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Employee Benefit Plans	12 Months Ended
Employee Benefit Plans	Dec. 31, 2011
Defined Contribution Pension and Other Postretirement Plans Disclosure [Abstract]
Compensation and Employee Benefit Plans [Text Block]	Employee Benefit Plans 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan Effective January 1, 2009, the Company amended the DineEquity, Inc. 401(k) Plan to (i) include salaried and hourly employees of Applebee's, and (ii) modify the Company matching formula. As amended, the Company matches 100% of the first three percent of the employee's eligible compensation deferral and 50% of the next two percent of the employee's eligible compensation deferral. All contributions under this plan vest immediately. DineEquity common stock is not an investment option for employees in the 401(k) plan, other than shares transferred from a prior employee stock ownership plan. Substantially all of the administrative cost of the 401(k) plan is borne by the Company. The Company's contribution was $2.4 million, $3.0 million and $3.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.