Reviews of Disney Dining Plan
Reviewed 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.
Pros:
ConvenientCons:
Tips not included, may not fit food/snack needsReviewed by Hannah1230 Review Date: 08/07/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
There are some good aspects to the DDP. We have used it for quite a few trips. Some complain of having to make some reservations so far out and you have to plan too much. I kind of find that fun. Planning park and restaurant visits so far ahead of time feels like the vacation lasts longer.
As others have said, however, it was a much better value when we could have an appetizer rather then dessert and when the tip was included.
We would much rather have a nice appetizer then a heavy sweet dessert....most times.
Our trip this November, we are not using the DDP. Instead, we are having a couple table service meals at a favorite restaurant and the rest will be at favorite QS places. I am really looking forward to this for a change. I still have my plans on what parks we will visit each day and the QS we will aim to that day, but this way we can change our mind at the last minute, if we want and we can have great appetizers if we want and no dessert just because we feel we have to eat it because we paid for it with the DDP.
The DDP has it's place but not for every visit.
Pros:
Lots of choicesCons:
too much dessertReviewed by Aquila163 Review Date: 08/15/2013
Rating: (3) Recommended
We got the dining plan for free in 2010. We had to make reservations months in advance to get a sit down restaurant every day of our trip. Then we had to be in the park where that reservation was every day. We used park hopper on two days to make meals. The amount of planning was nuts and I'm a disney planning nut. You must make the reservations well in advance because when they give out the dinning plan for free the table service reservations are used up by people that would otherwise go to counter service meals more. Last trip we ate what we really wanted for our ten day trip plus ate at Biergarten, House of Blues and Rain Forest plus all the counter service we felt like when we wanted to. The bottom line was we beat the counter service dining plan price by $75 and ate at three table service restaurants. It's not a money saver unless you normally eat ALOT and don't eat appetizers and do eat dessert. I'm sure many people eat more that DW and I do, it's not a money saver. If you can afford it, it is a convenience at best. Disney is so good at making money that international companies pay them for business training. They are not putting out the dinning plan if they don't financially benefit from it.
Pros:
Only if you eat alot anywayCons:
Unless you eat alot anyway is a looserReviewed by elkhunter1 Review Date: 08/17/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
Our family of 3 have used the DDP on our visits in 2011 and 2013, and while it works for our family, I can definitely see where it won't for other families- it all depends on your appetite, your food and restaurant preferences, and if don't mind taking time away from the parks,especially at dinner time. To optimize the value, we order the most expensive entrees available that we like, along with the desserts, at dinner and we make our reservations at places we probably wouldn't eat at if we weren't on the dining plan [we always put Hollywood & Vine and the Crystal Palace on our to-do list because we love these buffets!]. We do the same at lunch time for our Q/S meals, but instead of having desserts most of the time we get extra bottles of water to take with us in the parks. We are coming back in 2014 and if we can't fit our trip around a free dining plan offer, we won't hesitate to use the plan again. A quick note on tipping from my perspective - I don't have an issue with a 18-20% tip for good service, and with 1 exception,we have had very good servers, and they have made our WDW trips even more enjoyable.
Pros:
ConvienceCons:
—Reviewed by traceyn Review Date: 09/08/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We always get DDP when we come to WDW. We find it so much easier than paying out of our pockets for meals, we try new restaurants and if we don't like the food then we don't feel like we have wasted our money, if we had to pay for the food at the time and never enjoyed it then we would feel like we wasted our money. I do feel like the past 2 years we don't seem to use our mugs as much as we did, not all resorts have hot chocolate, they all seem to have pop and coffee and the last 3 or 4 places we have stopped at we have to pay for the hot chocolate but in other hotels it's free?? We were so far away the last 2 years from the place where you can get refills we just didn't bother going.
Pros:
choiceCons:
—Reviewed by Brandon Review Date: 09/26/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
The dining plan is the way to go. I read where some people complain about only (1) snack. I believe that they used it incorrectly. We would use our snack as just that a snack. We brought quick breakfast items to eat at the hotel, and then used our snack on an item to hold us over until a later lunch. We usually set up our table services for lunch. This way it would hold us over until we were ready for dinner at a quick service restaurant. Yes it takes time out of the park but having a little one, it was great to get out of the heat and cool off while refueling with all that food. The other most important deciding factor for me was this: a table service character buffet for (3) was about $75-$100 before gratuity. I don't care about how good the food was, it wasn't worth that. Also quick service meals for (3) ranged from $35-50 per meal.
When you add that up, it's expensive to pay on your own dime to eat there. So if the dining plan is offered, you will save money going that direction for sure.
Negatives: the gratuities were not added in. This became relevant when you look at your dining bills. The food prices are inflated dramatically. So when you see a $100 bill, your first thought is...a $20 tip??? For refilling my drink??? Because that is all they do at the character buffets. So you should consider what the real value is of the meal before tipping and not based on what Walt Disney World suggests.
Pros:
Convenience & ChoicesCons:
Gratuities, Inflated Food PricesReviewed by ArmyWife72 Review Date: 09/28/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
This was the first year we have decided to do the dining plan... we are HOOKED!!!!!! We ate at so many wonderful places got to do 2 dinner shows and we had a blast! Not a single complaint about any of the food!!!! We opted for the 1 quick service meal a day and 1 table service meal a day with one snack each and resort refillable mug!!!!! We were never hungry after any meal!!! We actually saved the majority of our snacks ( except for the yummy dole whip we had to get !) and cashed them all in at the end and took home treats with us! Loved that we could walk into Tokyo dining in Japan and have the 36 dollar filet mignon which was superb! Hoopdee doo musical review was wonderful as well! Best fried chicken ever!!!! My husband is still raving about the food and he has said that we will never go without the dining plan again!!!!!
Pros:
The food was outstanding everywhere!Cons:
N/aReviewed by Hamill04 Review Date: 10/08/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We got free dining for our stay in September so I might be biased. I'm pretty sure I'd do it again, but I will do the math before I go seeing as Disney is dead set on jacking the price up every year. We used snack credits/leftovers/refillable mug for breakfast, counter service for lunch and table service for dinner. Dinner for two adults and two children with no appetizers or alcohol seemed to run a steady $100-$120 and lunch was about $50. It worked out well for us, the meals are very big and filling and after lunch and dinner when we went back to our room to regroup we would bring the extra grapes, applesauce and desserts back and put them in the fridge and use them for breakfast or snacks. Using your snack credit for breakfast worked out well too, the sticky buns were huge!!! The refillable mugs were ok, good for breakfast and at night but I spent a lot of time dumping them out and washing them because no one was finishing their drinks.
My husband and I found the plan very easy to use, most of the cashiers understand it very well and are happy to help. It can snagged up a little when you have to get a second bill(for alcohol or an appetizer)because some servers know how to get it all the same bill and others can't and give you two bills so they run your card for tip twice. It took a few back and forths a couple times. Our servers were all wonderful and although the tip suggestions are printed on the bottom of the receipt ALL the servers(we had) had a classy way of saying that we weren't obligated to tip, but if we chose to it would be appreciated.
Pros:
Worked out for usCons:
Would like to have option of appetizerReviewed by JerseyShoregirl13 Review Date: 10/09/2013
Rating: (5) Recommended
It is a great plan. But wish appetizers were included. I do not like a lot of the desserts on certain menus. I loved when both were included. But Disney keeps taking away. Again wish the tip was included.
Pros:
Food is paid for in advanceCons:
Not the tip. Which I am told should be 18-20%-which was too expensive for me.Reviewed by DisneyJunkie Review Date: 11/01/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
The Disney Dining plan, for the most part, is great.....especially when you book a vacation package that throws it in without cost to you. What really works the best with the DDP is that it affords you the opportunity to eat at some places on WDW property that perhaps one might not normally get to due to the expense.
Generally, you get a drink, main meal, and dessert. Sometimes that's more than enough to satisfy you, but in other times you might want an appetizer, and those are NOT included in the DDP. Also NOT included in the DDP are tips for the wait staff, and based on the overall cost of your meal, the tips can be up there quite a bit (regardless of whether they deserve that tip or not).
What also could be improved upon is them adding a third meal, as it only offers two per person per day. Then, there are some restaurants that take two credits instead of one.....and usually the meals in those places aren't good enough to justify that.
