To Dining Plan or Not to Dining Plan

I am so proud of this thread. It is the most civil polite discussion of the Dining Plan I have ever been a part of. This board is so AWESOME.

Ha ha ha! It really does just come down to personal choice. Some people punch the numbers for savings, others buy it just for the convenience, regardless of the price, some only want it if it is free, others are only counter service eaters and I know some just don't want to bother with it, but there is absolutely no reason to argue about it.

Regretting ever not getting it, for us the answer is no!!!

We got the Dining Plan in 2012 when we went (free dining) and we thought it was great. We paid for a couple quick service meals out of pocket as we used a couple full service meals to do the signature restaurants, but on our honeymoon we decided to do the Deluxe Dining Plan...what a mistake! We left at least 10 credits on the table because we just couldn't eat that much. We liked the extra snacks to use during F&W Fest, but for the amount that we overpaid, we could have easily paid out of pocket for the snacks and still saved money.

I am happy to read a majority people do not regret passing on the dining plan. I have used the DDP the last three years and thought we would always get, but after crunching the numbers, I realize I would not regret passing on it this year. I would save $200-$300 by not getting it!

We had the Deluxe Dining Plan on our last two trips. While it was great, and had that "all inclusive" feel that encouraged us to try a TON of restaurants, we're not getting any dining plan this time around. We figure we've gotten a great feel for which restaurants we like now. And we won't feel like we're "chasing the savings". Like many have said, it is all about personal preference, but I really don't think we're going to regret not getting the Dining Plan this time.

My main objection to the dining plan is that it undoubtedly lowers the food quality at WDW. I think because of it, we all lose out in the long run -whether we get it or not.

And yes, this thread would lead to virtual blood shed on other forums. WDW4GU is a peaceful and highly evolved civilization.

Have looked at the dining plan but it never quite made sense for us.
However if we had booked with VA at the right times we would have been offered it for free and would have taken it because we wouldn't have worried about eating our moneys worth.

I would submit that even with free dining being offered, before deciding on it, one should weigh it against any room discounts being offered at the same time. Usually, you can have one or the other but not both. Again, in our case at least, the room discount is more attractive.

Obviously, this relates only to cost considerations.

In just a few days my BFF and I are going on our BFF Birthday Trip. We did get the Dining Plan and yesterday she called me and said..."I didn't realized the Dining Plan meant we pre paid for our Meals" FACEPALM. I giggled at her and said what did you think it was for, she thought we were paying for the ADR ONLY not the actual meal.

Googly Moogly. She was excited that she didn't have to budget money for all of the meals.

On the Disney Noobs are great

We are not dining plan people either. We like the freedom to eat what and when we want, and we don't like the idea of forcing down more than we would normally eat. Additionally, as we have specific dietary requirements (we're both vegan), we find that most of the desserts are unsuitable for us and the dining plan would be a waste of money. We also don't like to eat table service every night and sometimes prefer to just grab a quick CS dinner.

I completely agree with this statement.

I've always been a fan of the dining plan because it takes some stress off of me. When I don't have it I tend to sit down and be constantly budgeting things in my head, I don't always get what I really want due to cost, I spend more time adding up money than I do having fun. Our party also splits up quite a bit and it's easier for me just to tell the kids to use a credit then adding up their receipts at the end of the day.

However, over the past couple of years pinching pennies has been more important to me than reducing stress, so we've been getting the regular dining plan other than deluxe or just paying cash - and it hasn't been so bad. I think that I can go either way on the dining plan, depending on the trip and who is traveling with me. The more people I have traveling that I have to organize the easier it is to just use the dining plan. When it's me and maybe one other person cash is working out just fine.