We just returned from our first trip to WDW; it was wonderful! I thought I would share some info in the hopes that it will help someone else with their planning.
I wanted to stay close to $2,500 for hotel/food/park tickets. I will leave airfare, cocktails, and souvenirs out of this equation. We are a party of 5; myself, DH, sons 8 and 6, and DD 2. We were at WDW from 1/25-2/1 (7 nights, 8 days in the parks). We are already AAA members, so they gave me quotes. I think that the Disney special offered at the time was about the same discount as AAA. The Annual Pass discounts during our dates were $96 off a deluxe, or $66 off a moderate per night. So, do I get a disney package with the dining plan, or buy an AP and the DDE card and pay for dining?
We decided to go the AP/DDE route, and I kept track of my expenses so I would have a feel for what we spent for the future.
We ate 7 CS and 7 TS meals. We generally ate breakfast in the room quickly before we left for the day. We had snacks occasionally.
Our CS meals: Flame Tree BBQ, Studio Catering, Columbia HH, Pecos Bill, Tusker House, Roaring Forks, Cosmic Ray
Our TS meals: Boma (dinner), Le Cellier (lunch), California Grill (adults dinner), Kona Cafe (breakfast), Cinderella's Table (dinner), Whispering Canyon (breakfast), and Chef's of France (lunch).
Total spent: $655.
When I look back, I think we made the right choice. We did a split stay at AKL and WL for $109 per night for 7 nights. I bought 1 AP and 3-8 day hoppers from ticketmania. Including the cost of the DDE card, our total was $2,569.
If we had gone the route of the dining plan, we would have stayed at POFQ, and our total was $2,419.
All along we had wanted to stay at AKL and WL, and we did it for only $150. more. Plus, if we plan our trip next year for a week earlier, we can use my AP again, and the DDE card will still be good.
I felt like we ate everything we needed to. We ordered what we wanted, and didn't have food left over. We really liked having TS breakfasts and lunches. The problem with TS dinners during January was that the parks closed early, so you had to eat really early, or else you had to skip anything in the evening like Spectromagic (eating late doesn't work for our kids).
This is not meant to bash the dining plan; in fact it showed me what a good deal it really is. Now, if the dining plan were offered with an AP discount, that would be a real deal!
I hope this makes sense, and is useful to someone!
I wanted to stay close to $2,500 for hotel/food/park tickets. I will leave airfare, cocktails, and souvenirs out of this equation. We are a party of 5; myself, DH, sons 8 and 6, and DD 2. We were at WDW from 1/25-2/1 (7 nights, 8 days in the parks). We are already AAA members, so they gave me quotes. I think that the Disney special offered at the time was about the same discount as AAA. The Annual Pass discounts during our dates were $96 off a deluxe, or $66 off a moderate per night. So, do I get a disney package with the dining plan, or buy an AP and the DDE card and pay for dining?
We decided to go the AP/DDE route, and I kept track of my expenses so I would have a feel for what we spent for the future.
We ate 7 CS and 7 TS meals. We generally ate breakfast in the room quickly before we left for the day. We had snacks occasionally.
Our CS meals: Flame Tree BBQ, Studio Catering, Columbia HH, Pecos Bill, Tusker House, Roaring Forks, Cosmic Ray
Our TS meals: Boma (dinner), Le Cellier (lunch), California Grill (adults dinner), Kona Cafe (breakfast), Cinderella's Table (dinner), Whispering Canyon (breakfast), and Chef's of France (lunch).
Total spent: $655.
When I look back, I think we made the right choice. We did a split stay at AKL and WL for $109 per night for 7 nights. I bought 1 AP and 3-8 day hoppers from ticketmania. Including the cost of the DDE card, our total was $2,569.
If we had gone the route of the dining plan, we would have stayed at POFQ, and our total was $2,419.
All along we had wanted to stay at AKL and WL, and we did it for only $150. more. Plus, if we plan our trip next year for a week earlier, we can use my AP again, and the DDE card will still be good.
I felt like we ate everything we needed to. We ordered what we wanted, and didn't have food left over. We really liked having TS breakfasts and lunches. The problem with TS dinners during January was that the parks closed early, so you had to eat really early, or else you had to skip anything in the evening like Spectromagic (eating late doesn't work for our kids).
This is not meant to bash the dining plan; in fact it showed me what a good deal it really is. Now, if the dining plan were offered with an AP discount, that would be a real deal!
I hope this makes sense, and is useful to someone!
