Gold vs. Silver Dream Maker Packages

[AdamF]

hey everyone this is my first thread on here, its a great forum and has a lot of awsome info.
my question is my DF and I are planning on spending our honeymoon at disney this October. we are thinking about the Caribbean Beach Resort but cannot decide between the gold and silver dream maker packages. Has anyone taken advantage of these packages and can give me any advice on which to choose?

 

[lillykat]

Originally posted by AdamF

hey everyone this is my first thread on here, its a great forum and has a lot of awsome info.
my question is my DF and I are planning on spending our honeymoon at disney this October. we are thinking about the Caribbean Beach Resort but cannot decide between the gold and silver dream maker packages. Has anyone taken advantage of these packages and can give me any advice on which to choose?

Congrats on your upcoming wedding! DFH and I are going in just a few weeks on our honeymoon at WDW!

Ok we went with the Silver package - we decided we were staying at concierge so we didn't need breakfast since we get breakfast there.

Here are somethings to consider - You MOST likely WILL NOT SAVE MONEY with a package - BUT you can come out ahead with the silver package IF you do your homework.

The gold package gives you all of your meals and a lot of activities so you will have to be very active to get the most for your money and you will be eating three sit down meals (so you will be eating all day long)

We went with the silver package - we are doing cirque de soleil, Keys to the kingdom etc. which cost more than the actually wishes do.

What you need to do is go to allearsnet If you go to the restaurant part there are menus for EVERY RESTAURANT and counter service etc in WDW -

I would go there and figure out where you want to eat - and see what you are interested in (with the gold and silver plan you get for lunch and dinner - an appetizer, entree, dessert, non - alcoholic drink like soda, and coffee and tea - Per PERSON - it also includes tax and gratuity. ) then you need to see what restaurants are 1 wish and which are two (some of the two's are - coral reef, jiko, narcossees, citricos, Bistro de paris, artists point, california grill etc) 1 wish I believe is about 33-34 dollars, and 2 is 67. So to find out if you have a good deal you want to make sure that you are spending MORE than 33-34$ for 1 wish and more than 67$ for two.

Mousesavers

Mary - breaks down under packages what are good deal and what aren't - Dinner packages like the Luau, or Hoop de doo are good values, cirque de soliel, tours such as keys to the kingdom (1 wish - but it costs 59$ pp)

We found that for what we wanted it was a good value for us - but remember disney banks that most won't do their research and will not use all of their wishes during their trip - wishes expire at midnight on the day of check out.

Hope this helps some

 

[AdamF]

thanks lillykat for the reply those sites you mentioned also have a ton of info. if anyone else has any input about the packages it would be greatly appriciated.

 

[hogie1]

2 years ago we used the Gold package while staying at the GF for our honeymoon. We used it alot for activities like the fishing trips, boating, & all of our meals, but it took away from some time going to the parks. But it worked out very well for what we were doing. It was our 3rd time in 3 years so we could go a little slower & relax. This year were going with 2 other couples and the Silver package makes more sense. We don't need a sit down @ breakfast every morning, but having a nice place to eat lunch & dinner on the package is worth it. Plus if there are certain activities you want, plan it out and sustitute one of your wishes for that instead of a meal or something. It all depends on how you do Disney, and where you want your dollar to go. I hate taking out my wallet, but I enjoy good meals and just having to take care of my beer tab is great! Take the Yatchsman Steakhouse for example (small plug here for this place!). We went there 2 times on our honeymoon because it was so good, and this time we're going again. For this time on the silver package, it will cost us 2 wishes. But 1 person gets an appatizer, a meal, a dessert, and one non-alcoholic beverage. I'll get shrimp cocktail (11.99), a 22 oz Prime Kansas City Strip Steak (44.99), & the Jack Daniels Mousse cake (6.99) and the total could be $63.97 plus tax & tip. But all I have to worry about are the 20 oz ice cold draft beers, served in a frost goblet at $5.00 a pop. On our honeymoon we had a bill that was around $150 bucks, but we only had to pay about $40 for the drinks! To me, as a guy, that is heaven!!!! Good luck and congrats!!!

 

[AdamF]

thanks hogie great reply

 

[dansyr]

We did the gold package last March and will be doing it again in Sept. If you aren't planning on commando touring, then I think the gold plan is a good deal. Use it for tours, recreation and a couple really nice meals a day and I think it is well worth it,
We thought about doing the silver this time but most restaurants we wanted to eat at required 2 wishes and we also wanted to see cirque again.....so for us we wouldn't have enough wishes.
On the gold plan you get 3 meals a day plus recreation plus cirque tickets plus tours.....as many as you want.
Hope that helps.

 

[XStAnt]

Personally, I don't believe the gold package makes sense for most people. (I realize that for some it might). It costs an extra $139 per person per night over the basic Dreammaker package. For you and your wife to be that means you are paying $278 each night for this pan.

Will you be spending that much on your meals and the other extras (tours and Cirque)? If you eat breakfast at the CBR food court and eat lunch or dinner at a counter service restaurant you probably won't get your money's worth. Do you really intend on having 3 big, sit down meals each day? Will you take that many tours?

Keep in mind that the more sit down meals you eat and the more tours you take, the less time you have on the parks to ride all the attractions. Have both of you been to Disney many times before? If so then you don't need to see "everything" and can spend more time doing things like the tours or long, expensive meals. If you haven't been before, or only a couple of times, then you may want to spend more time in the parks.

The silver package is a little better. It costs an additional $68 per person, per night. You get 2 wishes per night (per person) but they can be combined for your entire trip. In other words, you don't have to use 2 wishes each day. You could use one wish on one night, and 3 wishes on another night.

If you are careful about what you use the wishes for you can get your money's worth. You'd have to use them for the more expensive items like Cirque, etc. Check out www.mousesavers.com for tips on maximizing the value of your wishes. However, I find this takes a little too much planning for me to make sure I son't overpay for a package.

My personal preference would be to do neither the gold or silver package and just pay for things separately. When on vacation I often find I don't get to do everything I thought I could/would. Sometimes DW and I are too tired to go out to a sit down meal. Sometimes we want to change plans and stay in a park instead of something else. I'd hate to feel I "have" to eat at a restaurant or take a tour because I've already "paid" for them in a package.

I hope my explanation is clear.

Good luck with your planning and your wedding. Enjoy your honeymoon.

 

[Eeyore1954]

My DW and I have done both ... others have mentioned many of the great pros and cons to the packages.

Our experience with both packages was great. The Gold pkg. gave us opportunities to try activities we'd never done before. We finally went to Hoop-Dee-Doo; we had spa treatments; we ate at restaurants we'd not gone to before. But as others said, it did take time away from visiting the parks. The one big downside to the Gold package was, surprisingly, 3 Disney meals a day plus a "snack." After the first 2 1/2 or 3 days on the package, we realized that we could not eat that much food. We never did get the "snack" on any of the days. It was wonderful to be able to dine anywhere and order anything ... but there's only so many steak and lobster meals you can eat before you begin to look and feel like a surf & turf! For us, it was a great one-time experience, but we'd probably not do a gold package again. (We joked about our entire vacation revolving around where the next Disney-sized meal was going to be.)

The Silver package fit us better. Having the flexible "wishes" is great -- use them for meals or selected spa treatments or shows. It makes it easier to do extra things during your vacation and "splurge" on restaurant meals you might otherwise skip. We didn't feel the need to eat the large Disney meals 3 times a day and we used Wishes for a number of recreational activities and still had plenty of time to visit the parks. We are going back this May and are doing the Silver pkg. again. For us, it is ideal.

 

[XStAnt]

Eeyore1954,

I'm just wondering if you ever calculated what you spent when using the gold package to see if it paid for itself. You noted that after 3 days you got a little tired of eating 3 big meals each day. Did you ever add up what you would have spent on meals and tours to see if it was more than the extra cost of the gold package? Just wondering.

 

[kmcdougan]

My GF and I are doing the Gold Plan at Pop Century just after THanksgiving. We both like sit down meals and, after doing a one day at MGM and getting hit up for $70 for one meal at Sci-Fi (appetizer, main course and dessert for each of us, plus sodas), the cost for us of doing that twice a day, plus the $20-$30 for an IHOP quality breakfast just blew all sorts of budgeting away. By the time we figured the hotel cost, the food cost, the 7 day UPH tickets, the Cirque tickets (we are huge Cirque fans), and the convenience of staying on property, we were pretty close dollar-wise to the Gold plan price. Then, we factored inthe tours and such that we want to take, and the luxury of having unlimited access to the parks and such, it just worked out for us to do the Gold plan. If we really wanted to do some hardnumber crunching, we could probably have trimmed the cost down some (heck, we already trimmed it by cutting off 2 Gold days for regular nights in the hotel because we have a 12 hour drive from and to New Orleans). Our total package for 9 days, with 7 of them Gold was about $3600, already paid for, and all we need to bring with us are ourselves, clothes, and money for gas/food on the drive.

 

[dansyr]

I agree with kmcdougan .

The gold plan always gets a bad rap around here......but really it depends on the type of vacationer you are. When we are on vacation we like to go all out.....nice meals, shows, boating etc !!!
If it's all pre-paid ......you don't feel as guilty for spending $150 on that dinner.
We have tried vacationing without the package but after doing it....my boyfriend now insists if we go....we need to go gold.
I recommend the plan for couples who have been to wdw before and don't need to spend all day in the parks.
I do not recommend it if you are on a tighter budget, if you prefer a quick meal rather than a sit down, or if you have younger children.

Just a breakdown from previous experience
let's just round up and say $280 per day per couple for gold plan
breakfast at boma for 2 - 29.98 + plus press pot( which they included in our plan $7.00 + 15% gratuity $5.50 - total for breakfast $42.48

lunch at RFC - approximately $ 135.00 -waiter insisted dbf add filet mignon on to his crab legs platter + 15% gratuity $20.00
total lunch - $155.00


dinner Spirit of Aloha - $49.01 x2 - 98.02 + 15% gratuity $14.70
total = 112.72

total for the day - 310.12

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by XStAnt
Eeyore1954,

I'm just wondering if you ever calculated what you spent when using the gold package to see if it paid for itself. You noted that after 3 days you got a little tired of eating 3 big meals each day. Did you ever add up what you would have spent on meals and tours to see if it was more than the extra cost of the gold package? Just wondering.

I figured we ended up wasting a little money on that trip, because we didn't do the "snack" each day (that was a dessert or another entree ) Wowzers, I like to eat, but even I have a limit.

On the other hand, we did spa treatments, tours, loads of recreation, shows, etc. Lots of stuff we normally would not do. For us, we figured we got our money's worth and it was a special occasion. But like I said, we'd probably not do it again.

Well, maybe for our 50th!!

 

[kitkatsmom]

I agree with what dansyr said.
It totally depends on what type of vacationer you are.

We are on the silver plan. I find that it is totally worth it.
We are a family of 5 so adding this extra silver plan on has made our trip price almost double.

We've booked the shows like cirque, hoop de doo and spirit of aloha. I've also booked us a bunch of character breakfasts.
I've also booked us dinners most nights at the more expensive places to eat. I think by the time you add in the cost of the food,shows and then add on the tax and tips.
We will most definately come out ahead.

This isn't for everyone though. Many people don't want to see the shows. Many people are happy grabbing counterservice (fast food) through out the park.

We aren't! My family likes to sit down for a meal. We like real homestyle food not fast convient foods that later bother our stomachs as we rush from ride to ride.
For us this is the best plan.

So again instead of listening to other's bashing or promoting the plans decide for yourself what sort of vacationer you are, what sort of eater you are and go from there.


Good luck with your trip

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

I will reiterate what others have said, it all depends on what you want your experience to be. Ask yourself what type of vacationer you are.

I have priced many, MANY vacations at WDW and the packages are never money savers. If they were truely great deals Disney would not push them so hard.

I suggest that you choose what vacation elements you are sure to use: park tickets, resort stay, meals you are certain you want, etc. and price them. Factor in any resort discounts that you can get using Mousesavers as a guide. Then compare that number to your package price.

If the prepaid meals is one of the important parts of the package for you consider prepaying on your room account. Instead of paying your resort bill in full, overpay. Then you are able to use that balance to pay for meals, tours, dinner shows, etc. And you will be able to get your money back, unlike with the packages meal plans.

I would personally forego the package and upgrade the resort. You will ultimately spend more time in the park and not feel like you are required to "get the most" from the package by eating yourself into a frenzy.

We vacation at WDW for the parks and the resorts. If I wanted to spend all my time doing spa, water sports, restaurants, I would vacation somewhere else!

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

I started to think about what I was saying in the last post and decided to give an example of what I am talking about.

I priced a DreamMaker at CBR for 7 nites. I got the price for this month though.

Dream Maker Silver - 2 adults - 7 nites: $2,835.70
Dream Maker Gold - 2 adults - 7 nites: $3829.70


CBR with BBy code - 7 nites - tax added: $733.67
6 - day PHP - with adv. purchase disc. x2: $613.48
= $1347.15

Booking separately compared to Silver leaves a difference of 1488.55.

I would take that money and put it on my room account. Use your room key to pay for meals, tours, dinner shows, etc. and I guarantee that you will have quite a few bucks left at the end of the week...which will be returned to you.

Take my advice. We have used a full price package once, only once. Then we wised up and take the room discounts and AP rates for rooms. There is no way on earth I would pay rack rate for a room at WDW! The rack rate for CBR with tax added for this month is $160.56 It has outdoor corridors! If I am paying that much I will be at a Deluxe.

 

[diswedwish]

Congrats on your upcoming wedding/honeymoon

We used the Silver package on our honeymoon in Feb. 2003, and the Gold package this past Jan. It was just the 2 of us. We enjoyed both packages, but preferred the Gold. I priced everything out this last trip because I was concerned about wasting $ by using the Gold. We managed to save slightly more than $1000 by using the plan versus paying for everything separately. I also took into account the $ we would have saved by going on the Silver plan which had a discount at that time, and we still came out ahead with the Gold.

Of course, you can certainly save $ with an AP and the discounts there... However, we go only once a year and rarely go out - saving for Disney of course I am a coupon-clipping, $-saving fiend (except where Disney is concerned)! We also go in value season, so we don't have long waits in the parks, plus the parks close early leaving plenty of time for dinner, Cirque, etc. We did a lot this last trip - we did eat 3 meals a day - lots of character bfasts, nice lunches, and all of the 2 wish places for dinner. We were getting sick of it by the last day (our 8th). We like to eat, but neither of us is overweight, we both work out a lot and eat healthy normally. This was our super splurge.

We used the recreation too - we took out the water mice once, went parasailing, did Keys to the Kingdom, Backstage Safari, and Cirque. However we were on the go constantly. For us it worked, although probably not for everyone.

We're hoping to go back this Jan. on the Gold again. We loved the plan - otherwise we'd never eat at those places, or try the tours and other activities. I planned extensively before this last trip (how to get where and when and how much time each thing would take), and will plan again - but I like to plan

So bottom line is that you can definitely get your $'s worth on the plan, but it does take a lot of planning and really deciding what suits your own needs best. HTH!

 

[AdamF]

what is a BBy Code a few posts back someone stated
CBR with BBy code - 7 nites - tax added: $733.67
i was just wondering what that code is and where i can find it

 

[daniluvsdisney]

does silver include fireworks viewing? just curious as this is listed on my ressies, and i don't remember it being part of the deal...

 

[dansyr]

Silver also includes prefferred viewing for wishes, illuminations and Jammin Jungle parade I believe.