I wanted to do a review of the dining plan and how I used it for this most recent vacation. I kept all my receipts, and also notes about what I would have paid out of pocket for the same items.
I also took pictures of how I used the snack credits, so you could see those items.
I've been doing the dining plan on all my personal trips; not only because it does save me money on what I choose to order, but also because I like the pre-paid aspect of it. I like being about to pay for as many of my vacation items as possible before I arrive, and the dining plan lets me do that.
So, to recap: for 2016, the Disney Dining Plan includes per person, per night of your stay:
* 1 refillable mug (you can use at your resort or the water parks for things like soda, tea, coffee, etc)
* 1 snack credit
* 1 quick service meal credit (which is a beverage, entree and a dessert for lunch and dinner; breakfast is your entree and a beverage.)
* 1 table service meal credit (which is a beverage, entree and a dessert or a buffet)
For today's post we'll be examining the Snack credits, and then I'll talk about the other items on later posts.
I found an article online that gave a good benchmark; they said you should aim to keep your snacks at $5 or more, as that will give you the most value for the dollars you paid for the dining plan. So keeping that in mind, I am going to assume that each snack credit costs $5 and base my savings (or not) on that dollar amount.
Snack credit on dining plan
$6.89 cash price - $5 snack credit allowance = $1.89 in extra value
Ample Hills is one of the newer offerings on the Boardwalk at the Boardwalk Inn. Anyone can go there; you don't have to be staying at the hotel, and the Boardwalk is a great place to shop, people watch and grab snacks as well as meals. With the dining plan, a snack credit gets you either a cone or a bowl; I chose the bowl as it was hot that day and I wanted to keep the melting to a minimum.
You can a decent amount of ice cream; I got a lemon sorbet and it was two very decent sized scoops. But at almost $7, that is pricey if buying on its own.
$4.19 if paying cash
Snack credit on dining plan
$4.19 cash price - $5 snack credit allowance = -$.81 less value
I'm a firm believer that even on the dining plan, you should order what YOU want, even if it's not the best dollar to credit conversion. Yes, I lost money on this item but I won't get it again for that reason. I felt it didn't taste at all like candy corn and was just a very basic vanilla flavor. After I took the picture, the ice cream also fell and so they gave me another cone. I ended up throwing it away, though, as I didn't want to eat something I wasn't really into.
$4.79 if paying cash
Snack credit on dining plan
$4.79 cash price - $5 snack allowance = -$.21 less value
Even though this was a "loss" dollars wise, I still LOVED it and thus felt it was a good value. I had two snack credits left as I was getting ready to leave and drive back to Ft Myers, so I got the fruit tart and a cupcake (below) to take home.
When I talk to many people on the dining plan, they end up having extra snack credits at the end of their vacation and so often I hear people will load up on bagged candy and other treats to enjoy at the airport, in the car or once they get home. It's nice to take a bit of Disney home with you and have a treat later that reminds you of your vacation!
I would get the tart again; it was nice and light and there was the slightest layer of chocolate between the cream and the tart shell and so it complemented the fruit very nicely.
$5.59 if paying cash
Snack credit on dining plan
$5.59 cash value - $5 snack allowance = $.59 in extra value
The cupcake was huge, as are most of the cupcakes you find on Disney property. For this reason, I find these great to share; sharing also lets you stretch those snack credits!
It was very tasty; a yellow cake base with a vanilla frosting, and cute Goofy ears and hat. A basic cupcake, nothing fancy...but that tasted delicious.
So to recap....here are the dollars and cents:
$5 snack allowance x 4 snack credits = $20 in snack allowances
$21.46 value had I paid in cash for the snacks
Difference of $1.46
Now, this is not a giant savings - but I also didn't choose snack items based solely on their cash price. That is a great way to use the dining plan and perfectly acceptable but not what I did this time around. That being said, every little bit of savings is a good thing - and I do like pre-paying for as much of my vacation expenses as I can going in.
In the coming days I'll be posting about the quick service and table service credits, and how those dollars worked out in comparison to what I would have paid in cash.
Thanks for reading! Have a great day!
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