Help me make this work

[Matt71]

Ok, we are currently on the DDP and we're short a couple TS meals. Comes out to and extra $110 we'll have to spend. So, I figured since we'd have to pay for 2 meals out of pocket, maybe we should try the DxDP.

The plusses to doing this is that we could do TS meals for lunch daily, we'll get an extra snack credit each day and we won't have to deal with out of pocket meals.

The drawback is that I haven't been able to make it work where we don't have credits left at the end of our trip. I don't mind paying the extra money for the DxDP, but I refuse to throw the money away on meals we didn't eat.

Based on our current TS meals and itinerary what's the best way for us to use up the rest of the credits? Keep in mind we are not big breakfast people and we won't have the kids with us.

So, here is our current DDP budget. Note: we aer assuming Yak & Yeti and Pepper Market will be on the DDP by February.
Value = approx how much our meals actually cost
Tip = 10% for buffets, 20% for regular sit-down
OOP = out of pocket charges
Blue = CS Red = TS

Here is our current itinerary

CS= Coranado Springs Resort
GF = Grand Floridian Resort
Poly = Polynesian Resort
BW = Boardwalk
DTD = Down Town Disney
MK = Magic Kingdom
HS = Hollywood Studios
EC-FW = Epcot Future World
EC-WS = Epcot World Showcase
AK - Animal Kingdom

 

[Tricia1972]

First off - Not to the OP, but to everyone else replying - just a friendly reminder tips are a non issue and any further discussion about tips should be on this thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1870320

From the looks of it you are using 6 CS credits - Pepper Market, Yak and Yeti, Sunshine Seasons, Columbia Harbor House, Backlot Express and Boardwalk Bakery. That leaves 1 CS on the table (so to speak)

You are using 9 TS credits - Aloha (2), Biergarten (1), LTT (1), B&C (1), H&V (1), Citricos (2), and Ohana (1)

I also think that you're grossly overestimating your total bill at Beaches and cream. The most expensive entree is $12, dessert is $4, and beverage will be $3 - barely $20 per person.


If you pay OOP all day on Friday ($90) you'll be way ahead of paying an extra $420 to upgrade to the Deluxe Plan. Even figuring the extra $56 of free snacks and the $26 in free refillable mugs that you'd get on the DxDDP.

I'd stick with the plan you have (unless you want more meals than what you have scheduled) and just pay OOP for the extras.

Have a great trip!

 

[Matt71]

At beaches & cream we plan to get the Kitchen Sink. that's why it is so high.
Yes, we know we can't eat it by ourselves, but we want to give it a shot

Also, we'd be more than happy to do TS instead of the CS meals we have currently. We'd also like to do lunch at Brown Derby which would cost 2 TS credits.

 

[septbaby]

Don't "eat" just have the Kitchen sink there. That will take the B&C bill down to about $25 plus tax. You cannot use DP credits to pay for a Kitchen Sink; it isn't an entree and us not an eligible dessert. I would go to B&C at the start of the day, ie. it will be brunch. Use a snack credit for something light to eat before if needed. H&V is a full buffet and there will plenty to fill you up there.

I would then plan to pay OOP for 'Ohana. By that point in the trip you may be so full you won't want another big meal that final night and you just use that extra CS credit for a meal that night.

So what does that mean:
TS credits (7) used for - Luau, Biergeten, Citricos, H&V, LTT
CS credits used for - Pepper Market, Y&Y, SS, CHH, Backlot, BB and 1 TBD
OOP for the Kitchen Sink and 'Ohana, total for $90

By the way, I highly recommend Main Street Bakery for a CS credit. Keep in mind you can easily share CS meals so you could share a meal at CHH and share something at MSB. Main Street is an option for a light CS breakfast too.

 

[PictureJumpr]

If it were me, I would probably pay oop for the Aloha show ($110 including grat) and free up those 2 TS for use for 2 other meals (or that lunch at Brown Derby if that's a must-do for you, it wouldn't be for us especially at 2 TS per person for the lunch menu).

As for the kitchen sink, that's oop any way you slice it, and no way we'd eat a meal and then try to tackle the thing...

So doing Aloha and the kitchen sink oop would put you $135 out of pocket and give you six TS which would cover the Biergarten and one other TS and still leave you that extra TBD CS (maybe earlier in the day you plan to go to Beaches and Cream for the kitchen sink?). It's still much, much less than taking on the DxDDP.

We are faithful DDP users but cannot even fathom trying to eat enough to use the credits on the DxDDP. We often leave credits on the table as it is...

 

[Matt71]

We are fine with the setup for the current ADRs, even having 1 unused CS (we can always use that for Breakfast at Pepper Market any day of the week)

What I'm trying to figure out is the best way, based on what we currently have planned, to upgrade to the DxDP and make it worth while. I've been looking at it for a few days now and I think the only way we can do it and use all of the credits would be to eat breakfast and lunch at CRT on Thursday, have lunch at Brown Derby on Saturday and eat breakfast at two other times during the week. The thing is, I'm not sure CRT will be worth it seeing that we won't have the kids with us. And I don't see us getting up an hour earlier to eat breakfast 4 out of 7 days.

I'm starting to think I should just stick with the regular DDP.
We can probably find better uses for the extra cash.

 

[septbaby]

I don't see how in your case the Deluxe plan makes financial sense.