OOP vs DDP - help!!!!!!! Any number crunchers?

[333disneymom]

We need a little more information. How many nights is your trip?

As of now, you have 6 credits worth booked, so you'll need a 6 night trip to even make the dining plan close to worthwhile.
The dining plan is going to cost your family $128.37/night.
We have no pricing information on Be Our Guest, but I imagine you'll do fine there, since it's a dinner. I'll leave it out of the calculations though, so we're dealing with 5 credits instead of 6.
Akershus = $105.41
CRT = $137.61
Chef Mickey's = $78.79
Mama Melrose (F! Package) = $77.97
Total =$399.78/5=$74.96 (average)

That leaves you with $48.41 to cover with your Quick Service meal and snack every day. Even Wolfgang Puck Express (the most expensive quick service on the property) maxes out at around $20/adult and $7/child (and that's for meaty dishes) so unless you're planning on eating your quick service in Downtown Disney EVERY day, the Dining Plan would not be a good deal for you. EDIT: You may "break even" but I doubt it will save you any money.

Pricing information from allears.net. Buffet and Dining Plan pricing are seasonal, so the values may vary slightly.

That's how we often figure out if it works for us, but in your example above, you only gave 4 reservations and divided by 5. In fact, none of the meals listed are lower than your total, unless I am missing something? If you divide by 4, the per meal cost for these 4 dinners would average about $100, using your numbers.Those per meal prices are probably very helpful to OP to figure out if it's worth it.

Edited to add - CRT is 2 credits so it would be divided by 5

Good luck with your decision OP.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

If I were you, instead of getting the DDP, I would put the cost of the DDP onto a Disney gift card or a VISA gift card. Use that gift card for all of your food, snacks, and drinks. If you have any $$ left over, you can use it for extra souvenirs or (if it is a VISA) anything, really. This way, you don't feel tied down to the DDP and you won't worry about using all of your credits. I've heard of people doing this and a lot of people actually have quite a bit of money left over.

Yep

 

[tamarabannon]

I've tried to use the cafeen post but I'm afraid my brain is addled and I can't figure it out!

We're going for 9 nights. When we do table service, it's usually a)Character and b) buffet.

I have 2 kids, aged 7 and 9. My 9 year old often wants the adult sized portion for quick service, which is fine, as myself of my husband will eat the kids meal.

If we were paying OOP, we would NOT order dessert at every meal.

We tend to buy one or 2 mugs per visit, unless they're included. We've only ever done free DDP. I like the convenience. We do use our snack credits, but might not buy as many if we were doing OOP.

We'd like to do Cinderella's table and hoop deedoo review this time.

I just can't figure out how to tell what's best?? also my son is autistic, so we eat at different times, and have had to replace the kid meal offered with basic chicken nuggets and fries etc a few times. (O'hana and the restaurant in land and sea at Epcot). zWe would not do huge meals every time unless we had the free dining.

how could I tell what was better for me??

 

[danceintherain]

That's how we often figure out if it works for us, but in your example above, you only gave 4 reservations and divided by 5. In fact, none of the meals listed are lower than your total, unless I am missing something? If you divide by 4, the per meal cost for these 4 dinners would average about $100, using your numbers.Tthose per meal prices are probably very helpful to OP to figure out if it's worth it.

Good luck with your decision OP.

CRT is a 2 credit meal, which is why I divided by 5 credits, so the "per credit" cost would be around $75 for all three of them. That's where the big "loss" comes in, because it brings their per credit value for that one meal down to $68.81, which is less than half of what they'd be paying for the dining plan for one night. If they did better with their other meals, they could make up for it, but the only one that is a big "gainer" is Akershus, all the rest are right around $75.

If they chose to pay out of pocket for CRT (their worse per credit value) they would have 2 extra TS credits. One they could use for Be Our Guest, and let's put in Chefs de France's prix fixe menu price just for comparison - $39.99 per adult plus $9 for the child, so $88.98. If they then added 1900 Park Fare (as they suggest they might) for dinner (the more expensive meal) their per credit value for that meal would be $95.82 which would even the playing field slightly, bringing their average per credit total to $89.40, which would leave $38.97 leftover for counter service. Definitely a better prospect, but not by much.
I suppose I'm not taking into consideration the included mugs, so if they're big coffee/soda drinkers, then that would help. Personally, I think the mugs are a joke on the dining plan, because when on the dining plan your drinks are already included, but I'm not a big soda/coffee drinker.

To the OP - These new calculations do suggest that you might be able to save a little bit of money on the dining plan, but you would have to add another table service meal, and pay out of pocket for CRT. It's also hanging a good deal on the eventual cost for a meal at Be Our Guest. It could be much less than what I'm suggesting, and we probably won't know until November. Alternatively, the vegetarian options on the Chefs de France menu around only around $19, so with drink and dessert, you may barely scratch $30/adult with $9 for your child, which would bring it in under my original per credit average and not a good deal for a dining credit.

 

[333disneymom]

CRT is a 2 credit meal, which is why I divided by 5 credits, so the "per credit" cost would be around $75 for all three of them. That's where the big "loss" comes in, because it brings their per credit value for that one meal down to $68.81, which is less than half of what they'd be paying for the dining plan for one night. If they did better with their other meals, they could make up for it, but the only one that is a big "gainer" is Akershus, all the rest are right around $75.

If they chose to pay out of pocket for CRT (their worse per credit value) they would have 2 extra TS credits. One they could use for Be Our Guest, and let's put in Chefs de France's prix fixe menu price just for comparison - $39.99 per adult plus $9 for the child, so $88.98. If they then added 1900 Park Fare (as they suggest they might) for dinner (the more expensive meal) their per credit value for that meal would be $95.82 which would even the playing field slightly, bringing their average per credit total to $89.40, which would leave $38.97 leftover for counter service. Definitely a better prospect, but not by much.
I suppose I'm not taking into consideration the included mugs, so if they're big coffee/soda drinkers, then that would help. Personally, I think the mugs are a joke on the dining plan, because when on the dining plan your drinks are already included, but I'm not a big soda/coffee drinker.

To the OP - These new calculations do suggest that you might be able to save a little bit of money on the dining plan, but you would have to add another table service meal, and pay out of pocket for CRT. It's also hanging a good deal on the eventual cost for a meal at Be Our Guest. It could be much less than what I'm suggesting, and we probably won't know until November. Alternatively, the vegetarian options on the Chefs de France menu around only around $19, so with drink and dessert, you may barely scratch $30/adult with $9 for your child, which would bring it in under my original per credit average and not a good deal for a dining credit.

Right. I was thinking CP, not CRT. With CRT as a meal choice, you are absolutely right. This is why I think it's so important to run numbers. Once upon a time, if you had children under 10, you could probably come out on the plus side. Nowadays, you're lucky to save a few dollars, but with all the desserts included, which many don't normally eat at every CS and TS, it is often better to skip the DDP and order like you normally would eat. This is exactly why I haven't bought the DDP for our December trip. I'm thinking of trying TIW this time instead.

 

[newbie2013]

Thanks everyone - I will. Heck out the spreadsheet and see if I can figure it out! But will have to wait until thurs - carpool and dentist await me tomorrow!
I will also call wdw to find out the real buffet costs ....

I will keep u posted!