TIW vs DDP

[Apple_Lyn83]

Hi all!

I know the quick answer to this seems to be that everyone prefers the TIW over DDP. I am starting to plan a trip in June with my niece. She went with me briefly this past summer. She was only with me one night (we ate at SoA) and one day (we did MK). So this will be her first big trip to Disney besides a toddler trip she can't remember. She is a foodie and there a lot of 2 credit restaurants on our list for this trip.

I have seriously considered the Deluxe plan. But I'm also playing with the idea of doing the regular dining plan and getting a TIW card. I'm just conflicted because I loved having my entire trip essentially prepaid when I arrived. Does anyone know where there are resources to compare the 2? I have found calculators that can tell me I'm saving money on the dining plan but they don't take into account any other discounts.

Any thoughts, tricks, advice, or insight will be appreciated.

 

[DisneyMamato4]

The TiW is just for passholders and is $150 to purchase. It used to be $100 and a little more of a value in getting your money out of it but if you are a passholder and make a few trips a year then it might be worth it.
We have done both the dining plan and used TiW and for our family found that now that we are yearly passholders TiW is a better value. We don't like being tied down to eating a certain amount of meals every day. Some days we just want to snack, some days we want to share a meal instead of each getting a plate. We have found we actually save more money than getting the DDP. I buy Disney gift cards at Target with my red card and get an additional 5% off and saving us even more money.

 

[Apple_Lyn83]

The TiW is just for passholders and is $150 to purchase. It used to be $100 and a little more of a value in getting your money out of it but if you are a passholder and make a few trips a year then it might be worth it.
We have done both the dining plan and used TiW and for our family found that now that we are yearly passholders TiW is a better value. We don't like being tied down to eating a certain amount of meals every day. Some days we just want to snack, some days we want to share a meal instead of each getting a plate. We have found we actually save more money than getting the DDP. I buy Disney gift cards at Target with my red card and get an additional 5% off and saving us even more money.

I am an AP. I have never felt tied down by the DDP since I can use the credits whenever I want. If I am in a snacking mood, I use extra snack credits. I have been a few times this year on solo trips and always get a DDP for me. I navigate it pretty well when I am only making plans for me. All the signature dining on this trip is making me nervous. It's such a different experience when you are planning for just one other person.

 

[Hopefully]

The TiW is just for passholders and is $150 to purchase. It used to be $100 and a little more of a value in getting your money out of it but if you are a passholder and make a few trips a year then it might be worth it.
We have done both the dining plan and used TiW and for our family found that now that we are yearly passholders TiW is a better value. We don't like being tied down to eating a certain amount of meals every day. Some days we just want to snack, some days we want to share a meal instead of each getting a plate. We have found we actually save more money than getting the DDP. I buy Disney gift cards at Target with my red card and get an additional 5% off and saving us even more money.

This is incorrect information. TIW is available to: Florida Residents, DVC Members and AP Holders.
I have never seen a comparison between DDP and TIW. You need to do the math considering what you will actually eat/ drink.
Last year we chose to do the TIW instead of DDP. We are 3 adults. We calculated we saved about $200 over DDP.
I purchased Disney Gift Cards over the months leading up to our trip, leading to the “All Inclusive “ feel.

 

[gillep]

In my opinion the best way to determine what the best way to go is to look at all of your reservations/planned meals and give a good guess as to what each of you would want to eat in an ideal world at each place then add it up and look to see if the plan or tiw makes more sense to cover the meals you want.

It is just my husband and myself and none of the dining plans work for how we eat over the course of a whole trip. We do signatures mostly and there are many times that we prefer a few appetizers to share, or my husband will get an entree and we will split an appetizer and I will get an appetizer and maybe a side for my meal, there is no way to realistically work that on a dining plan. We also rarely would each ever get a dessert with a meal. If we were to do the deluxe plan for a whole trip just to cover the appetizers I know we would eat there would be a ton of wasted food, and we would absolutely be over paying. I also find that some of our favorite places to eat do not accept the dining plan such as Tutto Gusto, The HBD lounge, Nomad Lounge, La Cava, etc. so it wouldn't make sense to tie ourselves down to ddp places when they are not our preference.

 

[Dean Marino]

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[B-Ride]

In my opinion the best way to determine what the best way to go is to look at all of your reservations/planned meals and give a good guess as to what each of you would want to eat in an ideal world at each place then add it up and look to see if the plan or tiw makes more sense to cover the meals you want.

This makes good sense. And be honest with what you would like to eat versus always choosing the most expensive thing on the menu to make the DP worthwhile.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Alcohol makes the difference. If the two of you will be drinking with your meal, before dinner beverage, dinner wine/beverage, after dinner cordial or other beverage, you'll save more using TIW.

If you are mostly just dining without adult beverages, go with the dining plan.

 

[DisneyMamato4]

This is incorrect information. TIW is available to: Florida Residents, DVC Members and AP Holders.
I have never seen a comparison between DDP and TIW. You need to do the math considering what you will actually eat/ drink.
Last year we chose to do the TIW instead of DDP. We are 3 adults. We calculated we saved about $200 over DDP.
I purchased Disney Gift Cards over the months leading up to our trip, leading to the “All Inclusive “ feel.

My bad. I realized after that DVC would be included but didn't realize Florida Residents could purchase them also. Thank you for the information

 

[bumbershoot]

Does anyone know where there are resources to compare the 2?

http://allears.net/pl/disc_dining.pdf

Might be a start.

All the signature dining on this trip is making me nervous.

Look at the lowest cost meals you might get at the signature restaurants. Compare to what you'll pay for that meal (and the other food that day) vs what the credits that day cost. Compare to the cash price minus any AP discount that might be available. Compare to the TIW discount (but you do have to take the cost of TIW into account).

 

[katmatry]

I have looked at menus, chosen my meals and done the math way too many times to count. TIW always beats the DDP.