Happy Halloween everyone! Let’s see if we have any treats in our bag this week, or if we’ve been tricked. MousePlanet staff writer Steve Russo shares some of the treats he received in response to his analysis of the Disney Dining Plan (“Disney’s Dining Plan – Part 2,” October 3, 2008) offered at Walt Disney World.
Mary T. writes:
I did the same kind of analysis of the Disney Dining Plan on our trip this past January. We are Disney Vacation Club members, and we have Annual Passes and the “Tables in Wonderland” card.
We had the dining plan for “free” due to a mix-up in Disney Vacation Club inventory. We are a family of four and were at Walt Disney World for 10 nights. We typically have 1 table service meal a day, either lunch or dinner. Based on what we would have eaten had we not had the dining plan and using our discount, we would have saved approximately $400 without the dining plan.
Since we didn’t pay for the plan in the first place, it wasn’t any big deal. However, I do know that I will not buy the Disney Dining Plan myself in the future.
Thanks for providing the input. It helps when the real world backs up my analysis and lets me know I’m not entirely off base.
Chris B. writes:
I have to agree with your summation. We first tried the Dining Plan three summers ago, the first time it was offered for free. Now free is a no-brainer, to a certain extent. We got free meals for ten days and there were seven of us so that’s a lot of money saved. However, the parks were packed, every food line was packed, and reservations were non-existent. It left a sour taste in our mouth for the food plan.
On our next trip we opted out, and found a huge difference. We didn’t feel like we had to eat just because we had the plan. We didn’t have a refrigerator full of carrot cakes that we felt bad refusing, because they came with the plan. We felt free to cancel reservations if we were tired. Instead we’d order a pizza and go to the pool. We ate less and freed up our vacation more. We didn’t do it on our last trip this summer either. I never leave property when I’m down there and I’ll never go back to the Dining Plan. It doesn’t work for me.
I appreciate the comments. Your second paragraph is a very nice summation of how I feel about the Plan. Thanks for writing.
Jeff S. writes:
I enjoyed reading your article on the Disney Dining Plan. We are headed to Walt Disney World this October, and have purchased the plan for the first time. I noticed you said in your article that the 2008 plan does not include appetizers with the table service meals. However a couple of weeks ago I printed off an official Disney Dining brochure and it said that appetizers were included. Do you know who I would need to get in touch with to verify one way or another? We have already purchased the plan assuming there is no appetizer, but we would like to know for sure if it’s available before we go.
It depends on the plan. The Dining Plan does not include appetizer but the Deluxe Dining Plan does. Obviously, the price is higher on the Deluxe.
Kelly Z. writes:
We just returned from a ten-day visit to Walt Disney World where we took advantage of the free dining offering as we have before. My biggest complaint of the plan is that you are only allowed one snack per day. An ice cream bar is great, but sometimes, I’d like a snack consisting of say, popcorn and something to wash it down with. That would mean using two snack credits per day.
We did find a way around this by using our counter service credits for breakfast. We were told to take an extra beverage at breakfast, which we put away for later in the day. This was offered because breakfast does not have an appetizer, so they replace it with an extra beverage. That worked in our favor.
We were then left with one table-service credit per day. Without reservations, table service restaurants are tough to come by. Luckily, I did my homework and we had a table service booked each day of our trip. This bothered my husband, as it made him feel like he had to watch the clock all day—”Do we have time to squeeze in one more ride and still make our arrival time for dinner?”—he drove me nuts! Next time I’ll book more table-service breakfasts so he won’t feel threatened by the clock.
My husband is a diabetic so two prepaid meals per day certainly helped the cause! Still, he needs to eat consistently throughout the day. I think Disney should offer a “build your own dining plan,” similar to how you can now build your own theme park passes. Guests could select the amount of meals and type of credit per day that best suits their appetites or needs. Maybe some day, Tinker Bell will sprinkle her pixie dust on the heads of those in charge of the Dining Plan offerings, and we’ll have this ability.
According to our receipts for counter and table services we used, we totaled over $500 within our first three days. We definitely saved money on the free dining offering. If we did not have the dining plan, I’m doubtful we would have eaten at some of those locations, so it is tough to determine whether or not the value is really there. But if you can visit during the free offering, it’s worth it!
Mark P. writes:
We have also struggled with this question, and I did my own analysis. My conclusion was that it’s only worthwhile to do the dining plan now under the new price structure, after the elimination of the appetizer and tip, if your vacation revolves around eating out for every meal at one of the high end restaurants and don’t mind being tied down to a schedule.
We found that we ate more than normal using the dining plan and found ourselves always thinking about using up all of the allowances to not waste our money, even if we didn’t need it. If you are on the go, occasionally grabbing counter service and wanting the freedom of a loose schedule, you may be better off paying for meals on your own. The bottom line is that it depends upon your lifestyle and how you want to manage the vacation.
Thanks for writing. You’ve asked several very difficult questions. They’re difficult because the answers really depend on what you, and your family, prefer in each case.
Danette G. writes:
I enjoyed your article on the dining plan. Our family has never been to Disney World or Disneyland as a group. I would like to take our children to Disney World within the next couple years. We will most likely have four of our six children with us. I home-school and can be somewhat flexible on the time frame, but our oldest is in public high school. What is the best month to visit? Also, are there some activities, restaurants, and or discounts that you may be able to recommend? Any insight would be awesome. I’m just trying to be prepared in case we get an opportunity to visit.
Even though you asked what are the best months to visit, I could probably give you a reason to visit in each month of the year. I could also tell you why I prefer January (lower crowds and a break from the Northeast winter) but my preferences are likely not the same as yours.
If you’ve never been to Walt Disney World before, my strong recommendation is to continue what you’re doing – reading online articles about Disney. You might bounce around Web sites like MousePlanet where there’s a wealth of information on parks, rides, attractions, dining, etc. Another recommendation would be to take up residence on the discussion boards (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/) where you can converse with others, ask questions or just “lurk” around, reading the posts of others.
Lastly, I would recommend you pick up a good planning book. They come in many shapes and sizes so you may want to look around a bit. The Unofficial Guide is very comprehensive but its size could be intimating. Many folks enjoy the “official” guide from Birnbaum or the PassPorter. Or (in another shameless plug) you could look at an easy-to-read guide from some guy named Russo. Good luck in your quest and thanks again for writing.
Finally, on a food-related note, Mark Goldhaber shares another dining plan question from Rusty C., who writes:
Is Disney World going to be offering the free dining plan in January? I heard they might be offering it to Disney Visa cardholders, but didn’t know if it was confirmed or just a rumor.
I haven’t heard anything solid. They did offer free dining to Disney Visa cardholders for selected nights in September through December, but that’s no guarantee that they’ll repeat the offer.
