Dining Plan Convenience???? Where's the Convenience?

[tguz]

First-timer or not you should be looking at the menus multiple times depending on how early you booked your trip.

Disney increases and adjusts their menus (either by ingredients or by meal options) frequently. It is completely possible to change the menu pricing under the 180 days too.

When I went for my Sep 2017 trip I tracked pricing. I actually went through all the restaurants I may be interested in eating at and what meal options I would be most likely to eat. In the year or so time frame that I had tracked the menu pricing and the ingredients and the meal options changed multiple times.

$1 or so here and there NBD but with so many menu adjustments that can be had that sure adds up. Especially if it's a several dollar hit to the pricing.

Skipper Canteen is a place that is still undergoing menu changes for example. I know the menu item my husband ate hasn't been on the menu for a long while now so if I was counting on that in the past I'd be out of luck.

I was talking about not needing to check menus for prices. People that have been several times know what the rib and chicken platter at Flame Tree is going to cost (as an example) or more generic they know what a burger and fries is going to cost or at almost any qs, it is fairly easy to to put a good cost estimate together without going thru all the menus....at least it is for me and I am only speaking for myself. First timers wouldn't know that info unless they look at menus ahead of time when they do the cost comparison of oop vs meal plan.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I was talking about not needing to check menus for prices. People that have been several times know what the rib and chicken platter at Flame Tree is going to cost (as an example) or more generic they know what a burger and fries is going to cost or at almost any qs, it is fairly easy to to put a good cost estimate together without going thru all the menus....at least it is for me and I am only speaking for myself. First timers wouldn't know that info unless they look at menus ahead of time when they do the cost comparison of oop vs meal plan.

Disney raises food pricing all the time. One trip that Chicken platter will be X price and the next it's $1.50 more, multiply that by all the restaurants that also incur raising of the pricing and your estimate may be decently off. That's what I was referring to. Like I said when I tracked the menu pricing changed multiple times. Some items ended up being several dollars more than when I first tracked plus pop also experienced increases in cost. Again multiply that with all the restaurants.

I'm just saying if you want accuracy you'll check everytime because your estimate may be off as Disney adjusts pricing and menu options (meaning the item you were counting on could be gone). Plus Disney has raised the price of the Dining Plan after releasing it before which can throw off calculations.

I do agree about first timers but I was also saying it applies to non-first timers; that would be the part where I guess you and I don't agree.

 

[tguz]

Disney raises food pricing all the time. One trip that Chicken platter will be X price and the next it's $1.50 more, multiply that by all the restaurants that also incur raising of the pricing and your estimate may be decently off. That's what I was referring to. Like I said when I tracked the menu pricing changed multiple times. Some items ended up being several dollars more than when I first tracked plus pop also experienced increases in cost. Again multiply that with all the restaurants.

I'm just saying if you want accuracy you'll check everytime because your estimate may be off as Disney adjusts pricing and menu options (meaning the item you were counting on could be gone). Plus Disney has raised the price of the Dining Plan after releasing it before which can throw off calculations.

I do agree about first timers but I was also saying it applies to non-first timers; that would be the part where I guess you and I don't agree.

I guess we will disagree. I come up with a pretty good estimate without looking at all the menus. It is easy to account for possible price increases by simply adding 10% to my estimate. I know prices don't stay stagnant at Disney for too long. If I'm off by a little so be it, if I need to get an exact down to the penny number....I probably should have went on a cheaper vacation to start with. We are on free dining next week anyway so this year I didn't need to come up with a food budget. Wherever we decide to eat, it's been paid for long ago and I am free to get whatever I want that is covered by the plan.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I guess we will disagree. I come up with a pretty good estimate without looking at all the menus. It is easy to account for possible price increases by simply adding 10% to my estimate. I know prices don't stay stagnant at Disney for too long. If I'm off by a little so be it, if I need to get an exact down to the penny number....I probably should have went on a cheaper vacation to start with. We are on free dining next week anyway so this year I didn't need to come up with a food budget. Wherever we decide to eat, it's been paid for long ago and I am free to get whatever I want that is covered by the plan.

Totally ok

 

[angelmav]

Disney prices things because
1) they can
2) people pay the prices regardless of the DDP

I can 1000% say with no DDP the prices would be where they are at, in the restaurant business the prices are based on a cost per plate, plain and simply put not on a assumed assumption that some tend to give.....

And yes Disney does love to sell as they are in a for profit business after all.......

That was not entirely the point I was trying to make. With the dining plan they successfully upsell people on things they maybe would not have bought with cash, because, hey, it's covered! But they got them to agree to prepay for the upsell, but because they may walk away with a 5-7% 'savings', they feel good about it. With the way they have structured many of their prices, it's really with the plan folks in mind.

I disagree 1000% that pricing would be the same if no dining plan existed. They would never get the same volume without the plan. It is the cog that keeps the wheel moving.

The plan is not a bad thing.

 

[MarkinNM]

I disagree 1000% that pricing would be the same if no dining plan existed. They would never get the same volume without the plan. It is the cog that keeps the wheel moving.

The plan is not a bad thing.

Nope, when in Disney a majority onsite are staying on Disney property and Disney knows this and thus one is trapped to eat at Disney, add to that some just do not like to leave site for the time inconvenience and cost of time leaving offsite, car rental/gas/parking fees....., so it is a wash in cost and when adding it up the savings by eating elsewhere cheaper has vanished. It is so much easier to stay on property and Disney knows this, thus why they have over I think 150 different places to eat onsite, again cost is based on the food and labor cost per plate, not some perceived assumed thoughts......

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That was not entirely the point I was trying to make. With the dining plan they successfully upsell people on things they maybe would not have bought with cash, because, hey, it's covered! But they got them to agree to prepay for the upsell, but because they may walk away with a 5-7% 'savings', they feel good about it. With the way they have structured many of their prices, it's really with the plan folks in mind.

I disagree 1000% that pricing would be the same if no dining plan existed. They would never get the same volume without the plan. It is the cog that keeps the wheel moving.

The plan is not a bad thing.

Many people seem to agree with you with respects to discussing the Boards that at least in part the driving force to increasing in pricing is the availability of the Dining Plan.

I've seen over even just the relatively short time (in comparison to many other posters who have been on the DIS for 10+years) the type of compaints people have. One thing is the buffets, AYCTE and character dining----a feature that is often touted as making it worth it for people--which the pricing listed on the DIS was just updated a few weeks ago: https://www.disboards.com/threads/buffet-character-shows-aycte-pricing-rev-06-30-2019.3108466/

For some people they discuss the Dining Plan with "oh but now I don't actually pay $66 per adult for the Akershus Princess Storybook experience for lunch or dinner it's just 1 credit" just to use an example. That's great but I'm skeptical that these places could garner that much interest at that OOP price point if there weren't people who thought about it in the sense of just credits/rolled into the cost.

 

[mom2rose&john]

I disagree 1000% that pricing would be the same if no dining plan existed. They would never get the same volume without the plan. It is the cog that keeps the wheel moving.

Disney food prices have been inflated since I began going in the early 1980's. They have a captive audience. Not many people are going to leave the parks to eat offsite because of the inconvenience and time factors. I have never been to a theme park, festival or event that has not inflated food/drink prices.

 

[angelmav]

Nope, when in Disney a majority onsite are staying on Disney property and Disney knows this and thus one is trapped to eat at Disney, add to that some just do not like to leave site for the time inconvenience and cost of time leaving offsite, car rental/gas/parking fees....., so it is a wash in cost and when adding it up the savings by eating elsewhere cheaper has vanished. It is so much easier to stay on property and Disney knows this, thus why they have over I think 150 different places to eat onsite, again cost is based on the food and labor cost per plate, not some perceived assumed thoughts......

Not sure if you are 'trying' to be snarky or just coming of that way. You keep twisting my point in a misdirected way.

They price things that give a greater 'perceived' value for those on the plan. Does that make any sense to you? Do you understand now, or would you like to take that in another direction? That is hardly an assumption. That makes certain things a very bad value in relation to those paying oop. Many of the 'best DDP deals' are a terrible value for a cash buyer. Think BoG breakfast.

Obviously they want to keep everyone on site for the duration of their vacation and get every a spare dollar. Central Florida is a playground, with a major competing park. But having multiple resorts, multiple parks, DDP, park transportation, Magic Express and probably most importantly cheaper tickets the more days you add, does a great job of locking people into the bubble. But whoever suggested that line of thinking to begin with? They would have a harder time filling their restaurants without the DDP. That doesn't mean people would leave the Disney bubble. Just opt for other alternatives more often.

 

[Bjkandma]

Disney food prices have increased by as much as $2.00 per item since August, 2018. While the cost for the dining plan for 2019 is actually the same price as 2018.

is it convenient, yes. Nice to be able to tell kids "yes, you can have that $7 sundae".

Also, when you stay at a value resort, with 2 adults and 1 Disney adult. The "free dining" and paying rack rate is a better deal. POP resort rack rate $150 (as an example per night) offering a 20% discount, saves $30 pe r night. Getting free dining and upgrading to the regular plan, an additional $25 per night, per person. Staying 10 nights, your savings for room discount $300. Ten nights,at $25 per person ($250), 3 adults according to disney, $750. Adding the $300 (room discount) I don't want and the $750 for dining. Total cost is $1,050. Subtract the price of three refillable mugs ($20). That makes total $990.

$990 over 10 days, divided by 3 people comes out to $33 per person, per day. I know some people eat lighter and want different things.

With the average cost of $6 per snack, last year it was $5 per snack, leaves each person with $21 for two meals and drinks. Anyone drinking adult beverages or speciality drinks? Adult beverages,at quick service resort, August, 2018 was $8 each. Table service restaurants in parks any where between $10 to $15 per drink. (2019, I'm sure it increased)

So I quick service meal and table service meal for ten days is, "free" and it doesn't matter what you order from the menu.

Is it convenient, maybe the word should be "stress free" dining. If the kids don't eat everything or like it, I'm not wasting money. It's just a little less than i am saving.

Again, bottom line it's Disney and everyone is entitled to do Disney their own way.

 

[Maggie Gallagher]

Okay. Let me break this down for you based on how I personally eat.

Breakfast at Captain Cooks: Yogurt $4.99 Orange juice $4.99 Total: $9.98. (equal to 2 snack credits)
Lunch at Captain Cooks: Cheeseburger $12.49 Smartwater $5.50 Total: $17.99 (equal to 1 quick service)
Dinner at Coral Reef: Lobster Boil $40.00 Chocolate Wave $9.50 Cocktail $10? Total: $59.50 (equal to 1 table service) In addition, I get a free refillable mug that I get my free unlimited cups coffee in, plus other free unlimited beverages throughout the day. I would imagine I save $20 a day on that.

Total cost of one day of dining: $87.47 Estimated cost of free refillable drinks $20.

Total cost of one day of DDP: $75.49

Isn't the daily savings obvious?!

The convenience is knowing that my family can order whatever we please and save money on the DDP.
This is so simple. All of the debate makes me shake my head.

 

[Summer2018]

Not sure if you are 'trying' to be snarky or just coming of that way. You keep twisting my point in a misdirected way.

They price things that give a greater 'perceived' value for those on the plan. Does that make any sense to you? Do you understand now, or would you like to take that in another direction? That is hardly an assumption. That makes certain things a very bad value in relation to those paying oop. Many of the 'best DDP deals' are a terrible value for a cash buyer. Think BoG breakfast.

Obviously they want to keep everyone on site for the duration of their vacation and get every a spare dollar. Central Florida is a playground, with a major competing park. But having multiple resorts, multiple parks, DDP, park transportation, Magic Express and probably most importantly cheaper tickets the more days you add, does a great job of locking people into the bubble. But whoever suggested that line of thinking to begin with? They would have a harder time filling their restaurants without the DDP. That doesn't mean people would leave the Disney bubble. Just opt for other alternatives more often.

I like being locked inside the Disney bubble. We used to drive from CT, and even though we had a car, we never left property except for one trip (and we hated leaving the bubble). The whole point of our vacation to WDW is the immersive experience that we have when we are there. The outside world no longer exists. That is vacation for us.

The last thing we want to do is drive all over Orlando to get a cheaper meal. I don’t want to cook. I want to relax and be taken away from reality for a week.

Now that we fly down, we are less likely to leave property, but we wouldn’t do it anyway. Disney’s transportation from the moment My plane lands is fine with me.

I know it’s expensive, and I don’t care. It’s worth every penny to me.

 

[tguz]

I like being locked inside the Disney bubble. We used to drive from CT, and even though we had a car, we never left property except for one trip (and we hated leaving the bubble). The whole point of our vacation to WDW is the immersive experience that we have when we are there. The outside world no longer exists. That is vacation for us.

The last thing we want to do is drive all over Orlando to get a cheaper meal. I don’t want to cook. I want to relax and be taken away from reality for a week.

Now that we fly down, we are less likely to leave property, but we wouldn’t do it anyway. Disney’s transportation from the moment My plane lands is fine with me.

I know it’s expensive, and I don’t care. It’s worth every penny to me.

We love the Disney bubble and we never leave it until we head home. We drive every time and once we get out of the car on the first day, we don't get back in the car until we leave. Disney transportation is great for us!

 

[gillep]

Okay. Let me break this down for you based on how I personally eat.

Breakfast at Captain Cooks: Yogurt $4.99 Orange juice $4.99 Total: $9.98. (equal to 2 snack credits)
Lunch at Captain Cooks: Cheeseburger $12.49 Smartwater $5.50 Total: $17.99 (equal to 1 quick service)
Dinner at Coral Reef: Lobster Boil $40.00 Chocolate Wave $9.50 Cocktail $10? Total: $59.50 (equal to 1 table service) In addition, I get a free refillable mug that I get my free unlimited cups coffee in, plus other free unlimited beverages throughout the day. I would imagine I save $20 a day on that.

Total cost of one day of dining: $87.47 Estimated cost of free refillable drinks $20.

Total cost of one day of DDP: $75.49

Isn't the daily savings obvious?!

The convenience is knowing that my family can order whatever we please and save money on the DDP.
This is so simple. All of the debate makes me shake my head.

That is a great savings and it is awesome that the plan works for you! It works so well because the plan fits how you eat. For instance for my husband and I this would be a very typical day for us and you can see how it would not fit in well with any of the dining plans.

Breakfast: QS breakfast sandwich plus drink and a kids mickey waffle meal split between us (this would be covered but getting a kids meal would be a bad use of a credit, we could get a second adult meal but we don't need that much food, and it would cost more money than if we had gotten exactly what we wanted).

Lunch: In park lounge with a couple cocktails each and multiple shared appetizers or tapas type food (lounges are not covered by the dining plan so nothing here would be covered).

Dinner: Signature dinner, usually I would get an app and my husband would get an entree and we would split a bottle of wine (only my husband's entree would be covered on the regular dining plan, or entree and app if we did the deluxe plan, bottle of wine not covered anywhere on the ddp). We generally don't eat desserts with dinner so that would be lost on us and we don't drink soda so we would just get glasses of water with our bottle of wine so we wouldn't even use the drink portion of the plan either, even if we did cocktails over the bottle of wine it still isn't making the plan worth it for us.

we usually get one snack a day to split, maybe a Starbucks drink two times over the course of a week long trip (these would be covered but we would have a ton of snack credits left).

You can see how the plan would not work for us unless we totally changed how and where we eat to conform. I will sometimes do the deluxe plan for one night if we have a split stay with a one night reservation for day one, (we can eat according to the deluxe plan for the two days it is active for a one night plan and be happy, but we cannot sustain it any longer than that without changing our habits too much and getting way more food than we would ever normally need or want). This is why I always suggest that people look at where they like to eat and how they like to eat for a specific trip before deciding if the plan fits for them, if it does, great, if not, that's fine too.

 

[Farro]

I will never understand why people who don't want to use the dining plan need people who do use the dining plan to explain why they use it. Or need to tell these people why it's a waste of money.

Who cares?

I don't care why you don't use the dining plan, in fact, it wouldn't even cross my mind to ask you about it.

I think my favorite posts are when posters try to imply that we on the plan are either too lazy or too dumb to figure out the pricing before we go.

We may use it some trips, some trips we won't. This trip we will because we want a sit down dinner each night, snack credits to be used at flower/garden, and now with one alcoholic drink with lunch and dinner, um, bonus! The two of us will definitely come out ahead this trip.

Maybe when I activate my AP on the next trip, we'll try TIW.

 

[angelmav]

I like being locked inside the Disney bubble. We used to drive from CT, and even though we had a car, we never left property except for one trip (and we hated leaving the bubble). The whole point of our vacation to WDW is the immersive experience that we have when we are there. The outside world no longer exists. That is vacation for us.

The last thing we want to do is drive all over Orlando to get a cheaper meal. I don’t want to cook. I want to relax and be taken away from reality for a week.

Now that we fly down, we are less likely to leave property, but we wouldn’t do it anyway. Disney’s transportation from the moment My plane lands is fine with me.

I know it’s expensive, and I don’t care. It’s worth every penny to me.

I like being in the WDW bubble too. That was SOOOOOOO not my point. And what you just stated is why they make it an all encompassing vacation from the moment you land. It's brilliant. That is not a one sided trade. But you can eat cheaper on property too, and if you are a cash customer, it changes some of your logic for what works in the bubble. That BoG breakfast is no longer a good idea. You will be more discerning. That is both good and bad. It may even add stress as the costs of what you are spending have to be dealt with at each point, versus just using a credit because it is 'covered'. Both have their pro's and cons.

The original question was, how is using the DDP more convenient than paying cash. There isn't really much in the way of convenience. Then some started mentioning savings. Some of that savings is of the fuzzy math variety because you would have to be willing to make the same purchases with cash to see true savings. Saying you would never buy XYZ but since it is covered is just getting sold the upcharge by buying ahead. But that is fine. I get that. It's pre-budgeted which makes A LOT of sense for many, many people.

But as I said before, the OP will never get a satisfying answer to the original question.

 

[MarkinNM]

Not sure if you are 'trying' to be snarky or just coming of that way. You keep twisting my point in a misdirected way.

They price things that give a greater 'perceived' value for those on the plan. Does that make any sense to you? Do you understand now, or would you like to take that in another direction? That is hardly an assumption. That makes certain things a very bad value in relation to those paying oop. Many of the 'best DDP deals' are a terrible value for a cash buyer. Think BoG breakfast.

Obviously they want to keep everyone on site for the duration of their vacation and get every a spare dollar. Central Florida is a playground, with a major competing park. But having multiple resorts, multiple parks, DDP, park transportation, Magic Express and probably most importantly cheaper tickets the more days you add, does a great job of locking people into the bubble. But whoever suggested that line of thinking to begin with? They would have a harder time filling their restaurants without the DDP. That doesn't mean people would leave the Disney bubble. Just opt for other alternatives more often.

Life is way too short to be snarky on a message board.....

Most restaurant meals are a "terrible value" but most give it a wash because of the convenience.....oh-oh there's that word again......back to square one.......

 

[angelmav]

Life is way too short to be snarky on a message board.....

Most restaurant meals are a "terrible value" but most give it a wash because of the convenience.....oh-oh there's that word again......back to square one.......

I often find convenience is worth paying for. I also agree, eating out is usually a terrible value in general, but is something we enjoy. I especially enjoy that aspect while on vacation.

But, yeah, I don't think the point of this thread has a satisfying answer based on the question asked.

Cheers!

 

[Summer2018]

That is a great savings and it is awesome that the plan works for you! It works so well because the plan fits how you eat. For instance for my husband and I this would be a very typical day for us and you can see how it would not fit in well with any of the dining plans.

Breakfast: QS breakfast sandwich plus drink and a kids mickey waffle meal split between us (this would be covered but getting a kids meal would be a bad use of a credit, we could get a second adult meal but we don't need that much food, and it would cost more money than if we had gotten exactly what we wanted).

Lunch: In park lounge with a couple cocktails each and multiple shared appetizers or tapas type food (lounges are not covered by the dining plan so nothing here would be covered).

Dinner: Signature dinner, usually I would get an app and my husband would get an entree and we would split a bottle of wine (only my husband's entree would be covered on the regular dining plan, or entree and app if we did the deluxe plan, bottle of wine not covered anywhere on the ddp). We generally don't eat desserts with dinner so that would be lost on us and we don't drink soda so we would just get glasses of water with our bottle of wine so we wouldn't even use the drink portion of the plan either, even if we did cocktails over the bottle of wine it still isn't making the plan worth it for us.

we usually get one snack a day to split, maybe a Starbucks drink two times over the course of a week long trip (these would be covered but we would have a ton of snack credits left).

You can see how the plan would not work for us unless we totally changed how and where we eat to conform. I will sometimes do the deluxe plan for one night if we have a split stay with a one night reservation for day one, (we can eat according to the deluxe plan for the two days it is active for a one night plan and be happy, but we cannot sustain it any longer than that without changing our habits too much and getting way more food than we would ever normally need or want). This is why I always suggest that people look at where they like to eat and how they like to eat for a specific trip before deciding if the plan fits for them, if it does, great, if not, that's fine too.

I completely understand that DDP doesn’t work for you.

For anyone thinking about purchasing it, they need to consider their eating habits, traveling styles, and budget.

My friend gets the Deluxe DDP. It’s fabulous for her family. My family wouldn’t be able to eat all of that food. Another friend does Quick Service plan. That wouldn’t work for me either because we enjoy table service once per day.

It’s like the story of “The Three Bears.” We are all different and require different things.

To answer the OP’s question: Yes. I find the DDP to be very convenient for my family. When we were in Disneyland and there wasn’t an option to have DDP, we went way over our budget.

Not having a dining plan was very inconvenient for us.

 

[gillep]

I will never understand why people who don't want to use the dining plan need people who do use the dining plan to explain why they use it. Or need to tell these people why it's a waste of money.

Who cares?

I don't care why you don't use the dining plan, in fact, it wouldn't even cross my mind to ask you about it.

I think my favorite posts are when posters try to imply that we on the plan are either too lazy or too dumb to figure out the pricing before we go.

We may use it some trips, some trips we won't. This trip we will because we want a sit down dinner each night, snack credits to be used at flower/garden, and now with one alcoholic drink with lunch and dinner, um, bonus! The two of us will definitely come out ahead this trip.

Maybe when I activate my AP on the next trip, we'll try TIW.

I could not possibly care less whether someone uses the DP or not. We have used it in the past and enjoyed it, but find that it does not work for the vast majority of our trips for reasons previously outlined.

I only post in these types of threads to counteract the way too simplistic and incorrect statement that anyone can eat whatever they want on the dining plan and have it covered in advance, I know what the vast majority of people that say this mean, but it is objectively false information, the plans are more complex than that.

I came to the Dis when planning my first trip about 10 years and 25+ trips ago, I remember how overwhelming it was to plan that trip, with all the different choices regarding hotels, packages vs room only, dining plan or oop, ticket options, etc. and how helpful the information on the Dis was to me, and how valuable of a resource I still find this site. My goal is to add to the good information and positive discourse on this site, and I think that stating that the DDP is a bit more complex and nuanced than is sometimes presented is important.