One of the most common questions that I hear from people planning Disney vacations is this: “Is it worth it to get the dining plan?” I myself have only had the dining plan once, but it was a good experience and I would like to talk about it here to give people an idea of what is worth it with the dining plan.
Disney Dining Plan Basics
A couple of things you should know if you’re considering the dining plan. There are three different plans available for three different prices (current prices as of 6/10/16 for adults and include tax):
- Quick service dining plan: includes 2 quick service meals (entrée, non-alcoholic beverage, and dessert) and 1 snack per person, per night $44.13
- Disney Dining Plan: 1 table service meal (entrée, nonalcoholic beverage, and dessert), 1 quick service meal, and 1 snack per person, per night $63.70
- Deluxe dining plan: 3 meals (table service or quick service, with table service meal including appetizer, entrée, and dessert), and 2 snacks per person, per night $115.08
And some other things to be aware of with the dining plan:
- Gratuity is not included
- Most restaurants, but not all, are on the plan
- More expensive restaurants, like character meals and signature restaurants, may require 2 table service credits
- Dessert is included with quick service and table service meals, but only for lunch and dinner (not breakfast)
- A resort refillable mug is included with the dining plan purchase.
The Price
People want to know if the dining plan will save them money. When I did it in 2011 the Disney dining plan was $45.99 per person per night. The price has since gone up, but so has the cost of food so I’m guessing it more or less evens out. We had the dining plan for 8 nights and two people, for a total of $735.84.
Adding up everything we used the dining plan for (not including alcohol and tip, since those aren’t covered in the dining plan), we spent $816. Plus, there were two quick service meals we didn’t even get around to using. So by purely looking at these numbers, we saved about $80.
But there are a couple of things to consider. With the dining plan you get a dessert at every meal. Would we have each ordered dessert at every meal? Probably not. And sometimes when we get quick service we share a drink, so that value might go down slightly. There are also “better ways” to use your dining credits. For instance, you could use one credit at the Plaza in Magic Kingdom where entrees are sandwiches and burgers and are in the $15 range. Or you could use one credit at Liberty Tree Tavern where it costs about $35 per person.
The Convenience
Something else to consider is the convenience of having the dining plan. There are several advantages to this. The first is that everything (except alcohol and gratuity) is paid for ahead of time. So not only do you know exactly how much your food budget is going to be for the trip, you also don’t have to worry about sorting out payment at each restaurant. You just use your magic band and the credit is taken from your account.
And this doesn’t go for everyone, but for me I tend to be rather budget conscious, even when I’m on vacation. That means that if I’m looking at a menu I’ll probably choose a chicken dish over the steak to save some money. But with the dining plan, since it’s already paid for the chicken “costs” the same as the steak. It’s a nice luxury for me to be able to get what I want and not worry about saving a couple of pennies here or there. I try to let myself go on vacation but sometimes it is hard to get out of that mindset!
Conclusion
Personally, I am definitely pro-dining plan. I feel like if you use your credits wisely you can usually at least break even, if not save a little money. The biggest benefit is getting some peace of mind and not constantly fretting about how much something costs, which is definitely worth it for me.
So why have I only used it once? Because I became an Annual Passholder, and the Tables in Wonderland card, which gets you 20% your table service meals, is almost certainly a better value (and by the way, this card is also available to Florida residents). But when this isn’t an option for me once I give up my annual pass, I’ll go back to the dining plan for trips where I know I’ll be doing a decent amount of table service dining.
What do you think of the dining plans? Have you used one before?
What — no dessert included at breakfast?
Ha – sometimes the breakfasts are so decadent (like specialty waffles or pancakes) that it seems like dessert anyway!
We use the dining plan whenever my family goes to WDW. We have generally been lucky that our trips tend to coincide with “free dining” but even when we’ve paid for it, I carefully calculate what our best deals are– like you said, using a table service credit at a place where entrees are $30 per person is better than using it at a place where the most expensive is $15. We also tend to have more meals than credits, so I examine the menus on allears.net to determine which is the best meal to pay for out of pocket.
That’s a good point too – we did the same thing where we had more meals than credits, sometimes due to wanting a signature or two, or breakfast and dinner while on the regular plan. So in that case we usually pay for breakfast out of pocket.
I took my 6 year old son to Disney World a couple years ago (first time for both of us) and we did not use the dining plan. We would eat our breakfast in our hotel room. We had a fridge so I purchased milk/yogurt/cereal. I packed some sandwiches and granola bars to eat in the park. And then most nights I would order one meal and we would split it. But then again it was in late June and really hot, so most days we didn’t even feel like eating anything but fruit and ice cream. And I only let my son drink water (hydration!) so a refillable glass was not needed. I’m not a “foodie” and hence didn’t go to DW for the food… we went to see/do as much as we could in 4 days since I knew we probably wouldn’t be able to financially go again. But those pics of food look yummy!
Yes, the dining plan is definitely not for everyone. We are pretty big foodies so a lot of our budget goes to that, so the dining plan can be a good deal for us. But we did a budget road trip with friends in college and had cereal in the room for breakfast, split meals for lunch, and then made sandwiches back at the room for dinner. It’s a very budget friendly way to be able to do Disney!
I was really close to doing the dining plan but since Be Our Guest was really the only restaurant we wanted to eat at, I didn’t go for it this time. I’m just going to snack my way around the parks haha
Yeah, snacking is a pretty great option too!
I would definitely go for the dining plan if I was staying inside the Disney resort or was planning a few days in Disney. I think it just makes life easier.
I agree – I love to make as much easy as possible when I’m on vacation!
This is great information. It’s always nice to see the numbers laid out so you can decide for yourself if it’s worth it or not 🙂
I agree – it was something I played with a lot myself when trying to decide so I figured it would be useful to share!
I need to keep that in mind. What is the age that the meal plans start at? Are there lower costs for children?
Yes, there are (significantly) lower prices for children. Ages 3-9 get the child rate, which is around $20 for the quick service and $25 for the Disney dining plan currently. Ages 10 and up are considered adults.
I didn’t know anything about the dining plans, so this is great information. It would definitely be nice to already have the food budget out of the ways before even going. One less stress!
That’s definitely how I see it too! Plus when I go on vacation I always seem to spend a lot on food, so it would be helpful to know ahead of time.
This is so useful to know – I’m going in September and will definitely be doing the dining plan, it’s one less thing to think about once we’re there.
That’s awesome, you will have a wonderful time in September!
This was such a helpful post! I’m currently planning a trip for next year and this was one of my dilemmas!
La Belle Sirene
How exciting! If you need any help planning your trip for next year just let me know!
So helpful! WE are thinking of going in the fall.
That’s great! The fall is my favorite time to visit. If you need any help planning or booking your trip feel free to contact me!