Skipping DDP this time around

[Aliceacc]

I do love all those pre-paid meals, but it's not in the cards this trip.

I'm thinking we'll probably book 5 table service meals (as opposed to 7).

People who don't do DDP, tell me: any tricks to having good meals without breaking the bank? I'm thinking we'll dump $2000 onto a debit card, and "pretend." And being that we'll be close to Epcot, we can do a lot of meals there.

Aside from the "getting extra hamburger buns" type of stuff (not a value judgment, simply not our style)-- any suggestions???

 

[cvjw]

We're DVC and normally buy the dining plan for our family of 4. This past October, just DH and I went for Food and Wine. We decided to try something different, since we normally throw so much food away on the dining plan. We bought the Tables in Wonderland card, and went to our favorite table service restaurants as usual. Since we weren't on the dining plan, we were free to order appetizers, share entrees, share deserts, etc - just order exactly what we wanted. With the tables in wonderland card, you get 20% off your meal, or the tip for free. We loved it. We ordered exactly what we wanted - bread service, salads - things not available on the dining plan. Our meals ended up much cheaper than the dining plan would have been for those days, and we didn't throw any food away.

 

[akcire]

Drink water & skip desserts.

That will save an average of $15 a day over the "dining plan meal price". Assuming 2 meals with dessert & a drink.

I am not saying you should avoid sweets, but don't make it a regular occurance. I am sure at home you don't eat dessert twice a day plus have dessert like snacks. All of the sweets has always been my objection to the meal plan.

 

[Darcy03231]

My mom and I share meals a lot. We find the portions to be pretty large at some places. Then, if we're hungry later we share a snack. Neither one of us has big appetites. The last time we went we were on free dining and at the end of the week we had a bunch of CS meals and snacks left over. We were able to buy a bunch of the Mickey Head rice krispie snacks to bring home for others to enjoy.

 

[woody5]

Have you taken a look at the menu prices at the places you plan to eat? For our family, if we were doing 5 sit down meals, the dining plan would still save you money. One sit down meal often will cover the cost of the dining plan.

 

[yakkin' yeti]

We actually enjoy the freedom of NOT having the dining plan -- as our waiter at Chefs de France said, "Ah, then you can order whatever you wish."

Some ways we saved money over the DDP: Sharing dessert instead of ordering individual ones. Skipping soda. Often, I would share an entree with my son, who really doesn't like the kid's meals, and then get a soup or an appetizer for myself.

The portions were gigantic, so we never left hungry. Plus, we didn't gain weight, since we weren't trying to down two desserts a day, plus snacks. We ate at some nice table service restaurants: Kouzzina, Flying Fish, Chefs, Crystal Palace and Tusker House breakfast and took our DS for a trip to Goofy's Candy Co. (where he could get whatever he wanted, since he wasn't stuck with only the "official" snacks). And we went to the Garden View Tea Lounge (which isn't DDP), and we all had scones, tea sandwiches and strawberries and whipped cream (or pastries) for less than a TS lunch would have been. So, we definitely didn't feel deprived at all.

And on the day I got a nasty headache at AK near the end of our trip, and we had to cancel Yak & Yeti, we didn't have to worry about scrambling to reschedule something so we wouldn't be out money.

It's hard to save money at the buffets, so you might want to skip the really popular character meals.

If you're like me, you won't feel comfortable ordering the most expensive entrees and I did notice that, but I actually prefer appetizers to most entrees, so you can "spoil" yourself with a small plate of something amazing without blowing $50 on a steak.

 

[Aliceacc]

Have you taken a look at the menu prices at the places you plan to eat? For our family, if we were doing 5 sit down meals, the dining plan would still save you money. One sit down meal often will cover the cost of the dining plan.

We can save over $600 by getting YES park tickets. But that means no package, so no DDP.

While the DDP IS a good value for us, it doesn't save us $600+.
Plus, my 11 year old tends to eat like a bird.

I'm thinking we'll do more lunches than dinners, that should help.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

We have never done the DDP. But I have wanted to try an experiment - maybe you can come back and post your experience. I have thought I would put the cost of the DDP on a gift card and use the card only for our meals/snacks. Then see if there is money left or if I need more cash at the end of the trip.

We really don't like to do a sit down a day. Maybe we will do every other day or less. We eat out often at home and don't feel like it is the best use of our time while at Disney. So we choose our favorites (Sci fi, Rose and Crown, a character meal) and the rest are happy enough with a variety of counter service. Because of that touring style I never thought the DDP would pay for itself and I am afraid I would feel obligated to do a sit down meal everyday.

I hope you will come back and post if you came out even/spent more/spent less.

 

[Aliceacc]

I hope you will come back and post if you came out even/spent more/spent less.

No you don't. You hope I spent WAY less, right??

 

[blessedby3]

We never do the regular plan...just dont like committing to all the sit downs. We will do the Quick Service plan and pay oop for a couple of TS breakfasts (cheaper) and still come out cheaper than the price of the regular plan. We even split some CS meals. We will also order pizza from an off site place at least once (sometimes twice on a 9-10 night trip). Can you tell Im cheap Ordering water to drink and sharing desserts or limiting them will also save you lots. When we dont get the dining plan, I budget $100-$115 per day for our food. We have never had a problem with working within that price (like I said, we tend to split meals) for our family of 6. And again, this is for CS places.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

No you don't. You hope I spent WAY less, right??

NO no! I really would like to know what happens. I most likely won't change our plan but would like to know. Frankly, I think people get way to excited about Disney's food. I don't find the food all that special. Some of the experiences where food is served are really special but I can get a good steak at home. I however cannot ride Space Mountain at home. So we tour with that in mind. And because stopping at Harbor House gives me more Space Mountain time than dinning at Liberty Tree Tavern we usually chose Harbor House. But I have no reason to hope for one way or the other!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Looking at you signature, you would save lots of money by staying at the Dolphin rather than the Beach Club. You would still have access to EMH but no package to room or charging to room at Dolphin.

And depending on how many days you are planning and when you would have your next trip, it may be worthwhile for one adult to get an AP and then purchase the Tables in Wonderland card.

 

[rentayenta]

I do love all those pre-paid meals, but it's not in the cards this trip.

I'm thinking we'll probably book 5 table service meals (as opposed to 7).

People who don't do DDP, tell me: any tricks to having good meals without breaking the bank? I'm thinking we'll dump $2000 onto a debit card, and "pretend." And being that we'll be close to Epcot, we can do a lot of meals there.

Aside from the "getting extra hamburger buns" type of stuff (not a value judgment, simply not our style)-- any suggestions???

Share. I generally find Disney portions to be too much for one person and perfect for me and my 14 y/o to share.

The DDP doesn't work for us simply because it doesn't fit our dining style. What family of 5 really needs 5 desserts with dinner? And 5 desserts with lunch? It makes us order in a way we normally wouldn't.

 

[Marionnette]

I do love all those pre-paid meals, but it's not in the cards this trip.

I'm thinking we'll probably book 5 table service meals (as opposed to 7).

People who don't do DDP, tell me: any tricks to having good meals without breaking the bank? I'm thinking we'll dump $2000 onto a debit card, and "pretend." And being that we'll be close to Epcot, we can do a lot of meals there.

Aside from the "getting extra hamburger buns" type of stuff (not a value judgment, simply not our style)-- any suggestions???

My husband and I did a "not DDP" trip the last time we were in Disney. It actually worked out better than if we had bought the DDP.

First of all, we aren't dessert eaters. So having a counter service and table service meal each day with desserts each time does not fit into our dining style. But we like appetizers, which are not included in the regular DDP. We always ended up paying extra for those.

We normally drink water with our meals at home. Sometimes we will also have a glass of wine with dinner. Again, neither of those fit in with the dining plan.

I brought some of those individual cereals and bought milk and juice in the gift shop. We ate breakfast in the room. We ate lunch at the counter service places when we were hungry but didn't buy anything we woudn't eat (like desserts or soda).

After adding it all up, it turns out that we spent around the same amount of money that we would have if we had gotten the dining plan. But we didn't have to worry about snack credits or how many TS credits a meal would require. And we didn't have to tip our server for bringing a dessert that we didn't want to eat anyway.

My advice is to just go and eat what you want. Forget about trying to get the best bang for your buck. You're on vacation and you should enjoy it.

 

[maggiew]

We've never done the dining plan since it is not the way we eat. My girls and I have small appetite. So there is no way we could eat 4 full meals each time including desserts!!

This is a typical meal for us: DH gets his own meal. Me and DD19 share. DD16 gets appetizer. We don't do it to save money, but because that is about all we can eat. And we would probably have leftovers. DDs usually get water but I will get a soda and DH might get a beer if its dinner (and not at MK).

At the pizza place in Italy, DH and I shared an INDIVIDUAL pizza and got the salad for 2. It was plenty of food. This was on our "no kids" trip.

I also think that EPCOT has a lot of great counter service places. We like to go there and snack around the world. We might get one adult entree someplace and all share it a little. Then, later we might get another adult entree and share. Maybe get a pastry in France, etc. This will fill us up!

Maggie

 

[clm10308]

We did the DP about 5yrs ago ( when it included app,entre, dessert, and tips along with the CS and snack). While it was great to have it paid off before we ever got there, it was just too much/wrong type of food for us.
We still do at least one TS meal each day, but can pick what we each want. My now 9DS often prefers to order an appetizer off the adult menu instead of a kids meal. My 16dd is very picky and eats like a bird even if she like something ( such as 1/2 a grilled cheese sandwich), so she can share or just get a drink and we dod not have to worry about losing money. We still get desserts, but splitting 2 among four of us is plenty leaves us tone able to enjoy some of the other offerings in the park without feeling like we are over eating.
Also, no one but me like to get up early, so no more ADRs for breakfast this trip.

Oh yeah, we are DVC members, so no free dining. I would reconcider if we could get free dining.

 

[laughinplace199]

My kids often share CS meals at lunchtime, which saves us a little bit of money.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Hi I noticed you are staying at the beach club. one way to save a little while there is to buy the bags of bagels ($5/$6 for 5) in the marketplace and use the toaster there for breakfast. Butter etc is complimentary. Also we frequently ordered the kids meals with 2 sides of fries and they were more than enough for an adult. Epcot has an amazing range of quick service meals than are ample enough to share at lunch. Personally we like a sit-down meal in the evening (with wine) but we always share apps and desserts if we order them at all. Have a great trip

 

[kirstenb1]

We ate at the Pirata y Perico c/s place at MK. The kids meals had a cheese quesadilla. There's a toppings bar for both it and Pecos Bills. By the time you add in lettuce, tomato salsa etc, it was enough food for an adult.

 

[Aliceacc]

NO no! I really would like to know what happens. I most likely won't change our plan but would like to know. Frankly, I think people get way to excited about Disney's food. I don't find the food all that special. Some of the experiences where food is served are really special but I can get a good steak at home. I however cannot ride Space Mountain at home. So we tour with that in mind. And because stopping at Harbor House gives me more Space Mountain time than dinning at Liberty Tree Tavern we usually chose Harbor House. But I have no reason to hope for one way or the other!

OK, let me rephrase that... I'M hoping to find that I spent way less.

I do like the food and atmosphere at some of the Disney restaurants... Coral Reef, Le Cellier, Yak and Yetti...

I know I can get good food at home, but I also enjoy getting good food there.