So I calculated the deluxe dining plan vs oop

[gracie1]

And it came out cheaper to eat out of pocket I calculated off of allears and put in the appt., desserts, drinks, meals, tax and gratuity! It was about $100 less. These were the restaurants I looked at:

CRT, Boma, TuskerHouse, 50's prime time, sci fi, plaza, o'hana breakfast, kona, olivia's, chef mickeys, beaches and cream, jiko, narcoosees, citricos, yachtsman, california grill, crystal palace, le cellier, akershus, 1900 park fare.

Knowing that it was cheaper oop it would definately be cheaper considering we probably won't want dessert some nights so that will knock about $14 off the bill! I know it's not including snacks or the refillable mug, but I am just looking at the cost of meals. So I have fully concluded that I will be making adr's but no dining plan after months and months of research

 

[disney queen]

interesting. those are a lot of the same restaurants we chose. however, since we are AP holders, we use the tables in wonderland discount and it does come a little less w/that.

 

[sohappy]

I think that when you eat 2 credit meals it isn't as good of a value. The 2 credit meals are more expensive, but not usually double the price.

Also, is that $100 per person or $100 total. The mugs are $12ish and snacks are $4 x 2 per day x # of nights (I am guessing 9 based on your reservations). That would make it closer to $84 unaccounted for (or possibly less as I spend most of my snack credits on $2 water!)

For me, it is more about the convenience of it rather than the deal. I also try things that I wouldn't because it is already paid for. I would never order the most expensive thing just to get it. I order what I like. I am just happy not to deal with money/expenses while I am there.

Either way, you are at Disney World. Have a great trip!!

 

[gigi1313]

i did the math for our trip last fall and we came out *way* ahead w/the Deluxe plan... but we did CRT, HDDR & SoA, all of which have gratuity included... that made a big difference... plus, we would have ordered apps and dessert no matter how we were paying... and those snacks were a Godsend during the F&W festival... we tried *everything!*

 

[a1tinkfans]

we've been on FREE DINE atleast 5 times so far and we order what we like, when we like, sometimes apps and sometimes not...I always just say, ITS vacation AND Free Dine what could be better than that?
I LOVE not even thinking about spending money to eat....it is so relaxing...tips and extras just go on my KTTW and at end of trip..... I let my Disney dollars pay it off before we leave...so THAT is FREE too!!! Talk about LUCKY
I LOVE LOVE LOVE free dine and have NO COMPLAINTS in that regard....

 

[chocolateMinnie]

It is definitely a case of where you eat and also whether you want to worry about cost on holiday.

We have always paid OOP because we don't eat three meals a day just a ts breakfast and dinner but last year we did 14 meals including CRT twice (breakfast and dinner) and HDDR and broke about even with what we would have paid on dxdp. At the time we were getting $2 to the £1, with the rate running low for us at the moment and the dollar being so strong we are concerned that for our trip next year we would feel the necessity of restraining the kid's eating because of fear of cost. If we pay for DXDP at the sterling rate up front we know we can book our ADRs and not have to worry about the cost running up. I suspect this is the same for many people from the USA as well. You can calculate your cost in advance and irrespective of whether you come home having made a profit you can eat at will without watching the pennies throughout your holiday.

 

[Golf4food]

That's because you have so many 2 credit places in the list. Signatures are always a worse value on the DDP or DxDP because while you use twice as many credits the prices are not twice as expensive. Depending on the entree, in fact, you could have a higher bill at some 1 TS locations than some 2 TS locations.

If you eat at only or mostly just 1 TS locations, the DDP can certainly save some money if you intend to eat at the same locations no matter what.

 

[dd50]

I think it depends on the person to see if it is a better value or not. From what I had researched I will break even or close to it. If I was paying OOP I wouldn't be getting desserts and would share some meals. We are only doing 1 two credit meal at CRT plus my girls sometime like to eat off the kids menu.

My eldest daughter will be ahead because she is paying for herself and two children so with the TS she is ahead.

 

[ancestry]

I calculated the DxDP in the same way before we purchased it. We chose our restaurants and "pretend" ordered off the menu. We also included snacks, and the free refill mugs. My calculations showed us coming out $500 ahead (i.e. saving $500) as a family.

Although I have to say we have two children and a lot of the savings was due to them. Also, DH tends to love steak, steak, and more steak so there was a big savings for him as well.

 

[Tissa]

It's different for every family. For us, the dining plan is not a good deal. Both my boys are considered adults and still eat off the kids menu. We come out better just paying out of pocket. I did try it for our last trip and we ended up having to cut our trip short after 2 days due to a family emergency so I was out a lot of $$. Never again.

 

[jerrifox]

I agree with a PP poster that it really depends on the family. I have read that the deluxe plan is not as good as a value as the dining plan, and also that you spend SO much time eating...If that's what makes a vacation for you, then that's what you should do.

We had the dining plan last time we went but didn't exactly know how to use it so we breezed through our credits all on the second day. Just have a lot of fun and don't worry!

 

[ljcrochet]

You have to do what will work lout the best for you family. I love that when we figured it out based on the menus it was cheaper for us to go with the deluxe dining plan once DH figured out that we would have to pay on the meals if we paid with the TIW card which we still have.
I love eating dessert, but last trip without the dinning plan I didn't get dessert since I was either too full or too cheap to get the dessert if it wasn't included.