Do you BUY the meal plan?

[mickeyluv'r]

At first I though it sounded like agreat deal, but it forces you to eat a complete meal - Appetizer, entree, dessert - in one sitting. We don't like eating that way. For people who say it saves money, I think - they aren't really comparing apples to apples, because they too could get by with far less food.

The other thing I found, for us, was that any savings we might have gained by the DDP was far surpassed by getting an Annual Pass discount off our rooms, esp. when combined withthe savings we got form the Disney Dining Experience card. When we go to FL, we usually go in a large family group, so we usually get three rooms. Also last yeay DH had some business trip to Orlando scheduled, so my having an Annual Pass really made sense. If you have an AP, then the DDE (Costs around $60 to join, I think.) Gives you 20% off of most sit down meals, and some CS meals. I only had to get one AP to get the discount off three rooms per visit, so it really added up.

HAving said all that, I'd like to try DDP once when they offer it for free. We strongly prefer to snack on small items, sharing, whlie at WDW. So eating one big meal will really force us to change our touring style. We'll probably either pay oop for some snacks or have to choose to skip some of the treats we've come to enjoy - Dole whips, Mickey bars, ice cream, pretzels, bakery goodies (France, Norway, BWI, Starring Rolls), etc.

 

[byoung]

To us it's a great deal!

 

[IcePrincess467]

Well DH & I ( well mostly me...since I do the planning) have decided to do the DDP and get the 10 day park hopper plus more so we will have the water parks and DTD to get as well and this will fill up our 14 days! Plus I have completed a *tenative* schedule and have some disney resort restuarants in there as well!! Ohhh....15 months can't arrive soon enough!

 

[rotlex]

We just got back last week, and bought the dining plan for the first time. My thoughts? I'll now buy it EVERY time we go. We did a sit down\character meal each night for 6 nights, along with the counter service and snacks daily. I kept track, for the heck of it, and we saved over $400 this way. And yeah, the food was EXCELLENT!!!!

 

[hematite153]

At first I though it sounded like agreat deal, but it forces you to eat a complete meal - Appetizer, entree, dessert - in one sitting.

I agree that this won't work for everyone. If you like to graze on disney treats throughout the day then 1 large meal, 1 medium sized meal and 1 snack just doesn't work.

However, the DDP doesn't really force you to do anything. You can easily take part of your TS meal with you for later. They'll give you a box but you can bring tupperware if you want to throw it in a backpack. (We usually were heading back to the room after dinner so would eat dinner leftovers for breakfast.) Some of the CS places offer things that are packaged and easy to save for later as well.

If you are really looking for greater variety and smaller food options you could book a TS for lunch and another one for dinner. Share a single TS credit between 2 people at each meal. (Of course, when you share meals it is customary to tip as if you ordered separately and the DDP won't cover that.)

 

[disney_fan_fam]

I haven't but will next visit

 

[blondinkaya]

This will be my first Disney visit, and if it wasn't for the free dining, I wouldn't be going when I am. If I had to pay for meals oop, I'm sure I wouldn't buy the dining plan, as we're usually not appetizer/dessert people. Since the ddp is free for us, I'm sure dh is going to treat it like a big buffet and eat till he's full with each meal; it's going to be a real treat for us to get the appetizer and dessert.