Need help from Professors of DDP

[Dori's Twin]

Hello, This is my first post!

I'm sorry I don't have time to search and read to find answers to some questions I have. I hope someone can help.

I followed the advice of looking at menus and calculating what we'd spend on a given day. This was easy since my ADR's are made already.

As I was doing this many questions popped up. I think they are important in making the decision. Can anyone help? I need to make a decision soon.

1. Never Mind. I know the answer.

2. We skip lunch a lot because we love big breakfasts. We will then have CS meals left over - correct?

3. What if there isn't a kids menu. ESPN doesn't seem to have one.
Does my 12 year old pay extra for having to pick off the adult menu.

4. What do you do about extra drinks. One drink doesn't cut it with my kids and we're on vacation so I try not to be a pain about that stuff. How are extra drinks charged to the DDP?

5. Speaking of drinks. My DH and I are known to have a few. (Him more than me) Do you just pay a seperate check for alchoholic beverages?


From what I can tell, it seems a good deal for us except what we'll run up in drinks. What bothers me also is we probably will only have a salad and main entre and skip desert on some occaisions.

Here is one days tabulation of meals:

Breakfast: (CS) Rainforest Cafe: $75.00
Lunch skip
Snack
Dinner kids ESPN: $50.00
3 Adults (2TS) Calif Gril: $377.00

(includes tip and tax)

Grand Total $502.00. (add $30 for snacks)

Now the tricky part is the 2-table service at California Grill. Which means one night will be a CS for dinner which we have planned.

If I did this right, it makes perfect sense to use DDP which would cost our family I believe $200 per day. We could buy a lot of drinks with the $300 we don't spend.

Did I do this right?

Dori's Twin

 

[bellarella]

1. Glad you figured it out.

2. If you are having big breakfasts then I don't think you will have any CS left over. You only get one TS and one CS per day and it sounds like you will be using yours at breakfast rather than lunch.

3. I'm not sure how that will work. I think most places have children's menus. If they don't I think they might make smaller portions of regular entrees.

4. For TS, I believe most times you get free refills. For CS you would have to pay OOP.

5. Yes, you should get a separate check for any non-included items.

Remember, for non-buffet meals you can split meals. So instead of two people forgoing salad and dessert at a TS restaurant, you might think of just using one credit and splitting the appetizer, entree, and dessert. Same at CS, if you aren't all really hungry, get one meal to split between two people.

 

[tinkamom]

3. What if there isn't a kids menu. ESPN doesn't seem to have one.
Does my 12 year old pay extra for having to pick off the adult menu.


I just want to point out that your 12 yo is considered an adult by Disney. The childrens meals are for children 3-9. Did you calculate your 12yo as a child at 10.99/day? Children 10 and over will be charged the adult price of 38.99/day and they can order from the adult menu.

 

[honeymo78]

If you are talking about rainforest cafe at AK it isn't counter service and it isn't on the DDP for TS either (only on Plat and Premium plans). RFC at AK does serve breakfast but as the poster below indicated, it would be OOP.

 

[cybrkitn]

First, let me say WELCOME!

Make sure to check what restaurants except the DDP (Disney's web site has a list as well as allearsnet.com). Not all places in Disney except the dining plan. Also, there may be places, like Teppanyaki's, where some items on the menu are not included in the DDP. We had to pay oop for sushi that DH and I wanted.

I noticed that you have Rainforest Cafe on your list. FYI: Rainforest will be an oop expense for you. They do not except the DDP and are not owned by Disney. I don't think they are open for breakfast (at least their website didn't have anything on their menu). But they are pretty good and the price you figured is about what my DH and I spent for dinner there with our DS4 last month.

As far as the drinks go, I believe it's included. One soft drink was not sufficient for us either and we had refills with no oop expense for us.

Don't forget, the gratuity is already figured into the DDP. There is no need to leave a tip, unless you feel the service was outstanding and want to leave extra. We left a little bit more at Coral Reef because of the mess our DS4 had made and because the service was great!

 

[disneymom06]

To help avoiding an OOP expense for more fountain drinks, we always ask for no ice in the beverage. We usually get the largest soda size available. And then I ask for a few cups with only ice. The ice is no charge and you would be surprised how much soda you really have. With the six of us,two teenagers, we have never run out of soda and this has been in the heat of August.

 

[cybrkitn]

To help avoiding an OOP expense for more fountain drinks, we always ask for no ice in the beverage. We usually get the largest soda size available. And then I ask for a few cups with only ice. The ice is no charge and you would be surprised how much soda you really have. With the six of us,two teenagers, we have never run out of soda and this has been in the heat of August.

Now there's an idea I never thought of doing. It's true that establishments put too much ice in the glass. "Excuse me, may I have a little soda with my ice please?"

 

[Dori's Twin]

Thanks for the tips. They are helping me with this decision.

The ice idea for the drinks is awesome. And yes, I did calculate the 12 yr old as an adult. I was thinking of some younger ones we're traveling with and got mixed up.

I just now realize that DDP doesn't include lunch. We're usually too full for lunch.but... I have these ravenous boys to feed and they'll eat lunch if you offer it even though they're not hungry. Plus we'll be traveling with some others that are big eaters also.

I guess I need to calculate in some lunches then? Lunch would more than likely be a CS. So basically, lunch would be OOP(?) since we'll be using our CS for breakfast. What is OOP? I'm not good at deciphering these abbreviations but I assume it means _____ ______ Pays. It's not in abbreviations.

That brings me to another dillema in this whole process.
We're stayng at the Beach Club and I checked the various menus and can't find a full breakfast restaurant that isn't a character breakfast.
I noticed they have a room service but the prices are higher than eating at Spoodles. I hate to have to walk to the Boardwalk to get breakfast everyday.
There must be something at Beach Club.

Where can you get a quick egg sandwich in the Beach Club Area?
Anyone know?

Does room service count towards the DDP?

Should I post a seperate question about the breakfast dilemma?

Thanks for the help so far!
Terri

 

[aviva5675]

OOP--out of pocket

 

[Dori's Twin]

AVIVA: OMG how could I not know that? DORI moment.

I did a search on breakfasts at BC and found that BC Market Place has breakfast sandwiches. This is a CS meal. At least I don't have to walk to the Boardwalk. Spoodles is great for breakfast and we'll go there I'm sure for at least one breakfast. Yacht Club has a TS buffet breakfast if we don't want to dine with characters.

Now: If I don't get a response I may post a seperate question.

I just used that wonderful spread sheet to tabulate your DDP meals.
It didn't have a category for snack but it helps with the main meals for sure.

I was able to log my DDP uses based on my existing ADR's. I found that
we would spend $1400 dollars in the kingdom. Not counting airport food.
NOT COUNTING EXTRA FOR DRINKS AS I'VE MENTIONED ABOVE. I'll add $200 for that making a GT of $1600. I really don't like knowing this info. It's taking away some of the magic. I just envisioned myself getting on the banned list for posting these costs. Please don't ban me, I'd be crushed.

This cost is the total sum of our DDP for 5 days and meals we would have to pay for since we would not have enough CS/TS's for my big eating family.

I then start to tabulate what our dining would cost without the DDP.
I used allears.net for menu prices.

I AM IN SHOCK! I could look it up, but I don't remember paying $300 for a meal at Alfredo's in Italy. But that is what I tabulated including drinks,tip,tax.

Please can someone tell me if the prices are accurate on the menu? If they are, my food cost for my first day in Disney will be $450.

This can't be right. If it is, I'm going to have to eliminate some sit down dinners and sit down breakfast meals.

This is the Day1 breakdown. (I know this is long - anyone still reading at this point is a saint)

Character Breakfast for 5 ----------------$120
Fast food lunch----------------------------50
Sit down dinner-------------------------- 280

I'm going to go figure the rest of the days. I'll let you know the results.
Terri

 

[Dori's Twin]

Thanks to the spread sheet and Allears.net I can make a pretty good projection for our meals. Don't worry I won't list the details.

Considering the "vacation mode" style of eating we are known to exhibit, it looks like we will only save about $100 using DDP.

I would love to hear opinions about whether I should use it for convenience sake. I mean keeping track isn't all that tough. But there is one other factor worth considering.

Now this is going to sound crazy but if I haven't already mentioned this, I'm traveling with 10 members of my exteded family in addition to my family of 6.
To complicate a little further, my DS is staying in our rooms. She may not want the DDP at all.
My DH doesn't really want to use the DDP and I thought perhaps we should.

I think he may be correct in his feelings that it will be easier not to use it.
We will use our credits but still be paying for the drinks and various counter service meals whether it be breakfast or lunch.

The other 10 members of my exteded family have chosen to use the plan.
We are all dining together.

Should we or should we not go with the flow and use the DDP also?

Thanks in advance to anyone with the patience to deal with me.
Terri

 

[smartestnumber5]

You've got a lot of topics you want to know about here--I'll try to offer the little that I know!

1) the Alfredo's menu--while I've never been I can't guarantee the accuracy of the menu you found online. I usually look at the ones available on allears.net and I've found those pretty accurate.

Is the idea that you'll have to pay out of pocket for all the meals on your 1st day in order to save the DDP credits for later days? If that's the case, one thing you might want to think about is eating at a buffet or other less expensive restaurant on the first day and pay for the more expensive Alfredo's with the DDP later on.

2) Also, a good piece of advice is never to use a TS for breakfast and then pay OOP for a sit down dinner. Dinner (and even lunch) is always significantly more expensive than breakfast at sit down restaurants. This is also true of CS restaurants.

If you want some inexpensive sit down breakfasts you might think of going to a less expensive one and paying OOP and then saving those credits you would have used for a dinner (like Alfredos). There are a few seemingly good all-you-can-eat breakfast options that are pretty inexpensive. (Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge offers a regular breakfast menu and the option of an all you can eat skillet for 10.99 per adult and Fort Wilderness's Trails End Buffet has a breakfast buffet for 11.99 per adult. I've never been to these so I can't vouch for their quality, but I'm pretty attracted by their price. And while neither is a character restaurant, Whispering Canyon is often a big hit with kids--the servers do a lot of joking and pranks and they have races and such for the kids.) These options would probably be at least 1/3 of the price of a dinner or less, so paying OOP for them wouldn't be so outrageous.

Similarly, you mentioned using CS credits for breakfast and paying OOP for lunch. Again lunch will be more expensive than breakfast, so it would benefit you to pay OOP for the breakfasts rather than the lunches. Also, at a CS breakfast you just get the entree and a drink while lunch also includes a dessert. A adult lunch CS credit can often get you about $12-14 worth of food, but when I used CS credits for breakfast it was more like $8 worth tops.

Also, one thing to consider is that the DDP is a good amount of food. My gf and I went in August and we are generally pretty big eaters and certainly like to pig out on vacation. Most nights we were in pain from having eaten so much, and on more than one occasion we ate an appetizer and dessert and left 7/8ths of our entree on the plate. In fact, we even skipped some of our planned OOP sit down meals because we just couldn't fathom eating more food.

3) For general money saving ideas at many of the food court areas at resorts (so probably at the Beach Club Marketplace) a snack credit can be used for large items--a box of 12 large donuts, a grocery store sized bag of doritos, a 2 liter soda, etc. So if some days your snack consists in a bag of doritios and a 2 liter soda for the whole family, that will save you a number of snack credits which you could then use to pay for drinks in the park instead of buying them OOP--that would save a little money. Also, many people report buying those boxes of donuts for breakfast some days and then they don't have to pay OOP for breakfast.



Can I ask what your breakdown of days looks like--what meals you are planning (and at what TS/CS locations) for each day and whether you'll pay for them with the DDP or OOP? People on these boards can often be great help telling you which restuarant will be cheaper OOP or giving recommendations for arranging use of the DDP to your benefit with that kind of information.

 

[Dori's Twin]

Boy I am a novice. (eidted) I just skimmed your response but will answer soon.

You are so kind to help out.

Terri

 

[angelmav]

Dori, another good tip is to use your snack credits to get some breakfast items (donuts, cinnaman rolls etc can be purchased using snack credits) If you get a couple of refillable mugs you have all you need to at least have something under your belts before heading out and its quick. Plus you can supplement any other breakfast item much cheaper if paying OOP. Granted you wont have a snack for later but youll all have a full lunch which will include a desert.

 

[Dori's Twin]

I just finished typing the breakdown and somehow I lost it.
I'll be back tomorrow to try again.
Yet another senior moment.

Terri

 

[Dori's Twin]

Good Morning:

My goal is to compare costs to see if DDP is worth it for us. DH is very cost conscious.

Here is how I worked out the use of my CS and TS credits:
We have 25 TS, 25 CS, 25 Sn (5people,5nights)

COUNTER SERVICE

Day 1 - 4 (Lunch MK) (I usually have a small snack for lunch)
I bring a health bar to the park or have fruit.)
Day 2 - 4 (Lunch in MGM)
Day 3 - 2 (Lunch in Animal Kingdom) (OOP lunch for 3 persons)
Day 4 - 5 (Lunch in EPCOT or WS)
Day 4 - 5 (Dinner in Magic Kingdom) (Columbia Harbor house)
Day 5 - 5 (Lunch in World Showcase)

Total CS used: 25

TABLE SERVICE

Day 1 - 2 (Crystal Palace for 1 in our party) OOP for 4 persons
Day 1 - 5 (Dinner in Italy) (OOP drinks)
Day 2 - 5 (Dinner 50's Prime Time Cafe) OOP special ice cube drinks
Day 3 - 8 (Dinner for 2 @ESPN, Dinner for 3 @Calif Grill - 2TS restaurant)
Day 4 - 0
Day 5 - 5 (Breakfast at Kona Cafe - Polynesian)**

*Note: I can use these toward the CharBrkfst on Day1. CP w/tax/tip = $24/person, Kona w/tax/tip = $25/person.
Probably because I have to have the "pressed" Kona coffee!
Somehow this plan costs me more OOP. I'm confused. (See below)

Total TS - 25

Alternate Plan: Using 6 TS for Day 1​

OOP Day 1 - $50 (2 guests pay OOP)​

OOP Day 5 - Kona Brkfst $100(5 guests)​

TOTAL OOP $150? The other way OOP is only $96​

OOP Guestimate:

Day 1: $96 Crys Palace (4 guests character meal)$24/4 guests
Day 1: $50 Italy(wine for 3 adults)
Day 2: $40 (Breakfast at BC Market Place)
Day 2: $40 (Fancy drinks at Prime Time) If one family buys them we'll have to
Day 3: $40 (Breakfast)
Day 3: $30 (Lunch in AK for 2/3)
Day 3: $60 (California Grill libations)
Day 4: $40 (Breakfast)

Total: $392

Now, I compare to my cost of meals without using the DDP.

DDP Plan: $1400 (Using the 5 TS for Kona Cafe Plan)

No Plan: $1600

Looks like I save $200 using the DDP. That's not bad, and I won't have any credits left over except perhaps for snacks.

I hope my way of presenting the info is not too confusing.

Any thoughts/criticisms/suggestions?

Thanks again,
Terri

PS -I know I've covered a lot of issues as mentioned by Smarttest, but remeber I'm trying to show DH why we should use the plan.
It got me thinking about why Disney has the plan? Was it developed to increase use of sit-down restaurants? I'm not an expert but if a restaurant has to stock up daily for guests and the attendance isn't there, they must throw a lot of food away. Just a thought.

 

[smartestnumber5]

The breakdown in your last post looks good to me I think.

So is your DH really just interested in doing things the cheapest way possible? Or he is skeptical of the dining plan for some other reason--i.e. he'd rather have the flexibility of not having set credits to be used, wants to go to restaurants that aren't on the plan, doesn't want to pay upfront in case something happens and credits don't get used (i.e. what if people get a stomach virus?), etc.?

If it's just a matter of money plain and simple, you said you're likely saving $200 by getting the DDP; I think most people do end up saving some money--not always a ton, but some.

Another thing to think about is what you're getting for your money. I don't know what your plan for no DDP looked like, but when I did comparisons I found we would have to eat a lot less to save any signficant amount of money if we didn't get the DDP. We surely wouldn't have suffered, but we would have had to share an appetizer and not always get dessert; plus we usually wouldn't get dessert with lunch either. So if your husband's into getting a good value, in addition to saving $200 you're also going to get a lot more food. And a lot of people feel that it's nice to be able to walk into a restaurant knowing you can get anything on the menu and it's already paid for--no need to think "oh, I really white the filet mignon, but I'll get the chicken to save some money."

As for why Disney invented the DDP, I think they've always had various types of dining plans, but I think this one seems more popular. I think this one is both a way to get more people to stay on-site than otherwise would. They might be losing a bit of money on food--but I think generally restaurants have a huge markup on food, so they might not be losing as much as one would think. And in the end, if they're able to fill up their resorts and get people hooked on staying onsite they're making up for that lost money in the end.

 

[3mtn-kate]

Posted by 3mtn-kate's mom-KGKmom This thread was started at a great time for me! I sat down today with DD and did the same thing. My other factor is whether or not to buy the Disney Dining Experience card (available if you have an Annual Pass). The DDE card gives you 20% off the total cost of the bill, INCLUDING alcohol, however it is not accepted at as many places as the DDP it seems. DD and I have used the meal plan twice, and paid OOP three times. Here are my pros and cons on the Dining Plan:

Pros:
-I love table service restaurants, but can't afford to eat at them every day at WDW. The Dining plan lets us experience more 'fancy' restaurants in one trip rather than only getting one 'fancy' experience per trip.
-The pre-paid nature of the plan is great.
-Disney expanded the snack allowance to cover nearly everything under $4. Hooray for Mickey Krispie Heads!
-The selection of restaurants is great. All of our favorites are included in the plan, with the exception of Rainforest Cafe.

Cons:
-The amount of food is enormous! DD and I always struggle with finishing our meals (we've always had to take doggie bags). Last year we joined DVC, so now have fridges and microwaves in the rooms, making it so much easier to actually eat the leftovers! We had some desserts for breakfasts, and half-dinners for snacks!
-I wish we could tailor the plan to our eating style. We'd probably be fine with mostly CS and maybe 2 TS. This last time was we had 2 CS left over because we ate the doggie bags for lunch or snacks and didn't use all of our credits, making me feel like the plan actually *cost* us money.
-We like small-ish breakfasts. More than just a fruit cup, but not the full out Lumberjack's Special! The CS credit seems to be wasted on breakfast, so we pay OOP, but then that seems to be defeating the purpose of the pre-paid plan. So for us, a slight dilemma.

So, DD and I looked over possible eateries for our January trip, to see if the plan makes sense. I think if we do the OOP breakfasts (muffins, bagels, cinnamon rolls) then it will work for us. That would mean another $10/day for us for breakfasts (unless we eat our desserts as breakfast again!), so I'll need to figure that in to my totals. But if we do the DDE card, then we can skip appetizers and desserts when we want, and the OOP light breakfasts will be covered for the most part as well.

I think, this time around, it will make more sense for me to buy the DDE card ($60-good for a year). AFter the trip, I'll be able to have a more accurate comparison for our next trip.

I'll post when we get back! Thanks for starting this discussion (again!)

 

[Dori's Twin]

. Last year we joined DVC, so now have fridges and microwaves in the rooms, making it so much easier to actually eat the leftovers!

Hi everyone:

Thank you all so much for the wonderful suggestions.

Smartnumber5: Why I did the analysis for DH: I think DH and I were skeptical that DDP actually saved money.
We were concerned that it was a nuisance keeping track of what meals s/b OOP. And he's the type that would be bothered if he went with the plan and found he was still always taking out his wallet. Does that make sense?


Using the spread sheet was invaluable. Thanks again to the nice person who provided that! I think it helps to use the credits in the right places.
If you have an idea where you will be dining, use the spread sheet to alot the credits. Great stuff!

I'm having a mental block - Did anyone notice, on the page where I list the CS and TS, that it would cost me more money to use my credits toward
the character breakfast on my first day?
This makes no sense to me and I must be missing something.

Out of the 5TS's alotted for Kona Cafe (last day), I can only use 4 because CP is a signature meal. So I'll have a total of 6 TS's to use for charac brkfst. I need 10. Two people have to pay. Again, here is the OOP in that situation:

Charac Brkfst - OOP 2 people $50
Kona Brkfst - OOP 5 people $100
Total OOP- $150

The other way OOP is ony $96 ( 4 diners @$24 each Day 1 brkfst)

I would not have known this except for doing the analysis. Hope I didn't do something wrong and I'm not picking up on it?

Thanks again for the feedback.
Terri

 

[honeymo78]

If you're talking about Crystal Palace as CP - the breakfast in MK with Pooh and Friends - that is not a signature meal. You will only spend 1TS per person there.