This is more than the average daily amount that we spend on food, which is why we book the room-only discount at BoardWalk if both discounts are offered. If there were 2 more people staying in the room with us, that would tip the scale in favor of Free Dining.

I know everyone hates math, but the point, once again, is that you have to do the math for your circumstances to know for sure. Planning your dining is almost as important as booking your airfare. A lot of Walt Disney World restaurants book up months in advance, and the difference in experience between a good and a bad restaurant is like night and day.

We highly recommend reading some of our restaurant reviews and checking out menus online before before making your Advance Dining Reservations.

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews.

To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help.

For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

Do you typically use the Disney Dining Plan or do you pay out of pocket? What works best for you? Share your thoughts in the comments! Hi, i have just discovered your blog and i am using it every step of the way to plan our amazing WDW trip hopefully in We are all the way from Australia 🙂.

I am curious if you could shed some light on one thing for me please — the advice I have read is that you want to book restaurants days from your arrival to secure a table.

That sort of works against any spontaneity of walking around the park on the day and choosing a restaurant we feel like dining at. I want to know how much planning and research i need to do to secure the restaurants we might like. Thanks again, i absolutely adore your blog and I am taking all your advice on board to plan the perfect trip!

Thank you for this comparison. It really helped me a lot. Looking a planning another Disney trip. I will probally end up going with the meal plan even though we will probally not quite get our moneys worth. proper examination should be apple to apples.

majority of visitors are out of state, OR out of country, AND not part of DVC, or passholders. they arent eligible to purchase the wonderland table card.

thats not the same as buying anything you want. use NO discounts — — Other than what Disneys gives you for staying on-site. follow the Dining Plans rules, and buy the foods out of pocket correlating to the plan.

then total your receipts against the cost of the Dining Plan, to see whos actually saving money. then compare your receipts vs the cost of the QS plan.

then you do this for Dining Plan. then you do this for Deluxe Plan. and could better show actual price differences of your purchases vs each of the Dining Plan. Good for YOU! Soda doesnt count since you have the refill Cup.

unless you want Shakes, Fraps, etc. I am not a huge eater and will definitely want some alcohol at some point during the day due to the nature of Disney World and spending the entire day there with my niece and nephew.

My husband can definitely eat, but only if it is available to him. I think your correct, forget the meal plan. stayed at the beach club once and it was a disappointment.

I like to use the meal plan cost as a budget number for food though. Your mileage may vary the children should be considerably less. The deluxe plan does include appetizers, and alcoholic beverages.

Maybe that is new since you did this. Many people cannot get a Tables in wonderland card, or go 4 times a year, so we do not really mind planning out and getting reservations. And do you totally not care about the mug at the resort? The way I see it when figuring out if it is worth doing or not you take the value of that and the snacks off first.

I do know that we are not saving money on tips, but neither is anyone else. You tip on the bill, and do not take off discounts anyway. I am just getting ready for my first trip where I stay at a resort, and my husband is going to want 2 non fast food meals each day. Plus, if you do any of the special things like Morimoto Asia, and use a lot of you snacks at an Epcot festival like food and wine, well, I plan to check the totals at the end and see, but so for we are coming out way ahead.

Also, there is no reason not to finish out any meals you have left over before you leave by loading up on Disney snack items, so I see no reason to have any left over. We are doing exactly what we want to do too. And all the sales tax is figured on the cost of the plan rather than the cost of the food we actually bought.

Some of the things we really wanted, and I got are full now. Or you have to spend a lot of Tim waiting for a standby spot. I am not really big on planning a lot at Dwd I like to wake up and decide where I want to go.

I am sure I will find food. A few years ago I went with my daughter and the family a 12yo and 8 yo. The schedule was harrowing. We were constantly watching the time have to get from animal kingdom to Epcot by 7 have to be at fast track at 8.

All day every day it was a lot of work not my style! Hi there, silly question. Can I choose to pay out of pocket even if I have the Dining Plan? For example, I want to save two of my table service credits for CRT, but a quick dinner grab at Mama Melrose, can I just pay out of pocket to save the credit?

I need to first plan everything to the millisecond, then see IF the dining plan is a good deal or not, THEN make the reservation, THEN hope that 6 months before coming, the availability of the restaurants and the vacation plan are compatible, THEN hope that 2 months before going, the availability for Fast Pass will be compatible with everything else…..

So confusing! How do you know when you will be hungry and what you will be close to so you can preplan? Our first time and making reservations without any of the above knowledge is crazy to me! I know right? Perhaps the best and first two questions to ask will help clarify your priorities:.

The accommodations? Time sitting around the pool? The food? Another often-forgotten part of this equation is that unless you have the Deluxe food plan, breakfast is at your expense anyway.

We typically do the dining plan because I find it helpful to plan. But we are small eaters, i. This time we are going as annual pass holders for the first time. There are six of us, four of us young children. We went in Dec After getting the Disney dining plan for free with CBR, we upgraded as we did on our prior two trips for the deluxe dining plan.

Rather than getting on a bus and going back to the hotel to chill out after being out since AM, the family would hit a nice dining experience for an hour and a half and recharge. When I came back, I had held onto my receipts to do a little analysis of the food we got and the cost I paid for the bump up to the Deluxe Plan from the Disney Dining plan.

It was well worth it if you ask me for not only the dining experiences, but also using them as a place to recharge. Make no mistake; it is a lot of food!

But I think you can enjoy it more or at least we did when spread out over two meals in one day. I went by myself during free dining back in Fall and went with the free dining.

The main reason I went with the dining plan and upgraded it is because it offered dining options I would not have otherwise considered.

I ate at least 5 character meals, substituted 1 quick service for 3 snacks beignets , and used snack credits for the Food and Wine Festival. Finally, I did end up having 1 quick service left over but that was due to being too tired the last night and deciding to leave early.

Home Deals Vacation Packages Silver Dining Deal Back to Vacation Packages. Credit valid anytime during your stay. Credit can be used at any of our dining outlets.

Get this deal before your stay; it won't be available on-site. DINING DEAL. Starts at {0} per room. Discount amount can vary based on dates selected. All packages subject to availability. Unused credit cannot be used for future stay. Deal only available prior to arrival. Add a Silver Dining Deal to Your Next Stay!

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Get $ of dining credit valid at any food & beverage outlet Discount amount can vary based on dates selected. All packages subject to availability. Unused Learn about dining plans, available with select Walt Disney Travel Company Packages at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida DISCOUNT. $50, $, $, 15%. $, $, $, 15%. $, $, $, 15 Faculty/Staff Dining Plans make it easy for you to dine on campus

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Affordable dining packages - Missing Get $ of dining credit valid at any food & beverage outlet Discount amount can vary based on dates selected. All packages subject to availability. Unused Learn about dining plans, available with select Walt Disney Travel Company Packages at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida DISCOUNT. $50, $, $, 15%. $, $, $, 15%. $, $, $, 15 Faculty/Staff Dining Plans make it easy for you to dine on campus

Islands of Adventure. Special Needs. Premier Resorts. Prime Value Resorts. Preferred Resorts. Disneyland California. California Adventure. Disney Cruise Line. Top Search. What You Should Know 1. Meals are paid for ahead of time, providing an "easy" or mostly "all-inclusive" experience that allows guests to understand their food expenses in advance and worry less about price while on vacation.

People like the Dining Plans. Most guests we've surveyed would pay to do it again, and many don't want to travel without one. Tips gratuities are not prepaid as part of a Disney Dining Plan. Expect to leave a tip at each table-service meal. What is it? Who Can Buy a Disney Dining Plan? What do you get?

How much does it cost? Here's what you get with the different Disney Dining Plans: Disney Dining Plan. Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan.

What's in a meal? Entrée or complete combo meal, plus drink; includes dessert, except at breakfast. One per person per stay, filled only at Disney Resort Hotels. Beverage choices at meals might include soda, coffee, or tea; one milkshake, smoothie, or specialty hot chocolate; or, for guests age 21 and older, one beer, glass of wine, or cocktail.

Oh, and snacks! Although numerous choices are available including international options at EPCOT festival booths across property, common snacks include: Frozen ice cream novelty, ice pop, or fruit bar Popcorn ounce coffee, hot chocolate, or hot tea Prepackaged container of milk or juice Piece of whole fruit Bag of snacks ounce bottle of soda or Dasani water ounce "large" fountain soft drink Look for the Disney Dining Plan logo on menus to see which items are available for a snack credit.

Some Meals Cost Double! Consider the Following Everyone staying in the same resort room must participate in the same Disney Dining Plan.

Sign In {{user. damTitle}} {{user. Favorites Watchlist. Royal Caribbean Celebrity Cruises Silversea. A PALATABLE ADVENTURE TO SATISFY ANY CRAVING. RESERVE YOUR DINING PACKAGE. countdownLabel }}:.

hours }}h {{ remainingTime. minutes }}m {{ remainingTime. It's kind of nice to just book them and have it out of the way. I really disliked the stress of getting on the ship and rushing around to make show and dining reservations before all the spots were taken. It felt like the Hunger Games and wasn't a pleasant way to start the trip.

I might still buy the UDP just to give the option to randomly pop in for lunches and use it for dinner some nights. We're going on a unique itinerary an Asian route , so the windjammer and the MDR have some different food options that I feel like I might enjoy so I don't want to buy the UDP and then feel like I "have" to eat at a specialty every night to get the best bang for my buck.

It does seem like a lot but I think this is the what we can expect going forward. I got the UDP for our upcoming Oasis cruise back in November for The current price is I checked our Icon cruise in and it is listed for the same price as yours. I'm assuming it'll come down some when it goes on sale.

I struggle at I'd probably just do a 3 night deal and maybe a lunch or two a la carte. I had not noticed that. Here on Icon that is not the case. That brings the price down to I'm assuming that when it goes on sale it'll drop to at least which is my threshold for purchasing it.

EDIT: I just checked our for our Family cruise on Harmony that I didn't plan on getting it and grats are added after at check out. Same here. I al ready pre-booked 2 dinners and 3 lunches which were on a good sale and will probably cancel the UDP.

We booked the UDP because we didn't want to have to deal with long MDR lines or having to wonder if we would get reservations at CK. Now I'm reading that getting a specialty restaurant reservation mid evening is difficult as all the preferred times go to those purchasing individual dinners or to suite guests who with the assistance of the suite concierge can get a reservation ahead of time.

UDP passengers get the times that are left. I thought the price was OK. It would be the first time with the dining package.

I'm hoping that if we can't get reservations that suit us that we can get a refund for the package. cancel if you want, but i know of many people who bought the UDP, and then individually bought restaurants for every lunch and dinner.

then once on board, they just asked to keep the dining times for the UDP, and canceled the individual books. They got all of their money back as refundable on board credit.

It's extra work, and a lot of money to lay out twice, but they got their reservations. You will be able to leave a comment after signing in. LauraS · Started Friday at PM. LauraS · Started February 7. LauraS · Started February 5.

Royal Caribbean International. Share More sharing options Followers 2. Prev 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2. Recommended Posts. mramella Posted February 22, Posted February 22, edited. That seems like A LOT!

What do you guys think? Too much?