864.00 more for DDDP . is it worth it ?

[twoeeyy]

I have not sat down and done all the math but we have 9 nights with free dining and 9 day hoppers booked for 1,751 ( 3 adults ) if we switched to the deluxe dining plan it would be 864.00 more. I do not see how for us it would possibly be worth it. I would think that we could eat OOP each day for the diffference in meals and we would not spend 864.00, but maybe I need to sit down and figure it out. Either way I do not think we will do it, We are trying to keep this trip on the cheap side and $1,751.00 for 9 nights, food and entertainment seems cheap to me

 

[MissMagnolia]

I was wondering the same thing so I went through all the menus on allearsnet.com and planned out how we would probably eat whether or not we were on the dining plan. It ended up that the deluxe would be a better plan for us (by my calculations we would save 100.00 by doing the dxDDP). I didn't even figure in the appetizers and desserts since we don't always order them, but given the opportunity at no extra charge to us we might.

Others have pointed out that the extra cost of the TS meals will cost more in tips - now that they are not covered under the plan. However, we enjoy the character meals and get really burned out on fast food...fast.

I really suggest doing a "what if" type of meal plan. I did that and then when I realized the deluxe would be better for us, redid it for what we'd order on the deluxe plan. We would save quite a bit when adding in the appetizers and desserts and more TS restaurants.

Good luck!

 

[melomouse]

Hi - We're going in January for 8 nights and I booked the regular DDP for the three of us. The elimination of the appetizer will allow us to walk out of dinner instead of rolling out, and when I do my calculations, I end up about $10-20 ahead each day, even adding in the 20% gratuity. We have yet to be up for a character breakfast, and there is always more than enough food using CS and snacks during the day.

It's definitely a personal choice as to "worth". You know your family's habits best as well as what you want to do during the course of your trip.

Have fun planning!

 

[DVC Sadie]

disclaimer: For us the regular DP was not "worth it" since we didn't normally eat desserts and usually shared one appetizer between us. Sometimes we only feel like ordering three appetizers as a full meal.

We have purchased the platinum plan which included 3 TS per day and included all of the 2TS restaurants as well, but we ordered that due to all the recreation it included not just for the food.

Whether the Deluxe Dining Plan is worth it depends on how your family eats both at home and on vacation.

 

[Colleen27]

It really comes down to how you want to eat on vacation. If you want 2 sit down meals each day, or want to try a lot of the signature restaurants, it would be worth it. If you're happy with counter service and haven't encountered many OOP costs when on the standard plan in the past, it probably wouldn't.

For us, even the non-discounted DxDDP is worth it. Prior to the announcement of the 2008 dining plan changes, we were booked at the Dolphin, and with the ADR plans we had at that point, I was budgeting $2500 for food for our 11 night stay. I wasn't interested in the standard DDP, because we were planning on a lot of signature meals but still want a TS dinner every day and because there was no way we'd fit in 11 CS meals. For the same length of stay, the DxDDP is $1980. So for us, it is win-win - Disney wins, because we switched from the Dolphin to Wilderness Lodge to be able to use the plan, and we win because we're getting a 20%-ish savings over what we planned on paying OOP *and* adding a few extra TS meals.

 

[twoeeyy]

It looks like I should sit and do the math. We definately like / love the regular DDP , we just need to see if we want to upgrade to the DDDP.

We might just skip it this year so we can keep the overall cost down ( we would not do any extra TS other than the 1 a day we get on the DDP ) but then again because of the bounce back we are able to get the deluxe for 32.00 per adult, so that a nice savings .I know I would never pay the regular price for the deluxe plan. Guess it looks like I will have to spend countless hours on the dis and allears net. .............what a shame .......

 

[eliza61]

Either way I do not think we will do it, We are trying to keep this trip on the cheap side and $1,751.00 for 9 nights, food and entertainment seems cheap to me

I've found over the years that once the word "Deluxe" has been added to some thing, that pretty much guarantees that it won't be cheap!

 

[nowellsl]

I was offered the DDP when I booked a bounceback trip for next year and I almost laughed (actually I did laugh ). We ate so much food this year it was pathetic!! I can't imagine having more....we took home two bags of snacks. I think I would only do it if I were booking signature meals and I'm not sure even then it would be worth the extra expense.

 

[frannn]

It'll be at least 800 more for our 11 day trip (not including tips). DH says we should stick with it, but I'm not so sure. I just started making a list of the places we would go to take advantage of signature dining & all those extra credits. I need to add more to use them all up. I'm thinking early character breakfast to make sure we get out of the room earlier this year, snacks for lunch, and a bunch of 2 credit places for dinner. I might do a few sit down lunches so I can also fit our favorite 1 credit "must-do" places. I'll add prices after I figure out where we'll use all those credits. I'm really hoping it looks well on paper, because the cheapskate in me soooooooooooo wants to do the free DP! Maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll change the format to include tips or appetizers by the time we go, but I highly doubt it. I know we'll probably never do CRT or Narcosees, etc OOP, so this may be a cheaper way to splurge on food (while sleeping in a standard AS room).

 

[Colleen27]

It'll be at least 800 more for our 11 day trip (not including tips). DH says we should stick with it, but I'm not so sure. I just started making a list of the places we would go to take advantage of signature dining & all those extra credits. I need to add more to use them all up. I'm thinking early character breakfast to make sure we get out of the room earlier this year, snacks for lunch, and a bunch of 2 credit places for dinner. I might do a few sit down lunches so I can also fit our favorite 1 credit "must-do" places. I'll add prices after I figure out where we'll use all those credits. I'm really hoping it looks well on paper, because the cheapskate in me soooooooooooo wants to do the free DP! Maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll change the format to include tips or appetizers by the time we go, but I highly doubt it. I know we'll probably never do CRT or Narcosees, etc OOP, so this may be a cheaper way to splurge on food (while sleeping in a standard AS room).

Do the math restaurant by restaurant before you start worrying about how you're going to use up all the credits. I have 21 credits unplanned (out of 132 - 4 of us on the deluxe plan for 11 nights), and just for the credits I've made ADRs/plans for, we'll save about $400 on meals, plus the value of snacks & miugs. So I don't feel any pressure to use up each and every credit, since I know we'll get our money's worth just at the meals we know we want to try.

There is a spreadsheet on the link in my sig that I designed to do the DxDDP math and to create a tip budget. It might make doing the math easier for you.

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

If you add it all up, and deluxe is added on to the free dining next year, it is just as if you are paying for the regular DP, but you have the opportunity to go to 2 credit TS, get a refillable mug for each person, 2 snacks and a character breakfast each day for the same price as DP. What a deal!!! We are so looking forward to this next year. We even have it booked for April (paying for it) as well as Sept. (bounceback free dining). Character breakfasts every am, and sig ressies at night - can't wait!!!!