Does the DDP make sense for us?

[Disney_Queen34]

Right now we have ressies for two 2-bedroom villas at BCV. Our entire party will be 8 adults, a 3.5 year old, a 2.5 year old, and an 8 month old. We are hoping to switch our ressie to OKW Grand Villa once our window opens.

My family (2 adults and the 3.5 and 2.5 year old) was thinking of doing the DDP because of it's convenience, however the rest of the party may not do this. They say they plan to cook a few meals at the villas but they've said this every time and never have (only for breakfast).

We are a very low-key family and wouldn't use it for super expensive places to eat but would like to do one or two character meals for the kids and probably most days a counter service lunch.

Do you think it's worth it since the kids are so young (and we'd have to pay for the 3 year old) or would it just make more sense to buy adult meals and split with the kids?

 

[Chuck S]

As two adults, we do not use the DDP. On our recent 9 night stay, we did not eat offsite, but did do a run to Publix, where we bought cheese, ham, bread, butter, cereal, fruit & coffee. We ate most breakfasts in the room, though we did have 3 breakfasts at Olivia's. We also had ham & cheese sandwiches twice in the room for a light dinner.

Our table service meals were usually lunch, with a counter service dinner. We used the DDE/TIW card, so the totals include tip, but the tip and discount I consider a wash...so it is probably a good comparison of DDP to actual dining costs out-of-pocket, based upon our dining habits.

37.17 Olivia's Lunch
55.05 Liberty Tree Lunch
84.48 Brown Derby Lunch
32.41 Olivia's Breakfast
15.32 Capt Cook's (counter service) Lunch @ Poly
20.58 Pop Century Food Court - Dinner
60.36 Raglan Road - Lunch
12.68 French Bakery EPCOT - Lunch
68.17 Le Chefs De France - Lunch
34.45 Plaza Restaurant - Lunch
30.90 Olivia's Breakfast
15.48 Pop Century Food Court - Dinner
32.96 Olivia's Breakfast
33.39 Olivia's Breakfast

This is a total of $533.40

Now add an estimate of $40 for groceries, bringing the total to $573.40.

At 39.95 per adult per night, the DDP would have cost us $719.10. We saved about $150 by NOT getting the DDP, and were able to eat appetizers instead of desserts, and have a glass of wine at Chefs, which would not be included in the DDP. It also would have used 22 table service credits, not the 18 like we would have gotten on the DDP.

As you can see, it depends entirely upon your normal dining habits. If the adults in your party normally eat a large table service dinner every night, or are normally big eaters the DDP may save you money. For lighter eaters, or those that prefer appetizers rather than desserts, no DDP is the way to go.

 

[DisneyKidds]

First off, if you get that grand villa the question is moot. Everyone would have to be on the plan, and it doesn't sound like that is going to happen.

If you keep the two reservations you could have your family in one 2 Br, on the plan, and everyone else in the other 2 Br, without the plan.

Is the plan worth is for you? Best way to answer that question is to decide what sit down meals you'll have, add the estimated cost, and compare to that cost of the plan. That said, if your sit down meal each day is likely to be a character meal, while you won't lose money on the plan, you won't save that much either. Figure the plan is going to cost you about $90 a day for two adults, one child, and one infant. A character breakfast for that party, tax included, is going to run somewhere between $50 and $55 dollars. So, if for the two adults and one child (the free infant doesn't get any snacks or counter service meals) you are likely to spend at least $40 for a counter service lunch and a snack then you come out at least even. For planning purposes you can consider that a counter service meal and snack combined are worth about $15 on average. So 3 counter service meals and snacks would cost you about $45. Out of pocket you'd pay $50 + $45, for a total of $95 (and possibly more), while the plan would only cost $90.....a $5 savings at a minimum. So, like I said, if you do a character meal a day, and have an average counter service meal, and grab a snack, you won't lose any money on the plan, but you won't save a lot.

Of course, if you make one or two of those meals a nice sit down dinner (dinner for two adults and a child at Le Cellier easily runs $100), or you get more expensive counter service meals and snacks (you can easily get close to $25 worth of food for a counter service credit and a snack), you can stand to save quite a bit more.

So, I'd go ahead and get the plan. Look at it as pre-paying your food. You won't lose any money, and if you plan a couple of nicer meals you can eat better for the same money you would have spent on lesser food.

 

[rutgers1]

Chuck, when you were figuring out the difference in price, did you factor in the purchase of the TIW card? That would lower your savings.

I am totally torn on what to do. For this year, I think I might do the DDP mainly because my two sons still qualify for the kid's price. I can't see buying it when they are slightly older, as we will be paying a whole lot of money for two kids who subsist on hot dogs and chicken fingers. However, once they are in high school, I'd probably consider it again. For me, it is all about convenience. I hate to think about where food is coming from. When we are in DW, we grab a cereal bar in the hotel room for breakfast and then we are out for the day, and the DDP really helps us feel like we are truly on vacation. If it is only an extra $100 or $150 to me it is money well spent.

 

[DisneyKidds]

I hear you on the change from kids to adult pricing. Of course, whether that is an issue depends on the kid. Our DD just turned 10, and was an adult on the plan on our last trip. So, we paid a lot more for her for the DDP. However, she has sophisticated taste I guess, because she has tired of eating chicken nuggets, mac and cheese and bad pizza, and easily finished off a caesar salad and most of a filet at most of the dinners we went to. If your 10+ yo is happy eating off the kids menu the DDP is a big expense for them, but if they want to eat big people food on vacation it's still a good deal.

 

[Chuck S]

I did not factor in the TIW initial purchase price, because the discount basically covers the tip. As the tip is not included in the DDP, it is a better comparision to the DDP to not factor in the TIW cost, especially since it will be used several more times during the course of the year. By figuring the tip and TIW discount as a wash, you basically are comparing the actual menu prices to the DDP, as a tip would need to be added to DDP meals.