Advice on whether we should do the dining plan???

[maggiew]

DH & I are going for an anniversary trip the last week of August. We have gone to WDW every year with the family for the past few years. So we have been many times and aren't worried about seeing everything. I would like to do some things that I wouldn't normally do when the girls are with us - like restaurants they don't like or wouldn't be worth it.

We are going August 23 - 29 (leaving late afternoon). We have GAD vouchers that we can use for one day tickets. Right now I have room only booked at Pop Century.

Room only discount + upgrade GAD voucher to 6 days is $791.

I made a spreadsheet of the ADRs I have and what we would most likely order, and the total was $750.

So, room only discount, upgrade GAD vouchers + OOP food = $1541. Throw in a Dole Whip or 2 and we are at about $1600.

If we switch to "free dining" and upgrade the QSDP to DxDDP, it is about $1800 including room, tickets and food. (plus we would use our GAD vouchers for fastpasses)

We would definitely get more food on the DxDDP than what I estimated we would order. But we wouldn't order that in the first place?? Also, my estimated food would only be 16 credits, so I would have to add 2 credits. That would bring us up to the $1800. But again, I don't have that scheduled now.

Here is where I have ADRs. For my estimated food budget I only included entrees, drinks and tax. A few places I included appetizers and a couple desserts.

Monday, Aug. 23
Via Napoli lunch (on opening - hopefully) $33.17
Chefs dinner 4:50 pm $80.57

Tuesday, Aug. 24
Sci Fi lunch 11:10 $50.65
Flying Fish dinner 7:05 $89.86

Wednesday, Aug. 25
Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch 12:50 $39.44
Wishes Dessert Party 8 pm (not included in total since have to pay OOP either way)

Thursday, Aug. 26
Yak & Yeti lunch 11:30 $47.04
California Grill 9:35 pm $89.86

Friday, Aug. 27
Tutto Italia lunch 11:30 $43.87
Yachtsman Steakhouse 8 pm $83.44

Saturday, Aug. 28
Teppan Edo lunch 12:40 $68.89
Narcooses dinner 8:30pm $95.21

Sunday, Aug. 29
Kona Cafe Breakfast 9:15 am $28.54

So, what should I do??? I'm thinking of just keeping the food OOP and not doing the DxDDP so we can be flexible?? At the worst I imagine it would come out to be the same price as the DxDDP. Although we would get appetizers and desserts on the DxDDP that I don't have estimated (and we probably wouldn't order to begin with). I also imagine at a few places we might get a celebration cupcake for our 19th anniversary? Not counting on that, just more info.

If I chose the DxDDP and had to add 2 more credits, I would probably get rid of the Dessert party ADR and add Citricos.

Maggie

 

[Kaleigh]

I would do it, just because I like to have it prepaid and not have to think about what I order, but it seems that you already have that all ironed out. If flexibility is important to you, then maybe you should just stick to your original plan. Remember, tips may be more on the DDP because you order more, thus driving up the percentage a bit. Just a thought.

 

[distherapy]

I would do it. We're huge fans of the DxDP - and don't forget all of your snack credits that you would have. That's a lot of "free" food and drinks!

 

[disneypolybride2008]

for us we love going deluxe but this time we're going regular. it's going to be rough. i cant imagine paying OOP $50 for the two of us to have a character breakfast. Atleast with the plan i can get a better deal, but then it ups the cost by much more than the two character meals i'd want to do and then makes more time in the restaurants for a TS lunch. If ADRs are even available for lunch in Sept. So we're sticking to the regular plan.

I feel like the prices are high and if i can save overall on my food expenses, go with the plan. Also, i've done disney on a food buget w/o the plan and it wasnt fun ordering by cost and not by what you felt like eating. Once we had the plan we loved how it became a fun easy experience, not math practice.

For your circumstance I would say go deluxe. Especially since you want to eat at 2TS places. You may end up getting things you ordinarily wouldnt but that is the fun of being on vacation. Splurging! for me anyway. Dont forget all the snacks you'll have too. That can be a great value, at $4 a snack.

good luck deciding, have fun either way.

 

[maggiew]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm still not decided yet. ugg!

I guess the thing that is realy holding me back is that adding the DxDDP will cost around $1000! It just seems insane that we would spend $1000 on food for 2 people for a week! But I guess I am near that with what I have planned anyway. Although with paying OOP, there is always the chance that we may not feel like doing a meal and opt out. With the DxDDP, we wouldn't be able to do that.

Maggie

 

[Faldred]

We would definitely get more food on the DxDDP than what I estimated we would order. But we wouldn't order that in the first place??

Look at it this way: for the extra cost (if any), will it be an overall improvement of your vacation experience, and would such improvement be worth the extra cost (if any) to you?

 

[mainegal]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm still not decided yet. ugg!

I guess the thing that is realy holding me back is that adding the DxDDP will cost around $1000! It just seems insane that we would spend $1000 on food for 2 people for a week!

What is your normal food budget for a week?

When you go out to a restaurant at home, how much do you usually pay per meal?


Do you even spend $500 per week for two people for a week?!