Is the Disney Meal Plan Worth it?

The Disney Dining Plan is a very popular option for a Disney vacation. I wanted to know for myself if it was the cheaper option. So, I did a lot of research to decide, should I or shouldn’t I get the Disney Dining Plan. In this post I will discuss my process for figuring out if the Disney Dining Plan is worth it. I like details so I hope it won’t be too boring as I discuss how I did the math.

What does the Dining Plan include?

First off if you are unfamiliar with the Dining Plan, they recently added a fourth option. Here are the Dining Plans; Disney Quick Service Dining Plan, Disney Dining Plan, Disney Dining Plan Plus, and Disney Deluxe Dining Plan. I will be focusing on the Disney Dining Plan. Which includes 1 quick service meal, 1 table service meal, 2 snacks, per day per person and 1 resort-refillable mug. Also included is desert with the table service meal and drinks are included with meals. I based it on a family of 5 with 2 adults and 3 kids and a 6 night stay.

My process to figure out the numbers.

The first thing I did was to decide where I wanted to eat. After picking my restaurants I made a list of where I would eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner for each day. Then, I looked at the menu at each restaurant for prices. I always use allears.net for Disney World menus. I decided to pick a dish that I would most likely order and multiplied that by 2. For example, if I ate at Flame Tree BBQ and picked the Ribs and Chicken combo that costs $15.49 x 2= $30.98. Then I looked at the kids menu and picked the hot dog which costs $6.99 x 3= $20.97. I did that for each meal.

How I figured out the cost for snacks.

I used at least one snack a day for each person as either a lunch or breakfast item. Some quick service restaurants offer really good snack credit selections that are hearty portions. I have a list of those snack credits. For example, Flame Tree BBQ has fries with cheese and pulled pork and is big enough for a meal. I calculated the remaining snacks for each day as $6 for each person because some snacks are more some are less. I figured that was a good middle ground. And I added drinks and dessert for the table service meals. The buffet restaurants include drinks. Therefore, I didn’t add drinks for the price of those meals. The only thing I didn’t calculate was tax and the refillable mug.

What were my findings?

For a family of 5 (2 Adults, 3 kids) and a 6 night stay the total was $1,796.48 (not including tax). And the price for the Disney Dining Plan is $1485.05 (includes tax). Of course results will vary based on where you eat and what you pick. I did not pick the most expensive items on the menu and it still came out to more money than what I would have spent by getting the Disney Dining Plan.

Also, I did choose a few buffets. Which can cost more than buying a single entree at a table service restaurant. It’s important to know that the Disney Dining Plan does not include gratuity. In addition, if you are a party of 6 or more they automatically charge you an 18% gratuity. If you get the Disney Dining Plan you still need to budget for that extra expense. I also worked some numbers for the Disney Quick Service Dining Plan.

Disney Quick Service Dining Plan.

 To figure out if the Quick Service Dining Plan saves money, I repeated the same steps. The Quick Service Dining Plan includes; 2 quick service meals, and 2 snacks a day per person. The total cost for a family of 5 and a 6 night stay is $1042.16 (tax not included). And, the price for the Quick Service Plan would be $1127.90 with tax. Ultimately, I don’t think the Quick Service Dining Plan saves money.

The question is, Can I eat at Disney World for less than paying for a Dining Plan?

The answer is yes. One way is to eat more Quick Service meals than Table Service meals.  The other benefit to quick service is you don’t pay gratuity.

My family of 6 stayed at Disney World for 6 nights and 7 days and the cost of food was $1,000. We also ate at 2 table service restaurants. Moreover, some Table Service restaurants have comparable prices to Quick Service locations. Therefore, you don’t have to only eat at quick service locations. And some items at Disney World are big enough to split. That’s another way to save money.

When we ate at Sleepy Hollow we bought 5 mickey waffles with strawberries and cream on top. We should have only bought 3 and split them. The portion size was too big for our kids to finish their mickey waffles. Another way to cut down on food cost is to bring a water bottle. Disney World has plenty of water fountains around their parks. You can also get free water at Quick Service locations. Just ask a cast member at the counter for a cup of water and they will give you one.

Ultimately it depends on where you want to eat, how much you want to eat, and what your budget is to know if the Dining Plan is right for you. I would have loved it if we had gotten the Dining Plan but I wanted to keep our food costs down. I love food and there are so many restaurants at Disney World that I want to try. Even though I didn’t get the Disney Dining Plan on my first trip there’s always next time.

What do you think about the Disney Dining Plan? Is it worth it? What has been your experience? If you want me to run the numbers for the other Disney Dining Plans just let me know in the comments below.