Ordering Most Expensive Items while on DDP- Anyone Ever Try This?

[Fiveisaparty]

I just did a rough draft to decide if ddp was worth it for me. I am going first week dec so I don't have any discounts yet. With 1 adult 3 kids it seems cheaper for me. We are going to CRT, Boma, chef mickey, ohana and hopefully BOG. Even without counter service factored in it is cheaper for me to do the dining plan. I was hoping oop would be, but I guess it's the 3 kids / 1 adult that makes it less this time.

 

[splashmtnfan]

Agree totally! DH and I will never go without the dining plan, even for just the convenience of prepaying. If we were paying out of pocket I wouldn't get to eat whatever I wanted because I would try to be frugal. It's not for everyone, but we had free dining the past two trips (and I also totally agree that it is free!) and we are even paying for it this year because we love it!

I LOVE the DDP!!! I TOO will pay if I don't get the Free Dining! AND we also saved close to $300 a night once we got our FREE Dining pin code on a reservation we had already made! SUPER excited about our Fall trip with Free Dining!!

 

[wdwobsessed]

The times I have gone and focused on the biggest bang for the buck it wasn't as fun or enjoyable. Yes, it's fun to have the most expensive steak on the menu but after a day or two of steak you may just want a salad ... ya know!

I like it for the pre-paid aspect and the aspect that I don't have to budget for food ... the kids can get dessert and a snack in the park without counting pennies during our trip.

 

[bluejasmine]

I agree that if your making your ADRs all for the most bang you may not enjoy it as much, expensive doesn't mean better or that you'll like it. Sure make an ADR or two where you want to try some new things where they might be a bit pricey but make most of your ADRs based on you & your family's taste or I fear you will be disappointed!

We ate at Calli Grill & tho we loved the sushi ( payed OOP for that) our entree that we used two TS credits for we're not that good, steak was chewy, potatos cold & dry, green beans could have been cooked just a bit more.

Narcossee we were so excited about havi g lobster on DDP but it was very chewy in fact I could really only eat the claws & the pasta that came with it.

My favorite meals were unexpected ones. Nine Dragons, LTT lunch, SCi Fi, Capts Grill, Just simple but really good food!

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[mtfarlin]

I have always gotten the dining plan whenever I go even when I have gone as a solo traveler. I just like the peace of mind that I don't have to drag along a lot of money, use credit cards or charge to my room the cost of any of my meals while I am on vacation. I am a terrible saver and like to shop (would probably spend the money I had budgeted for meals....) so prepaying for my meals thru the dining plan is good for me. If I come out ahead, break even or if I don't, Just knowing it has been paid for in advance makes for a less stressful vacation for me

 

[DCLbrideSept2009]

We got the best deal in 2009. 7 people in 2 rooms at pop, rack rate but lowest rack rate at $82/night per room. We had 7 ppl total and had free dining and this was the regular DDP not the QS you get now. The dining plan was definitely worth more than we paid for the rooms.

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[splashmtnfan]

We got the best deal in 2009. 7 people in 2 rooms at pop, rack rate but lowest rack rate at $82/night per room. We had 7 ppl total and had free dining and this was the regular DDP not the QS you get now. The dining plan was definitely worth more than we paid for the rooms.

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We Texans know how to do it right! We had 7 in two rooms at POR and SERIOUSLY saved some MAJOR bucks!!!

 

[Missytara]

FD normally wouldn't work for me, because I mostly go solo. Room discount works best. Also, when I go by myself, normally I do a couple of apps and a dessert, so it would not pay for me.

However, when I do take people, they like the ability of paying up front and not having to worry about anything but apps, tips, or drinks. I always book the most expensive places I can that take 1 TS credit, so we can be sure to have dinner every day.

Even with the dining plan going up last year, I still think you can at least break even. The nice part is knowing if you are traveling with someone on a shoestring, they can feel part of the experience and not have to worry about it.

However, I did something similar with FD one year; we were two rooms; five adults and two children. Boy, did we save some serious money that year. It made it possible for another couple and their two children to travel with us; I had already paid for my room and the other couple already paid for their room. We got connecting rooms as requested. And it was this couple's first vacation ever together.

You cannot put a price on things like that.

 

[pilferk]

I just did a rough draft to decide if ddp was worth it for me. I am going first week dec so I don't have any discounts yet. With 1 adult 3 kids it seems cheaper for me. We are going to CRT, Boma, chef mickey, ohana and hopefully BOG. Even without counter service factored in it is cheaper for me to do the dining plan. I was hoping oop would be, but I guess it's the 3 kids / 1 adult that makes it less this time.

If you have kids under 10....that's when it the savings start to accumulate. The more you have, the better the plans math works out.

When we were 2 adults and 3 under 10...the DDP worked out very well for us, because we could not buy a CS, TS, and snack, per day, for less than the cost of the kids plan. We basically broke even on the adult side, but saved a decent amount on the kids.

Now, we are 2 adults, 1 Disney adult (my oldest is 10), and 2 kids. It's no longer a good deal for us...because my 10 year old can not/does not eat like an adult. She simply can't consume enough food to justify paying upwards of $50 per day for her meals.

We did our December trip OFF the DDP. By going OOP, we ended up saving roughly $275 over what the DDP would have cost us...and threw in an extra TS meal, to boot. That's because in some places my oldest ordered off the kids menu and in MOST cases we were able to share an appetizer OR desert at dinner with the whole table of "adults". Basically, at most non-buffet TS we were paying for 2 or 3 adult entrees, 2 or 3 kids meals, and ONE app/desert.

Full disclosure: We are DVC members so we do not (unless we want to book a room AND buy Disney priced tickets) have free dining available to us. Likewise, we typically are in a 1BR and stock our fridge..so refillable mugs have no use for us, either.

It's different for every traveling party. Everyone's answer to the question "Does this work for me" is going to be slightly different. And it's probably going to change, over time, especially if you have young kids.

 

[Abharmagic]

Back-- Update!! I have 2 kids under 10. When all was said and done saved just over $200. ONlLY ordered what I WANTED to eat. My DH is an eater, likes steak and ribs. Did not "stress" and have an unenjoyable vacation either. Just ate what we wanted and focused on eating more than a salad or sandwich. Wasn't a contest by any means, just curious what we spent vs. what we spent if you KWIM. I agree-- just with SNACKS we completely came out ahead- focusing on the $5 snacks instead of the $1 and $2 snacks really added up. YUMMY Goofy's Candy Co Krispie treats to name just one huge, yummy and higher priced snack credit.

 

[Cafeen]

Back-- Update!! I have 2 kids under 10. When all was said and done saved just over $200. ONlLY ordered what I WANTED to eat. My DH is an eater, likes steak and ribs. Did not "stress" and have an unenjoyable vacation either. Just ate what we wanted and focused on eating more than a salad or sandwich. Wasn't a contest by any means, just curious what we spent vs. what we spent if you KWIM. I agree-- just with SNACKS we completely came out ahead- focusing on the $5 snacks instead of the $1 and $2 snacks really added up. YUMMY Goofy's Candy Co Krispie treats to name just one huge, yummy and higher priced snack credit.

And if you save money while doing that, then you're "doing it right" . Grats on the savings.

 

[gnome1b]

I would totally have to disagree.
I love the dining plan and use it every time we go.
I am doing the deluxe dining plan for my December trip.

I had booked a AAA package for a past trip, using whatever discount the AAA package got me.
When They announced a free dining package, I had them change my package from AAA to free dining, and it only saved me $125 over the course of my 9 day trip.
So it is definitely not "Free" dining when you use one of those promotions, because you are now paying the rack rate for the room.

That being said, I think the dining plan is a great way to prepay the dining portion of your vacation, and I think it allows me to eat at some restaurants that I might not normally have tried, has I had to pay out of pocket for my meals.

We have never used a room only discount. And YES the dining plan is actually 100% free. I booked my vacation paying rack rate for 9 nights in a family suite. Booked and paid for. Then the free dining promo came out and I added it to our already booked and paid for reservation. BOOM. FREE DINING IS FREE. It saved us $275 a day not having to pay for the dining plan.

If you save 20% off a value room that would have saved us about $40 a night. Taking the free dining with 5 Disney adults saved us $275 a night.

Just because you pay full price rack rate for the room doesn't mean the dining isn't free. That is just a silly way to look at things. If you go into JCPenneys and pay full price for a pair of jeans to get a tank top free, just because you didn't get a discount on the jeans doesn't mean the tank top wasn't free.

Usually ppl who don't like the dining plan are the ones who will come into these threads and say THE DINING PLAN ISN'T REALLY FREE. Yes it is.

If you have 5 Disney adults in a room there will never be ANY DISCOUNT that is a better discount than free dining. Even if you are in a $400 a night room and get a 35% off room discount the free dining for 5 adults will still be double the discount the room only discount is.

Even if there are only 2 of us and we stay in a mod ($180 a night) a 25% room only discount would save us a little over $40 a night. The free dining would save us $110 a night. So no matter how you look at it, unless you are just 2 ppl and you are staying in a $400 a night room and get 30% or better room discount, the free dining will always save you more. Period.