when DDP is DEFINITELY worth it

Lisa F · Feb 11, 2016

Ava said:
Is the QS plan also a good value if you have a 1:1 adult:child ratio?

It depends. I think there is a lot more value in the QS if you have kids who eat like adults but who qualify for kid rates. I did a whole spreadsheet and had to really try to get most CS meals above $30 for one adult one child... It was $31 with most expensive food at Morocco and the kids menu is one of the more expensive ones. So for one adult and one child you may save around $10 a day for the snacks if you have two $30 counter service meals (but there are plenty of good choices that don't approach this either). To me it is not enough savings to give up the flexibility of not worrying about getting good value out of the plan. at this point I would just pay OOP. Also if I paid OOP I would share a lot more and only get outstanding CS desserts so if you take the cost of mediocre desserts I don't really want off the plan it is not a value either. JMHO.

sharonabe · Feb 11, 2016

Ava said:
Is the QS plan also a good value if you have a 1:1 adult:child ratio?

IF Disney continues to NOT enforce the "kid's must order from a kid's menu" line for the QSDP, and your kids want adult QS meals, then you'll definitely save money with the plan.

IF your kids still are not eating that much, but prefer adult food, you can still possibly save with the new substitution policy. You can make one QS credit feed two people by getting snack items instead of your drink/dessert entitlements. So a sandwich and two soups could possibly feed two people and only use one credit. Of course, you don't have anything to drink but water and you don't have a dessert, but this stretches your credits and could feed all of you all three meals instead of just two meals and you could use your snacks for true snacks instead of trying to use them for breakfast. But this only works with that 1:1 ratio. Once you're more adults than kids, even with the sub/stretching, you need to do the math.

robinb · Feb 11, 2016

Yup. You are in the "sweet spot" for the DDP with a "Disney child" and a boat load of character meals.

Once your son ages up to 10 and you stop loading up your meals with character meals or buffets saving money will become much harder.

Lisa F · Feb 11, 2016

sharonabe said:
IF Disney continues to NOT enforce the "kid's must order from a kid's menu" line for the QSDP, and your kids want adult QS meals, then you'll definitely save money with the plan.

IF your kids still are not eating that much, but prefer adult food, you can still possibly save with the new substitution policy. You can make one QS credit feed two people by getting snack items instead of your drink/dessert entitlements. So a sandwich and two soups could possibly feed two people and only use one credit. Of course, you don't have anything to drink but water and you don't have a dessert, but this stretches your credits and could feed all of you all three meals instead of just two meals and you could use your snacks for true snacks instead of trying to use them for breakfast. But this only works with that 1:1 ratio. Once you're more adults than kids, even with the sub/stretching, you need to do the math.

yes, i was not clear. My kid would mostly prefer kids meals and they are pretty inexpensive in CS, like $4.99-5.99 with drink and dessert (cookie or fruit). With prices like that I had to work to get it up to $30 a meal. But with two adult meals plus the snacks you'd save money.

Marlyn · Feb 11, 2016

This is interesting. I've debated the dining plan for years and have never gone ahead with it. We are all adults. We do not eat deserts often and if we did, we would likely get only 1 not 3. We do some signature dining which would use up 2 credits. I can't seem to see how the meal would actually be worth the Dining plan at a signature restuarant. I do tend to order soda, but not my boys. They're water guys. My boys would order appetizers, which wouldn't be included in dining plan. We will also order alcohol which wouldn't be included.
I would like the dining plan to be worth it. I would love to try it....but I always feel I'm ahead paying OOP.

Maybe I'll so a spreadsheet today and see how it ends up for our July trip. We have quite a few table service, 3 of which are signature restaurants.

Lisa F · Feb 11, 2016

robinb said:
Yup. You are in the "sweet spot" for the DDP with a "Disney child" and a boat load of character meals.

Once your son ages up to 10 and you stop loading up your meals with character meals or buffets saving money will become much harder.

yeah that is why I've kind of decided to go for broke on this trip. I have actually changed my plan (since I am doing a split stay) to do 3 nights at poly DVC and 4 at BWV and do DxDDP for the first 3 nights. Every day will be character breakfast and a dinner - 2 signature dinners, 1 Hollywood and Vine Holiday Dine Fantasmic package. Basically I will have 7 meals for 2 of us using all 18 meal entitlements on TS meals. Any snacks that are remaining we will burn on the night of our switch at the boardwalk bakery to save for breakfast for a couple of days. I figure that stuff will stay ok in the fridge for a day or two, and we can toast and microwave as needed. Will have refillable mug for 14 nights. I figure that I will save about $150 doing it this way and this is all stuff I REALLY want to do... no padding it out just to make it worth it.

Then for the last 4 days I will slack off on the eating and have put the "bad value on DDP" stuff there... sci fi dine in, which could be a good value if you get the steak but i'd rather an appetizer and shake honestly. Coral Reef (which is a decent enough value but not so outstanding that I would feel bad paying oop - might switch this for something else anyway since it doesn't fit in for lunch for me).. CP package which I will do at Garden Grill (terrible value at 2TS for what amounts to a $70 or so meal for both of us) and Hoop Dee Doo Tier 1 at 6:30, again, can't do with dining plan. I found going with regular dining plan I was making compromises on the TS and paying for some things OOP and forcing in 1-2 more CS than I really wanted for the week... I could have made alternate decisions and really worked it but after taking the time to work it up this way, including all planned TS and CS for my last 4 days it works out to be $150 or so more than doing regular DDP with some OOP stuff... and that is with 5 counter service meals dropped but 3 table service meals added - California Grill, Tiffin (hoping it is good) and HDDR. So basically I am getting the value of 6TS credits for $150 more for the whole week. seems like a no-brainer but I am glad I took the time to run the math, it actually worked out better than I expected it to!

Lisa F · Feb 11, 2016

Marlyn said:
This is interesting. I've debated the dining plan for years and have never gone ahead with it. We are all adults. We do not eat deserts often and if we did, we would likely get only 1 not 3. We do some signature dining which would use up 2 credits. I can't seem to see how the meal would actually be worth the Dining plan at a signature restuarant. I do tend to order soda, but not my boys. They're water guys. My boys would order appetizers, which wouldn't be included in dining plan. We will also order alcohol which wouldn't be included.
I would like the dining plan to be worth it. I would love to try it....but I always feel I'm ahead paying OOP.

Maybe I'll so a spreadsheet today and see how it ends up for our July trip. We have quite a few table service, 3 of which are signature restaurants.

it is tough to make it work with all adults. It worked out for me with the DxDDP for 3 nights because at the signatures is where I'd likely want to eat an appetizer and desserts and on DxDDP it includes apps... but it is a TON of food. The character buffets it doesn't matter what you eat, it is all one price and a HUGE value with kids and the DDP. Under your circumstances it is probably not worth it honestly. I am not a huge dessert person myself and will likely have one or two special ones over the week and skip everywhere else. I would certainly skip at counter service. I don't drink soda EVER and would be happy with water at every meal. being able to swap drinks and desserts at QS for any other snack on the menu helps for sure though, if everyone is drinking water and you swap drinks for sides there are definitely meals big enough where two could share. I suspect i'd be pitching a lot of food at some of the better value CS restaurants too. But with a kiddo and buffets it is really easy to see a lot of value. Adults not so much!

Ava · Feb 11, 2016

sharonabe said:
IF Disney continues to NOT enforce the "kid's must order from a kid's menu" line for the QSDP, and your kids want adult QS meals, then you'll definitely save money with the plan.

IF your kids still are not eating that much, but prefer adult food, you can still possibly save with the new substitution policy. You can make one QS credit feed two people by getting snack items instead of your drink/dessert entitlements. So a sandwich and two soups could possibly feed two people and only use one credit. Of course, you don't have anything to drink but water and you don't have a dessert, but this stretches your credits and could feed all of you all three meals instead of just two meals and you could use your snacks for true snacks instead of trying to use them for breakfast. But this only works with that 1:1 ratio. Once you're more adults than kids, even with the sub/stretching, you need to do the math.

Lisa F said:
yes, i was not clear. My kid would mostly prefer kids meals and they are pretty inexpensive in CS, like $4.99-5.99 with drink and dessert (cookie or fruit). With prices like that I had to work to get it up to $30 a meal. But with two adult meals plus the snacks you'd save money.

Yes, we did some sharing of adult QS meals and subbing other items for the dessert or drink on our previous trips and it worked out. It's a little extra tricky for us because our whole family is vegetarian. Often there is nothing on the kids menus that my kids can/will eat. They both don't like the Uncrustables and my DD6 deemed Disney mac & cheese weird/gross (and my younger one will not let a noodle of any kind pass her lips), so we got them adult QS meals sometimes. Those kids power packs were also a life saver, but not a good value for credits. For TS we mostly stuck to buffets, or did breakfast which again is not the best value when using credits. There are several TS places that we'd love to try but there is nothing on the menu for my kids, especially if we are on DDP & they're limited to the kids menu.

I'm going to have to make a spreadsheet, put in where/what we'd really like to eat, and then see if either plan makes sense for us. My gut is telling me we'd probably do better OOP, between us being vegetarian and my picky, lactose intolerant younger child. It's just so hard to stomach the OOP costs for the character meals, which we do like but if going OOP would do less of.

Lisa F · Feb 11, 2016

Ava said:
Yes, we did some sharing of adult QS meals and subbing other items for the dessert or drink on our previous trips and it worked out. It's a little extra tricky for us because our whole family is vegetarian. Often there is nothing on the kids menus that my kids can/will eat. They both don't like the Uncrustables and my DD6 deemed Disney mac & cheese weird/gross (and my younger one will not let a noodle of any kind pass her lips), so we got them adult QS meals sometimes. Those kids power packs were also a life saver, but not a good value for credits. For TS we mostly stuck to buffets, or did breakfast which again is not the best value when using credits. There are several TS places that we'd love to try but there is nothing on the menu for my kids, especially if we are on DDP & they're limited to the kids menu.

I'm going to have to make a spreadsheet, put in where/what we'd really like to eat, and then see if either plan makes sense for us. My gut is telling me we'd probably do better OOP, between us being vegetarian and my picky, lactose intolerant younger child. It's just so hard to stomach the OOP costs for the character meals, which we do like but if going OOP would do less of.

If you go all in and have a TS a day and probably half to 2/3 of your TS be buffets, it might end up being worth it. Will DD2 be 3 and have to pay by the time you go? then it would definitely be worth it. if you just wanted to do one or two, not worth it. I like going to the restaurants and finally just decided to go for it and do everything I want to. Vacation, right?

we have been going ever 2+ years so who knows when the next time we will make it will be. carpe diem

Ava · Feb 12, 2016

Lisa F said:
If you go all in and have a TS a day and probably half to 2/3 of your TS be buffets, it might end up being worth it. Will DD2 be 3 and have to pay by the time you go? then it would definitely be worth it. if you just wanted to do one or two, not worth it. I like going to the restaurants and finally just decided to go for it and do everything I want to. Vacation, right? we have been going ever 2+ years so who knows when the next time we will make it will be. carpe diem

Yes, DD2 will be 3, so we'll be paying for 2 adults and 2 children. I'll have to see which TS restaurants we really want to eat at and go from there. A lot of the non-buffet ones are hard for us since there aren't many vegetarian options, especially on the kids menus. We have a couple places that we really love but have had some real dud experiences too.

Lisa F · Feb 12, 2016

Ava said:
Yes, DD2 will be 3, so we'll be paying for 2 adults and 2 children. I'll have to see which TS restaurants we really want to eat at and go from there. A lot of the non-buffet ones are hard for us since there aren't many vegetarian options, especially on the kids menus. We have a couple places that we really love but have had some real dud experiences too.

Yeah honestly pre-kids I was not a huge fan of the buffets. But with my kiddo, buffets are much much easier and I think a better value (especially if you are talking in terms of TS credits) for him... a small cup of kids mac and cheese will not keep him full if that is a kid's meal but mac and cheese on the side with a dinner roll and some sliced protein (which they all seem to have - they are kind of bland and no weird grill marks and the thin slices is good texturally for him) and his choice of dessert and he eats a pretty good meal and I don't worry about him asking for food an hour later. I bet there are some good vegetarian options too. Someone was questioning the value of a $40 for adult buffet and honestly the value is not in the food but usually the character experiences. There is nowhere else in the world that I'd spend that much on a buffet! And I'm not going to sit there and stuff myself to bursting so I feel like I got my money's worth. Usually vegetarian entrees are less expensive though.

I think Kona has some nice vegetarian options on the menu and I would bet that most signatures do as well. Have you tried doing special requests at any of the restaurants for a kid veggie entree? With a buffet it would not matter obviously. Tusker House and Boma seem to have good veggie options, basing their cuisine on non american stuff

insectreflection · Feb 12, 2016

The Character Meals are a big reason why we always get the Dining Plan, but I discovered another reason last time I went at Christmas. When you have reservations for most of your meals at nice sit-down restaurants, you don't end up standing in line for hours to get a cheeseburger. I would go as far as to say the Dining Plan is essential for holidays and peak crowds.

sharonabe · Feb 12, 2016

insectreflection said:
The Character Meals are a big reason why we always get the Dining Plan, but I discovered another reason last time I went at Christmas. When you have reservations for most of your meals at nice sit-down restaurants, you don't end up standing in line for hours to get a cheeseburger. I would go as far as to say the Dining Plan is essential for holidays and peak crowds.

Except that you don't have to have the dining plan to eat in a TS restaurant.

Minniesgal · Feb 12, 2016

For me where the DDP falls down is to make savings you have to eat 1 QS, 1TS and 1 snack per day. For me that is way too much food so we wouldn't eat the QS.

If you feel you would eat the 14 QS it is a great deal for you.

Minniesgal · Feb 12, 2016

insectreflection said:
The Character Meals are a big reason why we always get the Dining Plan, but I discovered another reason last time I went at Christmas. When you have reservations for most of your meals at nice sit-down restaurants, you don't end up standing in line for hours to get a cheeseburger. I would go as far as to say the Dining Plan is essential for holidays and peak crowds.

For me that is a reason not to get the DDP as what do you do with the QS credits if what you want is once sit down meals?

funcinderella · Feb 22, 2016

With two adults and two 14 year olds who are picky and each barely tip the scales at 100 lbs (in other words, not big eaters!), the DDP is never an option. We rarely even go to buffets because to pay an adult price for what they eat is just not worth it. We stick to a la carte restaurants.HOWEVER, that changes dramatically when free dining became available to us through a bounceback. The room price stays the same since they are under 17 (albeit no discount),but we get 4 "adults' dining packages, equivalent to about $240 a day. I am so psyched!! They want to do all of the character dining stuff we don't usually do, Chef Mickey's Crystal palace, Garden Grill... so it will be a real treat for us. We are essentially getting a room at Port Orleans and dining for 4 "adults" for ~226 per night. (Subtracting out the cost of the tickets, which we will upgrade to DVC APs once we get there anyway.) Of course after 11 nights of this, I may need a whole new ardrobe when we return...

Tia1977 · Mar 8, 2016

This will be our first experience with the DDP, and I'm rather excited. It's myself, DH, and 14yr DD. This trip will be heavy with character dinners, CRT, and nighttime show dinner packages. We're not breakfast people, so tend to always get a good CS lunch; typically liking the higher priced items anyway. Plus, we're HUGE Starbucks junkies. We try really hard to stay away while at home for budget purposes. On vacation, we allow ourselves the freedom to OD (lol). At least 3 Venti sized drinks almost every night adds up super quick. After doing my spreadsheet, we'll come out ahead on the DDP. Granted by only $80 or so. But in addition, that means budgeted peace of mind, new experiences I'm too "cheap" to pay OOP on the spot for, and thanks to our bff Starbucks; we won't even have any wasted snack credits. :drinking:

pangyal · Mar 8, 2016

We had never used the DDP before (except for once years ago with "free" dining for the regular plan) and decided to do exactly what you are planning, with front end loading the DxDDP. It was fantastic! We paid OOP for kiddo's meals at Narcoosees and Hollywood Brown Derby and used his credits for the adults in the group for character buffets. It was so nice to order whatever we wanted, and we ended up calculating that even with tips, we still came out about $110 per person ahead as compared to paying OOP and using TIW. My one heartbreak was leaving most of my meal at Narcoosees because I was really sick and had to run the first leg of the Glass Slipper the next day...but we all totally enjoyed ordered pricey items that we normally wouldn't have. It is so worth it when you have the option to use the kid's credit to cover an adult three course meal and pay OOP for the kid. Unfortunately, our kiddo lacked the patience to sit through any further long meals, but you will have an absolute blast when you have your splurge with the DxDDP

!

Jing · Mar 8, 2016

ChimCher-ee said:
I fall into the "rather prepay and forget it" camp, but more than that, I'm also afraid that without a plan, I would somehow end up spending more. I'd have this mindset of, "oh go ahead and order what you want - - it can't possibly cost more than the dining plan would have!" - - and end up in trouble.

DDP actually keeps us from spending more. Food is our splurge, and we usually wind up with a few OOP meals and snacks.

luvmyguyz · Mar 8, 2016

Bree said:
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.

Bree said:
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.

Exactly! I understand that the price should be higher for an 11yo vs a 4yo, but I do wish there was a "junior" category. I always enjoyed the freedom of the dining plan - not having to think about what we were ordering because it was already paid for - but I just can't justify paying adult prices for my picky "Disney adult" son who will be full after eating three chicken nuggets.

when DDP is DEFINITELY worth it

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