Does anyone else think the same......

[flowrida]

We have just returned from a 5 night stay at BCV during which we decided to try the Dining Plan.

We enjoyed it immensely and think it is a great idea - mind you, if you are doing the plan with the intention of getting maximum value to the dollar then you might find the food planning etc. ruling your entire holiday!!! We are now undecided as to whether we want to do the plan again for our next vacation later this year for the following reason - before we sat down to the chosen table service meal the meal plan was a brilliant idea......but after finishing said meal, then slowly (very slowly) returning to our Villa food and any plan connected to it was the last thing we wanted to hear about!!!!

Help!!! only 93 days to make my mind up!!!

 

[disneyag]

I suppose it depends what you usually do on vacation at WDW. We always plan on at least one TS per day and make our ADR's well in advance of our arrival, so for us, the DP works wonderfully. There are some people who would rather not plan that far in advance, so for them, the DP is probably not such a good deal.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

If you don't worry about "getting the biggest bang for your buck" I say go for the dining plan. You don't have to order everything and you only have to eat what you want.

On our last day we had 2 ts credits left each. So I booked a quick lunch at WCC. We both got the lunch skillet and ate what we wanted. Since we didn't have room for dessert, the waitress gave us a couple of cookies for dessert to take with us. The bill came to $46 for the two of us. But when I look at the total for what I paid that day for one person, it was:

$23 - ts
$16 - cs (chicken dinner at POFQ with fruit for dessert)
$4 - snack (bag of sun chips for the drive home)

total was still $43 for the day - $6 more than what I paid for it and that was a "cheap" day because it was a lunch and the skillet did not come with a separate appetizer and we got pop for our drink (could have gotten a milkshake).

 

[Redwitch]

I think the plan is a good value if you normally eat at one TS restaurant per day anyway. That pretty much breaks you even and the CS and Snack is a bonus.
We came out ahead when we bought the plan, without trying to maximize it. We often shared a CS and used another CS for a bakery snack (two pastries and a beverage.)
Yes, it is a lot of food, we often rolled (or waddled) out of the TS restaurants, but got to try things we never order and order without worrying about the cost.

 

[wdwobsessed]

If you like to eat at TS on average of once a day I don't see how you would not get your money's worth ... even not going for the most expensive.

WDWO

 

[kaybird]

We continue to view the plan as not only a money saver, but a time saver. DH always loves the fact that we have everything paid for when we go. This ends the vacation time worry about what to order and can we afford it. The TS has always been our rest periods during the day. We rarely go back to the room because the relaxing air conditioned meals revive us in a way a return to the room never seems to. We usually make ADR's based on where we think we'll be according to EMH; we have always tended to park hop, and the new CS credits seem to get us through. Have a great time no matter what!
k