Opinions on total trip price

[ash901]

I just booked 6 nights at POR May 2016
2 adults
2 children
5 day tickets- no hopper
Regular dining plan
TA added water parks and more at no extra to me

Total was 3178.72
This is roughly $500 cheaper that what I figured from Disney's website. (not factoring water parks and more)

Opinions- Is this the biggest deal I will find or do you think when Disney releases the spring discounts it will be better? Thanks

 

[worm761]

I think you'll see a better deal in a few months. I'm wanting to go back in April and there are no discounts out for that time frame yet.

 

[Alesia]

You can book it now and the TA can apply a discount if something comes up.

 

[HM]

I would skip the Dining Plan. Unless you're planning a bunch of character meals, you'll come out ahead if you just order what you want and pay for it.

I'd also find out if your TA keep looking for discounts and if she/he does, go ahead and book if the price works for you as is (just in case no discount happens). If not, just wait for a discount to come out for your time period and book then.

 

[ash901]

Thank you. I did talk about possibly dropping the dining plan, but DH likes the idea of it being like a pre paid trip. Im positive that it would end up being cheaper paying out of pocket, but he is scared that we would restrict ourselves and end up in the food court for most meals. I did book this, but I was hoping maybe a new discount would apply.

 

[DisneyDude71]

Depending on how old your kids are it would be a great time to do character dining, or places you wouldn't go to otherwise, book to get your moneys worth. Eat Steak not hamburger! Burn two credits eat at the castle! LeCellier Steakhouse, go to for the gusto, then if you pay out of pocket for a 15 dollar meal it wont hurt so bad if you take advantage of your table service credits. Tell your TA you want the high end dinners 6 Table service credits - 2 for the Castle, 2 for LeCellier, 2 character buffets, then you can go out of pocket. Use it to your advantage.

 

[ash901]

DD has requested CRT and the dining plan makes it easier to swallow for some reason. DS wants Tusker house and DH wants Ohana. I thinks those with a few others we can find would be good use of the credits.

 

[DisneyDude71]

There is four table service credits right there. I would get your TA on it. that way they can get those reservations for CRT, those go fast!

 

[Shmily1]

Thank you. I did talk about possibly dropping the dining plan, but DH likes the idea of it being like a pre paid trip. Im positive that it would end up being cheaper paying out of pocket, but he is scared that we would restrict ourselves and end up in the food court for most meals. I did book this, but I was hoping maybe a new discount would apply.

I would definitely keep the dining plan. Unless you are doing quick service to "get by", it is best to get the dining plan since you can order what you want. True that it's not the dining plan of old but it is still a good deal with the pricing of dining and paying out of pocket.

 

[worm761]

I would definitely keep the dining plan. Unless you are doing quick service to "get by", it is best to get the dining plan since you can order what you want. True that it's not the dining plan of old but it is still a good deal with the pricing of dining and paying out of pocket.

That depends on how your family eats. Everyone should do the math for themselves. We don't eat desserts but do eat apps. We don't do a table service every single day either. It works for some people but not everyone.

 

[NKHarris329]

For my family of 4 it doesn't make sense to get the dining plan. We don't need or want a Table Service meal every day, but want more than we would be happy paying out of pocket in addition to the QS plan. Plus, my girls are not big eaters and would be more than happy splitting a meal or sharing with Mom & Dad.

The Dining Plan can work out wonderfully, or end up costing more. There are lots of good resources to help you calculate if it is right for your family.

 

[DisneyMom0709]

That's a great deal! Was this on the Disney site

 

[audreyj312]

I just booked 6 nights at POR May 2016
2 adults
2 children
5 day tickets- no hopper
Regular dining plan
TA added water parks and more at no extra to me

Total was 3178.72
This is roughly $500 cheaper that what I figured from Disney's website. (not factoring water parks and more)

Opinions- Is this the biggest deal I will find or do you think when Disney releases the spring discounts it will be better? Thanks

If you keep looking and they offer it cheaper at any time before you arrive.. disney will refund you the difference

 

[vikster1]

I would book and have the price adjusted if you see something better.

Thank you. I did talk about possibly dropping the dining plan, but DH likes the idea of it being like a pre paid trip. Im positive that it would end up being cheaper paying out of pocket, but he is scared that we would restrict ourselves and end up in the food court for most meals. I did book this, but I was hoping maybe a new discount would apply.

Keep in mind the more you spend, the better the TA commision. So, Yes she will push the dining plan.

DD has requested CRT and the dining plan makes it easier to swallow for some reason. DS wants Tusker house and DH wants Ohana. I thinks those with a few others we can find would be good use of the credits.

If you do all those meal then DP might be worth it for your fqamily. Access, do you eat 3 meals a day. Do you eat dessert at each meal, break down the cost and see what it really costs per family member. You might fall over. lol Kids 9 and under are also cheaper.

 

[SonicGuy]

Maybe its just the husbands, but I agree with previous posters comment about her husband - the DDP isn't really about the savings as much as having it already paid for.

 

[amylevan]

There will likely be a spring discount.

I would definitely keep the dining plan. Unless you are doing quick service to "get by", it is best to get the dining plan since you can order what you want. True that it's not the dining plan of old but it is still a good deal with the pricing of dining and paying out of pocket.

I feel bad about staying off topic, but this is far from true for everyone. We are a family of 4 (2 adults 2 children) who eats 1 TS every day and orders what we want, and the DDP does not save us money - so we don't get it. I run the numbers every single trip and it has yet to make sense.

 

[CruisingKate]

W once did Free Dining during Food and Wine - it was also our first "couples" trip. The dining definitely changed our usual touring. I liked trying it, but wouldn't do this again.

For those who like the pre-pay aspect --- We now buy Disney gift cards through the Raise/Target method. We now have "pre-paid" dining OUR way at a discount. It's easy to estimate our dining costs, based on menus and past trips. We bring enough Disney gc to cover meals.

 

[LovesTimone]

Book your trip, if another discount happens then have TA apply it to your trip. But do be aware that sometimes you might have to change to a different hotel, as the one you booked might not be available for this discount. So if its important that you stay at a certain hotel for theming or for the pool keep this in mind.

As far as the dinning plan. DH likes... no lets make that loves the DDP options. He likes knowing that everything is pretty much paid for up front and doesn't worry about what is being ordered. Part of vacation should be not worrying about the cost of meals. There is a lot of chatter about DDP, but you should try it at least once to see if it works for your family. For us once the kids got to a certain age we went with DDXDP, which is a lot of food, but for us it worked. We enjoyed character meals and 2 table service meals. Make the most of your TS entitlements, You don't have to use them for dinner... most people prefer to, Character breakfast or lunch was a good way for us to step away from all the excitement and regroup. Do your homework for what your family likes, also you can share meals at TS and QS locations. So you can make your credits go farther. One of our favorite ways to make then stretch was to get 2 large breakfast platters, and share them with our DD's, basically they only wanted the mickey waffles or pancakes, if they wanted some bacon or sausage we would get a side order and pay out of pocket. So this give you 2 kids QS to share later on. We would get kids chicken fingers and fries, for a snack in between breakfast and dinner. There are lots of ways to stretch the credits. They are good till midnight on the day of check out. So you can grab breakfast, or lunch still as long as the credits are available or use them for to go for the airport. Make sure to use up all your snack credits, again lots of creative ways to use.

Just a side note ; We love POR, you can go between POR and POFQ to use the pool and food court which is nice and also the boat to Disney Spring (DTD).

 

[Mickfarland4]

Thank you. I did talk about possibly dropping the dining plan, but DH likes the idea of it being like a pre paid trip. Im positive that it would end up being cheaper paying out of pocket, but he is scared that we would restrict ourselves and end up in the food court for most meals. I did book this, but I was hoping maybe a new discount would apply.

This is what I like about the idea of getting DDP. I feel we wouldnt order steaks or expensive meals if paying oop because I would be worried about money.

 

[ash901]

Thank u all for the opinions! For now we are keeping the plan and Im excited!