Now we aren't doing the dining plan and I don't know how to plan, help!

[Farro]

So we usually get the dining plan. I like the dining plan. I'm used to the dining plan. I was excited for it next trip (originally we weren't going to get it, but I changed his mind ).
So we've had some unexpected vet bills and plane tickets to purchase to help other family members for things. All to say we discussed and seems best way to make up for some lost money is to cut the dining plan.

I'm not sure how we would save doing that, because I still want to eat! I don't get how people lose money on the plan...

Pros to cutting dining plan:
We don't have to eat at a sit down all 9 nights, can switch to every other.
I don't have to eat a full counter service for lunch if I don't want to, can just eat fries.
I can get an appetizer for dinner and be done with it.
I don't have to get dessert.
We can eat at lounges/bars.

Cons to cutting dining plan:
No idea how much to save for food and alcohol.
Worried I'll be worried about money entire time.
I feel like i'll deprive myself of food because I will want to make sure I'm spending less than if I had dining plan
Now that we can eat anywhere (including lounges, etc.) - no idea where to even start to make ADRs.
No alcohol included. (I won't miss the lunch drink actually and I will drink more than allowed on plan, so would have to pay anyway)

I'm thinking I always eat a small breakfast in room, will probably snack for lunch throughout the day and then either hit a lounge or good quick service at Disney Springs for dinners the nights we don't do sit downs?

Why am I so lost with this?

Give me lounges/bars/ good places for lighter dinners at parks? Disney Springs? Hotels? Restaurants with small plates/apps? Like on DHS day, thought we could go over to Ale And Compass bar/lounge for light early (or late) dinner?

I guess I'm not grasping how not having dining plan is going to save me money.

 

[rwdavis2]

Why don't you just make the same type of ADRs you do when you have the dining plan? Save the cost of the dining plan for paying out of pocket. You will probably spend less. For dining recommendations, just look at the menus. I don't understand why you are treating not having the DDP differently than having it. The plans are not designed to save money. We never get the dining plan. Have had it once that was essentially free, IMHO, it's less stress to not have it. We just order what we want.

 

[Moliphino]

We're doing our first non-DDP trip in years and I'm excited for the freedom. I can have the Nutella waffle at Sleepy Hollow and eat at lounges (Brown Derby Lounge, Nomad Lounge). Just not feeling like I need to eat all that food is a relief, too.

 

[skippytx]

Just put the amount the dining plan costs on a Disney gift card(s), and use those to pay for your meals. 20 bucks says you'll have money left over at the end of the trip.

If you do that you've already prepaid for you food, you don't have to stress out about what things costs, and at the end you'll probably have enough to buy a nice souvenir or three at the end of your trip.

 

[Farro]

Why don't you just make the same type of ADRs you do when you have the dining plan? Save the cost of the dining plan for paying out of pocket. You will probably spend less. For dining recommendations, just look at the menus. I don't understand why you are treating not having the DDP differently than having it. The plans are not designed to save money. We never get the dining plan. Have had it once that was essentially free, IMHO, it's less stress to not have it. We just order what we want.

Thanks, but if I planned the same way I would with the plan, I'd save nothing. I'd just switch dessert for an appetizer.

 

[Farro]

Just put the amount the dining plan costs on a Disney gift card(s), and use those to pay for your meals. 20 bucks says you'll have money left over at the end of the trip.

If you do that you've already prepaid for you food, you don't have to stress out about what things costs, and at the end you'll probably have enough to buy a nice souvenir or three at the end of your trip.

I think we will do that.

 

[Farro]

We're doing our first non-DDP trip in years and I'm excited for the freedom. I can have the Nutella waffle at Sleepy Hollow and eat at lounges (Brown Derby Lounge, Nomad Lounge). Just not feeling like I need to eat all that food is a relief, too.

I like the idea of that too, but I feel like we will spend more money that way! Maybe I'm wrong. All I'll be doing is not getting dessert, but then I'll get an appetizer! But I do like not feeling that I have to do a sit down each night. I'm used to planning around where we want to eat.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I hate planning meals far in advance. I am usually switching things up the day before on every trip!

Pick 4-5 table service that you REALLY want to experience. Check out the menus and make a rough budget.

We love going to Nomad Lounge in AK. It's one of our very favorite spots. See if their menu interests you.

Will you be doing any character meals? I know it's an adult only trip. Garden Grill PPO really gives you bang for your buck, especially if you want to ride Soarin.

We never do the DDP. I don't really budget for food, but we share at quick service and we don't drink alcohol every day. My husband gets beer for the room and we usually drink at Baseline and Nomad.

AllEars.net is going to be your best resource for menu pricing.

 

[piccolopat]

We never do the dining plan. I make ADRs for where we want to go and then we order what we want. Sometimes that means everything from appetizers to dessert and sometimes it just means an appetizer and drink. We've cancelled ADRs the night before when we just felt that we were eating too much. All of this is not practical on the dining plan when you want to maximize the value of the plan. So my recommendation is to make ADRs for where you want to go and then just enjoy!

 

[GillianP1301]

The only way not doing the dining plan will save you a lot of money is if you drastically change how you're going to eat. In other words, if you would eat about the same on dining plan or not, then the plan will usually save you a little bit and/or break even. If you eat at fewer TS restaurants, share meals, eat snacks in your room instead of breakfast, then that will save you money. You won't be getting the same overall dining experience at all, but if price is the main driver, then it can be worth it.

 

[Beer Me]

I like using the cost of DDP as your dining budget. In my case we always spend less out of pocket without really trying and just following our natural habits. Not really trying to save money.

Some of those habits-
- have some snacks in the room for breakfast and grab some coffee on the run as we usually try to hit the parks early. Saves time
- QS lunch, we sometimes share/split/QS meals or order a la carte items in ways that would not be efficient with DDP. Full QS meals everyday for lunch is too much and we end up overeating and still throwing food away.
- TS meals for dinner. We maybe do one character meal, if that. We order a couple of appetizers to share. We almost never order the most expensive entrees- again, not to save money but none of us want to eat steak and lobster (or whatever) every day. Sometimes I just want a salad. We order one or two desserts to share because we’re usually sick from overeating again.
- We rarely drink soda so never get mugs.

Even if you share a meal once or twice and if you don’t order the more expensive TS entrees at every meal, you are likely to save money vs DDP.

 

[Farro]

The only way not doing the dining plan will save you a lot of money is if you drastically change how you're going to eat. In other words, if you would eat about the same on dining plan or not, then the plan will usually save you a little bit and/or break even. If you eat at fewer TS restaurants, share meals, eat snacks in your room instead of breakfast, then that will save you money. You won't be getting the same overall dining experience at all, but if price is the main driver, then it can be worth it.

Yeah, that's my thought process.

I do think I we will eat less table service.
I guess it works that if we have days where we just dont feel that hungry, not having plan will be better

Micky keeps telling me I dont eat as much as I think I do.

 

[SaintsManiac]

The DDP stresses me out. Haven’t used it in 10 years. We always wind up spending less OOP.

 

[GillianP1301]

Yeah, that's my thought process.

I do think I we will eat less table service.
I guess it works that if we have days where we just dont feel that hungry, not having plan will be better

I'm testing this on my upcoming trip. I've always done dining plan, but this time going OOP. I booked all my ADRs the same as I would if I were on the dining plan (I do 2, sometimes 3 TS a day). I want to see if I exceed what I would've spent on my plan. My thinking is like yours in that I will likely not want to order 3 courses at every meal. I can see me doing an app only or skipping desserts, things like that. I did the math and even assuming I would order to get the most out of the plan, I should be at worst, breaking even to the dining plan costs.

 

[Paulines]

Farro, I am sooooo with you! I love the DDP and will not have it on our September visit Everytime I make a reservation, I’m crunching numbers and worrying that we are going to spend more money for a lesser dining experience.

I’ll be following along with this thread!

 

[gorkt]

I have gone to WDW lots of times and never did the dining plan - I saved receipts and always come out ahead. I could never justify the extra cost, even when it covered tips and didn’t include alcohol. I don’t see how people actually save money unless they optimize and end up eating things they normally would not choose to eat or stuffing themselves - like ordering the steak every time when you really want the salad or pasta once in awhile, or eating at places that give you good value for your credit even if it isn’t something you would choose.

Every trip, I pick the restaurants I want to eat at, then calculate an approximate amount per meal and budget that which is always less than the price of the DDP. We usually end up spending less because everything looks great while I am planning, but we are usually too full and drop a reservation or two. We tend to eat a lighter breakfast, maybe split one appetizer at sit down meals and split desserts. It is also because one of my kids eats like a bird and the other is picky, so they don’t even come close to maximizing the credit. We also don’t drink alcohol, which also makes it super hard to maximize the DDP.

Your post is music to Iger's ears. Money is a pain point that most people would rather not think about on vacation, and DDP counts on the fact that a lot of people will leave money on the table when using it, just so that they don’t stress about the money. It would stress me out a lot more to pay for what I don’t use. However, your eating style might suit the plan better.

 

[Farro]

I have gone to WDW lots of times and never did the dining plan - I saved receipts and always come out ahead. I could never justify the extra cost, even when it covered tips and didn’t include alcohol. I don’t see how people actually save money unless they optimize and end up eating things they normally would not choose to eat or stuffing themselves - like ordering the steak every time when you really want the salad or pasta once in awhile, or eating at places that give you good value for your credit even if it isn’t something you would choose.

Every trip, I pick the restaurants I want to eat at, then calculate an approximate amount per meal and budget that which is always less than the price of the DDP. We usually end up spending less because everything looks great while I am planning, but we are usually too full and drop a reservation or two. We tend to eat a lighter breakfast, maybe split one appetizer at sit down meals and split desserts. It is also because one of my kids eats like a bird and the other is picky, so they don’t even come close to maximizing the credit. We also don’t drink alcohol, which also makes it super hard to maximize the DDP.

Your post is music to Iger's ears. Money is a pain point that most people would rather not think about on vacation, and DDP counts on the fact that a lot of people will leave money on the table when using it, just so that they don’t stress about the money. It would stress me out a lot more to pay for what I don’t use. However, your eating style might suit the plan better.

We drink alcohol.

I'm glad I'm musical.

 

[Farro]

Farro, I am sooooo with you! I love the DDP and will not have it on our September visit Everytime I make a reservation, I’m crunching numbers and worrying that we are going to spend more money for a lesser dining experience.

I’ll be following along with this thread!

Yes! I guess I'm one of those people who doesn't think the dining plan is too much food!

I mean we have to change from the way we would eat on the plan to actually save money.
Now that may not be bad. I may really find that I eat less when I know I dont have credits to use up! And lounges will be a fun option.

It's the alcohol that I think is really tripping me up. Its makes the plan so easy to come out ahead.
I will add what we spend, just to be able to say I told you so if we end up somehow spending more.

 

[Beer Me]

We drink alcohol.

I'm glad I'm musical.

I drink quite a bit on vacation. But strangely enough I don’t always want a drink with my TS meal. But if I did it’s still not enough to make the math work. Most drinks are from QS places and stands and wouldn’t be covered by the dining plan. I also keep a good stash in my room

 

[PA Princess 1988]

Something else you might try is a Disney Dining Plan calculator. I used one for our last trip and it was very helpful. It will ask you some questions about how you want to dine and then it will compare the out-of pocket cost to the Dining Plan. It showed it would be less expensive for us to pay out-of pocket. Every trip in the past, we always had the dining plan. We actually did spend less not using the dining plan on our last trip.