Tables in Wonderland. . . To buy or not to buy?

[erionm]

TIW is good at Vero Beach restaurants...? Can I purchase it at the front desk there since we will be at Vero before our next WDW trip?

And it's good at V&A's too? I definitely have to reconsider the annual pass thing, wasn't sure it would be worth it, but sounds like a dynamite combination!

I pretty sure that VB can't sell the TiW card. None of the WDW resort sell it. It can only be purchased at a Theme Park Ticket window, Guest Relations location or by mail. You have to have an active AP in order to purchase the TiW card or you can purchase both at the same time.

 

[Mom B]

I pretty sure that VB can't sell the TiW card. None of the WDW resort sell it. It can only be purchased at a Theme Park Ticket window, Guest Relations location or by mail. You have to have an active AP in order to purchase the TiW card or you can purchase both at the same time.

Well, I guess that makes sense but kind of a bummer. Maybe one of these days it will work out for us. Till then, we'll just pay full price or use the DVC discounts. It's all good!

 

[heathers4um]

I was ALL SET to pick up the phone and add the DDP onto my first trip home reservation in 3 days...

and agonized over the DDP vs. TiW card for weeks!

Now I am rethinking...

it would be nice to not be strapped to a full meal if we arent famished and we are adult beverage lovers...

we wont have to count out meals, we can share and we are more appie people than desserts. Well, we could share the dessert cuz I love them!

I added up the costs of the ADR's we have and it comes out about $130 more with the TiW BUT tips are included. We would tip out about that much anyway.

Thanks for changing my mind at the last minute and saving us!!

 

[gstew24]

your tip is not included in the dinning plan and if you like high end restaurants tiw is worth it it's 20% on food and alcohol

 

[Cricket2]

At which bars will TIW work @ Vero? Never been there before so this is important info

 

[erionm]

At which bars will TIW work @ Vero? Never been there before so this is important info

Disney's Vero Beach Resort – The Green Cabin Room, Shutter's, Sonya's (Excludes Sunday Brunch)

I've posted the full list of locations that offer the TiW discount which is in post #31 of this thread.

 

[TDC Nala]

Four words keep me coming back to TiW.

It works on booze.

If only La Cava del Tequila would start taking it.

And it's good at V&A's too?

Main dining room only - it's not accepted for Chefs Table or Queen Victoria Room. Dinner for two there with wine pairings can pay for your TIW membership! (The added tip there is 20%, not 18)

 

[honeymo78]

Four words keep me coming back to TiW.

It works on booze.

If only La Cava del Tequila would start taking it.

This is so true it deserves repeating. And it doesn't hurt that it now works at Shulas.

 

[Anna114]

So here's a question for the experts. I know it expires in a year but does the year start from when you buy it or from the first time you use it?

 

[erionm]

So here's a question for the experts. I know it expires in a year but does the year start from when you buy it or from the first time you use it?

Starts on the date of purchase.

 

[goofy4tink]

Every single trip to WDW, I sit and figure out my dining costs. And almost every single time, the TiW card is what I go with. We enjoy eating at WDW. It is my dh's favorite thing to do..so we do two TS meals a day. The dining plan just doesn't get it done for us anymore. When I add up the daily costs, as well as the tips, it comes out to be hundreds of dollars more expensive than using the TiW card.
IF we got the deluxe dining plan, it is way too expensive and we don't need three TS meals a day.
Really....if you sit down and figure out your costs, you will come up with a good idea of which way to go.

When buying the TiW card, you usually get 13 months use out of it. If you bought one today, it would expire Nov 30 2011. If you buy them after mid-month you get that addtl few weeks at the end.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Every single trip to WDW, I sit and figure out my dining costs. And almost every single time, the TiW card is what I go with. We enjoy eating at WDW. It is my dh's favorite thing to do..so we do two TS meals a day. The dining plan just doesn't get it done for us anymore. When I add up the daily costs, as well as the tips, it comes out to be hundreds of dollars more expensive than using the TiW card.
IF we got the deluxe dining plan, it is way too expensive and we don't need three TS meals a day.
Really....if you sit down and figure out your costs, you will come up with a good idea of which way to go.

When buying the TiW card, you usually get 13 months use out of it. If you bought one today, it would expire Nov 30 2011. If you buy them after mid-month you get that addtl few weeks at the end.

Exactly! I always marvel at people thinking the DDP will save them money. We know it doesn't. We too tracked our costs for several trips both with and without the DDP, and we came out hundreds of dollars ahead with TIW over DDP or even DDDP.

 

[Granny]

Exactly! I always marvel at people thinking the DDP will save them money. We know it doesn't. We too tracked our costs for several trips both with and without the DDP, and we came out hundreds of dollars ahead with TIW over DDP or even DDDP.

Diane...I'm sure for some families DDP is a money saver. If they were going to eat all those meals on-site anyway, it does represent some savings. It doesn't work for us since we don't eat meals that often, but I can see where it could be a good deal for some. TIW works better for us too especially since we use it with our AP and get multiple trips out of one purchase.

 

[dsneygirl]

I really like TIW.

I like the flexibility. I never take desert or snacks so DDP is not really for me.
I like to decide how many table or quick meal we need.

But the needs for each person is different, so it is up to you to deceide which is better for you, DDP or TIW...

I agree. I like the TIW it gives me more flexibility in what we choose to eat. It also could be used at the lounges in the resorts for drinks. At times it's paid for itself in one trip when we bring the whole family.

Totally agree on the flexibility of the card vs DDP. Last trip we split a lot of entrees and we do enjoy a glass of wine with our meals so it's nice to have the discount on that.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Diane...I'm sure for some families DDP is a money saver. If they were going to eat all those meals on-site anyway, it does represent some savings. It doesn't work for us since we don't eat meals that often, but I can see where it could be a good deal for some. TIW works better for us too especially since we use it with our AP and get multiple trips out of one purchase.

I can see that if you have several children. Even if it doesn't save you money (Not convinced it does, because it cost DS more to do DDP with kids than with TIW too), it is probably well worth the extra expense for the convenience.

 

[gkrykewy]

I don't see how the DDP is convenient at all, especially for families. Who wants to juggle meal credits for a small army?

Rationing on vacation? What a nightmare. I'll never get the appeal. TIW all the way.

 

[thndrmatt]

Just a random contradictory opinion on DDDP.... DW and I took a 6 night trip with just us, using the free dinng upgraded to the deluxe plan. We ate at basically all the most expensive restaurants to include all the Signature Dinings we had not yet sampled. So almost every day we used 1 credit each for brunch, and 2 credits each for "linner." We then used all our snack credits at the Food & Wine festival. Total cost for the two of us for the 6 nights: $480. Total value of all the food consumed: $1425. Eating a grand worth of free food in a single week: priceless!

So in extreme cases if you're wanting to try out Narcoossees, Jiko, and all the other fantastic tastes of Disney, I highly recommend the Deluxe.

 

[gkrykewy]

Sounds like it worked brilliantly for you! However, with free dining, the fact that you paid full retail for your room has to be factored in as well. If you started adding up what you would have saved per night via a 40% off code or something like that, for example, I imagine that $1000 starts to vanish pretty quickly.

Aka, there's no such thing as a free linner.

 

[TDC Nala]

I eat at the signature restaurants too, and I've tried them all except Yachtsman, but I like that I can order three appetizers and no dessert if I want to, without having to worry about whether I am getting the best value from prepaid dining. I've used the QSDP and the basic DDP but never deluxe. At this point I will not be using a dining plan again. Not having DDP shouldn't stop anyone from trying signature restaurants if they want to try them. They cost two DDP credits, so it's pretty easy to keep your total expenditure below the monetary "value" of two DDP credits. And if you were going to buy wine or other alcohol (where a lot of the cost of my restaurant bill comes from) that isn't covered by DDP anyway.

Eating a grand worth of free food in a single week: priceless!

I know there are arguments about the rack rate room which I won't bring up, however if you upgraded to DXDDP you had to pay something around $30 per person per night for the upgrade, so it wasn't free, but deeply discounted (at least from the regular cost of deluxe DDP).

 

[Brandis]

I eat at the signature restaurants too, and I've tried them all except Yachtsman, but I like that I can order three appetizers and no dessert if I want to,

Sounds like me. Last time, at the California Grill I had the Pasta appetizer and then the 3 of us shared 4 flatbreads! Also my friends had 2 glasses of wine every evening, so getting a discount on that was nice as well.