NEW! 2018 WDW Dining Plan

We love the dinning plan my kids are old enough to do there own thing and we meet up for the sit downs this way I don’t worry about getting them money for food its all on the magic band! We just make sure we order meals that are higher priced to get our moneys worth. Plus when we go to leave any meals or snacks left we take snacks with us for the flight

Chelle wrote:

I actually booked a large family in 2 rooms. One room is getting the deluxe dining plan (4 adults) and the second room is not (4 adults 2 kids). They are going to share their 60 credits over the course of 5 nights and they come ahead. In THIS case, I suggested doing it this way because it comes out to about $300 per person to eat for the entire week! Now, THAT is a great deal (and why I’m so awesome lol).

You are!

bher wrote:

For those of you thinking about getting the Disney Dining Plan (1 table service, 1 quick service, and 2 snacks,) here is an example day for use of comparison.
Breakfast at Chef Mickey is 40+tax=42.60
All American Burger at American Pavilion at EPCOT and drink is 14.49+3.29+tax = 18.94
2 pretzels $5 (tax included)
total = 71.54
The current meal plan is 69.35.
If you are going to do dinners then using Chef Mickey as the example would go up to 82.80 (11.34 higher for dinner than breakfast.)
Final analysis–if you are going to eat character meals daily (especially lunch and dinner–Chef Mickey is one of the more expensive breakfast–Akershus is higher,) then to me the meal plan is a deal. If you do not want to eat that much or meat the characters, then I would pay out of pocket.

Thank you so much for sharing this… I am a huge supporter of the Disney Dining Plan. We get it every year (most of the time Free Dining due to Bounce Backs…) and we literally go to a character meal every day if possible! Thats the FUN PART of eating in Disney… you get to eat with your Hero’s and the Princesses!

It seems Disney likes to cater to 1%ers or the upper crust. I’m sure Walt would not be Immpressed with the alienation of most people. The whole Disney springs thing is nice but who can afford to shop there? Most stores seem like they’re straight off Rodeo Drive! The whole Disney experience is getting way to expensive and if it means not going to any sit down meals to save money then thats what I gotta do. Not sure about anyone else but it takes a good 2 years for us to be able to put enough money away just get there and go cheap! I can’t imagine adding another $60-100 bucks per day per person! Thats almost a whole other trip in itself. God bless you if you got it but I sure as hell don’t!

It used to be a thing that I could justify because if I scheduled it right I could maximize my money spent. But as the years keep seeing the price increase that kind of makes everything a wash. Now instead of maximizing the dollar it really comes down to convenience. My wife would rather know that meals are paid for and out of the way and is even willing to pay a little more to have that peace of mind.

I’m a ta too and I always tell them it’s not the best deal. Unfortunately their “friends” often tell them what great savings it is. Thats when I show them the Disney Dining Calculator

I am new to the TA industry, but I tend to try to talk people out of it, too, unless it will really save! A lot of people are more focused on the convenience more than the value, and I was one of those for a while! One trip, I put what the dining plan would cost onto a gift card, and used that to eat whatever whenever. When I had almost enough left on that card to pay my next trip’s deposit, the dining plan’s spell wore off! There are some instances when the dining plan is cost effective, so that is why the dining calculator is so nifty! Most of the time, especially with the new price increases, it isn’t that big of a savings anymore from what I have seen. I like to recommend the gift card approach to everyone. That way, the meals are still “pre-paid” for, and you may get a little bit left over for next time! Now if you are planning to dine with our favorite characters everyday, the dining plan is still the way to go!