Disney Dining Plan Fans

[Cindy's Mom]

Be honest - is the plan really that much of a hassle - I was just reading another thread and so many posters were saying that won't do the plan because its too much to keep track of?

What is there to keep track of? Your remaining credits are printed on your receipt and you order basically whatever you want. IMO it is just the complete opposite of "hassle" to us it was a no-brainer...

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

Wasnt a hassle for us. I think it is what you make of it.

 

[sistertrip]

I think people want to make sure they're "getting a good deal."

We're getting the free dining this trip, but I might pay for it in the future just for the sake of having all of the meals payed for before my trip. It might be silly, but it makes it feel more magical to spend less money while I'm actually in WDW.

 

[kaybird]

I agree, think people make it too hard. The other HUGE benefit to us is having everything pre-paid, so no on trip stress about what things cost. We eat well, have a great time, and there is something for everyone. Have always made ADR's to cut down on wait time, which gives us more park time.

Have loved nearly every incarnation of the dining plans. (food makes me happy

 

[The Sweetness]

I agree that it is less stressfull to have the DDP and have meals inc (at least 2+ a snack if not sharing)

 

[MsLeFever]

It might be silly, but it makes it feel more magical to spend less money while I'm actually in WDW.

Not silly at all! I totally agree. (ok - maybe I'm silly too)

I am totally looking forward to ordering what I want to eat and not even looking at the price.

 

[munchkin bunchkin]

For us( a family of 4 ) no it's not.I actually enjoy the DDP because it gives us the opportunity to eat at restaurants we normally wouldn't due to cost.I figure it hurts less to pay in advance for meals then pay" on the spot".And I also love to plan where and when we're going to eat(makes the planning much more fun), infact I have had our itinerary all done since May and we aren't going until the end of August!

 

[hamlet35_2000]

Not silly at all! I totally agree. (ok - maybe I'm silly too)

I am totally looking forward to ordering what I want to eat and not even looking at the price.

This is what we liked about the plan as well--not having to worry about the prices of what we were going to eat. And all of that food..... yummmmm....

 

[LoveWDW]

I enjoyed not thinking about the cost of the food while at WDW. We ordered what we wanted, not the most expensive, but we saved half on food costs.

 

[The Sweetness]

In Ts that arent all you can eat, you can also save by sharing meals (unless your fam always orders their own ap and dessert. In mine, we share these things. By sharing, it would free up an extra credit for another meal

 

[hapinowagain]

We are staying at the campground in a small motorhome. However, I "suggested" to my husband that we purchase the dining plan because there is no way I will feel like cooking at the end of the day. After all, we are senior citizens!

 

[Magical JenK]

We loved the DDP! I thought it was very easy to use & didn't feel restricted at all! We are all set for this year's trip w/DDP again! ADRs are all set! Only real "problem" is waiting until the trip for our favorite meals!!

 

[LizinSTL]

Be honest - is the plan really that much of a hassle - I was just reading another thread and so many posters were saying that won't do the plan because its too much to keep track of?

What is there to keep track of? Your remaining credits are printed on your receipt and you order basically whatever you want. IMO it is just the complete opposite of "hassle" to us it was a no-brainer...

It was absolutely easy to use. We ate when we wanted, what we wanted and if it wasn't covered, we paid (never surprised us though).

We shared most CS meals because they were just too much food to eat in one sitting in the heat.

The only thing I'd have done differently is to call midweek and try to get into the Ohana breakfast since my older dd was suddenly stitch-obsessed. It didn't occur to me to do that since we had all our TS meals set already. It's something to look forward to on our next trip! )

 

[budbeerlady]

We love the DDP!!!!! You eat dinner, get lunch and a snack basically for free in our minds. I love it that our meals are paid for, I love it that I eat at places I wouldnt have before. Your receipt tells you what you have left, it is very easy!!!!!

 

[kcashner]

We loved the plan and didnt feel it was any hassle at all. Of course, my goal was NOT to see how much of a good deal I could get out of the plan. It was to eat what we wanted and to enjoy it.

There are people who make a big deal out of where to get the most "bang for the buck." OK, we each have our own interests, but this one definitely takes more work. We did share some CS, but again we went where we wanted and ordered what we wanted. We shared only when it made sense from the amount of food available and the fact that Mom (me) eats very little at lunch if planning on dinner.

You do have to make ADRs, but you have to do that if you are planning on any sort of "sit down" meals at WDW--on or off the plan.

I liked knowing that it was all paid for in advance and that I wasn't cringing when DD ordered steak 3 days in a row. I liked the convenience of just tracking meals, not $. With a little sharing in the first 2 days, I knew we had plenty of CS and snacks to last the entire trip. We ended up with extras and got some "to go" food for the airport.

No way it was a hassle, and I'd do it again in a second.

 

[buzzmom3]

For us, it was easier to use the DDP. Like most of the Disers, I am an insane planner, so it wasn't hard for me to keep track of credits. Plus, we get to eat at places we wouldn't normally go with a 4 year old. And, I don't have to worry about price!

 

[Shagley]

There was a thread on the Resort board where someone said that they were paying rack rate for their room (in a Deluxe resort) during the free dining period, but they declined the free dining because they didn't want to deal with it Now, I would understand not getting the free dining when you are in a Deluxe resort because a room discount (AAA or APH) would probably be a better deal, but this was not the case. This person paid RACK RATE for the room, but still declined the free dining. To each their own, but I would LOVE to make enough $$ that I could turn down something like free food for a week at Disneyworld because "I don't want to have to deal with it" (but even if I made that much $$, I still wouldn't turn it down).

 

[disneyjunkie]

We loved the plan and didnt feel it was any hassle at all. Of course, my goal was NOT to see how much of a good deal I could get out of the plan. It was to eat what we wanted and to enjoy it.

When we used the plan last year, we ordered what we wanted and what we knew we would eat. There were times we had chicken and times when we had steak.

This year I booked the free dining plan. If I didn't drive myself crazy trying to max out the plan when I paid for it, there's no way I'm going to do that when it's free.

With the free dining plan I figure if we each eat one cracker, then I've come out ahead.


It's very easy to keep track of your credits.

I hope Disney offers free dining again next summer.

 

[Redwitch]

I love the dining plan. We had it free last fall, bought it in January and have it free again this fall.

We would eat a TS everyday even without the plan. That is our "rest" as we do not go back to the resort. Keeping track of it is not a hassle. Your receipts include your remaining credits and the resort can print you out a list of what you've used and where you used it if you get "befuddled." (I'm a planner, I pretty much have all the TS and CS assigned to resteraunts already.)

DD almost always orders Salmon, and I live to say "Darn, I have to have filet again!" It is so much fun to not worry about the prices when you look at the menu.

 

[hansel1]

Most of the folks that gripe about the disney dining plan haven't used it yet. It is very easy to say the plan "isn't for me" just by saying you would only eat at 2 table service credit restaurants. I could also say that I want only items not included in the plan.

I loved the DDP and plan to use it everytime i go. I don't feel cheated by the restaurant i can choose from and I plan accordingly if I want to use a 2ts restaurant.