DVC'ers and Meal Plan

[BCV23]

I think it's a box of donut holes or the small snack size donuts. I have a list on the other computer of things you can get for a snack credit at AP/SSR.

I think I pulled it off the DDP thread.

The doughnuts are Entemann's. I concsider them full size and yes it is just one snack credit for a box.

 

[bpmorley]

The doughnuts are Entemann's. I concsider them full size and yes it is just one snack credit for a box.

Then I'll definitely be getting the DDP next time

 

[NMW]

You can get A LOT of things with the snack credits-doughnuts at Boardwalk Bakery, lots of snacks at the Screen Door place on the Boardwalk-large bag of chips, big box of doughnuts-pretty much anything under $4. You could easily use snack credits for breakfast pateries and have 3 meals pretty much covered.

Our family loves the DDP. However, we also purchase the DDE card-we love alcohol! The DDP works really well for our family, it's very close to how we normally eat. We eat TS dinner every night on site. We never get a car or go offsite-that's one of the things we love about Disney. We order appetizers and some times desserts. We usually order CS lunch. My kids get really hungry with all that walking. We use the snack credits for some breakfast items at the bakery and for sodas/waters in the parks. We do some character breakfasts and we use the DDE card for them. We also do TS lunch in MGM-I hate their CS food and DH can not live without Brown Derbys cobb salad every trip. We use the DDE card for this also. Oh, and of course we use the DDE card for alcohol with our dinners. There are many places that have CS breakfasts, if you wanted to use those credits that way. The plan is perfect for our family. I should add that we don't EVER plan to cook on our vacations.

In Oct we were 3 Adults (our oldest was 10)/ 2 children on the DDP. My middle child was really unhappy with the kids meals at the TS places. They had just rolled out that new healthy, in my opinion-lame kid meals, and he watched his brother eat steak and other good adult food at Flying Fish, Kona, and Rose and Crown, etc. Even though they have since tweaked the kids TS menus to include some better choices, I am buying the adult plan for him when we go in Dec 2007 (he will only be 9). MS had no problem changing him to the adult plan and I really think our family will have a much better time not listening to him complain My sons like adult food though, so for us it works. My DD age 5 could live on mac and cheese, so she is just fine with the child plan.

I really don't understand all the people who complain that it was too much food. You don't HAVE to order dessert if you are not hungry. No one is holding a gun to your head. If you are not hungry, don't order it. Maybe I'm missing something. If you go on a cruise and all the food is included, do you stuff yourself just because it's "included"?? To me it's the same thing. DH and I went to Aruba all-inclusive in 1996 and while I never said "no" to a tropical drink, lots of times I passed on all the food courses. If you are too full one day for CS lunch, save it for breakfast the next day and get 2 items and a drink at Starring Rolls or something.

I can understand that some people don't like to plan their meals, but we always did that anyway, so for us it's not a big deal.

 

[deedeetoo]

We are going to try it this year for the first time.

I calculated what I thought we would spend on dinner, just counting an entree and a drink since we rarely get appetizers or desserts. I then added snacks and counter service the way we normally do (and we sometimes skip meals) and the total for just that was about $100 more for the week than the cost of the dining plan. We will just have to be careful not to overeat. My dh tends to have control problems - if its there, he will eat it. We know we will have to watch this during the trip.

 

[dgaston]

I have used the DDP three times now, once on "free dining" and twice while staying at DVC. We usually book a signature restaurant or show, so that cuts down on one of our TS meals. The credit I tend to have left over is snack credits. We used these to get a box of doughnuts, and I brought several rice crispy treats home to other family members. Our longest stay on the DDP has been 5 nights, and we did get CS meals that stretched into other Disney days not on the plan (sandwiches from Earl of Sandwich).

 

[mickeymorse]

If you are renting pts from a DVC'er, can you still add the DDP to the ressie?

Thanks,

Rob

 

[MrShiny]

We just used it in December for the first time and loved it! It saved us about $300 I believe (I'll post a complete breakdown soon). It works great if you use the table service mainly for dinner (we found Raglan Road and the Candlelight Processional package really good uses). We used all of our points, which basically covered dinner and lunch. We had one table service breakfast (Boma) and one dinner we paid cash for (Hoop De Doo - didn't seem worth the 2 credits compared to the dollar value). We also had breakfast in the room a few days.

It works really well if you have an early flight in and a late flight out - that gives you an extra day to use the credits.

We didn't eat all the desserts we got from counter service at the meal - we ended up taking some back to the room.

The bakery in Norway was an especially good value - they give you about $15 worth of food for one counter service credit.

Basically, for us it was as if we paid for the dinners and all the other food was free.

We are going back in February for the Pirate & Princess Party and using DDP again.

 

[MrShiny]

If you are renting pts from a DVC'er, can you still add the DDP to the ressie?

Thanks,

Rob

ABSOLUTELY - although you may have to have the member call and add it to your res - they are cracking down it seems on non-members using Member Services for anything.

Even as a member myself, I had trouble when calling to alter a res using rented points.

 

[LakeAriel]

The doughnuts are Entemann's. I concsider them full size and yes it is just one snack credit for a box.

Yes, it is a full size box with, I believe, 8 donuts in it..It is an amazing deal!

 

[emerymt]

I don't know..... it sounds like too much food, plus we're going to Cape Canaveral one day out of our 7 day trip, we have a 12-year old that can't eat adult-sized meals and our plane leaves early the day of departure.

So anyway, my question is this- How does WDW know how many people are in your party? What if we just leave out DD and pay for her meals as we go?

Do you have to also get your tickets through WDW? We wanted to get ours in advance through a discounter. I don't see how else they're going to know if you've purchased a ticket unless you buy it from them.

BTW, we traded into DVC for a week through II.

Thanks

 

[Muushka]

I can answer that comment that the DDP is too much food. I also made that observation, and yes, while I agree that no, you don't have to eat it all or even order it all, I know that we are still in fact, paying for it. When I ran the numbers for us on our 5 day visit last Dec, we really did not save any money on the DDP mostly because we would not ordinarily order dessert and appetizer.

So for me, the comment "too much food" means that with the DDP, to take full advantage of it, you must appreciate dessert and appetizer, which we don't. And we never bought snacks, so that was another thing added to the "too much food" comment.

Now don't get me wrong, we had a lot of fun with the DDP and we are doing it again in Dec, but just for 2 days and mostly because of the CP (which is so expensive now).

We always have bagles for breakfast while at WDW, and they counted as 1 snack credit at the Mercantile. Good use of a snack, breakfast for 3 days for 2

 

[bpmorley]

So anyway, my question is this- How does WDW know how many people are in your party? What if we just leave out DD and pay for her meals as we go?

They won't. But, if you don't have DD on your reservation you won't be able to take advantage of EMH's. She won't have a room card to get the bracelet.

 

[goofy4tink]

I don't know..... it sounds like too much food, plus we're going to Cape Canaveral one day out of our 7 day trip, we have a 12-year old that can't eat adult-sized meals and our plane leaves early the day of departure.

So anyway, my question is this- How does WDW know how many people are in your party? What if we just leave out DD and pay for her meals as we go?

Do you have to also get your tickets through WDW? We wanted to get ours in advance through a discounter. I don't see how else they're going to know if you've purchased a ticket unless you buy it from them.

BTW, we traded into DVC for a week through II.

Thanks

Disney knows because when you check in, you are asked for the names of all those in your party. Then, each person is given a resort key card. This is your form of identification while at WDW. You can, if you choose to, charge back to your room with this card. But, it is also your entry to those EMH's in the parks. If you don't have a room key, from a WDW resort, you don't get in. Those under the age of three don't need one, but they also don't have to be on the dining plan either. So...if you want to be able to have all the kids use EMH's, then they have to be on the room reservation, and then have to be on the DDP as well.

I went in Oct, with another mom and her dd. We were celebrating our dd's 13th birthdays together. I deliberated, back and forth, about what was the most efficient, cost effective way of dining. I have the DDE card and love it. I knew we were going to be eating a lot of TS meals, as well as counters. So...I went to the menus, sat with paper/pen, and made a list of all our ADRs. I totaled the costs of DDP ($38 per day x 4 adults) and then totaled the meals we would be eating and subtracted the 20% where applicable, with the DDE. It came out to be a difference of about $45 or so. I figured it was just easier to have the DDP in place so we didn't have to worry about who paid for which meal.
Then, I went in Dec, and used DDP myself. I think that, like the Oct trip, credits were left behind. Mostly counter service/snack credits. I ate until I thought I could eat no more. I never wanted for food, that's for sure.
But, I think that for me, and my whole family's style of eating, we'll stick with the DDE. Day by day, it just makes more sense for us. We just don't eat all that much at one meal...would rather eat 3 smaller meals throughout the day and the DDE card lets us do that.

 

[emerymt]

Well, we want to do the morning EMH, so that settles it about having my DD as an "official" occupant of the room.

I think spending some time with a pen & paper might get me my answer.

 

[MinnesotaChill]

Next January, we will be three family units in one GV. We plan to get DDP while in the villa. My dh and I own dvc. The other two families do not. After the GV, one of those families will go home, the other two will go their separate ways, but stay at Disney.

How do we book the ddp? When I book the GV? If my cousin and her family want to continue DDP after the GV, do they book that with their tickets or with their room? Can they carry over credits?

We will switch to DDE after the GV, not sure if the DDP plan is tied to tix or ressies? Sounds like it can be either?

No one has answered my question. How will this work?

 

[bpmorley]

No one has answered my question. How will this work?

While you are all in the GV, you all have to get the DDP. It's all or none. After the GV it's up to each party whether they want it or not.

 

[BCV23]

No one has answered my question. How will this work?

I thought Chuck very clearly answered your questions in post #50.

 

[MinnesotaChill]

I am so sorry! I missed that post! I was using "go to first unread" and it apparently didn't! Yes, that was an excellent answer, thank you!

 

[AEN]

After all that, DW may change our arrangements. We may stay at OKW with friends in one unit for three days and then BCV in separate rooms for each family, for the remaining six. If we do that we will try the meal plan. At least then I can judge based on experience.

On a side note, DW didn't want to do DVC originally. Now that we have it, she loves the ability to alter arrangements on a whim (of course providing availability). Good to see she's happy.

Thanks all.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I just used it for my solo trip last week, and for approx $190 for the week, as the CM who signed me up said, "You can't beat that with a stick!" I ate a lot of my TS meals at lunch time, not dinner, and I ate at a couple buffets, so I didn't "maximize" my savings. However, I did save over buying everything separately and really liked not having to look at prices on the menu (I'm one who always "comparison shops" when I eat and usually gets what costs less). I loved it and would definitely do it again.