Dining Plan Vs. Pay out of Pocket @ CRT

[kazmommax3]

Hello all,

The fam and I are planning on using the Dining Plan for the first time in our (luckily) many family trips. We have young kids now and will be doing more character dining so the plan definitely seemed worth it for us this time.

What are your thoughts though on paying out of pocket for Cinderella's Royal Table for lunch vs. using 2 TS for each person (2 adults, 3 kids). Just doesn't seem worth it to spend $84 per adult for lunch but maybe I'm not looking at this right. Opinions?

THANKS!!! popcorn::

[jerrifox]

You're probably going to get more value paying out of pocket versus using two TS credits-unless of course you anticipate having extra on the deluxe plan. Either way, it should be totally worth it so have fun!

[aksivers]

We have the deluxe dining plan and are using 2 TS credits at CRT. Just depends on the dining plan.

[snookiedoodles]

When I go, I am paying out of pocket for breakfast.

It seems like a better deal...although expensive....but not 2TS per person if you do the math.

[Chelley00]

We have the regular dining plan. The way I figured it, by taking the 2 cheapest meals we had planned and adding their totals, it was cheaper to pay OOP for CRT and use the credits for the other meals.

[taylor3297]

We had the dining plan and used 2 TS credits for CRT for breakfast. At the end of our stay we still had 2 quick service credits left. So even with using 2 TS for the CRT we still had enough credits to do other things. Our other table service meals were at Tony's, 50's primetime, O'hanas, and Kona. We managed to use up our snack credits real quick.

[BrandiP]

We've been debating this too. I think we're just going to use 2 TS credits. I've heard it argued that when you pay OOP you're also getting the photos and the gratuity included in your price, making it a better deal to pay oop for CRT and use the table credits elsewhere.

[TJA]

I did the basic plan last year and paid OOP for CRT lunch. The math worked out in our favor that way. Figure out the cost for your family at CRT and then weigh it against the cost of 2 one credit TS meals. For us, it worked out a lot better to pay OOP for CRT lunch.

However, next year we're doing the deluxe plan and using 2 credits for CRT dinner. As a general guideline, CRT dinner is more expensive than CRT breakfast or lunch. Plus with the deluxe plan, we have more credits to use. So this way makes more sense for us.

[Faldred]

Okay... here goes the grubby math details.

If you want, I can break down these numbers for you, but the "break even" value (after tax, if comparing to OOP) of various DDP credits (for 2009) are:


Snack credit $3 adult or child
QSDP or DDP CS credit $12 ($13 for 2010) adult, $1.50 ($2 in 2010) child
DDP TS credit $25 ($26/$31 for 2010 non-peak/peak), $6.50 ($7/$8 for 2010 non-peak/peak) child
DxDP Meal credit $22 adult, $5 child


CRT prices (per AllEars.net, subject to change [read "increase"]), including gratuities and tax:


Breakfast $47.23 adult, $31.05 child
Lunch $50.96 adult, $32.29 child
Dinner $57.19 adult, $34.78 child


So, using 2 basic TS credits at CRT for adults is a "bad deal" for breakfast, kind of neutral for lunch, and "ok" for dinner. Note that if you used those 2 TS credits elsewhere, you'd need to budget for gratuities, which are included at CRT. On deluxe, all three meals exceed the per-credit break-even point.

For children, it's a no-brainer good deal, from a break-even analysis.

Is it "worth it" on basic? Well, especially for free dining folks, it might be. Especially if you think you've got "too many" TS credits to use. By the time you factor in the value of the included gratuity, it's really not that bad of a deal, with the possible exception of breakfast

[ohlas]

Im not sure its all about saving money, think its more like prepaying mostly, i hate having big credit card bills after vacations i would rather prepay for ever thing before i go. or most of it

[StuckInKS]

It really depends on what your other meals are. I recently crunched our numbers and spending 2 TS credits on CRT dinner and paying OOP for, say, Tutto lunch and WCC breakfast is best ($185 vs $120). It may take a while, but the best thing to do is go through the menus, decide what your family is most likely to eat and then plan to pay OOP for the cheapest meals. Be sure to split the 2 TS meals in half when doing this!

[kazmomma]

Okay... here goes the grubby math details.

If you want, I can break down these numbers for you, but the "break even" value (after tax, if comparing to OOP) of various DDP credits (for 2009) are:


Snack credit $3 adult or child
QSDP or DDP CS credit $12 ($13 for 2010) adult, $1.50 ($2 in 2010) child
DDP TS credit $25 ($26/$31 for 2010 non-peak/peak), $6.50 ($7/$8 for 2010 non-peak/peak) child
DxDP Meal credit $22 adult, $5 child


CRT prices (per AllEars.net, subject to change [read "increase"]), including gratuities and tax:


Breakfast $47.23 adult, $31.05 child
Lunch $50.96 adult, $32.29 child
Dinner $57.19 adult, $34.78 child


So, using 2 basic TS credits at CRT for adults is a "bad deal" for breakfast, kind of neutral for lunch, and "ok" for dinner. Note that if you used those 2 TS credits elsewhere, you'd need to budget for gratuities, which are included at CRT. On deluxe, all three meals exceed the per-credit break-even point.

For children, it's a no-brainer good deal, from a break-even analysis.

Is it "worth it" on basic? Well, especially for free dining folks, it might be. Especially if you think you've got "too many" TS credits to use. By the time you factor in the value of the included gratuity, it's really not that bad of a deal, with the possible exception of breakfast

You are my hero!! Thanks for breaking that out for me!!
We have the basic dining... husband, myself & 3 kids (6,4,4) so I'm leaning towards OOP but no definite decisions yet. I have most of of ressies made and want to wing a few. Nana and a friend are joining us too so that part gets even trickier!!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup2

[3boys4me]

Here's my thought on this. We just returned this past Saturday after 9 nights on the dining plan. We did the castle and thought it was really good, and would do it again. We also had some character meals , Tutto Italia, LeCellier, the Plaza adn others that I just can't think of right now. Anyway, after having all of these meals we paid OOP for The plaza and I'm still kicking myself for that. While we enjoyed all of our meals, buffets and all, I don;t thinkI would pay OOP ever again if we are on the dining plan. I don't think any of thise meals were worth the price that was on those tickets at the end of the meal. I would use the credits for the castle and just do a counter service for the day that you are left without a TS. Just mmy thoughts.

[Momof2J's]

We're on the basic DDP & will be using our credits for CRT dinner. Due to our flight schedule, we'd either have to do 2 TS in one day or just use the 2 credits at CRT. :goodvibes

[hello starshine]

We're also using 2 TS credits for CRT when we go in May. I wasn't sure about it at first, but we would have never ate there had we not been on the dining plan [too expensive for OOP] so I just decided to do it since we had the chance.

Also, I did like the fact that it ate up an extra TS as I was having a hard time fitting another TS into our schedule without making it too structured. So it all worked out for us. :)

[Faldred]

You are my hero!! Thanks for breaking that out for me!!
We have the basic dining... husband, myself & 3 kids (6,4,4) so I'm leaning towards OOP but no definite decisions yet. I have most of of ressies made and want to wing a few. Nana and a friend are joining us too so that part gets even trickier!!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup2

I would seriously suggest that you use TS credits for the children, regardless of whether you pay OOP for the adults. Any 2 single child TS meals will wind up costing less combined OOP than any of the CRT meals for the kids.

You CAN use credits for the kids, and pay OOP for the adults, if you want. You can always use fewer credits than people on your reservation, you just can't use more.

[LandChildWorldAdult]

I would seriously suggest that you use TS credits for the children, regardless of whether you pay OOP for the adults. Any 2 single child TS meals will wind up costing less combined OOP than any of the CRT meals for the kids.

You CAN use credits for the kids, and pay OOP for the adults, if you want. You can always use fewer credits than people on your reservation, you just can use more.

YES!!!! I have made just this decision. It will probably be cheaper for me to pay OOP for adult meals at 50's PTC or Chef Mickey's and use the kid's TS for extra meals.

Similarly, it makes no sense to pay OOP for a child at a buffet, when virtually all non-buffet TS meals for children cost less than $8, provided you will use up all your credits and need the extra. I know for some families this is difficult, but my children are HUGE eaters. :rolleyes1