'eat whatever' vs. DDP--the result!

[elbodans]

greetings!

on my most recent (solo) trip, i decided i'd eat (and drink) whatever i wanted, and then determined if i would have saved money doing the DDP after the fact (clearly i'm both non-budgeting and a bit of a risk taker!) i just spent the last i don't know how long calculating the results, so i thought i'd share them for the reference of others.

please note--what i've determined is that it is mathematically difficult to compare 'eating whatever' to 'DDP', as there are many factors...as you shall see...

I didn’t really HAVE a budget--so this cost breakdown represents what a trip like this would cost if you were NOT trying to be thrifty AT ALL...

WHAT I ATE and WHAT IT COST
(all include each item listed, including any stated alcohol, plus tip--no discount)

Dinner at CSR Takeaway
-Italian Sandwich
-Gatorade
-Bottle of Cabernet
$31.72

Snack at MK
-Dole Whip
$3.40

Lunch at Kona Cafe, POLY
-Curried Shrimp Soup
-Pork Tacos
-Glass of Beaujolais
$34.80

Dinner at Artist Point, WL
-Raspberry Rapids Drink
-Cedar Planked Salmon
-Glass of Chardonnay
$73.04 ($142.96)
(I started a running total here, in parenthesis, because I kept losing my math!)

Lunch at Chefs de France
-Lobster Bisque
-Tomato and Goat Cheese Flatbread
-Glass of Beaujolias
$31.26 ($174.22)

Snack in Epcot
-Caramel Corn from Caramel Kitchen
$3.80

Snack in Epcot
-Napoleon from France’s Pastry Shop
$3.95 ($181.97)

Breakfast for Two at CSR
-Veggie Breakfast ‘puff’
-Sausage and Bacon Breakfast ‘puff’
-Grapefruit Juice
$17.56 ($199.53)

Lunch for Two at Yak and Yeti
-Won Ton Soup
-Honey Chicken
-Tamarind Chicken
-Fried Won Ton Dessert
$63.28 ($262.81)

Dinner at Pepper Market
-Glass of Merlot
-Chicken Finger Kid’s Meal (ha!)
$15.51 ($278.32)

Breakfast at Starring Rolls
-Cream Cheese Devil’s Food Cupcake (drool....)
-Apple Juice
$7.01 ($285.33)
(note how the least healthy meal was also the least expensive!)

Lunch at Brown Derby
-Cremini Chevre Tortelloni
-Cobb Salad
$30.56 ($315.89)

Dinner at Epcot at Cantina de San Angel
-Empanadas
$11.19 ($327.08)


Food Total: $327.08

Up next...DDP comparison!

 

[elbodans]

I wanted to do this experiment, and so I saved all of my receipts, took photos of my food, and did the insane calculations above. However, as I didn’t really stick to my original dining reservations, I don’t know if I would have needed the Dining Plan or the Deluxe Dining Plan. Guess I’ll have to figure that out now, won’t I?

Meals I had--

Cafe Rix--1 CS
Dole Whip-1 S
Kona Cafe--1 TS
Artist Point--2 TS
Les Chefs--1 TS
Caramel Kitchen-1 S
France Bakery-1 S
Cafe Rix for TWO-2 CS (for sake of argument/budget)
Yak and Yeti for TWO--2 TS
Pepper Market--1 CS
Starring Rolls--1 S
Brown Derby--2 TS
Cantina San Angel--1 CS

Total Snack Credits--4
Total Counter Service Credits--5
Total Table Service Credits--8

Note--even if I paid OOP for my friend’s meals, I’d still need 7 TS credits, thus still requiring the Deluxe Dining Plan.

Total cost of Deluxe Dining Plan for five nights--$394.95, which does not include alcohol. Assuming each glass of wine I had with a meal was $8 (it was--at least!), my meal total which was $327.08 (INCLUDING tip, which is not covered by DDP) would be reduced by 5 drinks, or $40, for a grand total of $287.08. Thus, it is my determination that the Disney Dining Plan would not have saved me any money. In fact, it would have cost $107.87 MORE.

HOWEVER--there are, of course, issues with this thinking. For example, I’m including things like a bottle of wine from Cafe Rix. I’m including tip. I’m discounting the fact that I would have been served MORE food on the dining plan--because even if I’d been served it, I would have wasted it. I ordered exactly what I wanted, when I wanted it, and I spent over $100 less than if I had been on the plan.

But...what about tables in wonderland? Let’s take my original number--$327.08--because TiW includes drinks. Had I saved the 20% on those meals, I would have saved $65.41...but not quite, as some of the things I purchased were CS meals not covered by TiW. Thus, the jury is still out on whether TiW would have been a good purchase. That will be determined after I do all of the math associated with my NEXT trip...coming in less than 7 weeks!

 

[Cafeen]

With a lot of apps and few desserts, it certainly suggests that DDP wouldn't work out well for you, so imo, you did the right thing (which you already know ). The dining plans work best (and in some cases only work) when you plan to dine as they are designed. Moving off of that plan quickly erodes the savings away.

As far as TiW, the "break even" point (where Savings = Cost of card) is just over $375 over the course of the card's life. So, for this particular trip, if it were your only one on the card, again you wouldn't have made it out ahead. However, since TiW can be used for multiple trips (which it often is, since AP holders typically travel much more than once per "cycle"), that cost can be divvied up across multipe trips (whereas DDP cannot). (This paragraph assumes AP TiW Card. FL Resident card is a little more expensive ($100) and therefore breaks even around $450 spent.)

Again though, TiW, just like DDP, works best when used in an "appropriate" manner. Since TiW is much less restricted than DDP though, it's easier to do, but the lack of many CS options will limit the value if you tend to do a lot of CS in the first place.

 

[SnipsNSnails]

OR you could

Buy the DDP for 5 nights - $229.95 and then pay for Brown Derby OOP - $30.56 minus your drinks still = Total $260.51

By the time you figure tips you are probably about a wash really.

 

[elbodans]

OR you could

Buy the DDP for 5 nights - $229.95 and then pay for Brown Derby OOP - $30.56 minus your drinks still = Total $260.51

By the time you figure tips you are probably about a wash really.

yes--while my 'no holds barred' plan does equal out fairly equally, i think the regular dining plan may work out for me in the future, now that i know how much i use CS meals and understand how to stretch my snack budget. $229 is very reasonable, in my opinion, and i could likely take full advantage of it if i did the math and planning before leaving.

it's really all about math and planning...sadly, i love planning...but hate math!

 

[papamouse1]

Kudos to you for all the effort to put this together, but honestly, we could have saved you all the work.
It is guaranteed that the DDP will not be a value to anyone who isn't eating actual "meals". Nothing wrong with that, if you are the type person who is going to have kids meal chicken fingers (hehe... I LOVE it!), for dinner or else just some other lunch type meal for dinner with no appetizer, no dessert, then you would be crazy to not pay OOP. If you look at your dining, there was really only one meal that you had a full blown entree (Salmon). You clearly ate bigger lunches (soups, etc) then ate light dinner.... heck you drank more than you ate! .... so you definitely chose wisely not doing DDP.

But the disclaimer on this test might need to be it does not represent an actual dining "plan". It is more of "eating enjoyably on a budget" than a "eat whatever you want" plan.

Here's another caveat to this ongoing debate... you do not have to eat like a horse to get the DDP to pay for itself. We seldom all have app, dessert and entree for each meal, we do use creds for breakfast sometime (which hardcore DDP'ers think is a waste of your value), and we do not look at a menu and say "order most expensive whther you like it or not". We eat a nice entree, order what we want, and never pig out, and each time we have used DDP it paid for itself... even when we went home with leftover creds.

And we too have done WDW with no DDP, and saved money like you did, and never went hungry or felt we were living on government cheese for the week... just ate more careful and shared meals.

 

[juliebean]

I tend to think it's the kids price for the DDP that pushes so many of us to the DDP or DLXDP. Those princess meals alone, made the deluxe a no brainer for our family. Interesting - I'm not a fan of kid's chicken, but a lot of what youhad sounds very good! I know I'd rather have two apps at chefs too, but again - those darn princess meals...

 

[Sandisw]

Thanks for sharing. I think it goes to show that the value of the dining plan is really all about the individual.

Our plan was to go this summer and pay completely OOP but load the amount of the plans on a card and allow people to have what the plan allows if they wanted it.

Then, DVC began allowing us to segment our trip so we can add the dining plans to different nights which makes it worth it because I don't have to get a plan for all 5 nights.

Plus, we are bringing family with us who have not been to Disney so we planned a lot of TS character meals, which make getting the plans those days worth it.

 

[elbodans]

Kudos to you for all the effort to put this together, but honestly, we could have saved you all the work.
It is guaranteed that the DDP will not be a value to anyone who isn't eating actual "meals". Nothing wrong with that, if you are the type person who is going to have kids meal chicken fingers (hehe... I LOVE it!), for dinner or else just some other lunch type meal for dinner with no appetizer, no dessert, then you would be crazy to not pay OOP. If you look at your dining, there was really only one meal that you had a full blown entree (Salmon). You clearly ate bigger lunches (soups, etc) then ate light dinner.... heck you drank more than you ate! .... so you definitely chose wisely not doing DDP.

But the disclaimer on this test might need to be it does not represent an actual dining "plan". It is more of "eating enjoyably on a budget" than a "eat whatever you want" plan.

Here's another caveat to this ongoing debate... you do not have to eat like a horse to get the DDP to pay for itself. We seldom all have app, dessert and entree for each meal, we do use creds for breakfast sometime (which hardcore DDP'ers think is a waste of your value), and we do not look at a menu and say "order most expensive whther you like it or not". We eat a nice entree, order what we want, and never pig out, and each time we have used DDP it paid for itself... even when we went home with leftover creds.

And we too have done WDW with no DDP, and saved money like you did, and never went hungry or felt we were living on government cheese for the week... just ate more careful and shared meals.

i'm happy to hear you approve of my insane kid's meal (with wine)! and yes, it does seem like i drank more than i ate...i noticed that as i typed it up. but really, i ate a lot. i promise. and i did eat whatever i wanted--with the notable lack of school bread from norway. i'm still bummed i missed that on this trip...ah well!

i was learning about my eating habits on this trip as well--i now know that i prefer lunches to dinners. i honestly had no idea this was true until this past trip (sad, i know!) i guess it really is all about doing what works best for you. for that, at least, my math was worth the efforts.

 

[happyjen]

Thanks so much for putting this together! I am new to the DDP, we have it free with our upcoming trip. I am still trying to figure out how it all works, and just keep getting more confused the more I read. I was thinking of doing what you did for our trip to decide if the plan is worth it for us for our next trip (hey, it's never to early to start planning the next trip...

 

[LisaTC]

Great information even tho' it isn't an equal for equal scenario, I think it offers good info. I find myself like you and being pre-diabetic (teetering on the edge) there's no way the DDP would work for me. My DD would hate the children's plan. There's not much on there that she wouldn't tire of after 2 days, I'm guessing. I'd rather have apps than dessert. My perfect plan would be 1QS, 2 snacks! That would be great, than I could table sit OOP. Kudos for rehashing all your receipts for us!