Disney- meal plan vs non meal plan

[irishsara]

If you've gone to Disney and done the meal plan, do you think it's worth it? Pros and Cons? I know you can bring food in , etc etc but I am just not that into making lunches and stuff on vacation. But I don't know if it's worth it or not?

[Deleted]

Are you going during free dining or an paying for the whole thing?

I've basically heard it's rarely worth it if you're paying for it unless you want to do character meals almost every day. It also includes a ton of food that most people don't want/need. There is some calculator online where you can plug in where you want to eat each day and it will tell you if it's worth it, I can't remember what it's called now though.

[puppylove64]

Last time we didn't do dining plan and just paid everything out of pocket. We only did one character breakfast. All the food was really yummy and I said next time I go, I want to do dining plan so I can pig out and do all character meals and just be extravagant. So in November, that is my plan.

I agree with Jamaica that it is probably more expensive but it is the price you pay for convenience and not worrying about the price of your next meal. I want to go and let the kids order whatever they want and have lots of sugar filled snacks and just be carefree.

[Deleted]

I think this is the calculator I looked at when we went last year www.distripplanner.com

[TrudyCampbell]

I'm thinking of not doing it bc my kids don't eat much and can easily share one kids meal between them both and not even finish it. I am going to price it all out soon though.

[Deleted]

May 1, 2017 15:40:49 GMT -5 TrudyCampbell said:

I'm thinking of not doing it bc my kids don't eat much and can easily share one kids meal between them both and not even finish it. I am going to price it all out soon though.

The kids meals were pretty good sized, if my kids would eat the same food they could have shared lol.  Some adult meals were pretty good sized too, and I shared a few with the kids.  We also brought in snacks/drinks and bought Mickey ice cream daily do didn't need large meals.

[teamhayes]

We are doing it but are doing a ton of character meals and Sullivan is free

[unclejesse]

It's really what you think your family will eat. We've done the meal plan once and found it was actually too much food for us.
Food can be pricey though, especially just something here and there, so if you're looking to stick to a budget, I like it. Don't forget you can bring food and drinks into the park!

[rxbeth]

We did it but likely won't again. It was nice doing a bunch of character meals but Andrew hated the characters and my kids barely ate. When we go next march we will likely not get a meal plan, pack a bunch of snack foods and share meals.

[eddy]

Isn't one of your kids over 10? If so totally not worth it. You have to pay adult prices at 10 years old. 

In general it doesn't seem appealing to me to do all the work to make sure I am getting my $$ worth. I want to plan a could ADRs and then go with the flow for the rest.

[TrudyCampbell]

May 2, 2017 15:34:30 GMT -5 rxbeth said:

We did it but likely won't again. It was nice doing a bunch of character meals but Andrew hated the characters and my kids barely ate. When we go next march we will likely not get a meal plan, pack a bunch of snack foods and share meals.

What dates will you be there next march!!??!
I'm going 3/29-4/6

[rxbeth]

May 2, 2017 15:48:58 GMT -5 TrudyCampbell said:

May 2, 2017 15:34:30 GMT -5 rxbeth said:

We did it but likely won't again. It was nice doing a bunch of character meals but Andrew hated the characters and my kids barely ate. When we go next march we will likely not get a meal plan, pack a bunch of snack foods and share meals.

What dates will you be there next march!!??!
I'm going 3/29-4/6

3/11-3/17 - when I saw you were going in March, I checked your dates! lol  I'm crazy to go again, but the kids loved it and I got my retro check from work so we might as well go!  

[TrudyCampbell]

May 2, 2017 20:44:23 GMT -5 rxbeth said:

May 2, 2017 15:48:58 GMT -5 TrudyCampbell said:

What dates will you be there next march!!??!
I'm going 3/29-4/6

3/11-3/17 - when I saw you were going in March, I checked your dates! lol  I'm crazy to go again, but the kids loved it and I got my retro check from work so we might as well go!  

Oh man, I was hoping it would line up bc it's easter week!!!

[rxbeth]

TrudyCampbell - it never lines up with Easter. And then the kids and teachers get Good Friday and Easter Monday off, too!

[TrudyCampbell]

May 2, 2017 20:53:12 GMT -5 rxbeth said:

TrudyCampbell - it never lines up with Easter. And then the kids and teachers get Good Friday and Easter Monday off, too!

I'm actually having a heart attack bc our trip is booked now and we still don't know for 100% sure if Violet's school has that spring break! Her private school has mirrored the NYC public calendar the last two years and the admissions woman gave me semi confirmation that it should be fine, but eek!!! Please be that week!!

I think it will be bc it's both easter and Passover. I can't imagine a NYC private school not being off for Passover.

It's less about her potentially missing school and more about us booking the peak time for no reason!

[teamhayes]

I'm seriously considering turning my park tickets into annual passes while we are there and trying to squeeze in another quick trip or two but low key bc the savings would be so great and considering march too