The 2019 Disney world Free Dining Plan is up, although the website is a mess. There’s a lot of debate over whether Free Dining is worth it in the end.
If you were doing the Dining Plan, what would your food strategy be for a family of 4 to get your money’s worth?
pomelo / 5573 posts
We’re doing the dining plan, although not free dining - we booked through DVC so we’re not eligible, but we’re also not going on the dates. I’m not under the impression that we’re going to get our money’s worth, but we’re doing it because I tend to obsess over costs, and I don’t want to be looking at menu prices going “hmm, maybe I should just get a sandwich and save $6....” I figure if the money is already gone I can just enjoy myself.
pear / 1586 posts
We are going during free dining and are taking advantage of the deal. We booked knowing it was a possibility but not a given, but we planned on the dining plan anyway — it will be nice not to have to worry about food costs there, and DS who will be 5 when we go has an adult-sized appetite (DD will be 2, is a lighter eater, and will share off the rest of our plates).
eggplant / 11716 posts
@jape14: one of the things that bother me about the dining plan is that kids have to order from the kids menu at table service restaurants. And those foods tend to be “kids foods”. And my kids actually don’t eat kids foods very well.
I’m on the fence! I guess I’ll have to pull up actual menus and see what the particular kids menus are at places we may eat.
Another quandary: a family suite at AoA plus regular dining plan is about the same price as Yacht Club regular 2 queen room with regular dining plan. Pros and cons for each resort. Decisions!
eggplant / 11716 posts
@erinbaderin: which resort did you book with points? We used points last time and stayed at boardwalk and enjoyed it a lot. Very covenient for Epcot.
kiwi / 500 posts
It would add like $130 per day to our trip, compared to going without the dining deal. And there may be steeper discounts later in the year in just getting the hotel room (we're going in December, and I don't think the hotel deals come out until the fall).
So we've booked without dining. For us personally, it would add MORE stress because we would think, "We have to get our money's worth!" and stopping four times a day to eat (two quick service + two snacks) would really cut into our time.
We went two years ago without a dining plan, and it was fine. We plan on bringing pb&j, boiled eggs, goldfish, tuna, pretzels, beef jerky, cheese sticks, etc. in the small cooler we'll take into the park. For breakfast at the hotel, we'll either eat oatmeal or cereal. For dinner, we'll bring Mountain House instant meals that just require hot water (from the coffee maker), as well as ramen, instant mashed potatoes, and kraft macaroni. We will probably also order pizza from Flippers at least once (you can arrange to meet the delivery guy in the parking lot or in the lobby of your resort).
Even with a Disney meal here or there out of pocket, I can't justify spending $1000 more on our trip just for "free" dining.
persimmon / 1483 posts
@Anagram: we weren’t eligible for free dining when we went last year, but I ended up buying the plan at the last minute bc we booked a lot of character meals so the cost ended up being worth it bc those meals are so overpriced. I don’t remember that the kids had to eat off the kids menu though? I’d have to go back and look.
grapefruit / 4492 posts
@Anagram: both of my sister's have worked for the mouse. We stayed at yacht and beach almost every single time we went, and it's wonderful! But we never went until I was 16 and my little sister was 14, so not little kid focused.
I've not stayed at AoA, but my sister says people with young kids tend to have fun there because it has movie themed buildings/rooms. If that's not a big deal I'd go with Beach Club (also love that you just walk around the corner to Epcot) The other time we were there we stayed at the Polynesian, but it is stinking expensive.
pear / 1586 posts
@Anagram: to be honest, I haven't even looked at menus. DS is not at all picky and eats like a teenage boy - literally anything that is in front of him - so he should be fine. DD is pickier but she'll be 2 so I'm not going to plan around her! we are staying at the contemporary fwiw - going in late september so I haven't thought a ton about dining reservations etc yet.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I don't go to WDW because of the food, so we typically don't do the dining plans but I am considering it for our next trip just for the ease of it and because we are planning to stay onsite in a room without a kitchen. Not to mention it's a vacation and my husband really likes to feel like he's away. The guy cooks every night he's home, but when he's on vacation, he wants a break and I understand that.
We easily spend $150 on food for just the tree of us per day while on vacation. This includes taxes and tips.
apricot / 286 posts
We get the dining plan because we do so many buffets/character dining that it makes it worth it. And with alcohol included 2x a day, my husband gets his money's worth 
Plus, the kids dining plan is a steal ($25ish a day). When they become Disney adults at age 10 I can't see us getting the dining plan anymore.
That said, free dining is not a great deal for us because it requires hoppers, which we never get, and giving up room discounts which are usually pretty significant. Also in order to get the traditional table service free dining plan you need to stay deluxe which is crazy expensive if you have to pay rack rates.
We leave in less than 2 months and I can't wait!!
apricot / 370 posts
Have you seen this calculator? https://www.distripplanner.com/
The dining plan was not worth it for us, even with character meals. (2 adults, 1 child 3-9, 2 under 3)
apricot / 264 posts
We do the dining plan because I want as much paid for as possible up front. Last time we did the deluxe dining plan with character meals. I don’t think it was necessarily the best value but you are also paying for the experience. This time we are just doing the counter service plan because we didn’t want to deal with the hassle of keeping reservations this time. I still don’t think I’m probably getting the most bang for my buck, but I accept that’s a fact at Disney. For us the snacks everyday were probably the best part of the deal for us!
eggplant / 11716 posts
@shabang: Yes, I played around with the calculator a little, but I'm still undecided!
I actually booked a stay with the free dining promo yesterday, just so I would have that option if I want it (it's free cancellation up until 30 days before the trip). So what I booked is Art of Animation family suite with the regular Disney DIning plan. The cheaper plan was the "free" one, but the regular plan was $25 extra a day, so I booked that since I can always make changes later.
The last time we went to WDW, we splurged a little on the room because we took my inlaws and were paying for them. So we used points and booked a 2 bedroom suite at Boardwalk. At that point, DD2 was free because she was under 3. Since we had a full kitchen and my kids were younger and not fun to take to sit down restaurants, we only booked 1 sit down for the whole trip--Cinderella's Castle for breakfast before park opening. They loved it, and the rest we ate in our hotel room or did quick service. On the other hand, if I had free dining, I think I would have fun maximizing how to spend the dining credits--I'd probably try to do some type of character dining every day or book packages/times that maximize the park experience (like early morning breakfast at BOG to get into the park early, or one of the Fantasmic dining packages at HS to minimize wait time before Fantasmic, or the Tony's dining package to get a reserved parade seat, that kind of thing.
Now that DD2 is older we'll be buying 4 tickets and prices have gone up, I've had to adjust my price planning because now just tickets alone will be over $1800 for the 4 of us. So I have some work to do. I have to run numbers on having a room only discount plus tickets plus paying out of pocket for some dining here and there, vs renting points again and eating from our room kitchen a lot, vs the free dining package.
Alternatively, I have to decide between Yacht club regular room vs AOA family suite, because once I add the "free" regular dining package, the price is almost the same. So it's more space at AOA vs walking distance to Epcot at Yacht Club. I think the kids would prefer AOA and the separate bedroom would come in handy because DD2 naps and DD1 does not. At the same time, walking distance to Epcot is great and I think I prefer the adult theming at Yacht club, but then we're all in 1 room together.
apricot / 370 posts
@Anagram: Once you figure it all out and take your trip, I look forward to hearing your review! Ultimately, what works best for each family is different. We just went, but I'm already eyeing another trip in a couple years - right before my youngest turns 3 so we can take advantage of 3 and under being free.
Oh, and one thing I found very helpful - booking dining reservations on the disney app. Twice, we walked into a place that had no availability per the hostess (Mama Melrose in HS and the German place in Epcot), but I could make a reservation for 20-30 min out on the app. It was wild, I would walk up and ask for a table, "Sorry, we're just too busy this evening", 20 min later - Hi, I'm here for my reservation, shown right in.
apricot / 286 posts
@Anagram: I’ve never stayed at AofA but I can tell you what I love about Beach&Yacht...
-walking distance to two parks is amazing. I love just deciding that we are ready to go - and then we go.
-the pool is pretty incredible... my kids love the sandbar area and built sand castles for hours. The big water slide is super fun and there’s a little one for little kids too.
-I love having a drink out on the balcony with DH after the kids are in bed . It’s so pretty especially if you have a view of the boardwalk
-the beach&yacht vibe feels like vacation to me...after leaving the parks I want a break from the in your face disney. The AofA theming looks fantastic for kids (and mine would definitely love it) but I feel like it would be stimulus overload for me.
I do have cousins who absolutely love AofA though and stay there most every year... this year they are giving Boardwalk a try and I can’t wait to hear what they think.
grapefruit / 4278 posts
OMG... these threads give me anxiety. How do you all know these million tips and tricks and where to go and what everything is? Like, I want to take my kids to Disney but I don't want to devote 3 months to planning the trip!
apricot / 286 posts
@kiddosc: you can have a great trip with minimal planning too. I really love the planning portion of it so I can get a bit obsessive. But as long as you schedule any must-do ride fastpasses in advance and any dining you want, that really can be the extent of it.
One of our favourite things to do is schedule a day with no plan... we go to our resort bus stop, and the first bus that shows up is where we go for the day. No plan can be really fun too!
eggplant / 11716 posts
@kiddosc: I like to plan vacations and research online for everything. It’s just my personality. Even when I’m bored at home I’ll Google random vacation destinations and put together packages that I will probably never actually buy. I just like to do it for fun. But if that is not your personality, you can just hire a free Disney world travel planner, and they will put together your entire trip for you. I’ve had lots of friends do that, and they put in no effort at all, and they were extremely pleased.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@kiddosc: You don't have to plan for three months! The most I do is research the package I am buying from the Costco Travel site and then, a few months out, determine which park we are doing on what day and arrange the fast passes.
It doesn't have to be planned to the minute nor do you have to stay on site for it to be magical.
kiwi / 500 posts
@Anagram: When are you going? The gondola from AoA and Pop to HS and Epcot is opening in late fall, I think.
eggplant / 11716 posts
@Hypatia: We'll miss that--the package I booked is for the last week of August. But I'm not 100% sure I'll keep that reservation. I'm a teacher/librarian so I have to stick to the confines of school breaks, but I'm still considering a last minute trip during our spring break (last week of April). Crowds are higher in April, but weather is better. Trade off.
I may be minorly crazy and booked a few dining option for April even though we don't have a room reservation or tickets, lol. Just in case. I plan to cancel whatever option we don't end up going with.
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