Those that did the OOP route

[PinkGreenBlue26]

Hi everyone!! New member ..but have been around for a week-reading everything I can ..

There is a lot of information on dining plans vs. out of pocket paying for food..it's kind of overwhelming but has also been eye opening too..I feel like before reading some of the posts..I would have been that person that just said "HEY! sign me up for the deluxe plan and it's all paid for up front..easypeasy!"

But..

I was curious ..if you did the out of pocket.. what did you use for payment ..credit card? debit card (with amount set aside for the trip) ..gift cards?..

And as far as gift cards go-I've seen someone mention about buying a gift card at Target and getting 10% off the price of the card - are the other ones out there like that?

My plan as of right now (may change 100 times before june) ..is to buy 5 cards with 200$ each on them and use them per day while in Disney - and any leftover cash is a bonus..and if we spend it all ..we spend it all

Thanks

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Cash or credit card.

I don't use gift cards. I could, except when I go eat at the Swan or Dolphin (the restaurants there don't accept them.) I just choose not to.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I have a Disney Visa so I use that at restaurants where there's a DV discount. In the past I've just charged all other meals to my room. It's just easier. I do GCs for my room but it's just too much trouble IMO to get the GCs for dining since the amount can vary. I know lots of people like getting GCs for dining to get that pre-paid feel but I have my vacation funds in a separate savings account so in my mind that money is set aside no differently than if it was on GCs but this way if I don't spend it at Disney it's still in my account.

 

[PinkGreenBlue26]

I have a Disney Visa so I use that at restaurants where there's a DV discount. In the past I've just charged all other meals to my room. It's just easier. I do GCs for my room but it's just too much trouble IMO to get the GCs for dining since the amount can vary. I know lots of people like getting GCs for dining to get that pre-paid feel but I have my vacation funds in a separate savings account so in my mind that money is set aside no differently than if it was on GCs but this way if I don't spend it at Disney it's still in my account.

I'll have to check into the Disney Visa route - I guess I was thinking that there probably wouldn't be that many gift cards left over (foodies) and if we did have one or two - they could always be used to buy a few souvenirs or bring them home and use them at a grocery store when we got back to the real world..

I want that 'pre-paid' feeling but I also don't want to waste money on food credits we might not use (my boy probably wouldn't eat close to 30$ worth of food a day) ..and I'd rather take extra and buy him treats at the park

 

[summermac]

I have a Disney Rewards Visa so I use a redemption card for our TS meals. I charge everything else to the room and will pay it using our redemption card before we check out.

Before I had this card, we just charged everything to the room.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Here's the Disney Visa discount info.

10% off at Select Dining Locations8
Receive 10% off select dining locations at Walt Disney World® Resort (restrictions may apply).

Just use your Disney Visa Card or Disney Rewards Redemption Card at the locations below and mention this offer to receive the discount.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge:
Boma
Jiko (see restrictions)
Sanaa

Disney's BoardWalk Inn Resort:
ESPN Sports Club
Flying Fish Cafe (see restrictions)
Kouzzina by Cat Cora

Disney's Caribbean Resort:
Shutters at Old Port Royale

Disney's Contemporary Resort:
The Wave

Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground:
Trail's End Restaurant

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort:
Citricos
Grand Floridian Café

Disney's Old Key West Resort:
Olivia's Café

Disney's Port Orleans Resort:
Boatwright's Dining Hall

Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa:
Turf Club

Disney's Wilderness Lodge:
Artist Point (see restrictions)
Whispering Canyon Café

Disney's Yacht Club Resort:
Captain's Grill

Disney's Hollywood Studios®:
The Hollywood Brown Derby (see restrictions)
Hollywood & Vine (see restrictions)

Epcot®:
Biergarten Restaurant (see restrictions)

Offer excludes alcoholic beverages, merchandise, tobacco, room service, holiday buffets, tax and gratuity. Mustuse your valid Disney Visa Card and/or Disney Rewards Redemption Card at time of purchase.

For locations where it is noted to see restrictions, the discount does not apply to the following dates: 11/28/13, 12/24/13, 12/25/13, 12/31/13, 1/1/14, 2/14/14, 3/20/14, 5/11/14 and 7/4/14. Subject to restaurant operating hours and closures. Restaurant seating is subject to availability. Please refer to DisneyVisaPerks.com for offer validity times.

 

[MrInfinity]

Welcome!

There is a lot of information on dining plans vs. out of pocket paying for food..it's kind of overwhelming but has also been eye opening too..I feel like before reading some of the posts..I would have been that person that just said "HEY! sign me up for the deluxe plan and it's all paid for up front..easypeasy!"

Yes this is how Disney markets it. And it is indeed very easy and very convenient. From that standpoint I love the DDP! I just tread carefully on talking to ppl about it being a "savings".

And as far as gift cards go-I've seen someone mention about buying a gift card at Target and getting 10% off the price of the card - are the other ones out there like that?

Yeah. The theory is if you join the Target prescription club, they will occasionally send you 5% off coupons for 5% off one purchase. Buy $1000 worth of gift cards for $950. Get 5% Red Card savings, you're getting $1000 worth of Disney gift cards for approx. $900 (actually $902.50? 5% off $950?)

It's a bit meticulous, but I may consider it this time around.

 

[Canooknic]

We put the money in our savings account and pay for meals on our credit card (so we can earn Airmiles!) and then pay it off when we get home.

Last year we spent just under $800 for 4 of us for 8 days - some days we just shared a couple of adult meals or a pizza at our resort - but we had estimated $1500 which meant we had a lovely head start on our savings for this upcoming trip!!

 

[jrtoastyman]

Unless you're using a card like the Disney Visa that gives you a discount, the easiest way to handle it is to charge everything to your room and then pay for it in one fell swoop at the end of the trip by whatever means suits you best -- credit card, debit card, cash, gift cards, whatever.

Personally, I have a credit card that is a rewards card that gives me double points for travel-related purchases (Chase Sapphire Preferred). By charging everything to my room and paying with that card, everything is characterized as travel because I'm just making a single, lump sum charge to a hotel, and I get double points on everything I did during the trip -- food, souvenirs, tours, etc.

 

[serene56]

I use a fancy disney gift card.
https://www.disneygiftcard.com/cards/

got a rataoulli one for our dining/snacks.

I first purchased one for 500.00 (is what is all that is allowed) then went to a disney store and uploaded 300.00 more

We went from Sunday to Sunday 2 adults one child 8 year old
we came home with 6.36

Dining plan would have cost us close to 1,000

 

[vinotinto]

I charged everything back to the room using my MB.

The room has my favorite rewards CC attached.

When you are about to hit $1,500, they charge your card, which is likely to be at least a few days into your vacation.

BTW - This is the same that we do when using the DxDP. You need to be able to charge your OOP expenses (drinks, tips) to something.

 

[PinkGreenBlue26]

Welcome!



Yes this is how Disney markets it. And it is indeed very easy and very convenient. From that standpoint I love the DDP! I just tread carefully on talking to ppl about it being a "savings".



Yeah. The theory is if you join the Target prescription club, they will occasionally send you 5% off coupons for 5% off one purchase. Buy $1000 worth of gift cards for $950. Get 5% Red Card savings, you're getting $1000 worth of Disney gift cards for approx. $900 (actually $902.50? 5% off $950?)

It's a bit meticulous, but I may consider it this time around.

Thanks explaining the Target route - I really had know Idea why people were loving target cards-but now I get it Might have to look into that today-and see if I get that coupon!

 

[PinkGreenBlue26]

I use a fancy disney gift card.

got a rataoulli one for our dining/snacks.

I first purchased one for 500.00 (is what is all that is allowed) then went to a disney store and uploaded 300.00 more

We went from Sunday to Sunday 2 adults one child 8 year old
we came home with 6.36

Dining plan would have cost us close to 1,000

that's awesome that you saved about 200$ vs. doing the dining plan!!

 

[shopn24seven]

I have the Disney Debit card, I think it gets the same perks as the credit. I know I have used it for Disney Credit vacation perks.

Every month I purchase $100.00 worth of Disney Cards at Target.

I use to do the DDP, but my last trip was a frugal stay, so I used my Disney GC for dinning. I was a little conservative with my dining options, but not totally. It is DISNEY, after all. I saw the HDDR show and we had Ohana's, Rose and Crown an Sci-Fi, and BOG. We had 1 snack a day, and 1 CS each day, just as if we were on the dining plan. We didn't starve, but we also didn't have many desserts, like with the plan. NOT a big fan of desserts after a large meal.

I saved all my receipts and it was about 70.00 cheaper. Must have been those desserts I did not pay for.

 

[PinkGreenBlue26]

I have the Disney Debit card, I think it gets the same perks as the credit. I know I have used it for Disney Credit vacation perks.

Every month I purchase $100.00 worth of Disney Cards at Target.

I use to do the DDP, but my last trip was a frugal stay, so I used my Disney GC for dinning. I was a little conservative with my dining options, but not totally. It is DISNEY, after all. I saw the HDDR show and we had Ohana's, Rose and Crown an Sci-Fi, and BOG. We had 1 snack a day, and 1 CS each day, just as if we were on the dining plan. We didn't starve, but we also didn't have many desserts, like with the plan. NOT a big fan of desserts after a large meal.

I saved all my receipts and it was about 70.00 cheaper. Must have been those desserts I did not pay for.

70$ is still a great savings Yeah-another reason I don't want to do the DP route-..I don't want to have a dessert at every meal (well..I do..but my scale doesn't want me to) ..and I don't want to feel like I should just get it because I have it on my 'plan' ..

 

[Colleen27]

I charge everything to the room and then pay it off with a gift card. I don't like to mess around with Target, even though it is the best savings, because I don't want a ton of low-value cards to keep track of, but my girls' school sells scrip and one of the options is Disney gift cards in thousand-dollar increments. So I use those for everything - room, tickets, food, souvenirs - and get 2% back in tuition credit.

 

[LilyWDW]

I charge everything to the room and then that gets charged to the card I put on file. I do stop at the desk nightly to get a print out though, but that is just me!

 

[bigbabyblues]

We charge everything on our room key (magic band now, I guess), and pay it off with our credit card before we leave. We keep track of how much we spent and don't go over the amount we have set aside for the trip. We send a payment to the cc when we get home.