DVC and Dining Plan

[hpygrll]

I don't want to beat a dead horse - but I would love opinions on the DDP. Do you find it's worthwhile when staying in a one bedroom with a kitchen? We're used to being frugal and eating a lot of meals in room. That being said we do love the restaurants as well. There is me and my husband and DSs 5 and 3 - we're going in December, staying at OKW....thoughts??

I appreciate it!!!
Jenny

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have been through this same thought process many times for our Dec. stay as well. We actually will have 3 check ins, since we have guests coming for 5 days and need to check into a 2 bedroom during that time. The rest of the time we will have a 1 bedroom, so we are hoping for a lock off unit. We are toying with doing the dining plan for the time it is just the two of us. The only problem is that we rarely do counter service and always do table service (often premium ones), so not sure it is a good fit for us.

 

[CarolynK]

Having the kitchen in our villa makes it really hard to think about trying the DDP. We almost did, recently, but decided we would probably eat too much. The thought of not having to cook on vacation is great, BUT the reality is, we eat much more in a restaurant than we do in our villa, plus when you prepare it, you know what's in it!

 

[starbox]

In my opinion, the DDP is fabulous IF you really enjoy eating out/spending time eating. It ends up being a lot of time in restaurants, and it is a lot of food.

If you don't feel like you want to eat a TS meal every day, you might be happier off the plan. For a family of 4 (2 kids, 2 adults), figure 100 per day for the dining plan. For a week of vacation, that's 700 (and it only includes two meals per day). If you'd be happy eating three or four nice, TS meals (and eat lunch rather than dinner once or twice), you'll probably save $$ not being on the plan. In many ways, DDP is like DVC to me in the sense that it is not a "saving plan" as much as an "upgrade plan". I've run the numbers every which way, and we work to maximize the value of the plan by eating TS dinners and resort-hopping for dining, and it really does just work out to meals that include desserts and appetizers for about the price of entree-only meals. It's very possible to be happy eating less and saving time and $$ if the food/eating part is not your favorite thing.

 

[JimMIA]

I don't want to beat a dead horse - but I would love opinions on the DDP.

I'll give you our opinions, based on our family's composition and normal Disney eating habits. We have me, DW, and DD4-going-on-24, so there are three of us...or about $87 per day.

Do you find it's worthwhile when staying in a one bedroom with a kitchen?

Yes, but for us, the kitchen is only where the refrigerator and TV are located. We do not enjoy cooking on vacation (DW phrases it a little stronger than that , but the DIS has rules...)We like the one bedroom at OKW for the spacious abode, jacuzzi tub, washer & dryer, etc.

That being said we do love the restaurants as well.

Us too. I ran the numbers, comparing the DDP not to some phony menu-price totals, but what we would really probably eat if we were paying OOP. I should add, I'm talking about OOP - 20%, because we already had the DDE card. I calculated that we honestly saved about $70 (on a 5-day trip) over what we would have spent, eating normally and using the DDE card.

We had a number of CS and snack credits left over -- 3 each, actually. Part of that was fluky, because DW was sick one day. Those extra credits worked out fine for us, because we just went by Earl of Sandwich and loaded up with sandwiches and cookies, which we took home to Miami. Someone who was flying home would have been the envy of the entire coach section.

Despite the modest savings, I think the earlier mention of an "upgrade" rather than savings is how I look at our experience. We're not dessert people. We took most of our desserts back to our villa, packed them home, and then threw them out. We did enjoy some of the appetizers, although most of the time we ordered soup or salad instead of appetizers. But to me, the dining plan price covered the TS entree, tax and tip. The rest of the stuff was gravy.

The other big plus for us was character meals. We did two in five days -- Liberty Tree Tavern and 1900 Park Faire. We did both as dinners, rather than our normal breakfasts to save money, and that was a big step up. Your boys will enjoy the character meals, and I think they add a lot of value to the DDP for those of us with kids under 10. (not that kids over ten don't enjoy character meals, but because of the big price increase)

 

[ILuvDVC2]

...never thought of it that way, but that makes sense. We just got back and used DDP, and we definitely ate "better" each day than we would have had we not done the plan. If we had not done DDP, we probably would have only gone to Cali Grill, because it's our favorite place to go.

We stayed 6 days/5 nights with a party of six (4 Adults, 2 Kids). Our TS meals were Les Chefs de France, Chef Mickey's breakfast, 'Ohana, and California Grill (2 TS credits). Our CS meals were Goods Food to Go @ OKW, Cantina de San Angel, Cantina Eddie's, Restaurantosaurus, and Backlot Express. We used all of our snacks, too. We did go to the grocery store and get breakfast items, and we bought supplies for lunch and dinner on the one day we didn't go to any parks. We spent about $150 in groceries/liquor for the room, and we did have the added alcohol expense with our dinners at France, 'Ohana and the Cali Grill. So in some ways, it doesn't save you money, but you feel like you get your money's worth, IMHO.

 

[byoung]

I also think the DDP saves us. We also have the DDE card, which I used for drinks etc.

 

[drknight]

I agree with JimMIA. I think the DDP would be very helpful if you plan to do character meals with your kids. You could check the cost of the character meals you plan to attend and decide if DDP is worth it.

It does also depend on if you like to have one sit down meal a day. Some people don't like to take that time away from exploring the parks. I need to get my kids (&me) in the AC for an hour or so to sit down, so we really like having one nice meal(preferably a character meal) a day.

 

[Alexander]

We loved the dining plan. We "spent" over $700 in meals and paid about $480 for our family. DH is complaining because he's still carrying around the exta 5 pounds he put on. I was pregnant, so didn't mind all of the food a bit. We would do the meal plan again.

We ate better than we normally would have, and we also don't like to cook on vacation. We tried some restaurants that we normally wouldn't have wanted to pay cash to eat at. I think it depends on your family and what works best for you.

 

[pouncingpluto]

I agree with Jim... I priced it out based on what we would *actually* eat, and we will save a little money with DDP, but not an outstanding amount. However, we'll get a lot more food for that money, and I'm not going to complain about being able to try various appetizers and desserts!

Now... if we were going for a longer trip (this one is only four nights), I think we would spend more time in the room and use the kitchen more, so I'm not sure we would do DDP.

 

[thelobstershanty]

We just had the DDP in June and we loved it. But we are a family that never cooks on vacation, other than making coffee and a toasted bagel in the AM. We are also a family that always eats dinner at a nice TS restaurant, so we always order an appetizer and an entree. The dessert was just an added bonus and we always took it to go and then enjoyed it later back at our villa. It saved us quite a bit of money and for drinks we used our DDE card and got 20% off.
We liked it so much, we have already booked it for our Oct and Dec trips.

 

[MarieA]

We always purchase the DDP while at WDW. I refuse to cook while I am on vacation. I work full time and I don't consider it a vacation if I have to cook and clean.

Our family loves the DDP. Last while at Disney we kept all of our receipts for our 9 day stay (not DVC members then). We spent over $2200 on food (only paid $1200 for the DDP - family of 4). It was well worth the money.

This year we are DVC members and purchased the DDP for our 8 night stay (22 days away - . We also have the DDE card. Since we have reservations for 1 Signature Dining meal, we plan on using the DDE for our OOP meal, as well as drinks. We always use our DDP TS for dinner so we will be using the DDE for breakfast.

 

[bicker]

I did the math, two ways: Comparing the cost of the Dining Plan to how much the items included in the Dining Plan would cost out-of-pocket, and comparing the cost of the Dining Plan to the cost of the items we would normally purchase.

Comparing the cost of the Dining Plan to how much the items included in the Dining Plan would cost out-of-pocket, we save $493.

Comparing the cost of the Dining Plan to the cost of the items we would normally purchase, we save $143.

Either way, we save money.

 

[hpygrll]

All these responses are extremely helpful - I think the key for me is I don't want to eat that much food - I hate buffets....I hate feeling like I have to eat a ton to get my money's worth and that's kind of what I feel this would be like. We would still go to the restaurants but I would not normally get an appetizer or a dessert...so my gut is telling me this would be way too much food for me...I'm sure my DH would like it - but thinking it wouldn't be good for me.

I'll have him read your posts and we'll decide.

Jenny

 

[MarieA]

It depends on where you plan to eat. We are a family of 4 (children are adults - 18 & 21) so when we go to a TS restaurant it is pretty expensive. Last trip the 4 of us went to LeCellier and the bill was $300 (4 appetizers, 4 entrees, 1 dessert and 2 alcoholic drinks). Our second dinner at LeCellier the same trip was $280. CS meals generally ran us $40 - $45 for 4 people. Most of our snack credits were used for bottles of water.

Our bill at 50s Primetime Cafe was over $150 for dinner and that was one of our cheapest meals at WDW. I find that the TS restaurants are expensive so if you are planning to eat at a TS restaurant every night for dinner, the DDP might be a good option. If you are happy with snacks and CS then it probably is not. There is a website allearsnet.com where all of the TS menus are listed. Take a look at them it might help you make your decision.

 

[bicker]

I think the key for me is I don't want to eat that much food

My wife and I are light eaters as well. Remarkably, it costs just about the same to eat lightly at WDW than it does to eat heavily... sometimes more, actually.

I hate feeling like I have to eat a ton to get my money's worth and that's kind of what I feel this would be like.

Then decide not to feel that way. Evaluate the Dining Plan on the basis of how much of what you normally would eat is covered, NOT based on how much of what the Dining Plan includes that you would capitalize on.

We would still go to the restaurants but I would not normally get an appetizer or a dessert

That's precisely how I did my second analysis: How much will it cost us to get what we would normally get, i.e., NO appetizers, NO desserts. The Dining Plan, just using it to eat the way we normal would eat, still saves money.

Here's how the Dining Plan would work WITH appetizers and desserts:

http://brianandrobbie.com/DiningPlanEstimatedCosts.htm

Here's how the Dining Plan would work WITHOUT appetizers and desserts:

http://brianandrobbie.com/DiningPlanEstimatedCostsNoAppyNoDessert.htm

 

[thelobstershanty]

All these responses are extremely helpful - I think the key for me is I don't want to eat that much food - I hate buffets....I hate feeling like I have to eat a ton to get my money's worth and that's kind of what I feel this would be like. We would still go to the restaurants but I would not normally get an appetizer or a dessert...so my gut is telling me this would be way too much food for me...I'm sure my DH would like it - but thinking it wouldn't be good for me.

I'll have him read your posts and we'll decide.

Jenny

Using the DDP to eat at buffets is not really a good value. Many buffets are less than $30.00 pp, so that leaves $8.00 for a CS and a snack. This is basically a wash. Where you get the greatest value with the DDP is to eat at the 1 credit TS restaurants for dinner. There are plenty of them and they are very good. Almost all, if not all, of the Epcot restaurants are only 1 credit. There are many fine restaurants in Epcot.
Most of the resort signature restaurants are 2 credits. It is still a savings using the DDP, but just not as great of a savings.
But we are folks, that love dining at WDW restaurants. We also love to get any type of savings when paying for a vacation in the price range of a WDW vacation. So the DDP was right up our alley.
We always eat dinner at a nice TS restaurant and always order an appetizer and an entree. Using the DP and then using our DDE card was very cost effective for us. Being able to get dessert (which we always got to go) was an added plus.
We loved this dining plan. For our family and our traveling style--this plan was perfect!

 

[Dean]

My wife and I are light eaters as well. Remarkably, it costs just about the same to eat lightly at WDW than it does to eat heavily... sometimes more, actually.

Not necessarily. On the 3 successive trips we've had, we've consistently been able to eat two TS meals per day for 2 people for less than the price of the DDP using the DDE. It will depend on which restaurant, what you order, any discounts and the like.

 

[kgkmom]

DD and I are doing the DDP for our upcoming trip, and one reason that I think it will be even bigger savings for us this year, is because we'll have the kitchen/fridge/micro, etc. to heat up leftovers! We did the DDP last year while staying at AKL, and we ended up leaving some food at the restaurants because the portions are so big we couldn't finish.

This year, we'll be able to take doggie bags from the TS restaurants, and will have great lunches! DD and I like big breakfasts, so we'll use our CS for those, instead of using the snack credits as some people are doing. We'll have some leftovers from 50's PTC and Chefs de France, not to mention desserts as snacks.

I'm really looking forward to being able to leave the parks at mid-day, and have a leisurely lunch overlooking the Boardwalk!

Yippee! 11 days!

 

[bicker]

Not necessarily. On the 3 successive trips we've had, we've consistently been able to eat two TS meals per day for 2 people for less than the price of the DDP using the DDE. It will depend on which restaurant, what you order, any discounts and the like.

I did the math based on our eating habits and our eligibility for discounts. We still saved money on the Dining Plan.