Is DDP worth it?

[Picabo]

I was all set to get DDP - based on 2008's plan. (We do not plan to go till end of 2009, however) Now the rumors that the new plan will be about $50 for 1TS, 1CS, 1snack (incld tax, app and dessert) have me rethinking. Of course who knows what the new plan truely WILL be. I know the rumors are just speculation....but correct me if I'm wrong.

We have 2 toddlers and plan to do several character meals for our TS. It seems that if you do mostly character meals (especiall bkfst) then you really do not get the full value of the DDP, right? Character meals usually already include all the food and beverage and typically seem to run $19-26 or so. Even with Tip added into that, there is no way that the rest of the $24-30 will be used at counter service & snacks...right?

Would you say that the DDP is more worth it if you do TS meals where you order from the menu and don't do the character meals?

Thanks for the imput!

 

[Tricia1972]

Unfortunately, until we know the details for 2009 it'll be virtually impossible to determine the plans value for an individual family.

Another factor to consider is "will Disney drastically increase their prices for 2009"

 

[gelebean]

What I did is, using the menus posted on Allears.net which have TS and CS prices, I calculated how much we would spend in a day.

Obvisouly we won't stick strictly to the menu choices to the tee but at least it gave me a general idea based on what each of my family members like to eat.

I looked at what park we would be in that day and looked up a snack (you can find a list of these with prices at the top of this forum) for each of us then added what we would eat at a certain CS place and then added the total of how much a TS meal would be.

ex.
At BB on Saturday
$13 for snacks
$38 for CS lunch
$73 for TS Dinner at WL
$124.00

On the DP we are actually spending 97.49 for the day. So we are saving about $26.50 that day. (On other days we are saving more). But are eating much better than we usually do.

Now, we are a family of 4 with a 7yr and 4 yr old.
For us to eat a CS meal at say BB was is around 38 bucks .

I figured eating 1 snack, 1CS and 1 TS each, for the 4 day/3 night trip we would save about 100.00 total.

Now at that point it is up to you if the savings are worth it.

To tell you the truth I am still on the edge as I usually make breakfast, pack lunch and split dinners so this is a HUGE leap for me. (I am the pennypincher )

Sorry for the long winded post. Hope this helps (and hope it is clear enough to understand )

Have fun!

 

[gelebean]

now of course this is course this is for 2008. I would base it off of worst case and decide at what point is too much to pay.

 

[Tricia1972]

I actually created a spreadsheet to do 2008's calculations for myself and shared with everyone. It figures OOP, includes things like tax and stuff. Robinb is hosting it on her site

(http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW Dining/DisneyDining Template.xls)

BUT like you said, this is all 2008. My sheet will not work for the 2009 changes yet. Once we know what they're doing in 2009 I can modify my sheet and then it'll be a nice tool for those going in 2009.

 

[gelebean]

WOW....talk about being organized. Thanks for the spreadsheet. Sure beats the one I made !

 

[Picabo]

WOW, that's some spreadsheet! Thanks for sharing it!

Yes, I will have to wait till details of 2009 come out, figure out where we'd be eating and then try to see if it's worth it or not. I just like the idea of not having to WORRY about the expense of each meal...ording what we want, etc.

Melanie

 

[mc'smommy]

I actually created a spreadsheet to do 2008's calculations for myself and shared with everyone. It figures OOP, includes things like tax and stuff. Robinb is hosting it on her site

(http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW Dining/DisneyDining Template.xls)

BUT like you said, this is all 2008. My sheet will not work for the 2009 changes yet. Once we know what they're doing in 2009 I can modify my sheet and then it'll be a nice tool for those going in 2009.

I cant seem to open it, I have Windows XP, any suggestions?

I would love to view it.

 

[Tricia1972]

I click Save to Disk. When it shows OK to save to Disk, I switch to open with Excel and it works like a charm.

 

[dburg30]

Unfortunately, until we know the details for 2009 it'll be virtually impossible to determine the plans value for an individual family.

Another factor to consider is "will Disney drastically increase their prices for 2009"

Ding Ding we have a winner!!! Those prices that 'look' horrible right now, could be very good deals

 

[mc'smommy]

I click Save to Disk. When it shows OK to save to Disk, I switch to open with Excel and it works like a charm.

thanks a bunch