Different spin (mebbe) on DDP - worth it?

[Herfnerd]

DW and I are vacationing four nites mid January of 2013 - decided just this past weekend. Great airfare and decent rates thru our TA - but still waffling on whether we should take her up on the DDP.

The previous dozen or so times I have visited WDW, always paid OOP for meals but its been ten years since she last visited and about 5-6 since my last time there.

DDP has changed since I first checked it out back in the early 90's and it appears that the majority here feel its not worth it these days - too much food, too expensive - no apps or tips anymore, too inconvenient trying to set up ADR, etc

However, the price our TA quoted us for the DDP seemed to be a pretty good deal - $32.42 a day for snack, 1QS and 1TS each. I know that at this late date, trying to get ADR in prime restaurants is iffy but not impossible during low/value season

What say ye?

TIA

 

[sharonabe]

DW and I are vacationing four nites mid January of 2013 - decided just this past weekend. Great airfare and decent rates thru our TA - but still waffling on whether we should take her up on the DDP.

The previous dozen or so times I have visited WDW, always paid OOP for meals but its been ten years since she last visited and about 5-6 since my last time there.

DDP has changed since I first checked it out back in the early 90's and it appears that the majority here feel its not worth it these days - too much food, too expensive, too inconvenient trying to set up ADR, etc

However, the price our TA quoted us for the DDP seemed to be a pretty good deal - $32.42 a day for snack, 1QS and 1TS each. I know that at this late date, trying to get ADR in prime restaurants is iffy but not impossible during low/value season

What say ye?

TIA

Would love to know what kind of package she's getting. The DDP for adults in 2013 is $55 per day. If your total package will only be $32 pp/per day more, I'd probably go for it.

 

[Cafeen]

At a $33 price point, the DDP will likely be a decent value.

Using a standard $3 snack price, the full price DDP breaks down to roughly $35 for a TS credit, $14 for a QS credit, and $3 for the snack. Since it can be difficult to get an entree, drink, dessert for $35, it makes the DDP tougher to see value. Add to this some people's tendency or desire to skip dessert and prefer water over soft drinks, and you can see how the cost to value ratio can easily drop.

For $33, this puts the costs at roughly $30 for both the CS and TS (using the same $3 snack). Using the 2.5:1 ratio above, this means that a TS cost will cost you roughly $21.50 and a CS credit roughly $8.50*. These numbers are considerably easier to hit, even when not utilizing desserts at all meals (especially CS, since that number is almost below the typical CS cost before dessert and drink!)

So, with all those numbers out of the way, it certainly looks like a DDP at ~$33 per night would well be worth it from a value perspective and still maintain some leeway in what you'd choose to eat (since the potential savings is much higher, your freedom to order off the lower side of the menus is greater. You shouldn't feel the need to order higher priced entrees than you want, just to make sure you're getting value from the plan).

*Note: The numbers posted are estimates. For the full price DDP, this is done via an equation that figures out the cost of a QS credit on QSDP and then plugs that into the QS credit of the DDP to find the TS credit. For the discounted plan, this is not applicable since we don't have a QSDP price and we can't really use the same value. However, since the ratio is roughly 2.5:1 for TS cost vs QS cost, we can estimate and get a general idea.

 

[Herfnerd]

I think we're gonna bite on this one!

I knew that the DDP normally added about $55pp to the package which I feel is not that great a deal and was echoed by the majority on the boards.

But when our TA came back with package prices with and without the DDP and the difference was only $259.38 (total) for the four night stay for both of us, I had to post asking for opinons. I even called her back and she confirmed that the quoted price was correct!

Thanx all!

 

[figment_jii]

I think we're gonna bite on this one!

I knew that the DDP normally added about $55pp to the package which I feel is not that great a deal and was echoed by the majority on the boards.

But when our TA came back with package prices with and without the DDP and the difference was only $259.38 (total) for the four night stay for both of us, I had to post asking for opinons. I even called her back and she confirmed that the quoted price was correct!

Thanx all!

I know you've checked, but I'd ask the TA to double/triple check because that's a really good deal for the DDP. At $32.50 it's closer in cost to the QSDP package price ($35 in 2012).

 

[Cafeen]

I know you've checked, but I'd ask the TA to double/triple check because that's a really good deal for the DDP. At $32.50 it's closer in cost to the QSDP package price ($35 in 2012).

There is a special going on for Jan right now, so that could be it. I have no idea what the special actually is (Free Dining Plan, Discounted Dining Plan?), but it looks like it's for that same general time-frame.

 

[Herfnerd]

I trust her - she has booked all of our cruises and vacations for years and is an admitted Disney-maniac. Works for a big nationwide company that is a Disney Authorized Vacation Planner (and deals a lot with automobiles) and she's atteneded the Disney College of Knowledge - I doubt she would make THAT big a mistake, lol!

But when I got the quote from her, I too just had to question it and she did confirm the price when I called back, so I think we're good to go!

 

[CraigInPA]

Your TA is putting you into the stay/play/dine discount. In addition to getting the discount on the dining, you're getting a small discount on adult tickets.

 

[Herfnerd]

Your TA is putting you into the stay/play/dine discount. In addition to getting the discount on the dining, you're getting a small discount on adult tickets.

Yuppa- we booked last nite and this is the plan she told us we are getting booked under.

Great deal IMHO - we looked at booking room only on our own and getting tix from UT but the prices were pretty much similar and none of the extras we are getting......