AP + DDE or DDP?

[missycj96]

Hi - I'd love to hear thoughts on this. We can't do free dining this year as we are on the school calendar and the dates are too late for us.

Right now, I have a res for POFQ for 12 nights with an AP rate of $94 per night and I will buy DDE for 20% off. This comes to $1257. I will buy an AP for myself (as I may return with family during the year) for $462 and a 10 day hopper for DH for $270. This totals $1989.

However, since there are no discounted packages available for me that I can find now, the package with dining for 12 nights POFQ with 10 day hoppers and DDP comes to about $3200 from AAA and a quote of $3436 from Disney. I could certainly stay for fewer days to save some money and I may decide to stay 10 nights because 12 nights may be too long but I was looking forward to long leisurely trip.

At first I had a AAA rate of $116 for POFQ but I was told that I could not add DDP (even if I bought tickets, too) to the AAA rate. Is this right? Do you really have to always pay rack rate to get the DDP?

The way I see it, since I'd have to pay rack rate to get DDP, the true cost of the dining plan would be, for me $1211 ($3200 package minus $1989 -the AP rate plus park tickets). This comes to just over $100 per day. I think that with the DDE, I won't spend more than that per day anyway - or at least not on average over the course of the vacation. I usually love to eat at all the best Disney restaurants but with my DD (20 months) we are going to do more buffets this time.

So what do the experts on this board think - AP rate, buying one AP + DDE or DDP?

Well no matter how I end up going about this, its going to be be great! but planning is half the fun!

Missy

 

[kinggoofy]

Is the Free Dining REALLY FREE ??

My answer is NO. I was told at an early age in my life that if "it looks to good to be true....BEWARE." OR...."you dont get anything for free..somewhere done the line you will pay for it".

Here goes......Before I start this, let me say, we have NO kids. We have been to WDW 17 times and counting and we know our eating habits....

If you have kids..this probably does NOT apply to you. Its "apples vs. oranges" comparing Free Dining with only 2 adults...vs. free dining with children.

Last November, we booked POLY on the bounce back program with FREE dining. We are AP holders..

Our dates are Aug 8th to Aug 19th. We had to book the bounce back program for 10 nights and buy two 1 day MYW tickets to get the free dining.

For the 10 nights at POLY, 2 MYW tickets and "FREE" dining, it would have cost us $4,244.73.

Then...we had to book 1 night room only extra at the AAA Rate for $314.00

TOTAL for the 11 nights with "FREE" dining was $4,558.73

Well, the light bulb clicked on and the mouse starting spinning the wheel in my head.

There is WAY too much food to consume. We have seen so many people just waste food. Its very sad. We would never eat so much food.

We dont eat breakfast in the AM, when we have lunch at WDW, most of the time we share. Dinners we are on our own.

With the recent AP room rate release....for the 11 nights at the POLY Aug 8th to Aug 19th....the total AP room rate is.........$3,081.00. PLUS, being AP holders, we have the DDE card which gives us 20% off food.

That is +/- $1,475.00 difference. We WOULD NEVER eat $1475 worth of food for this time frame. (Probably more with the DDE card 20% off).

So needless to say, for us, FREE dining is not really FREE dining. "FREE" dining probably would have cost us an extra $650 to $700.

Remember, you never get anything for free.

KG

 

[eliza61]

At first I had a AAA rate of $116 for POFQ but I was told that I could not add DDP (even if I bought tickets, too) to the AAA rate. Is this right? Do you really have to always pay rack rate to get the DDP?

Well no matter how I end up going about this, its going to be be great! but planning is half the fun!

Missy

Hey Missy,
I know you have to pay rack rate to get Free ddP but not sure about the rules when you are purchasing it. Head over to the ddp forum, Bicker has a really great thread with alot of the rules.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

Neither "free" dining nor DDP has ever been a good deal for my family of 5. Of course, we visit WDW several times a year; so we use our PAP's and the DDE to save quite a bit.

 

[missycj96]

Thanks all. To clarify, I am not considering free dining this year. I was thinking that I should pay for it. But then I was surprised to find out that I had to pay the rack rate even to pay for DDP. I really like the DDP because I get to do things like go to Narcoosees for lobster - yum.

I have done DDP 2x. Once I did the free dining and once we had paid while staying in a DVC property. Both times I saved my receipts and remember calculating that at 37.99 per person per day, we saved around 40%. It was a rediculous amount of food and we ended up bringing snacks home - and that was even with sharing meals (but I have to admit it was fun).

My theory is that 20% off what I would really eat (DDE) is about the same savings as 40% of what I got only because I was on the plan.

Well anyway, I wanted to hear others thoughts on if it is always true that you have to pay rack rate even to pay for DDP, and if others with AP rates agree it is worth it to take the great rate on the room and then just pay for what we eat using DDE. Sounds like so far I'm getting positive feedback on this.

Thanks - and I will check out that forum.

Missy

 

[Trekker]

I was thinking that I should pay for it. But then I was surprised to find out that I had to pay the rack rate even to pay for DDP. I really like the DDP because I get to do things like go to Narcoosees for lobster - yum.

This is so not true - we have a code for 40% off that came out earlier this year - we are booked at WL with 40% off room portion - hopper tickets and DDP.

Now if you have an AAA room only rate booked through WDTC or CRO you cannot add tickets and DDP to it because that makes it a package.

What you can do is book an AAA package through an AAA TA - you will get a discount on the package and be ablr to add tickets and the DDP.

 

[missycj96]

so I guess some discounts can be combined with DDP and others can't then. That's good to know. I didn't have much luck for this summer. I wish I could have gotten the 40% discount. thanks for the info.

 

[ashleypmo]

so I guess some discounts can be combined with DDP and others can't then. That's good to know. I didn't have much luck for this summer. I wish I could have gotten the 40% discount. thanks for the info.

Between the $$ you'll save NOT purchasing DDP, and the 20% off w/ your season pass, girlfriend, I say go eat some Narcoose's lobster!

 

[missycj96]

maybe I will - thanks for the support

 

[lovesdumbo]

If you book with a AAA TA you might be able to get the AAA rate on the room with a package-as long as there is still availability. This is what I did for our trip 8/20 to 8/30. We are a party of 2 adults and 3 children (4, 6, & 8). On my AAA confirmation it is called "AAA Magic Moments Rate". I am paying $110 for the meal plan for all of us PLUS about $25/day on "lost" AP discounts (the difference between the AAA rate of $130 w/tax and AP rate of $105.60 w/tax). I think we'll still be ahead using the meal plan at a cost of $135/day for the 5 of us and my DH really likes the convenience of it all being paid for. I figure if they make the changes that are rumored this will be our last time with DDP.

You could upgrade your ticket purchased for the package into an AP.

 

[fAnnF]

I'm an AP holder and have gone over the numbers a hundred times. it's just BF and I or my Dad and I. It depends on the food you eat. I don't eat a lot, but love to do character meals, so DDP works out for me, because the price is the same no matter what you eat, I do those with my dad when we go for free dining, We'd pay for it, if we needed to.
When BF and I go, we do AP rate and have DDE. We eat where we like and order what we want. normaly just entrees.

 

[missycj96]

so now the plot thickens and it's more confusing - we got a pin and we can get the same rate ($94+ tax) per night at POFQ. With the pin, I can buy DDP. I have tried to run the numbers and I really think its pretty close. If we have CS at our hotel (and you can get the DDE discount at POFQ) for breakfast and an early dinner, many buffet/family style with DD1, the cost comes in very close. what to do, what to do? The upsides on the AP is that booking is more flexible - can cancel up to when I leave losing only the deposit, and if I go back during the year, I'll have the pass and the DDE card. The downside is that I am paying more for AP now and DDP costs are fixed up front where DDE is variable.

I'm think I'm hearing that dis'ers don't think one is better than the other - just a choice. I had my sister (with an MBA) do a spreadsheet for me!

 

[beth_cam]

Sorry for not reading through everything...

Room at $94 per night for 12 nights = 1269 with tax
AP 462
10 Day hopper ticket = 275
DDE card 65
Total = 2071

Pin code room 94/night 12 nights = 1269
2- 10 day hopper tickets = 550
DDP = 936
Total = 2755

Difference of 684 or 57 per day. Can you eat on less than $57/ day?

Assuming the fact that you have an existing dde/ap doesn't hold any future value to you (not returning in the next year) and you will be happy with the allotted DDP meals, I'd say you are atleast break even either way or prabably a bit better off with the DDP. What kind of eating will you be doing daily? Looking just at crystal palace, but their numbers are typical, a buffet for two adults will run about 40(breakfast), 44 lunch, 59(Dinner) ... I didnt figure in tip/dde since I figure they about break even. Meaning that if your TS meal was breakfast/lunch, your 2nd meal would have to be purchased for less than 17/13 per day which is maybe doable and meaning you probably do come quite close, especially if you are ignoring snacks. But if your TS is a Dinner meal, you would be ahead by the cost of your cs meal and snacks/ day since the dinner buffet alone would be more than the added cost of the dde on your package. I hope that makes sense.

If on the other hand the ap/dde hold future value to you, you would have to weigh that in...or if you are planning on eating 2 ts meals a day.

 

[missycj96]

Thanks Beth Cam - We wouldn't eat 2 TS meals per day. We like to go out to a TS for dinner, and other than that we don't eat all that much. It looks like the pin rate is a little less expensive.