Need help with meal budgeting for 6 adults

[DisneyBrat]

We are going to WDW for Thanksgiving 2009. We will be there 10 nights and leaving late after noon on the 11th day. I am trying to decide if it is more economical for us to use the dinning plan or pay as we go. We want to eat at about 5 or 6 sit down restaurants the rest will be counter service. Any suggestions on which is the best way to go?? Again we are all considered adult pricing.

Thanks
Lew

 

[koolaidmoms]

If you are going to spend more than $39.99 per day per adult to eat then it is better to get the DDP. If you plan on eating out 6 TS meals with just sodas, entrees and dessert depending on the restaurant could be from $29.95per person at buffet places to $50-$75 per person at a signature restaurant. So add on a CS meal during the day if that is what you plan to do at about $8-$10 per person. If you decide to not do the plan you can split some CS meals if you are a light eater to save money.

You would need to get the meal plan for all 10 days so about $400.00 per person.

For numbers sake if you ate the same number of meals (2 a day as on the plan):

I would average about $35 per person for 6 meals is $210.
Plus your CS meals 1 a day for 6 days $ 60.
Plus 2 a day on 4 remaining days $ 80

So about $350 is what you would be spending on average for 6 TS service meals and 14 CS meals. For the extra $50 for the DDP you would get an additional snack a day per day and 4 more credits toward TS restaurants. This would allow you to upgrade to the signature restaurants.

Does this make sense? In my head it does but that is dangerous!

 

[DisneyBrat]

It does make sense I think From what I calculated its about the same more or less. Another thought I am kicking around is doing the 2 quick service meal plan and paying for my sit down meals out of pocket. Tomorrow is a new day and my head will not be overflowing with all these figures LOL

Thanks for replying

 

[koolaidmoms]

We found out when we were planning our trip that the difference for the CS plan and the DDP after we finished figuring out 3 table service meals oop was $50 for 2 adults and 2 children. We decided for the extra $50 to get the DDP and have TS every night for the 8 nights we are there was worth it to us.

Hope this helps some.

 

[PrincessBetsy]

I would just pay as you go. It will probably end up to be cheaper then buying the dining plan, especially if you decide to share meals. It also depends on which places you decide to eat at as well. If you want to save some money, always eat at sit down restaurants for lunch instead of dinner. Most place offer the same foods at a cheaper price. Another great tip, when you are eating always try and drink water - since it is free it will save you around $2 a person per meal. Also, never buy any bottled water, you can go to any quick service place and ask for cups of water. Hope this helps! Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[DISNEY CRAZY2 69]

With The 2 Trips I Took I Used The Dining Plan Both Times. I Liked The Fact That The Money I Had In My Pocket Was For Souveniers And I Didnt Have To Keep Money For Food. We Had The Ts,qs,snack Plan. The 1st Trip We Booked Mostly Early Breakfasts After Having All You Can Eat I Would Fill A Ziploc With Some Extras For During The Day. Since We Finished Breakfast Before The Park Was Open We Were Ahead Of The Crowds We Could Get To The Big Rides Much Quicker. I Have To Say After Having That Breakfast We Didnt Stop To Eat Lunch And Just Used Our Snack During The Day. So In The Evening We Just Had Our Qs And It Did Not Interfear With Park Time. Our Most Recent Trip We Booked Mostly Dinners. I Felt What A Mistake. The Hotel Breakfast Were Ok But Not Enough To Keep You Going All Day So You Had To Stop And Buy Lunch. I Spent A Lot More Money This Trip On Food. I Always Felt The Meal Plan Was Worth It Especially The All You Can Eat There Are Usally 16 Of Us Going And Some Of Them Are Very Big Eaters.

 

[dzneelvr]

If you are large-appetite eaters and can handle all the courses at a meal--the DDP is for you. If you like total flexibility in your dining--it is very structured and you won't be able to do, say, a double-appetizer and dessert or salad and dessert only. The biggest thumbs down for our family is that the DDP is WAY TOO MUCH food and we would never be able to eat it all. We do the DDE which is a straight 20% off the tab (liquor included) at 100% of our resort and TS spots. We save over $300 that way and eat only until we're full. We don't do CS though, nor do we have any place to "store" our take outs because I don't want extra food in the room like that. Isn't is nice to have so many choices

 

[DisneyBrat]

I think we pay as you go. If we go with a DDP then we are locked into eating that plan. Sometimes we may just want a sandwich when we go back to the villa for mid-day nap time... Thanks for all the suggestions and tips!