Dinning Plan prices just keeps going up....

[cheezNE1]

Looks like the 2012 prices for the DDP is going up again. And what is with this peak and off peak price? $53.54 for basic at peak dates
I guess it just isn't worth it anymore.

 

[vicki_c]

Peak/off-peak has been around for a couple of years. Since 2010 at least I think. For non-DDP, it's been longer than that because we paid peak prices back in 2008 when we went at Christmas and in the summer. For a while, the DDP purchasers got a break on that and didn't pay peak pricing, but Disney fixed that!

We never buy the DDP, but it can still be an okay deal for some people. You just have to do the math to see.

 

[Disneymadhouse]

Sorry if I have mis understood, but I thought that a DVC member or someone renting points didn't have to pay the peak season pricing

We are renting points from a member to stay at OKW from 13th Dec next year, so I guess that is peak season time? We are staying 14 nights.

Many thanks for any help

Claire

 

[DebbieB]

DVC reservations do not pay the peak price, it's the same all year.

http://advc.disney.go.com/media/dvc...lanning/disneydiningplan/2012DVCDining_v1.pdf

http://advc.disney.go.com/media/dvc...g/disneydiningplan/2012DVCDeluxeDining_v1.pdf

http://advc.disney.go.com/media/dvc...g/disneydiningplan/2012DVCQuickService_v1.pdf

 

[bgraham34]

I just don't see how DDP can be worth it.

 

[mom2maggie]

I just don't see how DDP can be worth it.

We like to try a lot of new foods while at Disney - for some reason, I'm more adventurous at Disney that I am at any other restaurant. The DDP allows us to do that. I totaled up one day's worth of typical charges - what we would pay if we weren't doing the dining plan for one of the days we have planned, and for the DAY, our family of 4 would have spent $365, for breakfast, lunch, dinner - not including additional snacks! Could we do it a lot cheaper? Of course. Would we order appetizers and desserts if we weren't on the DxDP? Probably not. But with the DxDP, we CAN. And since we get free regular dining this time, we only had to pay the upgrade to DxDP for this trip, which was about $500 for the entire week. For us, its a great deal.

 

[vicki_c]

Sorry if I have mis understood, but I thought that a DVC member or someone renting points didn't have to pay the peak season pricing

Claire

Yes, I forgot that when I answered the original post - you are right as others pointed out!

 

[JimMIA]

I just don't see how DDP can be worth it.

DDP was worth it back when it was priced in the low $30's and included appetizer and tip. Back then, it was primarily a marketing program to get people to stay in onsite resorts.

It has since changed into a profit center for Disney Dining and has been WAY overpriced for a number of years IMHO. And while that near doubling in price has happened, the menus have been dumbed down terribly.

We haven't used DDP since they eliminated the appetizer and tip. We eat CS lunches about half the time (when we're hungry), but we NEVER eat dinner onsite anymore. Last trip, we didn't even do a character meal because we had other things we'd rather do.

 

[Muushka]

DDP was worth it back when it was priced in the low $30's and included appetizer and tip. Back then, it was primarily a marketing program to get people to stay in onsite resorts.

It has since changed into a profit center for Disney Dining and has been WAY overpriced for a number of years IMHO. And while that near doubling in price has happened, the menus have been dumbed down terribly.

We haven't used DDP since they eliminated the appetizer and tip. We eat CS lunches about half the time (when we're hungry), but we NEVER eat dinner onsite anymore. Last trip, we didn't even do a character meal because we had other things we'd rather do.

Back a few months ago when we could segment the dining, we considered getting the DDX plan for just one night.
Looking at the menus, even just doing it for 1 night (which is a bargain for that plan), we didn't see much that made it worth doing.

 

[Brian Noble]

I have never, not once, spent as much paying out of pocket to eat exactly what, where, and when we ant as the "appropriate" dining plan would cost. Usually, that's because we don't eat exactly the right number of sit-down meals. But, even when we do, we find that it never quite breaks even.

And, that's not because we order cheaply. I'm one of those people who ignores menu prices on vacation, because it's vacation. It's just the way we roll.

What's more, I'm convinced that's the case for the *average* family---otherwise, Disney would not offer it at that price. I'm sure some people save money vs. what they would do if left to their own devices, but I'm also willing to bet that most don't.

I've said this elsewhere today, but it is worth remembering: Disney is not in the business of saving you money on vacation. Disney is in the business of making money selling you vacations.

 

[Disneymadhouse]

DVC reservations do not pay the peak price, it's the same all year.

Yes, I forgot that when I answered the original post - you are right as others pointed out!

Phew! Thanks thought I was going to have to work it out again to see if it was worth us doing!!!

Claire

 

[disneynutz]

I have never, not once, spent as much paying out of pocket to eat exactly what, where, and when we ant as the "appropriate" dining plan would cost. Usually, that's because we don't eat exactly the right number of sit-down meals. But, even when we do, we find that it never quite breaks even.

And, that's not because we order cheaply. I'm one of those people who ignores menu prices on vacation, because it's vacation. It's just the way we roll.

What's more, I'm convinced that's the case for the *average* family---otherwise, Disney would not offer it at that price. I'm sure some people save money vs. what they would do if left to their own devices, but I'm also willing to bet that most don't.

I've said this elsewhere today, but it is worth remembering: Disney is not in the business of saving you money on vacation. Disney is in the business of making money selling you vacations.

Disney's increasing price while reducing the product model works well because people get use to something and they continue to buy it even when it doesn't make financial sense. Some call it convenience, others say it's still a good deal even when they post that they didn't use 6 of their QS credits and 12 of their snack credits. Disney is banking on this mentality and they are experts at turning the value of a dollar into non valued credits or points.

Bill

 

[Mtnman44]

People on the DDP (including our family) tend to

a) eat at more expensive CS than they normally would have every day.
b) get more snacks then they normally would have
c) order the most expensive entree, (most would normally not have at every meal)
d) go to the more expensive places such as buffets, etc more than they normally would have

All of this is to justify the expense and creates the illusion of money "saved".

 

[Muushka]

I think another reason why it is still popular is because people view it as prepaid. Don't have to worry about it once the plan is paid for.
Not me though!

 

[LilGMom]

DDP was worth it back when it was priced in the low $30's and included appetizer and tip. Back then, it was primarily a marketing program to get people to stay in onsite resorts.

It has since changed into a profit center for Disney Dining and has been WAY overpriced for a number of years IMHO. And while that near doubling in price has happened, the menus have been dumbed down terribly.

Completely agree with you. It also feels like the menu prices have gone up and portions have gone down which may or may not be somehow related to the DDP. When my oldest was still considered a child (he just turned 10 a few months ago) the current DDP was pretty much even to what we'd spend paying OOP. We don't check menu prices while on vacation and if I want the $20 entree on the DDP I will also be getting that paying OOP. But now that DS is an adult, in the eyes of the DDP, we can (usually) eat much cheaper paying OOP and still doing 1 CS, 1 TS, & 1 snack per day/per person.

I think another reason why it is still popular is because people view it as prepaid. Don't have to worry about it once the plan is paid for.
Not me though!

We are going with some friends that view it that way. When we considered not doing the DDP for this trip they said that they wanted to because they didn't want to eat CS for all of the meals. Just because you aren't doing the DDP doesn't mean you can't eat TS.

 

[TDC Nala]

Not interested in being locked into having to eat more food than I might want to eat. I like desserts okay but I don't want one at every meal. And if I just want an appetizer or two I can do that as long as I'm not on DDP.

I know the response to that is "you don't HAVE to eat it." But I've already paid for it. Even if I don't eat it, I've paid for it. If you don't eat what you paid for, Mickey gets to keep that money.

Back when the DDP cost under $40 and included appetizer and tips it was silly not to get it, but times have changed as far as I'm concerned.

If you have some kids under 10 and you like the buffets and all you can eat meals (which have gone up in price at a much faster rate than the a la carte restaurants) it might still be worth it from a monetary standpoint. There is also a very influential psychological component that goes along with the DDP. A lot of guests who still value it state that they love "not looking at the prices on the menus" and "never having to pull out the wallet to pay for meals" (although you do have to pay tips now).

 

[cheezNE1]

It all depends on how you look at it. If you like to eat at those expensive place and order the most expensive stuff, then its worth it. I've used ddp many times and enjoyed it. I get to try out the new higher end restaurants and order the good stuff. My friend on the other hand refuse to get the ddp because he enjoys eating simple meals like hot dogs, burgers and pizza during their entire stay.
Quick service lunch at the park alone cost at least $10 a head. Then add table service or buffett, which can run at least $30 a head. So it all depends how and where you like to eat.

 

[Brian Noble]

I think another reason why it is still popular is because people view it as prepaid.

I really don't get this. It's not like you don't have a vague idea what food costs. If you need to pre-pay it, put aside money in a savings account.

I have several friends who buy gift cards equal to the cost of the dining plan, and just use those to pay for food as they go. They always have money left over at the end, and that just goes toward the next trip.

 

[huey duey & luey]

we used the DDP for the first and probably last time this past trip. It was way too much food for us (or at least me lol). We started with an extra days worth of credits because we had 8 nights but 7 days and I booked it after they would no longer allow you to segment. We were left with extra snack and counter service credits

I think it was worth it this trip while my 3 kids were still disney kids. Next year they will be adults and I just don't see it been cost effective when that happens. I would never have dessert at lunch and even rarely at dinner. If I did, I never used my snack credit. I would much rather have an appetizer, and would often order it anyway. I am also not a huge fan of dinner buffets.
I also hated the feeling that we had to use the table credits. There were definitley a few times we probably would have grabbed a counter service instead of sitting down.

I am glad we tried it, but just dont think it works well with my family

 

[hauntedcity]

I think the 2012 prices are INSANE!

The WDW Today podcast had an interesting debate. No one thought it made any kind of financial sense, but it all came down to how one defines "value". The Dining Plan is almost definitely not a financial value, but some people include "convenience" in "value" as well, and the convenience of prepaying is more important than the financial considerations.

http://www.wdwtoday.com/article.php?story=20111103204154454

Doug