Disney Dining - A MATH Question....

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

Hello all my Math Friends....

I am not sure how to do DINING For our Family 5/27-6/1 visit to WDW ?

Should we.....
1. Do Regular Dining ? (1 Snack, 1 QS, 1 TS per day)?
2. Do Deluxe Dining? (??)
3. Do OOP Dining?

The option for #1 looks like about $2000 for our 5 1/2 day vacation.

We have DH, me, and DS20, DSGF 19, DSD19, DSD18. All 6 Adults.

Here are the Ressies I plan to make:
CRT: Cinderella's Royal Table, Dinner. (2TS)
Sci Fi Lunch (1TS)
Mama Melrose Fantasmic Dining Package (1TS)
Teppan Edo (1TS)
Le Cellier Dinner (?)
(Can switch Le Cellier to lunch and do Teppan Edo for Dinner)???
Hollywood Brown Derby Imagineer's Lunch (????)
Yak & Yeti Lunch (1TS)
Hoop De Doo Music Revue Dinner (2TS?)

My concern with Option #1 is the Counter Services I fear we would waste...

My concern with Option #2 is the unknown... I've never done deluxe dining and is it affordable ?

My concern with OOP is that possibly we could have saved with a Dining Plan...PLUS I LOVE The thought that we could have our Dining PAID FOR Before embarking on our trip...

Please... your help and thoughts are Greatly Appreciated !
(HUGS)
Mary

 

[kathie859]

I'd buy one person an AP and get a TIW card (20% off food and drink--and alcohol). I'd call and ask if there's an AP room only discount available for your time period. I think if you run the numbers, it may work out cheaper with more flexibility. I am not a fan of the DDP--I love appetizers and can pass on dessert, so it just doesn't meet my dining preferences at all.

Happy planning!

 

[Pakey]

We are also an OOP group. We are usually 6-8 adults and we have done regular DDP and Deluxe DDP. It doesn't work for us because it's too much food, especially the unwanted desserts, and it takes too much structure to use all the credits and come out ahead.

We do TIW since we have APs.

 

[sharonabe]

For 6 adults/5 nights DDP is $1545.00 and DxDDP is $2565

You have 8 credits spoken for (not including Le Cellier or HBD Imagineer)

So, if you do DDP, you have 3 credits too many and will either have to pay OOP or omit something, and if you do keep all you have, you won't be able to use all your CS credits to your advantage.

If you do DxDDP, you each get 15 credits, so you need to find a way to use 7 more.

You're fixed price choices (CRT, Fantasmic pkg, and Hoop De Doo) already have you spending a little over $900.00, but they also take up your total of 5 credits on the DDP.


I don't think the Imagineer lunch is included on any plan, so that will be OOP and take up a meal you could use or lose elsewhere.

 

[Colleen27]

Just a note that you need to factor in - the Dine With an Imagineer experience isn't included on either of the dining plans.

I personally love the DxDDP for the all-inclusive feel but the fact that the Imagineer lunch isn't covered makes it less than ideal for your circumstances. It is just too much food/too many meal credits to pay for additional dining OOP! If you don't have your heart set on that experience or if you're unable to get that reservation the DxDDP would be the way to go, but with it in the itinerary it seems like paying OOP would likely make more sense.

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

Thank you all so so much !
Kathie - that is definitely an option that is new to me... will research that one...
an annual pass with a tables in the world discount is what you mean, correct ?

Pakey - good point... seems like it would be too much food...

Thanks also Sharon & Colleen....

I made some ressies today.. CRT was $394.44, HDD $353.94 and MMF! will be $229.98.

The gal helping me mentioned that Dining prices would go down for 2012 (??) and that it would cost us $2009.88 for the Deluxe plan....

So I'll be doing some more research on this tonight...
Thank you again for previous and future input...

 

[sharonabe]

I have no idea where the gal you talked to got her numbers, but the prices just went UP a few months ago. So, unless Disney has a surprise in store for everyone, that info was just wrong. If you could've got it in writing or at least locked in, that would definitely be a steal since you're already up to half of that with your three booked meals.

 

[kathie859]

Thank you all so so much !
Kathie - that is definitely an option that is new to me... will research that one...
an annual pass with a tables in the world discount is what you mean?:

That's exactly what I meant. Did you check if any AP room only discounts are available for your time period? You'd recoup the expense of the TIW card quickly with that many adults eating.

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

Thank you Sharon & Kathy...

I'll have to look into that...

I was on the phone with Disney Dining that is for sure... I'm thinking if I call them back up and they confirm the $2009 price... I'll book the Deluxe Dining....
Only problem then will be where to eat ?

LOL

 

[aussietravellers]

I crunched the numbers on our last trip. We came from Australia so we would not use an AP again within the 12 months.

But it worked out cheaper to get the AP & TIW. We booked an AP discount for accommodation and paid for our meals OOP. We just found that we weren't tied to using all of the credits. We ordered from Garden Grocer, so had snacks so didn't need the snack credit.

So that we had meals prepaid, I put the money aside and in the months before we went, I purchased gift cards, so it was like our meals were prepaid before we went, because I used the gift cards I had purchased to pay for our meals (and used the TIW card paying OOP). It was very handy and worked well for us.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

Tinkerbelle,
Let us know what happens with your follow-up call.
It does sound like you were quoted a wrong price.
Really curious what she meant by prices going down in 2012.
Check back in with the results and your decision.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We're not dining plan people.....hate ADR's and timed schedules....having to be here or there at such and such time, doesn't fit in how we vacation...

We also prefer the room only discount over dining plan....we always go deluxe and the savings is more than what we'll eat on the DP.....

We usually have AP's and the TIW discount works after 375.00 worth of food...we've found after over 40 trips that the meals are huge, even CS and the wife and I split most....we're not into Character Meals and dinner shows or even most TS restaurants...we eat just like we do at home...simple meals...plus whether you pay for the DP or OOP, it's still your money...we can control our spending better OOP....

We do enjoy a full breakfast (most usually CS at the resort) and we may even split that.....lunch is usually a pool picnic with groceries from the grocery stop and dinner could be any resorts counter/food court....we're not meat, potatoe, vegetable people....so our meals in WDW don't run anywhere close to the price of the dining plan.....

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

Thank you all !

I'll try to research the next few days on the TIW idea and also call back on the DXDP Price..

Sounds like if I get the $2009 price again I need to book it...

otherwise go with the TIW plan...

If we do get the DXDP I do know there is NO way we'll have that many TS !

I've tried to map out "extra" dining... to add up to the 18 TS credits we would each have...
even if we add:
'Ohana Breakfast - 1TS
Poly Luau 2TS
Chef Mickey Breakfast - 1 TS
Cali Grill - 2TS
Boma - 1TS

we'll still have 3 more TS To try to account for !!!

 

[amykathleen2005]

I think the question is more can you eat all of the food provided with the deluxe plan? If you can eat it all and you would enjoy it then get it. But if it would be a hassle and you would be forcing yourself to eat all of that food then maybe it is not for you.

 

[Travelingdad]

I spent hours and days doing the same back and forth analsis for our trip last year. 5 of us total. Compared cost of DDP to all kinds of variable options and scenarios. We don't do fast food much and not into the fancy dining with kids so the range of casual to semi-fancy fits us. In the end a few factors made me go with the DDP:
* We didn't want a full sitdown breakfast every day, felt would prevent us getting to rope drops. Also didnt want to be too full to start the day. We did cereal in room that we brought and fruits. Saved our DDP for lunch and Dinner.
* We felt and forced afternoon stop for lunch would help regulate the day and give us a chance to cool down. We went in July.
* Stopping for dinner to get a recahrge before the last push of the night made sense too. 80% of the time we did a table service dinner and quick serve lunch.

Biggest reason - I didnt want to worry about how much money I was spending each day for food. It would make me nuts and this would ruin the day for the family. Paying ahead and not having to think about it again was worth every penny.

This year we are going in April and getting the Free Dining which is a great deal. Letting us stay an extra two days and get the water park add on. If not for this working out for us I would be going later in year and paying DDP again.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

I have done spreadsheets on our last 3 trips. We did DDP once, DxDDP once, and Tables in Wonderland card last time. When I am on the DDP I order everything that comes with just because I can, but normally I would not ever get dessert, and drink water. So, if I calculate for what I would eat NOT on the DDP (basically the dessert), it does not save my family money. Some people like the convenience of pre-paying for everything, and I do as well (I now buy Disney gift cards as a way of "pre paying"), but I do not like to lose money either for something that's being marketed to SAVE me money.

 

[umieesa]

You have teenage "kids" , so I'm going to assume large appetites

You yourself are the best judge...what are your eating habits?

For us (family of 5, with 3 kids under 10) the regular dining plan still works out to be a good value. My kids are good eaters, and DH and I would probably cheap out and order less expensive stuff on the menu if we didn't have the DDP. The DDP allows us to eat the way we would like and still save money.

I haven't tried the DxDP or the QSDP, so I can't comment on those, but the regular dining plan, we find, is still a lot of food. You don't need to use all your credits at each meal, so for example, if a couple of you share a 1/2 chicken meal at Cosmic Ray's, and did something like this a couple of times throughout the trip you would have a few extra CS credits that you could use to share at breakfast one day. Plus, you would still have your snack credits to tide you over until dinner.

For us, I love prepaying in advance, I love being able to order pretty much whatever I want (and allowing the kids to do so as well), and still saving money. If your family doesn't mind eating fries and corn dog nuggets, or burgers and chicken strips all the time then you might not save money with the plan. But if you like having sit down meals (and order entrees such as steak and not a cheaper pasta) then it probably would be worth it for you. I would also suggest going to allears.net and checking out the menus and get an idea of what you would order and how much it would cost you if you were paying OOP.

Hope this helps!

 

[loganpaulsmom]

I would b interested in hearing more about the ap and tiw. I am booked for April.. Reg.dining.. But I wonder as well if I get an ap if that would work out cheaper?? Hmmm

 

[aaarcher86]

We like to use the Deluxe DP when we go. It is my husband, myself and our two small girls.

Our main reason for it is that we really enjoy having an early sit down breakfast, and a later sit down dinner. We do lots of character meals (probably all of them lol) so we don't have to wait in the longer lines at the park and waste time for lots of them (Stitch, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale, Alice, Pooh, Tigger, princesses, etc). It really helps us save time and do other things we'd like to do.

If we get hungry in between breakfast and dinner we have a lunch credit available or we can grab snacks. We also like to use some of our snack credits to grab treats for other family members or things to take home (Mickey Rice Krispies) or for drinks in the park.

We also typically do CRT (which is 2 credits) and Spirit of Aloha (2 credits) so it helps to have that extra lunch credit that we don't use sometimes

Anythings we don't use, snacks or meals (converted to snacks) we grab a bunch of things from the food court on our last day and eat on the road since we have a 15 hour drive home

Personally, I like the freedom of the plan. I don't typically order desert unless it's something I absolutely can't resist (key lime pie ). It's nice to be able to try new deserts that I typically wouldn't order or try if not on the DP. My kids also enjoy getting a desert with the DP. It is something they look forward to. It's also nice to order meals that are a bit nicer than what I'd normally get. I love steak, but I definitely wouldn't order it as often as I do if I wasn't on the DP!

I will say though that I've never actually done the math on whether it saves us money. I tried once, and I think it was saving us $50 or so... I'm sure I did it wrong though

 

[Rneighh]

We have done the deluxe and it is A LOT of food. We dont' eat like that at home. It seemed like all we did was eat. I was determined to use all our credits because we paid for them and by our last day my family was saying "no more".

On our upcoming trip, we are just doing the regular dining plan. Since hubby is not going, and it is a girls trip (me and two daughers 23 and 19) We will order one appetizer and split two meals between the three of us. I have done the math and I will still be ahead about $ 200 over the deluxe plan. I do wish Disney would give you the option of appetizer or dessert though.

Renee