What is often cited is to put the value of what the DDP costs onto Disney gift cards. True no one knows what the DDP value will be but it's hard IMO to think it will be like it was when there was actual monetary value in it, those days seem to be long gone in the rearview mirror but the offers Disney puts out depending on what they are can tweak things on how someone sees the value.
You missed the point, it's not about cash vs gift card. It's because of what you're using your cash for. My advice would be to use cash but that's not what your plan was so why would I mention it. It's about taking your money you would pay and using it towards a restrictive and almost never financially works thing vs taking your money and putting it towards something that nets you more flexibility plus a way to use it towards a variety of things should you have money left over. Cash is best because you can just take it home with you, Disney gift card means you still have to use it on Disney (be it cruise, hotel, food or merch), DDP means you can only use it for the DDP
To the bolded. That is why I said you have to eat like Disney wants to you eat. Really trust me it's a topic often talked to death, and if you've been to enough of the the DDP threads you get to learn all what people do to maximize it, there used to be a thread that talked about the credits and value of what those credits were which was fantastic but I think that has been gone (I can't remember if the OP of that thread passed away or not was it Robo?? that did those threads?).
But still millions of people use and enjoy it. It's nice that we all have choices. Have you ever taken 3 children to Disney World? I can see the appeal of having one less thing to think about. If my kid asks for a Mickey bar or popcorn, it's nice to be able to just say yes without calculating the math involved.
While I understand wanting to give other options to someone who may or may not know what their other options are, OP has pretty clearly stated she wants to do the dining plan. It'd be great if we could please refrain from trying to make someone choose something they do not want to do.
Of course! Truly that wasn't my intent, my comments were in response to their points they mentioned in response to mine as it were
The main reason people mention the gift card thing is because you can still spend the same amount that you would have spent to have the DDP on the package but potentially come out ahead and/or have greater flexibility. With the DDP you do have to think about the credits and what places count for what (that's in response to the math comment). In the past I've always defended the people buying the DDP for the convenience factor. That doesn't mean there aren't points or mentions that can be made if someone mentions this or that because there have been plenty of posters who ended up thinking about doing it differently because of what someone else mentions, maybe not the PP which is totally fair, but others have. Fair point a poster made about how my comments were coming off though and none of my response to you is meant to rehash a conversation already over with.
we did a trip way back in the days when wdw sold non expiring passes when he was still considered a 'child' (timed the trip to take advantage). he still has 1 day left on that old pass and it worked just fine when he used a couple of days in his late teens and again in his 20's
Easter isn’t as crowded as the weeks leading up to it as most of the Florida schools have spring breaks not related to Easter in March. Parochial schools typically have it the week before or after Easter so there are some crowds but not the same as the spring break weeks. We have been there the last few years at Easter to meet half way our son who is at UF for the weekend. Disney it seems is always crowded so you just need to zig when everyone is zagging and it can make it go a bit smoother crowd wise. It will be nice birthday memories made as a family
. Happy planning!
