Dining plan or not

[Dean]

Not that either, renting points this year. Sounds like I will be out of luck. Bummer!!

you could chose to buy an AP if the TIW were a good enough deal. I know many who have bought a single AP to get access to various perks including parking when staying off property and the TIW card.

 

[dsneygirl]

I also also know the liberty tree at MK for lunch Will only run you $2-3 more.. We ordered burgers and fries and chicken fingers, so not sure in the other items.. But is was nice to sit down for a while, and not have it be so crazy like at starlight cafe..

I like the idea of having all our food brought to us, than having to go to three different "bays" so everyone can get what they want to eat,


Plus they were REALLY nice about letting us bring our stroller in (baby was sleeping)

LTT is a must do lunch. my DH loves the pot roast and there is a smaller version of the turkey dinner.

We also like Rose & Crown, Plaza, Prime Time, Chefs de France for lunch.

 

[brandigregory]

I know we are going next Sept as well so I am thinking about an annual pass or a 10 day ticket adding the non expire option to the last 5 days. Anyone ever do that?

 

[kittyab]

I made sure we used up our credits. On our last day.... I hit a gift shop and used up on snack points for all sorts of goodies to take home

With the dining plan... I ate what i want and didn't pay attention to the prices. We like to try different things and not feel like we were being nickel-ed & dimed to death.

For me the issue with the TWI, one you have to pay $100 for the card, 2nd not all the restaurants are on that plan.

 

[disneynutz]

I made sure we used up our credits. On our last day.... I hit a gift shop and used up on snack points for all sorts of goodies to take home

With the dining plan... I ate what i want and didn't pay attention to the prices. We like to try different things and not feel like we were being nickel-ed & dimed to death.

For me the issue with the TWI, one you have to pay $100 for the card, 2nd not all the restaurants are on that plan.

Have you compared the cost of paying for the same food OOP. How does it keep you from feeling like you were nickel-ed & dimed to death?

Bill

 

[kittyab]

Have you compared the cost of paying for the same food OOP. How does it keep you from feeling like you were nickel-ed & dimed to death?

Bill

We did see that our dinners would had cost us over $100 a night. Our Lunches would had cost around $60 a day, Breakfast about $40?

When we went to Bush Gardens, it was insane. I much rather pay upfront and eat what I want. I feel like I am on vacation, if I want eat lobster then darn it I am gonna eat lobster. Me & hubbie are foodies, and my dd loves the character meals. So on our next WDW adventure we are doing the dining plan.

 

[chalee94]

I feel like I am on vacation, if I want eat lobster then darn it I am gonna eat lobster. Me & hubbie are foodies, and my dd loves the character meals. So on our next WDW adventure we are doing the dining plan.

the thing that drives me crazy is the people who buy the DDP and don't even want the lobster - they think the mahi mahi dish looks amazing - but they get the lobster because it's the most expensive and they need to get their value out of the DDP.

i can see how the DDP is a good idea for character meals but i prefer to be free to eat offsite for some meals and to pick what i like, rather than feel obligated to get a more expensive item or dessert just because of the price i paid for the DDP.

but opinions vary, sure...

 

[Chuck S]

I know we are going next Sept as well so I am thinking about an annual pass or a 10 day ticket adding the non expire option to the last 5 days. Anyone ever do that?

You can not add non-expiring to only 5 days of a 10 day pass, it is all or nothing. Even if 5 days are used on your current trip, you'd need to pay the 10 non-expiring price for the upgrade. Just as you can not a "hopper" option for only part of a ticket. If you will use 10 park days during a calendar year, an annual pass is your best price.

 

[dsneygirl]

the thing that drives me crazy is the people who buy the DDP and don't even want the lobster - they think the mahi mahi dish looks amazing - but they get the lobster because it's the most expensive and they need to get their value out of the DDP.

i can see how the DDP is a good idea for character meals but i prefer to be free to eat offsite for some meals and to pick what i like, rather than feel obligated to get a more expensive item or dessert just because of the price i paid for the DDP.

but opinions vary, sure...

This is part of what killed it for me. My DH would insist I order the most expensive meal on the menu even if I felt like pasta. Also many people point out the $14 or $15 QS entrees but I don't want to race all over the park or leave to go to a resort just to maximize another few bucks on the plan.

I've said this before but I think it is different for long time visitors as well. We've done every character meal 7x it seems so last 2 trips we did 1 each that was enough.

 

[kittyab]

the thing that drives me crazy is the people who buy the DDP and don't even want the lobster - they think the mahi mahi dish looks amazing - but they get the lobster because it's the most expensive and they need to get their value out of the DDP.

i can see how the DDP is a good idea for character meals but i prefer to be free to eat offsite for some meals and to pick what i like, rather than feel obligated to get a more expensive item or dessert just because of the price i paid for the DDP.

but opinions vary, sure...

We did a lot of character meals and plan to do even more on our next trip.

BTW me & hubbie love lobster LOL! We had a yummy soup at at a few of the restaurants called Lobster bisque. It was super yummy!

At some of the restaurants there were appetizers for 2 we would for that every time. We all dove into that volcano cake....

I agree if you just want the convenience of a meal plan go with the basic plan and just pay for breakfast.

But if you know you are doing signature dining, character dining... you may want to go with DDP.

 

[Dean]

I know we are going next Sept as well so I am thinking about an annual pass or a 10 day ticket adding the non expire option to the last 5 days. Anyone ever do that?

You'd have to add the non expire option to the entire ticket. A 10 day non Exp ticket is more than two 5 day 14 day tickets. IF you can get 2 trips out of it an AP may be your best option as it will be cheaper than a 10 day non expiring without any ad ons and it will include the ability to park hope and go for shorter periods such as arrival and departure day. The option that could swing you the other way is if you add the water park and more options to a 10 day NE pass.

I made sure we used up our credits. On our last day.... I hit a gift shop and used up on snack points for all sorts of goodies to take home

With the dining plan... I ate what i want and didn't pay attention to the prices. We like to try different things and not feel like we were being nickel-ed & dimed to death.

For me the issue with the TWI, one you have to pay $100 for the card, 2nd not all the restaurants are on that plan.

Your choice of course, just realize that your emotional attachment to the ease of use may cost you money, possibly a couple of hundred $$$ or more.

 

[tgropp]

We have always used the dining plan, but the reason being is that we usually go during the Christmas season and they always have a holiday surcharge added onto the meals and then the TIW cards are not good for Christmas eve , Christmas day and a few others I think. I do the math and the DDP saves me money at that time of the year. I am on holidays and want to enjoy them.

 

[Dean]

We have always used the dining plan, but the reason being is that we usually go during the Christmas season and they always have a holiday surcharge added onto the meals and then the TIW cards are not good for Christmas eve , Christmas day and a few others I think. I do the math and the DDP saves me money at that time of the year. I am on holidays and want to enjoy them.

I was under the impression they had done away with the holiday surcharge.

 

[kittyab]

I did the dining comparison with what I have in mind for our next trip, the DDP will be our best option.

http://www.distripplanner.com/

I have a lot of character dining planned for our next trip.

I asked my DH what he thought, he said we more then got our money's worth on our last trip using the DDP. He wouldn't had ordered what he did if he had to pay out of pocket even with a discount card.

Maybe if TWI would be for all the restaurants and not charge $100 I would look at it more.

But I was looking at my plans we have character dining almost every day. My DD is really excited and can't wait to go back

 

[twinklebug]

I did the dining comparison with what I have in mind for our next trip, the DDP will be our best option.

http://www.distripplanner.com/

I have a lot of character dining planned for our next trip.

I asked my DH what he thought, he said we more then got our money's worth on our last trip using the DDP. He wouldn't had ordered what he did if he had to pay out of pocket even with a discount card.

Maybe if TWI would be for all the restaurants and not charge $100 I would look at it more.

But I was looking at my plans we have character dining almost every day. My DD is really excited and can't wait to go back

There are a few folk the DP works out well for. In your case I'd have to agree it's probably the best thing if you're planning on doing lots of character meals. They're so overpriced now we only do 2 per trip, just for memories, but if my kids were younger I too might have gone your route.

 

[kittyab]

There are a few folk the DP works out well for. In your case I'd have to agree it's probably the best thing if you're planning on doing lots of character meals. They're so overpriced now we only do 2 per trip, just for memories, but if my kids were younger I too might have gone your route.

I agree if I wasn't planning on character meals TIW would look good for us.

Or even just the basic dining plan.

 

[Fob]

We had always used the DDP as well until this last trip (Jan 18-25, 2014) and decided to go with the TIW card. Just for comparison, our party was 3 adults (over 21), and 2 children (7 and 2). Also for reference, I generally tip twice the tax on the bill (I've always assumed that to be 18-20%).

After adding up all our receipts, including the $100 for purchasing the card, we came out within a couple of dollars of the DDP. But this is the way my family will go from now own.

We never felt like we HAD to eat desert b/c it was included. We also drank a GREAT deal more water with our meals than before b/c we didn't want to "waste" money by not getting something that was included in the meal. We also order appetizers and/or adult beverages we generally wouldn't have gotten b/c the extra cost.

The only complaint anyone in the family had was my wife b/c we didn't have our normal 15-20 snack credits for her to use loading up on snacks for the 10 hour drive home.

Just in case you're not sure how TIW works, here is an example:

Total bill = $200. TIW 20% discount = $40. This brings the bill to $160.
18% gratuity is then added = $28.8. Final bill = $188.8.

This equals an actual discount (including gratuity) of 5.6%.

Hope your family has a WONDERFUL trip regardless of which way you go.

 

[tgropp]

I was under the impression they had done away with the holiday surcharge.

Not sure Dean? It always has been and I never even checked about it last December. If they did, it's about time. That was a terrible surcharge!

 

[Trooper8286]

Bought TIW during my December trip.....using it in June.

The mandatory gratuity made me feel sort of cheated. Mind you, I always leave at least 15%; my wife worked as a waitress in the summers during school and I always leave a tip. Based on that tendency to leave that kind of tip, it still works out as a great savings.

Deb, Bil and others suggested exactly what I would suggest. Plunk down what the dining plan costs on a gift card. Even paying for the TIW 100.00 card up front, the TIW almost paid for itself in a three day trip. That makes our June trip, well.....gravy

We have had to adjust our eating patterns based on the age of our kids (8 &11) and our own preferences. Our plan for eating now is breakfast in the room or a QS visit (30.00). We either eat a snack type lunch (a kids meal for the kids at QS and one adult entree-two meals for 4 folks and then an ice cream or popcorn) that's about 30.00. Then dinner somewhere. Normally, we hit two big ticket restaurants(two dining credits) during the trip. Last meal at California Grill was $175.00 minus dining plan allotment I still paid about 95.00 with gratuity, wine and extra desserts. With TIW it would have been cheaper, based on the double dining credit and stuff not included on plan.

Magic bands also are an advantage from a cost saving standpoint. Same as KTTW. We use our bands to pay for everything. I get a printout from the CM at the resort desk in the evening and that way I have a list of what we have spent...easier than trying to add up 15 receipts. That way I can track spending against what I put on the gift card my "Dining plan." It is an easy barometer for seeing what the savings is. My experience is that TIW and gift card is equal to or better than dining plan AND you don't lose the money if you don't use the credit. It just pays for your "Glow with the Show" ears instead.

My 2 cents.

 

[twinklebug]

Bought TIW during my December trip.....using it in June.

The mandatory gratuity made me feel sort of cheated. Mind you, I always leave at least 15%; my wife worked as a waitress in the summers during school and I always leave a tip. Based on that tendency to leave that kind of tip, it still works out as a great savings.

The mandatory 18% ticked me off at first too, until I realized I tended to leave more at most places

What really bothers me is I don't know how the tips are distributed, or if they're distributed at all. Example, at those overpriced character buffets: Is the 18% tip going just to the server, who may have been excellent, or who may have all but ignored us, bringing drinks only when he/she felt like it and treated us as though we were not supposed to be there eating. Or, is that tip split among the workers like some places do when there are other folk such as bar tenders behind the scenes? Leaving an automatic $25 tip for the 'privilege' of being ignored is just painful.