Are the Disney Dining Plans Worth Your Money?

Disney easily comes up in conversations with random people I meet, but when they find out I am a travel consultant they always ask20160515_191819 me if the Disney Dining Plan is worth the money.  I have read so many different opinions on various Disney blogs, Facebook pages, and travel agent outlets about people’s views on this subject matter.  It seems like people are split, some love it and some say it is a waste of money.  Well, we recently went to Disney and I decided to add the Disney Dining Plan to our package so I could see if it is worth it. 

Before I go into if is it worth or not, I must explain that there are several dining plans available through Disney.  Because of the variety, I am wondering if those who feel that the Dining Plan is not worth the money may have been talked into the wrong Dining Plan for their family, see chart below for quick reference.  Why so many options?  It is easy to understand, there are many cultures and different types of families that go to Disney so they are really catering to everyone.  One family may say that a particular plan has too many meals for their family while another may say this is the perfect amount for us.  I will tell you, that no matter which plan you choose for your family, it will be perfect. 

For my family we choose the Disney Dining Plan which includes 1 quick service, 1 table service, and, new for 2017, 2 snacks per person per night of stay and 1 resort refillable mug.  The refillable mug can be used at your resort.  You cannot use this mug in the parks to get refills, but I will tell you that we did take our mugs along with us to the parks and asked for ice water, which is free.  We then transferred our ice water into the mugs.  With each table service meal, we were able to choose one entrée from the menu, one dessert, and one non-alcoholic beverage.  When you choose an entrée you are not limited to a select menu specifically for those on the dining plan.  You receive the same menu that everyone receives and get to choose any of the entrées including steak or salmon.  Dessert at Disney is fantastic!  It is gourmet and no matter what you choose it will not disappoint. 

However, having dessert every day could be a lot for some people, as it was for me.  There is a little known fact that isn’t shared by the wait staff, but some restaurants now allow you to substitute your dessert for an appetizer.  You have to ask your server when you sit down if this is one of the participating restaurants and which appetizers are included, but you may have an option of a salad instead of the that rich chocolate cake. 

Quick service meals are just like the combo meals that you get at any of your local fast food places, and snacks include a variety of foods including popcorn, cookies, cupcakes, a banana, or the famous Mickey Mouse ice cream bar. 

When you purchase a dining plan that has several table services with it, you must make your reservations in advance.  You can start to make your dining reservations up to 180 days prior to your arrival date for the entire length of your day, but not to exceed 10 days of stay.  What this really means is on the 179th day you can call to make your reservations.  I would recommend calling to make your reservations.  It is much faster and you will also be able to make any additional reservations such as Pirate’s League or any tours, all with one phone call.  If you don’t make a reservation in advance, you could be told that the restaurant is full for the day or you may have a two-hour wait.  A two-hour wait with hungry children is not fun for anyone!

So are you ready to find out if the dining plan is worth the money?  For a family of four going to Disney for seven nights, who elect the Disney Dining plan, it is a little over $1000.  (Now that is just for the Dining plan, not including park tickets or resort stay.)  For four people on this seven day Disney vacation, it comes to between $33 to $40 per person per day.   One character meal is around this same cost, so if you do one character meal you have paid for your entire day right there!  Even if you are doing non character meals, your meal cost with entrée, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverage can easily reach the $40 to $50 range per person.  When you look at the numbers you really see that you are paying for table service but getting a quick service meal and snack for free.  I, personally, find that the dining plan is worth the money and saves me time when we are there.  My meals are planned out, they are paid for, and everyone is happy because the food is so good. 

Now, one thing you must know is that tip/gratuity is not included.  The suggested tip is based on your total meal cost prior to deducting your plan.  It is up to you, how much you want to tip unless you are a party of six or more than 18% is automatically added to your bill.  When you receive your bill it will tell you how many of that service you have left.  So if you had six table services to start and just finished eating, then your bill will show that you have five remaining.  You can always get your entire amount of allotted meals from the concierge or guest services area at your hotel.  It is important to note that meals do not roll over after your stay.  If you don’t use them up you will lose them so I highly recommend planning out your meals for each day you are at Disney.  Also, the meals are to be used at your discretion.  If you want two table service meals on one day and two quick service meals another day, it is up to you how you use them, but again, use them up!

 

P.S. Call me this year to plan your AMAZING Disney vacation.  I always recommend to start planning your Walt Disney World vacation 8 to 12 months in advance so we can start planning everything out for you.     


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When to Buy Travel Protection…

You and your travel agent have been planning your vacation for several weeks.  You have come to a decision and are excited to be putting down that initial deposit.  You are done with travel planning for now, or are you?  One last thing that your travel agent should be talking to you about at this time is purchasing travel protection for your vacation.   You are probably not even thinking about travel protection, but I am here to tell you that you should be and this is the time to think HARD about it! 

The pressure of purchasing it right after you just put down a large deposit can be too much think about, and I am here to tell you, that is OK.  You don’t have to purchase the travel protection plan right away.  Most travel insurance companies allow you to purchase travel protection up to a certain number of days prior to departure of your vacation.  You will not receive time sensitive provisions, which we will discuss in a bit, but you will still receive good coverage.  My recommendation is that you make sure you have made up your mind to purchase travel protection before final payment of your trip is due.  At this point, you have had enough time to really think about the coverage you will receive and whether or not it is right for you and your family. 

Most travel insurance companies offer a few BONUS waivers or time sensitive provisions if you purchase travel protection within in so many days of your initial deposit on your vacation.  The most common two are:

  1. Pre-Existing Medical Condition Waiver.  What this typically means is that if you have had any medical conditions so many days prior to the effective date of your policy, then they would be waived and possibly considered a covered reason if you needed to cancel.  Some travel insurance companies are 60 days prior to the effective date and others are as far out at 180 days. 
  2. Supplier default or insolvency of a supplier such as an airline, cruise line, tour operator, or other travel supplier. 

You really are getting more coverage when you purchase your travel protection within the travel insurance companies requirements to get these time sensitive provisions.

Over 95% of my clients purchase some kind of travel protection to cover their vacation.  The next time you get ready to book your vacation, I HIGHLY recommend that you add the amount of travel protection into your budget.  It makes it a lot easier for you to make the decision to purchase it right away so you get the time sensitive provisions, and you don’t feel that it is an added expense.  A good rule of thumb in figuring out this expense, is if you are under the age of 55 travel protection will cost you between 10 – 15% of your total vacation.  If you are over the age of 55, travel protection will cost you between 10 – 20% of the total cost of your trip.

Don’t forget to tell your travel agent at Life is Better Traveling to give you a quote for travel protection when planning your next vacation. 


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Let’s talk about what you get with Travel Protection, because you may be missing out!

You have been saving up your money for a few years to take your dream vacation.  You are at the airport and the gate attendant announces the flight will be delayed due to mechanical issues.  This delay causes you to miss your connecting flight to your final destination.  Many hours later you get to your destination, and you slipped on a wet spot in the lobby landing flat on your back.  You feel a pinch, and have trouble standing up straight and walking.  At this point you wonder if the universe is telling you that you shouldn’t have taken this vacation, then you remember, YOU HAVE TRAVEL PROTECTION!  You can use your travel protection to cover all of these weird occurrences. 

Facts show that 17% of those who traveled had their travel impacted by medical problems, natural disasters like a hurricane, or mechanical/carrier caused issued which delayed their trip for more than 3 hours.  When you have purchased travel insurance, also called travel protection, there are three main services that you are getting:

1.      Medical Coverage 

Most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicad, do not cover a person outside the borders of the United States.  Your credit card may have some medical coverage, but you may have had to purchase your trip with that card, and even then, the coverage amount is minimal.  Hospitals outside of the United States will require a person to make full payment before they are allowed to leave the hospital, no matter how much the charges may be.  This could lead to a financial hardship on the whole family.  With Travel Insurance, you have several tiers of medical coverage and it can either act as your primary medical insurance or secondary medical insurance. 

2.      Travel Arrangements 

There are many things that can happen including trip cancellation, trip delay, and trip interruption.  Life happens and sometimes things happen right before a trip that forces you to cancel but the supplier might have 100% non-refundable cancellation policy.  But your travel insurance doesn’t and you can recoup the cost of that trip not taken.  Did you know that when you have trip interruptions you can be reimbursed for meals, lost luggage, and missed connections?

3.      Concierge services

Most people don’t realize that travel insurance companies offer this service.  Want to go golfing?  Call the travel insurance company and they will set up a tee time for you.  Did you forget to send flowers to your mother for her birthday before you left to go on vacation, call the travel insurance company and they will send flowers, balloons, or a cake.  There are so many possibilities to use this service and it is all part of the plan you purchase. 

Travel Protection is for everyone who is going to take a vacation or even a small trip.  If your credit card offers travel protection, you really need to make sure you check what is covered, how much is covered, and if you need to have purchased your vacation with that card to get the coverage.  Since becoming a travel consultant, I have been purchasing travel protection for myself and my family even when we take small trips here in the United States.  Why do I do this?  I know that it is there if I need to use it, I know how much I am covered for, and if I need any reservations somewhere I can call the concierge services to do it for me.  Oh, and it also gives me peace of mind.

 Stayed tuned for next week’s newsletter about knowing what you get when to purchase travel protection.  Also, if you know someone who is about to take a vacation and haven’t purchased travel protection, please forward this email onto them and tell them to sign-up for my HIGH CONTENT newsletters about travel BELOW….


The Top 3 motivators for purchasing Travel Protection, which one do you say?

 In my last newsletter I discussed the importance of making sure to give your friends, family, or neighbors a printed copy of your itinerary in case something were to go wrong on your vacation.  It is great that they have this, but what do YOU have to protect yourself and your family when something goes wrong?  Who are YOU supposed to call when you have to go to the local hospital or medical express station?  Who do YOU call when you missed your connecting flight which also caused you to miss boarding your cruise? 

Your travel agent should be there to help with you some of those concerns, but we don’t always know the nearest hospital or medical facility that will ensure your best well-being.  When you have travel protection, the travel protection company is who you call!

Before 2001 only 10% of leisure travelers purchased travel protection.  Since 2001, each year the amount of leisure travelers who have purchased travel protection has exponential grown.  At Life is Better Traveling, 95% of our clients who book their vacation with us also purchase travel protection.  Why do they book travel protection?  There are three main reasons why someone purchases travel protection:

1)     I want to cover my hard-earned money because the trip was expensive and/or I had to pre-pay a large amount.

2)     My medical coverage does not exist outside of the United States and I want to make sure that I am covered.

3)     I am nervous about unforeseen events occurring and I know that travel protection will give me the peace of mind I need. 

I bring up three good points that most people will ask or say to themselves right before or right after they have purchased their vacation.  I am sure even you have asked yourself one or more of these three things.  With so many online travel agencies, airlines, and other suppliers making it so easy for you to purchase travel protection for your vacation purchase.  They tell you all the reasons you should purchase it and it sounds so appealing to purchase it, but do you know what you are ACTUALLY getting when you press the shiny “Purchase Travel Protection” button?

Stayed tuned for next week’s newsletter about knowing what you get when you purchase travel protection.  Also, if you know someone who is about to take a vacation and haven’t purchased travel protection, please forward this email onto them and tell them to sign-up for my HIGH CONTENT newsletters about travel at LifeisBetterTraveling.com. 

 

 

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