Frommer's says not to get the Disney Dining Plan

[BeerMe]

A lot of truth in that article. We did DDP last trip and kept meticulous records. It was much more expensive than OOP. I also get sick of all the ADR planning involved. Not even close to being worth all the hassle any more.

ETA: we have used DDP 6 times to date. Probably won't do it again.

 

[sharonabe]

Not for her dates.

$58.66 is the current price and she said she was just back.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

I think Frommer's is wrong. The dining plans are probably not for everyone as everyone has different dining needs/expectations. But in certain instances, if you're someone that pays attention to detail, they can save you money.

I actually put together a pretty detailed spread sheet to compare the different dining plans to paying OOP for our November 2014 trip. And when I say detailed I mean I went through every menu for every QS and TS restaurant we might want to eat at and computed average costs for app/entree/dessert to plug into the sheet.

But did you include an appetizer in your TS calculations? Because the dining plan doesn't include those anymore.

And the other thing that a lot of people don't consider is that when you don't have the dining plan you probably eat a lot different than with it. In other words, if we don't have the plan, we don't each order dessert with every meal. At most we might order two to share among the four of us. Also, I tend to be a lighter eater and might only order an appetizer as my meal instead of a full entree. So if you take those things off the bill, along with tax and tips on those items, it really changes what I would spend OOP. For us, I don't think we'd pay for it, but it's definitely a great deal when you get free dining!

 

[CynJ]

But did you include an appetizer in your TS calculations? Because the dining plan doesn't include those anymore.

Oh, great error catch! I forgot to change that when I copied the sheet Excel (the Deluxe plan does cover an appetizer for table service)

Luckily for us it only affects two of the restaurants.

So it brings our savings down from $210 to $135. Which stinks but still saves me $135 which will pay for my PhotoPass+ preorder.

I agree with you that some folks will eat differently. For my plan we picked out all our restaurants first (and worked around a couple of mandatory "rest days" we have to take for medical reasons) then went and explored whether the dining plan would work for us.

 

[nansmama]

DDP has never worked for us. I do the math every trip. I liked the idea so I really wanted it to work. It simply isn't a good deal for us - not ever. We are always better off with the RO discount and TIW card. We don't have children staying in the room with us and we stay in deluxe. There is usually one or, at most two, adults per room.

The only way that I see DP's working is if you stay value or mod with a family of 4 or 5 with kids 9 or younger and eat character meals. THEN, you can save with DP.

There is no such thing as FREE dining. It is a different type of discount that keeps all your vacation $$$ inside WDW. You have to pay rack rate for the room. Enough said.

I agree with this. I think the author of the article nailed it for the most part. Maybe he misrepresents the number of snack items you can (can't) buy, but he also fails to mention that "free" dining comes at the expense of rack rate on the resort rooms. We don't eat a ton (my 15yo daughter and I usually share a Disney-sized meal), so the RO discount always saves us more money than free dining. Especially if we're staying deluxe.

 

[robinb]

$58.66 is the current price and she said she was just back.

According to Mousesavers the cost of the DDP from 8/4/13 - 12/12/13 is $55.59. I guess they could be wrong.

 

[sonofanarchy]

I will go on record too. I agree 100%

As do I.

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

We've added up the receipts from all our meals each trip and so far each time have come out ahead with the plan.

 

[Belle5]

My 10 year old eats like a bird. He is allergic to all fruit. He can barely finish a kid's meal at most WDW restaurants. No chance of me paying $55+ for him to eat each day.

Secondly, one year we were all wiped out by a horrendous winter bug. No one ate for days. There were 8 of us that were on the DDP. You can never get your money refunded.

Thirdly, the last two trips we have taken in hot weather (May/Sept) we have had very small appetites. We just wanted to drink cold beverages, eat fruit, salad and dole whips.

We have found that TIW works much better for us (or even no discount at all works better) than DDP. This way, people with little or no appetite on any given day, for any variety of reasons are not charged. Also, I still have the liberty to order a kids meal for my child with a small appetite (unless we go somewhere where we are charged per head).

This past trip we stayed one night in a resort hotel and got the deluxe DDP for that night. That was fun, I'll admit (we've decided that one day on the DDP would be our limit...and at the time we had a nine year old)! Then we moved over to OKW and used TIW the rest of the week. That was a more natural, relaxed way to eat.

 

[sharonabe]

According to Mousesavers the cost of the DDP from 8/4/13 - 12/12/13 is $55.59. I guess they could be wrong.

That is incorrect. If you go on to Disney's site and plan a trip, the price for adult DDP comes out to $58.66 (just did one for this October to be sure). The price went up back in July and was effective almost immediately. This is the first time Disney has done a price increase in the middle of the year for DDP, but they did it.

 

[robinb]

That is incorrect. If you go on to Disney's site and plan a trip, the price for adult DDP comes out to $58.66 (just did one for this October to be sure). The price went up back in July and was effective almost immediately. This is the first time Disney has done a price increase in the middle of the year for DDP, but they did it.

Yup, you're right . So the PP would actually PAY $1.66 more for the DDP .

 

[sharonabe]

Yup, you're right . So the PP would actually PAY $1.66 more for the DDP .

Exactly!! AND she went to one of the MOST expensive QS places to boot. Just think of how much people are over-paying who just do the run-of-the-mill QS.

 

[eacosper]

My hubby and I always price out our meals with and without the dining plan, and every time it saves us money. Can't imagine doing Disney without it.

 

[stacecakes]

Here's the math I did when planning our trip in may:

Online it says approx 56 per adult per day and $17 per kid. Weird. seems like a steal for the kids and a ripoff for the adults. So maybe it balances?
my rough math of (56+56+17+17)*7 adds $1022 for the week. Which seems like a lot for two meals and a snack each daily. I remember that last time, with the free dining, we would order two meals for the four of us ( girls were 3 and 1) at quick serve places, also we'd usually share snacks cause they were huge. 4 peoples worth would be nutty.
advantages to this would be that we'd have it for the full length of our stay and that there would be no tension at mealtimes (grandparents have somewhat fancier taste than we do, I'm big on convenience and having some treats on vacation, kids want to try everything they see in the park). I'd stress less on how pricey character meals can be as well as my birthday dinner at Ohana.
I'll try to estimate what we'd likely spend on food if we did our usual living cheap approach. Advantages here are that we'd probably eat less and if I'm honest, probably spend less on food. However, it would involve more planning and be a little more of a hassle to be sure that we got groceries or packed them for lunches etc. We traveled with a suitcase full of food on our stay at fort wilderness.

My planned must do meals this trip:
ohana: 36.20+36.20+18.10+18.10= 108.60
boma: 38.33+38.33+18.10+18.10= 112.86
raglan (estimating 35/ adult, $15 per kid out of pocket)= 100
character dining: 35.99 adult, 17.99 child= 107.96

so for our four "big" meals we're at 429.22.
If we say we'll wind up with one counter service a day, whether lunch or dinner (yogurt, pb&j, and granola bars only get you so far), estimating at $12 /adult and $6 per kid= $36 per meal.* 7 days= 252.00.
There will be some dole whips, fried dough, etc. Call that $10 per day. =70
We'd have to pay for our groceries for breakfast and lunches: yogurt, cereal, milk, oatmeal, bread, pbj, cold cuts, juice boxes, fruit, other little snacks. call it $125 (given what we'd be able to pack in luggage, and getting the rest either in food court or via garden grocer)

let's tally again. 429.22+252+70+125=876.42
Did I forget anything? AM I way underestimating food costs? Tips at table service will be in effect either way so that doesn't matter.
SO the price difference to upgrade to DDP standard is $150. For this we'd get 3 additional table service meals and a bunch of snacks.


When I look at it that way, seems worth it financially. If I want to think about eating healthy, maybe not so smart. I think the grandparents will like getting to sit for a table meal each day, and that the kids will like it that I'll say Yes more often when they eye a yummy snack and bust out the puppy dog eyes. So could we do it cheaper without DDP? Yes. do I think we'll get enough value out of it to make it worth our while this trip? Yes. For peace of mind at not having to settle out bills between my family/ grandparents, and strangely, at having made my dinner reservations ahead of time and being able to say: here's the plan, family. I wound up being able to book a lot of meals that have some sort of bonus feature: fantasmic VIP dining, princess meal with a picture, rose & crown for dinner ( where hopefully we'll be able to be outside for illuminations).

I was surprised at the fact that the kids cost (3-9) was so low. We would pay just about that much for entry to any of the buffet meals, so for them we're essentially getting a snack/cs meal free those days. The other table service meals, well, we'll see.

so those are my two cents. If my math is way off, please don't tell my DH. He's anti-DDP in general. But now that we have it he's compiling ways to wring as much value from it as possible. For him that's almost as satisfying as beating me at Toy story Mania...

 

[JenSop]

As to costs....

Having been just down there last week as a guest of the earmarked conference - no DDP....

I don't know what people are eating for counter service, but most entrees I wanted were around $14.99. Just the entree. Then I had to buy my Coke at $2.49 on top of that. (And in Morocco I needed my baklava, darn it!) Just my CS lunch in Morocco alone was over $20.

I use snack credits for lots of Dole Whip Floats and other goodies of that nature. I get my worth from the snack credits.

So estimating $12 for counter service I think is lowballing it a bit. Expect more.

(Hmmmm.... it's insanely late and now I can't remember if I posted a similar post to this... ah well)

 

[robinb]

Here's the math I did when planning our trip in may:

Online it says approx 56 per adult per day and $17 per kid. Weird. seems like a steal for the kids and a ripoff for the adults. So maybe it balances?
my rough math of (56+56+17+17)*7 adds $1022 for the week.

{snip}

so those are my two cents. If my math is way off, please don't tell my DH. He's anti-DDP in general. But now that we have it he's compiling ways to wring as much value from it as possible. For him that's almost as satisfying as beating me at Toy story Mania...

No, your math is not off . With two kids under 10 and character meals you are in the "DDP Sweet Spot" that I keep on talking about. The only thing you might have to add back into the cost of the DDP is $$ for healthy breakfast items as the DDP only includes 2 meals per day.

 

[Texas Barbie]

We have get the DDP, because without it my husband makes the trip miserable. What the cost/benefits add up to does not matter at all to me.

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

As to costs....

Having been just down there last week as a guest of the earmarked conference - no DDP....

I don't know what people are eating for counter service, but most entrees I wanted were around $14.99. Just the entree. Then I had to buy my Coke at $2.49 on top of that. (And in Morocco I needed my baklava, darn it!) Just my CS lunch in Morocco alone was over $20.

I use snack credits for lots of Dole Whip Floats and other goodies of that nature. I get my worth from the snack credits.

So estimating $12 for counter service I think is lowballing it a bit. Expect more.

(Hmmmm.... it's insanely late and now I can't remember if I posted a similar post to this... ah well)

I'm struggling to see where you are seeing a lot of $14.99 counter service entrees, those are definitely the exception. Most counter service entrees are around $9-10.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

I'm struggling to see where you are seeing a lot of $14.99 counter service entrees, those are definitely the exception. Most counter service entrees are around $9-10.

This exactly! I know there are a few out there, but I don't see much at the CS places that's over $12.

 

[BeerMe]

We have get the DDP, because without it my husband makes the trip miserable. What the cost/benefits add up to does not matter at all to me.

Us too - that's the biggest reason people get it - personal preference