Reviews of Disney Dining Plan
Reviewed by mommom Review Date: 03/05/2017
Rating: (10) Recommended
got the food plan because I didn't feel the price for a child's meal was worth the price. this way with the dining plan the children get 2 snacks, a refillable mug, a quick service meal and a sit down character meal. otherwise I would have paid $24.00 just for 1 meal. oh yeah I thought I got my money's worth just with the children meal alone.
a 3 year old doesn't eat as much as a 9 year old. I feel they price should be change to reflect the eating habits of a 3 year old.
even a 11 yr old doesn't eat as much as a adult and to charge them an adult price isn't fair.
had a party of 2 with us, that didn't have the dining plan. was 1 adult and 11 yr old. if they 11 yr old ate more than 4 things her mother was lucky. so her mother paid $47.00 for her dinners and she hardly ate anything. I guess she paid for the experiences of eating at Disney restaurants.
Pros:
amount of foodCons:
tip not includedReviewed by maze4 Review Date: 10/02/2016
Rating: (7) Recommended
We have been using dp since 2006. It has changed through the years and not all for the good. I do like the fact that meals are prepaid for but doesn't include tips so you still have to either carry $ with you or charge them. Also having an alcoholic drinks also isn't included so have to pay oop or charge. What I really don't like is when servers get confused when you order extra items not included and they bring out separate bills with tips on both. I just wish it was all inclusive. Or Ala Carte also make recommendations for F&W should have plan just for festival where you could be able to use those credits. We did use our snack credits which worked but wasn't enough
Pros:
ConvenienceCons:
Doesn't include tips, alcoholReviewed by abipes07 Review Date: 09/03/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
Disney Dining Plan Review – I was recently at Walt Disneyworld and utilized the 2016 Dining Plan. With this plan we had 1 quick service, 1 table service, and snack each day of our stay. I would recommend these plans for anyone who is planning on staying at a Disney Resort and planning on visiting the parks. During our stay we were able to utilize the table service meals to have meals with Disney character’s. This was the highlight of our trip and my children loved meeting all of the characters. In addition, having prepurchased our meals it allowed us to better control our budget and plan out how much money we needed to bring with for the trip. The only out of pocket meal planning we had to budget for was money for tips. When deciding if these plans are right for you consider the types of meals you plan on eating and where you would like to eat.
Pros:
ease of use, better planned budgetCons:
noneReviewed by michellemouse Review Date: 01/11/2016
Rating: (8) Recommended
Love the dinning plan. That said I can remember when you received unlimited meals way back when on my first visit to Disney World. Like the Water Parks and more option loosing Disney Quest access the Dinning plan is also less than before. It is still a good value and plenty of food. Was Super Excited!!! to read that soft drinks and deserts included in your meal could be exchanged for snack credits BUT then I checked with Disney's chat service and was told this is NOT True! Please correct your information so you don't mislead people.
Pros:
Super convienent.Cons:
Gets more limited each time I visit.Reviewed by Koon Review Date: 01/01/2016
Rating: (8) Recommended
We did the DDP for the first time recently, since we got it free. It was so nice to eat at many restaurants we wouldn't consider when paying out of pocket. But that aside, it's great that so many character meals are included as well as buffets, which is great for families with kids under three who eat at no cost. I would crunch the numbers, but if you're considering the QS plan and a couple of character meals out of pocket, this might work better. My only complaint was that we're so rigidly tied to the schedule since you San no longer witch reservations day-of. I would book at hotels for the most part next time, so there's more flexibility with which park you visit before and after.
Pros:
Convenient, character mealsCons:
Rigid scheduleReviewed by MWS Review Date: 11/18/2015
Rating: (6) Recommended
The dining plan can be great and not great at the same time. It requires preplanning to ensure you get the most out of the table service credits and your money’s worth since the dining plan isn’t cheap. We also spent a great deal of time during our trip checking how many snack credits and quick service credits we had and if we would use them all by the end of the trip. Since we didn’t spend much time at our resort, we only used our refillable mugs a couple of times. It’s nice not having to worry about how much money you’re going to spend on a meal and we tried several places we wouldn’t normally try, which is a huge plus. There were a few times we ordered items not because we wanted to, but to make certain we used all our credits. We used most of our snack credits on items at the F&W which made it nice to try different offerings, but dessert with every meal can be a challenge, even when you’re on vacation. With a little planning, okay a lot of planning, you can make this work but you can also eat for less with a little planning. The dining plan isn’t for everyone, but as with the rest of your vacation a little planning can go a long way.
Pros:
Plenty of foodCons:
—Reviewed by Wanda Review Date: 08/18/2015
Rating: (1) Recommended
Was at WDW last week. My husband prices out the cost of the dining plan and what we eat. It costs us about $600 less without it. However, we used to get it in the past. Way too much food. I was very observant of this plan. First, due to the 9 and under rule, the amount served to 10, 11, and up year olds is just wasteful. I must have watched a ton of food be thrown away last week. Also, Disney has the healthy kids meal on the menu so I guess if a child is over 9 yrs old Disney does not think they need to eat healthy. I watched a girl of about 11 at Prime Time eat one piece of her four pieced fried chicken meal, and two bites of her huge sundae. The rest went in the trash. Such a shame. I saw this happen many times. I think if the parents want to be in the plan, the kids should not be forced to be on it just because they are in the same room. Food is so expensive there, and also, the dining plan is so expensive that it goes to waste. Half the women waste half their food. We order what we want and usually not dessert or appetizer because the amount of food in an entree is usually more than enough, and I love to eat.
Pros:
Way to much food and wastefulCons:
Everything from what I saw and readReviewed by mawdryn Review Date: 06/26/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
My family of 4 enjoyed the dining plan for our 5 night stay at POFQ. We dined at BOG (lunch), Yak and Yeti, Chefs de France, The Plaza, Katsura Grill, Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory and Narcoossees. Out of pocket, we paid for a few appetizers, alcoholic beverages, and tips. We didn't have room to fit in 4 counter service meals, so we were able to trade them for 12 snack credits instead. This worked out wonderfully, because we wanted to bring a bit of Disney back home with us. So we were able to pick up gummy candies, rice krispy treats, cookies and pretzels.
Narcoossees, although 2 credits per person was well worth it, because 2 of us had lobster.
We either do the regular dining plan or the deluxe every trip. We saved our receipts, and found this was a definite money saver, as always.
Pros:
Money SaverCons:
NoneReviewed by rak2418185 Review Date: 01/18/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
This is a must have! If for anything ,the fact that I didnt have to worry about cash or credit cards for meals. We got anything we wanted. We've been SIX times with the plan and cant believe people go without. This year we are trying the deluxe. We like to go to character meals and to different restaurants so this enables us to do so. The free refill mug is great! There is no problem finding a place to eat,all you have to do is carry the map or brochure.You can now even use the DISNEY PARK AP to find places. Last year we have regular dining spent 300 "out of pocket" the plan covered another 950. We paid 750 for the plan- so worth it if you plan it out.
Pros:
EVERYTHINGCons:
NOTHINGReviewed by Conte Review Date: 12/04/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
I purchased the Disney Dining plan for our latest trip. Since we are a family of 5 I thought it would save us money. The problem is that when you have a sit down meal you are limited to what you can order. Usually it is a main entree which is normally fine but there were times we would have liked to get just a salad and soup or an appetizer for the meal. The food was good but I felt that the variety was limited it seemed like we had more to choose from last time we used the dining plan 5 years ago. Plus the dessert is a waste. Most of the time we barely ate it and yes we did bring some back to the room only to throw it out untouched. I feel instead of entree and desert they should give you the option of either an appetizer or dessert and entree. Since the tip is not included we spent around $35 in tips for every sit down meal. Next time we go I won't bother with the dining plan because our family would not spend $1500 for meals in 5 days. By not being on the dining plan we will have more menu options during a sit down meal. I have to say the snacks and counter service meals were fine.
