DDP or TiW

[Kidanifan08]

Yeah. Minimum wage in Canada is about $10 and up. In Florida it's around $7 so I guess this leads to different tip expectation.

how about DVC 10% discount? With $100 TiW fee, this means you need to spend $1000 in meals before making it even. It is a like reward credit card with a high annual fee, only worth it for high spenders.

Actually, you only have to spend $500. It's a 20% discount ---> 20% of $500 = $100 break even point. Ever dollar over $500 you are finally saving 20%. It was nice when it was $75 for AP holders. 33% increase in price this year --- yeah, that makes sense Disney

 

[sanibel93]

We use the DDP when the grandkids are with us and we do alot of buffets. We got the TIW card this year and have used it a few times. Like it much better because we don't have to eat desserts all the time, we like the appetizers more.

 

[Lizard Valley]

So I just calculated my actual meal expenses for our WDW vacation last week.

Me, DS13, DS10, DS6 - so 3 Disney adults, and 1 Disney child
Feb 27 - March 7th - 8 nights, 7.5 days
9 TS, 7 CS, 31 snacks

DDP- if we had gotten the Regular dining plan, it would have cost $1735.76 (DDP + TS tips + 2 OOP TS meals). Or $1428.32 if my DS10 had actually been a DS9 (not that I would have done this, but having a 10yr old certainly didn't encourage me to buy the DDP this year).

Buying a TIW card, eating what we wanted when we wanted, and not having to count snacks or calculating which TS meals would be better to use TS credits for - total cost: $1235.02 + $100 card = $1335.02 (savings of $400 over the cost of the DDP).

Total savings on meals/drinks using the TIW card: $124.96, minus the $100 for the card = $24.96. This includes calculating only 10% savings on meals we would have gotten a DVC discount on anyways (we ate at Trail's End twice).

I knew ahead of time that I'd at least break even, but just barely. The advantage is that my card expires March 31st 2014, so I'll still be able to use it for my next trip in March of 2014. I can guesstimate that it'll save me another $100 next year.

 

[MrBean]

Actually, you only have to spend $500. It's a 20% discount ---> 20% of $500 = $100 break even point. Ever dollar over $500 you are finally saving 20%. It was nice when it was $75 for AP holders. 33% increase in price this year --- yeah, that makes sense Disney

They're referring to the fact that DVC members already save 10-20% at many of the same restaurants. TiW would effectively only give a additional 10% discount bringing the break even point up to $1000.

Here's link to the DVC portable perks http://advc.disney.go.com/media/dvc...formembers/perks/PortablePerks-WDW-122912.pdf

Sent from my Nexus 7 using DISBoards

 

[MoreTravels]

They're referring to the fact that DVC members already save 10-20% at many of the same restaurants. TiW would effectively only give a additional 10% discount bringing the break even point up to $1000.


Sent from my Nexus 7 using DISBoards

Yes. For a big family, it may work. But TiW does not seem good with a small family of 2 parents and 1 or 2 children.

 

[robinb]

For me? Neither. I have been priced out of both. For you? The DDP because your kids are still small and you are bound to do many expensive character meals.

 

[bumbershoot]

how about DVC 10% discount?

When I looked at the list of restaurants we wanted and looked at the list of DVC discounts it made NO sense.

Via Napoli, OK. Sanaa, OK.



No Tusker House, no Brown Derby. No Tea Room. NOTHING at MK so nothing at CRT.

No AOA, SSR, or POFQ food court. No Territory Lounge.

And no discount on alcohol. This didn't mess with my trip all that much because I think the only alcohol I had was at T Lounge and it was just one beer. But still, that could change it for others.


For the places we like to eat (and Via Napoli was a "let's try it" and it was so bad to me we will not be trying it again, and on this trip Sanaa was disappointing) DVC discount did nothing.

So you have to know where you'll be booking, or else just go by the DVC list when making reservations.

 

[LisaS]

The DVC 10% discount is a better deal than it used to be when it was only valid for lunch. According to Portable Perks, most of the restaurants that offer the 10% discount now offer it for breakfast and dinner as well which is great! Alcoholic beverages are excluded at many of the restaurants that offer the discount however.

 

[Dacky619]

Yes. For a big family, it may work. But TiW does not seem good with a small family of 2 parents and 1 or 2 children.

That just depends on where you like to eat and how many times you use it. My dw and I get APs and the TIW on an August trip and then use them again for a trip the following May/June. We have even thrown in a few weekend trips over the winter in the past. The TIW has usually been a break even after that first trip, so any time we use it in addition to that it has been savings.

It isn't nearly as much of a savings as a family of 7 gets, but we still like it much better than the DDP.

 

[Kidanifan08]

They're referring to the fact that DVC members already save 10-20% at many of the same restaurants. TiW would effectively only give a additional 10% discount bringing the break even point up to $1000.

OK, I guess I kind of understand what was being implied. I am not sure that comparing the DVC discount offerings to TIW is comparing Apples to Apples, so I am not sure I buy the idea that because of the DVC discount, you suddenly need to spend a minimum of $1000 to make it worth it. The DVC discount offers no LeCellier, nothing at MK, essentially nothing at HS (H&V -- gag me!), and essentially nothing at AK, although we use our DVC discount every time we go at Y&Y. I guess if a DVC member can live within the narrow range of offerings with the DVC Dining Perks, then TIW is definitely not worth it.

Yes. For a big family, it may work. But TiW does not seem good with a small family of 2 parents and 1 or 2 children.

We are a family of 3, but we have been able to get in more than one trip on a single TIW card. That's at least 14 days of use for us and probably 3-5 character meals plus LeC 2-3 times. We will be a party of 9 this summer, so TIW will definitely pay for itself over that 10 days, plus we will probably be able to use it next summer for an 8-10 day trip. But yes, for a small family and one short trip per year, TIW is probably not going to work. With the DVC discount limited to only 4 people on the ticket, it does not work for larger groups. As you said earlier, TIW works better for "high spenders", although if you can get more than one trip, or 10 days or longer on one card, it may work out if you like to do table services.

When I looked at the list of restaurants we wanted and looked at the list of DVC discounts it made NO sense. . . NOTHING at MK . . . And no discount on alcohol. . . For the places we like to eat (and Via Napoli was a "let's try it" and it was so bad to me we will not be trying it again, and on this trip Sanaa was disappointing) DVC discount did nothing.

So you have to know where you'll be booking, or else just go by the DVC list when making reservations.

I agree that the DVC discount offerings are fairly minimal and seem to be DTD/resort heavy. We actually love Via, especially for a large group -- sorry you had a less than satisfying experience. I do wish TIW or DVC worked at Teppan Edo and it would be nice if TIW worked at Y&Y.


Obviously there are several variables that make one plan better for an individual group over another. As Robin pointed out, perhaps neither plan works and the survey should have had a "neither" option. At least it's nice to have options!

Obviously for me, if my user name was not "Kidanifan08" it would probably be "TIWfan08"!

 

[cslittle999]

Perhaps they pay restaurant servers a higher wage in Canada. In the US, restaurants are allowed to pay servers less than minimum wage because part of their income comes from tips.

The wage rules are the same in Canada. The tipping standards are the same here as in the US.

 

[bbangel]

We just did the math for our upcoming trip. We looked at menus and priced out what we would order. It was less than the dining plan would cost us so that was out. Then we did the math on the TIW discount and were surprised that we would barely cover the cost of the card. So we are doing this trip with nothing but the DVC discount on a couple of our choices. If we were doing two trips in the time the card would be valid it would have been a better choice.

 

[La2kw]

I didn't vote because we use neither. TIW has increased too much to be of value on our once a year trips and DDP would have never worked for us. We eat in our DVC villa, off site, and just a few places onsite. We don't do too many TS restaurants anymore at Disney since the food is way over priced and the restaurants are too crowded and difficult to get into now. We save our TS meals for Mythos, Margaritaville, and Hard Rock at Universal.

 

[CarolynMink]

Will restaurants split the bill between two parties and apply the TIW discount to both tickets as long as the card holder is present?

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

This is the official rule from the TIW website: The Tables in Wonderland discount is good for up to 10 people including the member, as long as everyone is on the same check, and the Tables in Wonderland member is paying the bill. If you have the Tables in Wonderland card, and your spouse or partner has the Tables in Wonderland secondary card, together you may cover up to 20 people. Both members must live at the same address and be 21 years of age or older.

Now, I have seen others post that it will depend on the server. I however, have always been stuck with the bill.

 

[DenLo]

For the two of us we use TIW. We are at WDW around 20 nights a year in two trips. However we purchased the DDP for our family gathering in June because we will not always be eating together. Our guests can't benefit from the card if we are not dining with them,

 

[robinb]

That just depends on where you like to eat and how many times you use it. My dw and I get APs and the TIW on an August trip and then use them again for a trip the following May/June. We have even thrown in a few weekend trips over the winter in the past. The TIW has usually been a break even after that first trip, so any time we use it in addition to that it has been savings.

We are a family of 3 and have had the TIW card since it was the DDE. We usually get 2-3 trips out of it, but we also usually only eat 3-4 TS meals per trip. To make matters harder, one of those trips is over Christmas/NYE with 4 blackout dates. I was mad at myself for scheduling dinner at California Grill on last Christmas Eve (we're not christian, so the date had no importance) and losing the discount on a nearly $200 meal . At $75 (the price you paid for it in August) it was worth it for us. At $100 we now have to spend $500 to see our very first penny out of it ... I'm just not sure it is worth it anymore.

 

[Anal Annie]

Yes. For a big family, it may work. But TiW does not seem good with a small family of 2 parents and 1 or 2 children.

We are a family of 3 and if we buy the TIW card it's because we have at least 2 trips planned (= to about 2 weeks). We usually plan 4-5 TS meals over the course of a week and we always use it at the CS places in AK. When our DS was younger and still eating off the kids menu yes, it was harder to make back the money (even back when the card was called the DDE and it only cost $65 to purchase). But this past year, with him being a teenager eating everything he can get his hands on we really cleaned up on the savings even tho we're only 3 people. I have found that the restaurants that give the DVC discount are more for lunches or just aren't the places we want to go. The list is much smaller and more restricted...plus we like to have a drink or two with our TS meals. I like having the larger selection of restaurants and having alcohol included with the TIW card. It encourages me to spring for the fancier avocado margarita with the better tequila at La Hacienda and the pitcher of Sangria rather than the glass at Via Napoli and the Kettle One dirty martini.

 

[JimC]

We use TIW as well as other discounts (DVC, AP) where they do not overlap with TIW. We are also local, living within 45 minutes of WDW. So TIW works nicely for us to have dinner and go to a concert at Epcot. We also enjoy some of the special events put on by TIW. They are a bit pricey, but great fun!

 

[dsneygirl]

We are also a family of 4 (with a toddler in there) and it makes sense for us as we like a glass of wine or cocktail with dinner and we don't always do desserts or even an entree. We also usually do 2-3 trips out of one card. We were there for 10 days in Sept and had planned on another 7 days in April. Unfortunately we had to cancel but we hope to get back in Aug or Sept again.

 

[mmtravel]

We have used both DDP and DxDDP when our 10 year old was still considered a chld - it was worth it then for different types of trips. Now TiW because it fits our style better. We like apps, don't always order dessert, and enjoy alcoholic and "special" beverages with our meals and like getting discounts on both. Definitely pays for itself and then saves a lot.