I read an article recently in which the Disney Dining Plans were analyzed. For the most part, I think it was spot on.The article discussed the different approaches to deciding whether or not the Dining Plans are right for you: apples to apples or apples to oranges. I’ll have to confess that I have always taken the apples to apples approach that is, comparing the cost of the Dining Plan to what the out-of-pocket cost would be for those meals. With the apples to oranges comparison it is suggested that: “If using one of the various plans would cause a significant change in your dining habits, you need to dig a little deeper with your analysis.” And, I agree.
With the basic Disney Dining Plan each person gets: one table service meal, one counter service meal, and one snack per day. Both table service and counter service meals include: an entrée, a non-alcoholic beverage, and a dessert. If you are not accustomed to eating dessert with lunch or large meals twice a day, then you may want to use the apples to oranges approach. Consider what you would normally eat during any given day, rather than all the food that you might feel obligated to eat with the Dining Plan, and then determine what that would cost out-of-pocket. Compare that amount to the cost of the Dining Plan.
The article also looked at how the Disney Dining Plans have changed since their inception. When the Dining Plan was first introduced it included: one table service meal, one counter service meal and one snack per person per day. Table service meals included: an appetizer, entrée, non-alcoholic beverage, and dessert. Also, included in the price was the gratuity. In 2008 Disney excluded the appetizer and gratuity in response to guests’ complaints of too much food, and that prepaid gratuities resulted in poor service. The price per adult for the basic Dining Plan in 2007 was $39 per night of their stay; today it is $42 per adult per night of their stay. That’s only a $3 price increase in three years; given the declining economy and the rising cost of pretty much everything, that’s incredible. Well, maybe not that incredible when you consider that although appetizers and gratuities have been excluded, there has been no price cutting in lieu of that. In fact, using apples to oranges method of analysis, an average appetizer would run about $8 and, using Disney’s suggested 18% for gratuity on a table service meal, which would cost on average about $32 including tax, would be about $5.75, for a total of $13.75 ($8 appetizer + $5.75 gratuity = $13.75). Add to that the $3 price increase since 2007 for a total increase of around $16.75, or let’s just say $17. That would bring the increase from 2007 to something more like $56 which is about a 43.6% increase. But, the price hasn’t actually increased, it just hasn’t decreased. If the average adult dinner tab is $32, a counter service meal $12, and a snack about $2.50, that is still $46.50 worth of food that you are getting for $42. And, we are talking average prices for a meal; with the Dining Plan, you can order the most expensive items on the menu which most people probably wouldn’t do if they were paying out of pocket, so the savings could be even greater.
I don’t know about anyone else, but when my family and I go to Disney World, one of the things we look forward to most is the opportunity to eat at different restaurants and try different types of food than what we have at home. With the Dining Plan, not only can we order the most expensive entrée on the menu, it’s prepaid, so we don’t have to worry about blowing out our budget, it’s already taken care of. And, for first timers particularly, even if you only purchase the Quick Service Plan, it lessens the sticker shock by knowing that all or most of your food is already paid for and that takes some of the pressure off. You can order whatever, enjoy your meal, and just have fun.
We also don’t have a problem with deciding where we are going to eat six months in advance. That’s a common criticism of the Dining Plans. It’s a bigger pain when it gets toward meal time and the conversation about where and what to eat goes like this: “What do you want, I don’t know, what do you want? I don’t care, you decide. Why don’t we do ____? No, that doesn’t sound good. Well, what do you want? I don’t care, we can do whatever you want.” Sound familiar? Or, try waiting until you’re starving, the kids are starving and whining, and you go from restaurant to restaurant trying to find something other than fast food, again, only to find that everything is booked solid. So, not only are our meals prepaid, they are pre-determined. Don’t think for a minute that if you don’t purchase a Dining Plan that you can just wing it. The idea that by not purchasing a Dining Plan you are not going to be forced to decide what you want to eat six months in advance is a non-starter. Even if you plan to pay out of pocket, if you don’t make reservations well in advance, you can pretty much count on not eating at a table service restaurant, at least not at any reasonable time, and not without an unreasonable wait.
The article also considered Disney’s motives for offering what, at first look, would seem to be benefits for guests, such as the Dining Plans. The notion was put forward that it is not so much about the guests as it is about Disney making efforts to keep all those vacation dollars floating around, on property. Disney has cleverly found more and more ways of enticing guests to stay on property so that whatever they spend goes directly into Disney’s pocket. The number and variety of resorts have increased over the past fifteen years or so, giving more options for accommodations. In 1991, Disney began offering the opportunity to actually own a piece of the Disney experience with the Disney Vacation Club timeshare. And, by taking advantage of its latest enticement, guests can have all their meals on property giving them “absolutely no reason to leave the confines of Disney to spend any money elsewhere.”
But, being “confined” to Disney property and, therefore, Disney restaurants, is not necessarily a negative. Consider thousands of people looking for a place, off property, to get a meal. They likely don’t know the area, they likely have to find some type of transportation, and they likely wouldn’t know which restaurants are good or not. That sounds more like mass chaos than having more choices. It may be self-serving on the part of Disney, and let’s face it, Disney is not a charity, they are in the business of making money, but at the same time guests are accommodated by being offered a reasonably priced option: dozens of excellent restaurants that are either within walking distance or a short ride away via provided transportation at no additional cost, the ability to lock in a set price regardless of the actual menu price, as well as the option of making reservations well in advance, something that most non-Disney restaurants no longer do. In my book, all that adds up to being worth considerably more than $17.
The bottom line here is, decide what it’s worth to you. Decide what you want, need, and can afford. Whether you use an apples to apples or apples to oranges method to determine if purchasing one of the Disney Dining Plans will be cost effective for you really doesn’t matter. Do what works for you. And, as Mom always says: “Do your own math!”
For more information about Disney Dining, check out these articles:
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