Help! I need somebody...

[TinkerBe11]

to help me make a decision I don't know if the plan is worth it, so any suggestions would be great.

Here are the details:
2 adults
5 nights
Places interested in eating:
Cape May character b-fast
50's Prime Time
Tusker House-dinner/lunch buffet
Jiko
Hoop Dee Doo dinner show

Is the Candle Lite Processional considered a dinner show or is that separate?

In the past at WDW I have spent around $50 a day on food per person. I feel like the deluxe plan might be too much and the regular plan might not be enough. Any thoughts on what to do? Based on where I want to eat is the plan worth it?

 

[MagiKitty]

I am a newbie to the dining plan too, but I've been crunching numbers all day.

I think both Hoop Revue and Jiko are two credits each, so if you did eat at those, you're going to pay out of pocket somewhere.

I've been looking at the menus and guestimating how much we'd pay without the DDP. Of course, without it, there'd be a lot less TS. I've averaged about 35/TS, 18/CS/ and 4/snack per person. So if you were planning on doing TS anyway, dining plan is a good deal.

Cape May breakfast by itself runs $28--so its like getting your CS and snack free.

50s prime time and Tusker house are also 1 ts--so you'll probably break even those days.

I think the candlelight processional runs like the fantasmic package at DHS. I think its just 1 ts.

I don't know if this helps, but I suggest looking at the menus and deciding just how important TS experiences are for you. If your list is a must do, then the plan may not save you much money, since you'll be paying for something anyway.

 

[TifffanyD]

to help me make a decision I don't know if the plan is worth it, so any suggestions would be great.

Here are the details:
2 adults
5 nights
Places interested in eating:
Cape May character b-fast
50's Prime Time
Tusker House-dinner/lunch buffet
Jiko
Hoop Dee Doo dinner show

Is the Candle Lite Processional considered a dinner show or is that separate?

In the past at WDW I have spent around $50 a day on food per person. I feel like the deluxe plan might be too much and the regular plan might not be enough. Any thoughts on what to do? Based on where I want to eat is the plan worth it?

Since you have 2 2-TS meals planned (Jiko and HDDR) you could get the plan and pay OOP for one of those meals. I believe the Candle Lite Processional counts as just a normal 1-TS credit and you can pick from a variety of places. You eat and then get a ticket for priority seating, like the Fantasmic package. If it was me I would probably pay OOP for the HDDR because it's a flat rate and easier to plan for. I like the dining plan because otherwise I would be glaring at DF when he ordered the most expensive thing on the menu, so paying OOP for a "flat rate" meal would stop any of that.

 

[TifffanyD]

Oh, also since you mentioned Candle Light processional - based on the time of year you are going if it's close enough to Xmas they might increase the buffet prices slightly for "holiday pricing" which makes the dining plan even better value

 

[MagiKitty]

I just did that this morning. I decided to pay OOP for CRT, coz its a flat charge (no surprises). In turn, I get two TS dinners back, which average much more than the one CRT lunch price.

 

[TinkerBe11]

Thanks for the responses. I am new to the dining plan so the whole this is just so confusing to me. I have no problem paying OOP for a meal, I just don't know if based on my needs the plan will work in my favor.

So if I decide to do the plan should I do the deluxe or stick with the standard plan?

 

[Tricia1972]

I created a spreadsheet that I've been sharing with others on the board. Robinb was nice enough to host it for me, so I don't need to email it out anymore.

It can be found here http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW Dining/DisneyDining Template.xls

It compares DDP, OOP with DDE or OOP without DDE and the DxDDP.

 

[TifffanyD]

Thanks for the responses. I am new to the dining plan so the whole this is just so confusing to me. I have no problem paying OOP for a meal, I just don't know if based on my needs the plan will work in my favor.

So if I decide to do the plan should I do the deluxe or stick with the standard plan?

Unless you want to add in a LOT more table service dining I would do the Basic. Deluxe has 3 credits per day which means you can do 3 sit down meals or a regular sitdown and a 2-credit one (like cinderella's or the dinner shows) PLUS 3 snacks a day. And those meals all come with appetizer so that's a LOT of food to me.

The regular you still get 2 meals a day, one of which is sit down and a snack. The price difference is $32 per person per day so if you just want an extra snack or an app each day you can do that for less than $32, I think!

Edited to add: Also there are a (very few) places not on the dining plan (like rainforest cafe) so just having the extra $ in your pocket for possible additional food spending gives you some flexibility there. Just my $.02