DDP or OOP?

[Laketravis]

We are two adults and one 7 year old. We normally only eat one meal a day (dinner), while our 7 year old also eats a very small breakfast and lunch.

In 2010 we had DDP, which was more than enough food. In 2011 we had DxDP, which was way too much food.

This year we are staying 8 nights and buying 7 day park hoppers. The difference between room w/tickets and room w/tickets and DDP is 944.80.

I'm thinking of going out-of-pocket with a couple of snacks during the day and a buffet each evening (Crystal Palace, Chef Mickeys, Whispering Canyon, 1900 Park Fare, Cape May Cafe, etc), but it's hard for me to compare when the buffet prices are only listed as "$36-$60".

Anybody have experience with OOP? Would we be better off paying OOP for a couple of snacks and a buffet each day?

 

[wdw4rfam]

Trust me, we have done the math MANY times every trip. It seems that if you plan on doing mostly dinners, the dining plan is usually better. Like you said, it usually pays for itself with one dinner buffet. If you are staying 8 nights, it looks like your dining is about $114 per day, and I think you will make that up in one dinner, so anything else is bonus. Now if some of them were breakfasts or even lunch, it seems OOP would be an option, since they are much cheaper.

 

[Cafeen]

We are two adults and one 7 year old. We normally only eat one meal a day (dinner), while our 7 year old also eats a very small breakfast and lunch.

In 2010 we had DDP, which was more than enough food. In 2011 we had DxDP, which was way too much food.

This year we are staying 8 nights and buying 7 day park hoppers. The difference between room w/tickets and room w/tickets and DDP is 944.80.

I'm thinking of going out-of-pocket with a couple of snacks during the day and a buffet each evening (Crystal Palace, Chef Mickeys, Whispering Canyon, 1900 Park Fare, Cape May Cafe, etc), but it's hard for me to compare when the buffet prices are only listed as "$36-$60".

Anybody have experience with OOP? Would we be better off paying OOP for a couple of snacks and a buffet each day?

Check the AllEars.net menus for approximate pricing. However, I'm guessing that considering the way you eat, you'd be better off paying OOP and splitting lunches. Also, you may not feel like doing a buffet each night, and if you're lighter eaters, OOP will save you even more.

Now, this also depends on your group as buffets are better values on the DDP for children than adults (though, dinner buffets are usually fine, it gets tricky with breakfast ones).

 

[Laketravis]

Trust me, we have done the math MANY times every trip. It seems that if you plan on doing mostly dinners, the dining plan is usually better. Like you said, it usually pays for itself with one dinner buffet. If you are staying 8 nights, it looks like your dining is about $114 per day, and I think you will make that up in one dinner, so anything else is bonus. Now if some of them were breakfasts or even lunch, it seems OOP would be an option, since they are much cheaper.

I think you're right - When talking a dinner buffet every evening, it's probably wise to go with the DDP.

I found a nice table of pricing for dinner buffets during non-peak seasons and in just about every case it's almost $90 for two adults and one child.

Add a couple of snacks each during the day we'd be close to $120.

So it does seem like the DDP at $118 a day would save a few bucks by providing the evening buffet plus one snack, one CS, and that most-valuable refillable mug

 

[sharonabe]

Your 7 yr old will be "saving" money on the plan with the buffets you have planned. Most of those are $18-20 for a child, so anything else they have on the plan will be free. The adult prices are $38-42 (except Chef Mickey which is $42-45). The ranges here are for seasonal pricing. With DDP being around $51/day, you can easily make the DDP work for you even with small QS meal and snacks.

If you were doing anything other than dinner BUFFETS, I'd recommend OOP, but as is, you'll probably do better with DDP.