Hello, Janelle!
Glad to hear from a Disney Vacation Club Member! Thanks for sending your question!
We always travel to Walt Disney World on our DVC Membership with the
Dining Plan because we've calculated the money we would have spent on meals otherwise and have found that this is a great value for our family. The link above is for the Dining Plan for DVC Members, and includes the cost per person, per night of stay (for 2013, adults will pay $55.59 per night and children ages 3-9 will pay $17.16 per night of stay. Should you wish to add the Dining Plan to your reservation, all of the Guests on that reservation must do so, and it must be added at least 48 hours prior to check-in.)
Look at some menus and estimate what you'd spend out of pocket, if you weren't on the DP. In our DVC Villa kitchen, we'll prepare breakfasts most mornings and snacks, too. We tend to bring favorite items back and keep them in the fridge until we're ready to enjoy (this works well for leftovers as well as for breakfast pastries, purchased with our snack credits, for the next morning.) If there are any menus you can't find on Walt Disney World.com, head over to allears.net, one of my favorite unofficial sites, where you'll find menus which include approximate pricing.
DVC Members can also purchase the
Tables in Wonderland Card, entitling them and up to 9 guests a 20% discount on food and beverages, including alcohol, at 99 participating restaurants. This may be a good alternative as well.
Send more questions as you plan your DVC trip! I'd love to help!