good deal or not ?

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

I don't like the DDP mainly because the quality of the food and service in many of the restaurants has deteriorated so much since it was implemented. I hate being rushed through meals, and don't like the expectation that I should order every course the moment the server first appears. Every restaurant seems packed at dinner (great for Disney, not fabulous for people who don't enjoy the atmosphere of a school cafeteria).

We used the Tables in Wonderland card on our last trip, ate several of our larger meals at lunch and ordered what we wanted, canceling reservations if we changed our mind and wanted to eat counter service, or from food we had in our DVC villa. I don't know how much money we saved, but I know we were happier that way.

We've used the DDP in the past when it included more than it does now, and although it was a bargain then, we ended up stuffed and food-obsessed. Worth it it try, but we probably won't go that route again.

 

[Dorisk3]

I think at the 2011 price, you are really just going to break mostly even unless you really plan to go to the most expensive places and always order the most expensive menu items.

We always went in Sept. with the free dining plan, but this is the first year I'm rethinking that plan- vs. a potential 40 percent discount (hopefully for Nov). I now have a 10 year old which counts as an adult- so the plan for our family with an 8 year old too would be close to $150. a day. Having eaten at many of the high price bad buffets Disney offers, I can really say that it's just not worth it, most of the food isn't really that good.

 

[alala]

We have done both the DDP and the QSDP and had great experiences with both. The value is good for my family. I'm not sure if we would spend quite as much paying OOP, but it would be close and we wouldn't eat as many meals in the parks if we didn't have a dining plan. It is a lot of food, and we often share some meals. I just love it for the convenience. If we're at any park, water park, DTD, or our resort, there's a restaurant where we can use our credits. Also, it's paid for up front so I'm not worrying on vacation about whether we we're spending too much on food, or whether I should get the chicken because it's $3 less than the shrimp (yes - I'm that neurotic)...

The QSDP is awesome for a family on the go - no ADR's required and lots more variety than I expected. We have only done the DDP once, and are planning for a second time... I'm still getting the hang of planning TS meals so far ahead, but it definitely lets us try some places that we otherwise wouldn't.

So, take PP's good advice and calculate whether it's a savings for you, but also realize that there are advantages in addition to saving money.

 

[TinkWink]

I believe the DDP is an excellent deal! We have used it twice and love it! I am a budgeting fanatic and love to save money where I can. This year's trip was not exactly planned, so I am having to think out of the box and try and save anywhere I can. That's why I'm crunching the numbers to see if the DDP is the best deal for us. Hopefully, my madness will help you out, too!

Okay, here it goes. Stick with me while I work this out. I sure hope I'm doing this right!

Our trip is in June for 5 nights and I have priced out two MYW packages: one with the regular DDP and one without. The difference is $784. My family of 4 (myself, my DH, my daughter who is 12, so she counts as an adult, and my son, 9) would have to eat at the world for lunch, dinner, and snacks for 5 days for nearly $800! We would have to average about $20 per meal per day for us to come under $800. I may be frugal, but not THAT frugal!

The best way to figure if you would save money or not, as someone else already mentioned in this thread, is to visit allears.net and take a look at the menus. Most of the Quick Service meals for adults average $10 (that's a sandwich and a drink) and the kids meals are $5 (with sides and drink included). So far, that's already $35 for my family~over $15 than what I needed to spend OOP. It's $15 SAVED if I'm on the DDP (AND, I could've gotten a dessert!).

So, if I choose to forgo the DDP, I'm gonna be frugal and eat quick service meals for all of our lunches and dinners with no apps or desserts. Averaging
$35 a meal for my family, for 40 meals for our stay, I'm spending $1400. In order to compare apples to apples, say I choose the Quick Service Dining Plan. I'd pay $580 for that. So, I'd save a whopping $820 by choosing the QS DDP!! If I chose the regular DDP, I'd still save $784 AND we can have nice table service meals WITH dessert!

YES, for my family, and maybe yours too, the DDP is a GREAT deal!

(phew! I'm glad I've gotten that all worked out. thanks for bearing with me...my brain hurts!)

Thanks for working through the math - I'm in a situation where I'm trying to figure out the best deal, too. But I cannot for the life of me figure out where you got 40 meals for 5 days. I'm guessing the $35 came from your figure of the QS meals (3 adults @ $10 plus 1 kid at $5)...but how are you going to do that 40 times in 5 days??

 

[jgplimdesign]

For everyone that says it isn't the deal for them there is someone who swears by it.

This past year was the first time my husband and I utilized the dining plan. I'll admit, we had a pin code for free dining late in the year and decided to give it a whirl. We enjoyed our dining experiences and yes, enjoyed the convenience.

Out of curiosity, I saved all the receipts-----so I could tally up to see how it worked out. In our particular case, we ended up "saving" around $35. Meaning, had we paid for the dining plan vs. had we gone out of pocket.

If the dining promotion is not in effect on our next trip later this year, we might default back to out of pocket payment------though only because we ended up with more soft drinks ('cause we usually paid out of pocket for adult beverages when applicable) and desserts that we could have easily skipped. . .

Then again. . .the convenience of it all may still sway us back to giving it another whirl. . .

To each his/her own!

 

[MiraDawl]

I feel you 100% Booking a March trip for the boyfriend & myself and we are torn. While we totally consider ourselves 'eaters' I am having a tough time on selecting a plan or just going OOP. The only plan that seems to fit us would be the deluxe plan as the quick service just doesn't appeal to us on a daily basis. However, the deluxe also seems excessive. I want the appetizers, but I know I can't eat an appetizer, entree & dessert with most meals. In fact, we never order dessert at home since we're typically stuffed. Plus, 3 sit down meals a day is more than we eat at home.

Having spent hours debating, reading, and researching, I finally did the math. Using a few online and iphone applications, I found menus and did some basic figures to see what we would probably order. Even selecting appetizers or a salad and hitting a few signature restaurants, I'm finding that at least for our habits it will be cheaper to pay OOP. Knowing that we'd most likely be ordering a few cocktails with a meal also pushed my decision slightly since we'd have a seperate check with most meals anyway.

My wish? I'd love a dining plan with 2 TS credits, 2 snacks & 1 mug!

Anyone else finding that the dining plans offer value for families but mosty only offer convenience to adults??