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

[Rach3975]

I don't think it's entirely "worth" it for us, but in the past it has been close enough that we're okay paying the extra for the convenience and all inclusive feel. For us Disney is a splurge that we do every few years. If we were paying out of pocket we'd drink water at every meal, steer away from the more expensive entrees, eat more QS and less TS, etc. We do that every day in real life--it's freeing to order without paying any attention to price. We also use all of our credits. If we went more often I suppose we'd just pay OOP and use the same cost-cutting strategies that we do when we're not at Disney.

All of that said, we may not be as close to breaking even on this trip as we were last trip. DH is the only one in our party of 5 who will drink alcohol, and the kids and I won't eat sugary drinks and desserts at every meal and snack. I'm hoping we'll get CMs who let us substitute healthier options; that's probably going to be the determining factor on whether we get DDP again after this trip or not.

 

[a1tinkfans]

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.

Spending $75. Per person per day is ( sadly) easily done at disney.
That being said, the Biggest impact to me is Time. It’s the getting to, the average 90 minute meal and the return to the park that adds up to a huge chunk of time away from attractions and rides. We’ve done Deluxe which was an Insane amount of food,and way too much lost time... would never do that again.
The regular dine plan which we did like ( we did a snack at bkfst, counter at lunch and sit down at dinner daily). Worked well and have done it at least 6-7 times, but no longer do it. We just find that over time.. our eating habits have changed.. one meal a day often works for us with lite snack type food or snacks.
Have never done the counter serve plan.

If you enjoy food, like the planning factor of where you will be, what time you want to eat and what you want to eat... and have the time that it will take from “active” park things... yes, u can easily spend that money. And leftover credits.... exchange for snack credits.. share them when home or better yet, gift them to the person behind you at the counter service ...
enjoy ur visit.

 

[LovePug]

I don't think it's entirely "worth" it for us, but in the past it has been close enough that we're okay paying the extra for the convenience and all inclusive feel. For us Disney is a splurge that we do every few years. If we were paying out of pocket we'd drink water at every meal, steer away from the more expensive entrees, eat more QS and less TS, etc. We do that every day in real life--it's freeing to order without paying any attention to price. We also use all of our credits. If we went more often I suppose we'd just pay OOP and use the same cost-cutting strategies that we do when we're not at Disney.

All of that said, we may not be as close to breaking even on this trip as we were last trip. DH is the only one in our party of 5 who will drink alcohol, and the kids and I won't eat sugary drinks and desserts at every meal and snack. I'm hoping we'll get CMs who let us substitute healthier options; that's probably going to be the determining factor on whether we get DDP again after this trip or not.

See, this is what I was thinking, also. Not having to worry about what we were eating. We absolutely enjoy one TS/day because it helps us all decompress. We are in no rush when we are in the parks. That’s just the way we tour.
I did the math last night with the different restaurants and it’s right around the break even point based on our plans. I go back and forth thinking that I could do it for a couple hundred less if we don’t do TS every day or split meals, etc., and then I argue that I don’t want to do that. I’m annoying even myself.

 

[ArmyVet80]

Use this website and put your ADR's in. It will breakdown the costs over the three different DDP's and show what you would pay out of pocket. I use it every trip.

https://www.distripplanner.com/

 

[Anthony1971]

For us we spend about 40% or less of what the DP would cost us and we eat what we want and that is including drinks outside of meals that would otherwise not be included and tips....
and Breakfast some days... With that said if you are going to do Buffets everyday or order steaks everyday which is getting harder being many resort TS no longer have them have a CS and snacks... you can make out. The truth is the majority of people just do not eat that much on average and end up wasting a lot of food. I was there in late august which there are a lot of FD people, on a number of occasions I saw people waiting in line for snacks walk away and come back saying we need to use the snack credits... people oaring multiple meals at DS CS places and taking some to go... Only you can judge how and how much you eat. My rule would be for a few days you can do it, for a week you will loose out... the plan works on average and saying you can eat that much food for an entire week is a far stretch for most. Another deal breaker is the limitations, a conversation on the bus of 2 families talking about eating steak... one family on FD was eating at Planet Hollywood the other not on DP STK... Paying cash STK is good value on DP it is not and vice versa for Planet Hollywood steak... Lets face it you can eat at STK for the price of the majority of Disney Buffets... where do you think you will have a more enjoyable meal? If you prefer the Buffet with characters than get the DP if you prefer a great steak pay cash.

 

[Hopefully]

See, this is what I was thinking, also. Not having to worry about what we were eating. We absolutely enjoy one TS/day because it helps us all decompress. We are in no rush when we are in the parks. That’s just the way we tour.
I did the math last night with the different restaurants and it’s right around the break even point based on our plans. I go back and forth thinking that I could do it for a couple hundred less if we don’t do TS every day or split meals, etc., and then I argue that I don’t want to do that. I’m annoying even myself.

At this point only you can decide. You have done your due diligence. Looking at how, what and where you want to eat is the correct way.
You know you will basically break even. Now you have to decide if you want to sacrifice and share.
I know what I would do

Use this website and put your ADR's in. It will breakdown the costs over the three different DDP's and show what you would pay out of pocket. I use it every trip.

https://www.distripplanner.com/

I have found this inaccurate. It uses averages. The OP states she has looked at actual menus for her family. That is the right thing to do

 

[kiford]

It isn't just whether you'd spend the same amount per person as the DDP, but would you also pay extra when using the DDP because you don't eat they way they want you to, so some items aren't covered. Then you're in the position of deciding whether or not you'll pay extra or whether you'll deny yourself. Although they've improved it a bit over the last few years, it's still just not exactly how we eat so, while we spend a lot more than just the cost of the DDP, we'd end up spending even more if we were on the DDP because of the additional OOP costs plus we'd waste some of what we paid (i.e., we don't generally eat much in the way of snacks or at least not enough to justify paying for a lot in advance, we don't eat dessert, and we wouldn't use the mug; also sometimes I just want 2 appetizers instead of an entree). So when I do my comparison, I do a comparison between the cost of the DDP plus whatever else I'd be paying OOP against just paying OOP for everything. That usually results in showing me that I'd spend more on the DDP PLUS I'd be wasting some. It's different for everyone so you need to look at how you eat, what you eat, where you eat and when you eat and whether you'd be OK changing your habits or paying more if the plan doesn't align with that.

 

[captaindavidhook]

I have no desire to use it. I am not a big appetizer/desert fan.

 

[ArmyVet80]

I have found this inaccurate. It uses averages. The OP states she has looked at actual menus for her family. That is the right thing to do

While I know it isn't 100% accurate, it has been within $25.00 of our costs on our last 5 trips. Even using averages. We also have used the menus pricing, but those also change at random times which doesn't make it 100% accurate either.

 

[TJA]

See, this is what I was thinking, also. Not having to worry about what we were eating. We absolutely enjoy one TS/day because it helps us all decompress. We are in no rush when we are in the parks. That’s just the way we tour.
I did the math last night with the different restaurants and it’s right around the break even point based on our plans. I go back and forth thinking that I could do it for a couple hundred less if we don’t do TS every day or split meals, etc., and then I argue that I don’t want to do that. I’m annoying even myself.

Full disclosure: we did the FREE dining plan, but I still wanted to keep track and see what our totals were compared to the cost of the plan. I haven't added all of our receipts yet (just got back a couple weeks ago), but I have roughly computed and I'm pretty sure we exceeded the cost of the plan. BUT, we did eat/drink a lot more than we normally do, and I can honestly say it was REALLY fun and we'll definitely do it again sometime!!

Take into consideration you get the refillable mugs too. We stayed at the BC so had the coke freestyle machines, so we all found drinks we loved since there were so many options. We are resort people, so we filled our mugs MANY times.

I loved experimenting and getting fancy alcohol drinks too! I don't do that on normal trips, so this was a fun experience! DH was thrilled he could get a cold beer at many meals too. Our family normally just gets 4 waters at every meal, so this was a treat. My girls had slushies or whatever non-alcohol drinks were offered. Rainforest Café had a good smoothie that both of my DDs enjoyed.

Also, we're not big dessert people, so we often substituted a small bowl of fruit for the dessert. Not all restaurants may allow this but the ones we went to were fine with it. The only dessert we had at TS was at Ohana dinner.

You sound like you've done your research and will have ADRs in place, and know where you can utilize your snack credits. A lot of our snack credits were used at Starbucks for the extra large drinks.

 

[clutter]

I've learned it's not HOW MUCH you spend, but HOW you spend it.

I've always loved the DDP. I'm one of those prepaid lovers - after I returned, I only had incidentals show up on my credit card. This year, instead of purchasing the DDP, I put the cost, including an estimate for tips, on some gift cards. We ended up spending all but about $100, so we ended up spending less than we would have on the DDP. I did gift cards because I also knew my co-travellers, and they would have tried to save money if I didn't say "it's already paid for and we need to use it up!"

We ended up eating differently than the DDP allows. I don't think we had but one or two CS meals the entire time because we did more small plates stops. (Hello Tiffans!!!!) Fewer desserts, and more of our TS ended up being appetizers and shared entrees. Lots of alcohol. (I had two 21 year olds, what can I say.)

These days, I just can't do a huge meal and keep going, so sharing really worked for us. In the end, it did pretty much work out to $75/day per person, and we did do at least one TS per day. We just ended up doing very few CS, very few official snacks (maybe 10 of the 21 we would have had), and more lounges. Honestly, the lounges ended up being the best food options for us based on portion size and interesting options, so I might not do CS again.

 

[robinb]

You really need to run the numbers yourself to see if it will work. It depends on (1) how many Disney Adults and Disney Children you have, (2) where you are planning to eat, and (3) if you plan on drinking alcohol with every DDP meal.

In general for a family of 3 ...

1) If you're 2 Disney Adults and 1 Disney Child who are going to a lot of character meals, you are in the DDP sweet spot and you will save money.
2) If you don't drink alcohol and/or don't eat character/buffet meals it's harder to save money.

My DD is now 19 and we stopped the DDP when she became a Disney Adult. We stopped doing character meals and buffets because she is a vegetarian and a light eater and would often just order a kids meal. There is no way I was paying adult prices for her to eat flat bread and fruit at Boma! We will review it again in 2 years as her palate has extended (still vegetarian, but she eats more) and she'll be able to order wine/beer with her meals.

 

[Nancyg56]

I've learned it's not HOW MUCH you spend, but HOW you spend it.

.

This in a nutshell. You have to look at how your family dines, and what will they want to order. Do they snack and graze in between meals? Do they enjoy a beverage with meals? Will they all want dessert? And that mug. Will they use it?

There is no one answer fits all.

 

[mco65]

Its a push for us. We could certainly save $ but not purchasing the DDP because when we pay OOP, we tend to eat less and at fewer ADR locations... But even then, its only a couple hundred bucks less... We typically are on the DDP ever other trip... not sure why, its just worked out that way... of course, we haven't gotten free dining in a long long time.

 

[gharter]

As others have said, the only way to know is to run your numbers.
Look at each place you will be eating. Pick what you plan to eat, not what the DDP covers. Compare that cost to the plan.
The one year we had it free, we found it provided way too much food for us. At that time, you couldn't substitute anything for the dessert and we normally don't do dessert for lunch.

 

[sharonabe]

Use this website and put your ADR's in. It will breakdown the costs over the three different DDP's and show what you would pay out of pocket. I use it every trip.

https://www.distripplanner.com/

They did not adjust their calculations to include the alcohol and specialty drinks, so if those are on anyone's plans, this calculator will NOT be accurate for them.

 

[frannn]

We do the DP with FD every year, and so far it has proven to be the best deal for us. Last month, we supplemented the reg DP with TIW (which we will use over two trips), and ate everywhere we wanted for several hundred less than if we were to upgrade to DXDP. I think next year we will skip the extra signatures and enjoy more CS. We were able to use TIW at the AS, so had savings there also.

 

[LovePug]

They did not adjust their calculations to include the alcohol and specialty drinks, so if those are on anyone's plans, this calculator will NOT be accurate for them.

I was wondering about this. I did run the calculator just to get an idea and it had me just short of breaking even, without the alcohol/specialty drink. I think I’ve decided to stick with the DDP.

Thank-you everyone! I love reading the pros/cons.

 

[frannn]

I was wondering about this. I did run the calculator just to get an idea and it had me just short of breaking even, without the alcohol/specialty drink. I think I’ve decided to stick with the DDP.

Thank-you everyone! I love reading the pros/cons.

Just wanted to remind everyone to bring a bit of extra $ for the tips on the TS drinks. Its only about $3 tip each drink, but adds up somewhat if you enjoy many nights of DP drinks. I took an extra $50 cash to cover. One random drink question..I found the mamosa at breakfast TS to be very dry and. ...yuck. Anyone else?

 

[Kimberle]

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.

Without the DP, no, we don't spend that much per day. We normally eat 1 QS and 1 TS per day, too. My dd only drinks water with her meal and we rarely order dessert. We only use the DP with "free dining". Then, we will order all the items allowed.

Everybody is different. Make a list of your daily QS and TS picks. Then, go to Allears.com or the WDW app and get the prices of what you would order. Make a spreadsheet and you'll see how well the DP works for you.