Dining plan or TIW card for a 10 day trip?

[MISSINWDW]

Hey all, we are planning a 10 day trip in September 2011. We hope to snag 5 nights at BCV and 5 nights at Kidani. We originally wanted to be on the Dining plan but won't be able to do 10 days of dining if we are splitting our stay between 2 resorts. Is it cheaper for one of us to get an Annual pass and then a TIW card? What's the better deal?

 

[ToddyLu]

We are going with the TIW card this year. We are thinking it will give us the greatest flexibility. DVC gives us a much more relaxing vacation since we are no longer commandos. Last year was our first DVC visit and wonderful. This year we have decided to eat more things in the room (breakfast and snacks). It was difficult getting my DH to eat off the DDP last year becasue he wants to eat at 11:30 and I am starving by then...then he grazes all day. I like a big breakfast, but we do adult only trips and enjoy TS in the evening. I can only do so many hamburgers and hot dogs. So it really isn't as much as a cost thing as it is convienence. I did do a little write down of what I thought the DDP and TIW card would cost us, it was no more than about $100 difference and so I am goin g with the more flexible plan.

 

[CarolMN]

I'm missing something. Why can't you do all 10 nights on the dining plan if that is what you want?

You absolutely can get all 10 nights on the DP even if you have a split stay. You just have to use up the credits for the first 5 nights before midnight of the day you change resorts.

 

[ToddyLu]

I was wondering the same thing....I thought you could split it up. Do both and see which one works better.

 

[Sandisw]

I was wondering the same thing....I thought you could split it up. Do both and see which one works better.

You can definitely do DDP for split stays. We did it last summer between the QSDP and the DDP.

We are starting to look into the TIW card, starting with our 2011 trip. For this summer, we are doing the mix of DDP and QSDP. We don't really like to do more than a few TS meals during our 6 day trip so it may not be worth it with the TIW. But, I am hearing that the dining plans are changing again for 2011 so we may just be back to OOP with whatever discounts we get as AP holder or DVC members and go from there.

 

[backyardponder]

For us, TIW was the way to go this year. We are doing 3 trips this year...F&W, December, and this summer. We both got the AP and 1 TIW. Since we like a glass of wine or two at dinner, don't normally eat dessert, and we wanted the flexibility of not having big dinners some nights, TIW was perfect.

 

[peabody58]

For us, TIW was the way to go this year. We are doing 3 trips this year...F&W, December, and this summer. We both got the AP and 1 TIW. Since we like a glass of wine or two at dinner, don't normally eat dessert, and we wanted the flexibility of not having big dinners some nights, TIW was perfect.

Ditto for us - 3 trips in 12 months (Sept, Dec with DB/DSIL and May). The break even point for TIW is $375 and ~ 10 park visits for AP.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We spent more than $200 more when we did the 10 day dining plan over a 10 TIW trip. We find we just don't want desserts as much as we like appetizers either, so the TIW card makes more sense for us that way.

 

[Tara]

I'm about to have my first non-TIW trip in 2 years! I'm taking my son on a surprise trip and we're staying at CBR, so no kitchen. The only way to get a decent amount of food in my picky eater (the biggest challenge with his mild Asperger's by far is his eating) without defaulting to McDonald's and pizza every meal is to eat buffet breakfasts (where he reliably eats eggs - eats them almost no where else except at home on some occasions) and meals at real restaurants where he can get grilled cheese. Despite the fact that he only eats grilled cheese, if you ask him which restaurants he likes, he'll rattle off a string of signatures. He's his mother's boy, through-and-through. He eats NO counter service. So when I started planning out the food, I realized the difference between TIW and DxDP was going to be minimal at best. I think it was when I figured out the cost of our daily frozen lemonades (a requirement in the late June heat!) that I realized DxDP was going to work out just fine for us!
I don't think I'd ever do the regular DDP again because we eat at too many signatures and prefer appetizers to desserts - it's DxDP or TIW for us, though most trips will be TIW.

 

[MISSINWDW]

Wow, thanks for all the tips everyone! It seems like DDP would be cheaper if we only went once in 2011. The added AP would be $130 more than a 10 day pass and then the card itself would be $75. Great to hear that you all think we could still book the DDP with a split stay. I just called to book a trip for an Australian friend (NON DVC -4 nights Poly, 4 nights AKL) and Disney told me that they could NOT have 8 days of dining with their 8 day passes because the dining was tied to the Resort, not the Magic your way ticket. So they either had to get an 8 day pass with 4 days of DDP ONLY good while they were at the poly OR, get 2, 4 day Magic your way packages with dining ($$$$!!). Is it different if you are staying DVC?

 

[Tara]

I just called to book a trip for an Australian friend (NON DVC -4 nights Poly, 4 nights AKL) and Disney told me that they could NOT have 8 days of dining with their 8 day passes because the dining was tied to the Resort, not the Magic your way ticket. So they either had to get an 8 day pass with 4 days of DDP ONLY good while they were at the poly OR, get 2, 4 day Magic your way packages with dining ($$$$!!). Is it different if you are staying DVC?

No, it isn't different for DVC - you can only get DP for nights you have a room reservation. It isn't at all related to admission.

 

[CarolMN]

Wow, thanks for all the tips everyone! It seems like DDP would be cheaper if we only went once in 2011. The added AP would be $130 more than a 10 day pass and then the card itself would be $75. Great to hear that you all think we could still book the DDP with a split stay. I just called to book a trip for an Australian friend (NON DVC -4 nights Poly, 4 nights AKL) and Disney told me that they could NOT have 8 days of dining with their 8 day passes because the dining was tied to the Resort, not the Magic your way ticket. So they either had to get an 8 day pass with 4 days of DDP ONLY good while they were at the poly OR, get 2, 4 day Magic your way packages with dining ($$$$!!). Is it different if you are staying DVC?

Yes, the booking rules for the Dining Plan are different when you use points for your stay.

DVC members do NOT have to buy tickets to add the Dining Plan. They can buy whatever ticket they choose or even none at all.

DVC members do NOT have to stay a minimum number of nights to add the Dining Plan to their stay.

As others have posted, many DVC members have added the Dining Plan to split stays. It is not a problem. If your friends are DVC members, a guest of a DVC member, or even renting points from a DVC member, they can add the Dining Plan for both portions of their DVC resort stays. Even those who exchange into DVC from RCI can add the Dining Plan under DVC booking rules. But DVC members can NOT get free dining, even if it is offered to guests who book through CRO.

If you book through CRO, you have to go by their rules for that portion of the stay, even if you book the last part of a split stay through DVC. But since your friends are staying at the Poly first, you could book the Poly through CRO, get the 8 day ticket with the 4 night stay to get the DP, and then book the last 4 nights at AKV on points. There would be no issue adding the DP to the DVC reservation at AKV because there is no ticket requirement. Your friends would just have to keep the Poly KTTW card and continue to use it for park admission since that is where the tickets would be. Can't transfer the ticket from the Poly to the AKV KTTW. As with any split stay, they would have to remember that the Poly DP credits expire at midnight of the day they move to the AKV.

HTH.

 

[Crystal_27]

Wow, thanks for all the tips everyone! It seems like DDP would be cheaper if we only went once in 2011.

Do keep in mind, though, that there are some rumored changes to the 2011 DDP which are going to (in my opinion) make the plan at lot less valuable (I think the latest is a price increase with the loss of the desserts). Now, we are big fans of the DDP, so I'm not trying to discourage you, but if the rumored changes take effect, you might want to seriously consider going with the TIW (and, again, I hate that because we are lovers of the DDP). We are keeping a close eye on this and I'm sure that The DIS will be the first to report whether or not the rumors do, in fact, become reality. Either way, happy planning!

 

[KFJames]

Maybe a stupid question, but when they take off the 20% discount for the TIW is that before the 18% gratuity is added or after?

 

[CarolMN]

Maybe a stupid question, but when they take off the 20% discount for the TIW is that before the 18% gratuity is added or after?

They take 20% off the total food & beverage bill. They figure the 18% on the pre-discounted total. Tax is figured on the discounted amount (so no tax on the gratuity).

For example:

If food & beverage total = $100, then

Discount is $20. (20% of $100)
Gratuity is $18. (18% of $100)

Tax is $5.20 ($100 - $20) * 6.5%

So you pay $103.20 (unless you choose to add more to the tip. If the service was exceptional, we usually do).

Assuming you would tip the same 18%, the TiW saves you $21.30 on every $100 you spend at participating restaurants. We think of the TiW card as having tips included in the price of the meal.