Basic Dining plan. Is it worth it with the changes?

[pcparamedics01]

I am contemplating buying the DDP with the new changes. Is it worth it now with the gratuity not included and no appetizers? Any thoughts? I have a 10 year old that I will probably loose money on because he only eats mainly child meal types of foods.

 

[Belle4mygrl]

I understand where you are coming from BUT if you eat buffets he will be charged the adult price. So that must factor into your decision and how many you will eat. HTH

 

[MrSplashMountain #1!]

Never paid for the DDP and never will. Unless you are planning to reguarly hit the most expensive things in the most expensive restaurants (and I mean through choice, not because you want the best value for money through the DDP) then I just dont think its worth it. You are talking to someone who spent less than $100 dollars on food for 7 nights the first trip he went on though I honestly have no idea where I ate except one decent meal at House of Blues ?

 

[Pumbaa_]

I see you are a DVC member. We have APs and have the DDE card. We find this to be a much better value for us and gives us the flexibility to order what we want.

I tried to make the DXDP work for our sept trip. Just couldn't get the math to work, much better value for us to use the DDE card, $180 difference btw DXDP and same choices with DDE, YMMV

 

[justplaingoofy]

take a look at www.allearsnet.com website to check menus & pricing.

if it looks like you will be doing some character meals and quite a few table service meals it may be worth it...

 

[pcparamedics01]

I see you are a DVC member. We have APs and have the DDE card. We find this to be a much better value for us and gives us the flexibility to order what we want.

I tried to make the DXDP work for our sept trip. Just couldn't get the math to work, much better value for us to use the DDE card, $180 difference btw DXDP and same choices with DDE, YMMV

What is the DDE card?

 

[TDC Nala]

DDE (Disney Dining Experience) is a discount program for AP holders and Florida residents only.

See http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneydiningexperience.htm

 

[Tricia1972]

I see you are a DVC member. We have APs and have the DDE card. We find this to be a much better value for us and gives us the flexibility to order what we want.

I tried to make the DXDP work for our sept trip. Just couldn't get the math to work, much better value for us to use the DDE card, $180 difference btw DXDP and same choices with DDE, YMMV

We fit into this category ourselves.

 

[pcparamedics01]

I understand where you are coming from BUT if you eat buffets he will be charged the adult price. So that must factor into your decision and how many you will eat. HTH

Oh I did not know that. Because when he was 9 we ate at the Boma and he ate off the buffet. Chicken fingers and fries etc and it was included under the children's menu.

 

[SmileRockon52]

I am contemplating buying the DDP with the new changes. Is it worth it now with the gratuity not included and no appetizers? Any thoughts? I have a 10 year old that I will probably loose money on because he only eats mainly child meal types of foods.

First you need to decide how often you need to eat and the type of meals. We are doing lots of DC (Disney character) meals and 1 nice dinner. DC's tend to be somewhat more expensive. Then figure out your daily meal cost based on your needs.

Remember, Disney meal portions are big...even CS meals.

Then using the costs of the DDP below, you can decide whether you will indeed save money.

Basic dining plan:

adults: 37.99 ~ $38.00
child (3-9): 9.99 ~ $10.00

We are staying 7 nights for 2 adults and a child

tips are not part of the equation since you would pay for tips either with or without the DDP.

2 x 38.00 x 7 = $532
1 x 10.00 x 7 = $70
total DDP cost for us = $602

I figured $3 average for a snack, $12 for an adult CS (meal, dessert, drink), $6 for a child CS. Could be more, but I am being conservative here.

our schedule:
3 snacks x 3.00 x 7 = $63
2 adult CS x 12.00 x 7 = $168
1 child CS x 6.00 x 7 = $42

table services: (we are doing lots of character TS since our DS loves his characters and this it will be his brithday this week. Plus, since our DS is finicky, more buffets so that he can choose from a more variety of food.

Cape May dinner buffet: $67
Cape May breakfast buffet (DC): $49
Crystal Place (DC) dinner buffet: $69
Chef Mickey (DC) dinner buffet: $75
Tusker House (DC) breakfast buffet: $49
Le Cellier dinner: $92 (their free bread sticks are a great appetizer!)
Play & Dine (DC) breakfast buffet: $59

total TS: $460

total of all snacks, CS, and TS: $733

Savings for us: $131. Not as good as last year due to tips, but even with going to only one fancy restaraunt, we are still saving.

Remember to plan for extra $ for drinks, appentizers, etc and tips.

Hope this helps. Have a great trip!

 

[vtwep]

SmileRockOn52 did it exactly right. That is how everyone should decide if the DDP is right for them or not. I recommend figuring out your meal schedule FIRST - ie, where do you WANT to eat if you were NOT on the DDP. Once you have that, then start comparing prices using the menus on allears.net, do some math, and figure out if it saves for you or not.

It saved us about $250 last year, and will save us about $175 this year. And we're doing cheaper meals this year (ie breakfasts)...but it's a longer trip.

Good luck!

 

[pcparamedics01]

First you need to decide how often you need to eat and the type of meals. We are doing lots of DC (Disney character) meals and 1 nice dinner. DC's tend to be somewhat more expensive. Then figure out your daily meal cost based on your needs.

Remember, Disney meal portions are big...even CS meals.

Then using the costs of the DDP below, you can decide whether you will indeed save money.

Basic dining plan:

adults: 37.99 ~ $38.00
child (3-9): 9.99 ~ $10.00

We are staying 7 nights for 2 adults and a child

tips are not part of the equation since you would pay for tips either with or without the DDP.

2 x 38.00 x 7 = $532
1 x 10.00 x 7 = $70
total DDP cost for us = $602

I figured $3 average for a snack, $12 for an adult CS (meal, dessert, drink), $6 for a child CS. Could be more, but I am being conservative here.

our schedule:
3 snacks x 3.00 x 7 = $63
2 adult CS x 12.00 x 7 = $168
1 child CS x 6.00 x 7 = $42

table services: (we are doing lots of character TS since our DS loves his characters and this it will be his brithday this week. Plus, since our DS is finicky, more buffets so that he can choose from a more variety of food.

Cape May dinner buffet: $67
Cape May breakfast buffet (DC): $49
Crystal Place (DC) dinner buffet: $69
Chef Mickey (DC) dinner buffet: $75
Tusker House (DC) breakfast buffet: $49
Le Cellier dinner: $92 (their free bread sticks are a great appetizer!)
Play & Dine (DC) breakfast buffet: $59

total TS: $460

total of all snacks, CS, and TS: $733

Savings for us: $131. Not as good as last year due to tips, but even with going to only one fancy restaraunt, we are still saving.

Remember to plan for extra $ for drinks, appentizers, etc and tips.

Hope this helps. Have a great trip!

Hey Thanks. My Hubby is doing the math too. My son is Autisic so it makes it real hard to justify 38.00 per day when he only will eat the child's menu. Can someone tell me how Disney will lose if they can only pick off the child's menu even if they are 10? It does not make a difference what age they are???

 

[disney3mom]

We just returned from 9 nights at WDW!! We spent 1200.00 purchasing the DDP and "spent" over $1688.00 on TS, CS and snacks.

Would we have ordered dessert at every meal? NO WAY!! Did the kids love doing this? YES!!

They loved "sharing" a couple of breakfast entrees and picking out 2 drinks for every CS credit used.

they loved getting "smart water" and iced coffee and vitamin water and chocolate milk everyday!

It was nice getting cold water at the parks whenever we needed it!

I think it was so worth it to not worry about the cost of anything!!

My family LOVED getting food/drinks whenever they wanted. We usually shared our CS meals and ate every couple of hours.

We also ate at 5 buffets (One which was 170.00!) and so the DP really worked for us.

 

[Dizneydaz]

Obviously it's not as good a deal as it was before this year. If I had to pay for it, I don't know if I would buy it. My DD8 will be 10 next September and then I know I wouldn't buy it since it wouldn't be worth it. She's a small eater.

As long as I can get if for free, I'll do it. The first time we used it was at the beginning of it in Jan. 05 and we paid for it. It was a good deal since it inc. appetizers and tip. With my DD not being a big eater most of the times we just shared 2 meals between the 3 of us. (My DM goes with us)

With the removal of tip and appetizer, if you order the same meal this year as you did last year, it'll cost you $15, or more, per TS. That's a substantial difference.

Obviously if you get the plan, you will want to maximize your credits. As PP said, it's nice to not have to worry about the cost of food and snacks while there. I love being able to tell my DD8 "sure you can have an Itzakadoozie" everyday, if she wants. Also, if I order her a kid's meal and she doesn't finish it, I don't feel so bad since I didn't pay for it (well, I did, but you know what I mean). Also, we don't get desserts usually at home, that's why (when appetizers were inc.) DM and I shared meals so we could eat dessert. If we didn't share then we ended up taking our desserts back to our room for a late night snack, or breakfast. But even doing that, the first year we threw alot of food away when we checked out. After that, we decided to share more meals. We will still share meals this year since there are a few appetizers that I want to order (paying OOP) like Kona's Sticky Wings, and Narcoossee's Calamari!

HTH.

 

[bumbershoot]

My son is Autisic so it makes it real hard to justify 38.00 per day when he only will eat the child's menu. Can someone tell me how Disney will lose if they can only pick off the child's menu even if they are 10? It does not make a difference what age they are???

To justify it, you have to look at the whole family's costs, not just at your son's costs. Will you and your husband's meals make up for the family's DDP cost?

I don't understand the last part of your paragraph, and I really want to.

 

[pcparamedics01]

To justify it, you have to look at the whole family's costs, not just at your son's costs. Will you and your husband's meals make up for the family's DDP cost?

I don't understand the last part of your paragraph, and I really want to.

Thanks for the info. The last part was only if they allowed my child a kids menu at 10 they have nothing to lose for he can only pick off that menu. What difference does it make if they are 9 or 10 it is the same menu.

 

[Tricia1972]

Thanks for the info. The last part was only if they allowed my child a kids menu at 10 they have nothing to lose for he can only pick off that menu. What difference does it make if they are 9 or 10 it is the same menu.

You can order off of the children's menu for your 10 year old.

You can order a kids meal and use an adult credit to pay for it

OR

You can order a kids meal, pay OOP for it, and save the credit to use towards an extra TS meal (or maybe a signature dining experience if you do this several times)

 

[pcparamedics01]

You can order off of the children's menu for your 10 year old.

You can order a kids meal and use an adult credit to pay for it

OR

You can order a kids meal, pay OOP for it, and save the credit to use towards an extra TS meal (or maybe a signature dining experience if you do this several times)

Thanks I totally understand all of that... However, I believe that if your children want to eat off the children's menu then it should be allowed. Especially at 10 years old. If that is what they want to eat.

 

[Tricia1972]

Thanks I totally understand all of that... However, I believe that if your children want to eat off the children's menu then it should be allowed. Especially at 10 years old. If that is what they want to eat.

They can eat off of the menu, but if you're using the DDP you need to buy the Adult DDP for them.

Is that what you were asking? Why do you have to pay the Adult DDP Price for your 10 year old if they're just going to order off of the children's menu anyway?

 

[TDC Nala]

You will be able to get children's meals for your son. They let adults order from the children's menu if they want to (Not at buffets for obvious reasons. At buffets everyone eats the same food.)

What you won't be able to do is pay the child's price for the dining plan. You'd be paying the $37.99 for your child who would then order off the children's menu. Everyone over the age of 9 pays the higher price no matter how much they prefer to eat.