La2kw
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 31, 2003
- Messages
- 3,618
Im not trying to convince anyone not to use a dining plan, but merely illustrating an alternative, especially for anyone on the fence. I do question the idea that the dining plans save you money, especially if you are taking home 20 snacks to use up the credits, or eating things you normally would not eat. 
As DVC members we have some decent discounts, such as 20% off at Chefs de France, Nine Dragons, Restaurant Marakesh, and many of the Dolphin/Swan restaurants. We also get 10% off at Ghiradellis (which has the best ice cream sundaes at WDW and is not on any dining plan
) and Wolfgang Puck Express. DVC members also have access to excellent discounts on APs which in turn make us eligible for the TIW discount. We can save a lot with all of these discounts.
We are a family of four with two teens who live 90 miles from Disneyland. We are WDW and Disneyland veterans, having been to WDW more than 20 times and Disneyland many, many more times than that. We have APs for WDW, Disneyland, Universal, and all the Sea World/Busch Gardens parks. Each trip to WDW has been at least 10 20 days long, with most of them being 15 nights. We always do a 1br because we enjoy having the space with our two teens. The kitchen is a plus for us and we do make use of it. We have never done the DDP because we have never spent as much on food as what the DDP would cost us. We considered the QSDP this trip, but we do enjoy a few TS meals out from time to time, and prefer to use the TIW card when we do eat at TS. We also do not need to eat dessert with every meal, nor do we need two additional desserts per day, which is what most of the snack credits are good for. We went on this trip just planning to follow our normal eating patterns and we did not bother making in dining ressies because we hate having a schedule to follow. We ate most breakfasts in our room. We ate primarily quick service places. I did not eat a single fast food hamburger or French fry the entire trip. We did eat TS at Chefs de France and Beaches and Cream using our Tables in Wonderland 20% discount, (though we could have also used our DVC discount at Chefs). We were able to walk right in to those two restaurants without a ressie. We ate at Wolfgang Puck Express twice using $100 worth of gift cards I purchased for $79.99 (20% discount) online at Costco.com, plus a 10% DVC discount at the restaurant. We also ate at Bahama Breeze and Romanos Macaroni Grill using gift cards I had received from students throughout the year. Bahama Breeze accepts gift cards from Olive Garden also, and Romanos accepts gift cards from Chilis and On the Border. I had various gift cards from those restaurants, so they added up to two meals for the four of us. We spent about $100 on groceries at the SuperTarget, which included water bottles for the entire trip, breakfast items, and snack items for our room. We also cooked one dinner in our OKW kitchen to take a break from the eating out.
to be continued...
As DVC members we have some decent discounts, such as 20% off at Chefs de France, Nine Dragons, Restaurant Marakesh, and many of the Dolphin/Swan restaurants. We also get 10% off at Ghiradellis (which has the best ice cream sundaes at WDW and is not on any dining plan) and Wolfgang Puck Express. DVC members also have access to excellent discounts on APs which in turn make us eligible for the TIW discount. We can save a lot with all of these discounts. We are a family of four with two teens who live 90 miles from Disneyland. We are WDW and Disneyland veterans, having been to WDW more than 20 times and Disneyland many, many more times than that. We have APs for WDW, Disneyland, Universal, and all the Sea World/Busch Gardens parks. Each trip to WDW has been at least 10 20 days long, with most of them being 15 nights. We always do a 1br because we enjoy having the space with our two teens. The kitchen is a plus for us and we do make use of it. We have never done the DDP because we have never spent as much on food as what the DDP would cost us. We considered the QSDP this trip, but we do enjoy a few TS meals out from time to time, and prefer to use the TIW card when we do eat at TS. We also do not need to eat dessert with every meal, nor do we need two additional desserts per day, which is what most of the snack credits are good for. We went on this trip just planning to follow our normal eating patterns and we did not bother making in dining ressies because we hate having a schedule to follow. We ate most breakfasts in our room. We ate primarily quick service places. I did not eat a single fast food hamburger or French fry the entire trip. We did eat TS at Chefs de France and Beaches and Cream using our Tables in Wonderland 20% discount, (though we could have also used our DVC discount at Chefs). We were able to walk right in to those two restaurants without a ressie. We ate at Wolfgang Puck Express twice using $100 worth of gift cards I purchased for $79.99 (20% discount) online at Costco.com, plus a 10% DVC discount at the restaurant. We also ate at Bahama Breeze and Romanos Macaroni Grill using gift cards I had received from students throughout the year. Bahama Breeze accepts gift cards from Olive Garden also, and Romanos accepts gift cards from Chilis and On the Border. I had various gift cards from those restaurants, so they added up to two meals for the four of us. We spent about $100 on groceries at the SuperTarget, which included water bottles for the entire trip, breakfast items, and snack items for our room. We also cooked one dinner in our OKW kitchen to take a break from the eating out.
to be continued...
Great report!!!!! We have done the DDP twice; once free when the appetizer and tip were still included and once this past May. On the last day we were scrambling to use 20+ snack credits and forfeited 3 CS I believe. 
We are a family of 5; myself, DH, DD12, DD10 (who eats like a bird and is the size of an 8/yo) and DS8. Even on the DDP we share because I hate to waste food. During this last trip the CMs were more than willing to trade out a side salad or another side in leiu of dessert. 
We also don't find that the DDP would work for us if we had to pay for it (it does when it's free though 
). We do actually spend nearly the same amount per day as the plan costs, however, we don't like the rigidity of the plan with the multiple desserts either. If we're paying, I much prefer to spend OOP for what we REALLY want to eat. It seems its best value (and I can't be sure because this doesn't apply to us) is for families with children who are in the 7-9 year range who can get the reduced "kid" price. At least that's who I've seen saying that they saved money using the DDP. Great report! FYI - the cheesecake brownie is pretty good at the BWV bakery.
