Dvc & Ddp

[*NikkiBell*]

I am a new DVC owner and my home is now AKL Villas. I recently learned of the changes to the 2008 Disney Dining Plan and wanted to hear from DVCers their thoughts and future plans. We have a studio booked (Savannah view) for April and were planning on getting the plan, but now are not sure because it includes so much less than it used to.

Has anyone heard that we are allowed to get the Deluxe Plan?

What plan are you going to get, if any, and what's your thinking about the changes?

[Ms.Mouse]

Yes, you can get the Deluxe dining plan. We are going to try it in March. I did like the old plan because the appetizer was there and tips included but I still would go for the dining plan.

[JimMIA]

The changes make DDP no value to our family, but some families will still find the scaled-down plan better than paying cash.

We've used DDP the last four trips, but in the future we will eat the vast majority of our meals offsite. We will probably do one character meal per trip, but that limited onsite dining is not enough to even justify buying a DDE card.

We drive to WDW, so we always have a car, and that gives us options that not everyone has. Frankly, with the standardization of menus over the last year or so, there is much better food available offsite, and we look forward to trying new (and better) restaurants.

I don't think the Deluxe plan would interest us unless we were just doing a very short (1-2 nights) stay.

[DisDaydreamer]

Can't answer your question, but nonetheless, welcome to the DVC boards. I am sure you will get an answer from our community.

[canwegosoon]

I would always run the numbers...but many DVC members go more than once a year or have extended stays so DDE usually works really good for them. Did you see this?http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=12294810
I don't think it has been updated since the changes. but it might be helpful.
FYI I have done DDP 3 times and might(haven't decided yet) do it again because of our restaurant choices for our family reunion trip, but I really wanted to go back to DDE which we did before the DDP.

[ILoveDisney&Cruising]

Has anyone heard that we are allowed to get the Deluxe Plan?

I wish I could find my quote ..... I spoke to MS a few weeks ago re: adding the dining plan to our upcoming January 2008 trip. We're still trying to figure out if we're interested or not.

Rough prices were (based on a family of 4 - 3 adults/1 child for 7 nights):

regular DP $850
deluxe DP $1,500

[alirwalsh4]

From reading a few posts I see that there will be some changes to the dining plan! What are the changes? More money, less food/options? Thanks for you help! Alison

We used the dining plan for our trip this past May and really thought it was great for our family of 6!

[Chuck S]

From reading a few posts I see that there will be some changes to the dining plan! What are the changes? More money, less food/options? Thanks for you help! Alison

We used the dining plan for our trip this past May and really thought it was great for our family of 6!


Appetizer and server gratuity is no longer included in the standard plan. Plan dropped by $1 per person in price from 2007, but gratuity out-of-pocket effectively raised the price 18% to 20%.

[alirwalsh4]

What is the delux dining plan?

[auntsue]

$70, three meals a day, 2 snacks, but you can combine two meals in order to eat at a Signature restaurant. We are getting it in Jan and going back to the basic in April. I think the basic is pretty useless but we will be with four others who just want the basic.

[Chuck S]

$70, three meals a day, 2 snacks, but you can combine two meals in order to eat at a Signature restaurant. We are getting it in Jan and going back to the basic in April. I think the basic is pretty useless but we will be with four others who just want the basic.

Just to clarify the deluxe plan:

3 meals per night, your choice of Table Service or Counter Service
Appetizer, entree, dessert and non-alcohic beverage included.
Gratuity NOT included
One refill mug per person
$70 per night per adult, $20 per child.

[alirwalsh4]

That almost sounds like too much!! However $70 isn't that bad considering what you get but I wish they had something in between, like maybe just 2 meals table/quick service and have tip included. That was great! Thanks for the help.

[BCV23]

Appetizer and server gratuity is no longer included in the standard plan. Plan dropped by $1 per person in price from 2007, but gratuity out-of-pocket effectively raised the price 18% to 20%.

I don't think so, Chuck. That would be true if QS and snack weren't included and if the TS meal happened to cost $38.99 but since the first two are included and TS meals can cost more or less than the set price.....:confused3

Someone ran numbers for their family and wasn't it more like a $4 increase for them?

Nonetheless, we won't be doing the regular DDP in the future as the appetizer is often our favorite part of the meal.

We will try the deluxe. I have a couple signature restaurants booked for a 4 day, 3 night stay. The plan is based on nights as Chuck said so that will help. Using the other credits for breakfast or lunch will work out for us I think. I may add one more signature meal. And it is nice to get an ice cold bottle of water for a snack.

[Chuck S]

I don't think so, Chuck. That would be true if QS and snack weren't included and if the TS meal happened to cost $38.99 but since the first two are included and TS meals can cost more or less than the set price.....:confused3

Someone ran numbers for their family and wasn't it more like a $4 increase for them?

Nonetheless, we won't be doing the regular DDP in the future as the appetizer is often our favorite part of the meal.

We will try the deluxe. I have a couple signature restaurants booked for a 4 day, 3 night stay. The plan is based on nights as Chuck said so that will help. Using the other credits for breakfast or lunch will work out for us I think. I may add one more signature meal. And it is nice to get an ice cold bottle of water for a snack.

Since most appetizers are in the $5 to $6 range, and the average dinner entree, drink and dessert will run about $30 (giving a $5.40 tip) the increase has to be more than $4. Figuring even just $10 for the value of appetizer and tip, that is a 25% increase right there. Ignoring the appetizer and just adding a $5 tip is a 13% increase.

[La2kw]

We don't use the DDP because our dining bill has never been as high as what the DDP would cost us. We don't eat appetizers, entrees, and desserts at all our meals, so we would be wasting a ton of food and money. The changes don't make any difference to us, but it definitely is an even worse deal now.

[DisneyRN51207]

We're still weighing if it's going to be worthwhile for our trip next year. We plan on saving our receipts from this trip and seeing if it will be worth it dollar for dollar. I noticed in May that we threw away an awful lot of desserts, BUT if you're staying in a villa, you can take your leftovers with you and enjoy them later or the next day. It depends on your travel style. We're planning on being pretty laid back since we know we'll be visiting about every 6 months.

[Inkmahm]

Really?We CAN get the Deluxe Plan? Hmmmm.... I may have to consider that for April. We usually eat only at the signature restaurants and never at counter service. 3 credits each day would probably work for us. Now I'll have to go back to the idea of tracking our meal costs on our Dec and March trips to know if it makes sense for us to do the Deluxe plan in April next year. We have DDE already.

[Tiger926]

We are getting the Deluxe Plan (added it to our ressie the first day it was available), as the regular Dining Plan was not to our satisfaction as we eat 2-3 TS meals per day and drink lots of water, so our 2 snack credits will be used for water or fruit. We have low blood sugar, and allergies/sensitivities, so the Deluxe Plan is perfect for us.

We don't cook while on vacation - heck, I don't cook at home, that's hubby's job :thumbsup2, so eating out is a favourite part of our vacations. We eat well (no fast food or pop), and only eat what we know we can consume. This is a very important component of the dining plans that people seem to be missing. When you ask whether the new 2008 plan is of value to people, so many people are saying no, because of tip & appetizers removed, but I read of so many people who just ordered food that went to waste, so, if you didn't normally eat the appetizers, or only took 1 bite (which is a big waste of food, IMHO), then it's no big deal. The bigger deal may be the tip for some people - for us, we still see value in both dining plans because we eat at TS restaurants and know how much those meals cost, so there is a bit of savings on the regular plan, and a good bit of savings on the deluxe plan, even with tips needing to be added in. The biggest savings is with kids 3-9, so take some of that savings and apply it to the tips that you now have to pay, and call it a day!

This topic is continually asked on so many of the Disboards, but it's so hard to answer as it really depends upon your family's eating habits, financial situation, how you eat & where you eat, IMHO. For us, we are greatly looking forward to the deluxe plan as this is how we normally eat at WDW using our DDE card (we don't drink alcohol, so it's used for food only).

Good luck in your decision, and happy eating to all, Tiger :)

[carlsoka]

We are lined up for the DP in January '08 and I did just some average comparisons. If we ate at the same places we have ADR for as well as guess-timating where we would be eating our counter services, if we paid off the menu according to how we normally eat, we would be $1,070. With the DP (based on # nights stay), we will be at $620 (which includes paying for 2 items outside of the dining plan - Hoopde and CRT). Of course, neither number includes the tax or tip, but that should still give a apples-to-apples comparison.
Just my 2 cents!
KC

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Well, we're going next August and plan to use the basic dining plan. It's tough for me to say for sure that it would save us $$ or not, since I have no clue what we'll end up ordering. But what's a big deal for me is, if I had to pay for every single meal OOP, it would kill me. I would NOT be able to enjoy vacation. I would be upset with the kids for not finishing every last morsel and probably wouldn't order what I really wanted. I recognize that this is my issue, not everyone is like this. We do okay financially, I just have a "cheap mindset" that would cringe every time we paid a bill. So, for the sake of my sanity and family harmony, we'll prepay for the dining plan and have a great time.

YMMD, of course.

[dgaston]

I'm leaning toward doing the DDP for our 3 nights at AKV in January. I will have to pay for 5 people, 2 of whom will only be there for 2 nights. That's my oldest son and his girlfriend. I'm thinking of sending them to the California Grill for a romantic evening. Then my 19 year old and his friend can use the QS wherever they like (it's usually Pizza Planet, believe it or not). I do have reservations at Boma, Sci Fi, and Le Cellier per requests.

So this decision is being made more on the basis of convenience (and me not having to eat at Pizza Planet!).

[Tramp68]

My daughter is going to be 10 for our next trip. She eats about as much as a butterfly and there is no way she will be ordering off of the adult menu. Do you all think it is misuse to misstate her age and pay for her as a child?

If we cannot pay for her as a child the plan is a HUGE waste of money for us.

I also don't think we could ever justify the deluxe plan. We just don't eat that many sit down meals due to time restraints.

[Tiger926]

My daughter is going to be 10 for our next trip. She eats about as much as a butterfly and there is no way she will be ordering off of the adult menu. Do you all think it is misuse to misstate her age and pay for her as a child?

If we cannot pay for her as a child the plan is a HUGE waste of money for us.

I also don't think we could ever justify the deluxe plan. We just don't eat that many sit down meals due to time restraints.

Of course it's misuse - she is classified as an adult in Disney's eyes. I do believe there should be a junior classification (between child and adult), but there is not, so if you want to travel to Disney, then you must play by their rules.

It sounds like the Dining Plan may not be for you, if your daughter is not going to eat enough to justify the expense of an adult credit.

Good luck, Tiger

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Sorry, Tramp68, if she's 10, Disney considers her an adult. I feel your pain--my DD is the same way. She's 12 now and eats a little more (in that final growth spurt, plus a dancer/runner). In our case, it was balanced by her younger brother who was technically a child but who leaves buffets visibly fatter.

I agree that the plan might not work for you. At the least, I would be ticked to see so much food wasted. OTOH, I believe that if you pay OOP, you could buy her a kids meal or just, say, a burger, if that's all she'll eat. Or at a sit-down meal, maybe just an appetizer.

[pilferk]

2 adults, 3 children between 18 months and 5 years.

We'll be doing the DDP in January '08, and the Deluxe DDP in December '08.

The standard plan, while not saving us the 30-35% it used to, will still save us 15% - 25% (depending on the day) over OOP costs. To us, that makes sense.

Your Mileage May Vary, though, depending on the make up of your family (the more children, the better the deal), when you like your meals (TS's are best used for dinner, CS's for lunch), what you like to have at your meals (we're dessert people, and are not satisfied with tap water as a drink), and a whole host of other factors.

[BCV23]

Chuck, I think there is a difference between loss of value (the appetizer) and actual increase in price. Since so many people complain that they had too much food on the DDP, for many there may be no actual loss of value. And of course, at buffets no loss at all re the appetizer.

Tax is still included, right?

$30 seems low to me for entree, dessert, beverage and tax :confused3 but of course it can vary quite a bit. The price of dinner at B&C will not begin to compare to dinner at Tutto Italia.

[Amy5000]

When I read about the 2008 plan I was going to do all this hard number crunching to see if it was worth it. But then I realized that even if the plan for an adult is a wash, (although I could easily see me spending almost $40 per day, I could stay under if I choose also), it's a bargain since I have young children (2 little ones). The plan is a bargain for them:

Child DDP = $9.99 per day
Child lunch at Crystal Palace = $11.99 plus tax
Child lunch at Akershus = $13.99 plus tax

As I said, for the kids it's a real bargain, especially if you hit the buffets.

Also for us there are other factors: 1) we will not have car; 2) we are in a studio, (no full kitchen); and 3) I really don't enjoy cooking very much so I would much rather go to a restaurant or get a meal to go.

Anyway, just my thoughts.

[Chuck S]

Chuck, I think there is a difference between loss of value (the appetizer) and actual increase in price. Since so many people complain that they had too much food on the DDP, for many there may be no actual loss of value. And of course, at buffets no loss at all re the appetizer.

Tax is still included, right?

$30 seems low to me for entree, dessert, beverage and tax :confused3 but of course it can vary quite a bit. The price of dinner at B&C will not begin to compare to dinner at Tutto Italia.

If you think $30 is conservative, lets figure $35. Now with tip no longer included, 18% is $6.30, which effectively means a price increase, without even counting the appetizer, of $6.3. 6.3/38.99 (2007 price) is equal to an increase of 16%.

Or, add that $6.30 to the $37.99 2008 price, which means the real price is now $44.29. It may still be a value to some, but not nearly the value it was last year. And for some people, there is no value. We normally eat at a table service meal every day, and a CS as well, and never spend $44 per adult on food everyday. Some days more, some days less, but overall the length of a trip, we save more spending it out of pocket.

[Tramp68]

I knew I was cheating with the 10year old but was doing a guilt check :P

I did solve my problem, though. My parents are going at the same time and they are not doing the meal plan, so I moved her to occupy their room. Now I only have to buy the DDP for 3 :yay:

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Tramp68, that sounds like a good idea. It drives me nuts to see all the $$ going out the window for a kid who eats 3 bites! If course, having DVC, I hope that I can bring leftovers back to the room this next trip, so someone (probably my DS with the hollow leg) can eat them later.

[drag n' fly]

We would normally get the basic plan if we had the kids with us as the cost is far too high with the deluxe plan. With that being said dh and I are going without the kids in April and are getting the deluxe plan. We want to hit all the 2 credit places we normally would not go to and have a nice relaxing non commando holiday.