DxDP- said I would never do again... but?

[harbin]

So we just returned from the WDW. We were there 7/26-8/1. Stayed at AOA.
Had DxDp that trip and thought... Wow this is a lot of food! We managed to save $30.00 over paying OOP for what we ate. That trip included myself, mom, DS(7) and DS(2) who obviously wasn't on plan.

Our next trip is 3/27-4/5. Staying at BWI. Now trip is myself, DH, DS(7), and DS(3). I am considering doing DxDp even though I thought I wouldn't ever do it again... here is my reasoning.

Most of our dining at our previous stay was somewhat of a pain due to transportation. Breakfast ADR's (mostly character) required an hour of transport to get there. I found them to be too early in the AM. Now we are staying at BWI, where walking to character breakfasts and somewhat easier transport are the norm. Also within walking distance to Epcot with all of the dining options there, as well as the dining options at BWI/BC/YC. We usually would do TS breakfast, TS dinner, and QS lunch. DH eats ALOT more than my mom would have on our previous trip... I know I can do the math.. but just wondering if you would do DxDp with the above situation?

 

[Lynne G]

I would say yes if you intend to do character breakfasts almost every day (or at least a TS for 2 of your meals each day).

Have a great trip. You will find staying at the BWI will let you enjoy Epcot and DS with a walk or boat ride and able to be at many restaurants in a short time.

 

[smiths02]

Given that you go so much, do you have an annual passport? Could you purchase a TiW card?

You only saved $30? That seems very low to me. If you had missed one meal, that savings would be gone. I don't think the DxDP is flexible enough.

Now if you can't get a TiW card AND you are offered free dining and upgrade to DxDP, then maybe.

 

[LJSquishy]

The big question is this:

If you were paying OOP for your meals, would you typically order an appetizer & dessert at each meal (or at least lunch & dinner)? If not, DxDP may not save you money. That doesn't even include the snacks per day...yikes! That is a lot of food.

Also, when you were on DxDP, did you just pick whatever entree you really wanted to eat whether it was a salad or other less expensive item, or did you intentionally choose the more expensive entrees to get the most value out of DxDP even if it wasn't what you really wanted?

Most people realize if they weren't on a dining plan they wouldn't order very many desserts (because they're full) or appetizers. Or, they may want to order 2 appetizers instead of an entree. Or...that salad sure sounds refreshing and just the right amount of food. If you would prefer an appetizer, entree, and dessert at your meals and love steak and the other more expensive entrees, it may work out in your favor.

 

[harbin]

Yeah... the whole appetizer and dessert thing with dinner isn't for me... Desserts yes, appetizer AND dessert no... It's more about whether or not doing character breakfasts and TS dinners make it worth it or not... will have to crunch some numbers. I like the idea of an AP because I am sure we will be back before the end of 2014 although DH says "no" Thanks for the help!!

 

[bk123]

we are doing it this go round (last time we had regular dining plan) as we have a nearly 3 year old plus a nearly 5 year old. i'm pretty sure they won't complain about the avalanche of desserts & snacks, we won't complain about eating ourselves silly at food & wine, and we'll all be happy with a few character breakfasts & signature dining tossed in.

i doubt we'd do it having to pay for our second child. i think this is one of the situations that screams for it!

 

[disneynutz]

Are you spending money, eating food and doing character meals just to get a better value because you are on a dining plan?

The dining can be a good value for some but for others they spend much more on the plan than paying out of pocket.

Bill

 

[DCDisney]

On the last trip you weren't paying for the 2 year old but he was presumably eating some of your food which made things work out better in terms of value and wasted food. Just a $30 savings would scare me because if one person in your family got an upset stomach and skipped a TS meal it would be more than $30. You seem like you would benefit from the regular DDP and then pay out of pocket for cheaper meals. Then if someone gets sick or you just don't feel like one of the meals you aren't losing money. It's so unpredictable with little kids....

 

[tkbbmom]

You might want to take a little time and fill in the spreadsheet on this site: http://seeyareelsoon.wix.com/seeyareelsoon


We booked for free dining w/ an upgrade to DxDP but I think after running the numbers and looking at the menus we would actually come out over $500 ahead. Now, dh says $500 isn't that much, but as I've thought about it I hate to give that $500 to Disney if I could have it in my pocket. We too have at least 2 TS meals a day and generally 1 CS --- w/ some of our TS meals being 2 credits. However, bec of the ages of our family we are all 5 considered "Adults." When we first booked DxDP it was because we do like to do the Character Meals and nicer restaurants, but the reality for us is we aren't going to all order an appetizer at every lunch and dinner and probably not a dessert for everyone as well. There are also probably TS meals where dd will order a kids meal and really wants a kids portion but an adult portion so paying oop for that is better.

 

[harbin]

Yeah.. I think the main reason I thought we would get more benefit out of DxDP this time is simply because of the resort we are staying at (BWI). We cancelled a lot of TS reservations last time because of the shear pain in the butt to get to them! Now we will have Epcot at our feet, and TS restaurants at BWI, BC, and YC near by. I would think we would end up doing more TS than last trip where transportation was an issue. I will use the spreadsheet when I book ADR's and see if it works out to add. I can upgrade to DxDp even three days before we go right?

 

[ibela]

Yes, up to 3 days before. Just remember to fill in the spreadsheet based on how you would normally eat to determine if it's really a savings for you. Ex. if you wouldn't normally order a dessert, don't count that in your total for that meal because it's not an expense you'd have if paying OOP.