Tips for someone paying OOP when they're used to the DDP?!

[pennylane16]

Hello!
Any tips for switching to OOP when you're accustomed to the DDP?
We've done the DDP our other trips so this is brand new to us, but I'm feeling like OOP is going to cost us way more than what we paid for DDP, but unfortunately we cannot add DDP to our TA deal. We love character meals & don't want to have to skimp on vacation but would also love to not spend thousands more on dining than usual lol.
Anyone else made the switch & found it not so bad?
Thanks!

 

[DisMom829]

We have switched from DDP to OOP. I use the Disney website and price our package with and without the DDP and just put the cost of the DDP on gift cards and mark them for dining. We've actually saved money switching to OOP.

 

[sharonabe]

Hello!
Any tips for switching to OOP when you're accustomed to the DDP?
We've done the DDP our other trips so this is brand new to us, but I'm feeling like OOP is going to cost us way more than what we paid for DDP, but unfortunately we cannot add DDP to our TA deal. We love character meals & don't want to have to skimp on vacation but would also love to not spend thousands more on dining than usual lol.
Anyone else made the switch & found it not so bad?
Thanks!

It sounds like you need to go look through the menus and find a new normal.

If it were me, I'd choose two, maybe three, character meals to enjoy. Breakfast is cheaper than lunch/dinner. If you want some variety, try to get the latest breakfast you can and you should get some of the lunch offerings for the breakfast price. I don't know if I'd choose any other TS if I were set on character meals, but there are some where you can eat almost as cheaply as QS. Via Napoli is a great restaurant for OOP sharing. The Plaza is a good value as well. Look at the QS menus and find where you want to eat, so you have a plan. There are lots of QS portions that are easily shareable.

 

[msjprincess]

I debated getting the DDP this year. I looked over the menus and did the math and it came out cheaper to pay OOP. If you're getting the deal I think you're getting you'll come out ahead even if it ends up costing a little more paying OOP.

 

[danielocha30]

there is a website that calculate your cost, sorry I don't remember the name, it's great and it will show you the cost of OOP vs all DDP

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Each trip, I pick our ADRs, then tally up what we are likely to spend at each restaurant if we pay OOP and compare it against the cost of the DDP. Even with us doing multiple character meals, we come out ahead paying OOP. I purchase gift cards for the amount we would spend on the DDP and use those to pay for meals. Whatever is leftover at the end we use to pay off items we've charged to our room.

I know some people come out ahead if they purchase the DDP, but it hasn't been a savings for us for at least 7 years.

 

[elaine amj]

I think the fun part about OOP is being able to order apps instead of entrees (eg 1-2 apps for dinner). That said, on my last OOP trip, I don't think we ended up ordering a single app...just didn't work out to be what we wanted. We also skipped a lot of desserts and I just focused on a few snacks I really wanted. Mine was a budget trip though so I was watching my pennies. (Unexpected long weekend after already splurging on a DXDDP trip earlier in the year).

I like the idea of putting the money into a gift card.

 

[alex9179]

Oh, you wouldn't come close to spending thousands more

I'm not a devote of the DP, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Character meals are fine and, if you still have 9 and under kids, your cost won't be stratospheric. Go ahead and schedule some if you all like them. Yes, breakfast is going to be a better value OOP but I wouldn't let it constrain you if you're already dreading compromise. Schedule what you like. Find the menus/prices for them and look at the round figure. If you don't meet, or do better than, the DDP price it will be only by a small amount.

The website mentioned is
http://distripplanner.com

Just remember that they use averages for a lot of places that don't have fixed pricing. Also, take into account the money saved on tips when you order what your family will eat rather than having a set amount of food coming to your table.

 

[uccats97]

We pay OOP now being 5 adults and 1 child. DDP for our upcoming trip would add more than $2600 to our package. There is no way my family of 6 would spend that much on food in 7 days. Not only do I use gift cards to pay for our food, I buy them at a Target using my Red Card and save 5%.

 

[supersnoop]

How old are the kids? It's more likely that paying out of pocket will save you money. My tip: don't look at prices; just order what you actually want to eat. I find that the dining plan often induces you to order more or different items than you actually want.

 

[mcurran]

To add a couple comments to good responses given:
Don't forget if u have Disney visa many locations give discounts. Check reward page for details.

And above all else don't look too much at prices. At most places there is little difference in price and being on vacation I tend not to pinch pennies on my way to relaxing. That's the biggest draw to ddp to me and make an effort not to lose it.

 

[pennylane16]

How old are the kids? It's more likely that paying out of pocket will save you money. My tip: don't look at prices; just order what you actually want to eat. I find that the dining plan often induces you to order more or different items than you actually want.

11&6, so the 11y/o is technically an adult now according to Disney I think? So there's me, dh, my mom, and 2 kids 11 & 6. Thanks for the tip

 

[pennylane16]

We pay OOP now being 5 adults and 1 child. DDP for our upcoming trip would add more than $2600 to our package. There is no way my family of 6 would spend that much on food in 7 days. Not only do I use gift cards to pay for our food, I buy them at a Target using my Red Card and save 5%.

I have started buying GCs at Target with my red card as well!

 

[pennylane16]

Oh, you wouldn't come close to spending thousands more

I'm not a devote of the DP, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Character meals are fine and, if you still have 9 and under kids, your cost won't be stratospheric. Go ahead and schedule some if you all like them. Yes, breakfast is going to be a better value OOP but I wouldn't let it constrain you if you're already dreading compromise. Schedule what you like. Find the menus/prices for them and look at the round figure. If you don't meet, or do better than, the DDP price it will be only by a small amount.

The website mentioned is
http://distripplanner.com

Just remember that they use averages for a lot of places that don't have fixed pricing. Also, take into account the money saved on tips when you order what your family will eat rather than having a set amount of food coming to your table.

I hadn't thought about the tip difference! Thanks for all the advice

 

[pennylane16]

It sounds like you need to go look through the menus and find a new normal.

If it were me, I'd choose two, maybe three, character meals to enjoy. Breakfast is cheaper than lunch/dinner. If you want some variety, try to get the latest breakfast you can and you should get some of the lunch offerings for the breakfast price. I don't know if I'd choose any other TS if I were set on character meals, but there are some where you can eat almost as cheaply as QS. Via Napoli is a great restaurant for OOP sharing. The Plaza is a good value as well. Look at the QS menus and find where you want to eat, so you have a plan. There are lots of QS portions that are easily shareable.

Thank you! Definitely looking into via napoli & the plaza!

 

[alex9179]

11&6, so the 11y/o is technically an adult now according to Disney I think? So there's me, dh, my mom, and 2 kids 11 & 6. Thanks for the tip

That's good for you and your bottom line. You get more DDP value with more kids, especially with fixed price meals. The more adults, the more likely you will be paying more for DDP than OOP. Sounds like you have it all together, so don't worry! Order as you all like instead of wasting a bunch of food. We share, or get apps, or get snacks instead of trying to fit in another "meal" since our last one is likely way more than we'd normally eat. We also don't drink much aside from water (and some adult beverages for the parents).
Don't forget about the refillable popcorn bucket. My kids could eat their weight and it's really reasonable when sharing.

 

[uccats97]

11&6, so the 11y/o is technically an adult now according to Disney I think? So there's me, dh, my mom, and 2 kids 11 & 6. Thanks for the tip

Yep, 11=adult=$69.35/night for DDP!

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

I think it'll feel like you're spending more since it won't already be taken care of, but I've done the math, and the way we eat, DDP would cost a lot more than if we pay OOP. I think you'll find that when you look closely at the numbers you really do spend less, unless you eat extravagantly every meal.

 

[jlnten17]

Oh, you wouldn't come close to spending thousands more

I'm not a devote of the DP, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Character meals are fine and, if you still have 9 and under kids, your cost won't be stratospheric. Go ahead and schedule some if you all like them. Yes, breakfast is going to be a better value OOP but I wouldn't let it constrain you if you're already dreading compromise. Schedule what you like. Find the menus/prices for them and look at the round figure. If you don't meet, or do better than, the DDP price it will be only by a small amount.

The website mentioned is
http://distripplanner.com

Just remember that they use averages for a lot of places that don't have fixed pricing. Also, take into account the money saved on tips when you order what your family will eat rather than having a set amount of food coming to your table.

Thanks for this link. We have always paid OOP and if this is at all correct we are making the right choice. We rarely eat more than one TS/day and only 1 or 2 character meals per trip and 0 signature restaurants as I don't feel they are for kids as young as ours. It appears we are saving $$$$

 

[sharonabe]

If you want your character meal prices before you go in order to budget more closely, here's a link to the sticky that is at the top of this forum with ALL the buffet prices you'll ever need. It's kept up-to-date, so you don't have to use Disney's range:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/buffet-character-shows-aycte-pricing.3108466/