Is MYW dining really irritating alot of other DVCers or just me?

[newholidayx2]

we have DVC, we have APs, we have DDE
but it still seems that the $35 MYW per adult is a much better deal
so what gives? was DVC a bad investment? why cant we get that $35per adult meal plan?
we have friends coming to meet us 1 night for dinner at Whispering Canyon. They can get alot more food because its "paid for" whereas I need to keep DS on the kids menu and myself on the lunch menu because even with DDE we'll still end up paying over $100 each day for our meals. Im averaging $100 per day for 1 ad and a 13yr to eat

and Im trying to show them that DVC is a "good thing"?!

 

[dianeschlicht]

For the life of me, I can't figure out why this would make DVC a "bad deal". If DVC were to get the $35 per day MYW dining deal, it would be a perk. Perks come and go. They are not the heart of what makes DVC a good deal or bad deal. Most timeshares have far fewer perks than DVC.

 

[CarolAnnC]

I find part of the DVC benefit to be the fact that with a full kitchen we can enjoy at least two of our three meals at "home". A quick cereal or scrambled egg breakfast, sometimes a sandwhich lunch after pool time, or even an easy dinner before heading to the parks for the evening all make our food budget very affordable on our numerous WDW trips. We certainly enjoy many restaurant meals too, but with 5+ trips to WDW per year, keeping the food budget down helps our overall expenses for sure.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I have no idea how that meal plan thingy works.
I do know that Madam Gracey and I saved a ton of loot on our latest trip with DDE.
20% off everything, including booze is huge. We tend to eat at the higher priced places, as well as go for drinks in the evening.
The DDE card paid for itself at least 10 times already, with two more trips scheduled this year.

MG

 

[rinkwide]

...20% off everything, including booze is huge...

I'll hanname to that!

 

[Doctor P]

$100 for one adult and one thirteen year old could be greatly improved on with careful planning and without starving onesself. Just as an example: all you can eat breakfast at Trails End would be 10.99 plus tax (so, about $12 per person), Pecos' Bills for lunch ($10.00 per person will feed you well), and any resort food court you can do dinner for $10.00 per person. So, including tax and tip, there is three meals that will feed you well for $32 per person per day. If you do as we typically do and eat a light snack in the morning (bagel or sweet roll), an all-you-can eat breakfast or lunch around 10:30-11:30 am and a good late lunch or early dinner around 3:00-4:00 pm (or counter service dinner a little later), you can even cut the costs more. And if you were to have an AP and get the DDE, the costs could be cut another 20%. I feel for your situation, but MYW is not a real good deal for a careful shopper and you will actually do better with DVC discounts and the DDE if you watch where and what you eat. Good luck!

 

[WDWLVR]

I agree with the others. What makes DVC work so well for us is that we don't have to eat out all the time. We have just about every breakfast in the villa. We may do one character breakfast just for fun but this trip I don't think we are doing one at all.

We'll also either grab a light lunch back at the villa or a quick counter service if we are still in the parks.

We will have a nice sit-down dinner and that's where the DDE will come in so handy.

Thanks to DVC, our AP's, and now DDE. We are looking forward to a nice stress-free vacation for my DH and I. With our current plans the DDE will pay for itself this first trip and when we use it again in September it will be a bonus!

 

[newholidayx2]

I guess its different for those in a studio who arent planning on using the kitchenette.
I just added up our meals and it is coming to $80/day food so maybe it really is more like the MYW plan
And I have to remember I did save on those APs (I think thats where the real savings is)
Im thinking that the DDE is more like prepaying tips

 

[DebbieB]

Keep in mind if you did not own DVC and used an AP discount room, you would not be able to get MYW dining either.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I am confused. I thought MYW was the new ticketing. What is this dining for $35?

What is DDE? Oh, the DIS boards are killing me with acronyms.

Anyway, since owning DVC, I don't even look at Disney dining programs. the best part of DVC for us is that we save a TON of money being able to cook in our unit.

 

[magicmouse2]

I was told by member services that they are working on MYW dining for DVC members. Something to do with computer systems not compatible at the moment.

 

[DebbieB]

I am confused. I thought MYW was the new ticketing. What is this dining for $35?

What is DDE? Oh, the DIS boards are killing me with acronyms.

Anyway, since owning DVC, I don't even look at Disney dining programs. the best part of DVC for us is that we save a TON of money being able to cook in our unit.

There is a MYW package that includes room, tickets and dining. For $35 extra per day per adult, you get 1 table service meal, 1 counter service and 1 snack (water, ice cream). It's $10 per child (age 3-9). You have to buy the room and tickets together to add it, it is not available for room only reservations.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/magicyourwaytickets.htm#mypd

DDE is Disney Dining Experience. It's available to FL Residents and AP Holders. It cost $50 per year and you get 20% off most table service restauarants.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneydiningexperience.htm

 

[SpoonfulofSugar]

We were at WDW last week at the Poly, it was our last trip planned before we bought into DVC. We had the MYW with dining, and while we saved well over $300 on the food we bought with the plan, we NEVER would have ordered that much food if we didn't have the plan. We even had one counter service coupon we didn't use, and I had to use 5 snack credits right before we left for the airport. I am sad to say even with the refrigerator in the room, food was wasted because it was not possible to eat everything. We were bringing dessert from dinner back to the hotel and eating it for breakfast (I know, great way to start the day ), but with all the food, it was impossible to eat it all. I am so looking forward to having the studio or one bedroom so we can have light meals at the room instead of having to go out for every meal. If DVC offered the dining, I don't think I would use it. I definitely don't think that not having the MYW with dining makes DVC a bad investment.
I also think 1 adult and a DS13 could eat very well for way less than $100 a day.

 

[CarolMN]

The only thing that upsets me (just a little) about the dining add on to the MYW package is that the restauratns seem to be really filling up. I think that it is going to be tough to get in without PS/ADR made well in advance. Of course that is a good thing for Disney and eventually for us - maybe Disney will add more restaurants or expand the more popular ones in response.

Pre-paid meal plans are not a good option for me - they encourage me to overeat so that I am sure to "get my money's" worth. Eating an appetizer, entree and dessert all at once is guaranteed to send my blood sugar to unhealthy levels. The DDE program is much better for people like me (and anyone else who tends to overeat). We can still save with the DDE program, but there is no incentive to overeat.

All that said, I tend to believe that there will be some type of MYW dining option availablel to DVC members in the future - probably next year. It may cost more than the current option available with the package, though. I think Disney is making money by using it as a "loss leader". The dining add-on fills WDW rooms at or near rack.

Best wishes -

DDE = Disney Dining Experience

ADR = Advanced Dining Arrangements (formerly Priority Seating)

 

[athenna]

I, personally, like the DDE much better. What if I don't want what they're offering, like what if I don't want snack offering on a particular day, etc. I enjoy the DDE just fine. I'm getting 3 trips out of it, so it is well worth it for me. Paid for itself all ready, and I'm gonna get a lot of mileage out of that card with the next 2 trips!

 

[Chuck S]

I agree, the DDE works better for us (two adults). On our last trip we did not try to "save" on meals, we ordered what we wanted, ate where we wanted (including Chefs de France 2x), were full and satisfied. We did not do a lot of counter service, mostly sit down breakfasts and lunches with a light dinner and spent less than the MYW plan would have cost us---and that was before we could purchase DDE.

We usually drink water, we don't like iced tea or carbonated beverages - coffee with breakfast - and probably had 2 cocktails each during the the 10 day stay. We usually split an appetizer and both ordered entrees - occasionally ordered dessert, but not always.

 

[Figment2]

I'm not sure if some will think this as an option but split your meal. We did this recently at LeCellier. There were four of us. All had the cheese soup plus two had the stacked tomato salad but we split two entrees. They even brought out extra plates. We all got to try the entrees and saved some money too!

Cyn

 

[Nanajo1]

Im thinking that the DDE is more like prepaying tips

We usually tip 20% so DDE is like prepaying tips. BTW DH figured 25% of DDE total =20% of original bill.

 

[Mary Anne]

Well first off, we are DVC and always stay in a one bedroom so we do have the full kitchen (two adults and two teen age sons (17 and 14) to be honest we'll be moving to a 2 bedroom next trip just because we all want our own space and the extra bathroom -- but that's another post LOL.

Even with 4 of us we spend less most days then $100 on food out each day. We eat our BIG meal at lunch out with some type of PS(either as a early lunch/brunch or LATE last possible lunch time for an early dinner) and then have a light breakfast and snack in our room. You could easily do this with a studio (sandwiches for dinner). I know the original poster has made a lot of PS's and to be honest, I'm sure they all look good on paper but there is no way we could eat all those meals. Especially in the Summer when OP is going, it's just TOO HOT. You are going to drink far more then you eat.

So to the OP I say, keep your DDE card and all your PS's. In the end, I bet you cancelled a few of them and you'll still come out ahead with the DDE and your food budget will be far less then $100 a day. Remember, your DVC points will still be the same in 25 years for this same week, but I guarantee the All Stars will be double the price that they are this week in 25 years. That's the biggest perk with DVC.

 

[kathleena]

Hi

To address the question of was DVC a bad investment, when I bought DVC, I was buying for the accomodations not for the perks (meals, park tickets or otherwise). So if I keep my head in that mode - perks become celebrations! I don't expect them, but I'm really happy when they happen!

As for the cost for two people - I'm in the same boat as you right now - planning out meals for me and DGD10. I'm trying to budget our day down to about $60 avg/day with one meal in the room/day, one sit down meal/day and one "on the fly" meal. Using the DDE card, but I'm getting 5 trips on it, and already made back the $50 so I'm not really factoring that in. I can see where you would say it prepays the tips - unless you are really getting a big bang out of it. We totalled about $125 off in March with 6 of us.

I'm sure you'll figure it all out - I think the meal plan is great if you plan to sit and eat all those meals. I don't. So maybe that's why I don't think it's a big deal not to have it - I'd rather have the DDE.