Can someone help me do DDP math? going in 2 wks

[scrapnmom]

Sorry to have to post another "is ddp worth it?" thread but I can not make up my mind on this . We are staying at WL for 7 nights, 11/10-11/17. I have 5 ADRs for us, all character meals, for 2 adults, a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old. I figured that the DDP would cost us $622.79
This is what we have:

lunch at Crystal Palace, 20.99 adult 11.99 child
lunch at Garden Grille, 20.99 adult 11.99 child
lunch at Hollywood and Vine 24.99 adult, 13.99 child (this one is expendable, the others are must-dos)
Breakfast at Ohanas 18.99 adult, 10.99 child
Breakfast at Chef Mickey's 18.99 adult, 10.99 child

Do the prices listed for the character meals include tax?

For CS meals, I know we won't get desserts, DD is allergic to eggs and DH is T1 diabetic.

Thanks so much!

 

[Tricia1972]

Sorry to have to post another "is ddp worth it?" thread but I can not make up my mind on this . We are staying at WL for 7 nights, 11/10-11/17. I have 5 ADRs for us, all character meals, for 2 adults, a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old, which I figure would cost us $622.79
This is what we have:

lunch at Crystal Palace, 20.99 adult 11.99 child
lunch at Garden Grille, 20.99 adult 11.99 child
lunch at Hollywood and Vine 24.99 adult, 13.99 child (this one is expendable, the others are must-dos)
Breakfast at Ohanas 18.99 adult, 10.99 child
Breakfast at Chef Mickey's 18.99 adult, 10.99 child

Do the prices listed for the character meals include tax?

For CS meals, I know we won't get desserts, DD is allergic to eggs and DH is T1 diabetic.

Thanks so much!

Two adults and one child on the DDP this year will cost you $629.79. This includes your tip, so if your meals alone cost $622.79 it is definitely worth doing the DDP, even skipping desserts at the CS locations.

However, I don't know where you come up with the figure for $622.79 for the character meals. You'll just pay for the two adults and the 4 year old, not the two year old. When I ran those numbers your meal cost is $339.12 with 6.5% tax and adding on an 18% tip. That makes it much less clear cut as to which would be the better deal for you. You know your T1 the best, and know if a snack, and two big meals work for how you need to eat.

 

[scrapnmom]

Two adults and one child on the DDP this year will cost you $629.79. This includes your tip, so if your meals alone cost $622.79 it is definitely worth doing the DDP, even skipping desserts at the CS locations.

However, I don't know where you come up with the figure for $622.79 for the character meals. You'll just pay for the two adults and the 4 year old, not the two year old. When I ran those numbers your meal cost is $339.12 with 6.5% tax and adding on an 18% tip. That makes it much less clear cut as to which would be the better deal for you. You know your T1 the best, and know if a snack, and two big meals work for how you need to eat.

I thought I did $38.99 times 2 and $10.99 all times seven to come up with $622.79 for the DDP. So, I meant the $ for the DDP, not for the meals. I read what I wrote again and it was confusing the way I wrote it, so I fixed it.

 

[Tricia1972]

I thought I did $38.99 times 2 and $10.99 all times seven to come up with $622.79 for the DDP.

Ah, for some reason I thought it was $11.99, that's the difference in the DDP costs. Thanks!

(I also further misread and for some reason thought you were saying your character meals would be the $622.79. D'oh!)

Ok, taking $622.79, and subtracting your TS costs of $339.12 leaves a difference of $283.67. Take that and divide it by 7 and you come up with $40.52. That's how much you'll have to spend OOP on CS and snacks per day in order to break even for the DDP.

 

[Mickiethepooh]

ARe you checking out ont the 17th? or on the eighteenth? if the 17th then you have SIX nights on the plan not seven. That makes the plan 583.22.
If you plan to eat at mostly buffets then your savings are not as great as if you are doing regular meals at TS places. The buffets are certainly cheaper.
Since the plan includes tax and tip it is a good value in MOST cases though.

 

[Tricia1972]

ARe you checking out ont the 17th? or on the eighteenth? if the 17th then you have SIX nights on the plan not seven. That makes the plan 583.22.
If you plan to eat at mostly buffets then your savings are not as great as if you are doing regular meals at TS places. The buffets are certainly cheaper.
Since the plan includes tax and tip it is a good value in MOST cases though.

I think that checking in on the 10th, it's 7 nights if she checks out on the 17th.

10 - 1
11 - 2
12 - 3
13 - 4
14 - 5
15 - 6
16 - 7
17th check out

 

[robinb]

We're also 2 adults and one child and we rarely get desserts at the counter service restaurants because they are usually pretty yucky. I put together a spreadsheet the other day to determine how much we spent on CS meals on average. I picked my favorite CS restaurant from each park (Flame Tree in AK, Backlot Express in MGM, Yakitori House in Epcot and Columbia Harbor House in the MK), plus the Mara (at AKL where we're staying) and selected the items that we would probably order. For us, the CS meals came out to an average of $25.60 per day for all three of us.

So, here's what I got:
$88.98 - cost of DDP for 2 adults and 1 child
($25.60) - value of 1 CS meal with tax, no dessert
($7.50) - value of 3 snacks @ $2.50 each
-------
$55.87 - remaining $$ to "spend" per day on TS meals to break even. This includes both tax and tip (1.24% of the total).

$45.06 - remaining $$ to spend per day on TS meals to break even before tax and tip.

So, in your case if you "spend" more than $315 in TS meals pre-tax and pre-tip then you will break even. Currently, you do not because of your low cost breakfasts and buffets and that you only have 5 out of 7 days covered. Your current total is about $270. One more meal and you will break even.

 

[scrapnmom]

Thanks! This is very helpful! We are spending one day offsite at Kennedy Space Center (the only thing DH wants to do) so that would be one whole day of not using credits.

We're also 2 adults and one child and we rarely get desserts at the counter service restaurants because they are usually pretty yucky. I put together a spreadsheet the other day to determine how much we spent on CS meals on average. I picked my favorite CS restaurant from each park (Flame Tree in AK, Backlot Express in MGM, Yakitori House in Epcot and Columbia Harbor House in the MK), plus the Mara (at AKL where we're staying) and selected the items that we would probably order. For us, the CS meals came out to an average of $25.60 per day for all three of us.

So, here's what I got:
$88.98 - cost of DDP for 2 adults and 1 child
($25.60) - value of 1 CS meal with tax, no dessert
($7.50) - value of 3 snacks @ $2.50 each
-------
$55.87 - remaining $$ to "spend" per day on TS meals to break even. This includes both tax and tip (1.24% of the total).

$45.06 - remaining $$ to spend per day on TS meals to break even before tax and tip.

So, in your case if you "spend" more than $315 in TS meals pre-tax and pre-tip then you will break even. Currently, you do not because of your low cost breakfasts and buffets and that you only have 5 out of 7 days covered. Your current total is about $270. One more meal and you will break even.

 

[LizinSTL]

Thanks! This is very helpful! We are spending one day offsite at Kennedy Space Center (the only thing DH wants to do) so that would be one whole day of not using credits.

You can use them on another day...did you know that? On a day you have a character breakfast scheduled, you can schedule a later table service dinner as well. On a day you want a second CS meal, you can do that. On your check in day, you'll get your key to the world card with all your meal credits on it.... 21 snack credits, 21 CS credits and 14 Adult, 7 Child TS credits.

 

[Catrinabeach]

If you were to book 2 more TS meals even if it's a dinner on one of the days you are having a breakfast since you are away one day that would make it a better value.

But if you have no interest in having more TS meals you might be better off going with OOP.

 

[septbaby]

Sorry to have to post another "is ddp worth it?" thread but I can not make up my mind on this . We are staying at WL for 7 nights, 11/10-11/17. I have 5 ADRs for us, all character meals, for 2 adults, a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old. I figured that the DDP would cost us $622.79
This is what we have:

lunch at Crystal Palace, 20.99 adult 11.99 child
lunch at Garden Grille, 20.99 adult 11.99 child
lunch at Hollywood and Vine 24.99 adult, 13.99 child (this one is expendable, the others are must-dos)
Breakfast at Ohanas 18.99 adult, 10.99 child
Breakfast at Chef Mickey's 18.99 adult, 10.99 child

Do the prices listed for the character meals include tax?

For CS meals, I know we won't get desserts, DD is allergic to eggs and DH is T1 diabetic.

Thanks so much!

From the reports I've read the character lunch at H&V could be the best meal for your little ones at such young ages. So you may not want to cancel it. My nephew loved Chef Mickey's (6yo).

For the 2007 plan all charges, including tips and grats are included in the fee.

Price increase: Chef Mickey's - $22.99 and $12.99

Meals listed will cost $280 plus up to 24.5% tips/tax for a total of $348

You'd still have 2 more TS credits to use in the plan. So to do a true apples to apples comparisaon, suppose you did a 2TS family event like Hoop De Doo Review: Adults $54.99,Children (3-9) $26.99
Adding another $105 Bringing your total TS bill to $453 if you paid OOP.

You would still spend more $ for your CS meals and snacks. To break even with the DP you'd need to spend $170 over the 7 day period Keep in mind you can get sandwiches to go from the Roaring Forks grab and go, so even on your road day the plan or CS option can still offer you something. My nephew went when he saw the Uncrustables in the reach in deli case. Who knew, apparently they are all the rage at his preschool.

As for dessert options you maybe more limited at the park CS locations but those in the resorts offer a wide range of choices for dessert. One of my nephew's favorites was the sliced apples with caramel dip. The caramel is in a sealed separate container. I think he actually only ate the dip once, but ate ALL of the apples slices the 3 times HE picked it. Even if your husband won't eat this it would be a great snack to have in the bag when certain people in your party get a little "bothered". Honestly at $4 you'd probably pass on the item, but as dessert within a CS meal credit or even as a snack credit you wouldnt think twice about getting something like that for the kids, big or little. Even a place like MS Bakery will have items friendly to someone trying to manage on special diet.

For what its worth we had a 2 Adult - 1 child vegetarian party and absolutely loved the plan. My mom (a.ka. Grandma) LOVED having those snack credits. I had to keep half an eye on her just to make sure we got a couple. For TS we did a 2TS meal at Narcoossee's then Coral Reef. Like you we selected several buffets (Boma dinner, CM's breakfast and H&V Fantasmic dinner package). We paid OOP for the adults at CM's and the child at Narcoossee's. We only had 5 nights in our package but booked 6TS credits.

Good luck with your decision and have a magical trip.