AP discount VS dining plan

[disney queen]

if not sure if this is the correct forum, but here goes. we are AP holders and have used the tables in wonderland discount for many years. now, we are discussing the dining plan instead. okay.....all the AP holders.....tell what me what you do. thanks for the help.

 

[ThumperandLitenin]

TIW works best for us - 20% discount on not just an entree and dessert, but drinks and appetizers as well. Frankly, we looked at what the DDP offers, and it's really too much food for us; we don't do a CS and TS every day.

TIW allows us to sit at a lounge and enjoy cocktails and appetizers, instead of making an ADR and sitting down for a meal.

We visit WDW at least three times a year, and I can guarantee TIW pays for itself before we leave the first time.

 

[disney queen]

we are thinking about just the basic plan as we are not planning that many singature restaurants this time. thanks for the input

 

[vicki_c]

TiW! Personally, I couldn't stand to feel SO tied to reservations for meals that I had pre-paid for. We usually use the majority of our ADRs but there always seems to be one or two meals that we end up cancelling just because we're tired / doing something else / don't feel like eating that much / whatever.

I would go nuts if I felt that I had prepaid for it and that money was going to waste.

 

[disney queen]

 

[disney queen]

any more opinions????

 

[Stephanator]

We always stay off-site in a vacation home so TIW is our only option, but we do truly love it. We consider it "free tipping" over the course of our vacation. (20% off food & alcohol, but 18% gratuity added) Our last trip with 4 adults, we easily spent $1000 on table service food & drinks over the course of a week, so our TIW card more than paid for itself. You do have to pay all on one check, but we just rotated who paid for meals and it worked well for us.

 

[Pakey]

We've tried the dining plan a few times but we just can't make it work for us. I also hate being tied to the reservations; gotta go eat because it's already paid for. We've been much happier just using the TIW and keeping the flexibility and getting to eat where we want, when we want, not worrying about whether we have enough credits, too many credits, etc.

 

[disney queen]

well, my husband just said he thinks the TIW is the way to go. i do agree.....after one or two meals it has paid for itself. thanks

 

[Noelle]

I have to preface by saying that I LIVE for my next Walt Disney World Vacation - That being said, I literally survey my husband and kids on what they'd want off each menu for each restaurant for every day of our vacation. I get the subtotal and add in the tax & tip. I also do this taking all discounts into consideration: TIW discount, AP discount, DVC discount. Then I come up with a comparision that I can judge which path is best. Now, you have to be careful because sometimes you will order more food on the Dining Plan than you normally would - which means and increased TIP! I also average in what I think our rough snack costs will be and the every so cool refillable resort mugs.

I do this for every trip because I keep thinking that the dining plan might be worth it. For the most part, we end up saving more using TIW (old DDE). But again, we are Table Service kind of people. I think the dining plan might be a great deal for someone who eats counter service at least once a day. I've even tried comparing costs with the Deluxe Dining Plan as a possiblity - still no savings for us.

We did try the dining plan last year. One of daughters was only able to stay with us for half the trip. So we were able to use her portion after she left. That's the only reason why it ended up being a savings. We ate WAY MORE than we should of. But last year, you received an appetizer, entree and desert. Now, it seems you only get the entree and dessert which I would think would even lower your savings more. We usually get one appetizer for our whole family to share and maybe one or two desserts at most, so TIW is our best bet.

Good Luck no matter what you choose.

 

[vicki_c]

I did break down and do the calculations last trip myself (even though I have zero interest in DDP, I just had to know)! Based on my estimates, the TiW was saving us about $100 over the DDP for our family - and our TiW card had already paid for itself, we had already used it for 3 trips previous. For that trip, if we had to buy the card, it would have been close to a wash.

I never did come home and figure out how accurate my estimates were, but they were probably pretty close.

 

[disney queen]

noelle--that is exactly what i do!! LOL!!

vicki_c--ditto!

thanks!

 

[Noelle]

Thank you Disney Queen!!! Now I know I'm not the only one!

 

[ElizabethB]

We prefer table service restaurants, so we use TIW. We just got back and used it extensively. The DDP would not have worked as well since we don't like counter service meals and we stayed club level so didn't need snacks for breakfast.

 

[disney queen]

and there probably more out there....

 

[TiggerAllie]

After 1 trip with the DDP, we decided TIW is better for us. 1) We tend to do only 1 TS per day, so we had too many CS/snack points left. 2) We don't eat enough of the "high end" menu items (e.g. steaks) to make enough money back. 3) It was more food than we could eat. 4) We still had to pay for drinks/alcohol OOP. 5) We like to eat at too many 2TS restaurants. Hands-down, TIW better fits our dining needs.

 

[snykymom]

I also prefer the TiW to the dining plan. While some people love the "prepaid" part, I hate it - I always have to feel like I'm getting my money's worth! And even though we like the signature restaurants, and usually do a TS each day, I don't like being tied to the ADRs. If we don't feel like going to the restaurant, we won't. But if I already paid for it, I'd feel compelled to go.

And sometimes I like an appetizer instead of dessert, or we share 1 appetizer & 1 dessert and each get an entree, etc. Or I might not want the dessert at the restaurant, but I'll get it a couple of hours later somewhere else.

I like the flexibility that the TiW gives me.

 

[momtomatthew]

We did the DDP for our first two trips (one was FD) and I was amazed by the amount of food we ate, but didn't need.
Our last trip we had the TiW card, and didn't come away feeling stuffed. I then compared the price of what we ate with the TiW card to what we would have paid for the DDP and extras, and we came out ahead with the TiW card... It certainly pays for itself!

We're planning a visit to Victoria and Albert's in December, and I'm excited I can use the TiW card there

 

[SharonLowe]

TiW for us too. Even the basic DP is too much food and we like that the TiW is 20 percent off everything, including alcohol because we like our wine with dinner and being able to try different disney drinks with a discount. We don't mind too much that they add the 18 percent because we normally tip at least the much for good service. On our last trip, I wasn't happy with the service at one restaurant and spoke with a manager. All I wanted was for the tip to be removed but she ended up removing my whole meal and the tip!

 

[disney queen]

thanks everyone! anyone have an opinion???