D-DDP (To Use or Not To Use That is the Question)

[cjstarr]

Our trip to WDW will consist of 6 in all. DW39 , DD18 , DS 15, DS5 , (me)DH55 , & DD’s DBF20 .
We also want to take in as many character events for DS5 as possible.
We will arrive on 6/29/08 / 7/5/2008 (6 night’s & 7 day’s) and plan to spend the rest of the day in MK with lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern & diner at Ca.Grill.
Here is the rest of our DXDP for the next 6 days;

Dates----------------Parks--------Breakfast---------------Lunch---------Dinner

Monday 30,----------AK-----------Donald’s Safari bf----------------------Tusker House @ AK

Tuesday 1,----------Epcot--------Lilo&Stitch @ Poly----------------------Garden Grill w / Chip&Dale

Wednesday 2,-------WP-----------Chef Mickey bf-------------------------Liberty Tree Tavern w/ Goofy

Thursday 3,---------MK-----------Winnie & Pal’s @ CP--------------------Mickey’s Back Yard BBQ

Friday 4,------------HS---------------------------------------------------Hollywood & Vine

Saturday 2, My BB--Open-------------------------------------------------Corel Reef

All Res have been made except for Sat. and my DW is thinking about changing only a couple of them. I was glad to see that the appetizer & deserts are included with our meals.
As for myself I thank we need to change a few to make the DXDDP work for us.
This plan is going to cost $1,799 for the 6 of us so I want to know how to make it work without to much of a loss. I like the idea of having the meals pre-paid for.
As I am looking for advice on our trip any & all help is appreciated.



ps, I will up-date this post as help comes in!!!!!

 

[Nienor]

What will help is checking out menus and figuring out exactly how much it will cost you to pay for all those meals in cash.

www.allears.net has a great area for dining with menus and prices. If you're going to eat two sit down meals a day, it would be worth looking into the DxDDP. Keep in mind the DxDDP also includes the refillable mugs for everyone and two snacks a day (which can be spent on drinks)

Also, you might encounter "holiday pricing" since you're going around July 4th. The character meals would be upped about $5 per person during that time, while the dining plan prices remain the same. Appetizers aren't included on the regular DDP while they are on the DxDDP.

 

[Tricia1972]

I have a spreadsheet for the DDP and the DxDDP, and I punched some numbers in for you,

The DxDDP is going to cost $1849.70 for 5 adults, 1 child, for 5 nights.

The DDP is going to cost $999.70 for the same party

Dining where you plan to dine, which is mostly buffets, and one TS your meals will be $2119.72 (ordering the most expensive appetizer, entree and dessert at California Grill) Without ordering anything at all at California Grill your bill would be $1769.69 with tax. I can tell you that it'd be almost impossible for 5 adults and 1 child to leave California Grill - full - for less than $100.

Seems to me that for you the DxDDP is a no brainer! Go for it and enjoy, you need to do nothing more to maximize your plan. Enjoy your snacks, mugs, and extra CS meals you can get with your credits. (you'll be able to get two CS meals per person with your left over credits)

 

[Nienor]

oooo. Can I see that spreadsheet, Tricia?

I'm curious how much we're spending (bounceback DxDDP) vs what we're actually eating. Not that I don't know we're coming out waaaay ahead.

 

[cjstarr]

Tricia1872 Our stay will be for 7 days will this affect the numbers that you posted?

Also I would like a copy of your spreadsheet if it is ok, thank you.

 

[Tricia1972]

Tricia1872 Our stay will be for 7 days will this affect the numbers that you posted?

Also I would like a copy of your spreadsheet if it is ok, thank you.

Yes it will, you're spending 7 days and 6 nights? $2,219.64 DxDDP

8 days 7 nights? $2,589.58


There is a dining spreadsheet thread that I am keeping an eye on and trying to catch up every other day or so, but if you PM your email address to me, I'll be happy to send you what I have.

CJ, I'll save yours so I can send yours with the numbers already in it for you to make it easier to calculate.

 

[cjstarr]

Tricia1972 I keep getting this message when I try and send you a PM

"Could not find phrase 'error_postcount_too_low_pm'."

Our stay will be 6 night's and 7 day's,

our "e" is cjordan36@nc.rr.com

Thank you for the help.

 

[disneyfreak2]

I say you go ahead and do the dx ddp. We are leaving in 9 days and are doing the dx.ddp. It will be DH-37, ME-37 , DS-15, DFIL-57(Never been to Disney) and DSF-13 Here is what I have planned.

Date--Park--Breakfast--lunch--dinner
3/23 MK CP Plaza Rest. Liberty Tree
3/24 none Kona Cafe none Whispering Can
3/25 Epcot Cape Mays Cafe ESPN Garden Grill
3/26 AK Donalds Safari none Concourse Steak
3/27 Resort Resort Resort Coral Reef
3/28 MGM none SciFi none

If anyone has any other suggestions, that would be great....But I'm sure I won't be able to get any ADR this late.

 

[disneyfreak2]

I have a spreadsheet for the DDP and the DxDDP, and I punched some numbers in for you,

The DxDDP is going to cost $1849.70 for 5 adults, 1 child, for 5 nights.

The DDP is going to cost $999.70 for the same party

Dining where you plan to dine, which is mostly buffets, and one TS your meals will be $2119.72 (ordering the most expensive appetizer, entree and dessert at California Grill) Without ordering anything at all at California Grill your bill would be $1769.69 with tax. I can tell you that it'd be almost impossible for 5 adults and 1 child to leave California Grill - full - for less than $100.

Seems to me that for you the DxDDP is a no brainer! Go for it and enjoy, you need to do nothing more to maximize your plan. Enjoy your snacks, mugs, and extra CS meals you can get with your credits. (you'll be able to get two CS meals per person with your left over credits)

Will you quote mine tooo...:

 

[cjstarr]

Yes it will, you're spending 7 days and 6 nights? $2,219.64 DxDDP

8 days 7 nights? $2,589.58


There is a dining spreadsheet thread that I am keeping an eye on and trying to catch up every other day or so, but if you PM your email address to me, I'll be happy to send you what I have.

CJ, I'll save yours so I can send yours with the numbers already in it for you to make it easier to calculate.

Tricia1972
Thank You so much for the spreadsheet, it makes a world of difference.

 

[BCV23]

CJ, if I were you, I'd pick 2 or 3 character meals (probably breakfasts) and branch out a bit. There are so many good/great restaurants at WDW. The character meals are fun but the food is just not the best WDW has to offer.

In addition, I think even your little one will more of a kick out of the characters if it's not an everyday thing.

 

[Disneydreamer5]

Just my 2 cents but I seen this thread and had to post.
We were thinking of going to Disney in August and I was considering not doing DDP. There are 7 in my family. Well I just did the math for some of the places we would like to go to that we enjoyed last trip in 05, yeah hello. 1 table service meal will cost us more the the entire day on the DDP.
I couldn't believe it. I thought I would save some money and not do it, boy was I wrong. I had no idea that some of the resterant where so highly priced.
I am wondring how anyone with a large family goes to Disney, Stays in value resorts with no kitchenette and doesn't do DDP.
If anyone knows a way for me not to do it please enlighten me!

 

[Nienor]

If anyone knows a way for me not to do it please enlighten me!

Read the Budget Board, maybe you can get in on a crockpot swap.

 

[Tricia1972]

Just my 2 cents but I seen this thread and had to post.
We were thinking of going to Disney in August and I was considering not doing DDP. There are 7 in my family. Well I just did the math for some of the places we would like to go to that we enjoyed last trip in 05, yeah hello. 1 table service meal will cost us more the the entire day on the DDP.
I couldn't believe it. I thought I would save some money and not do it, boy was I wrong. I had no idea that some of the resterant where so highly priced.
I am wondring how anyone with a large family goes to Disney, Stays in value resorts with no kitchenette and doesn't do DDP.
If anyone knows a way for me not to do it please enlighten me!

We are! Part of what helps us is the DDE card, which will save us $150.64 over the week.

We're going next Friday (Had to post that, because it feels SO good to say NEXT Friday) and here's our plan. Now we DO have a kitchen, but this could be done in any room with a refrigerator.

Breakfast - Cereal In Room

CS (Usually Lunch) - Sandwich and Drink (roughly $10/adult and $5/Child) Two places we plan on sharing because we know it's too much food for us, Pinocchio's Village Haus and Wolfgang Puck Express. We may share at other places also, but to figure out OOP vs DDP I included sandwiches for each adult - just in case.

TS (Usually Dinner - Prices include tax):
Le Cellier $144.30 (5 Entrees, 5 Beverages and 2 Appetizers*, 1 Kids Meal)
Beaches & Cream $74.60 (4 Burgers, 1 Sandwich, 2 Onion rings*, 1 Kids meal and 1 Kitchen Sink*)
Tony's $102.57 (5 Entrees, 5 Beverages, 1 Kids Meal)
Jiko $165.25 (1 Appetizer*, 5 Entrees, 5 Beveratges, 0 Kids Meal - he's staying in the room with Kids Night Out)
Crystal Palace $119.24 (5 Adults, 1 Child)

OOP Cost* $869.32
DDP Cost $1,399.58

(*OOP Cost is total for meals, including tax, less items not covered on the DDP)


If we didn't have the DDE, we'd pay $997.34

To be fair, we'd only use 6 or our 7 TS credits, so let's add on another $110 to cover one more TS meal for us, figuring no DDE Discount...$1,107.34

How do we save? We don't eat desserts. We'll grab a snack later on and share. Not to be cheap, but this is the way we want to eat. We did the DDP in October and didn't like it, it was too much food and didn't fit our eating style.

Does our way work for everyone? Certainly not! There are many people who experience a great value eating just what they want on the DDP.

Does the DDP work for everyone? No, many people eat like us and can save without the plan.