when DDP is DEFINITELY worth it

[Lisa F]

So I finally got around to putting my restaurant choices in a spreadsheet.

It is just myself and my will be 8 year old son for next December, so 50% of the party in the "kid" range.

Doing the following TS:
Ohana dinner
Tusker House Lunch
Garden Grill Lunch
H&V Holiday Dine Dinner w/Fantasmic Package
Sci Fi Dine in Lunch
Crystal palace Dinner
Ohana breakfast

Total cost of plan: $579
Total value of TS meals: $466

that leaves $113 for 14 QS and 14 snacks. Assuming $15 per adult meal, $5 per kid meal and $5 per snack (totally just rounding there) I'm ahead by $237. I will have a few more expensive adult QS meals (like Wolfgang Puck and Be our Guest) and a few cases where I order my kid an adult meal so I expect that I will realize around a 50% bonus on the cost of the plan.

I had no idea it could be such a tremendous savings honestly but thought I'd put it out there for anyone on the fence... seems silly to have been on the fence now.

I think if your party is ever 50% kids and you are doing a bunch of buffets/character stuff you definitely need to take a look.

 

[GillianP1301]

I totally agree with you - lots of character Dining with a child under 9 is where you will enjoy the most bang for your buck on the dining plan. My DS is also 8 and it has always worked out in our favour.

 

[sharonabe]

Yes, you hit the sweet spot of kids (well one kid for you) AND buffets, and see the savings Disney likes to promote.

 

[Lisa F]

especially since at that age I am concerned that with his picky eating a regular TS meal might not fill him up - if he won't eat veggie sides or any of that, a serving of mac and cheese might not do it for him. At a buffet he can have mac and cheese or pasta on the side at most of these places, but he will also eat carved meats and hummus where it appears, have a choice of interesting breads and of course dessert buffet. When he was only 6 a couple of years ago he ate less... I am often struck by how much he eats now.

I think that if you are doing mostly character buffets and have a 1:1 ratio kids to adults it is a no brainer. I just never realized it was that much of a savings and thought it could be helpful for someone who is just starting.

 

[msb578]

Agree with the analysis. We just did the DDP for those reasons (three kids between 3 and 6). All character buffet TS plus a BOG lunch QS.

 

[Bree]

It's when the kid hits 10yo where the math gets really fuzzy. I really think Disney needs to create a Junior category (maybe 10-14yo???) or up the age for a child to be considered an adult.

 

[loves to dive]

Works if you do buffets, for us (even though we did used to get it when my son was small) it didn't work because we have never been big on buffets so would end up ordering off the menu if they had one. Now that he is an adult, it really doesn't work for us since most of the time if we are doing TS we want an appetizer instead of dessert, the old plan way back in the day included that.

 

[cmarsh31]

My 10 year old hasn't eaten off of a kid's menu in 3 or 4 years, so for us, even with the adult price for him, we still save - because he was ordering an adult meal anyway! While it would be nice to be charged a smaller price at a buffet for him - he's going to out-eat the rest of us anyway, so we never feel like we're not getting our money's worth (fwiw, he's 5' tall and barely 80lbs - I think his legs are hollow!).

With picky eaters, especially older ones, I'm sure it's hard to see the savings but for us - just like you - it's a no-brainer!

 

[supersnoop]

It's when the kid hits 10yo where the math gets really fuzzy. I really think Disney needs to create a Junior category (maybe 10-14yo???) or up the age for a child to be considered an adult.

Kids meals are really sized for the 3-9 age range. I'm sure Disney makes tons of money from people who are accustomed to the dining plan and don't bother to do the math after their kids age up.

My 10 year old hasn't eaten off of a kid's menu in 3 or 4 years, so for us, even with the adult price for him, we still save - because he was ordering an adult meal anyway!

That shouldn't really make the math any better. It's incredibly difficult for the adult price to ever make financial sense, even if you are using all the allocations.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

We always get the deluxe plan...my kids are picky eaters and everyone likes desserts, lol...my family also like to be able to sit down and eat 3 meals a day like a family...our next trip I will actually have to pay for my just turned 3 yr old, lol, and my older child will now be considered a "disney adult", lol...but my oldest told me he is excited bc there is only do much mac and cheese and chicken fingers that you can eat on 1 vacation, lol...He has expensive taste like his mom and LOVES Steak and Seafood and such so I think it will work out for us as well even though we have to do the adult prices for him. Plus I plan on seeing 2 dinner shows as well. I just like the dining plan bc everything is paid for when you get there and you just have to worry about tips and souvenirs and stuff. Its just a lot easier for us!

 

[Bree]

Kids meals are really sized for the 3-9 age range. I'm sure Disney makes tons of money from people who are accustomed to the dining plan and don't bother to do the math after their kids age up.

My 10yo still orders off the kids menus in most places at WDW (usually steak, chicken or fish). It's still plenty of food for her. An adult meal is just way too much food for her (as well as me LOL!!!). It just stinks having to pay an adult price for her to eat two meatballs, a piece of cheese and a roll at a character buffet. That's where I wished they had junior pricing the most. I live in a very expensive area and even the buffet places here charge kid prices up to age 12.

 

[scrappinginontario]

This is subjective but for me the DDP is always worth it as when I don't have it I stress over the price of every meal we eat and drink we consume. I would much rather budget for the dining plan and pay it in advance than have to think about how much items cost. Last month when we were at our resort and I noticed my DDs orange juice would have cost me $3.99 I was again thankful that was not something I had to think about.

But, that's not the case for all. Just wanted to share how it works for us.

 

[senadler]

I think if your party is ever 50% kids and you are doing a bunch of buffets/character stuff you definitely need to take a look.

I absolutely agree. I am taking a trip with just myself and my DS5 in May, and after putting our plan together, we are going to save around $150 by getting the deluxe plan. The only QS we are doing is BOG, and we have three 2 credit meals planned along with other character meals. I find it stressful to try QS with just the two of us, so two TS meals and snacks tend to work best for us.

 

[supersnoop]

This is subjective but for me the DDP is always worth it as when I don't have it I stress over the price of every meal we eat and drink we consume. I would much rather budget for the dining plan and pay it in advance than have to think about how much items cost. Last month when we were at our resort and I noticed my DDs orange juice would have cost me $3.99 I was again thankful that was not something I had to think about.

But, that's not the case for all. Just wanted to share how it works for us.

I always have a difficult time understanding this position; but I guess different strokes for different folks. I'd be stressed out that I just spend $900 for $750 worth of food. I'm stingy and worry about the prices, but I could never bring myself to pay more to not worry about it.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I always have a difficult time understanding this position; but I guess different strokes for different folks. I'd be stressed out that I just spend $900 for $750 worth of food. I'm stingy and worry about the prices, but I could never bring myself to pay more to not worry about it.

I understand this.

At home my DD and I have water at restaurants and share meals 80% of the time. When we're on vacation I like to throw caution to the wind for a few days, enjoy soda or iced tea with a meal, order steak if I feel like it and sometimes dessert too. That is what makes it worth it to me to budget the price of the dining plan into our trip. I look at prices the other 350+ days of the year. When we're on vacation I enjoy the freedom of not thinking twice about what the price is and treating ourselves to some dining treats!

In the end do I pay more? Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. But the stress of looking at prices is removed and that's what vacation time is for me.

It's not for everyone but works wonderfully for us.

 

[Lisa F]

I absolutely agree. I am taking a trip with just myself and my DS5 in May, and after putting our plan together, we are going to save around $150 by getting the deluxe plan. The only QS we are doing is BOG, and we have three 2 credit meals planned along with other character meals. I find it stressful to try QS with just the two of us, so two TS meals and snacks tend to work best for us.

QS is harder, buffets are also harder, but I did not find it unmanageable with my son when he was 6. I am especially looking forward to the buffets being easier when we go next and he is 8. I am doing the CP show out of pocket with Coral Reef just because I can't stomach using the 2 credits and I have 7 other places I am wanting to go lol. I think more than one TS in a day would be too much for us as we tend to graze, I'm already fretting about my plan that pairs bigger CS with buffets.

 

[Regan117]

This is subjective but for me the DDP is always worth it as when I don't have it I stress over the price of every meal we eat and drink we consume. I would much rather budget for the dining plan and pay it in advance than have to think about how much items cost. Last month when we were at our resort and I noticed my DDs orange juice would have cost me $3.99 I was again thankful that was not something I had to think about.

But, that's not the case for all. Just wanted to share how it works for us.

This is my general feelings as well. The peace of mind is worthwhile. We don't spend time figuring out what we need to order to make it worth it. That doesn't even sound fun.

 

[Lisa F]

This is my general feelings as well. The peace of mind is worthwhile. We don't spend time figuring out what we need to order to make it worth it. That doesn't even sound fun.

I would not feel happy about paying that much money not knowing what the relative value was. I would not pay more to use DDP than to eat OOP either... but I just posted this as a general guideline as to when it is likely worth it. In many TS restaurants I would not necessarily order dessert but with lots of buffets I will have a bite of something and it's all one price.

it is a lot of fun to figure it out because I am a bargain hunter and I like planning for my trip

 

[Regan117]

I would not feel happy about paying that much money not knowing what the relative value was. I would not pay more to use DDP than to eat OOP either... but I just posted this as a general guideline as to when it is likely worth it. In many TS restaurants I would not necessarily order dessert but with lots of buffets I will have a bite of something and it's all one price.

it is a lot of fun to figure it out because I am a bargain hunter and I like planning for my trip

That is totally fine if you enjoy that! I hate bargain hunting - I throw coupons away lol - but I do love planning my trip. What's stressful for me is fun for you and that is ok. At the end of the day, I prefer the dining plan. It makes it easier for our family of 5 to split up and do whatever we want and not have to worry about paying for much else.

 

[Pkltm]

I understand this.

At home my DD and I have water at restaurants and share meals 80% of the time. When we're on vacation I like to throw caution to the wind for a few days, enjoy soda or iced tea with a meal, order steak if I feel like it and sometimes dessert too. That is what makes it worth it to me to budget the price of the dining plan into our trip. I look at prices the other 350+ days of the year. When we're on vacation I enjoy the freedom of not thinking twice about what the price is and treating ourselves to some dining treats!

In the end do I pay more? Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. But the stress of looking at prices is removed and that's what vacation time is for me.

It's not for everyone but works wonderfully for us.

I entirely agree with you!! I love the dining plan and not stressing over the restaurant bill when it comes, we have done Disney with and without the DDP and I find myself far more relaxed with! Especially with the price of that OJ!!