Dining Plan - doing the Math

[ms.ojo]

OK, I have always booked everything alacarte: AAA room ressie, tickets through a ticket broker and our meals on our own. But this dining plan has me intrigued. So I sat down and plotted out where I thought we'd eat for a 5 night stay and est our food costs w/ snacks at just under $500 for our family of 4. (I could probably cut this back a bit if I had to but for the sake of this arguement we'll say $500)

Under the dining plan it would cost our family $490. My first thought was gee, then I wouldn't have to be concerned about anything, maybe we should go for it. But when I looked at booking through Disney for a MYW pkg at a value resort (pref location) My cost was $1388 w/out dining (4day base tickets) and $1877 w/ dining. Ala carte I'd spend $1263 w/out dining or possibly $1763 w/ food estimated. By going ala carte w/ AAA discount and the ticket broker I save $125 or $115 respectively. HOWEVER, when it's free dining...the plan would save me almost $400.

Seems like you pay a premium to book in one place w/ a MYW pkg and not have to worry about it. And the premium isn't huge...just over $100 for this length stay. Is that what others found??? For me, since I have a hard time handing things over to someone else (have only used a TA once) and I'd be making all my own ADRs...I feel I might as well save the $100+ dollars and continue booking ala carte. Am I missing something? Is there any way to get a MYW pkg w/ a AAA discount??

Now if free dining were to be extended again into Oct or Nov I would DEFINITELY book a MYW pkg and go for a quick trip before our next big planned trip in April 2007. (I can't book in Aug/Sept unfortunately and take advantage of the current pkg)

Anyway, my question really is about paying for the dining plan. it just doesn't seem to make sense. Also, I then feel limited in my TS and CS choices. We often eat more CS (quicker) and while I'm sure I could use a TS at a CS it wouldn't be the best use of it.

Hope some of you who have crunched the numbers and used the plan can give me some add'l insight. Thank you!

 

[gigi1313]

the dining plan only works/saves money if you eat that way normally (a TS/day w/appy and dessert, and a CS/day again w/dessert, and don't forget to add in the snacks... those bottles of water and mickey bars add up!)

we found that the dining plan saved our family money... lots of it... our TS meals basically were equivalent to the daily cost of the plan, so the CS/snack were "free" to us...

i.e. @ LeCellier, dh ordered $40 surf/turf, a $10 appy, $7 dessert and a $3 soft drink or $60 worth of food, plus tax and tip... the plan cost us only $38 for that day, so in addition to getting more than our money's worth at that meal, we got our CS (~$10) and snack (~$3) as well... so, even if the room is an add'l $20/night, between our family of four, we still come out way ahead...

but, if you don't normally eat sit-downs and order all the components, you will either break even or lose money...

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

If you get your package through a AAA travel agent you can get the AAA discount and the dining plan. That's what we did last year, and although it was a pain (we didn't really like the AAA agent) it was worth it for the discount.

 

[DWDreams]

I have an AP and had booked a AAA room rate but have been hoping for an AP rate to come out. Since we are going in August right after the end of when the AP discounts are through, I decided to start looking into the dining plan and decided that it did work for us. This is what I figured, though perfect it isn't.

We are a family of three, two adults and a child of 11 that Disney deems able to pay, play and eat as an adult. Our stay is for 8 nights 08/11 through 08/19 at Poly GV. I couldn't change the date to start on dining plan start date of 08/13 because we'd already paid for our flights.

Here's the rundown:

Option 1 - AAA rate for Poly GV 8 nts $2320 plus estimated food costs for 8 days is $1200 ( we typically do at least one TS a day either dinner of character breakfast) that I based on past trips -- $100 per table service meal average, $30 counter service meal average, and $20/day snacks and drinks. Total this way for room and food $3520.

Option 2 - Split ressie 2 nts Poly GV at AAA rate, 6 nts Poly GV on dining plan. Rate for the two nts $580, meals/snacks 2 days $300, dining plan package for remaining 6 nts $2300. Total this way for room and food $3180. This is savings of $340 over option 1, plus we'll each have a MYW ticket for future use so that saves an additional $210, totalling $550 savings.

Now, I did hesitate still to do this since I'd been hoping for an AP rate to come out, but even when taking guesstimated AP discount, I still will save with the DP. I figured this based on the AP rate I got last Aug for Poly GV.
This is what I figured cost will be even with AP discount:

8 nts Poly GV AP rate $2040, 8 days est. meal/snack costs $1200 totalling $3240. Option 2 still beats it by $60, or $270 counting the tickets to be used later.

Hope this helps anyone considering the options.

 

[loralie]

For my family the dining plan was worth it...basically because I could relax and not worry how much money we were spending while we were at the parks. My kids and my DH and I could get whatever we wanted and we did not have to look at the prices. It was a great feeling and made the trip more enjoyable. I know if I had to pay OOP for everything I would be trying to save money here and there and this way was much more fun. We also felt the TS meals were a nice break and gave us time to sit and relax during the day. I know we saved money, basically the money we paid towards the dining plan took care of all the TS meals and then the CS meals and the snacks were for free, thats how I figured it out. Next time there is no doubt we are using the dining plan again.

Loralie

 

[jenr812]

For my family the dining plan was worth it...basically because I could relax and not worry how much money we were spending while we were at the parks. My kids and my DH and I could get whatever we wanted and we did not have to look at the prices. It was a great feeling and made the trip more enjoyable. I know if I had to pay OOP for everything I would be trying to save money here and there and this way was much more fun. We also felt the TS meals were a nice break and gave us time to sit and relax during the day. I know we saved money, basically the money we paid towards the dining plan took care of all the TS meals and then the CS meals and the snacks were for free, thats how I figured it out. Next time there is no doubt we are using the dining plan again.

Loralie

I totally agree!

 

[casey49781]

i decided to go with the dinning plan because 1. it was all paid for by the time i got there. 2. i spent about 100.00 a day for family of 4 last time i was there. only problem is i dont care much for the childrens menus , to much junk on them,,mac and cheese,chincken nugg, so i booked alot of character meals, to make up for that,

 

[gigi1313]

i decided to go with the dinning plan because 1. it was all paid for by the time i got there. 2. i spent about 100.00 a day for family of 4 last time i was there. only problem is i dont care much for the childrens menus , to much junk on them,,mac and cheese,chincken nugg, so i booked alot of character meals, to make up for that,

you may want to look for a recent thread that talks about the "junky" kids' meals and which restaurants offer better kids' selections (assuming your child/ren will choose steak or grilled chicken over mac/cheese, etc)... it lists some of the restaurants and their better offerings... might be helpful...

 

[ms.ojo]

Thanks for all the input.

I'm sure if the dining were free, we would be able to eat our way through it just fine!!! But paying for it....it's more food than we really need, and time out of the parks. We can still work in some nice char meals, and I believe pay less than the cost of the plan. (Probably b/c we have young kids who really don't eat that much)

That being said....I am very bummed. I was hoping the free dining would save us enough money to squeeze in an extra trip this fall. Even w/ free dining, I see us at around $1800 when you include airfare, tickets, 5 nites ASMo (AAA rate pref room) and tickets to MNSSHP. I guess that's pretty good .... but it's still nearly $2K and probably will be when all is said and done. The short trips are killers. We have to pay $500 round trip air, sometimes a little less, for awhile it was a lot more!!! For 24hrs...I had a dream. Now I just have to refocus to next April.......

 

[gigi1313]

ms.ojo, how many of you are there? we're doing 5 nights, 6 people (2A, 3Jr, 1C) in two rooms at all-stars for under $1500 w/free dining and one day tickets... airfare is expected to be about $200/person (although i'm praying for a ding fare)... and what kind of tix are you getting for your april trip? maybe it would be do-able to do the second trip if you bought ap's or purchased the ticket for april in the fall w/the no expiry option?

 

[SarahKate]

We "saved" about $350 by going with the DP. I say it that way because the three of us (me, DH, and DD4) don't EACH have an app and dessert with our meals. If you were to take out all the apps and desserts that we got, then my guess is that we broke even.

BUT - I will never, ever, ever go back to WDW without the DP! To us, it was soooo much easier. I can't imagine eating a meal and then having to pay all of that money. And yep, we are STILL paying for it either way. But it was so nice knowing that it was already PAID FOR and we were not limited by what's on the menu. And pretty much all of the restaurants are on the plan, so that shouldn't hinder your decision a bit.

The biggest thing is that it takes a bit more planning on your part to make TS reservations. But if you are normally the type to eat at a TS place frequently, then it's not much of a difference.

As far as using a travel agent, I am like you, OP.....I ALWAYS make our travel arrangements. But when we went in Feb. I used Small World Vacations....it took me a little getting used to NOT doing all the legwork. She made all our reservations (EXCEPT for airfare, I did that on my own), including our ADRs!!! I just gave her the restaurant, date and a time range and she did the work and got back to me w/ confirmation numbers. And when a discount came out, she would rebook our trip and then we'd get a credit. Having all of our vacation in one package was great - it is all PAID FOR 45 days before you leave - so you go there having the peace of mind (unless, of course, you used plastic and don't pay the balance back quickly!). When we go again next FEbruary, I haven't decided if I will use a travel agent again because I think I could handle it (maybe I'm just a control freak), but it really was nice not having to worry about things.

 

[MEK]

I agree with a previous poster that said you can get the AAA discount and the dining plan. Just book it was a package through AAA. If you have already calculated your food costs as being equivalent to the dining plan cost, then you should try it.

We got it last year during the free dining and this year we plan to pay for it in November. I, like you, didn't think the plan was worth it and we could eat cheaper. The plan is definately worth the $. It was so nice having everything paid for upfront. You will never struggle with menu choices (ie.maybe I should get A vs B cause A is cheaper). You don't have to figure out a tip, 'cause its all included. If you are moderate or light eaters you will have plenty of food. With my family of 4 we only get 3 CS at lunch. With the extra CS the kids get breakfast.

Try it!

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Max is my favorite cat!
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[DWDreams]

We "saved" about $350 by going with the DP. I say it that way because the three of us (me, DH, and DD4) don't EACH have an app and dessert with our meals. If you were to take out all the apps and desserts that we got, then my guess is that we broke even.

Was this with the DP being free or paid for? I usually book everything separate but booked the DP this time as it really does come out cheaper IMO, although I guess I really won't know until I use it. We usually do 1 table service and 1 counter per day anyway with the occasional appetizer or dessert but most often not. I figured my pricing based on that and it still came out cheaper to get the free dining plan. I have no idea if we will or could eat all the food that comes with the dining plan, but since it was cheaper, we went for it! Now OTOH if the dining plan weren't free I wouldn't get it as I'd rather have the room discount.

 

[aviva5675]

Doing the dining package wouldnt be worth it if your family doesnt generally do a TS at least once a day. It seems the savings is mainly in the TS dinner (or lunch) costs that would quickly add up to a hefty amount but as part of a $38/day total is a big savings. If youd all normally do CS for the most part then its not worth it, more than likely. You can use TS credits for CS but that is a bit of a waste.

I dont think beyond that it matters package or ala carte. You can probably save by using AAA rates for rooms tho, which we did and are getting the AAA reduced room rate plus are doing the dining. I think our last trip I booked thru Disney Travel and then watched Mousesavers for a room code and knocked down the room price that way. Supposedly my AAA TA (Hi Kristin!) is watching for codes or discounts and will apply them to my package if any become available.

Check out the menus on Allears site for pricing and make a sample menu- see if it adds up to more than the $38/day.

 

[jenr812]

When you're creating your sample menu from allearsnet, be sure to include the tax and tip

 

[smiles2u]

Just wanted to say thanks to all of you for your input! I'm a newbie just lurking, and I didn't understand the dining plan - now I kind of do!

So much to think about! AARGH!

 

[JKW]

Can anyone tell me what the AAA discount is for September at a Deluxe? I never thought about it. We are going Sept 28 - Oct 7 and staying at the YC Concierge. It is my in-laws 50th so we are going to have 2 rooms. Our total for 8 day PHpasses, 2 rooms, and dining plan for 8 people and 7 nights is $9200.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

The AAA discount for Deluxe Resorts during Value Season is 15% off of the rack rate. For a concierge stay in a garden view room at YC, that would amount to a savings of about $73/night when you factor in taxes. For a pool/water view concierge room, it would be closer to $84/night in savings.

Since the dining plan would cost you $98/night for 2A + 2C (and more if there are more adults or juniors in your group), you're better off doing the free dining than you are getting the AAA discount and paying fot the DP.

 

[JKW]

Thanks!!!!!

 

[disneyjunkie]

For my family the dining plan was worth it...basically because I could relax and not worry how much money we were spending while we were at the parks. My kids and my DH and I could get whatever we wanted and we did not have to look at the prices. It was a great feeling and made the trip more enjoyable. I know if I had to pay OOP for everything I would be trying to save money here and there and this way was much more fun. We also felt the TS meals were a nice break and gave us time to sit and relax during the day. I know we saved money, basically the money we paid towards the dining plan took care of all the TS meals and then the CS meals and the snacks were for free, thats how I figured it out. Next time there is no doubt we are using the dining plan again.

Loralie

ITA

The dining plan was a no brainier for my son and I. For the first time ever, we were able to order what we wanted without worrying about prices.

We only ordered what we knew we would eat. There were plenty of times when we skipped dessert and/or appetizers. Even without "maxing" out the plan, I still came out ahead money wise.

We will be using the free dining plan this August and paying for the plan next April. I can't wait.