Reviews of Disney Dining Plan
Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 10/22/2019
Rating: (10) Not Recommended
August was my first experience with the dining plan. We came out $156 ahead but we ate and drank more than we normally would have. I wouldn't buy the dining plan again but when WDW offers free dining, it's very worthwhile.
Pros:
Pucks Express at Disney Springs is an excellent use of a counter service credit. So many of the Signature 2 credit restaurants are not worth it (based on past dining experiences)Cons:
too much foodReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 10/05/2019
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
All good till system goes down
Pros:
Disney winsCons:
Disney winsReviewed by SusanD Review Date: 06/13/2019
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
We have found it is too much food for an individual meal and not worth the overall price.
Pros:
Prepaid mealsCons:
Too much food and too expensiveReviewed by Injector Review Date: 02/18/2017
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
I gave the plan a 5 because there were good things and there were bad things about the plan. The good thing was convience only activating the key pad and putting in your pass code. The bad thing was way to much food and the time to use the table service part of the plan. I don't care to spend this much on park tickets to sit at a table. There was 2 of us. We paid $800 for the plan for 6 days. We did eat more than we paid for the plan. I wrote on each receipt the cost of the meal. With the plan you are almost forced to eat to get what you paid for the plan. I would not recommend the plan. Our son, daughter in law and 3 kids took the plan. Between all of us there was a lot of food wasted. We ate many desserts that we would not normally order. Yes food is very expensive in WDW, but if I were not on the plan I think I would have only spent half as much.
Pros:
ConvienceCons:
Need to use table serviceReviewed by mcmouse Review Date: 03/31/2015
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
First off let me say that this is the first time in all our years visiting WDW that we haven't purchased a dining plan of some sort. We did like the convenience of not having to worry about how much money we were spending as the plan is pre-paid. You get plenty of good food to eat, but many times we said to ourselves "We never eat this much food at home. We could probably split some of these meals and at times skip a meal altogether." There were 2 of us traveling this year. Well we decided to not purchase a dining plan for this visit and see how we made out. We saved every receipt and did the math. We did eat at several sit down restaurants and on those days we ate lightly for our other meals. We never felt hungry or like we had eaten too much either...just right. We purchased 2 refillable mugs for length of stay at our resort. That cost us $35.98. We will rethink that on our next trip. Those mugs were figured in on our tally with the food we purchased. We found that we SAVED $478.00 by buying our own food instead of purchasing the dining plan. We stayed at WDW for 10 nights. We would have had to pay $1212.80 to purchase the dining plan. (2 people) No brainer for us. Had the dining plan been free we would have considered it, but we were offered the choice of a free dining plan or a percentage off our resort stay so we chose the percentage off. Glad we did. That's the route we'll take again if possible. When we started buying the dining plan years ago it was like $32.00. The cost has gotten way out of control and not possible for families with children who are planning a longer stay. Do your math before you buy it.
Pros:
lots of foodCons:
priceReviewed by mochridh Review Date: 11/18/2014
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
The first time we went to Disney World in 2008, the Dining Plan was different and we loved it.
Back then, we had the choice between appetizer or dessert and as I am not a big dessert fan, the option was very appreciated. It also included a gratuity, but we always tipped more on top of it.
We also noticed that the restos were waaay emptier than they now are.
Since then, we've become incredibly disenchanted with the DDP and will give Tables in Wonderland a go in a few weeks (DVC members). Being that we would rather share an appetizer and I enjoy a glass of wine with my meal, our calculations (on a detailed spreadsheet based on our usual trends) show that we will not be spending more for TIW, may even save some $$, but will enjoy flexibility and not feel pressured into cramming in 48 snacks because we paid for them.
If more people dumped DDP, they would likely revamp it to make it more attractive.
Pros:
You'll try more restos than usualCons:
Too much food, very little flexibilityReviewed by CinCin Review Date: 11/15/2014
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
This is a peace of mind deal only. You won't save any money and you will have a lot of food to eat, but still end up buying more as it does not include a third meal, appetizers or alcoholic beverages. This does not include tips either so you still have to tip your server at the sit down restaurants. I had free dining with my package, but I did pay to upgrade to the regular dining plan. While I enjoyed my meals, some of them were 2 credits and it would have been a better deal to pay for them OOP. (out of pocket). I am not one to order dessert at all when I dine out and rarely eat dessert at home unless it is a holiday or birthday so that part of the plan is a waste. The entrees were always plentiful enough that I didn't even finish them much less have spare room or appetite for a dessert. You also do not get a choice of appetizer or dessert, it's dessert only. On the plus side: I had some fantastic sit down meals that I otherwise might not have tried had I not been on the dining plan, and some great desserts that I definitely wouldn't have tried had they not come with the plan. This does not save any money but it does give you peace of mind and it is a nice option if it works for you. I feel mixed about recommending it, as it is helpful in a way and the POM is all it really offers, but is it worth it? I'm not sure, as I can do my own math and keep track myself of dining expenses. I just don't want to have to on vacation. Now with charge to the room on the magic band, you don't even feel the sting of handing over money. The better choice is to use your room charge/credit card to pay for everything and only pay for what you'll really eat. I put cash down on my room card and then used out of my pre-paid bank. I still had a table service credit remaining when I left and because my flight out was so early I could not use it on departure day. Although it was convenient, I would not pay for the plan again.
Pros:
peace of mind for prepaid mealsCons:
too pricey, limited options, rigid rules on use, comes with dessertReviewed by MM from Connecticut Review Date: 10/02/2014
Rating: (6) Not Recommended
Disney Dining Plan was free during our recent stay, and we received 1 counter service, 1 sit down and 1 snack per day. Several issues: meals came with dessert only. We would rather have a choice of salad/app OR dessert, instead of just dessert (not exactly health conscious of Disney). Another problem is the sit down dinner took way too long at many of the restaurants (we were at Mama Melrose for 2 hours), and we had to book reservations months in advance, and we were pretty much locked into the restaurant. Too much planning for lengthy, heavy meals that our kids didn't care about at all. It was convenient and easy, and the refillable mugs at the hotel were a nice bonus, but if we had to purchase them, it would have been $17/per person, not sure if it is worth it.
Pros:
Easy, and refillable mugs a plusCons:
Time ConsumingReviewed by MeIAm Review Date: 01/04/2014
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
I think the DDP could work well for people staying in hotel rooms where they have to buy all their meals in the restaurants, however, if you will be eating breakfasts in your room and some meals off grounds, or you brought some meal items with you then the Plan would not work out for you financially.
We were at Disney checking in after dinner on a Friday and out on Mon. Cost would be $351 for 3 nights for 2 adults. We ate on property, brought cereal, bought milk on property and spent about $125 on the food we wanted to get.
We didn't gain any weight this trip because we didn't overeat, which can be a concern when you've already paid for two desserts a day, and buy the most expensive items because you want to get your money's worth out of the Plan.
I have tried to make the numbers work for us but just can't. Making ADRs can be a pain but need to be done and then you are tied to them.
I would recommend, if price is a concern, to check menus and see if it works for you. The convenience may be worth whatever the price.
Pros:
ease if in a hotel roomCons:
cost, cost, planning ahead, costReviewed by sreynolds5 Review Date: 08/05/2013
Rating: (6) Not Recommended
We used to be big fans of the dining plan. But then, it used to be a better deal. We remember loving it when appetizers and gratuities were included w/table service meals and 2 snacks per day were offered. Sigh... Our biggest "hitches" with the current Dining Plan were the lack of more snack credits and the out of pocket expense of tips. Our teens love snacks in the parks, sometimes to the exclusion of a meal. One snack a day was not enough, yet we ended up with extra counter service meals at the end of our stay. The tips expense blew me away. Be aware that if you have 5 in your party and book a table service restaurant every day, each of those meal will come to app. $200 - $250. Disney invites you to leave 15,18, or 20% gratuities. We encountered a lot of wonderful service, but it hurt to leave $45 and $50 meal tips every day. (That is an expense we neglected to budget for.) After 9 trips to WDW, 5 utilizing the dining plan, we will probably not be using this option again. Our family would be better off eating at fewer table service restaurants and paying out of pocket for the food we'll really eat.
