OMG! I am OBSESSED with DisBoards! Ahh - Support Group needed...

[Grendalynn]

So, at $30 each + my daughter at $9 - thats $99 for the 4 of us per day. We just don't eat that much at counter service to warrant that kind of price. I think the difference is that when we eat table service, I eat more food - just something about sitting down at a restaurant and being waited on I guess.

The regular dining plan doesn't work well for us either because we like to go to Jiko or Flying Fish which takes 2 regular table service tickets. We definitely spend more at those places, but not double. Last time, after our trip, I crunched the numbers to see if we would have saved using the dining plan, and it was pretty much break even. We're destined to be a la carte people I guess.

Jodie

GOOD MORNING!!

If I understand correctly, you are averaging your DDP price to be $99 per day for the basic dining plan - is that right?? That will give you one snack, one CS and one TS per day, so to speak... We spent that eating out w/o the DDP for the 3.5 of us a few years back - just for dinner. Its almost lke they are throwing in the CS meal for "free". Each time we ate at a DDP Restaurant this past April our bills for the 4 of us (2 Adults and 2 Children) it was over $110 before tip.

NExt time DS9 will be counted as an adult,so things wil def be more expensive. But he is a great eater and isnt a chicken nugget and PB&J everynight kind of kid. So he will be pleased... I wish there was a junior price or something somewhere in the middle....

Hi all! Long time lurker; finally joined the dis boards today! I find myself pulled here- I think I need a support group also!

You are in a great spot if you are finiding yourself avoiding household chores, the children and even showering to poke around on these threads! I only have 3 weeks til school starts and am soaking up my Dis Time until then!! :

 

[pillow]

GOOD MORNING!!

If I understand correctly, you are averaging your DDP price to be $99 per day for the basic dining plan - is that right?? That will give you one snack, one CS and one TS per day, so to speak... We spent that eating out w/o the DDP for the 3/5 of us a few years back - just for dinner. Its almost lke they are throwing in the CS meal for "free". Each time we ate at a DDP Restaurant this past April our bills for the 4 of us (2 Adults and 2 Children) it was over $110 before tip.

NExt time DS9 will be counted as an adult,so things wil def be more expensive. But he is a great eater and isnt a chicken nugget and PB&J everynight kind of kid. So he will be pleased... I wish there was a junior price or something somewhere in the middle....

No, the $99 is for the new 2 table service plan. For the basic is would cost us $130 or so. The basic sounds good at first, but it doesn't cover gratuities or appetizers (and most importantly WINE - ha)!!

I agree with you. You're almost getting the cs meal for free, BUT, the problem for us is that 2 ts meals are required for some of the restaurants we like. At those restaurants, we might spend 1.5 times a normal table service meal, but definitely not double. Thats what hurts.

Plus the fact that my son is 11 and would be happy eating pb&j. I remember eating at the Cape May buffet last year, and paying the full adult price for my son. Meanwhile, he sat there and had mac/cheese - all the "kids" food. It really felt like a waste of money. Yes, a "junior" price would be wonderful!!

Jodie

 

[Grendalynn]

... Plus the fact that my son is 11 and would be happy eating pb&j. I remember eating at the Cape May buffet last year, and paying the full adult price for my son. Meanwhile, he sat there and had mac/cheese - all the "kids" food. It really felt like a waste of money. Yes, a "junior" price would be wonderful!!

Jodie

Lets Rally for a Junior Meal price!!!

 

[pillow]

Lets Rally for a Junior Meal price!!!

Getting Disney to actually LOWER a price would take an act of God, and I haven't been to church in a while. My odds are not good!

Jodie

 

[Grendalynn]

Getting Disney to actually LOWER a price would take an act of God, and I haven't been to church in a while. My odds are not good!

Jodie

Ditto! Unless its a wedding or a funereal I wont be found there either!

I am not asking them to "lower" their price, just stick a new one in somewhere in the middle....

 

[AUDramaQueen]

I'm confussed. "But she also made sure I didn't book for that time of year ONLY for the dining offer." What's that all about?

She said she just didn't want us to book for that time of year if we were ONLY trying for the free dining. But if that was good time for us to go then fine.

She said this before the QS meal plan was announced so I think she just anticipated some type of change and didn't want us to be disappointed if we didn't get the free dining we were expecting. Does that make sense?

 

[bless7ings]

She said she just didn't want us to book for that time of year if we were ONLY trying for the free dining. But if that was good time for us to go then fine.

She said this before the QS meal plan was announced so I think she just anticipated some type of change and didn't want us to be disappointed if we didn't get the free dining we were expecting. Does that make sense?

I guess so, but that is exactly why I book that time of the year! If we go to Disney it is the only time we can even possibly afford to go.

I guess that is why I deal with Disney directly, I don't like the middle man. In 2005, I tried working through AAA, but soon found it wasn't for me. Too much middle man! Call, wait, I'll have to get back to you, wait, get a call, have another question, I'll have to get back to you with that.... Lots of people say I am a patient person, but when it comes to making plans, I hate that scenerio, I plainly don't have the patience or time for the interuptions. When I set aside time to work on Disney, its set aside and I have results and my mind is on Disney. I hate getting a call back while I am in the middle of something else and have to refocus my mind on a travel agent who is getting back to me a day or two later! Sorry no patience!

 

[pillow]

I guess so, but that is exactly why I book that time of the year! If we go to Disney it is the only time we can even possibly afford to go.

I guess that is why I deal with Disney directly, I don't like the middle man. In 2005, I tried working through AAA, but soon found it wasn't for me. Too much middle man! Call, wait, I'll have to get back to you, wait, get a call, have another question, I'll have to get back to you with that.... Lots of people say I am a patient person, but when it comes to making plans, I hate that scenerio, I plainly don't have the patience or time for the interuptions. When I set aside time to work on Disney, its set aside and I have results and my mind is on Disney. I hate getting a call back while I am in the middle of something else and have to refocus my mind on a travel agent who is getting back to me a day or two later! Sorry no patience!

I'm definitely with you on that one. Plus, can you really get a better price with a travel agent??? If you have AAA, you can just ask for the 10% discount when you book your room with Disney. If you book early enough, they usually have AAA rate rooms available. I'm a bit of a travel agent skeptic (although I have booked our Disney cruise myself and then transferred to an agency in order to get the onboard credits they offer). You can also buy tickets at a discount through maple leaf (i'm sure there are other brokers out there too) to save some $$. Just not sure a TA is necessary. Now that we have DVC, theres really no need for a TA. Now if Disney would only offer free dining to DVC members, I'd be set!!

Jodie

 

[bless7ings]

Now if Disney would only offer free dining to DVC members, I'd be set!!

Jodie[/QUOTE]

I think we would all be signing up!!!

 

[bless7ings]

I don't think there are benefits to have a ta other than Disney? I guess we have to ask Drama Queen.

 

[bless7ings]

Yeah, it worked!!! I made my 500th post and I went from Mouseketeer to DIS Vetran! I think I have been on here too long the last few weeks!

Glendalynn, do you think I am obsessed and deserve to be on this thread?!?

 

[AUDramaQueen]

I guess so, but that is exactly why I book that time of the year! If we go to Disney it is the only time we can even possibly afford to go.

I guess that is why I deal with Disney directly, I don't like the middle man. In 2005, I tried working through AAA, but soon found it wasn't for me. Too much middle man! Call, wait, I'll have to get back to you, wait, get a call, have another question, I'll have to get back to you with that.... Lots of people say I am a patient person, but when it comes to making plans, I hate that scenerio, I plainly don't have the patience or time for the interuptions. When I set aside time to work on Disney, its set aside and I have results and my mind is on Disney. I hate getting a call back while I am in the middle of something else and have to refocus my mind on a travel agent who is getting back to me a day or two later! Sorry no patience!

Yeah, I understand that. I was VERY hesitant to use a TA. I am such a control freak about these things!

But Lisa is great. She is very quick to answer both phone calls and e-mails. She is a Disney Vet herself and her business is focused on Disney vacations so she isn't calling Disney for answers and then getting back to you. She is on top of codes and discounts. She has always gotten us the ADR's we want including LeCellier and Cindy's without me having to get up at the crack of dawn.

Like I said she was trying to protect us from booking before the offer came out and then it not be the offer we wanted. I mean I would be mad if I booked for free dining period and then they didn't offer it.

In this case she will have been dead on if the new free dining is the QS plan only. We can go later in the year when it's cooler and for the Food and Wine Festival and get a cheaper room. This will save us about the same amount of money as free dining would have for my family of 5 and save much more for the others in our group.

But like I said I totally understand going with Disney directly...

 

[bless7ings]

Go Pillow! Your almost there! You can join me!

 

[bless7ings]

Yeah, I understand that. I was VERY hesitant to use a TA. I am such a control freak about these things!

But Lisa is great. She is very quick to answer both phone calls and e-mails. She is a Disney Vet herself and her business is focused on Disney vacations so she isn't calling Disney for answers and then getting back to you. She is on top of codes and discounts. She has always gotten us the ADR's we want including LeCellier and Cindy's without me having to get up at the crack of dawn.

Like I said she was trying to protect us from booking before the offer came out and then it not be the offer we wanted. I mean I would be mad if I booked for free dining period and then they didn't offer it.

In this case she will have been dead on if the new free dining is the QS plan only. We can go later in the year when it's cooler and for the Food and Wine Festival and get a cheaper room. This will save us about the same amount of money as free dining would have for my family of 5 and save much more for the others in our group.

But like I said I totally understand going with Disney directly...

Glad it works for you and you have a great TA!

 

[AUDramaQueen]

Sorry I was in the middle of posting the last post when I had to make lunch!

So I didnt see the other posts about TA's before I posted that.

Lisa is the only one I have worked with so I don't know about others. Like I said she is Disney oriented and will book group discounts several times throughout the year.

I don't have to worry about searching the boards and looking for codes, because she will know them already.

She takes care of everything like ADR's and tours and it doesn't cost me any extra than it would to book with Disney since she gets paid by them. You don't pay her any type of comission or anything.

But all that reasoning is purely a matter of preferences. I know I didn't used to want anyone else handling my reservations. Then someone on these boards recommended her so I took a chance. Now that I have used her it is just easier for me to let her handle everything. This won't work for a lot of Disers though

As far as the discounts, she saved me about 15% last trip and it was Memorial Day weekend. I haven't done the math on the percentage for this trip if we book it. I'll let you guys know.

And CONGRATS on your Dis vet status!!

 

[bless7ings]

Yes, we would like to know! Any discounts we are always looking for!

 

[AUDramaQueen]

Yes, we would like to know! Any discounts we are always looking for!

I ain't so good with the math But I'll get my engineer husband to figure it out. He likes making excell spreadsheets as much as I like planning Disney trips! In fact that's the only way he will get involved. He did a spreadsheet for our Dining Credits last trip.

 

[pillow]

I ain't so good with the math But I'll get my engineer husband to figure it out. He likes making excell spreadsheets as much as I like planning Disney trips! In fact that's the only way he will get involved. He did a spreadsheet for our Dining Credits last trip.

Wait, doesn't planning a Disney vacation and spreadsheets go hand in hand??? I have spreadsheets for EVERYTHING (although I probably shouldn't admit that).

I would like to know the price of the TA trip vs the a la carte price (with AAA discounts at the hotels) and discount tickets. If the TA price is cheaper, I'll eat my hat!

Not sure if I want Disney veteran status . I really should get a life (or at least a job)!!

Jodie

 

[AUDramaQueen]

Wait, doesn't planning a Disney vacation and spreadsheets go hand in hand??? I have spreadsheets for EVERYTHING (although I probably shouldn't admit that).

I would like to know the price of the TA trip vs the a la carte price (with AAA discounts at the hotels) and discount tickets. If the TA price is cheaper, I'll eat my hat! I'm not a AAA member so I don't know about those...

Not sure if I want Disney veteran status . I really should get a life (or at least a job)!!

Jodie

See I am a Word Document girl with tables and charts for all my Disney info! I can do basic spreadshet stuff, but I don't know how to use all the formulas like Dh does, so I leave all that up to him

She probably can't get as big a discount as AAA and mapleleaf so you probably won't be needing to eat any hats! I don't have AAA so I don't know about those.....

The major reason I use her is for the convenience really.

 

[pillow]

See I am a Word Document girl with tables and charts for all my Disney info! I can do basic spreadshet stuff, but I don't know how to use all the formulas like Dh does, so I leave all that up to him

She probably can't get as big a discount as AAA and mapleleaf so you probably won't be needing to eat any hats! I don't have AAA so I don't know about those.....

The major reason I use her is for the convenience really.

AAA just gets you 10% off the published room rate. For the more expensive resorts, it can really add up. The yearly membership fee isn't that expensive ($60 or so I think). The discounts definitely outweight the membership fee. I've used them on several occasions when my tire has gone flat and I was by myself or with the kids + most hotels give you about 10% off with AAA.

The maple leaf discount isn't really that much, but I'm a cheapo and will save wherever I can . . . so that I can splurge at some of the yummier restaurants.

On a different note - I've noticed that the Dolphin offers some really good room rates from time to time (not AAA). We're paying $188 (including tax) when we go over Thanksgiving. Dreams Unlimited Travel offers a slightly lower rate on their website (no pkg - just the Dolphin room rate). We've stayed there before and liked it.

Jodie