Is it possible we "beat" the meal plan? - Also, what we learned.

[PlutoTheDog89]

We just returned from our trip. Nothing like leaving 85-degree Disney and returning to 30-degree New York... and work... and the real world.

We're already looking into next year and want to "upgrade" to a deluxe. As the planner in our group, I had my dad save all the receipts. I went ahead and calculated everything that the meal plan covered, separating anything we paid OOP.

12/24: Lunch @ POR (QS)/Dinner at Trattoria al Forno (TS)
12/25: Breakfast @ Be Our Guest (QS) /Dinner @ Artist Point (2 TS)
12/26: Lunch @ French Bakery (QS)
12/27: Breakfast @ Cape May (TS) /Dinner @ Contempo Cafe (QS)
12/28: Breakfast @ POFQ (QS)/Dinner @ 'Ohana (TS)
12/29: Dinner at Biergarten (TS)
12/30: Lunch at Captain Cooks (QS)/Dinner at Be Our Guest (TS)
12/31: Lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express (QS)/Dinner at Teppan Edo (TS)
1/1: Lunch at Boardwalk Bakery (QS)/Dinner at Raglan Road (TS)
We had CS and snacks leftover. We used them for muffins at Boardwalk Bakery, then redeemed 3 CS for snacks - rice krispy treats, trail mixes, Chip & dale pretzels, etc.

We used at least 8 snacks on $5.25 Starbucks drinks. We didn't use any snacks on drinks and saved our snacks for things above $3.50-$4.

The meal plan costs $1,998.80. If we bought all of this OOP, we would have spent a little over $2,100.

Here's what we learned:

- While 'Ohana may not provide the best value money-wise, it does food-wise. For families who can eat a lot (like my family), 'Ohana is a great value (and an even better one OOP)

- Cape May isn't a great value on the meal plan, but again, if you eat a lot, it's a great monetary value. I ate a lot and didn't eat again until dinner.

- Wolfgang Puck Express and the Boardwalk Bakery present the greatest value for the DDP, as well as bang for your buck. I will say - the Lobster Roll is smaller, but the sandwiches are huge and come with chips or a salad, and you get a dessert and drink on the meal plan. A meal at both Wolfgang and Boardwalk cost around $90 if we paid OOP.

- Breakfast, as many of you know, is a terrible use of the DDP. You're much better off using your mug for a drink and using a snack for a muffin or pastry. OR - paying OOP. We paid OOP for Kona breakfast one morning.
----- On a side note, being on the DDP, we receive a mug. I save the mug for water and soda. I can't stand drinking coffee from the mug because the taste lingers. Your maid will provide you with foam to-go cups in your room, meant for your coffee maker. In the morning, I'll bring one down with me and fill it with coffee. Disney never has a problem with this. They provide lids. I had a CM look at me once. I explained to her that I was on the meal plan and had a mug, but was heading to the park and didn't feel like carrying it all day. She looked back and replied "oh, I don't care, all the power to ya!" Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that you can save some money by filling your mug with water or iced tea in the morning and having your coffee, then buying or using a snack for a pastry.

I'll post the spreadsheet with all our costs later (I'm at work now.) Is it possible we came out ahead? I'm not trying to "sell" anyone on the meal plan, btw. I ate more food and dessert during our vacation than I'd probably eat all year. BUT - I was on vacation. As we look to cut costs for next year's trip, my mom brought up a good point. While we could do without the dessert and snacks, it'd be awfully hard to sit down for Christmas dinner at Artist Point and not buy a dessert, or pass the popcorn cart and not stop for some popcorn!

 

[freshmanjs]

Our family would order very differently if on the dining plan vs. off. So, for us at least, a comparison of what the same items would have cost is not really the right metric. For example (we have 5 of us), we often share 2 appetizers and 1-2 desserts. We would never order 5 desserts at a TS. We would never order any desserts at lunch. So, for us, the DP means getting a bunch of food we don't want, and not being allowed to get some things that we do want. In addition, it is more food than we would order off plan. So, the $ comparison is much more complicated.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

Our family would order very differently if on the dining plan vs. off. So, for us at least, a comparison of what the same items would have cost is not really the right metric. For example (we have 5 of us), we often share 2 appetizers and 1-2 desserts. We would never order 5 desserts at a TS. We would never order any desserts at lunch. So, for us, the DP means getting a bunch of food we don't want, and not being allowed to get some things that we do want. In addition, it is more food than we would order off plan. So, the $ comparison is much more complicated.

Oh, I totally agree. There were even nights (Raglan Road, for example) where i forced myself to eat dessert. I'm just saying - we made the most of the DDP on this trip. My next step is to actually list out what we would eat without the dining plan and see how it would work next year.

 

[smiths02]

The meal plan costs $1,998.80. If we bought all of this OOP, we would have spent a little over $2,100.

But at the end you were just buying snacks to buy snacks, correct? Did you calculate that into the $2100 total? Would you have bought many of those items if you weren't on DDP? When we went to Disney not on the Dining plan, I honestly didn't grab a bunch of overpriced pretzels and rice treats for the road.
Anyhow, what I am saying is that $100 savings over 8 nights is not that much IF there are some items you could have done without. However, if you enjoyed the Dining Plan and got your money's worth, more power to you.

We like to eat, but we don't generally eat the right proportion of QS and TS meals to make the DDP work (we like more TS, but not quite enough to make DxDP work). But I am sure that you can make it work, especially depending on your family (how many children and your eating habits) and length of stay.

 

[smiths02]

I will add, you broke a few savings "rules"...using 2 TS at Artist Point, using a TS on a breakfast, and not using all your CS credits for actual meals...and you still came out ahead, which is good, and surprising.

 

[JaimeK]

This website is fabulous for calculating costs OOP v on a dining plan:
http://www.distripplanner.com/

You CAN come out ahead, by eating at the buffets (particularly if you have kids) or by choosing the priciest entrees and always getting desserts.
This is my first trip NOT on the dining plan, and it's a change of mindset. But I think we'll come out way ahead not being on the plan. We tend to share desserts and like appetizers. It's also nice not worrying about the DDP "value" of a place. For example I've booked the Hollywood Brown Derby for lunch. That would be a terrible use of two credits, but OOP it's not a crazily expensive lunch. Plus I have the Disney Visa for 10% off.

 

[smiths02]

This website is fabulous for calculating costs OOP v on a dining plan:
http://www.distripplanner.com/

You CAN come out ahead, by eating at the buffets (particularly if you have kids) or by choosing the priciest entrees and always getting desserts.
This is my first trip NOT on the dining plan, and it's a change of mindset. But I think we'll come out way ahead not being on the plan. We tend to share desserts and like appetizers. It's also nice not worrying about the DDP "value" of a place. For example I've booked the Hollywood Brown Derby for lunch. That would be a terrible use of two credits, but OOP it's not a crazily expensive lunch. Plus I have the Disney Visa for 10% off.

We did our first trip in 2003 without a DDP
Then 2009 and 2011 were DDP
2015 was our first trip with kids without DDP. We decided to go for TiW. But even without that, it was such a change of mindset, but just as enjoyable. Instead of maximizing DDP, I maximized OOP. So we stayed were we got a discount on Counter Service with TiW (AoA), ate more breakfasts if doing character meals...considering we had twin toddlers (2) and a 9 year old, we actually made out really good at buffets, especially breakfast and lunch. Biergarten lunch with TiW (even with beer) was cheaper than the Counter Service we ate in France for dinner (drinking tap water)! (And if we were on DDP, I would have done Biergarten dinner, but lunch was just as enjoyable)
My DH and I also became Landry's members and used credit card rewards combined with birthday rewards to help with those meals. We hadn't done Yak n Yeti before, but this encouraged us to try it.

 

[freshmanjs]

We did our first trip in 2003 without a DDP
Then 2009 and 2011 were DDP
2015 was our first trip with kids without DDP. We decided to go for TiW. But even without that, it was such a change of mindset, but just as enjoyable. Instead of maximizing DDP, I maximized OOP. So we stayed were we got a discount on Counter Service with TiW (AoA), ate more breakfasts if doing character meals...considering we had twin toddlers (2) and a 9 year old, we actually made out really good at buffets, especially breakfast and lunch. Biergarten lunch with TiW (even with beer) was cheaper than the Counter Service we ate in France for dinner (drinking tap water)! (And if we were on DDP, I would have done Biergarten dinner, but lunch was just as enjoyable)
My DH and I also became Landry's members and used credit card rewards combined with birthday rewards to help with those meals. We hadn't done Yak n Yeti before, but this encouraged us to try it.

We really like TiW as well! We've found that the combo of annual passes + TiW is very freeing. We can do short park days, make multiple short trips vs. long trips, order whatever we want, etc. It's so flexible. We recognize that this wouldn't work for many families, but if you spend a lot of days in the parks, it's a great way to go!!

 

[HopperFan]

Yeah after many years of DDP & one year of QSDP and calculating what it would have cost based on what we would normally order and eat, we have stopped getting it.

- We would never get a resort mug.
- We would drink water not soda/tea at restaurants.
- We would never get QS desserts and at TS maybe order a couple to split among 4-5 of us.
- We would like to get appetizers but that is not allowed.
- We would not fixate on ordering an expensive dish to get our monies worth.
- We would not do most buffets and def no character meals.

Add that we have TiW, we just can't make it work. Adding up the value of items we would never have ordered otherwise - gives it a false value for us.

I think it's big plus is the convenience and it forced us to try lots of restaurants I probably would not have booked without it.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

I will add, you broke a few savings "rules"...using 2 TS at Artist Point, using a TS on a breakfast, and not using all your CS credits for actual meals...and you still came out ahead, which is good, and surprising.

Exactly. That's why I don't really believe it.

 

[Baklava]

Part of our decision to do the dining plan was that using the TP calculator we came out ahead... and that's based on averages. My guys have expensive tastes. The things they like best just happen to be the things at the high end of the price scale pretty consistently. I want them to order without worrying about cost. The teen will easily eat his entire allotment of meals with all the bells and whistles and still be asking, "are you going to finish that?"

We expect to at least break even and the non-monetary benefits make us willing to gamble. Even if we don't *quite* break even it will be close and we will consider the other benefits worth it.

 

[Mazz519]

We did the same exact thing my son kept a running total of what the meals cost against the DDP.. I have not yet done any calculations but not really sure id the DDP makes sense for us any more

 

[supersnoop]

I can't seem to make your numbers work. How many adults and children did you have on the plan?

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

I actually just computed the numbers for next year. More breakfast buffets, Meals with alcoholic drinks and not desserts, some meals with appetizers, etc. It came out to a little over 2k.

The more I think about it, the more I realize I looked over one glaring thing. Sure, we paid $1,998, but we also purchased a lot of appetizers, drinks, etc. When you add all that stuff up, it probably comes closer to 2.4k or so. SO - it would probably make more sense to pay OOP for everything in the long run.

 

[goofy4prez]

I have done the DDP and DxDP for all of our visits until last year when we spent our first trip as DVC members in Disney and using the TiW card. The dining plan is a thing of the past for us.

• I don't need an appetizer for lunch and for dinner (DxDP)
• I don't order dessert for every. (I do enjoy for dinner)
• I no longer have to look for the most expensive item to maximize the DDP)
• I don't eat multiple snacks and now don't have to load up on them to use up credits before flying back home.
• I don't care much for buffets and character meals except Crystal Palace for breakfast.
• As DVC members we eat most of our breakfasts in our room and have water, soda and snacks delivered to the room as well by a grocery service.
• Without the dining plan I can actually eat the way I like to eat, not how the plan forces me to eat.

The only argument I can make for the dining plan is that it takes the worry of cost and ordering out of the equation since it's been prepaid already (In most cases at a premium)

Sure, it can save some people some money... But I'm of the opinion the vast majority of those using the DDP have not taken a look at the numbers for themselves. I was one of them for several trips before I realized this for myself.

 

[Scalemaster34]

We did the same exact thing my son kept a running total of what the meals cost against the DDP.. I have not yet done any calculations but not really sure id the DDP makes sense for us any more

Long, Long ago.... you could ask guest services for a print out, so you knew how many you had left. If showed all your Dining Credits and how they were used - including totals. Of course back then Dining Plan included appetizer and the tip, and FL Residents even got it discounted. Think the return was well over twice what we paid for the DDP.

Now it's hard to break even, most times we go OOP these day - but with only a couple of sit downs. But we are doing the DDP for the first time in a few years for a big family tip in a week. Combined with renting DVC points it just worked out for a simpler to plan trip. Makes it a little more like our last big Family vacation together.... a Cruise. Which is what most wanted again this time.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I added all the numbers up before purchasing it this year. We didn't do it on our first trip. I went through each restaurant and added up what we would have ordered OOP. We don't eat desserts at the majority of meals, don't get apprtizers anyway, wouldn't buy a resort cup and don't eatmuch in the way of snacks (probably every other day and sharing things). Even with all that, we came out $100 ahead by using the dining plan. What we do have is a boatload of character meals which is certainly what did it. I felt like I needed to run the numbers so we wouldn't feel like we have to gorge ourselves or always eat the most expensive thing to break even. We'll break even eating the way we normally eat. Even if we don't eat desert at QS meals. The plan did allow us to do things we probably wouldn't have (didn't include in OOP tally) but are nice like CRT for dinner instead of lunch and the Fantasmic package so on the whole it works for us this year. As our kids get older and character dining is no longer the thing, I'm sure it won't make sense for us. Something each family probably needs to look at for themselves.

 

[Baklava]

I added all the numbers up before purchasing it this year. We didn't do it on our first trip. I went through each restaurant and added up what we would have ordered OOP. We don't eat desserts at the majority of meals, don't get apprtizers anyway, wouldn't buy a resort cup and don't eatmuch in the way of snacks (probably every other day and sharing things). Even with all that, we came out $100 ahead by using the dining plan. What we do have is a boatload of character meals which is certainly what did it. I felt like I needed to run the numbers so we wouldn't feel like we have to gorge ourselves or always eat the most expensive thing to break even. We'll break even eating the way we normally eat. Even if we don't eat desert at QS meals. The plan did allow us to do things we probably wouldn't have (didn't include in OOP tally) but are nice like CRT for dinner instead of lunch and the Fantasmic package so on the whole it works for us this year. As our kids get older and character dining is no longer the thing, I'm sure it won't make sense for us. Something each family probably needs to look at for themselves.

Yep! In a 10 day trip we're doing 8 character meals, a couple non-character buffets, a Fantasmic package and several meals where the guys are going to want prime rib or shellfish.

 

[Accident]

The meal plan costs $1,998.80. If we bought all of this OOP, we would have spent a little over $2,100.

We wouldn't order the same thing if we were paying OOP. We just aren't an appetizer and desert per person per meal foodies. This is where the price greatly changes for us. Apples to apples, generally the meal plan wins. How we want to order vs meal plan (and the change in gratuity) and OOP always wins for us.. (especially with some places now getting AP or TiW discounts since we upgraded to AP recently)

 

[AL_Girl]

If the plan is free we definitely go for it. Otherwise I don't think we will ever pay for it OOP again. I set up a spreadsheet looking at what we would pay OOP for the exact meals vs the dining plan and there wasn't a big difference. I don't like to feel like I have to go in and order the most expensive thing on the menu to get my money's worth whether it's what I want or not. And OOP we just don't eat like that. Me and my daughter will share meals or we will grab a snack for breakfast anyway. There are times if we are there during summer and we don't want to eat a lot because of the heat that me and my husband will share a meal. And snacks, we will buy snacks here and there but anytime we have been on the plan we end up grabbing rice krispy treats our last day to use up snack credits and we would never stock up on those if we were paying OOP. If free it's a definite no brainer!