How many DVC'ers use the Dining Plan?? IF so.....

[bobbiwoz]

We use it for our December trip as a couple. We do it only because it covers the Candlelight Processional and the Fantasmic package and TIW does not. I wondered how people could think it's too much food, but you know, after this trip, we think so too. We also know that we spent more on food (including tipping) with the dining plan for our trip than we would have otherwise. I suppose it's the fact that we wouldn't eat a table service every day, and truly I do not want a dessert at all of my sit down meals, but I took them at the 2 with the plan. The other 2 were buffets, one I didn't take dessert, but the other one, our Hollywood and Vine dinner, I definitely did. I LOVE the cobbler, they say, "no sugar added" so it's tart, but gosh, it's the most wonderful tasting berry cobbler I've ever had!!!

I'm another person who would appreciate an appetizer, soup more than the dessert, but that's a dead mule to kick. I also wish that the counter service at BCV Marketplace, or Roaring Forks at VWL would have 1/2 sandwich/soup/salad, pick 2 option. THAT I would like, dining plan or not. With DH, it's fine, he gets the sandwich, I get the salad, but on my own, it would be a hard decision!

Bobbi

 

[disfanforlife]

We have used the DP for the past 3 trips and plan to continue. Yes, it was a "better deal" when the tip was included - and that does bug me that it isn't anymore. BUT, I also do NOT want to cook on my vacation. Besides cooking it also means you would have to be back at your room during mealtimes. To us, we don't want to be traveling back and forth to our room just to eat. The rest of the year, we don't eat out much. So, it is my break from cooking and part of the whole Disney experience. We like to have a nice sitdown meal every night and use the CS for either breakfast or lunch depending on our moods. We rarely pay out of pocket for anything. In November when we went, we brought cereal and granola bars for breakfast. We also used our CS a few times and got a bunch of muffins or bagels and shared them.

 

[kaffinito]

I plan on continuing to use DDP on my trips with the boys. We have a teenager who can eat his weight in food each trip, and a younger child who is getting there. It works for us because we like to meet up at night at a TS and sit down as a family, yet I can also send the oldest boy off with his card and he can eat where he wants to.

With DVC we will be able to do more signature meals, and less regular TS places, which would work out well for us. We actually save money by doing DDP, so it makes sense for us to use it, but I am looking forward to cooking while at WDW and to having our breakfasts in the room.

 

[hol3]

bump

 

[starbox]

Well.......I have a long and complicated history with the good ole DDP. We started using it pre-DVC at its inception - back when appetizers and gratuity were included, and CRT was one credit and included crab rolls as an appetizer and a white chocolate slipper as a dessert.....

We LOVED the DDP - in fact, the fact that DVC members could not use the DP kept us from buying in for two years. Our kids were small, and it was an incredible bargain.

We've seen a couple of things happen that made us less likely to do the DDP:
1. The cost of the DDP increased and the value decreased (no appetizers, no gratuity)
2. The quality of food at TS restaurants went DOWN
3. Our kids became "Disney adults" - the magic age of ten.

So, all last year we used the DDE (now TiW) and loved it because we got to eat at signature restaurants (where the quality has not decreased) but did not have to pay the adult prices for our tweens. In our experience, when paying cash, every single non fixed price (buffet or family style) restaurant has given our kids a choice of kid or adult menus.

That said - I like the CS DDP option very much - mostly for the refillable mugs and snacks. Those fozen cokes at Drinkwalla really add up when you pay cash!! And it does bug me to spend 40-50 bucks cash on counter service food.

I still think we'll forego most of the TS offerings, opting for signature dining and TiW instead for the sit-down meals.

 

[rutgers1]

What did starbox mean when he or she mentioned the "CS DDP option" here:

"That said - I like the CS DDP option very much - mostly for the refillable mugs and snacks. Those fozen cokes at Drinkwalla really add up when you pay cash!! And it does bug me to spend 40-50 bucks cash on counter service food."

Are there different DDP plans you can choose from, or is this person just referring to how he or she uses the allotted meals?

As for us, we can't decide what to do. My wife really likes the DDP because she loves not having to think about meals. I think it makes sense for us right now because our kids are ages 9 and 7, and while they eat better than a toddler, they do not eat like an adult. Therefore, the lower price for their age group is ideal. Once they are too old for the kid's plan, then I think we will go for TIW......slight chance we'll try out TIW this year, but I am skeptical that it will make sense. According to my quick analysis, you have to eat a lot of food before the TIW card pays for itself.

 

[Inkmahm]

are you a couple using it or a family? Just curious.......because we have never used it and I always think of trying it for when we do a split stay and have a few nights at one resort. Like this summer we are staying 7 at BCV and 2 at AKV. I might try it at AKV. It seems a good deal in way but then sometimes a pain in the .....well you know what I mean.

We used it for the first time in December when we stayed one night at AKV before switching to VWL for the rest of the trip. We did the Deluxe plan for that one night eating at Jiko's for dinner and Coral Reef the next day for lunch. The Deluxe plan saved us money as both of those are expensive places to eat. In addition, we got the 2 snacks each the next day which we used at Epcot and the refillable mugs (which we never actually used.)

We're going to do the same thing in March when we have a split stay at AKV concierge and then 3 nights at VWL. For the 3 night portion, we are doing the Deluxe Dining. We've planned the expensive TS signature restaurants for the 3 days when we'll be using the plan.

 

[Inkmahm]

What did starbox mean when he or she mentioned the "CS DDP option" here:

"That said - I like the CS DDP option very much - mostly for the refillable mugs and snacks. Those fozen cokes at Drinkwalla really add up when you pay cash!! And it does bug me to spend 40-50 bucks cash on counter service food."

Are there different DDP plans you can choose from, or is this person just referring to how he or she uses the allotted meals?

As for us, we can't decide what to do. My wife really likes the DDP because she loves not having to think about meals. I think it makes sense for us right now because our kids are ages 9 and 7, and while they eat better than a toddler, they do not eat like an adult. Therefore, the lower price for their age group is ideal. Once they are too old for the kid's plan, then I think we will go for TIW......slight chance we'll try out TIW this year, but I am skeptical that it will make sense. According to my quick analysis, you have to eat a lot of food before the TIW card pays for itself.

There's the counter service (CS) ddp, the regular DDP and the Deluxe DDP.

We always have the TIW and it pays for itself quickly. We eat at Signature restaurants so 20% discount there adds up fast.

 

[starbox]

What did starbox mean when he or she mentioned the "CS DDP option" here:

"That said - I like the CS DDP option very much - mostly for the refillable mugs and snacks. Those fozen cokes at Drinkwalla really add up when you pay cash!! And it does bug me to spend 40-50 bucks cash on counter service food."

Are there different DDP plans you can choose from, or is this person just referring to how he or she uses the allotted meals?

There's a new Quick Service plan for 2009. It's around 30$ per adult and includes two CS meals (drink/entree/dessert), 2 snacks, and a refillable mug.

We'll likely do this and supplement it with TiW for signature dinners or a few TS lunches.

So - there are now three tiers of the DDP
Deluxe (2 TS, 1 CS, 2 snacks, per day + Refillable Mug) and about 70$ a day plus gratuities per adult, Regular (1 TS, 1 CS, 1 snack per day) and about 40$ a day plus gratuities per adult, and Quick Service (2 CS, 2 snacks per day + Refillable Mug) and about 30$ a day per adult.

 

[starbox]

slight chance we'll try out TIW this year, but I am skeptical that it will make sense. According to my quick analysis, you have to eat a lot of food before the TIW card pays for itself.

Honestly, our TiW card paid for itself just with the free valet parking at deluxe resorts when we dined.

 

[rutgers1]

At some point when I get some time, I have to look at menus (are they online?) and figure out how much I would spend normally for a day of meals at Disney.

I just did some quick math for an adult and for a child:
1) If you get the basic DDP, it is $39.99/day for an adult, which basically amounts to $20/meal with a snack thrown in.

2) If you get the basic DDP for a child, it is $10.99/day, which basically amounts to $5.50/meal with a snack thrown in.

When I look at that, I think it is just "ok" for an adult (good if you plan on eating a lot, bad if you are a light eater) and very good for a child who hovers around that 9 years old category and eats well for a kid his or her age. I could be wrong, but I recall a single counter service meal for my kids costing more than $10.99 the last time I was in Disney, and with the plan you get dinner and a snack thrown in.

So, with that said, although I want to see some menus first, I think it would work out for our family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids under 10) because when you add it all up for a day, it only comes to $12.60 per meal. Once again, I could be wrong, but I think that isn't much more than your regular counter service meal per person. If I had to pay adult prices for my kids, then it wouldn't make sense at all.

 

[starbox]

At some point when I get some time, I have to look at menus (are they online?) and figure out how much I would spend normally for a day of meals at Disney.

For us, the biggie is that when we eat TS, we don't normally order the most expensive thing or all get individual desserts and drinks - which unnaturally inflates the cost of the TS, which them has an 18% gratuity added.

So - with DDP, two adults at Le Cellier would probably eat dinner, get two filets (35$ each), 2 desserts (7$ each) and two drinks (2.50 each). That would be about 90$ plus about 16$ gratuity.

Cost of the DDP for two adults plus gratuity for the day - 96$ (but, of course, CS meal and a snack included)

BUT - with TiW, We'd be more likely to spend less at Le Cellier (same steaks, but we'd likely skip dessert and drink water after a long day in a hot park). So, that's 70$ for dinner - with the 20% TiW discount, gratuity is basically "free".

So - with TiW, I only spent 70$ vs. the 93$ with DDP - and I can use that 23$ to buy the food I want, where I want to buy it. It's much closer to break even than DDP saving money.

Now, if you do any signature dining at all (which eats two table credits), TiW is a much, much, much better value.

 

[rutgers1]

OK, I did some more digging. I was wrong on the kids' counter service pricing. It is very reasonable, often around $4.49 with drink included. I priced everything out for our family's eating habits and concluded the following...

1) If we were going to do a counter service for lunch and a table service for dinner, the savings with the TIW card is minimal (about $6/day) if eating at a regular restaurant. The DDP is the better deal (about $8/day) if eating at a place like Whispering Canyons or Biergarten (two of our favorites), which are a bit more expensive.

2) The big difference occurs, in the scenarios that I laid out, if we were to exchange dinner table service for lunch table service. Under those scenarios, we would save between $10 to $22/day by using the TIW card as opposed to using DDP.

I was hoping it would be more clear-cut, but it isn't. The Disney people did a good job finding a price point that was slightly better in some scenarios and slightly worse in others, and never AWESOME or HORRIBLE. I figure they make money on 50% of the people who get it and lose on 50%, thus making the purchase a tough decision for everyone. I hate to have to put so much thought into something like this prior to going on vacation, but as our next trip draws nearer, I am going to plan out all of our table service outings and then see which option is best.

 

[heynowirv]

I'm sorry Figment there are some things in your post that doesn't make sense to me.we are first time DVC members going in Feb.what does TIw and OOP mean?
Thanx alot,
Irv

 

[southtexasmom]

We've never used DDP, we usually only do 1 or 2 character meals per trip. We always eat breakfast in our room. Lunch is usually CS. For supper we usually go off property to eat or pick up a pizza.

 

[rutgers1]

heynowirv....TIW = Tables in Wonderland, which is the discount card you can buy for about $60 and then get 20% off all of your meals. You can find out more by goggling it. OOP = out of pocket.

 

[rutgers1]

southtexasmom....Under your scneario, DDP definitely doesn't make sense for you. I think Disney knows that they don't have to give major DDP discounts because many of the people staying at the resorts don't have a car. If I had a car, we'd be more likely to go out and grab some food elsewhere. So, since we can't leave, we are pretty much stuck with counter service or table service for every lunch and dinner (we just grab a cereal bar in the room for breakfast).

 

[Nikisha421]

i have a 5yoDD...i use the DDp everytime we go for a few reasons
1-we are always in a studio...which is more than enough space for the two of us.
2-i would never want to cook on vacation...would never have time since my DD swims away half of the trip and then wants to see fireworks each night
3-it seems pretty okay im not saying i save a bundle but i believe i save a little--and a little is more than nothing also i probably would never want to pay cash or swipe my credit card for any of those meals or snacks...so if i pay in advance i feel a little more willing.
my 2 cents

 

[cokenut33]

We are a family of 3, and we tried it for a couple of days this past summer on a split stay, and liked it because we used it to eat some very expensive meals. So, we decided to do it again for our entire stay early this Dec.
Here are the downsides-
1. You must have ADRs. Your flexibility to go and do as you please is now limited.
2. Gratuities. You can get that expensive steak dinner, but your gratuity will be higher, and you can't really factor that in before you go.
3. Not everyone wants the entree, dessert, drink combo.
4.We discovered that we didn't use our snack credits because we wouldn't use them for sodas and water, so on the last day we had 15 snack credits left. We did use them for some really nice christmas rice krispy treats, but still...

We also have TIW which is a much better value if you figure that it basically covers all your gratuities.

Basically, in the end it required way to much work on our part, and we didn't feel that we got the value that it promised.

 

[permavac]

...I was hoping it would be more clear-cut, but it isn't. The Disney people did a good job finding a price point that was slightly better in some scenarios and slightly worse in others, and never AWESOME or HORRIBLE. I figure they make money on 50% of the people who get it and lose on 50%, thus making the purchase a tough decision for everyone. I hate to have to put so much thought into something like this prior to going on vacation, but as our next trip draws nearer, I am going to plan out all of our table service outings and then see which option is best.

I agree with this assessment and there really needs to be a lot of thought put into your choices in order to save yourself some money (although I do think with kids it is a little easier to save money on the plan than just 2 adults like we are). I was considering the new CS plan but quickly realized if you plan on having more than 1 table service your entire trip then you're wasting money. And even if we did only eat counter service, a typical day for us would be getting the cheese plate at France for a lunch-time appetizer, then grabbing a couple of sausages at Germany and a pretzel to split, then getting 2 desserts at the BWV bakery. If we then went back to our hotel and had a typical CS dinner, we would break even with the CS DP, HOWEVER, we would not have had the flexibility to get all the things we wanted and would have been forced to get our meals in one place. That's what I really don't like about these plans - very inflexible when it comes to getting different things from different places. That said, I can understand why people like the convenience of pre-paid meal plans. Just wish there were more flexibility and more opportunity for true savings for 2 adults... No biggee though - we just pay OOP.

Terri