TiW questions

[DWillowBay]

So...I have an AP. This allows me a 10% discount at many restaurants. I am trying to decide if a TiW would really be in my best interest. I have 2 6-day trips coming up...August and November. I also have a short pre and post-cruise stay (4 days total) in January. Within all those days, I will have approximately 8 TS meals. (I know TiW extends to some QS as well). My question is, am I better off just sticking with my AP discount, or is the $150 worth the investment for what I have planned. My thinking is that with TiW, what I am really saving is the tip cost (which just about equals the 20% discount with TiW). I am open to being corrected about that. Thanks for any insights!

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

It really depends on a couple of factors.
Like:
Where are you eating?
Do you drink? Will you order a bottle of wine? Or even a couple of bottles.
How many people are traveling with you?

It used to be that you would have to spend more than $750 to break even. I think that number is even higher now.

 

[DWillowBay]

It really depends on a couple of factors.
Like:
Where are you eating?
Do you drink? Will you order a bottle of wine? Or even a couple of bottles.
How many people are traveling with you?

It used to be that you would have to spend more than $750 to break even. I think that number is even higher now.

Right. $750 or more seems to be the magic number. 2 trips of 2 adults and 1 trip of 4 adults. We will have a drink with dinner, but not typically a bottle of wine. Right now, some of our reservations are at Boma, Maya Grille, Rose & Crown, Tusker (Breakfast), Yak&Yeti, Jungle Navigation, Akershus and H&V. I can see how people are attracted to TiW, on its face, but when the math is applied, it's a hard decision. I hate math! It has ruined my life since childhood!

 

[Bound and Rebound]

We have bought TiW in the past, but not this year. Just about every TS place we want takes 10% off for AP already and we aren’t big drinkers. Spending $150 to get another 10% means you would have to eat $1650 of TS food/alcohol beverages within that year to break even. We could *maybe* do it as we have 2 adults and 2 kids (but one is a Disney adult now). Just not our touring style to spend that much at table service. Point being, the break even is a lot higher since you are essentially spending the cost of the TiW to gain 10% off.

 

[DWillowBay]

We have bought TiW in the past, but not this year. Just about every TS place we want takes 10% off for AP already and we aren’t big drinkers. Spending $150 to get another 10% means you would have to eat $1650 of TS food/alcohol beverages within that year to break even. We could *maybe* do it as we have 2 adults and 2 kids (but one is a Disney adult now). Just not our touring style to spend that much at table service. Point being, the break even is a lot higher since you are essentially spending the cost of the TiW to gain 10% off.

Good insights. Thank you. This is the kind of information that helps to make informed decisions. I really appreciate it.

 

[jacknsally19]

When I was 'deciding' whether TiW was worth it for us this year, I used one of the online calculators for whether to purchase a dining plan. It gave me a fairly good estimate on how much I would spend on our meals.... thus making it easy to see if we'd 'break even'

On a related note, even if you aren't a big drinker, the discount on drinks vs. no discount (with just AP) adds up so fast. We usually have one drink a piece at dinner and since the drinks are like $10+ that can be easily quite a bit over the course of a week long visit!

 

[BEASLYBOO]

I travel with a party of 5 adults. While vacationing we drink a bit more, we will have before dinner drinks and wine with dinner, the 20% of the alcohol make it pay for itself, in our case. The break even is $750. You have to look at how many times you're going in a year, and how many sit down meals (at participating restaurants) with alcohol you typically will have to determine if it makes sense for you or not. I save $50-60 bucks a shot, I'm going 7 times, multiple days, for me it pays for itself.

 

[gharter]

It really depends on what restaurants you will be eating at. Not all have an AP discount, not all take TiW.
In general, if you don't have the AP discount, then $750 is the break even point. If you have the AP card, then you are closer to 1200-1500.
If you go to the lounges or have drinks with dinner, we find it pays for itself in about 1 trip. We try and time the trips to get 3 visits under our TiW card and it saves us money every year.
Also understand, if you are part of a group, the group can use the discount up to 10 people IF the cardholder pays for the meal.

 

[loves to dive]

We have found that we tend to eat at more of the restaurants that don't give an AP discount but do give a TIW, don't know why that is. We also enjoy a refreshing adult beverage with just about every meal so it does work for us. http://www.mouseperks.com/dining_resorts.html

 

[PolyRob]

Based on your list, I know Yak and Yeti won't take TiW, only AP discount.

With that said, I find the TiW to be well worth it for my group. We do more TS than QS and may get an alcoholic beverage here or there. We also do some signature meals and dinner shows. We easily make up the $750 fee before a one week trip ends. If the AP discount were still 20% like it was last year for the MK 45th I would probably say no, but at 10% the TiW is more enticing. You can also use the TiW at lounges and even some QS at resorts without TS options (AOA, POP, and All Stars).