DDP or not...

[d-r]

Sometimes we do it, sometimes we don't. It is actually nice sometimes not to have a place to be. One thing is - this is why I posted - when they do the "seasonal pricing" it can change the value of it. For our first trip this summer (early June), we are at AKL and going to do a lot of buffets (Boma) and character meals (Tusker House, Crystal Palace) and one-price things like 'ohana. We realized that 1. our 2-year-old eats free at those, and 2. with seasonal pricing you might as well just get the dining plan.

So that got us in that frame of mind. We are going back in late July for a week at bcv. So we decided that since it is going to be hot and crowded, we'll just get that deluxe plan and have a lunch at epcot and a dinner at a signature every day.

Our last couple of visits we didn't use it.

Its kids of like dvc points, you can use the different plans in different ways so it is nice to have options, sometimes they make sense sometimes they don't.

 

[ValpoCory]

Sometimes we do it, sometimes we don't. It is actually nice sometimes not to have a place to be.

Paying out of pocket, we still make plenty of dining reservations. For our family, we just couldn't justify the cost of the dining plan. Assuming an average snack + QS is $10, each adult needs to average $32 minimum per day for each TS meal (or $64 per Signature Dining) in order to just break even. That's tough to do sometimes, especially if you want to do buffets.

 

[CindeBella]

Thank you so much everyone for the advice! We've always stayed at the Swan/Dolphin using my husband's Gov't discount. The dining plans are new to us now that we're DVC members.

I chose the Deluxe Dining Plan for $71.99 per adult and $20.99 per child.
I changed some of our dining reservations.. here is our new schedule.

Day 1 ~ lunch either at Big River Grill or Beaches and Cream upon arrival
dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse

Day 2 ~ Cinderella's Royal Table (I already paid OOP for this and since my husband and sons are not coming I left it as is so we will have the same meals available)
dinner at Brown Derby

Day 3 ~ Character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare
dinner at Citricos

Day 4 ~ Character breakfast at Crystal Palace
dinner at Flying Fish

Day 5 ~ lunch at Chefs de France
dinner at California Grill

Day 6 ~ Character breakfast at Cape May
Dinner at The Wave

Day 7 ~ Character breakfast at Ohana's
lunch ? maybe Big River Grille or Beaches and Cream
dinner at Narcoosee's

Day 8 ~ lunch at Coral Reef

I can't imagine having a snack during the day so most likely we will use the credits for bottled water. An appetizer and dessert for each person at each meal seems like a ton of food! I wish I could subsitute one for a cocktail/glass of wine My diet begins Saturday! I will be lucky if my clothing still fits at the end of our trip!

 

[dmoore22]

First trip as DVC members !?! HOME!!!

 

[sleepydog25]

Congrats! You'll have a blast, no doubt. And, now, you'll be able to chime in on what YOU think of the DxDP in future threads.

 

[ValpoCory]

Thank you so much everyone for the advice! We've always stayed at the Swan/Dolphin using my husband's Gov't discount. The dining plans are new to us now that we're DVC members.

I chose the Deluxe Dining Plan for $71.99 per adult and $20.99 per child.
I changed some of our dining reservations.. here is our new schedule.

Day 1 ~ lunch either at Big River Grill or Beaches and Cream upon arrival
dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse

Day 2 ~ Cinderella's Royal Table (I already paid OOP for this and since my husband and sons are not coming I left it as is so we will have the same meals available)
dinner at Brown Derby

Day 3 ~ Character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare
dinner at Citricos

Day 4 ~ Character breakfast at Crystal Palace
dinner at Flying Fish

Day 5 ~ lunch at Chefs de France
dinner at California Grill

Day 6 ~ Character breakfast at Cape May
Dinner at The Wave

Day 7 ~ Character breakfast at Ohana's
lunch ? maybe Big River Grille or Beaches and Cream
dinner at Narcoosee's

Day 8 ~ lunch at Coral Reef

I can't imagine having a snack during the day so most likely we will use the credits for bottled water. An appetizer and dessert at each meal seems like a ton of food! I wish I could subsitute one for a cocktail/glass of wine My diet begins Saturday! I will be lucky if my clothing still fits at the end of our trip!

Great Schedule! Lots of good food and good times in that list. You should ask if there is anyway to use the plan's TS credits at Cinderella's Royal Table and pay out of pocket at Crystal Palace and Cape May for all those in your party eating at the Castle. It is a better use of your credits, from a dollars per credit standpoint. Allears.net has all the prices, so you can make informed decisions about which place to pay OOP if you think you will run out of TS credits.

Also, you should create a spreadsheet, with a rough estimate of what the total price paid Out of pocket will be/would have been. Several of the ones you list are fixed price, so you could fill in some of the blanks before you go. If you don't, then ignorance is bliss, and you'll recommend the DxDP. I know I did. If you do, then I'd be interested in your opinion.

Some people still get the plan, knowing they're losing money, just to be able to know their rough food budget for the trip. To me, I'd rather have the money.

 

[d-r]

That's a really good plan. You are going to save money - $72 a day for a buffet /character meal/ts and a signature every day is a no brainer, especially when you figure in the appetizers at the signatures, and especially with seasonal pricing at the character meals.

The thing for us is - would we eat that much at signatures if we didn't have the dining plan? It is hard for us to do a straight up comparison in price because if we don't get it we probably wouldn't eat as much, if that makes sense.

 

[d-r]

Here's my thinking of why I called it a "no-brainer" - dinner at citricos, cali grill, flying fish etc. with app. and desert = $60-65 person, easy, before tax.
With seasonal pricing, character breakfast ~ $23-25 (the table service meals with app. and desert will be more)
2 snacks a day > $5

So conservatively, that is around $90/day.

But for us, it isn't a straight up comparison, because if we pay out of pocket, we wouldn't do a signature with app. and desert every day, probably more like a couple week. We wouldn't always get app. AND desert, etc.

 

[CindeBella]

Merci Beaucoup everyone! During our other several trips to WDW we have spent at least $300 per day on food and snacks, etc. Our oldest is approaching the teenage years and he has quite the appetite now!

I did a quick look at what I thought we would spend either way and I do believe we will save by going with the DXDP (earlier I posted DDP as the DXDP).
As I mentioned, my oldest son has quite the appetite and this trip he will be ordering from the adult menu.
Whenever we dine out, we always order an appetizer and my children do like dessert as do I on occasion. We can always bring leftovers back to the villa if we don't finish them. Someone always wants a midnight snack
I, myself, don't each much. I eat light and healthy so perhaps it won't pay as much for me but I definitely think it will for my husband and children. I accustomed to that with character meals. I typically eat a few healthy items only. I don't see a reason to stuff myself only because I paid for it.

In the past, we typically spent $150 for dinner with ordering three children's meals and 2 adults with an appetizer and desserts. I'm guessing we will now we spend $170 for most dinners with an appetizer, entrees and desserts since we will order 3 adults dinners and 2 children's, I'm assuming we will spend close to $100 for a character meal also. When you add snacks on top of that, it should save money.

My children just informed me that they would like to dine at more character meals this trip. I thought they were outgrowing them. In the past, we went to character meals almost every morning.

When we vacation, I like to ensure that everyone is having a wonderful time and I don't want anyone to feel as if they're missing out. Family vacations are very important to us We don't limit anyone as to what they order.

I won't be purchasing as many groceries this trip as I originally planned so those funds can be added to the DXDP. In the past, we never had time to swim or relax. All of our time was spent rushing to character breakfasts and making dinner reservations on time. I thought I would let everyone relax a bit and order more groceries in the room so that we can spend the extra time moving at our pace. Turns out, the kids decided they don't want that Now that the trip is getting closer, they've thought more about what they want to do. The excitement is really setting in
Also, this is our first trip in two years.. last year DH took me to Paris for my birthday so we're very much looking forward to this trip! We've never gone this long without visiting.

There are no guarantees which will benefit us cost wise.. I'm not going to lose sleep if we don't break even. I will document what we spend and post it. Hopefully, it will help others make an informed decision.

ValpoCory, I didn't consider changing Cinderella's Royal Table to the plan. That is a good point. Would we be able to purchase two of our meals at Cape May or CP while the others are on the plan?

Thanks again to everyone for all of the great advice!

 

[CindeBella]

First trip as DVC members !?! HOME!!!

Thank you so much! We are beyond thrilled!!

 

[ValpoCory]

ValpoCory, I didn't consider changing Cinderella's Royal Table to the plan. That is a good point. Would we be able to purchase two of our meals at Cape May or CP while the others are on the plan?

Thanks again to everyone for all of the great advice!

Yes,
Last time I went I knew before hand we would spend 23 TS when we only had 21 to spend. So, at Crystal Palace, I told our waitress one of us 3 would be using a TS credit, and the other 2 would pay cash. No problems. And there shouldn't have been. Inter-family dining happens at Disney, and all families aren't necessarily on the DP.

How did I reach such a weird total of 23? Well, from past experience I knew the Dining Plan trick ... that at every non-fixed price restaurant, the trick to saving TS credits is not using 1 for every person in your party. We would use 2 TS credits for the 3 of us at each one of those meals. All of that food we got with 2 TS credits easily fed all 3 of us, even if we had to order one of the entrees off the kid's menu. We did that at places like Yak and Yeti & Mama Melrose.

That method is especially appropriate if one person in your party is a light eater. That method will seem like normal if you occasionally share meals in your home town restaurants. Those who know that "Fajitas for One" can easily feed two know what I'm talking about.

If you do it, then you can choose what to do with your saved TS credits ... go to another TS restaurant, upgrade one to a signature, etc.

 

[marlouwrig]

We found the DDP to be extremely good value the first time we used it when appetizer and gratuity were all included. The next trip appetizer and gratuity were no longer included but we still found that overall it was a good deal.
However, it is being reported,that according to UK tour operator brochures for 2011 (including Virgin) it appears that desert may no longer be included for either CS or TS but instead 2 snack items, instead of one for each day.
This is the point at which I feel that it will no longer be a viable option for us as a family and we will have to consider other options, such as TIW

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

For us, the DDP saved us money when we saved up all our receipts. That being said, I wouldn't have ordered some of the stuff I ordered if I wasn't on DDP. Really for me, its the convienence of having everything prepaid. Our food was mostly paid for before we even GOT to Disney so it spread out the cost of our trip over 6 mths as opposed to front loading food and souvenirs when we got there. I am not an AP holder so I can't get TIW, so DDP is next best thing. It seems like a lot of people really benefit more from TIW though.

 

[kaffinito]

For us I total up what each person will eat at each TS place, add in a base cost for a CS meal, then compare it to the price of the DDP for the trip. It all depends on which TS places we have chosen, and how we usually eat on a trip. For example I know that DS17 will always choose steak if it's on the menu, and DS9 will choose any meal that comes with rice.

Last trip I came up with the DDP cheaper than our projected TS meals, so I got the DDP. This trip I came up with the DDP costing us $174 more so we're going with the TiW option.

Depending on what your family likes to eat and when, the DDP might not be the best option.

 

[CindeBella]

Yes,
Last time I went I knew before hand we would spend 23 TS when we only had 21 to spend. So, at Crystal Palace, I told our waitress one of us 3 would be using a TS credit, and the other 2 would pay cash. No problems. And there shouldn't have been. Inter-family dining happens at Disney, and all families aren't necessarily on the DP.

I wondered about inter-family dining but also read that everyone must be on the dining plan... I paid Cinderella's Royal Table OOP when I made the reservations, I wonder if they will credit my CC and take the credits from our dining plan? I did not have the dining plan added when I made the reservations.
Thanks again!

 

[CindeBella]

For us I total up what each person will eat at each TS place, add in a base cost for a CS meal, then compare it to the price of the DDP for the trip. It all depends on which TS places we have chosen, and how we usually eat on a trip. For example I know that DS17 will always choose steak if it's on the menu, and DS9 will choose any meal that comes with rice.

Last trip I came up with the DDP cheaper than our projected TS meals, so I got the DDP. This trip I came up with the DDP costing us $174 more so we're going with the TiW option.

Depending on what your family likes to eat and when, the DDP might not be the best option.

We used the TiW one year when we had a AP but now we only purchase tickets so that is not an option.. although it was great! My family likes an appetizer and the kids like dessert as do I on occasion. I figure we can take the leftovers back to the villa and someone can have them as a midnight snack.
With my oldest son now eating from the adult menu, I think it will be a benefit to have the dining plan. I have no idea where he put it He's gone from a size 12 to a 16 in a few of months!

 

[CindeBella]

For us, the DDP saved us money when we saved up all our receipts. That being said, I wouldn't have ordered some of the stuff I ordered if I wasn't on DDP. Really for me, its the convienence of having everything prepaid. Our food was mostly paid for before we even GOT to Disney so it spread out the cost of our trip over 6 mths as opposed to front loading food and souvenirs when we got there. I am not an AP holder so I can't get TIW, so DDP is next best thing. It seems like a lot of people really benefit more from TIW though.

The TiW was great the time we had it but this year we are only making one trip this year. I think the dining plan will be best for us. As I mentioned in earlier posts, my family likes appetizers and desserts. I really think it's beneficial for us. I will keep a log and let everyone know how it works for us.

 

[DVC mom]

We like the DDP. We have used deluxe and basic. We have used it from two adults to four adults and a child with all combos in between on at least 6 or so trips. We have saved as little as $275ish and as much as $450ish. I always save the reciepts. We like to pay the bill on check-in and never having to worry about prices and money again.

 

[jelliott04]

I did this comparison on our last trip in Feb.

Unfortunately, my family doesn't consider it a meal if there isn't a table cloth and silverware involved. We did the DxDP and we also have TIW since we are AP holders.

It worked out to be about the same. My hubby likes the DxDP because we can just order what we want and not look at prices on the menu.

I wouldn't say it is cheaper but it is very convenient. I also split my hotel stay so I'm not paying for the last day when we won't be there and we'll use all our credits.

Here is a link to my comparison: https://spreadsheets2.google.com/ccc?key=t7FYO8VD2czi8xeFjh7VEmg&hl=en

Jen

 

[ValpoCory]

I wouldn't say it is cheaper but it is very convenient. I also split my hotel stay so I'm not paying for the last day when we won't be there and we'll use all our credits.

Here is a link to my comparison: https://spreadsheets2.google.com/ccc?key=t7FYO8VD2czi8xeFjh7VEmg&hl=en

Jen

Great spreadsheet Jen! I see you stayed away from breakfast buffets and the castle, as those kill your value.