Inspired by the Discovery Magic thread, Is it worth it?

[minnieandmickey]

Just wondering if this package or the other package that is all inclusive(don't know the name) worth it? We will be going next year and would like to do alot of sit down restaurants for lunch and dinner, and my kids will be old enough to order an adult size meals. I thought if I do a package then I could pay it off as we get closer to going.(plus haveing the money in the bank might be tempting to use it) Or would it be cheaper to just make all the arrangements myself, ie. discounts etc. Also do you get a DC discount on these packages.

 

[amw5g]

As a kid, my parents began taking us on plan (originally they had the Gold Key plan) in the mid 80s. We ended up going on the Grand Plan a time or two as well. When I got older and started taking the woman who will eventually be my wife, we went first off-plan. It just about killed me .

Then we went with the Deluxe Magic and I can never go back! We ate three meals a day, three courses a meal and hit many big name places. We also did some recreation- water mice, horse-back riding, bike rentals. When we came back home, we totalled up everything and found that we hadn't broken even. That being said, we'll be doing the deluxe magic this coming August for our honeymoon (after our Disney wedding of course).

My opinion is that having everything paid for up front, the ease of just pulling out your room key and not woryying about "oooh, do I have this budgeted!" and the extra generosity of cast members is worth the premium. Others will not agree and I can see their points, but it's definitely a peace of mind that I think justifies the cost.

Note these comments are about Deluxe Magic, and not Discovery, so may not entirely apply to your own decision.
Regards
Andrew

 

[caitycaity]

we have found for us, it is cheaper to go off plan. we went to wdw on our honeymoon in november, and by getting a pap, getting 40% off on our hotel thanks to the ap discount and using the cash we had saved for food, we were able to do a trip to wdw, pulling out all the stops and eating at 2 sit downs a day for more than $2000 less than on a plan.

i think that it just varies by what you want to do, what discounts you can get, etc. try pricing it out and comparing.

 

[jennymouse]

Using Deluxe Magic package (because it has three meals a day and included things I have planned.) compared to what I paid booking seperately, I saved $2500 dollars by booking seperately including food/recreation/souvies. Using Discovery Magic Plan I saved $1500, using Resort Magic Plan I still saved $1000 by booking seperately. I don't see how anyone could possibly use all of the things included in the Deluxe package.

Oh, and I booked resort room with DC discount......still hope to get code rate for October. If I get a code rate, I'll have saved even more.

I certainly can't knock people who get the packages though....if only for the convienance. I bought resort magic package last april, but that was before I found the DIS and learned how to save so much money. If I were extreamly busy or just didn't like to plan/research, I'd definately go with one of the plans.

 

[hmp2z]

Hi! As far as how much money you'd save by booking separately, this all depends on how many amenities you'd use. My fiance and I went in September 2000 on Deluxe Magic plan, and we made full use of all of the features. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner all 9 days (though by the end, we were grabbing a quick breakfast from Gasparilla's, so don't think we took full advantage of that meal - too much food!). We went to Cirque du Soleil, got our Leave a Legacy tile, rented bikes & water sprites, and went horseback riding. We really used all of the features, so we got better value out of the plan that someone who wasn't interested in all of the recreation features.
Even with trying our hardest to get the most out of the plan, we came home, added up our receipts, and would have saved $600 purchasing everything separately. However, for us it was DEFINITELY worth the $600 to have the peace of mind of Deluxe Magic. We never had to worry about the cost of anything, because everything was covered except for alcohol and one V&A's Chef's Table dinner that we went to. We loved that when we went to restaurants, the wait staff would help us get the best value out of our plan, by telling us which more expensive substitutions we could get with the plan It was really just the peace of mind and freedom offered by Deluxe Magicthat we were paying the extra money for, and we would go on-plan again and again. In fact, we are using Deluxe Magic again for our honeymoon this August!
Cheers!
Heather P

 

[fortwilderness]

I have seriously considered using various Disney packages before but I always chicken out. I can see though how someone could waste a ton of money, break even or perhaps even come out ahead (especially on Discovery Magic) depending on how well they took advantage of their package. I think that of all of the Disney packages the Discovery Magic offers the most flexibility and opportunity to come out ahead financially. But you would need to be very careful in deciding on what to use your wishes for in order for you to come out ahead. I think it would be a lot less stressful for you to plan everything out yourself and skip the package plans.

The deciding factor for me regarding packages is always thinking about all of the self imposed pressure I would feel to get my money's worth. I don't think I could enjoy simply sitting on a bench in the Magic Kingdom just watching people walk by because I would be thinking "Oh no I must get up - I have rent a bike, a water mouse and a pontoon boat - I have to eat at the California Grill, Flying Fish, Chefs De France, Artists Point, ect - I have to take the Undiscovered Future World, Keys to the Kingdom, and the Hidden Treasures of World Showcase tours - I must play a round of golf (both regular and minature) - I must get my money's worth on this darn package "- you get my point

I simply can't imagine eating enough food to ever get my money's worth on the Grand Plan or Deluxe Magic plans or by using the wishes for meals on the Discovery Magic Plan. My boyfriend and me will usually share an appetizer or salad (if we even get one), each have our own entree and share a dessert (again if we even have one). It isn't the cost that is keeping us from ordering all of the food - it is that we simply don't want it. I think a package would make us feel like we should order a ton of food we didn't even want in the first place. Then I would feel guilty about wasting food Gee - I have way to much guilt about wasting stuff

Plus we sometimes like to eat at counter service restaurants and would feel like we were wasting money if we ate at one while on a meals included plan and wouldn't enjoy it.

In addition, all of the tours and recreational activities - golf, boat rentals, ect - sound nice but I know that by the 3rd or 4th day at WDW we start to get really lazy. We start to take lots of naps and start skipping sit down meals. I know there is no way we would ever use enough recreation activites to break even. Plus for the backstage tours there are usually nice AP and Disney Club discounts that make them much less of a benefit with the packages.

Plus I always worry about what I one of us (or both of us )gets sick and we spend our vacation in the room being miserable. This has actually happened once so I am totally paranoid about it happening again. All of that money you spent on the package is just being wasted. While if you didn't have a package you wouldn't be out anything more than your room and the food you actually eat.

We always have a general plan of what we want to do on our trip and have a general budget in mind of what it will cost. But we never don't do something we really want to do once we get to Walt Disney World. We like to sometimes be spontaneous and that is what credit cards are for

 

[erikthewise]

The last two posts really said it all! Someone should publish them!

Heather has the True Spirit of Disney packages, and the fortwilderness couple shows why they aren't for everybody.

The problem is that so many people think a Disney package is like shopping at Sam's Club: buy in bulk, and save money. Wrong! The packages are convenience packages, and you generally pay extra for them. But a lot of people have great vacations using them, and I would be the last to begrudge Disney the extra income.

 

[Janet2k]

One of my most priceless WDW memories happened on my first Grand Plan. We had reservations for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue and arrived early for the dinner show. A storm was rolling in across the horizon and the sky was that luminous gray that I find mesmerizing. My husband, son, and myself saw that there were three empty rocking chairs on the veranda of the building that sits next to Pioneer Hall, so we went and sat down in them. We rocked in those rocking chairs and listened to the sound of the distant thunder as the evening storm rolled in. No words were spoken by anyone on that veranda. It was as if we were all hypnotized by the storm and the magic of Disney that was surrounding us.

My words cannot do that moment justice, but it is a memory that I will cherish forever. And that moment was free. It didn’t cost me a thing. So, on the Grand Plan, you can enjoy the simple things. The cost of my Grand Plan was paid for a million times over by that moment. And I would gladly pay for another Grand Plan just to have another priceless moment like that again with my family.

 

[MrsPete]

I don't think very many people could really save money using these plans. If you use all the recreation features (water sprites, horseback riding, etc.), then you're NOT using your park tickets. If you spend time at sit-down meals, then you're NOT using your park tickets. You can only do so much in X number of days.

So, if your objective is to save money, book separately.
If your objective is convenience and carefree attitude on your vacation, book a plan.

 

[DeeP]

It is always cheaper to book everything yourself at Disney. We have used packages before for other vacations that were not only convenient but also a savings but NOT at Disney. I think different things mean more to some people than others and they are willing to pay for them. I like the convenience and the amenities of my DVC home resort BWV and I gladly paid many thousands of dollars for our membership but I would never buy a Disney package, that is why they make vanilla and chocolate! If you would like the convenience of a Disney package and are willing to pay for this convenience than go for it and enjoy!

 

[hoosll]

We loved our Discovery Magic trip and plan to do it again.

Some tips:

1. I really think it works best with adults, not kids unless they are older teens who will eat a lot at formal meals.

2. do Cirque and Hoop de doo and one of the tours.

3. You do feel like you have to do a park or DQ everyday.

4. We did Fantasmic dinner package (Brown Derby) and Candlelight Processional (R & C)

5. Work with your server, his tip is determined by the price of the meal, I have had them offer a surf/turf not on the menu.

6. Keep track of how much you would have spent and the number of wishes you've used. Unless they've changed the system, the front desk can tell you how many wishes you have left, they have no info on where you used wishes, those charges just do not appear. SO, if you do not want to use your wishes for a meal, look carefully at the check before you sign it, you can charge it to your room without using wishes. The check should state the name of the plan if wishes were used.

7. We found that we tried better restaurants and more varied foods by doing the plan.

 

[Eeyore1954]

For the first time, my DW and I are using a plan -- the Grand Plan -- for our Disney vacation (5/14 - 21). Why? We are going to celebrate our 25th anniversary and we had been saving for this for some time now. We wanted the convenience of having someone else do all the planning (make all the ressies, arrange the itinerary -- we are Type A vacation planners), have access to do anything, eat anywhere -- basically be able to do it all.

Do we honestly expect to "do it all?" No way -- there's not enough hours in the day. Do we expect to eat 3 huge meals every day? Probably not, but it sure will be fun to try!

We believe we are getting a great value for our money. Could we do it all for less $ on our own? Probably yes, but that's not the point for us on this particular vacation. We wanted one magical vacation for our special wedding anniversary where we paid someone else to do the work for us. We told Randall (our GP planner) here's what we want -- now you make it happen. And he did.

As others said, plans are not for everyone. Next year we'll probably go back to Disney "a la carte" -- no plan, doing all the work on our own.

But we'll also be starting our 30th anniversary savings account so Randall better get his fingers limbered up 'cause we're coming back in 2007!!

 

[cruisnfamily]

Is there a website where you can get a breakdown of what each plan covers? How many plans there are, etc? I keep hearing about these...and figure that they're not for us....but I would like to read the details. Where can I find the info?

 

[Goofyisme]

For adults who enjoy a good sit down meal once a day the Discovery Plan is a great way to go. While we didn't use all of our wishes, I think we had 4 or 5 left, I kept track opf all we would have spent on the fine meals we enjoyed at some of Disney's best restaurants and we most definitely came out ahead. Don't think children can take full advantage of the plan but for adults it can be well worth while and is very convenient.

 

[MysticDDA]

We love the Discovery Magic Plan. I know a lot of people think that the packages cost more and they probably do. However, for us, it is all about convenience. We enjoy nice meals and with the plan we eat what we want where we want. We also use some of our wishes for other things such as tours. We are used to spending a lot on our Disney vacations anyway and it's nice to have the trip paid for before we go. I guess it's all a matter of personal preference.

 

[Eeyore1954]

SonyaFrancisco -- the best place to check out the plan info is on the Disney web site. Here's a URL that gives you a great overview of each package:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wa...ns/vacationpackageindex?id=PK2002GolfEscapeVP

This happens to start with the Golf Escape package, but on the left side of the page you can click on other packages: Discovery Magic, Deluxe Magic and Grand Plan.