A hotly contested debate in the Disney online communities centers around the Disney Dining Plan and whether or not it’s worth it. The chatter is loud enough that I really questioned what the best approach for me would be. I’ve been a big fan of the Dining Plan in the past, but that was 9 years ago, and it might have changed. Even when they had an offer for a vacation package that included the Dining Plan for free, I wondered if that were really the best deal. (If you’re staying on-site, they give you one discount. It’s not like you can get a room discount AND free Dining. Also, if you take advantage of the on-site deals, you can’t get discounted tickets. Trying to figure out what the most economical approach is can be mind-dizzying.)
In the end, I decided to go with the Dining Plan, and I also decided to keep track of how much I would have spent on food if I hadn’t had the plan. That meant a lot of receipts and a Google spreadsheet, but what vacation is completed without a spreadsheet? (I had two different ones for this trip, if you’re wondering. One for the schedule, and one for the food prices.)
First, some baselines. There are two tiers of the Dining Plan. The Quick Service version comes with two counter-service meals and a snack each day, and it costs $59.14 per person per night. The standard plan comes with a table-service meal, a counter-service meal, and a snack each day, but it clocks in at $97.70. So for my family, the Quick Service option would be $2,070 total for seven nights, and the standard plan would have been $3,420. That’s a ton of money, just for food. Then again, food in Disney ain’t cheap . . .
I don’t consider the Quick Service plan to be a viable option. There’s just not enough variety in the counter-service restaurants for me to want to do that for a week. You’d have plenty of food, but I think it would all start to blend together some, especially if you’ve got vegetarians in your party. So to me, it was always the standard plan or bust. (The fact that I love some of the table service places there made a big difference as well. They have some fantastic restaurants, in my opinion.) So when I was pricing out my hotel room, the fact that they had the free dining plan made a real difference, but I’d have to stay in a Deluxe Resort (the most expensive) to get the standard plan for “free,” and not the quick service one. You could pay to upgrade, but in the end, the Boardwalk Resort was only about $800 more for the whole week than a moderate, and I always wanted to stay there (I’d heard great things about the location and the pool), so that’s what we did.
Friends, my entire family ate like little piggies the whole time. We ate at all the places I wanted to, and had tons of food. You get a “specialty beverage” with each meal (table services OR counter service). That can be alcohol or (if they have it) something fun like a smoothie or a shake. We always got the non-alcoholic options. Did I eat more than I would have without everything being “free”? No doubt. But I had a glorious time doing it. (I put on 9 pounds in one week, which is why I was on a diet for a month before we left, and I’m back on a diet again now . . . ) We had 20 snack credits left over by the end of the trip, so we spent them all on candy and goodies to take home. It’s very (very) difficult to actually use all the credits Disney showers on you with the Dining Plan. So that feels great, for sure.
But does it actually save you any money?
Disney tries to claim that it does, and you’d think it ought to. You’re paying in advance! This must be more economical, right?
Definitely, categorically wrong.
All told, if I’d paid out of pocket for everything, I would have spent $2,621.19. (That doesn’t include tips, which aren’t covered by the plan.) So I would have paid $800 more than what I got out of things, all for the ability to “just not worry about how much I’m paying.” The thing is, you can set it up so everything gets charged to your room with your Magic Band, anyway. So you could have the exact same experience, eat like a glutton, and still save $160/person (easily) by avoiding the plan. It would likely be more than that, as there would be times when you just wouldn’t want to eat.
I tried to maximize it all. We had two character meals. We ate at some of the nicest places on property. Many of my table service meals were $65+ per person. It didn’t matter. We still fell far short of what it would have cost.
Bottom line: never pay for the dining plan. If it’s free however . . . Saving $2,600 on food is a big discount, folks. Let’s say I would have eaten a bit less without it, and knock that down to $2,000. That’s still an enormous savings. If I didn’t have the plan, I likely would have had more snacks brought from outside of the park. You can definitely eat for less, but it’s an experience to eat in the parks that much. If that’s something that appeals to you, then getting it all gratis is easily the best discount you can get. Saving 20% off the cost of the room, or getting discounted tickets would pale in comparison.