Am I doing the math right?

[dferri]

Plan vs. no plan. 6 adults. $230/day. I looked at prices on menus. I roughly figured that entree's at most resturants from $25. That's $150. That leaves $80 per day for desert,snack and lunch. It does not seem like such a clear cut cost savings to be on plan. Please debate.

 

[Tricia1972]

Your math is correct. One thing to figure in is that with the DDP you are not charged tax and from the menus you've priced - you'll have to add tax to it.

It does not work for our group (5A 1C, and 1Infant) but we eat breakfast in our rooms, split CS meals for lunch (because otherwise it's too much food for us), we also tend to share snacks. At dinner we order an entree for everyone, but if we have an appetizer or dessert - we'll just get one. Usually though we'd rather skip the dessert and get something delicious from a kiosk or candy store, or ice cream parlor and satisfy our sweet tooth that way.

 

[Maraena]

It looks to me as if you also forgot the drinks and desserts plus the tax. Also, when figuring out your lunches, you may want to consider that they also include drinks, dessert, and tax.

 

[dferri]

yes. I agree. Where is the 30% savings. 7% tax=$10. So $70 for desert,snack and CS lunch. We prefer app. over desert and share app. many times. We do use all our snacks in parks, most of the time a cool drink. We also eat a full CS lunch somewhere. Even at $15 snacks and $55 CS lunch, there is no 30% savings as Disney claims.

 

[Maraena]

The key piece to remember is it doesn't say that everyone will save 30%. From the website (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...y/index?id=PackageDetails2008PlusDiningPage):
"Theme Park excitement can really make you hungry! Fill up on the Disney Dining Plan that's a part of the Magic Your Way Package Plus Dining. It's a tasty way to save up to 30% per person on dining."

It's up to 30% not a guaranteed 30%. Based on which restaurants you choose and how you use the plan, you may or may not save that amount. The dining plan is optional though, which implies that it's not for everyone's eating habits.

 

[dferri]

What do you figure for drinks and deserts. I guess if you figure $5 a drink and $5 a desert that adds $60 per day and leaves $10 for CS lunch. If a counter service cost $ 50 than there is a $40 savings a day. Thats about a 17% savings. Ok. My numbers for drinks and desert may be off but maybe there is a savings.

 

[ortegah]

Plan vs. no plan. 6 adults. $230/day. I looked at prices on menus. I roughly figured that entree's at most resturants from $25. That's $150. That leaves $80 per day for desert,snack and lunch. It does not seem like such a clear cut cost savings to be on plan. Please debate.

Think of it this way. It's roughly $40 per person. One sit down meal with dessert and drink is going to cost you about that much, IF you're buying all you can I guess. Like choosing filet mignon instead of a chicken breast sandwich

For example, a dinner at Le Cellier:

Filet Mignon - $27.99
Chocolate Whiskey Cake - $7.99
Soda - I don't know the cost on that one.
and sales tax has to add up to at least $39

So that leaves your CS and snack basically for free.

Now if you go to a cheap TS and you eat food that isn't expensive then yeah, it wouldn't be as much of a deal. The way I'm looking at it when we go is that I actually get to order whatever I want off the menu without worrying about how much it costs and if I have enough money in my account to cover it

 

[dferri]

I understand. Not guarenteed 30%. It's just not that big of a deal. Plan or no Plan. It appears I might as well just take the plan.

 

[dferri]

Think of it this way. It's roughly $40 per person. One sit down meal with dessert and drink is going to cost you about that much, IF you're buying all you can I guess. Like choosing filet mignon instead of a chicken breast sandwich

For example, a dinner at Le Cellier:

Filet Mignon - $27.99
Chocolate Whiskey Cake - $7.99
Soda - I don't know the cost on that one.
and sales tax has to add up to at least $39

So that leaves your CS and snack basically for free.

Now if you go to a cheap TS and you eat food that isn't expensive then yeah, it wouldn't be as much of a deal. The way I'm looking at it when we go is that I actually get to order whatever I want off the menu without worrying about how much it costs and if I have enough money in my account to cover it

I agree. I guess the paln is worth it for us. Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

 

[ortegah]

I agree. I guess the paln is worth it for us. Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

Enjoy it! I know I will

 

[Tina G]

The DDP isn't always a savings depending on how you eat so you need to look at your eating patterns to determine if it is worthwhile or not.

If you eat a lot of seafood and steaks at TS restaurants and generally eat a big meal with dessert then you will probably make out. We are a family of 3 (mom, dad, 8 yo girl) and the plan didn't make sense for us because we don't eat like that. I mainly eat chicken and pasta and my cost at a TS restaurant isn't usually even close to $25. We never eat dessert with a meal but usually prefer a snack/dessert later on. If you are using TS credits for breakfast and lunch buffets, they are generally less than the $25. We paid OOP for our trip last May and after checking receipts, we were within $10-20 of the cost of the DDP. After watching all the people with the headaches of not being able to get what they wanted on the DDP (snack, CS places) we were glad we didn't have to deal with that. Now if I was saving a couple hundred dollars, I'd be willing to deal with the headaches.

 

[mkycrzy1971]

Your $80 is going to have to buy 6 adult counter service meals at $10-12 each (including drink but no dessert...you get dessert with the DDP)...drinks for your TS meals $2.50 x 6...a snack for $2.50-$4 x 6....not to mention dessert with TS meals 6 x $6 (average)....lets just use the low end of everything...

*CS Meals...$60 minimum
*Drinks for TS meals...$15 minimum
*Snacks...$15 minimum
*Dessert with TS...$36 minimum

That adds up to an additional $126...it obviously exceeds the amount you pay for DDP...in my opinion, if you eat one TS meal each day you should buy the DDP...it is convenient to have all of your meals paid in advance and not have to worry about how much the plate that you want costs...I know you do not always order dessert (or at least we do not), but it is a nice way to really enjoy vacation and get a taste of the "sweet life" without having to worry about the cost. When we were there in May of 2007 I found the average dinner with appie, entree, drink, dessert, and tax to be around $35-37...that was usually with the $18-$20 entrees...believe me, there are many choices that are more...you do not want to limit yourself...I know you do not get the appie this year but it is still worth it in my opinion (especially if you are eating the higher priced entrees).

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Plan vs. no plan. 6 adults. $230/day. I looked at prices on menus. I roughly figured that entree's at most resturants from $25. That's $150. That leaves $80 per day for desert,snack and lunch. It does not seem like such a clear cut cost savings to be on plan. Please debate.

We have been on the dining plan 3 times. Twice we have paid for it and once we got Free Dining (receiving free dining on our September trip saved us over $1000). We are a family of six and it has saved us money everytime we used it. The value is especially good for the kids, there is no way we could feed them on $11.00 per day without the plan. We even used snack credits for breakfast items on our last trip. You could get a whole carton of Entimens donuts and a half gallon of milk for two snack credits. That was a quick breakfast for the kids before we left for the parks. We had a character meal everyday of our trip. I can't remember the price of every single item at every single meal (part of the beauty of the dining plan, not having to worry about prices), but I know the buffet at Crystal palace is about $28.00 per adult and $13.00 per child (the child's price on the plan for the entire day with cs meal, ts meal and snack was on $11.00!) so our bill was about $107.00 (before tip, which was included on our last trip), with tip about $127.00. The dining plan for our family for the whole day was only $120.00. We came out $7.00 ahead just on dinner, then you throw in lunch for the six of us that would have cost about $40.00 out of pocket and say $3.00 each per snack for each of us ($18 total), that has us saving about $65.00 per day. We also like the convenience of the plan. We have never had any trouble with it. You just hand them the card and they swipe it. No big deal. That's my husband's favorite part of it all, the ease of the plan and not worrying about the money.

Now, I must say I agree that people will not be saving as much money with the new 2008 plan because it does not include the tip. (I also don't think the revamped plan will last past 2008 either, just my opinion.) Even without the tip and the appetizer we would still come out a couple of hundred dollars ahead. So, as you can see we are "Fans of the Plan!"
__________________

 

[LSchrow]

over the years, we've eaten off-site, onsite OOP, & using the DDP.
we're not big breakfast eaters (to me, b'fast is a pot of coffee ), & norm have a CS type meal around noon.
since we don't eat 3 full meals a day, we enjoy a full service dinner, complete with entree & dessert.
re savings: the meal i had at coral reef in oct would've cost $45.76 OOP, my CS mealat WPE would've been $14.59 OOP, & iced mochaccino $3.70 OOP. so that day would've cost over $64 OOP (btw, that is not using the highest priced restaurant, & is exactly as i ordered less the appy ~a savings of over $25 for 1 person, one night )

the plan gives us significantly more freedom & flexibily than OOP ~ again, based on our many experiences with OOP, and our "vacationing style" of mostly relaxing & enjoying what WDW offers outside of the rides (especially EPCOT for dinner & illuminations ) ~ the savings are just an added bonus

the DDP will not be right for everyone tho, it is up to each person to see if their eating habits, food tastes & vacationing styles match what is offered ~ but if they do, the DDP can truly enhance an already wonderful vacation

have fun deciding!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Work it backwards.
DDP is $227.94 per night.
The average counter service meal is (slightly low estimate) $12.50 including entree or combo meal, drink, dessert.
The average snack is $2.13 (again, slightly low estimate).
$12.50 x 6 = $75
$2.13 x 6 = $12.78
$75 + $12.78 = $87.78
$227.94 - $87.78 = $140.16
Divide that by six diners averages to $23.36 per diner
$23.36 is low for just the entree+tax
For that $23.36, you're getting an entree (average price $25), a drink (prices from $2 to $5, depending on restaurant), and a dessert (average $6), and your tax, or $35.68.
$35.68 + $12.50 + $2.13 = $50.31
So, you save 32%: $50.31 - $37.99 = $12.32, which is 32% of $37.99

You're right, you don't save 30% - and ortegah is right, if you eat all your table service meals at Beaches & Cream you won't be saving nearly that high a percentage; in fact, you'll probably come up short. On the other hand, some counter service meals at Pepper Market, or Sunshine Seasons can have a menu price of $12 to $18 for JUST the entree.

 

[robemcdo]

YOu can eat decently at a lower price than the DDP. However, the value of what you get compared to what you pay for is still greater. Not as much a disparity as it used to be, but it is still value. If you plan on eating very well with a sit down every night, you might as well get the plan.

If you would normally just hit a few sitdowns and heaven forbid, skip a meal or two, you'll save money buy not getting the plan.

 

[petrymom]

We have eaten on the plan and off each 1 time. I loved the DDP for the convenience and the ability to eat at the character dinners and other TS places that I would not have tried before, because I would have had a heart attack paying for each meal.

It is a matter of just making life easier and flexible - AND we did save a little last time we went. Either way, have a great time.....

 

[BAST]

It really does depend on how you eat. For us it works out pretty well since

1) DD9 will turn 10 at WDW. With DDP, she is a kid the whole trip and will not have to pay adult prices at buffets or CS.

2) We eat breakfast in our room, lunch at a CS and dinner at a TS (and we did this without the DDP). This is the best way to utilize the DDP if you are looking at it solely from a cost perspective.

3) We typically order app and/or dessert at the TS meals (even if we don't eat everything). And, we eat at Le Cellier, Kona and Chefs de France every trip (and would do so even without the DDP).

4) We do 3 or 4 buffets - BOMA (the best ), Biergarten, Garden Grill.
With this mix of restaurants, we will save a fair amount of money.

5) We were able to get a room discount (40% off!! at Poly) and still use the DDP.

6) The DDP keeps us out of the signature restaurants (back in 2005, we spent over $2,000 on food on our 10 day trip since we ate at alot of the signature restaurants).

7) We pretty much follow our plans (now made 180 days in advance ) and will not have any CS, TS or snack credits left.