DVC and Dinning Plan

[Sparkie]

I had never really given much thought to the Disney Dining plan and all its amenities prior to becoming a DVC member.

I have stayed at the Value resorts and paid for the dining plan and I have been during free dining.

I am a fan of the dining plan. Not so much that it saves money but I like the prepay aspect of the plan and that way DH doesnt see the moola leave his wallet.

But we are going on our first DVC stay in October and have a big family trip planned for March. For the March trip I was considering the Delux Dining Plan... Its my birthday trip.

Thinking of the price increase rumor that has been floating around I got to looking at the plan a little more closely.

I just would really like to pay for the meals. I dont need a refillable mug, I dont need the Planet Hollywood gift voucher, I dont need the video arcade time, I dont need the watersports discount, I dont need the babysitting discount ....

Regular resort guest have the opportunity to have discounted packages or free dining.....
Wouldnt it be great if DVC could get the Dining Plans at a discounted rate without the other frills..... just pre-pay for the food.


I did several spread sheets to find the best way to cover meals for our trip- short of cooking in the room and that is not even on the table- heck- i dont like to cook at home and i'm sure not cooking on vacation.

But I looked at:
OOP and using either the TWI or AP discounts
Basic Dining plan and TWI for a few meals and some quick bfast in the room
DxDDP

I dont know ----- maybe I'm not good at math but any way I worked it It came out to about the same for the meals that we had plannned either paying for the OOP, basic plus TWI or just putting the money up front and paying for DxDDP.

Sure I could scale back on some of the meal choices but did you catch that Its my birthday! And I want it all- lol

So I guess another question would be.....
As a DVC member, what is your meal plan?

 

[vicki_c]

We've have only done cash, never the DDP. For the past few years, we've had APs and bought the TiW card. We're just not fans of the DDP and feeling like we are under pressure to use up pre-paid meal credits.

 

[Tara]

In general, TIW works better for us. DDP doesn't work for us - we basically don't eat QS and enjoy signatures, so DDP isn't enough credits to make it worthwhile for TS and the QS credits go to waste. DxDP is a lot of food for our average DVC stays, but I've discovered it's a good deal when:

1. We stay in a regular hotel room.
2. We're in a villa but for some reason eating out more than we usually do. That's the case when we go in 2 weeks - we're taking MIL along and DH wants to take her to the places we enjoy most.

When DS turns 10 next year, that'll be it for us doing any DP at all, unless some miracle occurs and he starts eating more than lint and water.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We make a couple of TS reservations and eat one good meal a day, either TS or CS. We'll eat in the villa sometimes, too. We usually get the PAP, so we also get the TIW card.

 

[Sparkie]

I agree that when I looked at the DxDDp it is alot of food considering an appetizer, entree and desert for each person.

All of us in our family are adults. (ie Some real adults and some teenagers who think they are adults)

So let me share what I have in mind and see what you guys think. We are staying for 7 nights.

California Grill (Birthday dinner)
Hoop Dee Doo
Cinderella's Royal Table (dinner)
Chef de France (dinner)
San Angel Inn (dinner)
Cape May (dinner)
Mama Melrose (dinner)
Beirgarten (lunch)
LeCellier (lunch)
Flame Tree BBQ
Cosmic Rays
Sci - Fi (lunch)
And 2 other lunches that havent been decided yet
Kona (bfast)
Chef Mickey (bfast)
Ohana (bfast)
Other bfast counter service

And I cant imagine eating 14 snacks on top of all this.


I'm just trying to justify spending close to $550 per person on food. There has got to be a better way.

 

[Dean]

I had never really given much thought to the Disney Dining plan and all its amenities prior to becoming a DVC member.

I have stayed at the Value resorts and paid for the dining plan and I have been during free dining.

I am a fan of the dining plan. Not so much that it saves money but I like the prepay aspect of the plan and that way DH doesnt see the moola leave his wallet.

But we are going on our first DVC stay in October and have a big family trip planned for March. For the March trip I was considering the Delux Dining Plan... Its my birthday trip.

Thinking of the price increase rumor that has been floating around I got to looking at the plan a little more closely.

I just would really like to pay for the meals. I dont need a refillable mug, I dont need the Planet Hollywood gift voucher, I dont need the video arcade time, I dont need the watersports discount, I dont need the babysitting discount ....

Regular resort guest have the opportunity to have discounted packages or free dining.....
Wouldnt it be great if DVC could get the Dining Plans at a discounted rate without the other frills..... just pre-pay for the food.


I did several spread sheets to find the best way to cover meals for our trip- short of cooking in the room and that is not even on the table- heck- i dont like to cook at home and i'm sure not cooking on vacation.

But I looked at:
OOP and using either the TWI or AP discounts
Basic Dining plan and TWI for a few meals and some quick bfast in the room
DxDDP

I dont know ----- maybe I'm not good at math but any way I worked it It came out to about the same for the meals that we had plannned either paying for the OOP, basic plus TWI or just putting the money up front and paying for DxDDP.

Sure I could scale back on some of the meal choices but did you catch that Its my birthday! And I want it all- lol

So I guess another question would be.....
As a DVC member, what is your meal plan?

Assuming the same # of meals, eating without the DDP (possibly with TIW, DVC or AP discounts) might be your best option depending on your restaurant and meal choices. You could prepay by prepaying your CC or getting a prepaid VISA or similar cash card.

 

[emacek]

The prepay was the only aspect of DDP I liked and, unless it's changed recently, that was not available to DVC. My recollection last December is that we had to add the DDP to our reservation in advance but could not pay until we got there or shortly before.

Now that we've bought in on our own, we're doing the Annual Pass/TiW route when we have more than 1 trip in a year. We still have 5 days on a non-expiration pass and will use that for shorter or non-park intensive trips.

emacek

 

[Sandisw]

We have typically done the DDP but the last two years, have done a combination of the QSDP and DDP because we were on a split stay.

This year, it was just too much food for me and I felt like I had to get meals that I really didn't want.

We ended up with 8 snack credits left the last day, plus I threw out 3 desserts that never got eaten (we brought them back to the room).

Plus, we realized that we like to do TS meals every other day and not for 3 days in a row and then none for the next 3 days.

So, next year, we are just going to put money on a Disney gift card in the amount of the DDP and go from there. We are trying to decide about the TIW card but think we are going for it. We have decided to stay at BLT for the entire 6 nights and now that it is good there so that will save on my nightly drink!!!

At the most, we will save money, but at the very least, I will eat the way I want to eat. Because the money will be on the card and already paid for, we won't feel guilty about trying things that we may not finish.

 

[cseca]

The way I see it is if you do lots of buffet, then DDP isn't a great deal... And I see from your list you have at least 4 buffets picked out.

I think you might be better off with TIW. Especially since you have 2 trips already planned, your TIW card will be well used no problem.

DDP is $46 (I think)
So if you divide it to 1TS, 1CS and 1 snack you could approximate the costs to be around:

TS: $30
CS: $12
Snack: $4

If you think you eat more than that approximate everyday, then DDP might work. If not I think TIW will work better.
Plus most people feel the need to maximize their meals if they use DDP. Order the most expensive items, etc. With TIW you'll have more freedom to choose your meal, dessert instead of appetizer or ordering alcohol with your meal, etc.

If it's the prepaying idea that got you, then I completely agree with Dean. Put the $ away now and buy a gift card at a disney store or as soon as you get there. Then you'll feel like everything is prepaid.

Oh and remember, you still have to pay for gratuities. So DDP is not a complete prepayment in that manner.

Good luck and have fun planning your vacation!

 

[Bullseye]

We stayed at FW cabins this past June and although a lot of people won't/don't cook on vacation, I thought it was nice to cook some of my own meals. I get tired of eating out twice a day every day; we've only done DDP once and felt it was too much food. We always have a car so we load up at Super Walmart. Now that we've joined DVC and will have kitchens, we will divide up dining between some lite home cooking, CS, and a several TS/character meals.

 

[Sammie]

We got the regular plan this trip, one snack, one QS and one FS and it worked great for us and saved us money.

It does depend on where you eat and if you like to order a dessert as to whether it will save you money.

 

[simmons_m]

We looked at the prices and menus for our TS locations, and still think we will come out ahead with the dinning plan.
As an example, chef mickey's for a child is 17.99, but the dinning plan is 11.99. Adult, it is 35.99, I think. However, w/ the dining plan you also have access to a counter service. We will usually split our counter service meals, and spread themout i.e. Share fish and chips in the UK, then share a late meal in China or Germany
We have some time to crunch the numbers, but we are leaning toward the dinning plan again in '11. If we do the split stay, we may mix it up.
Once our kids are classified as adults, the ddp will be less appealing.

 

[DiznyDi]

I liked the Dining Plan in 2006/2007. When the appetizer and gratuity was dropped in 2008, the plan no longer had value to us. We prefer appetizers instead of desserts, which on the plan is an added cost. TiW works better for us.

 

[Sparkie]

Assuming the same # of meals, eating without the DDP (possibly with TIW, DVC or AP discounts) might be your best option depending on your restaurant and meal choices. You could prepay by prepaying your CC or getting a prepaid VISA or similar cash card.

Thanks for all the responses.

I hadnt thought about putting my dining money aside on Disney gift cards. This is a great idea for several reasons.

1. its "prepaid" and DH wont flip out when he sees the $$ leave his wallet
2. if I put it on Disney Gift cards, then I cant dip into my vacay money
3. I can pay a little along the way instead of seeing a massive drop in my check book all at once
4. by using twi, ap, and dvc discounts we can share meals or appetizers or deserts in some places. we always eat way too much and feel obligated to order because "we paid" for it even if we really werent that hungry.

I agree DDP was a great value when the appetizer and gratuity were included. And even after the drop of the appetizer and gratuity it was still a break even deal. But at $78 per night per adult for the DxDDp I just dont know if my teenage girls can eat that much (boys maybe but not teenage girls who are weight conscious) and I dont NEED to eat that much, i could but I dont NEED to.

Thanks everybody for letting me bounce my ideas around and for your objective advice.

 

[KateB]

My DH & I always do the DxDP. After each trip I calculate what we would have spent out of pocket for the same meals. Granted if I were buying the meals outright I would not buy the same entrees or amount of food. On our honeymoon we would have spent over a grand on food alone but we paid around $700 for the plan. I figure I would like to enjoy foods that I would not normally splurge and buy while at home. We plan on using the plan when we go with my parents in January. This is their very first trip to WDW and I want them to experience the best while we're there.

 

[Tara]

Thanks for all the responses.

I hadnt thought about putting my dining money aside on Disney gift cards. This is a great idea for several reasons.

1. its "prepaid" and DH wont flip out when he sees the $$ leave his wallet
2. if I put it on Disney Gift cards, then I cant dip into my vacay money
3. I can pay a little along the way instead of seeing a massive drop in my check book all at once
4. by using twi, ap, and dvc discounts we can share meals or appetizers or deserts in some places. we always eat way too much and feel obligated to order because "we paid" for it even if we really werent that hungry.

I agree DDP was a great value when the appetizer and gratuity were included. And even after the drop of the appetizer and gratuity it was still a break even deal. But at $78 per night per adult for the DxDDp I just dont know if my teenage girls can eat that much (boys maybe but not teenage girls who are weight conscious) and I dont NEED to eat that much, i could but I dont NEED to.

Thanks everybody for letting me bounce my ideas around and for your objective advice.

I think you have a good plan formulated. I really believe DxDP only works well when you eat 2 meals a day--either a late breakfast or early lunch and then dinner at a 2TS credit restaurant. I'm sure there are other ways to make it work where money isn't lost on the deal (I'm not concerned about "maximizing" credits), but I found this way gave us nice breaks for meals without feeling like we were stuffed to the gills. It helps that the signature restaurants serve smaller portions, too!

By my calculations, we saved about $260 overall over the price of the plan and I think about $75 over what TIW would have cost me. I'm going from memory though, so don't hold me to that.

 

[Coach81]

For the first time in a long time, we are not doing any plans for our upcoming mard gras trip. We will have a one bedroom, and we plan to eat in the room, and will just go oop.

 

[Tara]

Thanks for all the responses.

I hadnt thought about putting my dining money aside on Disney gift cards. This is a great idea for several reasons.

1. its "prepaid" and DH wont flip out when he sees the $$ leave his wallet
2. if I put it on Disney Gift cards, then I cant dip into my vacay money
3. I can pay a little along the way instead of seeing a massive drop in my check book all at once
4. by using twi, ap, and dvc discounts we can share meals or appetizers or deserts in some places. we always eat way too much and feel obligated to order because "we paid" for it even if we really werent that hungry.

I agree DDP was a great value when the appetizer and gratuity were included. And even after the drop of the appetizer and gratuity it was still a break even deal. But at $78 per night per adult for the DxDDp I just dont know if my teenage girls can eat that much (boys maybe but not teenage girls who are weight conscious) and I dont NEED to eat that much, i could but I dont NEED to.

Thanks everybody for letting me bounce my ideas around and for your objective advice.

I think you have a good plan formulated. I really believe DxDP only works well when you eat 2 meals a day--either a late breakfast or early lunch and then dinner at a 2TS credit restaurant. I'm sure there are other ways to make it work where money isn't lost on the deal (I'm not concerned about "maximizing" credits), but I found this way gave us nice breaks for meals without feeling like we were stuffed to the gills. It helps that the signature restaurants serve smaller portions, too!

By my calculations, we saved about $260 overall over the price of the plan and I think about $75 over what TIW would have cost me. I'm going from memory though, so don't hold me to that.

 

[BeesKnees]

I agree that when I looked at the DxDDp it is alot of food considering an appetizer, entree and desert for each person.

All of us in our family are adults. (ie Some real adults and some teenagers who think they are adults)

So let me share what I have in mind and see what you guys think. We are staying for 7 nights.

California Grill (Birthday dinner)
Hoop Dee Doo
Cinderella's Royal Table (dinner)
Chef de France (dinner)
San Angel Inn (dinner)
Cape May (dinner)
Mama Melrose (dinner)
Beirgarten (lunch)
LeCellier (lunch)
Flame Tree BBQ
Cosmic Rays
Sci - Fi (lunch)
And 2 other lunches that havent been decided yet
Kona (bfast)
Chef Mickey (bfast)
Ohana (bfast)
Other bfast counter service

And I cant imagine eating 14 snacks on top of all this.


I'm just trying to justify spending close to $550 per person on food. There has got to be a better way.

Too much. The amount of sodium you get and the ridiculous amount of food from eating out that much would have me feeling miserable. I am happier to return to the room most days for a lunch of a sandwich and some chips.

Kona is the only place we eat breakfast on property and even then it is only once. Everywhere else the food is meh and it is not worth the money unless you have to have the character meals.

I would also hate to have that many ADRs. The trip would be so regimented I would feel like I had to keep a constant eye on the clock to maintain the eating schedule. Some people think having meals in the room is less like a vacation, I think it makes the vacation more relaxing and free... especially when it comes to breakfast and lunch. I don't want to have to be up and out at a specific time if I don't want and I also do not want to forced to a specific park if I would rather change up the schedule.

 

[fx2594]

I llike DDP but find that it's value to me has shrunk in recent years.