Reviews of Disney Dining Plan
Reviewed by disneyhappy09 Review Date: 02/02/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
This is the third time using the DDP. I'm not sure if I'd go this route again, maybe switch to quick servce. While I'm sure we did save money using the plan, on this trip the ADRs and timing just didn't work out as well for us. This will be the last trip my son will be on the kids plan which will be nice. At 9 years old the options for dinner just aren't that great, some worked (Be Our Guest and Tony's) others didn't (Yak & Yeti). I agree with everyone else, the option of choosing between appetizers and desserts would be nice. We still had that option the first time. Mugs at the resort were a nice addition but we really didn't use them a lot since you then had to carry them around with you all day if not returning to your room after breakfast. I think I'll be doing some calculating before purchasing the DDP again.
Pros:
—Cons:
—Reviewed by PolynesianStitch Review Date: 01/28/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
The dining plan works exceptionally well for us. We get to try a large variety of food, many new restaurants, and save some money. We really enjoy that we get to have desserts with our meals and don't need to worry about the cost. It fits our dining style very well as we prefer a substantial sit-down dinner and a light lunch. We found that snack credits could be used for a wide variety of items that were suitable for breakfast. Also we could sometimes split a quick service credit between two for lunch and then again at breakfast for some of the more generously sized entrees.
Pros:
convenience, varietyCons:
—Reviewed by disneyhorsefan Review Date: 01/22/2013
Rating: (6) Not Recommended
On previous trips, I have always been a huge fan of the dining plan. After my most recent trip, I'm not so sure.
I just came home from a 6 night stay at AoA with my sister. Both of us are in our early 20s and are fairly light eaters who occasionally like to indulge.
We had table service reservations for each day, and enjoyed being able to have that many, something we never would have done had we been paying out of pocket. Had I been paying out of pocket, I also would have most likely chosen some of the cheaper entrees rather than the ones I enjoyed on this trip.
That being said, since we are not HUGE eaters we split several counter service meals and snacks to avoid paying out of pocket for ANY food at all during our trip. While it was nice to not pay for any food there, we kept track of how much we "spent" and found it to be about $70 less than what the dining plan cost us. We actually enjoyed splitting the meals since we got so much food anyways, and didn't have to pay for breakfast (or whatever we would have been lacking a CS credit for). Between splitting meals and choosing smaller options that we wanted anyways, it would have been much cheaper to just pay out of pocket.
Lesson learned.
I enjoyed having the refillable mug simply to be able to drink free coffee every morning, lemonade or anything besides water at night, and to have something to fill up at water fountains in the parks. In addition, it is making a great souvenir now that I am home!
While I enjoyed the dining plan in the past, the price increase has made it not worthwhile for us.
Pros:
Convinience, get to try restaurants we wouldn't want to pay for out of pocketCons:
would have saved money paying out of pocket, too much foodReviewed by Ohana Review Date: 01/22/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Our only complaints are we wish you could get either an appetizer or dessert on the dining plan, and my 8 year old wishes she had more options. Other than that, it is a must for us. We get to eat at places we would never pay for or take the time to make reservations on our own.
