Need advice on cost efficiancy

[ErinInCT]

I can't decide what to do here so I'm looking to the experts for advice. My husband thinks I'm too obsessive over this, but DIS'ers tend to understand.

OK, regarding food. I waited too long to get any good table service ressies that suit our needs so If I paid the $690 (myself, dh, dd10 who does not eat like an adult, and dd7) for the DDP I would not really be getting my money's worth since I am not going to the restaurants of my choice.

The QS plan is $530 and I still think we'd probably need to pay OOP for some items. Yes, we could get lunch and dinner at a CS restaurant, but the snack would not be enough for a meal.

One of the main reasons we rent points for a DVC unit is for the kitchen so it is dumb not to use it. I figured we could eat breakfast in the room. And possibly lunch. I'd like to come home most afternoons for a dip in the pool and then to shower b4 going back to the parks in the early evening.

So I figured we'd pay OOP for our meals and DD10 can get a kids meal along with DD7. If we wanna do a TS (if something good happens to open up), we can do it and I still think we'd save money. I debated wegoshop or gardengrocer or whatever the shopping places are. I figured I could try to arrange for delivery of food to our room.

Then I checked into car rentals and I can get an economy car for $117 for the week. I used peapod to guesstimate the prices of everything we'd need to buy for breakfast, lunch, snacks, beverages, etc. It's a little under $100, but I'll round up. So, lets say we eat dinner out every night. I think about $20 is the most a CS restaurant would cost. So 5 nights would be $100 for dh, $100 for me, dd10 & dd7 would probably be around $50 each. So about $300 in meals plus $100 in groceries and $117 in rental is $517.

I think the convenience of having the car is worth spending about the same as the QS plan (where I am SURE I'd still end up paying more). I don't like being at the mercy of a non air conditioned bus. I can use the car to run to Publix the first day. We are at BWV so we can walk to EPCOT and take the boat to DHS (unless you recommend we drive). I hoped maybe I can drive to Contemporary and just take the monorail to MK. We're not planning to go to AK. So we'd get use out of the car. And maybe not having to wait for the Magical Express bus will get us to our room faster!

What do you all recommend? Am I doing the right thing by getting the car and eating in the room for a few meals. I'll have enough snacks to bring into the park, along with our water bottles so I can tide us over until we get to the room so we don't have to be back exactly at noon if we're having a good time!

Thanks for your advice.

 

[kimberh]

The Disney buses are air conditioned. Sometimes too much for me. I freeze.

Parking was $14.00 per day last time I was there, unless you have a Annual Pass.
You need to take this into consideration with your rental car fees.

I believe you have to have a reason to park at the hotels. Then you are given a parking pass for a certain amount of time. Or that's how it was when we ate at Polynesian. We had a 3 hr pass. They told us it would be enforced. This is to keep people from eating and parking to go too the park. We were on a list to get into the property.

 

[ErinInCT]

Oh, I don't remember paying for parking the last time we went. Yeah, that makes a difference. For some reason I assumed it was free! Hubby paid the bill so I guess I didn't realize it!
Thanks!
And wow, I didn't realize the busses had AC either!!! Good to know!

 

[It'sWDW4me]

The Disney buses are air conditioned. Sometimes too much for me. I freeze.

Parking was $14.00 per day last time I was there, unless you have a Annual Pass.
You need to take this into consideration with your rental car fees.

Parking is free if staying on property.

 

[kimberh]

Parking is free if staying on property.

Excuse me on that one. We had some family have to pay to park. I always use Disney transportation.

 

[Sammie]

I hoped maybe I can drive to Contemporary and just take the monorail to MK

Not unless you are staying there. You can not park at resort for the sole purpose of going to a park.

 

[castleri]

Excuse me on that one. We had some family have to pay to park. I always use Disney transportation.

If you are staying at any Disney resort you can get the parking pass for the number of cars that you have for your group. We have gotten two passes when we had a rental car and had family staying with us who had their own car.

 

[ToddyLu]

Where are you staying? I would get groceries delivered and pay the $12 delivery fee, then nix the rental car and use Disney buses...they are always air conditioned. IMO it takes almost as much time to park the car get on the tram to get to the gate. I mean you have to park at TTC then catch the monorail in to MK. If you are flying in, I would use DME.

Once I hit the jetway in New Orleans, I am officially on vacation and do not leave property....but everyone vacations differently. DH and I have been to Disney yearly since 2002 and are going on our 10th trip this Dec. The ONLY time we have ever driven a car that I can remember was to dinner one night at the Cali Grill several years back. It just isnt worth it to us.

You estimate for cost of CS seems about right to me, so I would buy the groceries and nix the car.

Edit: OP is staying at BWV.

 

[emlutz23]

Eating more meals in the room is a good idea. I would forget the car though. You only need to use the bus to get to MK. And if you have the groceries delivered, you'll avoid the temptation of grabbing things at the store you don't really need. Pocket that $117 or use it if you're able to grab an ADR at one of your favorite restaurants.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'd keep the car and use it to go to Publix. You might even save money on your meals with some good choices from Publix. When we go, we normally eat only a few TS meals for a week+ stay. And we'll get maybe one CS on the days we don't TS. We'll snack at the villa and even cook. This time we brought a panini maker and we had some very good paninis for that stay. We also made smoothies with the blender.

You can use the car to drive to DHS and AK (we usually drive to those parks and take the bus to Epcot and MK - we're usually at OKW). Plus we always use the car to get to Typhoon Lagoon (we'll go there at least four or five times on a trip).

 

[Brian Noble]

We almost always get a car. We also almost always eat breakfast in the room. Lunch is another story---we're usually hungry much earlier than we are ready to leave the park for a break, so lunch is always in a park unless we are taking the morning off. Dinner is usually in a park as well, unless we are taking the evening off and hanging around by the pool, or going back for a late night, in which case dinner in makes sense.

All in all, I don't see much value in the QSDP. We rarely order the desserts in the CS locations---they never look like they are very good---preferring instead to grab a treat elsewhere. My kids also often "ordered up" and got adult CS meals long before they turned 10. Skipping the QSDP also means you can get one or two ADRs without worrying about wasting credits, etc.

 

[joandegennaro]

We drove down so we had a car. I found it much easier than using the Disney Transport! With the exception of MK we drove to all parks. As far as food. We shopped at Walmart..got some cold cuts and buns, snacks and drinks. We ate breakfast in the rooms, packed snacks to help tie us over till lunch. If we planned to go back to our Studio at OKW for lunch I just packed a few extra snacks in my purse/camera bag/kids backpacks. This way if we were having fun and weren't ready to leave yet but hungery we could extend our time by having a little snack. Worked great for us and DH is a diabetic so keeping his blood sugars level was first priority! You can extend you fun in the park time by a few hours with some carefully planned snacks!

 

[Chellymouse]

DH and I are just a few weeks shy of our 10th trip and we think a car is a big waste of $$. Now, this is debated everywhere, but I don't think Disney's transportation is all that bad and if we do hit a snag, we pay $10-$12 for a cab ride if we need it. Also, parking is not included if you don't have an AP. Our friends drove last year and spent 2 days with us and we took their car to AK for a morning. Had DH and I not been there, they would have been charged to park even though they had a resort parking pass. Grocery delivery service isn't terribly expensive (we prefer GG, it's less expensive, you can pay with a credit card and don't have to be present when it's delivered) and we usually get some staples and all of our beverages. We do take advantage of taking a small, soft side cooler into the parks with us and sometimes we get a locker and sometimes we don't. Locker rental is $7 per day which is 50% less than parking. Another suggestion is eat "lupper" lunch menu and prices instead of supper (eat around 3-4pm) and that saves quite a bit at TS restaurants then get a snack in the evening.

 

[com_op_2000]

Also, parking is not included if you don't have an AP. Our friends drove last year and spent 2 days with us and we took their car to AK for a morning. Had DH and I not been there, they would have been charged to park even though they had a resort parking pass.

We live one hour from the mouse and always have our car. We have never every had to pay for parking at any park, when we are staying on property. Maybe your guest did not know this and the CM did not see the parking pass. I have found it before on the DVC web-site but can not locate it right now but it stated anyone staying at a DVC resort gets free parking at the parks as a perk and it also garrantees you access to the parks even if they are full. We went one New Years eve to EPCOT, the lot was full, the CMs were turning PP away, but when they saw our parking pass for OKW, we went right in to the parking lot.

 

[Deb & Bill]

.... Also, parking is not included if you don't have an AP. Our friends drove last year and spent 2 days with us and we took their car to AK for a morning. Had DH and I not been there, they would have been charged to park even though they had a resort parking pass. ....

All your friends needed to do was show their resort parking permit. They just needed to keep it on their dashboard. Parking at theme parks is free is you are a WDW resort guest. But if you are staying at a DTD hotel, you don't get free parking at the theme parks.

 

[Tara]

I'd get the car and do the grocery delivery or make a stop for groceries. Having a car is SO nice - I can't imagine being without one. And having meals in room is a great convenience of DVC - no rushing around, no trying to find a table, no eating with plastic utensils. Plus most QS breakfast is gross IMO anyway.

Parking IS free for all resort hotel guests.

 

[mdsd8700]

I agree to go with grocery delviery. We always rent a car, can't imagine not having one. We travel to several resorts a day on our non-park days and for us we just like the convenience of jumping right in the car. However it is a pain when going to the MK. When we stay at an Epcot resort like you are we take a cab to the Contemporary (about $17) and then walk right over to the gates of the MK. Then take the the monorail back to EPCOT and walk through to the International Gateway to the hotel. If we are going back to EPCOT that evening we grab FP for Test Track or Soarin. It always works out good for us.

 

[ErinInCT]

So, I'm a bit confused. As a DVC'er you get free park parking (which I wouldn't really need since from BWV I can walk to EPCOT and the boat to DHS will be fun for the kids and everyone seems to agree NOT to drive to MK and we're skipping AK) but you CAN'T get free parking at the resorts. So if I had a ressie at Chef Mickey's and drove we'd have to pay to park? (That isn't the cast darn it since it is full the whole week, but using it as an example) I wanted to drive to Contemporary and take the monorail in. No can do?

I went to the Garden Grocer website and it looks like I can get everything we need for breakfast, lunch, snacks and beverages for about $100. And now I see we don't have to be there for delivery (that was originally my issue, we were gonna go immediately to DHS right after check in and stay thru Fantasmic. With a car I could drive to the grocery store at 9pm (I hope?) so I'd have food the next morning. But I may just be able to give the 2 hr time frame as the time I expect to be there and it could be waiting for me at check in!

For some reason I get nervous without a car.

 

[Deb & Bill]

So, I'm a bit confused. As a DVC'er you get free park parking (which I wouldn't really need since from BWV I can walk to EPCOT and the boat to DHS will be fun for the kids and everyone seems to agree NOT to drive to MK and we're skipping AK) but you CAN'T get free parking at the resorts. So if I had a ressie at Chef Mickey's and drove we'd have to pay to park? (That isn't the cast darn it since it is full the whole week, but using it as an example) I wanted to drive to Contemporary and take the monorail in. No can do?

I went to the Garden Grocer website and it looks like I can get everything we need for breakfast, lunch, snacks and beverages for about $100. And now I see we don't have to be there for delivery (that was originally my issue, we were gonna go immediately to DHS right after check in and stay thru Fantasmic. With a car I could drive to the grocery store at 9pm (I hope?) so I'd have food the next morning. But I may just be able to give the 2 hr time frame as the time I expect to be there and it could be waiting for me at check in!

For some reason I get nervous without a car.

Guests don't have any automatic right to park at a resort they are not a guest at. But normally, if you are dining at that resort, you can park there for the duration of your meal - usually about 3 hours is what they permit.

You can drive to the TTC and take the monorail over to the CR if you want to ride the monorail. Then take the monorail back over to the TTC.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

So, I'm a bit confused. As a DVC'er you get free park parking (which I wouldn't really need since from BWV I can walk to EPCOT and the boat to DHS will be fun for the kids and everyone seems to agree NOT to drive to MK and we're skipping AK) but you CAN'T get free parking at the resorts. So if I had a ressie at Chef Mickey's and drove we'd have to pay to park? (That isn't the cast darn it since it is full the whole week, but using it as an example) I wanted to drive to Contemporary and take the monorail in. No can do?

I went to the Garden Grocer website and it looks like I can get everything we need for breakfast, lunch, snacks and beverages for about $100. And now I see we don't have to be there for delivery (that was originally my issue, we were gonna go immediately to DHS right after check in and stay thru Fantasmic. With a car I could drive to the grocery store at 9pm (I hope?) so I'd have food the next morning. But I may just be able to give the 2 hr time frame as the time I expect to be there and it could be waiting for me at check in!

For some reason I get nervous without a car.

The CR is fairly strict on determining why you are parking there. I'm sure LOTS of people would like to just park there and walk to MK and then guests of the resort might not have parking available. If you were dining there or shopping there they would allow you to park for a shorter duration. Usually when going to MK it's best to use Disney transportation since you must park in the lot by the Ticket and Transportation center and then take a monorail or boat to the park. The busses bypass that and drop you off at the park itself. However since it sounds like you want to take the monorail then driving to the MK parking lot and taking the monorail should work out fine for you.