I decided against the DDP ... does my logic make sense?

[Corwin12]

The plan for DW and I for 10 nights = approx $847.00 (inc. tax).
I looked at the menus for our ADRs and selected items we would normally order (we don't always get dessert and apps.)
I included what we would normally get for breakfast and lunch (this was accurate as we were just there in March.)
I added $40.00 (snack allowance) because I know we would at least get a bottle of water each every day.
My OOP total = $796.00

Why I do not think we will save money:
- We are eating at CRT and the Brown Derby (each 2 TS credit each)
- We usually (9 times out of 10) do not eat dessert or like to wait until later
- We usually only get an app if something really appeals to us

Even if we were +50.00 OOP, I still don't think I would get it because I don't want to have to worry about getting my money's worth if we have to cancel an ADR or want to skip lunch or something/

Does my logic make sense or am I missing something?

 

[Cass]

The logic looks good to me, it will be interesting to see if you spend what you think you will.

 

[2angelsinheaven]

What about tips? Did you include those in your numbers? They are included on DDP. Also for the $50 difference I think I would go with DDP just for the peace of mind that all things are covered and if you want to try something new or add an appy, etc it's not like you'd be spending any more money.

 

[DisneyMama629]

I too decided against the dining plan. We were going for 7 nights with dining plan. But then we decided to add 5 more nights. 12 nights of dining plan is too expensive. We normally share a lot too. I'm nervous though, because I've only been twice and both times with the DDP. This will be my first time without it. I hope we end up spending less. I'll definitely report back.

 

[Corwin12]

What about tips? Did you include those in your numbers? They are included on DDP. Also for the $50 difference I think I would go with DDP just for the peace of mind that all things are covered and if you want to try something new or add an appy, etc it's not like you'd be spending any more money.

Yes, I included tips and tax. The reason I am pretty comfortable with what I think we will spend is that we were just there in March. We shared breakfast 100% of the time. We ate very light for lunch except for one day when we ate at the Pepper market. We never ordered dessert, we liked to wait a few hours and grab something somewhere else.

 

[Cass]

The dining plan definately is not for everyone, if you are not a dessert or appetizer eater it's just too much food.

 

[Mad4Dizne]

doing what you usually do... We looked at it mostly as having a usually variable expense prepaid for and won't have to give the food budget any thought... I only wish they still had the vouchers, you could use them when you wanted...


Have a Great Trip!
Flo

 

[bicker]

Why I do not think we will save money:
- We are eating at CRT and the Brown Derby (each 2 TS credit each)

This one makes sense to me -- the 2TS meals don't offer a high of a value per credit, in my book.

- We usually (9 times out of 10) do not eat dessert or like to wait until later
- We usually only get an app if something really appeals to us

I computed whether we should or shouldn't get the Dining Plan based on an assumption that we would order no appetizers and no dessert, anywhere, and it still would save us money.

Conservative Analysis

Even if we were +50.00 OOP, I still don't think I would get it because I don't want to have to worry about getting my money's worth if we have to cancel an ADR or want to skip lunch or something

I'm the opposite way. As long as, based on my Conservative Analysis, I'd save even $50, I'd do the Dining Plan, since invariably we'll derive some value from the few appetizers and desserts we do order.

 

[fizz13]

Yep, it makes sense to me. I did the dining plan in August (paid for , not free) and when I added up what I managed to eat (we didn't get dessert most of the week) and what I paid extra for, like breakfasts and extra snacks, it was just not economically viable, we spent far more OOP than we thought we would, and where we tried signature restaurants,we still had to buy dinners OOP to make up for the 2 credits used.

I think your logic works very well

 

[Corwin12]

And the nail in the coffin is:
DW wants to eat at the Rainforest Cafe twice. I scheduled it in once (knowing we had to pay OOP) but there was no time to do it twice being on the dining plan. As soon as I mentioned going without the dining plan, she immediately mentioned going to Rainforest twice.
Thanks for all the replies.

 

[JimMIA]

I think your logic not only makes sense, it's the only accurate way to look at DDP. I do a similar analysis on our trips, but because we almost always use our TS credits one at a time, we come out ahead.

Just FYI, I consider the value of the CS and snack credits to be zero. I don't consider them at all in my computations, but based on what we would normally eat for dinner alone, we (DW, DD4, and myself, and the munchkin makes a difference) usually come out $75-100 ahead on DDP without considering CS and snacks. But that's going to vary all over the ballpark, depending on the composition of your group and your normal dining habits.

I like your logic; I get a different result for our family.

 

[TDC Nala]

I don't think DDP is a good deal for me unless it's free.

 

[winniethepoohsmom]

We did the free ddp last year and since the appies and desserts were included we all ordered some although it was more than we could eat. I have read people saying that it costs about the same on and off the plan you just get the extra food with appies and dessert. We always rent a car and sometimes eat at disney and sometimes out of disney, so you can be more flexible as to where you eat and how much you spend if you have a car. Just food for thought!

 

[bicker]

And it is never "really" free.

 

[goofy4tink]

Have you considered getting one AP and then buying the DDE card? This is what we do now. I always have an AP, dh has a myw pass since he doesn't go as often as I do. The DDE card saves you 20% on most table service restaurants at WDW.
I also made the same comparison as you did when I went down in Oct. It was myself, dd (13), another mom and her dd (13). I already had the DDE card but went with the DDP just for the sake of convenience. We did use the DDE card for alcoholic beverages as well as any ADRs we had that weren't covered by the DDP...always seem to have more TS meals than credits!! It also made it easier than having to worry about who paid for what which time!!
Now...we are planning a trip in August with myself, dh and dd for 6 nights. I don't think we'll be doing the DDP this time..just too much food for the way we eat, especially during the summer months.
But, your calculations look right on target.

 

[kevin75]

my gf and i are also not doing the dining plan. our logic is that 1). there aren't a whole lot of TS places that we want to eat. 2) we like to share food, so by not getting the DDP we can share meals and eat at many more places. 3) we are going to order in some groceries and save on the cost by usually eating at least breakfast in the room or on the go.

 

[seajoker]

We(Me,DW,DD8, DS5) just returned 2+ weeks ago from AKL and used the DDP. The figures I used to decide was where we wanted to eat for dinner. We made reservations to maximize the plan to our advantage. We were even $$$ just with dinner. I figured we saved over $500 using the plan. We did order appitizers and desserts at each meal, which we might not have if we were paying, but thats the beauty of the plan.

Check ratings and menus before deciding if the DDP will save you $$ or not first, you can eat well and save lots of $$ as well.
Our TS Resaurants:
Jiko
Rose & Crown
Mama Melrose
California Grill
Chef Mickeys - breakfast
Le Cellier
Teppenyaki
Boma

my gf and i are also not doing the dining plan. our logic is that 1). there aren't a whole lot of TS places that we want to eat. 2) we like to share food, so by not getting the DDP we can share meals and eat at many more places. 3) we are going to order in some groceries and save on the cost by usually eating at least breakfast in the room or on the go.

you can be flexible and share meals on the DDP, thats the positives about the DDP.

 

[Corwin12]

ONe thing I forgot to mention about the DDP and my reasons against it. Granted, I take full resposnsibility fot his one: when looking at the online menus from the restaurants we chose, I found myself automatically wanting to pick the most expensive items to "get my moneys worth." I did this even though the lesser expensive items appealed to me more.
I will save all my receipts and report back and let you know whether I made a mistake or not.

 

[staiebomb]

We were doing the dining plan originally also...For 3 adults and DD (4) it would have cost $900 for our 7 night stay. On top of that, DS (17 months) would have to eat OOP (He's a big eater like his dad ) and we figured that at $100. So with the dining plan we were looking at a food budget of $1000. Unfortunately a bit out of our price range.

So, with a $20 budget for breakfast each day...and a $35 budget each for 12 lunches and dinners....plus the Princess Breakfast at Epcot ($100) and eating Lunch at Alfredo's on our last day ($70)....we come to a grand total of only $650!!


So we wont be eating at 50's Cafe or Tony's...not a big deal. But we'll also miss out on Le Cellier, Boma and Ohana....a bummer for me and my Neice (18)..but were the only "adventurous eaters" in the bunch....DW is a pasta and burgers type, DD is ALL about Chicken Nuggets and my DS eats mostly boogers... ...I mean, chicken nuggets!

All in all, I'm glad were saving the $350...it'll make the last couple weeks before the trip MUCH less tight!

Jason

 

[kaysmommie]

We were doing the dining plan originally also...For 3 adults and DD (4) it would have cost $900 for our 7 night stay. On top of that, DS (17 months) would have to eat OOP (He's a big eater like his dad ) and we figured that at $100. So with the dining plan we were looking at a food budget of $1000. Unfortunately a bit out of our price range.

So, with a $20 budget for breakfast each day...and a $35 budget each for 12 lunches and dinners....plus the Princess Breakfast at Epcot ($100) and eating Lunch at Alfredo's on our last day ($70)....we come to a grand total of only $650!!


So we wont be eating at 50's Cafe or Tony's...not a big deal. But we'll also miss out on Le Cellier, Boma and Ohana....a bummer for me and my Neice (18)..but were the only "adventurous eaters" in the bunch....DW is a pasta and burgers type, DD is ALL about Chicken Nuggets and my DS eats mostly boogers... ...I mean, chicken nuggets!

All in all, I'm glad were saving the $350...it'll make the last couple weeks before the trip MUCH less tight!

Jason

I smack my DS for that....