Dining plan VS. No Dining Plan

[dianeschlicht]

We quit doing the DDP a few years ago when they removed the appetizers. We kept meticulous records of what we spent for three trips, and we saved more than $200 over using the DDP each trip. We do use the TIW card, and we have never failed to reach the BE point when using it. I don't really see the need anyway when we have a nice kitchen to use in our units. We usually eat one main meal out each day and do breakfast and one light meal in the unit each day. Sometimes we even do our main meal there and skip dining out completely. I think Disney food has definitely gone down in quality the past few years. Even signature restaurants have been failing in quality.

 

[leanne2255]

Just my two cents worth; For DH and I, we have figured out that the DDP may not necessarily save us money, but I like not having to think about my dining costs. Mostly it's just the ease of it. I do agree, however, that it was much better when it included appetizer and tip.

Also, another poster noted that if you are dining TS than you need to make ADR's. I would have to disagree. I never make ADR's because I don't like to commit my time that way. The only ADR I HAVE to make is for LeCellier, since there is never a chance for walking in at the restaurant. At all other restaurants, we have never been denied a table for lack of ADR. The trick is to go for either a late lunch or early dinner and then your chances are better.

 

[robinb]

It seems as if I am in the minority, but our family loves the DDP. It saves us a considerable amount of money. I have created spreadsheets comparing DDP to Cash and TIW and every time, come out ahead.

That's because you are in what I call the "DDP Sweet Spot" with children under the age of 10. People with smaller children tend to do more character meals which are very expensive. We stopped getting the DDP (unless it was 'free' while staying at a non-DVC resort) once my DD turned 10 and I had to pay adult prices for her. We have the TiW card instead.

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

This has always been my take on the DDP:

The cost of the DDP is $51.54, including tax. Most table-service meals for myself (Drink, dessert or appetizer, and entree) total to be about $50 including tax ($35 entree, $3 soda, $7 dessert, $3 tax = $48). Some meals cost more, some cost less. To me, i've found the average to be about $50.

So to put it basically: the cost of the dining plan is the cost of one full table-service meal per night, on average.

Disney is willing to give me a deal on dining! If I commit to buying and paying for one full table-service meal per night and person of my entire reservation, they will give me a full counter service meal, a snack, and a refillable mug for free! The counter service meal costs about $15 (on average), the snack costs $3 (on average), and the mug costs $2 per night ($15 cost of the mug, including tax, divided by a 7 night trip). That's about $20 in freebies per night...or 38.8% in freebies.

The 38.8% in freebies of the DDP sure does beat the pants off the 20% that you get from TIW. However, the bigger discount comes with the bigger restrictions of the DDP.

The numbers, for me, are skewed even more in favor of DDP because before you realize any benefit from TiW, you have to have eaten enough to make up the cost of the card itself. At $100, you have to have spent $500 in food before you break even. That $500 is the cost of almost 10 nights of the DDP.

Assumptions:
The numbers above do assume that you make full use of the DDP. Not everyone gets a soda/juice/coffee/etc with their meal. Not everyone wants dessert. Not everyone eats that much food. I understand that. The DDP isn't for everyone. I always get soda and I will almost always want either an appetizer or dessert. The DDP forces me towards a dessert, but I am willing to accept that for the bigger discount.

The numbers above also assume that you aren't concerned with price while on vacation AND that your dining preferences include an equal mix of expensive and cheap dining options. The numbers can skew higher if you eat only at the most expensive single credit dining options, can skew lower if you use dining credits for breakfast, and some people don't mind budgeting food on vacation. I tend to eat at the places I want to and I am not overly concerned with price. If you shop around, you can eat very well for a lot less than $50 per table-service meal. Again, this is why the DDP isn't for everyone.

Other Notes:
I didn't take in to account the cost of gratuity, since you should tip no matter what. The DDP does give you the freedom to decide on a lower tip, should you feel the service was bad enough to not be deserving of 18%. You can always add more, but I consider 18% to be the point at which I start and I work up to about 25% for excellent service and down to 15% for mediocre service. I won't go below 15% unless you simply ignore me all night. TiW basically forces your minimum to be 18%, so you do get some inflexibility in that regards.

The above calculations also only take the adult DDP in to account, as we are a couple of DINKs. It doesn't apply to kids. My understanding is that if your kids are in the range for the kids DDP, there can be even bigger savings.

The other thing to take into account for TiW is alcohol: TiW includes alcohol while DDP does not. I am not a big drinker... I'll have a few drinks on vacation, but not enough to make TiW worth it. On a vacation, my alcohol bill will total about $100.

Finally, This is just my take on DDP, TiW, and how they apply to myself and my dining habits. Everyone's dining habits are different and you should apply your own analysis.

 

[disneynutz]

For us the DDP causes us to eat food that we normally don't eat every day to get the best deal. The overall quality and portion size of the food has decreased and they now give you a swipe of colorful sauce to make up the difference.

It also causes us to put too much emphases on eating and getting to our next meal.

DVC comes with a kitchen and we like the home away from home convenience of eating meals that we love, made the way we like, when we like and best of all, the cost savings is huge. The savings allows us to take an additional WDW vacation every year.

Bill

 

[kristenrice]

We like split-stays...2 nights in a studio followed by 3 in a 1BR...so we add the DxDDP to the studio portion. We eat at our "must-do" meals in our first three days and then use the TIW for any TS meals over the last 2 days.

Arrival night: Dinner at Boma
Morning #1: Breakfast at Boma
Evening #1: Dinner at Chef Mickey's
Morning #2: Breakfast at Akershus
Evening #2: Dinner at LeCellier

Total cost of DxDDP for 2 nights: $437.24

Comparing those meals to OOP with TIW card...
*Assumes no surcharge

Dinner at Boma: $89
Breakfast at Boma: $55
Dinner at Chef Mickey's: $105
Breakfast at Akershus: $100
Dinner at LeCellier: $115
*This is based on what we would ACTUALLY order if not on a DDP*

Total cost of same meals OOP using TIW card: $464

So for our family, it is better for us to get the DxDDP for the 2 nights because it saves us about $25 and it gets us a total of 16 snacks and 4 refillable mugs on top of that.

 

[robinb]

So for our family, it is better for us to get the DxDDP for the 2 nights because it saves us about $25 and it gets us a total of 16 snacks and 4 refillable mugs on top of that.

We were thinking about adding the DxDDP for a few days on our last December trip but then MS stopped allowing you to split up your reservations into different chunks for dining. Then again, your family is part of that "DDP sweet spot" I was talking about in an earlier post. You have 2 kids that are 10 and under. You may not consider it such a great bargain once you have to pay $60 more per night for them to eat like a 10-year old at a buffet .

 

[kristenrice]

We were thinking about adding the DxDDP for a few days on our last December trip but then MS stopped allowing you to split up your reservations into different chunks for dining. Then again, your family is part of that "DDP sweet spot" I was talking about in an earlier post. You have 2 kids that are 10 and under. You may not consider it such a great bargain once you have to pay $60 more per night for them to eat like a 10-year old at a buffet .

I agree with this....but since we do eat at a lot of buffets, simply because we like the food, we would still be paying the adult price for my DD when she turns 10. Fortunately, DH eats like a football player and DD6 is following in his footsteps so I generally feel that we get our money's worth at buffets. Maybe when our girls are in their teens, they will start eating like birds. Personally, I like the variety of the buffets since I like to eat small portions of several different foods. I generally like to order app/entree/dessert, but I can only eat 1/3 to 1/2 of it. Even though I don't eat a huge quantity at buffets, I enjoy that I can eat whatever I want and I don't have to choose. If I want chicken AND beef, I can get both.

 

[Dean]

This has always been my take on the DDP:

The cost of the DDP is $51.54, including tax. Most table-service meals for myself (Drink, dessert or appetizer, and entree) total to be about $50 including tax ($35 entree, $3 soda, $7 dessert, $3 tax = $48). Some meals cost more, some cost less. To me, i've found the average to be about $50.

So to put it basically: the cost of the dining plan is the cost of one full table-service meal per night, on average.

Disney is willing to give me a deal on dining! If I commit to buying and paying for one full table-service meal per night and person of my entire reservation, they will give me a full counter service meal, a snack, and a refillable mug for free! The counter service meal costs about $15 (on average), the snack costs $3 (on average), and the mug costs $2 per night ($15 cost of the mug, including tax, divided by a 7 night trip). That's about $20 in freebies per night...or 38.8% in freebies.

The 38.8% in freebies of the DDP sure does beat the pants off the 20% that you get from TIW. However, the bigger discount comes with the bigger restrictions of the DDP.

The numbers, for me, are skewed even more in favor of DDP because before you realize any benefit from TiW, you have to have eaten enough to make up the cost of the card itself. At $100, you have to have spent $500 in food before you break even. That $500 is the cost of almost 10 nights of the DDP.

Assumptions:
The numbers above do assume that you make full use of the DDP. Not everyone gets a soda/juice/coffee/etc with their meal. Not everyone wants dessert. Not everyone eats that much food. I understand that. The DDP isn't for everyone. I always get soda and I will almost always want either an appetizer or dessert. The DDP forces me towards a dessert, but I am willing to accept that for the bigger discount.

The numbers above also assume that you aren't concerned with price while on vacation AND that your dining preferences include an equal mix of expensive and cheap dining options. The numbers can skew higher if you eat only at the most expensive single credit dining options, can skew lower if you use dining credits for breakfast, and some people don't mind budgeting food on vacation. I tend to eat at the places I want to and I am not overly concerned with price. If you shop around, you can eat very well for a lot less than $50 per table-service meal. Again, this is why the DDP isn't for everyone.

Other Notes:
I didn't take in to account the cost of gratuity, since you should tip no matter what. The DDP does give you the freedom to decide on a lower tip, should you feel the service was bad enough to not be deserving of 18%. You can always add more, but I consider 18% to be the point at which I start and I work up to about 25% for excellent service and down to 15% for mediocre service. I won't go below 15% unless you simply ignore me all night. TiW basically forces your minimum to be 18%, so you do get some inflexibility in that regards.

The above calculations also only take the adult DDP in to account, as we are a couple of DINKs. It doesn't apply to kids. My understanding is that if your kids are in the range for the kids DDP, there can be even bigger savings.

The other thing to take into account for TiW is alcohol: TiW includes alcohol while DDP does not. I am not a big drinker... I'll have a few drinks on vacation, but not enough to make TiW worth it. On a vacation, my alcohol bill will total about $100.

Finally, This is just my take on DDP, TiW, and how they apply to myself and my dining habits. Everyone's dining habits are different and you should apply your own analysis.

I don't believe the assumption that most people are getting a $35 entree routinely at a single credit option. If you are and would without the plan, you will realize value. Personally I do because I plan but a lot of people aren't able to realize that type of return. I also don't think most people would get a dessert most meals.

 

[MKCP84]

We just returned from a 10 day stay in March on the DDP.

Pros: Our DD18 and DD16 could order anything they wanted off the menu and not look at the price, and we were able to try many desserts that we never would have if we weren't on the DDP.

Cons: We also were sick of the chocolate cake and carrot cake that it became a joke by the end of the trip. Towards the end of the trip we were feeling sick eating so much food. With our refillable mugs and the case of water we had brought we didn't need the snack credit for beverages and we were too full to use them for a snack during the day so at the end of our trip we had a lot of snacks to use up and bring home.

Final analysis: The DDP was good to try but doesn't fit our style of eating. Where we messed up was we ate breakfast in our room like granola bars and cereal and should have probably split a CS for breakfast and lunch to help spread out the food a little bit rather than have a big lunch and dinner. For future trips we will not be use the DDP unless there are some changes to it but definitely will be using the TIW.

 

[disneynutz]

We need to remember that the DDP doesn't exist to give us a dining experience, it exists to increase Disney's attendance and to make money. If most guests saved money on the DDP, it would be gone overnight.

Same with the DVC.

Bill

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

I don't believe the assumption that most people are getting a $35 entree routinely at a single credit option. If you are and would without the plan, you will realize value. Personally I do because I plan but a lot of people aren't able to realize that type of return. I also don't think most people would get a dessert most meals.

I do agree. I am just going off my own observations for my own dining style based on past trips. I do make that concession that DDP isn't for everyone as everyone has a different preference for how/when they like to eat. But, if done right AND if it fits your style of dining, then it can be a much bigger discount than TiW.

My own style of dining is that I would typically order an entree, a dessert or appetizer, and a drink. At most dining places in Disney, I would estimate this to be about a $50 meal. With DDP, I MUST get a dessert with every meal. I would like the choice of an appetizer or a dessert...perhaps one day they will offer that.

Even if you didn't get the dessert with every meal, that's still a $40 per table-service meal + $20 in "freebies". That's still a 20% bonus which puts it on par with TiW... and I don't have to buy the card.

 

[gmi3804]

I do agree. I am just going off my own observations for my own dining style based on past trips. I do make that concession that DDP isn't for everyone as everyone has a different preference for how/when they like to eat. But, if done right AND if it fits your style of dining, then it can be a much bigger discount than TiW.

My own style of dining is that I would typically order an entree, a dessert or appetizer, and a drink. At most dining places in Disney, I would estimate this to be about a $50 meal. With DDP, I MUST get a dessert with every meal. I would like the choice of an appetizer or a dessert...perhaps one day they will offer that.

Even if you didn't get the dessert with every meal, that's still a $40 per table-service meal + $20 in "freebies". That's still a 20% bonus which puts it on par with TiW... and I don't have to buy the card.

I think your number estimates are a bit high.

We did the DxDP (which includes an appetizer, which the regular DP does not) in February, 2011, and kept a spreadsheet of "dollars" spent per credit. For 1TS meals, we spent a low of $23 (breakfast at Kouzzina) to a high of $58.96 at Le Cellier, when it was still 1TS credit. Our next highest tabs were $55.24 for dinner at Kouzzina, $48.99 at Via Napoli, and $44.17 at The Wave. Signature meals weren't good values, at about $26-$38 per credit. If you deduct appetizers (which range from around $8-$12 at the 1TS places), you'll see how much our meals would have "cost" per credit, and that your $50 estimate is a bit high.

Keeping up with three-course meals to maximize the DxDP is hard work, and gets harder the longer you're on the Plan. I fully admit that there's no way we'd have ordered all that stuff had we been paying OOP; just not our style to order three courses each at each and every meal. The TiW card works beautifully for us, since we like cocktails (about $9 each) and a bottle of wine (our choices tend to in the $80+ category), so the discounts add up quickly to offset the $75 price of the card, and we can use the card over the three trips we take in one year using the same TiW card.

Enjoying TS meals is a major part of our vacation enjoyment, so the time spent doing that during vacation is not a burden for us, nor a waste of time.

 

[Dean]

I do agree. I am just going off my own observations for my own dining style based on past trips. I do make that concession that DDP isn't for everyone as everyone has a different preference for how/when they like to eat. But, if done right AND if it fits your style of dining, then it can be a much bigger discount than TiW.

My own style of dining is that I would typically order an entree, a dessert or appetizer, and a drink. At most dining places in Disney, I would estimate this to be about a $50 meal. With DDP, I MUST get a dessert with every meal. I would like the choice of an appetizer or a dessert...perhaps one day they will offer that.

Even if you didn't get the dessert with every meal, that's still a $40 per table-service meal + $20 in "freebies". That's still a 20% bonus which puts it on par with TiW... and I don't have to buy the card.

If those are your usual choices when you pay OOP I think you're an outlier, however, the DLX plan may be a better choice in your situation if you can use all the credits. It's also the area where the most potential savings are though it always depends on how you use it. I think there is a large contingent of people who would benefit from the option of an appy OR a dessert rather than the current setup (I know we would) and I understand the reasons that it likely will not happen. But it's still contingent on the $35 or so entree as a routine which is difficult to do without significant planning and limiting your total choices. Even if you get steak every sit down mean, it's difficult to find enough meals that are $35 per entree for single credit entree. It's still fairly difficult to hit $30 per entree as a routine or even average and that too generally requires steak choices most meals as well as looking mostly at dinner and not lunch. Extremely few of the buffet's would return that amount of value as well, maybe Boma and Cape May Dinner might be the only 2 that would come close.

I don't argue that one can plan AND make specific choices and get a value if your trip/party fit in. I very much disagree with the idea that most people can/will do so, even if you only limit to those that often get the DDP. I would also contend that there are 2 issues, what you would have spent without the plan and what the value is with the plan. I qualify the first as potential savings and the second as added value. For us, we currently spend about the same with or without (when we get it) but get a 50-80% added value for more expensive meals, snacks, fancy drinks and desserts. Don't forget that added value requires added tips though. I'm always amused by the people that effectively say they don't care what it costs, they just want the convenience and prepayment.

The DDP has ALWAYS been a specialty choice that works for a minority. That minority is shrinking as the plan changes and increases in price.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

We need to remember that the DDP doesn't exist to give us a dining experience, it exists to increase Disney's attendance and to make money. If most guests saved money on the DDP, it would be gone overnight.

Same with the DVC.

Bill

 

[eliza61]

We never saved money with the ddp especially since they no longer include tip and appertizers.

All my kids are "adults" by disney standards so the ddp would be ~200 bucks a day.
We don't do many, if any character meals.
There are only a few disney restaurants that I feel are worth the cost, most are mediocre at best.

 

[scauzilloc1121]

I haven't been on here for a while but saw this post and have to laugh because the wife and I just did the DDP for the first time. Last month we did OOP and kept every receipt for every food item and beverage and today I just did the comparison between the 2. And the winner is......

The DDP. We actually saved over 30 dollars a day doing this plan compared to the OOP expenses.

I think the saving all depends on your restaurant choices. Sometimes you can save using the DDP and sometimes you can't. It just depends on your eating preferences.

 

[Mtnman44]

I agree. There are some specific situations where you save money. Disney has factored that in. The make money on the majority of people using DDP and they lose a little on a few.

We would have to work pretty hard to hit $50 per person (before tip of course) for every TS meal. We would literally have to plan specific restaruants and order the most expensive entree everytime. Not every restaurant we like to visit costs that much, nor do we want or feel like dessert every time. Most entrees I order are in the $18 to $25 range. I'm not shopping those by price, those just happen to be what I feel like eating most of the time. Even the more expensive buffets like Ohana's, or Boma is around, what $34 per adult or something?

Overall, I think my family (when we had all kids under $10) saved some money. Now, with an "adult" 12 year old, I think we may break even or save literally a few dollars a day. It is just not worth losing choice to me. I would love to have an appetizer and share a dessert for example. EVERY time we used DDP, our last day in the parks involved trying to find something to spend a dozen leftoever snack credits on. Seriously, we just don't need 4,000 calories a day, even if all that food is a little cheaper on the plan vs paying for it normally.

P.S. as a bonus, I THINK we sometimes get slightly better service when we tell our server "no dining plan".

If those are your usual choices when you pay OOP I think you're an outlier, however, the DLX plan may be a better choice in your situation if you can use all the credits. It's also the area where the most potential savings are though it always depends on how you use it. I think there is a large contingent of people who would benefit from the option of an appy OR a dessert rather than the current setup (I know we would) and I understand the reasons that it likely will not happen. But it's still contingent on the $35 or so entree as a routine which is difficult to do without significant planning and limiting your total choices. Even if you get steak every sit down mean, it's difficult to find enough meals that are $35 per entree for single credit entree. It's still fairly difficult to hit $30 per entree as a routine or even average and that too generally requires steak choices most meals as well as looking mostly at dinner and not lunch. Extremely few of the buffet's would return that amount of value as well, maybe Boma and Cape May Dinner might be the only 2 that would come close.

I don't argue that one can plan AND make specific choices and get a value if your trip/party fit in. I very much disagree with the idea that most people can/will do so, even if you only limit to those that often get the DDP. I would also contend that there are 2 issues, what you would have spent without the plan and what the value is with the plan. I qualify the first as potential savings and the second as added value. For us, we currently spend about the same with or without (when we get it) but get a 50-80% added value for more expensive meals, snacks, fancy drinks and desserts. Don't forget that added value requires added tips though. I'm always amused by the people that effectively say they don't care what it costs, they just want the convenience and prepayment.

The DDP has ALWAYS been a specialty choice that works for a minority. That minority is shrinking as the plan changes and increases in price.

 

[scauzilloc1121]

I do have to agree on the fact that they did treat us better when we were not on the DDP. I guess they hope we will spend more on the adult drinks and plus a server at Coral Reef is a friend of mine and they do usually get a better tip from someone spending OOP.

Now the reason for my saving is as simple as this. I love to eat. I go to EPCOT to eat at the different restaurants more than to experience the theme park. So I make this plan work!

 

[twinklebug]

Why would they treat a DDP family differently than a non-DDP family? They still need to work for their tip. As a matter of fact, by this logic, it would be the TIW folk they treat the worst as they know the 18% tip is automatic.