Cost per dining credit

[went503]

Anyone ever breakdown what the average value per credit is when it comes to a CS credit and a TS credit. I know a SC averages about $3-5. Im trying to see what the value is to determine which dining plan i should go for. We are doing our disneymoon in May for 10 days. We are doing a signature dinner for the whole 9 nights we are there. Trying all the signature's we can to experience new resturants and trying to determine if im making the right decision.

 

[Faldred]

Why, yes. Yes, I have.

Simplifications: I'm rounding plan costs up to the nearest dollar. No one, I hope, will quibble over fractions of a penny. I also value the resort refillable mug (QSDP and DxDP) at $0, because otherwise I'd have to deal with a sliding scale of value based on the length of the stay. Suffice it to say that the mug is simply a "bonus" on these plans beyond the credit values.

Okay, if we make the following variables: C (counter service credit), D (deluxe meal credit), S (snack credit), and T (table service credit), and take the plans as simultaneous equations, we get:

Deluxe: 3D + 2S = 79
Basic: 1C + 1T + 1S = 46
QSDP: 2C + 2S = 35

Unfortunately, that's four unknowns and three equations. Not good. But let's turn S from a variable to a constant, which reduces our unknowns by 1. Snack credits are pretty limited in value, and they're the one element all plans have in common, so it makes a good choice for turning into a "constant". Now we are left with 3 unknowns and 3 equations, which will give us meaningful results.

Solving the first and third equations, treating S as a constant, yields:

3D = 79 - 2S ==> D = (79 - 2S) / 3
2C = 35 - 2S ==> C = (35 - 2S) / 2

Now that we know what C is, we can solve the second equation:

T = 46 - C - S ==> 46 - ( ( 35 - 2S ) / 2 ) - S

Now, all that's left is to plug in whatever value we choose for "S", and we can compute all three variables. Last year, I used $3 as a snack credit value; for 2011, that would yield:

C = $14.50, T = $28.50, D = $24.33

Curiously, changing the value of S affects only C and D. The value of T is constant regardless of what you change S to. (If you expand out the full equation for T, you'll see that you have a +S and a -S, so they cancel out, meaning that T and S are completely independent.)

A CS credit value goes up by the exact amount the snack value drops, and vice-versa. A DxDP meal credit is affected similarly, but scaled by 2/3. So, using different snack credit values, we see:

S = $4.00 ==> C = $13.50, T = $28.50, D = $23.67
S = $3.00 ==> C = $14.50, T = $28.50, D = $24.33
S = $2.00 ==> C = $15.50, T = $28.50, D = $25.00
S = $1.00 ==> C = $16.50, T = $28.50, D = $25.67
S = $0.00 ==> C = $17.50, T = $28.50, D = $26.33

Similarly, we can solve for child credit values c (child's CS credit), d (child's DxDP meal credit), and t (child's TS credit):

Deluxe: 3d + 2S = 22
Basic: 1c + 1t + 1S = 12
QSDP: 2c + 2S = 12

Solving for c and d:

3d = 22 - 2S ==> d = (22 - 2S) / 3
2c = 12 - 2S ==> c = (12 - 2S) / 2

Solving for t, now that we know c:

t = 12 - c - S ==> 12 - ( ( 12 - 2S ) / 2 ) - S = 6

So, based on our choice of "S", we can determine the values of c and d (since t is a fixed $6.00 value):

S = $4.00 ==> c = $2.00, t = $6.00, d = $4.67
S = $3.00 ==> c = $3.00, t = $6.00, d = $5.33
S = $2.00 ==> c = $4.00, t = $6.00, d = $6.00
S = $1.00 ==> c = $5.00, t = $6.00, d = $6.67
S = $0.00 ==> c = $6.00, t = $6.00, d = $7.33

To sum up: using $3 as the value of a snack credit, the 2011 credit values are:

DxDP Meal Credit: $24.33 adult, $5.33 child
TS Credit: $28.50 ($30.50 peak) adult, $6.00 ($7.00 peak) child
CS Credit: $14.50 adult, $3.00 child

 

[went503]

wow thats a lot of info but good info it is. With your calculations i have to be coming out ahead. I have to reread it a couple more times so i can fully grasp. Thank you