DDP or No? Help a Newbie, Please :)

[TwoLittlePrincesses]

We'll be at Disney Nov 27th-29th. We're going to MVMCP on the 27th, and will be arriving at Disney sometime in the afternoon of the 27th (driving over). We're planning on going into the MK right at 4:00, but will need to eat dinner right when we get into the MK before the party. I'm thinking CS or QS, because we don't have an ADR. On Nov 28th we have ADRs at Ohana for breakfast, CP for lunch and CRT for dinner (DD's favorite thing to do is meet characters). We'll probably grab a QS breakfast at POP before we leave for the airport on Nov 29th. So with two adults and two children (ages 4 and 2), will it make sense for me to do a dining plan, given the amount of expensive meals we have planned? Thank you!!

 

[summermac]

It's up to you I suppose but the first thing that I notice is that you don't have enough credits to cover all your meals. You get 1 TS credit per person/per night and you need 4 total credits to cover all your TS meals as CRT is a 2 credit meal.

HOWEVER, yes you would almsot spend the price of the dining plan per night just on the 2 TS meals (O'hana and Crystal Palace) so it probably is worth it for you.

 

[havoc315]

The dining plan would not cover the 2 year-old. So the question really comes down to the payments for the 4-year-old and 2 adults.
You can do the math exactly, but approximately... The DxDP would cost about $350 and cover all of your meals. Or the DDP would cost about $220 and cover all your meals *except* CRT, which you would have to pay OOP.
So you really have some pretty simple math, would all your meals cost more/less than $350? Would all your meals, outside of CRT, cost less than $220?
Not sure if you face holiday pricing or not for those dates.... so Ohana would be around $60-$65 for the 2 adults and 1 child.
Crystal Palace-- again, depending on whether its a holiday or not -- About $70-$80.
CRT -- I can't find the most recent price anywhere, but it should be around $150-$160 for the 3 of you.
So it looks like you would be around $300 for those 3 sit-down meals. QS breakfast on your last day would be around $20-$30. CS dinner on your first day can range anywhere from $25-50.

So looking at these rough estimates, the DxDP would save you a little bit of money, and throw in your snacks too. Wouldn't save you massive amounts of money. And if you had to miss any of your reservations, the savings would go out the window. But if you stick to your plan, the DxDP would save you a little bit.

 

[TwoLittlePrincesses]

Thank you! Very helpful I'm thinking we'll skip the dining plan this time only because I'm not 100% positive my girls will make it to an early 'Ohana breakfast after MVMCP the night before, and as you said, if will swap out one of those meals for CS or QS, there goes our savings!