Disney Dining Plan while staying DVC

[k-wa]

I'm finding our trips are getting more and more expensive because we like to eat at Disney sit down restaurants for at least one meal a day. And frankly, those experiences continue to go up in price. We do cook in our room often, but like the combination of dining out and dining in.

Can you purchase a dining plan while staying DVC? Has anyone done this? If yes, would you do it again?

 

[erionm]

Can you purchase a dining plan while staying DVC?

Yes, you can add a dining plan to a DVC reservation. It must be added at least 2 days prior to your arrival date and must be paid for in full at the time it's added. If you are renting from an owner, the owner you rent from is the only one that can add the dining plan to the reservation.

 

[disneynutz]

Some do the DDP but if you do the numbers, the savings really aren't there. Others use the TIW card but again Disney raised the price to take away the savings. Disney knows how to adjust the prices and benefits to make boat loads of money that's why owning DVC can save you some money on your room but your vacations will still cost you thousands per year.

Pretty smart mouse.

Bill

 

[k-wa]

Thank you @erionm and @disneynutz -- food for thought

 

[Anal Annie]

We use the TIW card rather than the DDP - the DDP is too expensive. Although I'm miffed the TIW card went up and my initial reaction to the new price was that we won't buy it again I know we probably will (as long as it doesn't go up AGAIN before we need it and as long as we can plan multiple trips while it's active). We are a family of 3 (incl. DS 18). This time we got it on our 10 night trip last summer (when it was still $100). I don't have those receipts from that trip lying around to check but I'm sure we more than surpassed our investment on it (we used it at Fulton's Crab House, Mama Melrose's, BOG, Sci-Fi Dine-In and Via Napoli). I do still have our receipts from our 6 night January trip handy & just added up our savings. $99.99!! We used it for dinners at The Turf Club, Raglan Road, Mama Melrose's, The Plaza, Rose & Crown (for beer only), Restaurantosaurus (lunch) and Artists Palette (lunch). Although we TRY to only eat TS meals at places that take it we did break from that once and ate at the new Skipper Canteen in MK (which is not currently taking it). That's the worst thing about being tied to TIW - there are sometimes restaurants that we like & want to eat at that don't take it (Teppan Edo, Yak & Yeti, La Hacienda etc.) We have an 8 night trip planned for June - so far our ADR's are planned at O'hana, BOG, Garden Grill and Rose & Crown and I'm sure we'll add a couple others last minute too - these will easily add up to a fair amount of additional savings and we've already more than "made back" our investment.

 

[moericus]

Some do the DDP but if you do the numbers, the savings really aren't there. Others use the TIW card but again Disney raised the price to take away the savings. Disney knows how to adjust the prices and benefits to make boat loads of money that's why owning DVC can save you some money on your room but your vacations will still cost you thousands per year.

Pretty smart mouse.

Bill

The savings is in the budgeting. You can plan ahead as opposed to facing sticker shock when that magic-band/hotel bill gets printed on your last day.

 

[kniquy]

I actually did a cost comparison between getting the plan or not. I chose all the place we would eat for QS and TS and figured the low end to high end of what we would order. On the low end the dining plan would save us around $150 and the hight end around $275. We figure there is an additional savings because we are purchasing the DDP with discount gift cards (although that savings would help with OOP dining as well) I looked at TiW but the selection didn't seem as good, we don't drink and we would only use it for 1 visit. I guess multiple visits the TiW could be a good savings.

 

[freediverdude]

Because of how high the prices of the table service restaurants have gotten, the DDP can make sense. For instance Crystal Palace (and some of the other character meals) can now be $59.99 per person for dinner, almost the cost of that night's dining plan all by itself. It depends where you're planning to eat, but the dining plan can come out anywhere from a small loss to a fair size gain, assuming you use all the credits. But that's the key, it means you have to plan and use all the credits, eating the two or three meals each day included.

 

[Minniesgal]

We do some meals offsite and have take out some nights to save money. We only do our favourites at disney and there are only a few

We find we spend more not less if the buy DDP.

 

[Minniesgal]

Because of how high the prices of the table service restaurants have gotten, the DDP can make sense. For instance Crystal Palace (and some of the other character meals) can now be $59.99 per person for dinner, almost the cost of that night's dining plan all by itself. It depends where you're planning to eat, but the dining plan can come out anywhere from a small loss to a fair size gain, assuming you use all the credits. But that's the key, it means you have to plan and use all the credits, eating the two or three meals each day included.

thats what i find hard as if we eat a Qs we have no appetite for a TS.

 

[Anal Annie]

The thing to remember with the TIW card is that it's a percentage based discount. It's good for up to 10 people at your table so the larger your group and the more expensive the meal the bigger the savings. It also covers alcohol which can get pretty pricey if you even have 1 drink pp per meal. The smaller your group the more TS meals you have to eat to recover your cost. If my family were larger than 3 we'd really make out like bandits with it!!!

 

[disneymath]

We've done DP numerous times (generally like it, though value has decreased since our first time using it when apps and gratuity were included), DlxDP once (not for us) and last trip no DP (which wasn't that bad and had some benefits).

We have a split stay this trip, and will only get the DP for the second half. We've planned oir park days and dining options to make the best use of being on then off a plan.

Fwiw, we tend to eat most breakfasts in the villa and eat out for lunch and dinner.

Some TS and I think QS places have DVC discounts.

 

[Canadian Disney Mom]

We have done the Dining Plan for the last 5 years or so. Sometime we do the DDP, sometimes we do QS. Sometimes if we do a split stay, we will do the DDP for 1 have and the QS for the 2nd. Sometimes we don't do it at all for part of the split. For us, it is more about not having to worry about the cost of food because it is already paid for in advance. It probably does not really save us much money because, we end up ordering stuff that we would normally be too cheap to order without the plan.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

While it probably won't affect you, one thing I found out that I didn't like is that DDP is all or nothing. You need to purchase it for everyone on the trip or no one. I brought my elderly grandmother with me one year who I knew was there for the pools and relaxation more than the park, and was told that if I don't want it for her, I can't get it for myself either.

That was a few years ago, and I am not sure the reasoning behind it, but just know about the restriction.

 

[buzzrelly]

We have a split stay this trip, and will only get the DP for the second half.

We are doing a split stay in April and I am considering the DDP for the first half so we can get and use the refillable mugs for both stays.

 

[KayW]

As a family of three we do the dining plan. We like that our meals are paid for ahead of time. We plan out where we are going to eat and have a ball park of how much the items will cost. When my DD became a Disney adult we switched to the QS dp. Still tons of food. On our last trip, we brought some breakfast foods and ate those in the studio and then used our QS for lunch and dinner. Other than not wanting to finish the desserts we did quite well.

 

[disneymath]

We are doing a split stay in April and I am considering the DDP for the first half so we can get and use the refillable mugs for both stays.

We thought about doing the DP first half for that very reason, but it just really didn't fit our plans.

First half is at AKV with park days at US and IoA; second half is BLT and WDW parks.

Much easier to use our plan entitlements for last part.

BLT is our home resort and we wanted to end our trip there, so we'll only get mug use for half the trip this time.

 

[bumbershoot]

I looked at TiW but the selection didn't seem as good

Don't forget that TIW includes the foodcourts at all the Value resorts (we travel around for the food we want, and there are things at AOA especially that we love!), Sassagoula Floatworks (beignets!), the QS places at Animal Kingdom Park, and the foodcourt at SSR.


Also, remember that being a DVC owner gets you discounts at some places, too.


I've been trying to figure out if buying the dining plan just for my 2 night totally-solo DVC stay is worth it, and I just can't get it there. I'm not buying any admission, let alone an AP this time, I'm not a FL resident, and my husband is the actual owner, and he won't be with me to buy the TIW card. Drat! No discounts at all for me.

 

[moericus]

While it probably won't affect you, one thing I found out that I didn't like is that DDP is all or nothing. You need to purchase it for everyone on the trip or no one. I brought my elderly grandmother with me one year who I knew was there for the pools and relaxation more than the park, and was told that if I don't want it for her, I can't get it for myself either.

That was a few years ago, and I am not sure the reasoning behind it, but just know about the restriction.

This is an issue for the kids too. It feels like a waste getting so much food for a 4 year old. Some days she was hungry enough to eat it, but most days she would have been fine with a pack of peanut butter crackers and a glass of milk (knowing a big dinner was coming).

 

[SleighBelle]

I think it works well for families with kids under the age of 9 (and can therefore pay the lower cost of $19 per person) as well as adults. I have two kids (ages 11 and 14) and they won't eat $60 worth of food daily. For our summer trip, since we'd each have to get the plain daily, it would cost us over $1600. Which is just nuts.
Even if I spent $1500 out of pocket for food instead of getting the DP, I would still come out ahead!
So, my vote is young kids and adults = DP, kids between 10-18 = no dining plan.