MYW Dining vs. DDE?

[mommykds]

Let me start by saying that I know you cannot have the MYW Dining if you are an AP holder. Also I know that you cannot have the DDE unless you are an AP holder.

I am wondering if buying an AP would be worth it to us, & if so we'd get the DDE. The MYW dining seems like a better deal for our family though..not sure which direction to go..

Get the MYW dining & MYW way 7 day tickets for Oct.(there is a possibilty we may be lucky enough to go again for 7 days in Aug 2006) That's why I am even thinking about the AP.

Or we can get an AP & the DDE but be limited on counter service places.

Would the MYW dining plan save us more $ than the DDE?

 

[estnh]

I think it depends on a couple of things: first, the cost of the resort that you are considering--an annual pass rate at the Poly, for example, probably saves you more money that the MYW dining plan will. However, the AP savings at a value resort would be less. The other factor would be your family's restaurant preferences and habits.

We did the comparison for our family of four (2 adults, 2 teens) staying at POR this year, and the MYW plan with a AAA package was more economical than the AP/DDE option. However, if we had been at the Poly, it would have been close.

The DDE saves you 20%, so if your typical dining bills for a 7 day trip are $200 per day, the savings would be $ 280.00 minus the cost of the DDE plan ($ 50.00) for a net savings of $ 230.00, which is not a huge amount. The beauty of the MYW plan is that it also includes TIP and TAXES, which really increases it's value. For our family, we anticipated that the MYW plan for 7 days would save us around $ 275 to $300.

Good Luck, and have a great trip!

 

[Lewisc]

DDE includes alcoholic drinks. MYW dining includes appetizers and desserts. If you skip them your savings goes down but if you order them just because they're included your weight may go up. It looks like it includes the food courts in the moderates/values but not in the parks.

Look at the menus and what you'd normally order. I think MYW dining is a good deal UNLESS getting it excludes getting an AP discount on a hotel room.

 

[golfgal]

If you are paying rack rate, then MYW is a great deal, if you get a good discount of somekind, then it isn't. We would have to eat $275/day to make MYW dining a deal for us, it just isn't going to happen with 3 kids that don't eat that much. Even getting an AP with DDE isn't going to save us money over my email code rate when you figure in the extra cost for one AP since we would need the PAP because we want to go to the water parks and DQ.

 

[twocat]

Or we can get an AP & the DDE but be limited on counter service places.

Just to clarify, the DDE is primarily for the full-service restaurants in the parks, NOT counter service. The AK is the exception since they don't have a full service venue there.

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

we opted for APs and DDE

Someone did a whole calculation of the DDE versus the meal plan and they saved almost a hundred dollars more on the DDE, if I recall.

With character breakfasts, a few sit-downs, and everything we have eligible we will save almost $200 for our party of 8.

 

[Lollipop Mom]

Our agency has been trying to do some comparisons on this and will be doing more as time goes on. I've had people tell me the comparison isn't "fair" b/c we look at what you would normally order for your family. That doesn't NORMALLY include an appetizer for every member of your party etc. and it sometimes includes things NOT on the meal plan, like a glass of wine or a mixed drink. Our goal was to compare what the cost would be for the way you normally order. Yes, if you can get 4 appetizers and 4 deserts on the plan you may do it but if you WEREN'T on the plan and were using DDE would you? Most people using the plan are telling us that by the end of their trip they aren't ordering everything they are entitled to order and if they do they are leaving LOTS of food uneaten.

When comparing based on what you would normally order, we are finding the savings to be very similar even when you inlcude the $50 for an AP holder to buy the DDE card. You can see the results so far at http://www.magicalmemoriestravel.com/DiningComparison.html