Meal plan just don't seem worth it

Were planning a trip for Jan and looked at adding the meal plan but at $120 a day for
the 4 uf us seems excessive.
this would increase the price of our package by about $1k.
Am I missing something?

nobody@home.com wrote:
> Were planning a trip for Jan and looked at adding the meal plan but
> at $120 a day for the 4 uf us seems excessive.
> this would increase the price of our package by about $1k.
> Am I missing something?


The cost of eating without the plan? The enjoyment of nice meals in nice
restaurants?


--
Bill Bugge

"Are the stars out tonight?
I don't know if it's cloudy or bright."

nobody@home.com wrote:
> Were planning a trip for Jan and looked at adding the meal plan but at $120 a day for
> the 4 uf us seems excessive.
> this would increase the price of our package by about $1k.
> Am I missing something?

Have you explored what it would cost you to eat without the dining
plan??
-Fizzie

Actually I just found a web site with menues and prices and you guys might be right

"Carrie Carney" <Cccarney1@cox.net> wrote in message
news:CrgOg.14728$xk3.11886@dukeread07...

> I've followed all these disc\'
> ussions about the meal plan, and it all seems to boil down to two points:
>
> 1. It is a significant discount as compared to the menu prices of what
you
> get. Therefore it is a good deal.
>
> 2. It is more food than most people would actually have purchased on
their
> own. Therefore it is a bad deal.
>
> Just thought I'd clear that up. (Only joking, mind you, but it does now
> seem that clear to me.)

Joking or not, truth is that you *have* made it clear. For those who do eat
full meals, including appetizers and desserts, and who eat multiple meals
each day, the dining plan is a good deal - for *them*.

for those like me, who eat much lighter at WDW, getting a discount on things
that I wouldn't have bought in the first place doesn't make sense, so for
those folks, the dining plan *isn't *a good deal.

DJJ

My problem with the meal plan is I probably do eat that much food in a
day, but just not all in one sitting.

I could use a Counter Service for my breakfast

A table service appetizer for my lunch (and maybe soup)

A table service main dish at dinner

A table service dessert about two hours later.

And use the snack credit for water.

If each individual element was a credit, I would love it!!

Carol

Anne - EZ Fun Guide to WDW wrote:
> Carrie Carney wrote:
>> I've followed all these discussions about the meal plan, and it all
>> seems to boil down to two points:
>>
>> 1. It is a significant discount as compared to the menu prices of
>> what you get. Therefore it is a good deal.
>>
>> 2. It is more food than most people would actually have purchased
>> on their own. Therefore it is a bad deal.
>
>
> I think you've summarized it quite nicely! I would only edit the
> second item to say that it is more food than *many* people would have
> eaten without the plan. Each guest has to decide for him/herself
> which is better.
>

While I agree it's a useful summary, I don't see anything wrong with people
on vacation eating more and better than normal. That's what you do on a
cruise, for example. I'd be inclined to substitute the words "could be" for
the word "is" in both points. This would cover the "each guest has to
decide" point you make.

-
Bill Bugge

"Are the stars out tonight?
I don't know if it's cloudy or bright."

>> Carrie Carney wrote:
>>> I've followed all these discussions about the meal plan, and it all
>>> seems to boil down to two points:
>>>
>>> 1. It is a significant discount as compared to the menu prices of
>>> what you get. Therefore it is a good deal.
>>>
>>> 2. It is more food than most people would actually have purchased
>>> on their own. Therefore it is a bad deal.
>>
>>
>> I think you've summarized it quite nicely! I would only edit the
>> second item to say that it is more food than *many* people would have
>> eaten without the plan. Each guest has to decide for him/herself
>> which is better.
>>

We toyed with using it on our last trip but there were two mitigating
factors. One was we have a friend who is a CM and he books our hotel for us
at a discount. With the discounted rate, we weren't able to add on the meal
plan. And we generally budget $90/day for food with some extra cash for the
"special" dinners (ie. Crystal Palace, Boma, etc). Even with the budgeted
food $$ and extra cash, it still worked out to be slightly more per day for
the food plan than the way we're doing it. Now, if we no longer have the
perk of the hotel discount, we'd consider using the plan and perhaps we'd do
more "special" dinners.

Michelle

The table service meals do come with a lot of food at some of the restaurants. What my husband
and I do is share a table service meal and just use one credit. Most places will let you do
this, and it works out better for us.

Suzanne Q
Bristol, TN

Julie wrote:
>
>
> nobody@home.com wrote:
>> Were planning a trip for Jan and looked at adding the meal plan but at
>> $120 a day for the 4 uf us seems excessive.
>> this would increase the price of our package by about $1k.
>> Am I missing something?
>>
>>
>
> There's no way I can eat it all. I always stay at a place with a fridge,
> so can transfer leftovers.
>
> Julie

It is a ton of food, but fun to order and not be conscious about your
budget. We had meal plan package for a week at the all-stars then
changed to non meal plan weekend at AKL. This worked really well for
us. A bonus was that you points are good until midnight of checl out
date, so our first night at AKL we used our last points to have a nice
dinner at Jiko. This was great cuz we were at new deluxe resort for
the weekend but still saving from meal plan points.

If you have the time I suggest you look at menus online and roughly
plan what you would each order at different meals to get a sense of how
your dining costs would add up... Don't forget to include the snacks
and gratuity!