Don't be a Drag, Just be a Queen June 3-18 (MORE PICS ADDED 6/25!)

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Surprises from turn-down service!

Each night we had chocolates and a little card with an African proverb. We got chocolate AKL logos one night, African masks made of chocolate, replicas of the little proverb cards printed on chocolate. We were often in the room when the CM came in to turn down the beds - she was so super sweet. It was the same lady we had 2 years ago when we stayed CL.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I think I am just waiting on a refund from PhotoPass.
Oh, and my food totals! Need to add up my receipts and do a comparison of how much we saved with TiW vs. how much a Dining Plan would have cost. I already figured out that DxDDP + Tips for 15 nights would have been over $4000. That's without alcohol. I already KNOW I didn't spend $4000.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Total for Table Service = $1845 (This includes 18% gratuity. We did add an additional gratuity to a couple of the tabs, but I didn't factor that in.)

We saved $340 with Tables in Wonderland. The card cost $75, for a net savings of $265. The card will be valid for our entire trip next year, so we won't need to buy a new one in 2012.

Up next, counter service totals!

 

[Candy30]

Love the pictures!!!! Especially of the castle at night and the entrance at night! I love them.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Love the pictures!!!! Especially of the castle at night and the entrance at night! I love them.

Thanks! DH took them.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Counter service total $722. This includes ALL food & beverage purchases that weren't part of a TS meal. CS meals, snacks, cocktails at Epcot, a bottle of wine, the half & half we bought in the gift shop to keep in the room fridge, etc.

$2567 total for ALL food, beverage, and gratuities. That's about $350 more than last year, but I can't remember if I included the food from Universal in my WDW food tally last year. I don't think I did - I think I separated out the Universal costs because I was comparing costs for WDW to what the Dining Plans would have cost. If we had actually been able to go to an Imagineer dinner it would have added $255. Notice that this is nowhere NEAR $4000? The Sunrise Safari was $195, but that kind of straddled Recreation and Dining. Even if I include the Imagineer dinner and the Safari we are at $3017, and neither one of those is eligible for Dining Plan so they would have been additional OOP expenses anyway.

DxDDP would have been $3555, with no alcohol and no gratuities. The year we had DxDDP our tips were running about $50 per day, so figure another $750 for a ballpark total of $4305.
QSDP would have been $1575, which is DOUBLE what we spent on CS and snacks, and includes no alcohol.

I realize I didn't buy everything that the plan would have covered, but we did order everything we wanted. The point is, we come out WAAAAYYY ahead without a dining plan. At no point during our trip did any of us ever NOT get something we wanted to eat or drink. (Well, except that one dessert I didn't get at LTT, but that wasn't a money issue. ) We NEVER make DS order from the kid's menu - we allow him to make that choice at every meal. He is much happier that way.

Our CS cost would have been higher if we wouldn't have stayed CL, but it wouldn't have doubled. We ate breakfast in the lounge maybe 10 days, which was a savings of around $250. Paying OOP for breakfast all of those days STILL wouldn't have cost as much as the DxDDP base price.

All food & beverage and gratuities, INCLUDING paying for the Imagineer dinner, the Sunrise Safari AND OOP for 10 more CS breakfasts would have put us at about $3300 - $1000 LESS than DxDDP. And as we have already mentioned, the Safari and the Imagineer dinner are NOT covered by the dining plan! The DxDDP total would have been $4755 once the OOP costs of the excluded experiences were added in!

 

[__disneygirl]

Great pics as always!

Interesting breakdown of paying OOP vs DxDP. We've never done the Dining Plan because we like total flexibility. The no appetizers thing just annoys me, we love appetizers and would probably end up paying extra for them unless it was a place like Ohana or something. and the DxDP just seems like way too much food and money.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Great pics as always!

Interesting breakdown of paying OOP vs DxDP. We've never done the Dining Plan because we like total flexibility. The no appetizers thing just annoys me, we love appetizers and would probably end up paying extra for them unless it was a place like Ohana or something. and the DxDP just seems like way too much food and money.

Because we order a lot of appetizers and do a lot of Signatures, it doesn't make sense to try to do a cost comparison to the basic plan. We would also order appetizers and drinks that would come out on a separate ticket, which is a giant pain. With TiW everything comes out on one check. The DxDDP always comes out WAY more expensive for us than paying OOP. We had some TS that weren't very expensive, but would have been kind of a waste of credits - Kona, The Plaza, Beaches and Cream, none of those were over $50 for the 3 of us.

We paid for the basic plan in 2006, and got it "free" on a bounceback in 2007. We saved MAYBE $300 each time, and that was when it included appetizers and tips!! (Those were shorter trips, though.) We paid for the DxDDP in 2009 and we lost a TON of money, plus DS griped the whole time because we made him order from the adult menu.

 

[DrGaellon]

plus DS griped the whole time because we made him order from the adult menu.

I'm surprised a kid his age would even WANT to order from the kids' menu; Lord knows I wouldn't have at his age.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I'm surprised a kid his age would even WANT to order from the kids' menu; Lord knows I wouldn't have at his age.

Well, you saw how tiny he is. He doesn't have a big appetite. Once in awhile he will be really hungry and want a larger portion, but he usually doesn't eat much at all. Since he was little we have struggled with a balance between MAKING him eat enough to be healthy, and allowing him to stop when he is full. Even at home he has food left on his plate at dinner almost every night. The kid's menu suits him. He likes sushi and calamari so he will often have that as an appetizer, then just have a smaller entree.

 

[mommykds]

Great report! Loved all the pictures & your food cost analysis.

Unfortunately the bus situation is like that at the BC too. I think all the bus lines should be set up like at the Values. In 2005, at POR some guy not only cut the entire line of people waiting, he also had the nerve to put an umbrella up in front of the "first" person in line to stop everyone who had been waiting patiently. He did this to allow his group of 8 (or 10?) to get on first. I was boiling that day.

By the way we have walked home (BC & BWI) from MGM & we twice beat the boat.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Great report! Loved all the pictures & your food cost analysis.

Unfortunately the bus situation is like that at the BC too. I think all the bus lines should be set up like at the Values. In 2005, at POR some guy not only cut the entire line of people waiting, he also had the nerve to put an umbrella up in front of the "first" person in line to stop everyone who had been waiting patiently. He did this to allow his group of 8 (or 10?) to get on first. I was boiling that day.

By the way we have walked home (BC & BWI) from MGM & we twice beat the boat.

We have definitely decided to stay at Kidani next year, and the buses are a BIG factor in that decision. The buses arriving at Jambo from Kidani always had empty seats. The mobs were at Jambo. I really don't understand why there are queues at the Values and the parks, but not at the mods and the deluxes. Perhaps at AKL it adds to the "survival of the fittest" theming?

Those boats between Epcot and MGM are not only slow, they are HOT. I probably wouldn't mind walking back and forth to Epcot in the evening, but in the morning it would make me cranky. Walking back from MGM would be brutal in the midday heat. I think we'll save BWV for a trip during the cooler months. It is my plan to have those after DS goes to college!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I got an e-mail from PhotoPass this morning saying they have refunded my CD, so that's all taken care of.

One more week until we make reservations for next year!

 

[ctink23]

Surprises from turn-down service!

Each night we had chocolates and a little card with an African proverb. We got chocolate AKL logos one night, African masks made of chocolate, replicas of the little proverb cards printed on chocolate. We were often in the room when the CM came in to turn down the beds - she was so super sweet. It was the same lady we had 2 years ago when we stayed CL.

I missed this update! I love these chocolates! They are so cute!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Jammin' Jungle Parade

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Because I had so many issues with PhotoBucket, it is entirely possible that some of these pics will be duplicates of ones I posted earlier in the report. Sorry!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]