I really have to stop worrying about not getting a good enough value on TS credits

[perd]

We booked free dining, so I don't know why I even think about it, but I find myself not wanting to book a restaurant to use a TS unless it's one of the more expensive restaurants (but not a signature dining meal).

Like...I didn't want to "waste" a TS credit at MGM. But DH looked at the menus and themes and thought he'd like to try Sci-Fi. That's one of the ones I had deemed not worthy of a TS credit and left to me, I never would consider going there and using a TS credit.

But after all, it's a free meal, no matter where we are - right? I should just relax and enjoy our meals and not be so obsessed about getting the most expensive meal for our TS credit - right?

[darlak]

My DS does that whenever we go, whether it's for free dining or we're paying out of pocket. I don't understand it. Especially when it's the free dining. Some of our best TS dining experiences have been at the less expensive restaurants. We don't usually go to Sci-Fi, but that's just because it isn't one of our favorites. That doesn't mean you won't love it though. I always go to Mama Melrose's, even though it clearly isn't a favorite of many people here. The staff is always wonderful and they'll fix anything on the menu anyway we want it. That's were we'll be going on my birthday this Sept. trip. Try to imagine that it's all the same price and then just pick from where you would really like to eat.

[rentayenta]

I just picked by menu items, not price. Don't worry about the price, eat what looks good. :goodvibes

[smidgy]

I know EXACTLY what you mean! the first time we ever used the dining plan was for free dining, 2 years ago. we checked out the menus online, and picked the most expensive things, since we normally couldn't afford them. and, really it was great. and I felt like I was doing right by the servers since the more we ordered, the better their tip. (and I always tipped a little extra, to bring it up to 20%, and sometimes more) BUT.. they had us hooked and we purchased the DDP on our next may trip (split stay, DDP for a few nights at one resort, then room only at a 2nd) and by the time the next free dining came about, we found we were tired of eating. hubby didn't really want to eat a big meal... AGAIN... still full from the last one. so now we try the signature rest. for at least one meal, and try to experience different cuisines(sic?) like seafood, or morrocco.
and SCI FI! I, too , thought, not worth wasting a TS on it; not "expensive enough" now I am rethinking. eat what you really want to eat, when you want to eat it.. otherwise you end up eating: steak, ok steak again, and , oh yeah steak... AGAIN!:rotfl:

[thunderbird1]

Because a good deal is only a good deal if you'll enjoy the food. For example, the character buffets are generally not the most "value" for your credits, but they're some of the first restaurants to run out of reservations. Go where you want to go, and have fun.

LOL about the steak, smidgy. Last year, we ended up cancelling dinner on our 9th free DDP night. My dh asked "where is dinner tonight," and I replied "Concourse Steakhouse." He practically shouted, "NO! I just can't face another piece of steak! Can't we just eat counter service and get a burger tonight?" Too much of a good thing can indeed be too much.

[disneyjunkie]

We booked free dining, so I don't know why I even think about it, but I find myself not wanting to book a restaurant to use a TS unless it's one of the more expensive restaurants (but not a signature dining meal).

Like...I didn't want to "waste" a TS credit at MGM. But DH looked at the menus and themes and thought he'd like to try Sci-Fi. That's one of the ones I had deemed not worthy of a TS credit and left to me, I never would consider going there and using a TS credit.

But after all, it's a free meal, no matter where we are - right? I should just relax and enjoy our meals and not be so obsessed about getting the most expensive meal for our TS credit - right?


I didn't worry about it when I was paying for the plan. There's no way I'm going to drive myself crazy when it's free.:scared:

We don't share meals. I don't mind using a TS credit for a character breakfast. We hit many of the buffets. I don't think twice about "wasting" a credit on a burger at Sci-Fi during lunch.

I was planning to pay OOP for CS breakfast but the more I think about it, the crazier it sounds. Who cares if I can't have dessert with breakfast? By the time we're done with (if we can finish)the pancakes or waffles or grits and eggs, we won't have room for the fruit.

[Nancyg56]

ITA with those posters who suggest booking TS according to your personal taste. There is no value in a meal if you don't eat it or enjoy it. The first time I booked the DDP and I paid for it. I started making myself crazy looking for a way to maximize it, made myself nuts thinking about dollars that were getting away and studying each menu like I was taking a final exam. By the time I was able to book my ADR's I had changed my tune and it was a blessing for my family.

The meals are supposed to enhance your vacation, if you don't enjoy them they are not a bonus. Choose where you want to east based on the items available, you will be fine. Even if you were paying for the plan, if you have your TS and snack the CS is a bonus, so stop looking at the prices. Your stress level will go way down.

I wish I was going, so have a dessert for me!

[LizinSTL]

We booked free dining, so I don't know why I even think about it, but I find myself not wanting to book a restaurant to use a TS unless it's one of the more expensive restaurants (but not a signature dining meal).

Like...I didn't want to "waste" a TS credit at MGM. But DH looked at the menus and themes and thought he'd like to try Sci-Fi. That's one of the ones I had deemed not worthy of a TS credit and left to me, I never would consider going there and using a TS credit.

But after all, it's a free meal, no matter where we are - right? I should just relax and enjoy our meals and not be so obsessed about getting the most expensive meal for our TS credit - right?

If it makes you feel better, look at the "value" of the plan over the entire trip vs on a day by day basis. That's what I did w/ the paid plan too. Obviously, some days you are going to be way ahead....and some days you aren't. That's the nature of it all. Enjoy your meals! Have breakfast if you want and get a bottle of water with a snack credit if you are thirsty! LOL

[Cass]

I should just relax and enjoy our meals and not be so obsessed about getting the most expensive meal for our TS credit - right?

Yes, definately.

[icouldlivethere]

Your first instinct is to try and get the most out of the plan. But after a while I decided I just wanted to eat where I will most enjoy the food. No sense getting the most expensive thing if you don't enjoy it.

[Cass]

More expensive isn't always better tasting, as much as I loved my meals at Le Cellier, Narcoosees and California Grill, the best dish of the entire week was the Penne alla Vodka at Mama Melrose, it was outstanding.

[Belle5]

I helped my mom (who has been many times to WDW) book a free dining package for her and my 50 year old developmentally delayed sister (who has never been to WDW). My mom is the bargain hunter of the century in many ways so I dared not tell her about the charts that help you figure out which restaurants give you the most bang for the buck. If she knew about them, she would be changing all of her ADR's. I had her choose based on what would give my sister the biggest thrill--like Crystal Palace, etc. Most of the places aren't even on the best value chart--but I know they will be the most special for my sister--and it's her 50th birthday. After all, it is free dining--so enjoy and don't think about anything other than where you would want to eat even if you were paying for your meals out of pocket.

[calypso*a*go-go]

When the DDP first came out it almost turned into a competition of people posting how much their bill would have been if they were paying OOP. Our total was $275, good thing we were on the DDP, etc. It's like it created a frenzy in which people felt like they had to get to a certain dollar amount for the meal to truly be "worth it". We got wrapped up in that way of thinking and I'm another one that found myself looking for the highest priced entree vs. what sounded good. By the end of the week I realized I wasn't using the DDP to it's fullest potential because it was lacking the "enjoyment factor". That won't be happening again!

[DISNEYNY]

I totally agree. Don't worry about how much the meal would have cost you, think about whether or not you will enjoy it. We are going on the free DP at the end of August. I have a DD12 that is a very picky eater. We are going to places like Sci Fi and Prime Time, three character buffets as well as Le Cellieur, Spoodles and Whispering Canyons. I could have selected more expensive restaurants with fancier food, but I know she would not have enjoyed herself. Isn't that the point of going to WDW...to enjoy!!!!

[Flagondry]

Right! I am thrilled with the free dining because it lets me relax about getting a good value. Now I can just eat and appy and a dessert if I want, no guilt.

[missmouse1975]

I agree with the poster who looks at it on a daily basis. We are a family of 4, going for 7 days, food, tickets, hotel room paid - for $1,400. That is $200 a day. We couldn't entertain, house, & feed ourselves in our hometown for that little. If I were paying for dining, I may then look at if it was really worth $100/day - and I think it almost always would be. JMTC...:rolleyes1


Can't wait for my kids first trip ever!!! :rockband:

[rolshuk]

We have free dinning for 14 days :banana: and I have gone for the best resturants for us a family rather then to get the most for our "money".
We have a mixture of breakfasts,buffets,fun resturants ect.
The only problem is I have booked adrs for 17 credits and we only have 14!
We will probly pay oop for sci fi because it is for lunch and just for the atmophere then maybe pay for one of the breakfast.
To be honest when we eat out I usally spend ages trying to keep the bill down and work out how we can share:)
If I didnt have free dinning we probly wouldnt even be able to afford a character breakfast let alone a three course meal each at WDW:sad2:
So I will be happy with anything:hippie:

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

I know where you are coming from - we are on free dining for 10 days in August.

I had more or less made my mind up where I wanted to eat before the Free Dining offer came, when it did, I was made up that I could afford to go to the more expensive places. When it came down to revising my ADRs, I found that I didn't want to change the ones I had because the ones I had chosen were the ones I thought we'd enjoy the most and have fun at, such as Biergarten, Ohana, Boma - the only one I added which otherwise without DDP we wouldn't have gone is Le Cellier, which I really wanted to try.

Because I already had a good idea of what we wanted to eat at each place, I added up everything and worked out we will be saving a total of $1100 by using free dining - that is a saving!! I mean, anything you don't pay for is a saving right?!

[TravelinGal]

We have free dinning for 14 days :banana: and I have gone for the best resturants for us a family rather then to get the most for our "money".
We have a mixture of breakfasts,buffets,fun resturants ect.
The only problem is I have booked adrs for 17 credits and we only have 14!
We will probly pay oop for sci fi because it is for lunch and just for the atmophere then maybe pay for one of the breakfast.
To be honest when we eat out I usally spend ages trying to keep the bill down and work out how we can share:)
If I didnt have free dinning we probly wouldnt even be able to afford a character breakfast let alone a three course meal each at WDW:sad2:
So I will be happy with anything:hippie:

This is where the 'charts' would come in handy. (just where are these mysterious charts anyway?)

If you have more T/S scheduled than you have points for, you want to make sure you pay OOP for the less expensive meals. We are in the same situation - 14 T/S credits and 17 T/S meals.

[disneyjunkie]

We also have more TS meals booked then TS credits.

I was going to figure out when to use credits and when to pay OOP. But to be honest, I just can't be bothered. When the credits run out I'll start paying OOP.

[CarolA]

This is my big problem with the dining plan. People are eating more food then they want (or NEED) just to "get the best deal" In other words, would you eat like that in real life? Probably not. Remember once on the lips, straight to the hips (and NO you don't burn that many calories walking at Disney. Look it up. It takes about TWO hours of walking at a moderate speed to burn off just the steak. That does not include stopping to ride, eat your snacks etc....)

[TravelinGal]

We DO eat more than normal at WDW and we DO lose weight on ever single trip. Maybe because we are pretty sedentary :rolleyes: at home and so this is a 1000% increase in activity for us?

It's up to each person to eat what is best for them. If it's about ENJOYMENT then ENJOY! Don't feel guilty because once every few years you endulge for a week.

[OhMari]

Remember when you add your bill up, to include 18% tip. I added all our receipts up and it came to $40.00 a day, but when the tip was added, this is where our savings came from.

We ate at Boma, Biergarten, Crystal Palace, Rose and Crown, LeCelliur, Cape May Clam Bake, plus counter services at Epcot and POR and Pizzafari. We enjoyed the Biergarten the most-go figure.

[Carys]

Fair comments from many on not needing to get the "bang for your buck" factor maximised. As the original instigator of the value per credit spreadsheet, I intended to update it last year, and did in fact begin (going even further, working out medians and mediums and so forth).

It is so hard to give a dollar value to the atmosphere of a restaurant though. Sitting in Ohana (sp?) while a flock of giggling kids races by your table with brooms and coconuts, a server on his way with spears of meat, the vibe of the restaurant - how do you put a dollar value on that, compared to the quiet, dark peace of finishing up dessert at Le Cellier 20 minutes before Illuminations is about to start, or eating dinner with Cinderella stopping by to say hello at Park Fare, or saving time in character lines by eating a bustling breakfast at Chef Mickey, or watching crazy sci fi clips in a drive in while you eat in your car? Also, some restaurants offer more bang in that they are better located for watching evening entertainment.

And philosophically, once you've paid for your package, and you know that you'll at least break even with the lower priced options - what money are you "saving" by eating steak 10 nights in a row? Does more money get put back in your pocket? Sure, you'd pay more for it off the plan - but you're not off the plan. Sure, you'd save money in comparison if you knew you wouldn't be on the plan next time - but everything will be more expensive the next time you come because of inflation. There is a difference between eating something that you want to eat but normally wouldn't at that price and eating something just because it is priced more than other dishes.

So anyway, I have put updating on hold for a long time now, and I haven't checked back to see if someone's updated the value per credit to take account of menu changes. It's a useful tool for choosing which places to use credits on and which places to pay for out of pocket if your credits don't match the number of table service meals you have planned. If I update it again, it'll be because I'm curious as to where the best dollar value lies, rather than because I'm intending to book meals based on it.

Hope this rambling has made some sense! I'm not turning my back on getting the bang for my buck - I'm just trying to relax a bit more for my upcoming trip in October, and take to take heed that some of that bang will be from the atmosphere rather than the dollar values on the menu.

(And this time I will definately not be trying to clean my plate! Woah was that alot of food. Nice to have the option and a taste, not so nice to be clutching your tummy for the rest of the evening.)

[Katiebell]

We also have more TS meals booked then TS credits.

I was going to figure out when to use credits and when to pay OOP. But to be honest, I just can't be bothered. When the credits run out I'll start paying OOP.

It wasn't too complicated for us to figure out, but then again, we only have 6 nights :laughing: We have 8 TS meals planned, including 3 character breakfasts, so we'll probably end up paying OOP for 'Ohana and CP because they are less expensive than Akershus (18.99 vs 22.99 for Akershus). Our other choices aren't known for particularly expensive meals -- Boma, Mama Melrose's, Grand Floridian Cafe, Wolfgang Puck Cafe, and Rose and Crown -- but I believe they'll be more than those two character breakfasts at 18.99 each. CP is also our last meal on the morning we leave, so if we ended up having TS credits left over for any reason (if we cancel any of our other ADR's), then we can always use the credits for that last breakfast.

[Nancyg56]

We also have more TS meals booked then TS credits.

I was going to figure out when to use credits and when to pay OOP. But to be honest, I just can't be bothered. When the credits run out I'll start paying OOP.

This was the only thing that I tried to plan ahead of time. We had more TS planned so I wanted to pay for the less expensive meals. In the end, I did forget to tell my DS when he and his wife split off from the group so we were shy 2 credits at the CG. This was a lesson because we only ordered an entree, dessert and a beverage and in the end saved money.
Your way would have made more sense for us, I think.

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

We are also ones with more TS booked that actual TS credits.

We have Beaches&Cream, Sci-Fi, Crystal Palace break & Chef Mickey break left over - only 2 TS credits total left.

I figured we will split 1TS credit at B&C and Sci-Fi, as we are going there for lunch and don't want anything big. We are going to pay OOP for CP and CM as those are the cheapest :)

[peyjax]

We are also ones with more TS booked that actual TS credits.

We have Beaches&Cream, Sci-Fi, Crystal Palace break & Chef Mickey break left over - only 2 TS credits total left.

I figured we will split 1TS credit at B&C and Sci-Fi, as we are going there for lunch and don't want anything big. We are going to pay OOP for CP and CM as those are the cheapest :)

FYI- We loved Beaches and Cream, it was one of our favs on our last trip. We paid oop for it. I would definatly take a look at the menu on allears. You might be surprised to find that cp and cm for breakfast will probably cost you more than Beaches and Cream. For 2 of us with burgers, fries and shakes, the total was around $25. Have fun!:)

[Colleen27]

By the end of the week I realized I wasn't using the DDP to it's fullest potential because it was lacking the "enjoyment factor". That won't be happening again!

Well said. Even if I did somehow manage not to get my money's worth out of the dining plan over the course of a trip, I'd still keep doing it. Why? Because not having to budget for meals on the fly is worth it to me. There is value in having the bulk of our dining expenses pre-paid, even if we weren't "getting our money's worth" based on menu prices.

That said, it is so ridiculously easy to spend more than the plan costs in a day that even for those who want to make sure the plan is cost effective, it doesn't take seeking out the most expensive restaurants and ordering filet at every meal. Even Sci-Fi, which we love BTW, easily works out to $30 for an appetizer, sandwich, dessert and drink once you figure in tax and tip. That only leaves $9 worth of value to get for that day out of the CS and snack credits. And if you look at it over the course of the week, that Sci-Fi dinner will no doubt be balanced out by someplace pricier like Le Cellier or Coral Reef.

[Colleen27]

The only problem is I have booked adrs for 17 credits and we only have 14!
We will probly pay oop for sci fi because it is for lunch and just for the atmophere then maybe pay for one of the breakfast.


We're in the same boat! :rotfl: 11 credits, 14 credits' worth of meals planned. I figure I'll pay OOP for CRT because it is pre-paid anyway, so rather than hassle with using the DDP credits and crediting the card I used to book it, we'll just leave it as is. And if we run out of credits, I'll pay OOP for Ohana breakfast on our departure day. But we couldn't decide between Narcoosee's and California Grill, so I'm planning to do both. :thumbsup2

[aubriee]

Well said. Even if I did somehow manage not to get my money's worth out of the dining plan over the course of a trip, I'd still keep doing it. Why? Because not having to budget for meals on the fly is worth it to me. There is value in having the bulk of our dining expenses pre-paid, even if we weren't "getting our money's worth" based on menu prices.


I agree! For my trip in May I originally booked through CRO and paid it in full. When the AP discount code first came out, I called, applied it, and asked them to leave the credit on my account instead of crediting it back to my credit card. My plan was to then just add to that credit and use it (along with my DDE card) to pay for my meals. However, when the new code came out that allowed a room discount, plus allowed you to buy the DDP, I decided to give up my AP room discount (even though it was slightly more than the new code), because I wanted to have everything paid for before I arrived. I'm spending slightly more money than I would have, but am winding up with more desserts, appetizers, and snacks (plus a one day MYW ticket) than I would normally have.

I also used the Bounce Back program to get free dining for Sept 20th-Oct 7th. Yes, I had to give up my AP room discount and also had to buy a one day park ticket again, but I love the convenience of knowing everything is paid for before I get down there.

[Lisa F]

I look at it this way: Our last trip we used the DDP and before that it had been 3 or 4 years since we went to WDW. Back then before prices went up we averaged about $100/day for food. Now we're paying less than $80/day for the two of us and getting even more food. Doesn't matter where or what we eat, it's worth it.