FW without DDP

[Mom2J&J]

Hey Everyone,

We are going during Spring Break at the end of March and are trying to decide between the low rates at POR with the DDP or FW without one. The cost is about the same, but obviously we will have to come out of pocket for food in some capacity if we pick FW.

Many of the restaurants we were hoping for no longer have reservations available. I don't mind cooking easy meals at the end of the day, but would like to eat counter service for our lunches while we're in the parks. Has anyone purchased counter service out of pocket? I'm trying to weigh the cost.

MCB

 

[loves to dive]

We stopped using the dining plan years ago, it was just too much food and the room discounts came out better for us. The only way to know if it is going to work for you is do a side by side. Menus are out there with prices on them, pick what food you think you are going to want and add up the prices then compare. Don't pick the most expensive thing on the menu just because it would be "free" on the DDP, unless that is really what you want. Be honest, would you really want a dessert with every meal? Would you really want a TS every day? Do you really want to cook while on vacation. Do you normally drink soft drinks with your meals? Do you usually eat two snacks a day? There is a thought process that you are on vacation so you are going to eat and drink things you don't normally do at home, and while we do that a little, do you really want to walk around bloated all the time? Keep in mind, F&G will be going on at Epcot and you might want to sub at least one meal for eating at the booths there. Some of the items at the booths are covered as a snack, some aren't.

What I do: I eat a kid's meal for breakfast and lunch, I'm just not a big eater and that is probably more food than I eat for either meal at home. I sub fruit for dessert and more often than not end up putting it in my bag and eating it later. We usually do at least 4 TS out of 6 nights, I usually order an appy and salad and maybe a dessert. My grown son will eat part of my appy, order an entre and if he is so inclined share my dessert. We rarely ever eat snacks between meals, we just aren't that hungry. There are days we will just snack around the world at Epcot and not eat any sit down meals that day. I do not eat the kid's meals and the small suppers for saving money, that is just how I eat normally and I hate walking around the parks feeling miserable because I'm full. If I am hungry between meals, I'll get a snack, usually not something sweet because I'm just not a big sweet eater. I don't drink soft drinks at home so why would I drink them on vacation, I drink water and coffee and the occasional adult beverage, (o.k. more than occasional adult beverage).

 

[rwdavis2]

A couple years ago the Dis Podcast did an analysis of the dining plans. It showed that breaking even on the quick service plan was almost impossible unless you ordered the most expensive items. But that assumed that you would even want that specific thing to eat. The DP is not designed to save money.

 

[dizzyinwdw]

I've read a rule of thumb is that if you have children 9 and under and plan to do character/buffet meals it is worth it; otherwise as PP said you should run the numbers There are a couple of dining websites to help you quickly get a feel for if the DP or OOP would work best for you. I've noticed that to break even or come ahead with DP you have to add in cost of the refillable mugs (included with DP) and eat a lot of dessert . Have a great time!

 

[happymommy]

I would pick where you really want to stay and skip the DDP. It really doesn't save any money; rarely folks will save a small amount but by ordering all the most expensive things, eating dessert every meal or every day, and honestly it's a LOT of food!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Unlike many, we enjoy the DDP. When we compare what the meals would have cost to what the plan would have cost we usually save a little bit, but that is because we do have a little kid and do some expensive character meals. The big benefit for us though is the convenience of having it pre-paid, and we tend to go when we can get the free dining as a resort discount offer, which for us works out to be a good deal.
In this case the question comes down to whether FW would be worth the price of food more than staying at POR. For me, that would depend on what type of trip I wanted. If I was going to spend most of the time in parks, I would probably save money and go with POR. If you need the extra space and/or will be spending more time enjoying the resort, FW is such a unique vacation that it might be worth some more. Either way it should be great, since it's all Disney World! Good luck deciding.

 

[bumbershoot]

Has anyone purchased counter service out of pocket?

Of course. We've never had a package, and never had the dining plan (even though we can buy it with DVC stays). It just doesn't work financially for us.

Now since you're looking at the same costs for FW-no-food and POR-with-food, that's obviously not your situation. If the dining plan works for you and you like POR (I definitely like POR), go with that. If the dining plan isn't how you eat and/or you don't like POR, don't go that route.