DDP My DH is not Convince

[MickeysHouse07]

Ok for those in my shoes please help me out. I will be paying for 2 adults and 1 child (my DS is too young to pay). Our total will be $534 for 6N/7Days. My DH wants me to do the math and prove to him that DDP is worth it. He knows that it contains of one snack, quick service and table service. I do not know how to prove it to him that the DDP is the right thing or not. thanks

 

[Maude4Disney]

Go over to allearsnet.com and take a look at the menus and see what looks good. Remember that you get an appetizer, entree, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage with your table service. My DH was skeptical, but after doing the DDP last spring break, he swears we will use it every time.

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

I second looking at the menus.

We love the plan. One night DH and I ate at Le Cellier and the bill was over $100. We only paid $80 a day for the plan, so it was WELL worth it.

Another day we ate CS at Cosmic Rays. We each got the chicken and ribs platter and each one was about $16.

 

[pezpam]

Head over to allearsnet.com to look at the menus. Take a look at what you'd typically order and add it up. Compare that to the DDP plus anything you'd still buy OOP if you had the plan.

Don't forget to add tax and tip to your numbers from the menus - both are covered by the DDP.

 

[n2mm]

Head over to allearsnet.com to look at the menus. Take a look at what you'd typically order and add it up. Compare that to the DDP plus anything you'd still buy OOP if you had the plan.

Don't forget to add tax and tip to your numbers from the menus - both are covered by the DDP.

AND beverage!

 

[DznyLvr2005]

ok think about it this way...
this is just for one person.
Typical day of food spending in disney, minus the dining plan:
Counterservice- hamburger fries drink AND dessert ABOUT $13
Table Service Appatizer/person $10, drink $3, Entree $20-$30 Dessert $5 PLUS TAX!
Snack- A mickey Bar $4 about
TOTAL $60 a person a day without the dining plan....

Dining plan
$39/day!
It's so Worth it!

 

[Rhonda]

The Dining Plan is designed to save the average person/family 40% on their dining. This past weekend, it saved DH and me 50%!

 

[toocooltobeMom]

The OP's were all right-on!! Just imagine how much better you and DH will be eating w/ DDP.
Snack credit: $4.00
CS(best use for lunch): $6.99(burger) - $13.99(rib combo), $2-3(soft drink) and $3-4(dessert) Average CS lunch: $17.00(includes tax)
TS(for dinner to get the best value): Appetizer($6.99 - $12.00+), entree($16.00 - $39.00), soft drink($3.00), and dessert($6.99+) Average TS dinner: $46 - $64/pp

DDP only costs $38.99/pp but we have always managed to consume close to $100 a person each day. We did!!! It did take a bit of studying(menu's), but you will be glad you did. How does a tender perfectly grilled beef-tenderloin sounds to your DH. YUUUMMMMYYYY.

 

[annieb727]

what i did...was i went figured out which days we were going to which park...
ie...

day 1 - MK
day 2 - AK morning / Epcot Evening
day 3 - MGM
etc...

Then I looked at what was available at each park - and where we think we might want to go. I wrote down what we would probably get if we weren't on the DDP - even sharing a couple of meals.

Then, I added up how much it would cost us OOP - tax is (I believe) 6.5% - so multiply your total by 1.065 - and that is your total with tax.
Then for TS meals I figure out how much I'd pay in tip (used the average 18% - which is what DDP pays - multiply meal cost (before tax) by .18 and add it to the total with tax. I also added in $3/person/day for the snack credit - I know you get up to $4, but I figured a more conservative figure might be good.

Then I looked at how many TS & CS Credits it would be.

When I finished figuring TS & CS credits, I realized that meals DH & I were planning to share, we'd have to NOT share (except one meal) in order to use all the credits!! This means that we would be less reserved in what we could eat. In the end - if I remember correctly - it was almost $400 cheaper for us (2A 2C for 14 nights) to do DDP than it was for us to pay OOP and "go cheap" and share a bunch of meals!!!

 

[disneydreamin-gang]

I agree with the others. The DDP was awesome. I don't think we will ever go to WDW with out it.

 

[gina2000]

I'm not a fan of the DDP but I have to tell you, if you're a TS family and want to eat at WDW, it will save you money. We ate at Chef de France and our tab for 3 people was $200 with one carafe of house wine. That's more than a DDP for one day for 3 people. If you're determined to eat onsite and want TS meals, you should do the DDP. I had understood that at one time you couldn't parlay room discounts with the DDP but I understand that's no longer the case (except with free dining).

 

[Sammie]

It depends on your eating habits. If you want to eat at least one TS per day and then as the others suggested find the menus of where you would eat, write down the prices of what you would order and add tax and tip of 18% and if you do that you will soon see that the DDP covers the price of the TS meal easily and your CS and snack are free.

Even if you decide to do one Signature you will save some money.

Now if you are only going to eat one or two TS meals the entire trip, then no it won't save you money.

 

[brad3640]

on our vacation last september it was me DH, DS and DS who was to young to to be on the plan. on average our lunch was about $40-50 each day for supper our bills ranged from $120 - 170. plus a snack.I saved all of the receipts so i could go over them and not including the snack our food bill was about $1200.00 for 5 days. and there was plenty of food for everyone and ofcourse we just shared with our 18 mth old. hope this helps. A big plus is the convience of it. we are use to watching prices when we order and on the DDP it didn't matter. I highly recomment it

 

[jjenniboo]

I definitely agree with looking at the menus online. I have already made reservations for my trip in August at some restaurants and entrees can range up to $37 before appetizer, drink, dessert, tax, and tip !! It's definately a bargain for me.

 

[makelab]

Sammie said it best. Don't get caught up trying to make the DDP 'worth it'. If you have a nice TS each day, then it is paid for, and you get to choose whatever you like.

When I'm at Disney, the DDP represents all that I am able to eat in a day, anyway. I avoid having 3 meals a day at the world.

 

[Disney-For-Life]

I think it is worth it if your family likes big sit down meals and regular snacks while at the parks. For us it is not worth it because we usually only have 1 big sit down meal a day while on vacation, and we certainly don't want dessert with every meal. We also like to eat fruit or nutricious snacks that we bring with us, so when we did the math, it was not a good value. It just depends on your lifestyle.

 

[LizinSTL]

Ok for those in my shoes please help me out. I will be paying for 2 adults and 1 child (my DS is too young to pay). Our total will be $534 for 6N/7Days. My DH wants me to do the math and prove to him that DDP is worth it. He knows that it contains of one snack, quick service and table service. I do not know how to prove it to him that the DDP is the right thing or not. thanks

Will you be doing any table service (sit down meals) especially character meals for your little ones? Princess meals for your birthday girl? Special dinners out?

If those are in your plans anyway, then the DDP is probably the way to go. If you tend to enjoy eating out as a family anyway (sit down places, even like applebees, etc) then DDP is probably the way to go.

On the other hand, if you prefer to eat at home, your kids get antsy when you have to wait for servers. You get sick thinking of eating at buffets. You are perfectly happy with counter service (walk up to the counter, order your food, get it on a tray, carry it to a table, eat, bus your table and leave) then the DDP is probably NOT for you) but you'll still likely spend pretty darn close to the $500 for the week on CS meals anyway. Disney isn't cheap and unless you'll have access to a car and plan to drive off-site to eat many/most of your meals and/or go to a grocery store and plan to eat sandwiches/meals in your room. You are going to spend about $10/adult and $5ish/child for each counter service meal you eat.

The DDP would allow you to have- for example

Dinner with Pooh and Friends.... all 4 of you will get dinner with pooh and friends at Crystal Palace your oop cost would be with tax and tip $85.87 or it would cost your 3 TS credits....... plus that day you'd also get 3 CS credits that you could use for breakfast....plus a snack too. Since your daily cost for the plan would have been $87, I think you'd get your $$ worth out of it. Even if you'd have done breakfast vs dinner......... You'd easily spend $25 on 3 CS dinners and snacks over the course of the day.

The best way to look at the DDP, IMO, is over the week, rather than on a day by day basis. You may not get the best value each day but by the end of the week- with 2 young kids (especially a free one!) you certainly will. If you tend to do lots of character meals, all-you-can-eat meals, buffets, etc, your little one can have his own dinner/breakfast at no charge (disney policy) and you can get adorable pictures of your kiddos w/ the characters without waiting in lines (priceless)

$500 seems like a ton of money for food, I know. But the first time we went to a counterservice restaurant and they told us the total for 2 adult and 2 kids meals was $47, my dh's jaw dropped until he saw that it was 4 CS credits and not actually cash. LOL When the Hollywood and Vine Dinner buffet cost us $90...I mean 4 TS credits, he was thrilled.

 

[toocooltobeMom]

I guess it could be much cheaper if make your own lunch and toll it to the park everyday. I have seen alot of people doing exactly that year in and year out. I have read that people actually splitting a double-burger into 2 burgers to save $$$$$. Last year, I saw a family carrying a huge cooler with wheels into Animal Kingdom. The mom brough out loafs of bread and packaged cold cuts to assemble sandwiches for her family.

 

[Mad4Dizne]

Also, the one really great thing is basically having your meals prepaid!! That way no matter if you feel like filet mignon or pasta, you order what you want without a problem. I did out the math on meals alone that we would order and we came out way ahead on the DDP, with tax and tip added; (Our last Le Cellier Meal was way over $300!!--I'm so looking forward to just paying for drinks!!!)


If however the budget needs to be lower than what you'd spend on DDP, no problem there. You have alot of options. I say, I'd rather go to WDW and bring my lunch than not go at all!!!


Have A Great Trip!!
Flo

 

[FayeW]

I guess it could be much cheaper if make your own lunch and toll it to the park everyday. I have seen alot of people doing exactly that year in and year out. I have read that people actually splitting a double-burger into 2 burgers to save $$$$$. Last year, I saw a family carrying a huge cooler with wheels into Animal Kingdom. The mom brough out loafs of bread and packaged cold cuts to assemble sandwiches for her family.

I've done the "double burger/extra bun" lots of times, AND we had juice boxes and bottled water that we brought in ourselves. Not sure what you find scary about it. It was no big deal.

We also brought a picnic to Typhoon Lagoon. Sandwiches were assembled at home, however. Didn't find it particularily funny, but did appreciate having lunch and snacks whenever somebody felt like eating.