No Dining Plan for us: I logged our food costs (8/13)

[JeffreyY]

Actually, that is not true since all the credits are in a bank and there is not a limit on how many you use per day as long as you do not exceed your total TS credits, you can use them when and however you want.

Yes, technically you can do this but for price comparing it is not even, they got more (2TS) for less then the DDP would have given them.

It is the same reason paying for the DDP doesn't work for our family. Now for free it beats any other discount for our family of 4 adults.

 

[BusyMom2Three]

1 of my 3 children is a Disney "adult" this year. The regular DDP (1 TS, 1 CS, 1 snack per day) would cost us $1407 for 7 days the first week of March 2013. Paying OOP would cost us about $1170, and that is with no one sharing, still going to our expensive buffets/character meals, and still letting everyone get their 1 snack per day. The only thing we wouldn't get is dessert a couple of times at non-buffet restaurants (except when we order a kids' pick that comes with one), but I am happy about that. I also figured it out with the 2 littler kids getting adult choices a couple of times because they are used to eating regular food.

DDP for 3 adults & 2 children:
7 TS
7 CS
7 snacks
=$1407

------------------------

OOP:

7 TS:
Boma $140
Chef Mickey's $165
Wave $65 (all kids eating adult entrees)
1900 PF $153
Kona Cafe $85 (all kids eating adult entrees)
San Angel Inn $71
O'hana $140
=$819

7 CS:
Example: Contempo Cafe $33
Avg cost of CS for us is $35 so I am just multiplying that by 7 for the cost
=$245

7 Snacks:
Avg $3 per snack x 5 of us x 7 days
=$105


Grand total: $1169 (vs. $1407 if we buy the dining plan)

Of course, we are vegetarians so our non-buffets meals are a couple dollars cheaper but not enough to bridge that gap (unless maybe you eat steak and lobster every meal, but I don't know). We usually get free dining anyway, but this year I am hoping for a room discount because it could save us more since we are staying at a Deluxe Resort for the first time, and I really would like all of my kids to eat the adult entrees since they're healthier.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

I'm really enjoying your posts that show the comparison between what you spent vs. the cost of the DDP. But it would help to know what you got for your money at La Cantina and 50's Prime Time.

For us, the DDP doesn't make financial sense (even during free dining) because of our dining preferences (few desserts and snacks for us), resort choices (I'm a deluxe snob, what can I say?) and family make up (usually just 2 adults). It looks like your reasons for forgoing the DDP are much different from ours but the outcome is the same. The bottom line doesn't support the cost of the plan and doesn't offset the convenience of prepaying the cost of the food.

Thank you and I agree. I will add the meals purchased. I am including food porn of the meals on my TR and I completely forgot.

It sounds like you (two adults) could enjoy some great signature restaurants! I always like the advice to buy Disney gift cards if you want to prepay for the food.

We started doing DDP because we got it free a few times. Last year was the first time we were paying with DS being an 'adult' (he had just turned 10). I did the numbers before we left--I literally sat down and made a spreadsheet with every restaurant we had reservations at, and picked what I thought my picky eaters would choose. The numbers said we would save a whopping $15 by getting the DDP. I ended up doing it because I like the idea of having it prepaid and not worrying about it.

For the $15 convenience, I'd have done the same thing!!! (And you're after my heart with the looking at menus and playing "what will everyone pick"...I've done that a time or two...

However, we came home from that trip sporting some massive weight gains (DH gained 12 lbs!!! and felt like crud). It was just WAY too much food. And by the end of the trip, our kids were SO sick of sitting down to TS meals. That is not their idea of fun.

Dh always became the vacuum of the food not eaten (still is) and after a couple of days on the plan, he could feel the difference. I like to conserve my calories to eat the fun stuff! By the end of the trip, we were always sick of eating too! TS takes a considerable amount of time from the fun for little ones.

This year is the first year we're staying off site, and part of my consideration in doing that was no longer feeling the need to have the DDP. When we told the kids we were going back they said "plllllleeeeease don't make a lot of dining reservations!". What we decided to do was have each of us pick our favorite restaurant at Disney, those are our only advance plans. Since we're staying off site, we will eat breakfast in the room every day, and they are so HAPPY about that! Between getting a condo at Bonnet Creek, which is so much bigger and cheaper than Disney, and not getting DDP, we are saving a ton of money. It's funny how needs and desires change over the years. I never thought we would be staying offsite and not getting DDP, but we are all excited about it!

When are you headed back? I love the idea of everyone picking a favorite to visit!

You might want to recheck this occasionally... the only Value Resort they specifically state isn't valid for December FD is AoA. I've noticed one day the FD rooms won't be available for a certain resort, then suddenly it IS available. So if she really wants Movies, check back occasionally, it might become available!

Great advice!

I don't know how you got away from these places so cheap.... La Cantina for my group is (4 'adults') at least 10 pp for lunch,likely more probably closer to 60.00...and dinner at PT would cost us at least 90.00 with 4 meals plus those shakes the kids like..... my boys eat a full adult meal,then finish whatever I haven't finished....

adding,I don't doubt you at all OP but I think my fam eats quite a bit more than yours probably.... (no,FTR we don't have weight/health problems either) just a houseful of tall skinny big eaters!

I didn't take offense at all! My girls can pack away snacks, etc, but real food isn't really in their Disney diet. (At home dinner is tons of fun! )

Dh and I shared meals. I worried at first that he was not getting enough, but he's a big boy and would have said so. More often than not, the girls don't finish meals, so he ate what was left. We always ordered with the idea that if we were still hungry, we'd get more food!

Also, it was hot, so that curbs our appetites.

We are too but we still average 20-30 bucks cheaper per night than the ddp.

for example,
last august on our Epcot day, We had lunch at Beaches and Cream

1 single cheeseburger 10.00
2 double cheeseburger 30.00
1 chicken ceaser salad 13.00
4 sodas 12.00
18% tip 11.70
can't remember tax so I'll go with 7% 4.65 total 82.55

then for dinner we ate at Via Napoli
We had 1 mezzo pepperoni pizza 41.00
1 plain small pizza 16.00
4 drinks (ice tea/lemonaide) 12.00
tax 4.83
tips (18%) 13.00
total at dinner 87.00 dollars. (rounded up to nearest dollar)

Grand total for day 169.35 and this included tips.
If I was on the DDP it would have been 51.00X4= 204.00 Plus 13.00 + 11.70 grand total 228.70

228.70-170.00 = ~59.00 savings off of ddp.

We really only had 2 days out of the 6 that we spent more than 204.00 and that was one day we did a character meal at cape may and one day we did Animal kingdom. we always eat at rainforest cafe.

That's a good day considering B&C is an expensive lunch. (One we tried to have one day, but the wait was 2 hours!

The buffets really break the bank, but you're right, the total of all days determines the difference. We ate at Rainforest too; whew- that was expensive! (We didn't share...)

You wouldn't have even been able to do this on the reg. DDP because you have 2 TS and with DDP you only get 1TS and 1QS + 1snack .

Actually, that is not true since all the credits are in a bank and there is not a limit on how many you use per day as long as you do not exceed your total TS credits, you can use them when and however you want.

But, use more than 1 TS in one day and you have fewer available for your later days, if you prefer TS restaurants.

See no ddp no worry over credits.

Totally forgot. Thanks Jeffrey, Makes it even better. this was what we ate on our Epcot day last August. We stopped the ddp pretty much a year after the ended the tips and appertizers. So it looks like had we eaten this way with the ddp I would have to pay for beaches and cream oop.

Usually when we plan a trip I look at how we ate on the last vacation and it seems every time I do that I still come out ahead by not using the ddp.

Our next trip is in October, it's looking like we'll skip the plan again.

Food and Wine, I hope! Have a blast!

Yes, technically you can do this but for price comparing it is not even, they got more (2TS) for less then the DDP would have given them.

It is the same reason paying for the DDP doesn't work for our family. Now for free it beats any other discount for our family of 4 adults.

The free dining is a great promo! (We don't qualify being DVC, but I am glad it's an option for others!)

1 of my 3 children is a Disney "adult" this year. The regular DDP (1 TS, 1 CS, 1 snack per day) would cost us $1407 for 7 days the first week of March 2013. Paying OOP would cost us about $1170, and that is with no one sharing, still going to our expensive buffets/character meals, and still letting everyone get their 1 snack per day. The only thing we wouldn't get is dessert a couple of times at non-buffet restaurants (except when we order a kids' pick that comes with one), but I am happy about that. I also figured it out with the 2 littler kids getting adult choices a couple of times because they are used to eating regular food.

DDP for 3 adults & 2 children:
7 TS
7 CS
7 snacks
=$1407

------------------------

OOP:

7 TS:
Boma $140
Chef Mickey's $165
Wave $65 (all kids eating adult entrees)
1900 PF $153
Kona Cafe $85 (all kids eating adult entrees)
San Angel Inn $71
O'hana $140
=$819

7 CS:
Example: Contempo Cafe $33
Avg cost of CS for us is $35 so I am just multiplying that by 7 for the cost
=$245

7 Snacks:
Avg $3 per snack x 5 of us x 7 days
=$105


Grand total: $1169 (vs. $1407 if we buy the dining plan)

Of course, we are vegetarians so our non-buffets meals are a couple dollars cheaper but not enough to bridge that gap (unless maybe you eat steak and lobster every meal, but I don't know). We usually get free dining anyway, but this year I am hoping for a room discount because it could save us more since we are staying at a Deluxe Resort for the first time, and I really would like all of my kids to eat the adult entrees since they're healthier.

Great research!! Which deluxe are you staying at? Super exciting! (and your younger kids might be able to share the adult entrees!)

 

[BusyMom2Three]

Great research!! Which deluxe are you staying at? Super exciting! (and your younger kids might be able to share the adult entrees!)

I think Beach Club, but we will tweak dates/resort if need be to get the best discount (hopefully a substantial room discount).

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

I think Beach Club, but we will tweak dates/resort if need be to get the best discount (hopefully a substantial room discount).

So now I see the ticker...haha. Love Beach Club. You can't beat leaving BC and going into the back entrance of EPCOT...it's heavenly. Probably, the only walk better is the one back after Illuminations!

 

[patsal]

Did the dining plan when it first came out and was all inclusive, but now I find it to be a waste of both time and money. I don't like to have another responsibility on vacation and being responsible for eating a certain way isn't something I want to do. Just crucnhed my numbers and after 14 nights I found that we averaged $41.00 per person per day, far less expensive than any dining plan.

 

[CowboyCO]

We went July 17-25th (8 nights) and went OOP. We ate at:

50's primetime
Via Napoli
San Angel Inn
The Plaza
Grand Floridian Cafe
Garden Grille at the Swan
Sanaa'
Raglan Road

We also ate counter service somewhere every day. We mostly had water, not to save money, but rather because it was so blasted hot.

We spent $1,065 on food and snacks versus about $1,700 fo the dining plan. I don't think we would do it again unless it was free and we wee staying mod.

 

[luckygirl539]

I feel stressed to eat the most expensive meals and eat at the most expensive places. I was being a nazi to my family telling them what to use credits for and what not to. Too stressful and barely worth it.

 

[ang]

First off, we all are disney FREAKS!
I spent 2 days crunching figures on the DP and me out buying. It's cheaper for us not to buy DP. ( So far )
We don't eat all that food but at the same time my DS is 15, he can put away food!
I also, don't like stressing out to get my money worth or spend so much time in restaurants.

 

[Svhadden]

We've always done the DDP (free, every time!), and we've stayed at Pop and POR. It's always worked out a better deal for us (fam of 4-kids ages 11 and 6). And we're pretty laid back about it. We don't stress over who eats what, how much, etc. My kids aren't huge eaters, and my DH and I certainly aren't going to eat all that food in the September blast-furnace that is Orlando lol. So, for CS meals we usually order 2-3, and split them, and often have food leftover. At Yak & Yeti (CS), we order two and always have too much! And at the end of our stay, we ALWAYS have CS and Snack credits leftover--just because it's free doesn't mean we have to use it all!

Anyway, I think my point is that you really should sit down and map it all out to get the best bang for your buck. Are you paying for the DDP, or getting it free? Staying value, mod, or deluxe? Is your party mostly adults? Do you love character meals, buffets, TS? A lot of factors, but the point is that you have to know how it works best for your fam. As for us, as long as WDW keeps offering it for free, we'll do the DDP and stay at our beloved POR!

 

[OThopeful35]

Thanks for sharing OP. DS9 and I used the DDP for the first time last year and we were so tired of TS by the end of our trip. We even cancelled one mid trip but had to make up for it later in the week (we stay 9 nights). Plus those tips definitely add up especially when you're ordering drinks, entrees and dessert. We are going next year for 11 nights and I priced out 11 TS, 11 CS, and snacks for each of us (DS and I) for all the nights we are there. I even threw in extra money for my adult beverages and I still came out $400 cheaper than if we were to purchase the 2013 DDP. DS is not going to eat $55 in food per day.

I like the freedom to dine without it. The first time we went in 2010 we didn't have it. We are not going to share meals but it will feel great to be able to alternate between the kids plan and the adult plan for DS who will be 10 yrs old on our next trip. Plus we are not dessert eaters, we prefer to pick up something later in the park for our dessert. Last year, we ate so many desserts that I forgot to get me a funnel cake something that I had been waiting all year and didn't realize I didn't get one till I got home And DS had lots of those cookies and brownies in his backpack that he didn't eat

Now if I could get FD, i would take it in a heartbeat but due to the increases of the DDP and DS becoming an adult, we would lose too much money and waste to much food. So our upcoming trip will be without the DDP. DS asked me to please not make too many sit down restaurants, so we are both going to choose 3 each

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Did the dining plan when it first came out and was all inclusive, but now I find it to be a waste of both time and money. I don't like to have another responsibility on vacation and being responsible for eating a certain way isn't something I want to do. Just crucnhed my numbers and after 14 nights I found that we averaged $41.00 per person per day, far less expensive than any dining plan.

I agree; it is a responsibility I don't want on vacation either.

We went July 17-25th (8 nights) and went OOP. We ate at:

50's primetime
Via Napoli
San Angel Inn
The Plaza
Grand Floridian Cafe
Garden Grille at the Swan
Sanaa'
Raglan Road

We also ate counter service somewhere every day. We mostly had water, not to save money, but rather because it was so blasted hot.

We spent $1,065 on food and snacks versus about $1,700 fo the dining plan. I don't think we would do it again unless it was free and we wee staying mod.

That's a huge difference! Great savings!

I feel stressed to eat the most expensive meals and eat at the most expensive places. I was being a nazi to my family telling them what to use credits for and what not to. Too stressful and barely worth it.

I did the same. I wanted to get the value! The bad part is I often just wanted the cheapest!

First off, we all are disney FREAKS!
I spent 2 days crunching figures on the DP and me out buying. It's cheaper for us not to buy DP. ( So far )
We don't eat all that food but at the same time my DS is 15, he can put away food!
I also, don't like stressing out to get my money worth or spend so much time in restaurants.

Disney freaks, us?

Isn't crunching numbers part of the fun? (no, I am not a Disney freak at all...)

We've always done the DDP (free, every time!), and we've stayed at Pop and POR. It's always worked out a better deal for us (fam of 4-kids ages 11 and 6). And we're pretty laid back about it. We don't stress over who eats what, how much, etc. My kids aren't huge eaters, and my DH and I certainly aren't going to eat all that food in the September blast-furnace that is Orlando lol. So, for CS meals we usually order 2-3, and split them, and often have food leftover. At Yak & Yeti (CS), we order two and always have too much! And at the end of our stay, we ALWAYS have CS and Snack credits leftover--just because it's free doesn't mean we have to use it all!

Anyway, I think my point is that you really should sit down and map it all out to get the best bang for your buck. Are you paying for the DDP, or getting it free? Staying value, mod, or deluxe? Is your party mostly adults? Do you love character meals, buffets, TS? A lot of factors, but the point is that you have to know how it works best for your fam. As for us, as long as WDW keeps offering it for free, we'll do the DDP and stay at our beloved POR!

I think it totally works under the right conditions. I think your list of questions covers all of the variables that come into play. Certainly, free dining is a great deal as long as there isn't a strong room discount to consider!

Thanks for sharing OP. DS9 and I used the DDP for the first time last year and we were so tired of TS by the end of our trip. We even cancelled one mid trip but had to make up for it later in the week (we stay 9 nights). Plus those tips definitely add up especially when you're ordering drinks, entrees and dessert. We are going next year for 11 nights and I priced out 11 TS, 11 CS, and snacks for each of us (DS and I) for all the nights we are there. I even threw in extra money for my adult beverages and I still came out $400 cheaper than if we were to purchase the 2013 DDP. DS is not going to eat $55 in food per day.

I like the freedom to dine without it. The first time we went in 2010 we didn't have it. We are not going to share meals but it will feel great to be able to alternate between the kids plan and the adult plan for DS who will be 10 yrs old on our next trip. Plus we are not dessert eaters, we prefer to pick up something later in the park for our dessert. Last year, we ate so many desserts that I forgot to get me a funnel cake something that I had been waiting all year and didn't realize I didn't get one till I got home And DS had lots of those cookies and brownies in his backpack that he didn't eat

Now if I could get FD, i would take it in a heartbeat but due to the increases of the DDP and DS becoming an adult, we would lose too much money and waste to much food. So our upcoming trip will be without the DDP. DS asked me to please not make too many sit down restaurants, so we are both going to choose 3 each

Even without the dining plan, we are tired of food during our trips too. Table service restaurants are hard with kids. There are too many other fun things to do!

It sounds like you are going to have a fun trip (with savings) without it.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

July 10 - 126.35 (spent more this day, but still didn't spend as much as dining plan)

On this day, we ate at

34.98 lunch ABC Commissary (three adult meals)
6.50 snacks (strawberry bar)
76.37 dinner Via Napoli (14.80 TIW savings) - Large pizza (serves 3-5) and one calzone (non pizza eating kid), sodas, and beer
8.50 desserts American dreams

 

[ang]

I was looking at my old excel worksheets, hamburgers w/fries $5.79 wow what a deal!!well at least the tax did not go up. $650 was my budget for 10 days for a family of 4, 2 young kids.

Had to make a new excel worksheet to figure out my budget for next year and it is cheaper for us not to get the DP. Mainly counterservices which we don't mind. They have a lot to pick from at different counterservices.