I have a headache now! Too much thinking!

[LaDonna]

No seriously if you add all the time up I've used trying to figure out if I should upgrade from QSDP I think I could have spent 2 whole extra days in the parks

Let me take you on my journey:

Booked my vacation, nope not going to upgrade, that would be another $450(includestips) and I've already hit my $2,000 mark to spend on vacation. Was dissapointed though since this was 2yr old first trip and we hadn't been to Disney in 4 years, was looking foward to the atmosphere of the DP. DID keep all my ADR's I had already booked just in case, ya' never know, may come into some extra money.

I seriously just last week decided to upgrade, thought what the heck I'll be making an extra $300 babysitting a friends kids for a couple of weeks and I do have th $100 gift card I got from the Disney Visa promotion. BUT I had already changed some of the days I was going to visit the parks(no parkhoppers) so had to go make a few more ADR's. Got everything I wanted pretty much except an ADR for 8:55 at Ohana's that I'm a lil' leary of.......

So last night I decided I better sit down and figure out what tips are going to be, didn't want to be surprised when we got there. Well now as I'm looking thru the menus I'm thinking my kids ages 11 and 12 are probably going to think a lot of these options sound yucky and will end up using their credit for a child's meal at 3or 4 of the places(we'll be there 8 nights).

So then I proceed to just add up what it would cost us OOP, okay well it is still better after adding tip and tax OOP to do the DP,

BUT now this morning I have it running thru my mind I was really only dissapointed when I thought I was going to miss out on Crystal Palace, Ohana and the Whispering Canyon bottomless milkshakes(per DS BEGGING ME)

then I also started thinking, I was really just looking foward to the FUN and Atmosphere v/ the actual food n

can you see why I have the headache......

Ohana is a lot later then I wanted

hmmmm if I just pay OOP for CrystalPalace($100) and MAYBE Ohana ($145) and maybe 50'sPrimeTime, hey we could just split a couple of meals at 50's since hmmm if I am sticking w/ QSDP we won't need a lot to eat and we'll still get the atmosphere....okay now I"m out maybe $300 instead of the original $450 and I'm thinking we won't even do Ohana so maybe only OOP $150....

oh geeze here goes my mind spinning again lol

Splitting meals and still hanging onto QSDP, why couldn't I have thought of that sooner.........

okay so now the point I'm at now is I could just save a couple hundred dollars do the 2 maybe 3 sit downs I want for the fun and atmosphere and we can just split meals that aren't buffets, and still have 2 CS per day, 2snacks and the mugs. Hmmm that would mean we could have CS breakfast sometimes.......I'm sure DS wouldn't miss the bottomless shakes if he is getting an extra snack and mug each day....

oh gee to much to think about..

am I the only one here that can't stop thinking!?!?!?!?

 

[2Tiggies]

I do believe you when you say your head hurts.

Forget about the money. Pretend it isn't a factor. Forget trying to justify expense just for a moment.

Now think about being at Disney and how you would like your days to be. SOme folk like the structure and routine of a daily TS meal. You have already said you had to make more ADRs when you upgraded the plan. Of all the ADRs you now have, how many would you really like to keep for the experience and the food? How many are just there to justify the cost of the DDP?

Next, take out the ones that aren't must do's for you.

Now calculate your cost on the ones you really like. I can't do this for you, but you'll find your answer at the end of it all. But don't consider money when you do this - only think about what you would truly like, as if none of it had any cash value whatsoever.

If you are interested in my answer (for myself) on this, I will tell you afterwards, but I don't want to influence your decision so I'm not saying anything now.

 

[LaDonna]

oh wow 2Tiggies, if you knew me well you would know how VERY HARD it is for me to NOT consider the cost factor, I am one of those people who "dumpster dives" in paper recycling bins just for the extra coupons

but that being said if I were to just choose the ones I wanted and NOT try and save money and split meals etc. well then I'd keep

Ohana $150 (but because I am who I am I could not normally justify this price having to eat at 8:55 lol )

Crystal Palace $98

Whispering Canyon $168(that is w/ 4 of us getting Skillets and milkshakes)

50'sPrimeTime $118 (again that would be a lot cheaper if we split meals etc)

Okay so money is no object total is $534

 

[2Tiggies]

Just curious - would you share at 50's Prime Time to save money or because you don't normall eat that much food?

Do you still have the $100 Disney Visa card? If so, deduct that off the total and that leaves you an OOP total is $434. To upgrade would cost you £450, but I see that you have included a gratuity budget in there so it is obviously less to upgrade.

Would you use 2 snacks a day?

Do you/would you use your refillable mugs at least once a day per person?

How do you like to tour the parks? You have a 2 year old so I assume naps are still on the menu. TS can be a blessing with a toddler if you operate a set routine, which allows you to plan your meals around naps/breaks etc - or a hindrance if you like to wing it.

Another question: How many nights/days are you going to be there?

 

[LaDonna]

Just curious - would you share at 50's Prime Time to save money or because you don't normall eat that much food?

Well the only reason I would share would be if we stuck with the free QSDP we then would definately not eat as much. But if I went w/ the upgrade we would not split. I'm going mostly for the atmosphere
Would you use 2 snacks a day?

They would definately get used, especially after seeing that you can use them for such things as egg rolls, croissant sandwiches in Epcot etc. My kids would definately have fun eating plenty of desserts
Do you/would you use your refillable mugs at least once a day per person?

I normally don't buy them to save money, my kids however were excited about getting them this year.
How do you like to tour the parks? You have a 2 year old so I assume naps are still on the menu. TS can be a blessing with a toddler if you operate a set routine, which allows you to plan your meals around naps/breaks etc - or a hindrance if you like to wing it.

Okay, well when we went when my other kids were almost 3 and 4 we did not go back for naps, they napped in their strollers, and it worked for us then. Of course my current 2 yr old(he'll be almost 3 when we go) is a different child, he is much more active and even since birth has not slept as much as most kids do, he already is showing signs of skipping naps , so I'm not quite sure how that will work yet until we get there. But the plan is still to let him nap in the stroller.
We normally like to stay in one park for the remainder of the day.

Another question: How many nights/days are you going to be there?

8 nights
some other things to consider possibly:
-we have already done dining plan twice
-I had originally budgeted about 1600 for our trip, which is now 2000 lol but I really wanted to try the water parks this year and I added 2 extra nights for my bday and anniversary present and because we were adding the water parks
-we probably won't be back until 2013 and we will have to stay at a moderate then

 

[2Tiggies]

Okay so you are there for 8 nights and have 4 TS you really want to go to.

If you use the regular DDP you would need 8 meals, but you would lose your refillable mugs and 1 snack each per day vs the QSDP.

Based on what you have told me, you might want to do a serious calculation (maybe you should have one of those naps yourself first ) of which other 4 TS you would eat at (I think you said you have already booked them, so you probably know this already) and a rough calculation of what it would cost you in gratuities for the 8 meals. Then consider if, without the extra snack and mugs per day, you would need to buy anything OOP to supplement your meals based on the way your family eats.

I kept the QSDP. It is only me and an 8 year old so it is pretty easy to calculate ours and I know very well how we eat and how we eat at Disney.

We are there 15 nights. I booked 7 TS OOP and kept the QSDP. Without gratuities it was very little more to keep the QSDP than to upgrade. I could have saved less than $100 by doing this. BUT, adding in estimated tips on 15 TS meals, it was still cheaper for us to keep the QSDP than to upgrade. Another financial factor was that we would buy resort mugs anyway because although it costs us $14, by the second or third day we have already come out better off with them than without - we use them A LOT! Now some people don't use them at all so you need to consider this too.

However I have to add, although we all have some sort of budget, the QSDP suits us better at this stage. I also cant sit down and eat a TS every single day and we eat a lot of fresh fruit so those snacks get used pretty well for that.

I see that you anticipate that it will be a few years before you return so I completely understand that you want to get this right but don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because the DDP costs more, that it is "better". It certainly is if it works for you, but if you have to work to spend those credits it may not be the best option. I hope I am not confusing you more. I am trying to give some input in little instalments so that I don't cause your head any further agony

 

[LaDonna]

The more I think about the more I think it would be better to just pay OOP. I know we are definately doing Crystal Palace(I have an 8:10ADR for breakfast) and may or may not do Ohana and 50's PrimeTime, just gonna keep those 3 ADR's and if the spirit moves us that week we'll go to the other 2. I'll be saving $150(if we do the3) to possibly $350(if we just do CP) AND we'll get to keep 2 CS a day and all those wonderful snack credits and mugs I won't have to bring my coffeepot


I probably would have saved a lot of time if I had just thought duh if I pay OOP and/or split meals I won't spend the $450 it was originally gonna cost to upgrade.......I actually feel like I'm lucking at now because I'll have fun doing the few I wanted but still get more CS and snacks

 

[2Tiggies]

The more I think about the more I think it would be better to just pay OOP. I know we are definately doing Crystal Palace(I have an 8:10ADR for breakfast) and may or may not do Ohana and 50's PrimeTime, just gonna keep those 3 ADR's and if the spirit moves us that week we'll go to the other 2. I'll be saving $150(if we do the3) to possibly $350(if we just do CP) AND we'll get to keep 2 CS a day and all those wonderful snack credits and mugs I won't have to bring my coffeepot


I probably would have saved a lot of time if I had just thought duh if I pay OOP and/or split meals I won't spend the $450 it was originally gonna cost to upgrade.......I actually feel like I'm lucking at now because I'll have fun doing the few I wanted but still get more CS and snacks

I had similar motivations for my decision. Also keep in mind that when you have kids, especially young ones, your trip/needs/wants change quite dramatically over a year or two. That is why I always say "at the moment" when I mention what suits me. I know that what worked 5 years ago is different to what works now. I also know that there is coming a time fairly soon when my now 8 year old will want to eat at different places rather than just character meals - the signs are there already. So I don't see it as missing out on things - I just look at some of the stuff I might like to do and view it as saving them for later when we will enjoy it together a bit more.

Whatever you decide, once you get there you won't be worrying about it. You will get into the whole experience and work with what you have. Once you make your decision, don't second guess yourself. You've thought it over plenty now and there will always be others who do things differently - because that works for them. Have a bit of faith in your decision, pat yourself on the back for a job well done and go out and have a great time!

 

[rachelanne]

That sounds like good advice, all the planning does make your brain scrambled!Im glad once the planning's done and the fun begins

 

[Jessica14]

I can soooo relate to you LaDonna! I have been back and forth for weeks trying to figure out what to do about our food costs-OOP vs DP. The more I try to add it up, the worse it becomes! But I agree with the idea of making the plans as if money wasn't a consideration. For me, part of the fun of going on vacation is trying new places to eat, so we have one TS ADR for each of our six days. I played with lunch vs dinner, how many char. meals, sharing meals, eliminating meals, making sandwiches in the room to save $, you name it. My most recent total brings our TS wishlist in at $250 less than the DP including tax and tip in both totals. Of course then we have to see if we can eat the rest of the time for that $250 or less. It's just insane!

I think I finally figured out that we could do without the DP provided we eat breakfast in the room with stuff from home like packaged oatmeal that can be made w/ hot water from the coffee pot. I'll bring snacks from home as well. If I just buy a couple of things a week before our trip, I won't even know the difference in the weekly total. For other meals, a turkey leg or ham and cheese croissant are fine. We just drink water and I can bring some milk boxes for the kids. I just hope my head stops spinning before we go in December!
Jessica

 

[dgagnon519]

I was completely satisfied with my decisions and now am confused lol.

 

[KELLY]

I'm sort of in the same boat. But diffrent. We decied to upgrade to a moderate because we pefer them. But we really wanted the QSDP. So we are doing the RDP. So I threw in some adr's that I really could care less about. But I'm going to ask at CBR for a couple of meals if I can use a TS meal for QS meal instead. This would make our water parks days so much better. It is a waste of ts meal credits but the dininng plan is free.

I also tried the room only discount at the moderate and just add the tickets and the qsdp and eneded up being 150.00 more. But then we would have to pay out of pocket for the following must do adr's. I like the fact that I get to eat and the characters come to my table instead of me waiting in line. These 4 adr's would cost me around 330.00 with tips. Minus the mugs 42.00 and minus the other 5 meals of tips I wouldn't be leaving. we come to 188.00 but then need to factor in the 150.00 more for the pakcage. So it would cost me in the end 338.00 more.

So you aren't the only one!! LOL

Crystal Palace
Tusker house
Garden Grill
Askherus

 

[Cafeen]

You know, I read this when it was posted with the full intention to come back after work...

And then I forgot ><.

From the sounds of it, reading your first and subsequent posts back and forth with 2Tiggies here, it sounds like you already have a solid plan in place . Hit up your 3 must dos OOP and staying on the QSDP sounds very much like the right desicion.

As I've said a few times recently, get the plan if it fits you, don't try and fit yourself to it . Have a good time.

 

[2Tiggies]

I was completely satisfied with my decisions and now am confused lol.

It's not my fault is it .....

As I've said a few times recently, get the plan if it fits you, don't try and fit yourself to it . Have a good time.

Wowk Cafeen, it took me several posts to try and say this and you go and nail it in one sentence!

 

[Cafeen]

Wowk Cafeen, it took me several posts to try and say this and you go and nail it in one sentence!

And "one sentence" is not something I'm known for! (Well, maybe one really long run-on sentence using lots of commas and parenthetical expressions/asides...) I guess even I can get lucky every now and then .