Is it unusual to spend $75/person per day? Having 2nd thoughts on DDP.

[LovePug]

I'm 2nd guessing myself on the DDP that I have purchased. I've never done it before, but I believe it's about $75/day per person. We prefer TS meals once a day and are not people who go, go, go in the parks. Part of me is saying that it wouldn't be difficult to spend that much on each of us, but the frugal part of me is struggling.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

It really depends on how much you typically eat in a day. Look over menus and add up what you’re likely to order. Some TS are a better use of a credit than others. My family doesn’t do a lot of buffets, character meals, or prix fixe (it’s too much food and time and with an 11 yo and 14 yo they are adult prices when they’ll eat one waffle and one piece of bacon). We also don’t always have an entree and a dessert at a TS (sometimes we’d rather get dessert elsewhere or skip it) and we don’t usually eat 2 snacks per day either. In our case the DDP is always more food and more money than we care to eat.

There are others who certainly come out ahead with DDP but for us, it’s not a value because of these factors.

 

[krum]

If you have to ask yourself if you're going to save money on the DDP, then it's not for you. There's almost no way you'll come out ahead although it's possible with some careful gaming.

 

[Shanti]

I'm 2nd guessing myself on the DDP that I have purchased. I've never done it before, but I believe it's about $75/day per person. We prefer TS meals once a day and are not people who go, go, go in the parks. Part of me is saying that it wouldn't be difficult to spend that much on each of us, but the frugal part of me is struggling.

The dining plan is a money loser in the vast majority of cases. A lot of people get it because they like to vacation knowing their meals are pre-paid, don't want to think about prices during the trip, etc., but they're paying Disney a hefty surcharge for that.

 

[LovePug]

The dining plan is a money loser in the vast majority of cases. A lot of people get it because they like to vacation knowing their meals are pre-paid, don't want to think about prices during the trip, etc., but they're paying Disney a hefty surcharge for that.

That was my thought when I booked it...

If you have to ask yourself if you're going to save money on the DDP, then it's not for you. There's almost no way you'll come out ahead although it's possible with some careful gaming.

I guess my follow up question is...I'm more than halfway paid for the ticketless package (been paying on it through the website). Am I stuck just keeping it at this point?

 

[Shanti]

I guess my follow up question is...I'm more than halfway paid for the ticketless package (been paying on it through the website). Am I stuck just keeping it at this point?

No. Since according to your signature, you're going in December, you're over 30 days out & could therefore make the change even if you were paid in full. Just call and have it removed.

 

[LovePug]

Thank-you! How would they handle the credit? Will they hold it on my account where I would essentially have a credit to use while there?

 

[Nohal]

Thank-you! How would they handle the credit? Will they hold it on my account where I would essentially have a credit to use while there?

We are going for 4 nights in October. I've never paid for the dining plan as I've always booked when it was "free". I like the idea of knowing that I can order what I want and not have to dip into my pocket to pay for it. However, after running the numbers (including alcoholic drinks to TS meals). I am still short on that $75. So we decided against the DDP.

I believe that they will issue you a credit against what your balance is. If the credit is more than you owe they will credit whatever method you paid for it.

 

[LovePug]

I believe that they will issue you a credit against what your balance is.

If I cancel the DDP, the room is already paid for and I have overpaid about $300, I think. I'm wondering how they will handle the overpayment already made. Does that make sense?

 

[Hopefully]

To answer your original question we easily spend at or over $75/adult/ day

 

[kappyfamily]

If I cancel the DDP, the room is already paid for and I have overpaid about $300, I think. I'm wondering how they will handle the overpayment already made. Does that make sense?

They will just refund your card, make take a couple days to post though.

 

[Micca]

I have little experience with the dining plans, we simply pay as we go. We could effortlessly get to $75 per day/pp. Take a look at menu prices, and don't forget that alcoholic drinks are expensive at WDW.

 

[LovePug]

This was my thought when I booked and, not going to lie, the alcoholic beverage played a part in my original decision.

 

[disneygirlsng]

It's mostly going to depend on where you eat and what you order. In my family we rarely go over $50/pp each day and it's usually even a good bit less than that between either 2 QS or 1QS and 1TS each day, plus a snack or two. We tend to share meals just about everywhere as portions are on the larger side. And we usually get 1, maybe 2 alcoholic drinks each day as well. So no way would the dining plan ever make sense for us.

 

[Horizons-1]

To get $75/person you would need to eat (1) TS per day, and also a QS to stand a chance. Unless you eat at a TS that has really expensive entrees/deserts & you get alcohol.

Typically my DW & I will have an inexpensive breakfast, usually just a side of eggs, and a QS during the day. We tend to bring some food for dinner/lunch to fill in so that we aren't eating at the parks or resort for every meal. We do eat at least (2) TS during our trip. For us a dining plan doesn't make sense financially.

The "free" dining plans still make you pay for them in the package pricing. You have to compare what the ticket/room package pricing is with and without the offer. Generally there is a higher price for the "free" DP package so in essence you are paying for it. Just not as much if you did the plan on top of the package. Especially since you have to stay at certain resorts on certain dates.

 

[MomOTwins]

To get $75/person you would need to eat (1) TS per day, and also a QS to stand a chance. Unless you eat at a TS that has really expensive entrees/deserts & you get alcohol.

Typically my DW & I will have an inexpensive breakfast, usually just a side of eggs, and a QS during the day. We tend to bring some food for dinner/lunch to fill in so that we aren't eating at the parks or resort for every meal. We do eat at least (2) TS during our trip. For us a dining plan doesn't make sense financially.

The "free" dining plans still make you pay for them in the package pricing. You have to compare what the ticket/room package pricing is with and without the offer. Generally there is a higher price for the "free" DP package so in essence you are paying for it. Just not as much if you did the plan on top of the package. Especially since you have to stay at certain resorts on certain dates.

OP said they do eat 1TS a day though, and considered the dining plan in part due to alcohol being included. This is a simple do-the-math proposition based on where you want to go, as TS prices vary significantly. An adult dinner price at Akershus is $62.84, add an alcoholic drink at around $10, and you end up getting the full daily price of the plan on one meal alone, with a QS lunch and two snacks per person "free." On the other end of the spectrum, if you eat a meal at a lower-cost TS restaurant like sci fi dine in where the prices are as low as $14 per entry, even with drinks and dessert it is very unlikely you will get to $75 value for the day.

We always save a ton of money on DDP as we eat at character meals every day in lieu of waiting in line for characters. We love it, but that would drive a lot of people insane. Just goes to show there is absolutely no one-size-fit-all answer to the question "will we save money on the dining plan"

 

[disneyAndi14]

We spend around $100.00 a day on 2 people and we eat whatever we want. Usually 1TS a day. So DDP is not a good deal for us. We don’t drink alcohol and we sometimes share. We are always happy eating this way and never feel like we are limiting ourselves.

 

[keahgirl8]

I don’t. Really only you can answer this question for yourself. I eat a lot of kids meals, leftovers and snacks. I eat at very few TS restaurants and almost Disney portions are way too large for me.

 

[reluctantredhead]

We spend around $100.00 a day on 2 people and we eat whatever we want. Usually 1TS a day. So DDP is not a good deal for us. We don’t drink alcohol and we sometimes share. We are always happy eating this way and never feel like we are limiting ourselves.

This is what we do too...now that it's usually just H and I traveling to Disney alone. We also don't eat at any of the character meals or buffets. But when our D was little, we went to a character buffet for most of our TS meals, so the DDP made a lot more sense financially for us then. It was when she was old enough that she didn't want to go to the character meals anymore that we sat down and crunched the numbers and realized that for us we'd come out cheaper paying OOP.

 

[starry_solo]

If you're not a go-go-go parks person, perhaps you would enjoy the DDP and book all the pricey meals you can at the pricier restaurants?