2008 DDP -good for convenience- that's it for us....

[asmit4]

So I did some math from our latest trip. For 3 nights for 3 adults we spent 360 for the 2007 DDP.

Including tax/tip we "spent" $545 on food. So we "saved" $185.

In order to account for the 2008 DDP, I need to remove the appetizers, the tip for those appetizers and the tax for the appetizers which is $ 91 total. Our "new amount spent" would be $454.

Then I need to take the 454 and figure out how much of that is tip...probably 10% of it, b/c some of the $$$ was spent on counter/snacks. That's $45.

454-45 = 409 in actual food costs (not including tip). The new DDP is gonna run us about $350 for 3 nights/3 adults plus the tip of $45 which = 395.

So we "purchase" $409 in real food, and end up paying $395 for it for a savings of $14.

For us, it would be really hard to find a way to make the DDP financially a "good value" which IMO would have to = at least a 10% savings. It certainly is convenient, even if the financial value is all but gone though.

The 2007 DDP was great for us but we will have to take a pass on the 2008 DDP. I will be very interested to read what others calculations are once 2008 starts.

It will be interesting to see if anyone can manage to make the 2008 DDP work out to a 10% or more savings in the actual cost of food eaten/ordered.

 

[Mad4Dizne]

We figured the same, no DDP for us 2008.....

 

[wisconsinmom]

I've been debating about using the DDP for our trip next August. We'll be using our DVC points so we can add the DDP plan even though we'll be using our AP's. We are going to get the dining plan, it isn't a huge money savings but I love the convenience of it. Last weekend my son and I did a quick weekend trip to Disney. We didn't use the DDP and honestly I missed it. I know it sounds silly but I found myself thinking about if I really needed a snack, desert, etc. While I'm sure that was better for my waistlilne than it is when I use the DDP, I still think the DDP helps me feel more carefree on my vacation. With the DDP I don't feel guilty if I eat just a few bites of my entree but all of my desert

Anyway for anyone who is interested here is my financial analysis of the plan-

Party of 4 (2 adults, 2 children) 7 nights

Restaurants chosen-

Tepan Edo
H&V lunch
Park Faire dinner
Boma dinner
CP dinner
PSB dinner
La Cellier dinner

Also it is probably noteworthy to share that we don't share meals I'm a vegetarian and DH isn't so we always order different things. My kids also don't like to share, we've tried and it is way more hassle than it is worth.

I figured $30 for each counter service meal, this included sales tax. I also did not include any snacks.

I figured 20% tips for all TS meals.

Here are my numbers-

DDP + tips - 781.72

OOP with DDE (including the price of the DDE card) - 860.75

OOP with no DDE-912

So overall it isn't a huge financial savings but I still think it is the best choice for us. Our savings is about 9.5% compared to using the DDE and about 14% compared to paying cash with no DDE.

 

[leahjade]

what is the convenience of the DDP? If you still have to whip out your credit card to pay the tip, what's the difference between just paying the entire meal with your card? I may try the plan since we never used it before, but I sure picked the wrong year to try it!!

 

[wisconsinmom]

what is the convenience of the DDP? If you still have to whip out your credit card to pay the tip, what's the difference between just paying the entire meal with your card? I may try the plan since we never used it before, but I sure picked the wrong year to try it!!

For me the convenience of it is having it prepaid (with the exception of the tips). I also like not having to think about what I am going to order. I like the fact that my DH doesn't feel guilty about ordering a more expensive meal. I love the convenience of just pulling out my room key and using a snack credit when one of the kids wants a mickey bar.

Concerning the tips I plan to tip in cash, I've already figured that our tips will be around $110. That is figuring 20% at all TS restaurants (buffet and sit down). I'll just plan to have the cash to leave tips. I don't think it will be inconvenient at all. In the past when we used the DDP we typically tipped over the 18% anyway so I always had cash with me for that

 

[borgthe]

I think when the DDP really pays off is if you only have a couple of adults and 2 or more kids under 10. For us, with 2 adults, one 6 year old, and one baby, it stil pays for us to use it. Mainly because the child is only $10.

 

[kaylie&laurensmom]

We have always been huge fans of the DDP. We've had "complimentary" DDP twice and paid for it once. However, I absolutely hate the changes for 2008. The appetizer has often been my favorite part of the meal, and now it's gone. If they would have given us a choice between appetizer and dessert I would probably still get the plan - one of us could order appy and the other dessert and share. I've run a spreadsheet comparison for what we would actually order at the following:

Rose & Crown
Plaza
OHana
Hollywood & Vine
50's Prime Time
Rainforest Cafe (can't eat here on the DDP, but still included in my calculations)
Liberty Tree Tavern
Planet Hollywood

I've also factored in around 4 CS meals at $25 each and $10 per day for snacks. Using the DDE, we will actually SAVE over $100 compared to the DDP. And we're not going to be eating a bunch of unwanted CS meals or buying up a bunch of candy to use up our snack credits. So, until Disney revises the plan, we are opting out.