Do you think the DP is worth it now that the tip isn't included?

[camdensmom]

We're on the fence about doing the plan on this trip.

It's not that we are against tipping. In fact, I always tip quite generously when the service warrants it. My concern is that we don't typically rack up the kind of bill that we do with the dining plan.

We have a few reservations for a party of 9 and the tip will be added automatically. I'm not sure how great the savings of the dining plan will be when you factor in the tips.

What are your thoughts? Is it still a good deal?

 

[summermac]

My thoughts are that my family is going to eat about the same on/off the plan as I do not factor tips into my budget. I probably should but I don't.

I did the math and compared the two. I did not try to maximize the plan either. I just picked the places we want to eat and typical entrees I thought we'd pick. I came out $12 ahead (maybe more, can't remember now) without even accounting for two CS yet. And no snacks.

So for us, it works. Tips will be about $100 give or take.

If you'd like to see the post, I could bump it.

 

[Tricia1972]

A reminder to everyone, please keep this discussion to the Dining Plan - Yay or Nay - Only. We limit tipping discussion to one thread. If this turns into a tipping debate we'll have to close the thread

Tipping Thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2056032

Thanks!

 

[camdensmom]

A reminder to everyone, please keep this discussion to the Dining Plan - Yay or Nay - Only. We limit tipping discussion to one thread. If this turns into a tipping debate we'll have to close the thread

Tipping Thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2056032

Thanks!

I just want to clarify myself. I don't mean to cause a debate and am certainly not against tipping by any means. My concern is that the thing I have always enjoyed about the dining plan was the "carefree" feeling it provided me since it was all paid up front. We were able to walk into a nice restaurant and not worry about the cost since we had already paid a flat fee.

I'm worried that I'll find myself looking at prices like I normally would since the additional tip cost will be factored based on our total. I'm just wondering if people are feeling this and enjoying the plan less because of it to help me make my decision.

Thanks in advance.

 

[adventure_woman]

I enjoyed eating at CRT, where the tip was included.

 

[maggieb9975]

Definately the DDP is not as great a value as it used to be before when it had an app and tip included...After having read many threads about this, I feel it really depends on one's eating habits and if you like the perceived convenience....

I do believe it is still a really good deal if you have kidsbetween 3-9.

I am going in a month with my DD16 and she is paying her own way (only way I could afford to go on a whim due to 4/3 deal.) She wants to know up front before we go how much she will need for food. She really likes the idea of the DDP because she knows our food is already paid for except for tip. We are getting the $200 gift card with our package and plan on using that for our tips.....

I calculated that most of our TS meals are going to cost us about $60 -$75.....the difference being between ordering the cheapest to most expensive item (chicken vs steak). If I give a 20% tip then the difference in tip amount is only $3. Neither here nor there to me in the grand scheme of things..if you double that for 4 people it is still only $6 extra dollars......

So, for me the tip doesn't really enter into the decision whether to do the DDP....

I would look at menus, see what you would order and go from there..... when I did that, some days we were breaking even, and sometimes saving as much as $25 a day....

Good Luck with decision...it is much harder to make than before.....

 

[catne]

we've used both the DDP and the DxDDP for family of two and family of four (all adults) several times in the last 2 years. We have always come out way ahead on the deal (I keep receipts, and note what the cash value of the meals is vs. what we paid for DDP that day.) We put the tips & extra charges for adult beverages on our hotel room, then settled up at check-out. That way, we weren't hauling extra cash around to cover the extras.

As for it being a good deal, well it does depend on how & what you want to eat. If you'd prefer breakfast or lunch for your table service sit-down meal, I'd say pay out of pocket because they're not a very good value as a DDP table service on the regular plan.

At table service for dinner, we did not deliberately try to maximise the $$ value of our choices, but both DH & I really love the steaks so we do tend to get higher $$ items quite often. However, even when DD (20) and her friend (18) were with us last May, both of them tended to order less expensive entrees (chicken, pasta dishes and the like.) We still came out ahead. I think our least "good deal" was on the DxDDP because we didn't really use the refillable mug & the snacks (too full from the meals.) I think if we'd tried the DxDDP for more than 2 days, we'd have ended up skipping full meals, which would have really cut into the value.

 

[WETWHISTLE]

For the two of us, it is worth it to get the dining plan.

 

[septbaby]

The best way to determine if DP is a good deal for your family and your trip is to "do the math". Develop a list of places where you are likely to eat as well what you expect to order. Total those items up, including the 6.5% tax you'd pay off the DP. I usually assume $3 for each snack credit. Add up those meal and snack totals and compare them to the DP total for your group.

If you have a child 3-9 in the group the DP is I pretty safe bet to be a deal if you're doing character or AYCE meals. The price for those are usually higher than the daily Child fee for the DP, thus the CS meal and Snack are "free". That usually equates to about a $8-10 savings on the child alone on that day.

 

[buckirj1]

The DDP has never been worth it, tip included or not.

 

[Shooby doo]

If your are planning on eating in WDW for your whole trip then I think that it's good deal,we found the snack & CS credits handy.Yes we did end up tipping more but our evening meals were also at least $30-$40 more than we would normally spend off-site.
SD

 

[Briar Rose@]

I am going to say that is worth it for us. We tend to be very frugal and this is our one chance to go to restaurants that we would never splurge on otherwise. Our group of 10 is going in March and I can't wait to get eating. My in laws are picking up the tab (so that helps) and normally I'd order the cheapest item on the menu, but this way I get to splurge. If it helps, there are sites that tell you which restaurants are included in the plan. I'd post a good one, but not sure what the restrictions are....

 

[eliza61]

We're doing a split stay so I thought about doing the DDP for 5 days during the first part of our trip.

But so far we would only be saving ~50 bucks and that's not enough for me to give up the spontineity (sp) that my family enjoys when we go to the world.

We are pretty average eaters, we don't split meals (we never can find restuarants that serve big enough portions to do it. ) so I never can "maximize" my points.

I keep hoping I'll be one of the poster who are savings hundreds and thousands of dollars vs. oop but I haven't figured it out yet.

 

[TDC Nala]

I have not used it since the tip and appetizer were excluded.

I didn't like being restricted to participating restaurants then, but with the tip and appetizer included it was too good a deal to pass up.

 

[aubriee]

The DDP has never been worth it, tip included or not.

We always eat at least one TS meal a day and order whatever we want. We do this whether we are on the DDP or not. I have run the figures for us and we do save money with the DDP. I guess it just depends on how your family eats. Go to allears, look at the menus, figure what you would normally eat, run the prices and see if it's at least $39.99/day (pre tip, but including the taxes). For us it always is more, so the DDP saves us money and that's not counting the snacks.

 

[winterman]

We visited WDW with free dining in 2005 and 2006. At that time the tip and appetizer were included on the DDP. We had planned to pay to be on the DDP on our trip in 2008. But when the tip and appetizer were removed and the cost went down just 4 dollars we changed our mind. We don't feel it is that great a deal any more.

That said our next trip is booked during the period that has had FD in the past and we will probably do a split stay to get FD if it is offered again. We are currently booked for 10 nights at POFQ and would switch to a value for the first 4 or 5 nights. Even when its free the DDP only makes financial sense to us if we are at a value resort because our POFQ stay is at 40% off.

 

[jog58]

My hubby and I love the dining plan and find that it is a good value for us. We have used both the old version with tip and app and the newer one without it. I personally like the new version as I found that an app, entree and dessert per person was just way too much food and we also like the fact that we can tip based on the service we receive. We love the table service restaurants and not having to look at prices. I feel it provides enough restaurant and food options for our tastes We know at this point roughly how much our bill will come to at each restaurant and can plan accordingly for tips. Yes, eating at Disney can definitely be done cheaper without the dining plan but since we really enjoy the table service restaurants it is a good deal for us.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Yes, if the Dining Plan is 'free' and you convert your TS into a CS and TWO snacks. I am a big drinker, iced tea, and I enjoy having a big cup when I feel like it without thinking of the cost. It is a more relaxed and cheaper way to do the DP.

Slightly Goofy

 

[DISNEYNV]

We went with the DDP in December for the four of us and my parents and even though we had a party of six and had tip included it still worked out as a good deal. We saved a lot of money especially with the TS meals. We will be going again and using DP in May with just the four of us. I think it is still a good deal but you have to plan it out well and stick to your itinerary. It's actually easier with small kids because you can plan meals and early times and have it all paid in advance. We also allow about 100 bucks for tips during the trip. I did not like the fact that appetizers were no longer included as well as tip, but you really get a ton of food and the service was great. Now if we got poor service I would not be happy paying the 18% .

Also even if you have an infant or young child not on the DP they still count towards the party of SIX and will automatically add the tip. We found this out at our first TS meal in December.

 

[eve76]

We never used the DDP but would like to give it a try. Thanks for the comments.