DDP and large families

[BiggFam8]

My DW and I are taking our 6 childern (18,17,16,15,13,9) to DW this August. This is our 7th trip (no, we're not rich) and we are staying at OKW for 9 nights/10 days. We are able to take these trips because we are DVC members and we do more with less. When you have 6 children, you soon learn how to save. We typically eat all breakfasts and most lunches in the room to help save money and we were considering using the DDP this year. With our "saving" mind-set, we normally don't splurge on extras owning to the fact that it's "whatever" times 8! We feel that we already have "splurged" by being DVC members and staying at resorts that our "saving" mind-set wouldn't think we could afford. We wanted some advice from DDP experts as to pros and cons and would it be worth it in our situation. Here is our typical day at DW:

We spend about $150.00 at the grocery store for all breakfasts (cereal, donuts, poptarts, etc.) and most lunches (cold cuts, snacks, etc.) for the week. We will buy a lunch or two at the parks due to scheduling problems but these are counter-service meals only. We will buy our dinners out all week but, again, usually counter-service only. We will also pack snack with us for the day but will buy snacks out here and there. We also take in a character breakfast every trip. This year's is at CRT.

This is probably the last vacation that we take as a whole family being that our oldest is starting college in the Fall and was looking to possobly have this "last" vacation memorable (not that the other 6 weren't). Of course, our children think the DDP is a great idea but it's not their money! Is it really worth it?

Any comments or suggestions that you have would be greatly apprecited!

 

[mumto2]

I did not save $$$ using the DDP last November. HOWEVER, I loved the plan - DH and I both agreed that it is the way to go for future trips. If it will not ruin your budget, I'd say go for it. It is so nice not to have to worry about when the bill comes as everything is prepaid. While we didn't save money, if you factor in the cost of mid-level off-site meals (Denny's, Perkins, etc.), the time to get there and back, we probably just about broke even.

Our previous Disney trips had been very much like you described - very little in the park eating and one character meal as a splurge. Thanks to the DDP, we were able to try places we had never tried before but had always wanted to, without going over budget. Two of them (Whispering Canyon and OHana) are now on our must do list.

Having said that, your cost will be significantly higher than ours (2 adults & 1 child plus a toddler), but I would think the principle would be the same. I would caution you, though, especially with a group your size, to make ADRs as soon as possible to ensure you get to eat in the places you want to try.

 

[BiggFam8]

Thanks for the advise. Nice to know we're not the only ones eating in our rooms!

 

[slcmkh]

I can't claim six kids, but we have four: 19, 16, 11, and 7, three boys and the last one a girl. We aren't wealthy either, but budget monthly and save so that we can enjoy a nice Disney vacation about every 24 months.

We are DVC as well, and we have our fourth vacation coming up, this time for a full two weeks. We have done similar to what you have in the past: breakfast in the room, one or two meals in the parks on the days we go to the parks (usually 2 out of every 3 days on average, this time about every other day.) The rest of the meals and non-park-day meals we eat in our room. We typically eat lunch at the park at a TS to get out of the heat and enjoy the restaurants at the lunch time price. We would also grab CS dinner once in a while, usually dining around world showcase, according to what the kids want.

We debated for months about the dining plan when it became available to DVCers, and finally decided to go with it. It is a stretch financially, as it definitely would be for you with six kids, but we are excited about it. I just plan on saying goodbye to the cash then will go and enjoy the meals, and enjoy my family enjoying the dining. My DW is very excited about not having to cook in the room, worry about groceries, and deal with so many messes. It will be more of a vacation for her this time around. We'll still have cereal in the room for breakfast, but that's our standard breakfast anyway; we just aren't bacon and eggs and pancakes types.

The most excited of our kids are the teenagers, and I would think your impressive number of teenagers would agree. They get to go out to eat and not have to worry about the prices on the menu -- just order what they want. They can have an appetizer and a desert, if they have the stomach for both, no worries. And for them, just getting a real beverage with every meal rather than water, which has always been our standard, will be a bonus.

For this Disney Dad, I look forward to my family enjoying a more comprehensive and memorable dining experience. That in itself will be worth the cost, even though it will set us back some. We really look forward to going to many of the TS restaurants at dinner time and enjoying the selections on the dinner menus, and we are going to try about 6 or 8 restaurants that we have wanted to try in the past, but didn't because the vacation budget wouldn't allow it.

We look forward to what will be a new and different dining experience for us. It will cost more in total, but will still be worth it in terms of the meals we have planned. The kids are also pleased with the expanded snack menus and being able to enjoy snacks at their leisure without having to worry about hitting the Dad up for it each time.

This vacation, with the enhanced dining experience, should be a hoot.

 

[kellyg403]

We are also a family with 6 children still at home (10 altogether!) We went in Dec and are also pretty budget conscience because we are a large group. We did the DDP and I am glad that we did. We did the Candlelight Processional Package using Teppenyaki as our TS. The meal alone was OVER 400.00. The dining package was roughly 270.00 per day (kids were 17,14,13,12,11 and 9 so one child price). I didn't have to say no to anything and I was really happy with the DDP for us. Even dh had a hard time keeping up with all the food by the 3rd day. We ended up using most of our CS for breakfasts at the hotel and then TS, Ending up the week with about 30 snack credits. All the granola bars and snacks we brought for breakfast came back home with us. For larger families I would say the dining plan is definitely worth it! HTH!


Kelly

 

[slcmkh]

Wow. I'm feeling like I shouldn't post anymore on this thread because I have so "few" children with only four.

Nice job, big family folks.

Thanks for the take on the DP, Kelly. Loved your comment about not having to say no.

We're feeling pretty good about proceedinig with the DP, even with the expense.

Thanks.

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

We had 8 in our group and we saved with the DDP. It was also really cool for us to eat at a place like Le Cellier or Rose & Crown. Plus, it was nice to only have to deal with transportation to another park, instead of going back to the resort, eating, and back to a park. We're from CA, so we stayed at POP. Is it more money? Yes, but you don't have to worry about cooking on the trip. That's a huge plus, and it should leave more time for the parks, plus there is plenty of food.

 

[trulygoofy]

We will be using the dining plan for the first time in two weeks. We have 5 children ages 12 and under, and I can't wait. The kids will get to chose drinks--we usually all order water, and each order what they want and not look at the $. No way would I let them order a shrimp cocktail and Prime Rib paying out of pocket. We rarely order dessert, but they will be able to go wild this trip. We save and watch what we spend when we go to Disney (we go about every other year and we do it by setting back some every paycheck) so now the kids can order what they want and I don't have worry about about it. Stress free as far as meals go and the kids have help pick some of the restaruant after looking at the menus. It will cost us a bit more than normal since we would mostly eat CS meals, but this way we will eat much better and really be able to enjoy our meals. I think it will be well worth the cost. And there are those snack credits on top of the meals!

 

[Reese]

We used the DDP in Feb and loved it. As a Mom of six kids it was nice to take them to places we wouldn't normally eat at and not worry about how much everything was going to cost. It was nice to "live in the lap of luxury" , well atleast not to be crunching numbers the entire time.

 

[gigi1313]

to the OP... may i ask when in august you are planning to go? if it's after the 13th, you might want to consider getting a room for four of you at a value resort and get free dining... the cost of the room is cheaper than the cost of the dining plan by far (according to my math, 9 nights at $79/night and four one day base tix at $61/ticket = $955; and dining plan for four adults for 9 nights = $1440... a savings of nearly $500) and the 36 meals of each type might be enough for your family w/the supplement of in-room dining

 

[HayGan]

You could make it worrk for you but you may be better off in one person getting an AP and then purchasing the DDE card. It would save you 20% off alot of your meals.

Since you have 7 people at adult rates and 1 at a child's rate, your daily dining plan cost would be almost $300. Would you normally spend that much per day? If you are planning on doing at least 1 TS every day, then it may be worth it. Otherwise, the DDE would probably be the better way to go!

 

[Cyndo723]

Would it be possible to split your stay? One part with the dining plan, and the other days without. That way you would get to enjoy the DDP and the TS meals you normally would have, and cook during the other part of your vacation. The best of both.

 

[kcashner]

We got back a week ago from a DVC stay with DDP. WE did not save any $ with DDP. We usually eat breakfast in the room, CS lunch (frequently shared)...in other words, we normally do it fairly inexpensively. I considered this a splurge, but we ate very well. We went to many restaurants that we hadn't tried before, and I didn't cringe when DD wanted the most expensive thing on the menu. In other words, we made the DDP a major part of our trip. Used in that way, it was well worth the $. We loved it.

Some things that might save $ for you---part of August in on the free dining plan. You might be able to get 2 rooms at a value resort for less than you will spend on the dining plan ($38 per person X4 people per room). Of course, this makes the assumption that you need to buy park tickets.

If you have annual passes, the DDE card gives you 20% off at most table service restaurants. Your DVC perks already give you 10-15% off at a few places.

Consider renting out your points and using the $ to get a value room during the free DDP period. That way you are still "using" your points as they are making $ for you and yet you are taking advantage of the free dining.

 

[BiggFam8]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! We are going on 07/29 - 08/07 and we are still trying to justify spending the extra money. We figured it will cost us about $1,500.00 more to use the plan over our usual meal budget. With 4 DC getting close to college (one this Fall, one next Fall, and two the following Fall), that $1,500.00 would help them. Having said that, this will probably be the last vacation that all of us take together and it would be nice to make it as memorable as possible. Your great comments are making it easier to decide. Thank again, and keep them coming!

 

[Anewman]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! We are going on 07/29 - 08/07 and we are still trying to justify spending the extra money. We figured it will cost us about $1,500.00 more to use the plan over our usual meal budget. With 4 DC getting close to college (one this Fall, one next Fall, and two the following Fall), that $1,500.00 would help them. Having said that, this will probably be the last vacation that all of us take together and it would be nice to make it as memorable as possible. Your great comments are making it easier to decide. Thank again, and keep them coming!

Hats off, bringing up college bound kids is not easy(I cant imagine bringing up 6).

Sounds like you are gettin a 2bedroom and ALL in the room would be required to buy the plan.
Would splitting up the room be possible(point wise)?

Say you get a 1bedroom and a studio, you can purchase the dining plan for the 1bedroom(they may even allow 5 persons). And do NOT get the dining plan for the studio, then you share those meal credits for your dinners and such. Still have breakfast in room and have nice dinners using the dining plan. You will have 45 TS credits(imagine 45 apps and desserts), 45 CS credits and 45 SNACKS.

If you consider this make sure you put the 9 year old in the room that will purchase the dining plan(it costs $10 per day for him/her).

 

[BiggFam8]

Hats off, bringing up college bound kids is not easy(I cant imagine bringing up 6).

Sounds like you are gettin a 2bedroom and ALL in the room would be required to buy the plan.
Would splitting up the room be possible(point wise)?

Say you get a 1bedroom and a studio, you can purchase the dining plan for the 1bedroom(they may even allow 5 persons). And do NOT get the dining plan for the studio, then you share those meal credits for your dinners and such. Still have breakfast in room and have nice dinners using the dining plan. You will have 45 TS credits(imagine 45 apps and desserts), 45 CS credits and 45 SNACKS.

If you consider this make sure you put the 9 year old in the room that will purchase the dining plan(it costs $10 per day for him/her).

We thought about that but we wanted that "family" feel since this is probably the last vacation for all of us together. It's looking more like we're going to get it but we're still in negoitations with everyone. It's not easy getting 8 minds to agree on anyhting, let alone vacation plans. We have explained that it's all or nothing so, I guess, majority rules. Even though My DW and I pay for it all, we also let the kids help in some of the decisions.

Maybe the older ones with jobs can pitch in! Do you think that will go over well? Doubt it!

 

[Cinderpals]

We got back a week ago from a DVC stay with DDP. WE did not save any $ with DDP. We usually eat breakfast in the room, CS lunch (frequently shared)...in other words, we normally do it fairly inexpensively. I considered this a splurge, but we ate very well. We went to many restaurants that we hadn't tried before, and I didn't cringe when DD wanted the most expensive thing on the menu. In other words, we made the DDP a major part of our trip. Used in that way, it was well worth the $. We loved it.

Some things that might save $ for you---part of August in on the free dining plan. You might be able to get 2 rooms at a value resort for less than you will spend on the dining plan ($38 per person X4 people per room). Of course, this makes the assumption that you need to buy park tickets.

If you have annual passes, the DDE card gives you 20% off at most table service restaurants. Your DVC perks already give you 10-15% off at a few places.

Consider renting out your points and using the $ to get a value room during the free DDP period. That way you are still "using" your points as they are making $ for you and yet you are taking advantage of the free dining.

I had the same thought exactly, especially since you have older teens...

I know that the DVC feels more like home though. It would be hard for me to do too.

 

[gigi1313]

to the OP... may i ask when in august you are planning to go? if it's after the 13th, you might want to consider getting a room for four of you at a value resort and get free dining... the cost of the room is cheaper than the cost of the dining plan by far (according to my math, 9 nights at $79/night and four one day base tix at $61/ticket = $955; and dining plan for four adults for 9 nights = $1440... a savings of nearly $500) and the 36 meals of each type might be enough for your family w/the supplement of in-room dining

i'm not sure if this suggestion got lost in with the others, but it really makes financial sense... and you realize that no one actually has to *STAY* in the value resort room, so you still have your family togetherness time...

whatever you decide, ENJOY!

 

[Antonia]

gigi1313 - i get what you're saying and I think that is a great suggestion. I hope the OP takes a look at it!

 

[PoohHappens]

i'm not sure if this suggestion got lost in with the others, but it really makes financial sense... and you realize that no one actually has to *STAY* in the value resort room, so you still have your family togetherness time...

whatever you decide, ENJOY!

gigi1313 they posted their dates earlier and they are before the Free DP promo, also august is still regular season so the room is more than 79$, just an FYI too We tried to book a value for the promo the week of Aug 13 and there are no values available.
However, I still think this was a really good suggestion.