Darcie:
I used to be a big fan of the
Disney Dining Plan because it did save families money when it came to dining at Disney, especially if you have children and want to eat at a few character meals. However, over the years, I typically recommend it for other reasons beside value: to help you budget, to really enjoy your vacation without worrying about the price and if you have multiple family members with whom you're vacationing and you don't want to bother figuring out who will be picking up the check.
Although the gratuity is included for the meals at Cinderella's Royal Table and the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show, I don't think that the Disney Dining Plan would be a good addition for your vacation. The real value in the dining plan comes when you chose meals at one-credit table service restaurants where you plan on ordering not only the most expensive entree but also an expensive dessert. And if you purchased the Deluxe plan that would give you more credits to cover the
Supercalifragilistic Breakfast, that meal is a lot less expensive than a dinner and certainly not a good value for the plan. I'd recommend paying out of pocket for your meals for this vacation.
There's a great article at www.touringplans.com on whether or not the dining plan is best for your family. It may help you find a future scenario where it would be well suited.
Wishing y'all a magical vacation!
Whitney