Tiw vs dining plan

[disneybaker]

I just discovered TIW via this site. Would it be cheaper to just buy that and pay for meals individually or to pay for dining plan

 

[rlovew]

It depends on the ages of your party and how much and what you like to eat. There are some calculators for figuring it out on the dining board.

Overall my feeling is if you always want to eat exactly like the dining plan says (personally I don't like the dessert choices at most QS places) And you have some child price children, you want to eat a lot of character meals, and you like ordering the most expensive entrees for most your meals then the dining plan would be better.

We prefer to eat TS at lunch time unless we are going to a signature, we prefer signatures over other eateries and sometimes the appetizers look better than the entrees so the TIW is an easy choice for us- plus we live nearby and go often enough that it would otherwise save us money on non-overnight trips.

 

[Kidanifan08]

The TIW has been great for us, but we have been able to use it for 14-20 days per card. Since the DVC member price for the card is $100, you need to spend about $500 just to recover the cost of the card. After that, the savings begin!

We generally do 1-2 character meals per visit and have a TS meal every day of the trip. We like to share appetizers and do not get dessert with every meal. We also usually have adult beverages with our meals, which are included in the discount. The DDP does not allow for this kind of flexibility. We felt like the DDP was too much food for us.

The TIW card is good for a full year, so many try to get two trips in on one card (like us). You just have to figure out if you do enough TS dinners to exceed that $500 threshold to make it worthwhile.

 

[mouselike-harrier]

For us, TIW hands down. Hated the rigidity of the dining plan and found we were rushing to get to our ADRs. We like to eat our big meal at lunch, since we usually know where we are going in the morning. TIW gives us the flexibility to wing it at night. Big plus with TIW, you also get the discount on alcohol that you order with your food.

 

[MiramarQE]

After each of our last two 8 day trips I sat down and compared the cost of what we paid to eat (2 adults) versus both the QS and regular dining plans (we use TIW).

Both times we came out about $125/trip ahead (all meals and snacks AND alcohol - all food excepting V&A - which is not in the dining plan) of the QS plan by NOT using the dining plan. We eat light breakfast/snacks (not TS), lunch is usually QS in the park or by the pool, maybe 3 signature dinners in a stay.

So $15/day saved - and we're not really careful - we just eat what we want. Not a huge sum compared to the cost of the 8 days - but we don't spend time COUNTING meals/snacks/drinks, etc. - we just enjoy!

 

[AmyB2006]

I agree 100%. Unless you're maximizing the value of the DDP, Disney is coming out ahead. You really have to order the most expensive thing, get the desserts, etc. We have TIW and we like it much better. We don't really eat dessert. I don't always want the most expensive thing on the menu. And we like to have an alcoholic drink every now and then. TIW gives you money off of that too!!

 

[sgtpet]

Did I hear correctly that the black out dates are expanding for TIW?

 

[luckyman_apd]

We stopped the DDP 2 years ago, mostly because our children got tired of the "children's" menu....almost the same everywhere, and we HATED planning our entire trip around our meals. We seemed to over eat on the DDP. We are not Appetizer/meal/dessert people. We did stretch the QS meals with it by splitting one meal at the Starlight cafe in Tomorrowland (both ribs and chicken for a QS credit) was more than enough for 2 people.

With the PAP this year, we are making 3 trips in a year so we bought the TiW card. Took my wife to V&A and the card saved me $94 alone on that meal, so TiW is more than worth it this time.

The big thing is if you do a lot of TS meals, the TiW can pay off. You need to spend close to $500 for the card to pay for itself, so if you are doing several sit down meals, it usually works out. But everyone is different, so only you can do the math based on your own eating habits.

 

[hakepb]

Did I hear correctly that the black out dates are expanding for TIW?

Yes, for specific restaurants.
From DVCNews.com
http://dvcnews.com/index.php/other-...derland-expands-blackout-removes-one-location


The Tables in Wonderland discount dining program will see a number of significant changes in August 2014.

Effective August 1, 2014, Victoria and Albert's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa will no longer participate in the Tables in Wonderland discount dining program.

Additionally, blackout dates will siginificantly expand for a number of popular dining locations. Announced blackout dates include:

November 23-29, 2014
December 21-27, 2014
March 8-April 4, 2015
May 31-June 20, 2015
The blackout windows listed above apply only to the following restaurants:

Le Cellier Steakhouse
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
1900 Park Fare
'Ohana (dinner only)
Chef Mickey's
Cinderella's Royal Table
Blackout dates are also in place on major holidays including Mother's Day, Easter Sunday, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. These holiday blackouts apply to all participating dining locations including the list above.

 

[MrsDuck]

We've always had great success with TiW and don't think the DP is worth it at all.

 

[ain0004]

TIW card seems worthless to me. We vacation the 1st week of June. With the kids DDP is cheaper

 

[patsal]

TIW card seems worthless to me. We vacation the 1st week of June. With the kids DDP is cheaper

If you have kids under 10 and are eating in a lot of character buffet type meals during the balck out dates, than you are right TIW will not do anything to save you money.

 

[hakepb]

TIW card seems worthless to me. We vacation the 1st week of June. With the kids DDP is cheaper

But it still doesn't guarantee the DDP is cheaper than OOP.

When I ran the numbers for a 2 day segment of my trip with 2 kids and Chef Mickey breakfast, Teppen Edo dinner, BOG lunch, and contempo cafe..OOP was still $20 cheaper than the DDP. (Which suprised me because those were and generally are our 2 most expensive meals)
You'd have to do the $50 character buffet dinners to get any value at all from the DDP.

 

[Dean]

But it still doesn't guarantee the DDP is cheaper than OOP.

When I ran the numbers for a 2 day segment of my trip with 2 kids and Chef Mickey breakfast, Teppen Edo dinner, BOG lunch, and contempo cafe..OOP was still $20 cheaper than the DDP. (Which suprised me because those were and generally are our 2 most expensive meals)
You'd have to do the $50 character buffet dinners to get any value at all from the DDP.

The QS or basic plan is often break even at best from a cost standpoint. Sometimes you get additional options, value using the DDP so that's a consideration.