Do I add a day conundrum

[loril13]

Just getting some third party opinions ...

I was looking at flights for our next trip. If we leave a day early, the flight is $200 cheaper. I have just enough points in this contract to add that one night. It would be at a different resort, but that isn't a big deal. Our carryon will be a day bag so we won't unpack until we get to our "real" resort.
The conundrum is an extra night will be adding in an extra day of pet sitter and meals at WDW. Am I really ultimately saving anything? I am thinking no.

Thoughts?

 

[disneynutz]

You might consider adding the Deluxe Dining Plan to your 1st night. Credits are good until midnight of your check out day which would be the 1st day at your real resort.

Bill

 

[BillPA]

Is it $200 per person or $200 total? If total, I don't think I would bother. If you get a car, that's another $30-$40 to the cost plus another day of meals. Will you really save much if any?

 

[oufpat]

We just did this for our July trip, there are 10 of us , so the difference in price really added up. We've done split stays before and it's no problem, just won't have groceries delivered until second day.

 

[PopGirl26]

You could also add a cheap cash reservation at a Value resort. Regardless of what you choose, split stays have always been easy and pleasant for us.

Yes, you'll end up spending the $200 anyway, but you'll have a longer vacation! Why spend $200 extra and not get the extra day out of it?

 

[LAX]

Just getting some third party opinions ...

I was looking at flights for our next trip. If we leave a day early, the flight is $200 cheaper. I have just enough points in this contract to add that one night. It would be at a different resort, but that isn't a big deal. Our carryon will be a day bag so we won't unpack until we get to our "real" resort.
The conundrum is an extra night will be adding in an extra day of pet sitter and meals at WDW. Am I really ultimately saving anything? I am thinking no.

Thoughts?

Well, for the extra day of costs, you are getting another day at WDW. You may not be "saving" money out of pockets, but you are enjoying an extra day of vacation while paying $200 less on airfares.

LAX

 

[loril13]

You might consider adding the Deluxe Dining Plan to your 1st night. Credits are good until midnight of your check out day which would be the 1st day at your real resort.

We've never been DDP people. In this situation, it is intriguing. I will need to hit my spreadsheets.

At best we will break even. I had added in pet / house sitter and meals. I had forgotten an extra day of the car. $200 spent at Disney is better than giving JetBlue $200.

 

[disneynutz]

We've never been DDP people. In this situation, it is intriguing. I will need to hit my spreadsheets.

At best we will break even. I had added in pet / house sitter and meals. I had forgotten an extra day of the car. $200 spent at Disney is better than giving JetBlue $200.

Table service meal on check in day, signature meal the next day, do they still do appetizers, desert and a drink mug for 14 days?

Bill

 

[wnielsen1]

Always add a day at WDW. It sure beats working.

 

[loril13]

Table service meal on check in day, signature meal the next day, do they still do appetizers, desert and a drink mug for 14 days?

Yes, they do. I just checked. I didn't see the mug was for 14 days. I assumed the chip would end on midnight of day 2 when the DDP ended.
If we do this, your suggestion is exactly what we'd do.

 

[rlduvall]

You might consider adding the Deluxe Dining Plan to your 1st night. Credits are good until midnight of your check out day which would be the 1st day at your real resort.

Bill

I love doing this. Sometimes it's the only reason I do a split stay up front. You can make out like a bandit on the DxDP, but by only doing it for a night or two you don't eat yourself into a coma for the rest of the trip.

 

[hayesdvc]

Disney math says you are saving much more than $200. How you say ? That is why it is Disney math. Enjoy !

 

[elaine amj]

We added a day before by the airport (only because we arrive at 8pm). And then added a day after! Have a reservation at Pop for that - considering a LM room or an offsite on I Drive for a change of scenery. Love how airfare managed to justify extending our 14 night trip to 16 nights! Mickey Math at its finest

 

[LAX]

I love doing this. Sometimes it's the only reason I do a split stay up front. You can make out like a bandit on the DxDP, but by only doing it for a night or two you don't eat yourself into a coma for the rest of the trip.

I am totally lost (never done or even looked into DP). I can see why someone not wanting to do DP for an extended stay, but why would one "make out like a bandit" on a 1-2 night stay? Is it because it allows one to spread out the credits so that they can be redeemed for items with larger portions?

LAX

 

[rlduvall]

With the Deluxe Dining Plan you get 3 meals of any combination [QS or TS but TS is where the value is] which includes appetizer, entrée, dessert and non-alcoholic drink for TS, 2 snacks and a refillable mug. It is valid from the time you check in until midnight of the day you check out.

DxDP @ $103.57

Chefs de France: escargot, grilled tenderloin, dessert, drink = $65.74 [includes 6.5% tax]

Be Our Guest: French onion soup, steak, dessert, drink = $ 55.38

Chef Art’s Homecomin’: chicken biscuits, fish of the day, dessert, drink = $59.64

Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino = $6.17

Pineapple Dole Whip Float = $5.85

Refillable mug = $17.99

Total: $210.77 [actually spent]

Of course, I couldn’t eat like this for an entire trip, but it is fun to maximize the value for the 2 days it is valid. AND, you will be out quite a bit more money for tips.

 

[elaine amj]

I am totally lost (never done or even looked into DP). I can see why someone not wanting to do DP for an extended stay, but why would one "make out like a bandit" on a 1-2 night stay? Is it because it allows one to spread out the credits so that they can be redeemed for items with larger portions?

LAX

Means you can jam all your $$ meals into the DxDDP portion of your stay. 1 night of the plan covers you easily for 2 days of food. I also had leftover desserts/meals that ended up feeding us for at least a day after.

 

[loril13]

Can you recommend a good list of items eligible for snack credits? I know the basic stuff that is eligible. I am thinking a snack credit I could use for a breakfast or possibly a very light lunch.

(fwiw - During our F&WF trip in October and our cruise in February, I gained six pounds each trip. Thank gods I'm a runner and got that mess off right quick. Eating and having fruity adult beverages are some of my favorite things to do at Disney. DxDDP would for an entire trip kill me!)

 

[loril13]

FYI - We booked the flight and are leaving a day early. When I finally got out of my own head I realized either way we are out $200. Do I want to leave Saturday and give it to JetBlue for nothing in return, or leave Friday spend an extra day in Disney almost for "free".

 

[mdelano4]

Good call. We just did something similar. The only difference is we switched from an early morning flight to a late evening one the night before. We saved a fair amount on the flight and it's basically only costing us one night's points. Since we are arriving late, we will not be paying for park tickets or meals at WDW. It will cost me the price of something quick to eat before we get on the plane. It also saves us from arriving in the morning, rushing to try to get to the park before we've gotten our room and worrying about the things in our carryons. For us it was a no brainer, but each person's situation has to be considered on it's own.

 

[Mrs.Milo]

When we lived in Ariz, if you left on the 9am non stop you didn't arrive until late afternoon (3 hour time diff still during F&W) wasting a whole day traveling. So we worked but left a little early, and took the late afternoon flight that arrived at 10pm, getting us to WDW by midnight. The great thing about that is waking up and being there already!

Love the idea of going in a day early! Also love the idea of trying DDP which we haven't done yet, let us know if you do it and think it's a good idea.