Care to critique my should I vs. shouldn't I?

[ajk912]

Like so many others, I am trying to decide DDP vs. no Disney dining plan. We are going August 24-30. I have three kids, 8, 7, and 4.

Here are my ADRs so far: Chef Mickey's, approx $120 for a family of 5 (after tip), CRT, approx $160 after tip. That's $280 right there. add in $100 for snacks each day, and $70 a day for CS food (times 5 days) so $420. Total of all= $800 for food for 5 days. I am guessing this OOP is kind of high- I am planning on using my usual $150 a week food budget to bring bread, cereal, snacks, and breakfast stuff so we eat breakfast every day in the room, make our own coffee, bring our own bottled water.

Using DDP: $610 cost, lose $200 AAA discount (unless I book with AAA, but then if they have free dining in August that may be REALLY hard to get an agent to get a ressie in for me on time- AAA doesn't open till 10am, I may miss out before then)- so $810 right there- plus grats (will schedule more TS to get my money's worth, but then I would be taking more park time out- it's a once a decade trip, don't want to waste TOO much time eating, but OTOH, commando touring in the August heat probably wouldn't work either, and this would be a good way to take a break)- so add in tips, probably $150? so $960.

So the DDP will cost me $160 if it is not free? Does this sound about right? I know I am just thinking out loud....... any of the experts care to comment? or dispute any of my musings?

 

[karliebug]

Since all of your kids are under 10, I think it will be a great value to you. Once they turn 10 and you have to pay an adult price for them you will have to judge it by how much they really eat.

 

[ChelleinNC]

Looking at your dates, you're staying for 6nts, 7days, yet your numbers seem to be based on food for 5 days

DDP $38per nt, per adult, $10 per nt, per child under 10= $76 + $30= $106 per nite for a total cost of $636 for 6nts. I'm not including gratuity because you'll pay it either way.

Since your kids are all under 10, this is the best time for you to use the DDP. It's hard to beat feeding them 2 meals plus snack for $10 a day. If you do one TS & 1CS most days, you should come out ahead. Keep in mind that CRT is a 2TS meal.

What other restaurants would you want to eat at? If you would normally only do CS meals with 1 or 2 TS for the whole trip, then it may not be worth it. You need to look at the menus and decide where you would want to eat if you have the DDP and a seperate list of where to eat if you don't have the DDP. Even if you have the same restaurants listed, compare what you would order with DDP and what you would order if you were paying OOP. For example, we love Le Cellier but have always just ordered the steak sandwich at lunch, on the DDP ordering the filet mignon was a no brainer (and covered the price of the DDP all by itself for the day ) We enjoyed the ability to order what we really wanted when we tried the DDP in December, the biggest issue for us is that DS is a Disney adult, and we don't usually eat that many CS meals as we prefer the TS. We always used to look at it as the DDP wasn't worth it because our family of 4 spent around $100 (some days more, some less) a day and the DDP would be $154 for us. If my DS10 was still a "child", it would be a no brainer for us, but paying adult rate for him isn't worth it yet (until he starts eating like a teenage boy ) We only tried it because we were bringing my Dad & his wife with us, the holiday surcharges were in place and I didn't want Dad to have too much sticker shock (and decide he was never hungry )

Taking a break from the heat during the day is a good idea, dehydrated kids are very unhappy kids . You might want to look at having breakfast in your room (as you planned), a late lunch/early dinner TS (gets you out of the heat of the day) and then as it cools down in the evening, a CS dinner.

Hope this made some sense. We spent days, hours at a time with spreadsheets galore to figure out if it would work for us-- and we're Disney veterans with AP's and own DVC. Good luck with your decision

 

[ajk912]

Looking at your dates, you're staying for 6nts, 7days, yet your numbers seem to be based on food for 5 days

DDP $38per nt, per adult, $10 per nt, per child under 10= $76 + $30= $106 per nite for a total cost of $636 for 6nts. I'm not including gratuity because you'll pay it either way.

Since your kids are all under 10, this is the best time for you to use the DDP. It's hard to beat feeding them 2 meals plus snack for $10 a day. If you do one TS & 1CS most days, you should come out ahead. Keep in mind that CRT is a 2TS meal.

What other restaurants would you want to eat at? If you would normally only do CS meals with 1 or 2 TS for the whole trip, then it may not be worth it. You need to look at the menus and decide where you would want to eat if you have the DDP and a seperate list of where to eat if you don't have the DDP. Even if you have the same restaurants listed, compare what you would order with DDP and what you would order if you were paying OOP. For example, we love Le Cellier but have always just ordered the steak sandwich at lunch, on the DDP ordering the filet mignon was a no brainer (and covered the price of the DDP all by itself for the day ) We enjoyed the ability to order what we really wanted when we tried the DDP in December, the biggest issue for us is that DS is a Disney adult, and we don't usually eat that many CS meals as we prefer the TS. We always used to look at it as the DDP wasn't worth it because our family of 4 spent around $100 (some days more, some less) a day and the DDP would be $154 for us. If my DS10 was still a "child", it would be a no brainer for us, but paying adult rate for him isn't worth it yet (until he starts eating like a teenage boy ) We only tried it because we were bringing my Dad & his wife with us, the holiday surcharges were in place and I didn't want Dad to have too much sticker shock (and decide he was never hungry )

Taking a break from the heat during the day is a good idea, dehydrated kids are very unhappy kids . You might want to look at having breakfast in your room (as you planned), a late lunch/early dinner TS (gets you out of the heat of the day) and then as it cools down in the evening, a CS dinner.

Hope this made some sense. We spent days, hours at a time with spreadsheets galore to figure out if it would work for us-- and we're Disney veterans with AP's and own DVC. Good luck with your decision

Thanks. I should rework my math, you are right, it doesn't make sense. I keep forgetting how the DDP is charged- per night. We would have 6 nights worth of food we would have to pay for, even though we are only going to be in Disneyworld 5 days. We are arriving very late on check in day, and checking out early on day 7-( we are doing the 12 solid hour drive in one day). So it's still 5 days even though we are there 6 nights. I know it's confusing. The part that worries me most is all the tips out of pocket now. In a normal world, we would be eating mostly CS because of cost. $35 to feed my family (give or take) per meal, eating breakfast in the room. I wouldn't have to pay any grats, but using the DDP I do.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I've been going to Disney on and off for 30 years and we always did only one or two TS meals per trip and had to watch our budget for other meals. Last year, we were able to take advantage of free dining. The kids and DH and I absolutely loved the experience. All the meals were a blast and were like attractions in and of themselves (we did CM, CP, Park Faire, Sci-Fi, 'Ohana and Biergarten.) My kids loved trying all sorts of food and we loved visiting the deluxe resorts. But, the best thing was not having to say no to the kids because of budget constraints. DS11 could have his prime rib, DS8 could eat his shrimp, salmon and mahi mahi. We could buy ice cream treats without having to cringe at the cost. Now, I know that this was free, but we are hoping to go again in August and if we do, I will pay to have the plan again. Could I eat for less for the week? Absolutely. Could I eat as well for less? No way!

 

[angelmav]

As someone else said, since all your kids ar under 10, your the exact demographic to be able to come out ahead on the plan. Unless your planning on going offsite, its really easy to blow your budget on food.

 

[momof3girls6712]

We have always paid out of pocket. You do not list what meals you are eating where, but your estimates seem low. In Jan 08, there were 6 of us (4 adults and 2 kids), dinner at Chef Mickeys was close to 250, lunch at CP was 145, and breakfast at CRT was close to 200 (all amounts include tip).

This trip (sense you can add ddp to AP rooms) we are trying out DDDP. We will be dinning at 11 ts restaurants during our 5 day trip. Yes we will be spending more money on tips, but its the experience we are paying for really. But we will still save I believe, in Jan we stayed for 5 days and spent about 900 on food (being very careful, eating in room almost every meal, 4 ts meals) the DDDP for our upcoming trip was 1000 plus tips. But now we will not be heading back to the room for meals.

 

[comicguy]

We have used the DDP 3 times now and planning for the fourth time this Aug.

That being said: IMHO I feel the DDP is a bargin if w/o the tip included any more. I find that we eat healthier and have a much better time while on vacaction. Some of the restuarants are like attractions themselves. I also find that the DDP is valuable in Aug. due to the heat. It lets you get out of it for a while, eat, cool down, and recharge to take on more of the parks.

With you having 3 kids under 10, you have the potential to have a real bargin on the dinning plan. Plus don't forget you get that snack credit everyday to use. Just think cold soda and ice cream at no cost

 

[Krmrr]

We drive ten hours to get to DW. Often we stay off site the first night, that saves one day of DDP costs. We get up early and check into our Disney Hotel by 8 (no check in crowds) usually just takes a couple of minutes. The room is not ready of course, call or stop by desk for the room number, but we now have our cards and head out to the park. Usually arriving before 9. We use our credits this day, since on our last day we will be leaving early just like you. Unpacking the car and then repacking the next morning is a pain, but it saves us over $100.

 

[ChelleinNC]

Thanks. I should rework my math, you are right, it doesn't make sense. I keep forgetting how the DDP is charged- per night. We would have 6 nights worth of food we would have to pay for, even though we are only going to be in Disneyworld 5 days. We are arriving very late on check in day, and checking out early on day 7-( we are doing the 12 solid hour drive in one day). So it's still 5 days even though we are there 6 nights. I know it's confusing. The part that worries me most is all the tips out of pocket now. In a normal world, we would be eating mostly CS because of cost. $35 to feed my family (give or take) per meal, eating breakfast in the room. I wouldn't have to pay any grats, but using the DDP I do.

In a way your timing is good since CRT is a 2TS credit meal, you'll still have enough TS credits for the rest of your trip without paying OOP. I will say the nice thing about DDP is the being able to order what you really want without worrying about the price and not having to say "no" everytime the kids want a mickey bar or a soda. DDP gives you the opportunity to try restaurants and foods that you wouldn't normally want to "splurge" on. I was happy when DD14 wanted to try the filet mignon at Le Cellier and the braised short ribs at Chefs de France, but if we were paying OOP, I would have been much more concerned about "wasting" money on food that I wasn't sure she would like (thankfully she loved all of it anyways). That said, if you'll be happy eating CS twice a day, then that will be cheaper for you.