We Saved $$ by Paying OOP!

brewhome

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 11, 2010
Hi all,

We just got home today from a 7 night trip, and it was awesome! We used the DP on our last two trips, and this time we decided to use the room discount instead. We went for OOP this time because my 10 year old would have been on the adult plan, and he barely eats - so we didn't think paying almost $56 per day for him was worth it.

We would have paid $1557 for the dining plan for 4 adults (me, DH, DS age 12, and DS age 10). We ended up spending $1,182, so we saved $375. This is a strict comparison of just the food cost - I didn't include tips or drinks that we would have paid OOP for under the dining plan.

I also compared how many credits we would have used if we would have been on the plan, and we came out pretty close:

- We would have gotten 28 TS, and we "used" 32 (we had 7 TS meals, but one at Le Cellier was a 2-credit).

- We would have gotten 28 CS, and we "used" 27.

- We would have gotten 28 Snacks, and we "used" 27 (and none of these were on sodas or water, which would have been the same if we were on the DP - we don't think they are a good use of credits).

When we used the DP, the desserts killed us - we of course ordered them with every TS and CS, and this trip we almost never ordered dessert. Instead, we got more snacks. On the DP, we would have between 5 and 10 snack credits left at the end of each trip, and we'd bring home bags of candy from Goofy's. We actually enjoyed not feeling way too stuffed at each lunch/dinner and snacking more throughout the day.

All in all, I think we will continue paying OOP if free dining is not offered, and even then we'll have to seriously consider using room discounts instead.

I'll post some quick thoughts/reviews on the food later on... no pics, unfortunateyl - my DH is not a fan of taking pics of the food!!
 
Yes, after 6 years of DDP for us, we are doing our first OOP trip this year. They have raised the price of it so high, it would cost us $2400 to add it to our 10 night trip this time. I went back and looked at what our checks were last time( jotted down the total at each TS to see what we would have spent) and then was very generous with an estimate for a CS, and snacks, and came up with about $1900. That's WITH TIPS!! I think the only way we'd ever do the DP is if it was free, because it still night be better than a room discount for the 5 of us, because 4 are technically "adults".
 
I was thinking of getting the Deluxe Dining Plan this June for our honeymoon. However, after doing the calculations by paying OOP vs the Deluxe and Regular Dining Plans I was saving over $200 before any room discounts by paying out of pocket. I am so so glad I did not get the dining plan for us. It is good if you are a family of 4 staying at a value resort with kids under 10, or some other situations. You should always do the math first to see if your are really saving; unless money is not a big factor and you care more about convenience.
 
we figured out we were actually saving money by paying oop for all of our ts and cs meals and snacks...
We are not dessert eaters and also very seldom do we order an appetizer...meals are usually enough...then we get an ice cream or something else for snacks inbetween..
We actually felt better roaming the parks after meals oop then we did when we were on dp...sometimes we dont even want a lunch between a big breakfast and going to eat for dinner..
Go to the dining site and figure out what one would pay for meals if you are going to a sit down and lunches where you would like to eat...we saved over 350 dollars by doing this..group of 4 at the time
 


Hi all,

We just got home today from a 7 night trip, and it was awesome! We used the DP on our last two trips, and this time we decided to use the room discount instead. We went for OOP this time because my 10 year old would have been on the adult plan, and he barely eats - so we didn't think paying almost $56 per day for him was worth it.

We would have paid $1557 for the dining plan for 4 adults (me, DH, DS age 12, and DS age 10). We ended up spending $1,182, so we saved $375. This is a strict comparison of just the food cost - I didn't include tips or drinks that we would have paid OOP for under the dining plan.

I also compared how many credits we would have used if we would have been on the plan, and we came out pretty close:

- We would have gotten 28 TS, and we "used" 32 (we had 7 TS meals, but one at Le Cellier was a 2-credit).

- We would have gotten 28 CS, and we "used" 27.

- We would have gotten 28 Snacks, and we "used" 27 (and none of these were on sodas or water, which would have been the same if we were on the DP - we don't think they are a good use of credits).

When we used the DP, the desserts killed us - we of course ordered them with every TS and CS, and this trip we almost never ordered dessert. Instead, we got more snacks. On the DP, we would have between 5 and 10 snack credits left at the end of each trip, and we'd bring home bags of candy from Goofy's. We actually enjoyed not feeling way too stuffed at each lunch/dinner and snacking more throughout the day.

All in all, I think we will continue paying OOP if free dining is not offered, and even then we'll have to seriously consider using room discounts instead.

I'll post some quick thoughts/reviews on the food later on... no pics, unfortunateyl - my DH is not a fan of taking pics of the food!!

I agree completely. We did the DDP once and have paid OOP since. We were left with so many CS meals because after the second day - we could not eat all that food. Way too many desserts. We like our desserts as a snack during the day or at night. Plus now the DDP is almost $60 per day. We could eat for less than that.
 
To increase your discounts even more look at orlandoconventionaid.com and restaurants.com. you can get some great discounts at restaurants on property there.

We did DDp for a long time, but never again. We found we can eat at a couple of signature restaurants and still pay less. The plan has deteriorated over the years, yet the price has drastically increased. We don't always do dessert and we like to share an appetizer. OOP just is a better fit with all the changes.
 


It's good to see others have similar experiences with OOP.

Here's a couple of quick reviews, again no pics because DH doesn't take too kindly of me taking pics of food...

Our first TS was at House of Blues in DD West Side. We really liked the atmosphere in there! It's definitely a relaxed place. We sat in a back room and it was pretty quiet back there; the front rooms near the bar were pretty loud when we walked through. DH had the juicy lucy burger, which he loved because it had a lot of spice and was a generous size. DS1 had a strip steak and fries, and the steak had a great char-grilled taste and was cooked a perfect medium. DS2 had chicken fingers and fries - the chicken was a bit bland, but the fries were thin and crispy. I had the shrimp and grits, and it was really good. The grits were in a cake form that was deep fried, and I got about 8 good-sized shrimp. The whole thing had a spicy, creamy sauce over it that went really well with the grits. It was very tasty - something I never get at home, so it was fun to try something different.

I had one beer and the other three had sodas, and with a 20+% tip, the whole bill came to $90 - not too bad.
 
I offer our experiences, with total respect for the choices that others make to maximize their enjoyment:

When we first used the DDP in 2006, it was free. So that was a great value. But the inclusion of appetizer, dessert AND tip made it hard not to purchase for our next trip. Since then, the curtailing of features has made it increasingly more difficult to justify.

After a positive experience in 2011, we thought we would give the DxDP a try.

Well, you can still pay less for everything using the DxDP...that is, IF you want to spend a great deal of time basing your food choices on cost, and IF you want to spend the extra OOP money on tips that are associated with a larger tab...and IF you generally enjoy spending your vacation totally stuffed and almost dreading the next meal you have to have in order to justify the cost you paid when you bought the plan.

For us, some of the Disney Dining Experiences (whether they be based on the quality/variety of the food, or on the experience/entertainment during the meal) are still part of our trip. But we will never again choose the DxDP. And, having eaten in enough different places throughout the years, we can be much happier (both physically and financially) with only 1 "meal event" per day, paid OOP.

Sometimes a spreadsheet showing a small monetary profit hides the red ink of more expensive drinks, higher tips and, quite honestly, considerations of health, and being too stuffed on food you felt that you had to eat to justify the cost of the plan.

This doesn't mean I'm not going to have too much pretzel bread in Germany next time at Biergarten. It just means I'll do it without having had too much at breakfast and lunch...and I'll definitely do it OOP.
 
I agree with you - the feeling of NOT being stuffed was very nice! We typically do one large meal and one smaller one during the day, with a snack or two in between. I personally could never justify getting the deluxe plan because it is just way too much food for me, and I would rather not spend tons of time in more than one TS restaurant per day to "maximize" credits. I'm also not one to order the most expensive thing on the menu when on the DP just because it's covered - I always order what sounds good. Sacrelige to some on the DIS, I know! ;)
 
I find it refreshing to read everyone's thoughts in this thread. I have been debating back and forth on the meal plan. We don't typically do dessert, and we aren't really big snackers, but the plan seems like such a good idea on paper! I think we would be tempted to go over our cost if we did the meal plan, rather than just eating what and where we wanted.
 
We booked our stay/dp using the stay, play, and dine deal. Do you think that is more cost effective then paying OOP and getting a discounted hotel rate?
 
vcgirl, I think the only way for you to try and figure that out is to look at some menus and estimate what you'd typically spend on food in a day... don't include tips or alcohol, and compare it to what you're paying for the dining plan...
 
I am in agreement with you all regarding paying OOP versus purchasing the dining plan. We figured it out for our last trip dollar for dollar, exactly what we would order at each restaurant etc, and paying OOP saved us money for the way that we eat. Plus we like to snack (and WDW has so many yummy snacks), so we didn't want to be really full from meals we felt obligated to eat. I'm sure the dining plan works really well for some people, just not for us.
 
For me and DS8, DDP makes good sense. This is our first (and maybe only) trip to WDW and we plan to have the better buffets almost every day. While my meals will about break even (admitting that I'm thrilled to be "required" to eat deserts where I otherwise wouldn't), the child's oop cost for most buffets is more than the daily cost of the DDP for him. He's also picky but BIG eater and a grazer, so options and lots of snacks will work out well. For the way we eat, I figured the dining plan will probably save us $ 200 over the course of 8 days and give me an excuse to pig out on my beloved sweets.
 
We have always gone with free dining except for the one time that we rented points and paid for the ddp. It's always worked out to be the best discount for us based on our party size and where we want to stay.
That being said, on our upcoming August trip we have great room only rate and no plans to add the DDP. I am sick of all the desserts we don't eat and would prefer Apps. My almost 9 year old is sick of most of the kids meals and would prefer the adult menu at most places and my vegetarian teen doesn't always want the one vegetarian choice and would rather make a meal of soup and salad or appetizers. So it's not working for us anymore and I can't wait to go OOP with Tables in Wonderland and see how we do. I think it will be just fine
 
We came to a similar conclusion. The last time we paid for the DDP I concluded we saved around $75 and ate way more than we would have ordered if paying OOP.
 
I hope to find this to be true.

Our first ever trip to the world was 2 months ago, and we did the DDP because I have the tendency to be thrifty, and wanted this to be the trip filled with yes.

I added up what we would have spent OOP and it would have been about the same as what we paid for the DDP (we opted for room discount which was a better deal).

While it was roughly the same, we changed how we ate because of the DDP. We don't usually get dessert each meal, yet we ordered it because it was included.

I am very glad we did DDP the first time, so I could feel free to plan all of the sit downs and say yes to every snack. Now, armed with that information, we will continue to enjoy sit down meals whenever we want, snacks whenever we feel like it and know it's still cheaper than DDP for us.
 
Just wanted to mention that there's an awesome Excel workbook made by the couple at seeyareelsoon that you can use to decide which, if any, of the dining plans make sense for your vacation.

Video demo and link to download: http://youtu.be/7jMDgzoJLI8

It takes in account all sorts of things... resort, the discounts you have available, how often you eat dessert normally, which restaurants you will be eating at, whether you generally eat cheap or expensive foods, and a bunch of other stuff. SOOO much math.

Some of the food cost data used to power the calculations is a little off (low), but you try hand entering menu item costs for ALL the restaurants and see how well you do! :)

Most importantly, who doesn't love to fiddle around with a fancy-pants spreadsheet when vacation planning?
 
We have always gotten the Dining Plan, I like that basically it is paid up front. But our next trip we are going to be Paying OOP and using the TIW card where we can. We want to be able to order what we want and not stuff ourselves because we already paid for it, I think this way will be better for us. I guess it takes a few tries to find what works best for everyone.
 

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