3. Your choices are limited

Though Disney includes most of their menu options on the Disney Dining Plan, you’ll find that many items are excluded. Signature restaurants and special dining experiences might require two meal credits, and larger, more expensive snacks often can’t be purchased with the plan at all.

If you want to get the full value of your Dining Plan, you’ll need to opt for the most expensive meals at the most expensive restaurants that are included. You’ll almost always need a reservation for the table service restaurants, as well. This requires a lot of foresight and planning, and it’s frustrating to many guests who don’t enjoy spending their vacation running from one reservation to the next. If you enjoy flexibility, the Disney Dining Plan probably isn’t for you.

4. Most people don’t save money on the Disney Dining Plan

If nothing else dissuades you from using the service, maybe this will: even after all that planning and inconvenience, you probably won’t save any money with the plan.

To see the exact numbers for your family, you’ll need to estimate your appetites/meals/restaurant chocies in advance. If you don’t feel like doing all that legwork, here’s a pretty typical situation. (I’m leaving out one quick service meal, gratuity, alcohol, and extra snacks, because none of that stuff is included in the plan, so it’s not important for comparison.)

Average Quick Service Meal for one person (entrée, dessert, and drink): $16-18

Average Table Service Meal for one person (buffet or entrée, dessert, and drink): $40-$45 (There are some more expensive options, but this is the average.)

Average Snack cost: $4-5

Total average cost for items included on the Disney Dining Plan: $60-68

Actual daily cost of the Disney Dining Plan: $60.04 per adult

As you can see, these two numbers are very similar. If you skip either drinks or desserts with your meals, you’ll actually come out better without the Dining Plan. If you pay out of pocket for your meals, you’ll probably struggle to even hit these amounts.

Of course, this example doesn’t include the refillable mug. We’ve found we use the mug frequently when we have it, but we don’t miss it when it’s not there. Also, it’s pretty easy to bring canned or bottled drinks into your hotel room, especially since mini-fridges are pretty much standard in every room. You can even have drinks shipped to the resort if you’re flying in.

If you're still not convinced that the plan won't save most people money, consider this: Would Disney really offer something that actually cost them money? Of course not. They're a business, and they want to make money. If they didn't make money off the Dining Plan, then they wouldn't offer it. Plain and simple.

And the verdict is...

Unless you eat a lot of food, don’t mind staying within Disney’s guidelines for every meal, enjoy planning your meals in advance, don't drink much alcohol, and do drink a lot of soda, the Disney Dining Plan just isn’t a good deal. Very few people meet all of these criteria.

That being said, Disney often offers the plan for “free” as one of their discounts each year. If this offer is available, you might as well take it. You’ll pay rack rate for your room, but the savings from the included Dining Plan can really add up. Obviously, the more people staying in one room, the better you’ll come out on this one. Four adults in one room will save $240 a night by using the Dining Plan, which is a pretty hefty deal.

Otherwise, though, I’d simply stay away. Budget your dining money for the trip, and enjoy eating and drinking what you please. You’re almost guaranteed to come out ahead.