the dining plan if we have to pay for it. However, if the timing is right, we will stay at a value resort on occasion and get the FREE dining plan. (If it's time to get new Annual Passes anyway). (We pay the 11 bucks a night to upgrade from quick service). However, our problem even with the free plan, is that we actually eat 2 sit downs a day. We have a late sit down breakfast, and a late sit down dinner, so it's hard to get Rick to adjust to using the counter service credits for breakfast, and we always have some left.