Disney Dining Plan Calculator Planning Tool

[goherdibg]

Curious where you are getting your buffet/fixed priced numbers. I use Rusty scupper's prices posted here (he is a CM) and there are a few significant differences. I don't see that taxes are added under the assumptions, just gratuity - are they?

Specifically, in October, Akershus breakfast seem over-estimated for my family of 3 adults, 2 kids and Chef Mickey's breakfast and Crystal Palace for dinner seem under-estimated.

All in all, nicely done!

I will double check our prices on the locations mentioned. I did find conflicting information regarding Akershus especially with regards to taxes and whether or not a drink was included in the pricing. As we built the prices up over a period of time, I expect we could be somewhat out of date on some of the more recent changes in pricing - but will strive to keep it as up to date as possible.

If we find our pricing is incorrect we will update as soon as possible.

Thank you for the feedback. It is greatly appreciated.

 

[webstah]

I also notice that you don't include the fact that some people take advantage of the free dining offer which is usually the only discount offered when some people can go.

 

[PaGaLaGirl]

I have been a member of the DISBoards forums for nearly 2 years. Over the years, I have made multiple trips to Disney World and have always struggled with the question "Should I use the Disney Dining Plan?" From reading this forum (and others), it is obvious I am not the only one who asks this question before every trip.

In the past, to help me with the decision I built documents and spreadsheets of overly complex calculations based on the people who were traveling with me. I also posted on forums asking for advice and pretty much ended up with a similar answer each time - "It depends". While there are many factors that go into the decision to use the dining plan or not, it appears most members are concerned with one main factor - cost. Cost was always my main factor when deciding whether or not I should use the dining plan.

To help me with the decision for future trips and to help others with the same decision I have worked with a friend to put together a web site called the "Disney Dining Plan Calculator" that uses estimated meal costs along with some trip information to determine if a Disney Dining Plan is financially beneficial.

The site is easy to use, free to access, does not require you to create an account, and does not require any personal information.

The address for the web site is http://www.distripplanner.com

Feel free to visit the site and let us know what you think. This is the initial release of the Dining Plan Calculator. In the future, we plan on also providing a list of restaurants with full menus to allow you to choose what you think you would eat to provide a more exact price comparison in addition to the current estimation method.

If you have any questions about the site or have any exciting recommendations for future enhancements please provide us with feedback on the site.

I was going to post this under the Dining Plan sub-forum but thought it was better discussed at this level since it deals with the planning process of trips to Disney.

Thank you,
GoHerdIBG

I think the site is great. But it never seems to be cost effective for me. Can someone tell me when a DDP expires? I have two separate reservations since I am switching hotels. If I get the plan with the first and don't use all my credits can I stretch them over the next few days? Probably not but I thought I would ask. Thanks for all the great info everyone.

 

[honeybunches]

I think the site is great. But it never seems to be cost effective for me. Can someone tell me when a DDP expires? I have two separate reservations since I am switching hotels. If I get the plan with the first and don't use all my credits can I stretch them over the next few days? Probably not but I thought I would ask. Thanks for all the great info everyone.

Pretty sure your credits expire at midnight of your checkout day.

 

[GayeofPA]

-

 

[WishingMom]

This is a fantastic tool!

 

[davedmaine]

I have been a member of the DISBoards forums for nearly 2 years. Over the years, I have made multiple trips to Disney World and have always struggled with the question "Should I use the Disney Dining Plan?" From reading this forum (and others), it is obvious I am not the only one who asks this question before every trip.

In the past, to help me with the decision I built documents and spreadsheets of overly complex calculations based on the people who were traveling with me. I also posted on forums asking for advice and pretty much ended up with a similar answer each time - "It depends". While there are many factors that go into the decision to use the dining plan or not, it appears most members are concerned with one main factor - cost. Cost was always my main factor when deciding whether or not I should use the dining plan.

To help me with the decision for future trips and to help others with the same decision I have worked with a friend to put together a web site called the "Disney Dining Plan Calculator" that uses estimated meal costs along with some trip information to determine if a Disney Dining Plan is financially beneficial.

The site is easy to use, free to access, does not require you to create an account, and does not require any personal information.

The address for the web site is http://www.distripplanner.com

Feel free to visit the site and let us know what you think. This is the initial release of the Dining Plan Calculator. In the future, we plan on also providing a list of restaurants with full menus to allow you to choose what you think you would eat to provide a more exact price comparison in addition to the current estimation method.

If you have any questions about the site or have any exciting recommendations for future enhancements please provide us with feedback on the site.

I was going to post this under the Dining Plan sub-forum but thought it was better discussed at this level since it deals with the planning process of trips to Disney.

Thank you,
GoHerdIBG

People need to realize that gratuities are a whole lot more when on the dp due to most people ordering the most expensive thing on the menu to maximize the plan.

Here's the deal -- even free dining isn't a good option.

 

[goherdibg]

Based on the great feedback received, we have released an update to the Dining Plan Calculator that further details the costs associated with meals included on a specific dining plan and the costs to be paid for out of pocket. Under the dropdown for each plan, we continue to show you exactly what meals should be paid for using that specific dining plan; however, we now show you cost breakdown totals for the dining plan meals and the meals not on the dining plan.

We have also changed some of the terminology to help make the comparisons more clear and added a few of the more popular non-dining plan restaurants to help with the comparisons.

We hope you enjoy using the Dining Plan Calculator. Feel free to visit the site and provide any feedback on the changes recently made via our Feedback link on the bottom of the site.

Thank you again,
GoHerdIBG
http://www.distripplanner.com

 

[maplevale]

One more question - do the refillable mugs factor anywhere in here? They are $17.99 a person (I think that was what I read based on the length of our stay).

I know for us - it isn't something we all would buy (kids and I don't drink enough pop in a day - but DH would cost me an arm and leg without it!) - Our prices are on the cusp - but if I add the cups we are on the side of the dining plan benefiting us.


ETA: Something is off on the totals. The totals for our 5 TS meals is $440.18 but the page is showing $385.35

 

[JimmyV]

Based on the great feedback received, we have released an update to the Dining Plan Calculator that further details the costs associated with meals included on a specific dining plan and the costs to be paid for out of pocket. Under the dropdown for each plan, we continue to show you exactly what meals should be paid for using that specific dining plan; however, we now show you cost breakdown totals for the dining plan meals and the meals not on the dining plan.

We have also changed some of the terminology to help make the comparisons more clear and added a few of the more popular non-dining plan restaurants to help with the comparisons.

We hope you enjoy using the Dining Plan Calculator. Feel free to visit the site and provide any feedback on the changes recently made via our Feedback link on the bottom of the site.

Thank you again,
GoHerdIBG
http://www.distripplanner.com

Great update. One suggestion. The use of the term "Additional Cost" is a bit confusing. I think that most people think of that term as being synonymous with OOP cost when in fact you are using it to demonstrate the cost above the cheapest option. In other words, when I plugged in a sample run, my "Using No Plan" cost came out to $1,274.30. The "Using Dining Plan" cost came out to $1,563.70 and right after that is the notation "Additional Cost: $289.40". At first, I thought that the cost of the Dining Plan was $1,274.30 and I was being charged an additional $289.40 bringing my total up to $1,563.70. It took me a while of playing around with a calculator to figure out the obvious, which is that $1,563.70 is $289.40 more than $1,274.30. Otherwise, I think that this is pretty easy to use.

As far as accuracy is concerned, how do you calculate the average cost per person at a restaurant? For example, the calculator priced out dinner for 3 people at Il Mulino (2 apps, 3 entrees and 1 dessert) at $222.63. But when we go, our bill is much closer (2 apps=$37; 3 entrees=$78; 1 dessert=$8 plus tax and tip =$160). That's a pretty big difference. I didn't look at any of the other restaurants to see how they would come out, but this one kind of jumped out at me. Pasta dishes there run $21-$25, so it is pretty hard to spend $74 per person for dinner. Just wondering.

 

[goherdibg]

One more question - do the refillable mugs factor anywhere in here? They are $17.99 a person (I think that was what I read based on the length of our stay).

I know for us - it isn't something we all would buy (kids and I don't drink enough pop in a day - but DH would cost me an arm and leg without it!) - Our prices are on the cusp - but if I add the cups we are on the side of the dining plan benefiting us.


ETA: Something is off on the totals. The totals for our 5 TS meals is $440.18 but the page is showing $385.35

We have not included the refillable mugs yet. We are trying to determine how to factor them into the cost comparisons. It's fairly easy if you say you would buy them for everyone. If you have a family of 4 and you would have bought them anyway, the dining plan now, in reality, looks $71.96 better as they are included in the cost.

However, the problem comes in when you say you would not have bought them. You can't get the dining plan cost reduced by the price of the mug. From a cost comparison standpoint, we couldn't simply reduce the price of the dining plan and then compare because you are still paying the set amount.

The one method we have thought about is if we provide a dropdown for you choose if you are going to buy the refillable mug and you say "NO", we could ask you how often you would be drinking fountain drinks at your home resort and then compare those costs to the cost of the mugs. It get a little hairy.

As for the $440.18 vs. $385.35 example, the total of each line for a meal includes all costs - those covered under the plan and those to be paid for out of pocket such as tips and appetizers - remembering that snacks are detailed separately. If the numbers still aren't adding up please drop us a note using the Feedback link on the site and I will look into if we have an issue.

Thanks again.

 

[goherdibg]

Great update. One suggestion. The use of the term "Additional Cost" is a bit confusing. I think that most people think of that term as being synonymous with OOP cost when in fact you are using it to demonstrate the cost above the cheapest option. In other words, when I plugged in a sample run, my "Using No Plan" cost came out to $1,274.30. The "Using Dining Plan" cost came out to $1,563.70 and right after that is the notation "Additional Cost: $289.40". At first, I thought that the cost of the Dining Plan was $1,274.30 and I was being charged an additional $289.40 bringing my total up to $1,563.70. It took me a while of playing around with a calculator to figure out the obvious, which is that $1,563.70 is $289.40 more than $1,274.30. Otherwise, I think that this is pretty easy to use.

As far as accuracy is concerned, how do you calculate the average cost per person at a restaurant? For example, the calculator priced out dinner for 3 people at Il Mulino (2 apps, 3 entrees and 1 dessert) at $222.63. But when we go, our bill is much closer (2 apps=$37; 3 entrees=$78; 1 dessert=$8 plus tax and tip =$160). That's a pretty big difference. I didn't look at any of the other restaurants to see how they would come out, but this one kind of jumped out at me. Pasta dishes there run $21-$25, so it is pretty hard to spend $74 per person for dinner. Just wondering.

Thanks again for the feedback. We initially had "Additional Out of Pocket Costs" to show how much the specific dining plan cost beyond the no plan option. We changed it to "Additional Cost" to help clear up what we meant. We could put these descriptors in:

> $1,563.70 (Using this plan would cost an additional $289.40)
or
> $1,563.70 (Using this plan would save you $289.40)

We will look into it.

As for the costs of restaurants, we are taking the average of all entrees (leaving out some low-end and high end ones) and doing the same for apps and desserts. We are possibly going to add in an eating habits choice to allow you to determine if you eat like Daisy (light), Mickey (average), or Pooh (heavy) to allow you to better estimate the cost of each meal.

As I have mentioned in other posts, we are also going to have a future release that, in addition to the estimation method, will have all of the menus available so you can choose exactly what you would eat giving you an exact cost per meal.

Thanks again.

 

[JimmyV]

We could put these descriptors in:

> $1,563.70 (Using this plan would cost an additional $289.40)
or
> $1,563.70 (Using this plan would save you $289.40)

We will look into it.

Here's my suggestion. Set up the program so that the least expensive option is always the first one displayed, and next to the cost, put in parentheses; (This is your least expensive option!). Then, list the remaining options one by one as you have done, and in parentheses, us the phrase: "Using this plan will cost you $xxx.xx more than the least expensive option". So in my example, it would look like this:

Using No Plan=$1,274.30 (This is your least expensive option!)

Using the Dining Plan=$1,563.70 (Using this plan will cost you $289.40 more than the least expensive option).

and so on...

 

[goherdibg]

As for the costs of restaurants, we are taking the average of all entrees (leaving out some low-end and high end ones) and doing the same for apps and desserts. We are possibly going to add in an eating habits choice to allow you to determine if you eat like Daisy (light), Mickey (average), or Pooh (heavy) to allow you to better estimate the cost of each meal.

I also wanted to add that we included an average price of a "side item" to the entrée. Where most restaurants on property provide a number of side items with the price of an entrée, some of the signatures do not so we include the price of a side.

You wouldn't go to Morton's and get the Chicken Christopher without getting the sour cream mashed potatoes, would you?

 

[Dsnyless in Seattle]

Thanks so much! Great tool!

 

[cwehrstedt]

Think adding the drop down for the mugs is a good option. Like adding "how many refillable mugs would you normally buy"


My family of 4, 2 of us are regular coffee drinkers. At least 1 in the morning, and one in the evening, so mugs make sense... But only for the adults.

 

[Overexcited]

Great tool, thanks!

 

[simonmunro]

As I have mentioned in other posts, we are also going to have a future release that, in addition to the estimation method, will have all of the menus available so you can choose exactly what you would eat giving you an exact cost per meal.

Thanks again.[/QUOTE]

That would be amazing!!!

 

[pixiedustmomma]

This calculator is not correct. You put in your arrival and departure date and it gives you dining options for your departure date. If you get a dining plan you only get dining per night of stay.

I input every place we ate and would want to eat again and would once again save money getting the Deluxe Dining Plan. Also when they offer free dining we saved even more. They give you a discount on the deluxe plan.

It saves us money because we always eat two table meals a day and they are almost alway Character. The calculator confirmed we saved money. I also saved all of our receipts from our vacation and was able to add it all up (with tip) and we still saved money on the plan.

 

[goherdibg]

This calculator is not correct. You put in your arrival and departure date and it gives you dining options for your departure date. If you get a dining plan you only get dining per night of stay.

With a dining plan you can use entitlements until midnight of your checkout day. If you are checking out on the 18th of July you have until 11:59pm on the 18th to use dining plan credits.

We initially had the number of days listed matching the number of nights so you saw exactly how many entitlements you could use - basically cutting off the departure date. However, we realized we had to include both the arrival date and the departure date as there were 3 possible scenarios when traveling.

- A family gets to WDW at 8:00am on their arrival date and leaves at 8:00am on their departure date. We had to include the arrival date in the list. For this scenario they would probably need 3 meals on their arrival date and 0 on their departure date.

- A family gets to WDW at 10:00pm on the their arrival date and leaves at 9:00pm on their departure date. We had to include the departure date in the list. For this scenario they would probably need 0 meals on their arrival date and 3 meals on their departure date.

- A family arrives at WDW at 4:00pm on their arrival date and leaves at 4:00pm on their departure date. We had to include the arrival date and the departure date in the list. For this scenario they would probably need dinner on their arrival date and breakfast and lunch on their departure date.

Based on the above scenarios, paired with a family being able to use their credits until midnight on the checkout date, we had to include both the arrival date and departure date. Note that even though we include 1 more "day" in the list, we do track the exact number of entitlements based on the number of nights in your stay - which are listed in the overview of each dining plan.

We discussed putting in arrival and departure times based on a general timeframe for meals but didn't want to assume eating times, especially for our international users who may be out-of-sorts due to many time zone changes. Someone coming from England may want to eat their "dinner" an noon Orlando time and not eat anything the rest of the day.

I hope that helps.

GoHerdIBG