Hello, Jane!
I am a strong supporter of the
Disney Dining Plan, simply because time and time again, we've found that we enjoyed more luxurious food, in venues we would not have sampled, for less money than if we had paid out of pocket for our meals.
Here's an example: a couple of weeks ago, a Guest asked me this very same question while I was in Walt Disney World. That morning, we had enjoyed a character breakfast, with a late Quick-Service lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express. The total for the two meals would have been $77 for the day, before I add in my snack credit and the value of my resort-refillable mug. Yet, I had only paid $51.54 for the day via my Dining Plan...and that's just one day's worth of savings, too.
The key is to track what you would like to order while in WDW, take a look at the price of these items (either on WDW's website or by looking at the unofficial allears.net), adding up a total for the day and determining if you would save money by adding on the Dining Plan. We've come to look forward to our trips to WDW as an opportunity to enjoy some spectacular dining, in addition to enjoying the fantastic attractions and entertainment, too. Having the Dining Plan makes us sit down for an hour, too, which makes everyone more relaxed and ready for the rest of the day or night in a park or at our resort.
Bottom line? IF you know that you are going to be eating in the parks or at the resorts, you'll probably save money by getting the Dining Plan.
Send more questions as you think of them! We love to help!