DDP enough, or OOP inevitable?

[SEA333]

Hi, we are going to be on the DDP for the first time in November (Free Dining). It will be me, DH, DS13, DD10, and DS7. I'm trying to plan a budget for any OOP food costs we are going to have while we are there. We are staying at POR Here's what I have tentatively planned:

Day1: arrival day (landing at airport at 2pm)
snack?
O'hana 8:05pm

Day 2: DH taking DD to AK, I am taking the boys to DHS.
DH and DD: (probably Flame Tree BBQ)
Me and the Boys: QS in DHS - Suggestions?
All of us meeting at Boma: 6:20pm

Day3: Epcot
QS - suggestions? We like everything, but really would like food that we won't be able to easily get at home, which is a tall order since we live in the Chicago suburbs and can get a lot of different things! The more "ethnic", the better.
Akershus (sp?) 6:35pm

Day 4: Magic Kingdom
QS - Be Our Guest, if possible. We are thinking that we will get in line for the 11am opening. If BOG is too crazy, then I'm thinking CHH
Liberty Tree Tavern: 4:15pm

Day 5: departure day - leave for airport between 2-3pm
We will need either a big late breakfast, or lunch

Since DD just turned 10, that leaves us with 4 adult credits for QS per day, plus one child credit. Last time we were at DW, we were there from about 9am (ate grocery store breakfast items in the hotel room) till 10pm. We ate at one QS place that day, got a few bottles of water, popcorn, some fruit, a few sodas, and a mickey cake pop for each kid.

I'm kind of thinking that DS2 and DD will share a lot of her adult QS meals. I understand the rules, so I'll specify for the purpose of this post that DS13 will eat the child QS meal, which will leave one adult QS credit per day open. I'm thinking that we can use those the last day either at the resort or maybe DTD if we go there. I'm pretty sure the kids will want to stay at the resort pool the last day, though.

If we eat a TS dinner every day between 4-6pm, can we get away with a early QS lunch, and forgo breakfast altogether, or will this be where we will run into OOP costs? I'm not sure how big the portions are on all of this food.

Also, where do snacks fit in? If we eat at, say 11am, and have dinner at 6pm, is anyone really hungry enough for a snack in between?

We are the kind of family who pretty much eats something at about 10-11am on the weekend, skips lunch, and starts thinking about dinner at about 4-5pm when one of the kids says they are hungry. And that is sitting at home bored. At DW, we will be on the move - for all the more experienced out there, are we really going to be that hungry?

In your opinions, where are we lacking? Where does it seem like we will be paying OOP for things? We won't have room for a lot of extra souveniers on the plane trip back (Spirit Airlines - I'm not paying for an extra bag just for souveniers!! LOL), so I was planning on $100/day for tips, extra drinks, and extra food that the DDp won't cover. The kids will each have a $50 gift card for anything over and above that (extra treats, small souveniers, activities like the arcade, etc)

Thanks!

 

[kaybird]

You will have a better idea of how it will work for you after the first couple of days. We have NEVER needed to pay OOP in all of the times we have done the DP, both regular, and QS. If you think you may need to pay OOP, try to think of that as an end of trip thing, because most people find they wind up with credits leftover, rather than the other way around!

 

[TarrahA]

Suggestion for Epcot & snack credits - if you're there during the food & wine festival, use the snacks at the food booths in world showcase - that can easily fill you up for the day & you can sample many ethnic & unusual treats that are not available at DW at any other time of year.

 

[honeybunches]

We usually have CS credits leftover at the end if the trip. Our family eats the way you described on weekends...eat around 10 then again for supper around 6 or 7. On school days the kids do eat breakfast. If my kids are hungry for bfast before we head to the parks, we get the bounty platter or something, but then they are not hungry for lunch. We don't get a snack every day... Usually every other day, and it's almost always spontaneous (as in, someone sees a frozen lemonade and wants one.). We always have snack credits left too.

 

[Jonathan Swift]

Did you make (or planning to make) reservations yet? the reason I ask is this:

Day 4: Magic Kingdom
QS - Be Our Guest, if possible. We are thinking that we will get in line for the 11am opening. If BOG is too crazy, then I'm thinking CHH
Liberty Tree Tavern: 4:15pm

It sounds like you're going to walk into BOG and if it's too crowded, you'll go somewhere else. If you don't make a reservation for these places, you're not getting in at all. If you're not going to make reservations, you should definitely not do a dining plan.

Anyway, check out the link in my signature for the dining plan calculator tool. Just put in your trip plans and restaurant picks and it will tell you what's the best method.

 

[TarrahA]

Did you make (or planning to make) reservations yet? the reason I ask is this:

It sounds like you're going to walk into BOG and if it's too crowded, you'll go somewhere else. If you don't make a reservation for these places, you're not getting in at all. If you're not going to make reservations, you should definitely not do a dining plan.

I think the OP was saying they would do BOG for QS lunch, which you can not make reservations for. It looks like they have their TS meals reserved already so I don't think they're in bad shape to do the dining plan.

 

[SEA333]

Did you make (or planning to make) reservations yet? the reason I ask is this:



It sounds like you're going to walk into BOG and if it's too crowded, you'll go somewhere else. If you don't make a reservation for these places, you're not getting in at all. If you're not going to make reservations, you should definitely not do a dining plan.

Anyway, check out the link in my signature for the dining plan calculator tool. Just put in your trip plans and restaurant picks and it will tell you what's the best method.

Yes, reservations made for all TS at 180+10 mark, although they *have* been switched around a few times since then! That is what the times next to each Ts is - the reservation time. BOG opens at 11am if I am not mistaken, for lunch, which we don't need a ressie for. If it's a long line, we go to some other QS place. No biggie. We were thinking Columbia Harbor House.

What do you mean - the best method? Do you mean whether the DDP is worth it? The dining plan is a given for this this trip - it's free. And, of course, the approx $1000 it would cost is much more of a discount than a room discount for us. We are paying $2700 out the door for the whole trip, including round trip airfare from Chicago, for 5 people (4 "adults" and 1 "child"), 5 days/4 nights. I already know, based on how my family eats and how cheap I am LOL, that the dining plan is not a good deal for us if we had to pay for it. I always make my kids share fast-food meals, or at least the drinks! And we always share snacks.

I just don't want to be the "NO!" person this trip. For once, I want to be able to say yes to what everyone wants and be the good guy LOL. So, if I have to budget extra for snacks or a breakfast, I will.

Thank you for the great advice!

 

[PictureJumpr]

I wouldn't worry about OOP.
DDP is always more than enough for us.

And while your intentions are for everyone to get whatever they want every meal - sharing is not necessarily a bad thing. You can still share QS meals and snacks among the members of your family - 3 QS meals can often easily feed 5 people. And many snacks are huge. We do this a lot.

And usually end up with several at the end of the trip, but that's just fine since we're usually stuffed way before then anyway and don't want to eat more.

 

[arielmomma]

Like all the PPs said - you will have plenty of food!

I had the same fears the first time we did free dining. I was so careful with our snack credits, planned out everything to the letter, and tried to make the most of it. I just ended up with a ton of food to stuff in our bags to take to the airport! Now we eat how we like, when we like, what we like (except for ADRs of course). However, like one poster said, we still do share CS meals at times. Some are so big plus it allows us to try more and different things. Something you may want to consider. We enjoy sampling CS and snacks around the world showcase whether its F&W time or not.

Enjoy free dining. I can't wait for it myself!

 

[BigAlsGal]

I'm always surprised when people say the DDP is more than enough food. We seriously struggled. I was determined not to spend any extra money on food. We would eat a QS breakfast and had ADRs in the evening. After power walking the parks all day a snack was NOT cutting it around lunch time.

I think where I went wrong is eating the CS for breakfast. If we would of had a snack for breakfast and ate a big lunch "which includes dessert" we would have been way better. I just can't seem to resist the allure of eggs and bacon in the morning!!!

 

[darnheather]

Did you make (or planning to make) reservations yet? the reason I ask is this:



It sounds like you're going to walk into BOG and if it's too crowded, you'll go somewhere else. If you don't make a reservation for these places, you're not getting in at all. If you're not going to make reservations, you should definitely not do a dining plan.

Anyway, check out the link in my signature for the dining plan calculator tool. Just put in your trip plans and restaurant picks and it will tell you what's the best method.

She's going during free dining. No need for the calculator.

 

[darnheather]

Me, spouse, D 12 and Izzy 7 are also hoping to go in November.

My plan is to share one adult and one child meal for breakfast (I only need coffee, and Izzy only needs a piece or two of bacon and a cup of milk). Will also have fresh fruit in the room and pack granola bars for the parks just in case. Then share two adult meals at a QS for lunch. Snack in the afternoon. Dinner around 7pm using all TS credits.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Plenty of food...we never pay any OOP when we do DDP. We have done it a couple different ways and a combination. When we share CS, we have enough to do breakfast CS at least 1/2 the days in addition to a SC lunch. We share 2 or 3 meals for all four of us. You can add a snack credit additional side if you want. LOTS of the SC things like ice cream items are plenty big for two kids to share. I would even consider sharing a couple of TS meals with all the "adult" kids and add another TS.
We have also done breakfast in the room. I highly suggest requiring some type of breakfast before the parks. It will prevent the sugar drop grumpies and wanting a snack at 10:00. We have taken things like muffins and cereal bars and fruit cups and cereal and juice boxes and eat before we hit the parks on some days.
One thing we do not do is use our SC for water or drinks. We go winter almost all the time so we do not need as much. We gets cups of water free at any CS and add a flavor pack now and then.
We never worry about having to pay for a meal or snack if we need too, but we just don't order more food than we need and use the credits to cover as much as we can and never ended up needing more food. Well, expect for one trip DS, then about 5, begged to do those fill your own tube with powder candy thing. We refuse to use a snack credit as the small ones were like less then 3.00 so we paid OOP for him to do them like 5 times and we ended up with 5 or 6 SC left at the end of the trip!!

 

[allicat73]

How did you get your trip so cheap? We are there in October 6-12. 7 days, 6 nights at pop century with hopper and deluxe dining with airfare from Ohio 4 people with insurance is 5,800$!

 

[SEA333]

How did you get your trip so cheap? We are there in October 6-12. 7 days, 6 nights at pop century with hopper and deluxe dining with airfare from Ohio 4 people with insurance is 5,800$!

Wow! I'm not really sure *how*. I was just fooling around, pricing things out, when I got the free dining pin. DH didn't even want to go - we went to MK for one day last year while we were on a larger Florida trip, and he though that was enough Disney. (???!!!)

The kids and I REALLY want to go back, and since he is always the good guy, LOL, he agreed to it if it was under $3000.

Challenge!!!

So, free dining was a start - then I looked at airfare. DD10 and I went on a girls trip to Minneapolis last year through Spirit Airlines, so my $9 fare club was still in effect. I went on Spirit's website and looked for the days with the lowest fare. I also had to work around only taking up to 4 days off since we weren't expecting to take a vacation and we had used most of our vacation days for two other mini-trips this year. So, I found that Thursday - Monday were the cheapest fares - $58/each way, per person. I added a checked bag for $40 (we will bring 16X12 personal bags as well, for free), and Voila! $628.90 total roundtrip for the 5 of us.

Since we will have 5 travelling, and DS7 is a skinny 45 lbs and barely 4 feet tall, POR was the best option. AOA and the other value suite were more expensive. POR also came with the regular DDP (free, remember!). I also opted for 3-day tickets because last time we were in Fl, we stayed at the Hilton on I-Drive and my kids would have seriously stayed at the pool for the entire 6 days we were there and been totally happy.

The 3-day tickets actually work out great for us, anyway, because DD LOVES Africa/Asia animals (big cats especially) and is really the only one who is super excited about going to AK. DS13 LOVES Star Wars and would love DHS, but could care less about seeing an animal. I would like to do it all, but DH and I decided that he would take DD to AK and I would take the boys to DHS on one of the days, then we would do Epcot and MK the other two as a family. Our flight gets in around 2pm the first day, so I know that the kids are going to want to check out the pool before we go to dinner at O'Hana at 8pm. We will have to leave for the airport at about 3pm the last day, so again, another pool day, and possibly DTD if the kids want to (although I doubt they will!)

So, the resort and tickets priced out at about $2100 and the airfare at $628. So, my math is a little off....the total was $2728 out the door

4 nights/5 days, airfare for 5, and free dining! We can do it! The kids have NO idea...we are surprising them the morning of the trip. Wen they wake up, they will be heading to the airport instead of school. They will be taking a total of 2 days off of school due to the vacation wrapping around a long holiday.

Whoo-hoo!

 

[Crystal Brewer]

Wow! I'm not really sure *how*. I was just fooling around, pricing things out, when I got the free dining pin. DH didn't even want to go - we went to MK for one day last year while we were on a larger Florida trip, and he though that was enough Disney. (???!!!)

The kids and I REALLY want to go back, and since he is always the good guy, LOL, he agreed to it if it was under $3000.

Challenge!!!

So, free dining was a start - then I looked at airfare. DD10 and I went on a girls trip to Minneapolis last year through Spirit Airlines, so my $9 fare club was still in effect. I went on Spirit's website and looked for the days with the lowest fare. I also had to work around only taking up to 4 days off since we weren't expecting to take a vacation and we had used most of our vacation days for two other mini-trips this year. So, I found that Thursday - Monday were the cheapest fares - $58/each way, per person. I added a checked bag for $40 (we will bring 16X12 personal bags as well, for free), and Voila! $628.90 total roundtrip for the 5 of us.

Since we will have 5 travelling, and DS7 is a skinny 45 lbs and barely 4 feet tall, POR was the best option. AOA and the other value suite were more expensive. POR also came with the regular DDP (free, remember!). I also opted for 3-day tickets because last time we were in Fl, we stayed at the Hilton on I-Drive and my kids would have seriously stayed at the pool for the entire 6 days we were there and been totally happy.

The 3-day tickets actually work out great for us, anyway, because DD LOVES Africa/Asia animals (big cats especially) and is really the only one who is super excited about going to AK. DS13 LOVES Star Wars and would love DHS, but could care less about seeing an animal. I would like to do it all, but DH and I decided that he would take DD to AK and I would take the boys to DHS on one of the days, then we would do Epcot and MK the other two as a family. Our flight gets in around 2pm the first day, so I know that the kids are going to want to check out the pool before we go to dinner at O'Hana at 8pm. We will have to leave for the airport at about 3pm the last day, so again, another pool day, and possibly DTD if the kids want to (although I doubt they will!)

So, the resort and tickets priced out at about $2100 and the airfare at $628. So, my math is a little off....the total was $2728 out the door

4 nights/5 days, airfare for 5, and free dining! We can do it! The kids have NO idea...we are surprising them the morning of the trip. Wen they wake up, they will be heading to the airport instead of school. They will be taking a total of 2 days off of school due to the vacation wrapping around a long holiday.

Whoo-hoo!

Just wondered if you got the MYW pkg for resort and tickets as you will receive DQ vouchers if so. This may be a factor in the kids wanting to do DTD ;-)

 

[PictureJumpr]

How did you get your trip so cheap? We are there in October 6-12. 7 days, 6 nights at pop century with hopper and deluxe dining with airfare from Ohio 4 people with insurance is 5,800$!

Simple answer: you're paying for your deluxe dining.

6 nights, makes it over $600 per adult (which is anyone over 10) and about $180 per child 3-9. So if you've got, say, 3 "adults" and 2 children, you're paying $2200 just for the dining. If you've got 4 "adults" then you're paying $2600 for the dining. It adds up, especially with the deluxe plan.

The OP is taking a free dining plan (regular plan, not deluxe). All they are paying for is room and tickets, above their airfare cost, and insurance if they added that - it's $150 or so if bought through WDWTC with the package.

They are probably getting a break on flights too, since they are using Spirit - it's one of the least-expensive airlines (they do recoup a considerable portion of that in baggage and other fees).

 

[allicat73]

Awesome! Yeah wish we had spirit airlines! Have fun and good job!!!

 

[allicat73]

My dates most likely aren't going to qualify for free dining, so I'm hoping for a hotel discount!

 

[SEA333]

Simple answer: you're paying for your deluxe dining.

6 nights, makes it over $600 per adult (which is anyone over 10) and about $180 per child 3-9. So if you've got, say, 3 "adults" and 2 children, you're paying $2200 just for the dining. If you've got 4 "adults" then you're paying $2600 for the dining. It adds up, especially with the deluxe plan.

The OP is taking a free dining plan (regular plan, not deluxe). All they are paying for is room and tickets, above their airfare cost, and insurance if they added that - it's $150 or so if bought through WDWTC with the package.

They are probably getting a break on flights too, since they are using Spirit - it's one of the least-expensive airlines (they do recoup a considerable portion of that in baggage and other fees).

Yes...a whole $40 bucks with our family for a checked bag!!! LOL It's OK - I know how it works. And while I'm the first to agree that Spirit is not first class flying by any stretch, it's going to get us there safely (I hope! But if it doesn't, there will be bigger things to worry about LOL)

The "break" comes in with the $9 fare club. It's $59 annually, and I paid that to get the lower fare when DD and I went to Minneapolis last year. This time, we are still covered by it, so our flights were $59 each way, per person, out the door. The only thing we paid "extra" for was one checcked bag, which was $20 per flight, a total of $40 for the trip.

I would not want to fly Spirit on a long flight, but the 2.5 hours from Chicago to Orlando will be fine. I don't like peanuts anyway, so I don't feel like I'm not getting ripped off not being served some! And, Spirit lets you bring your own food and beverage on the plane, so I don't feel like I need to pay extra to have a snack. None of us are exceptionally tall, so legroom is fine, and as long as we have a working restroom and a seat for the flight, we're good!

is it the best airline out there? Most would say no. I see why - really, I do. Is there any that are *that* much better that I would pay a whole lot extra for the flight? Nooo......not to just go to Florida.