To DDP or not to DDP?

[StitchFan73]

We are renting a 1Bdrm Villa in SSR for our Dec. trip. This trip will be a bit different then our usual WDW trip. We usually go in the Fall and upgrade our free dining to Deluxe. We usually stay in a Value-so no cooking facilities. And we have every day planned out.

This trip we will are planning to take it a bit slower. We are not going to go out every day for breakfast ressies-we plan to have breakfast in the room instead and get a lazy start . Also our DD 9 is getting older and character breakfasts aren't such a big deal anymore

We plan to have 2 or 3 nice dinners (ie: Cirtricos, Jiko etc.) and are easy for lunch-counter service is fine with us.

We are looking at either doing the base plan (1TS, 1CS,1 Snack per person) or just getting an AP and getting the TiW card.

So what do you guys think?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Well, anyway you add the dining plan, you'll have to pay as soon as you add it.

You can't add it when you arrive and if you are renting a reservation from a member, you will have to pay them the full amount for them to add it.

 

[TDC Nala]

We plan to have 2 or 3 nice dinners (ie: Cirtricos, Jiko etc.) and are easy for lunch-counter service is fine with us.

The fact that you want to do 2 or 3 signature restaurants makes me think that paying for the dining plan would not be the best value for you. If you want the convenience of prepayment, then think about it in that context.

Another thing to remember is that if you will be doing counter service lunches, there are not a lot of counter service restaurants that accept TIW. However, the CS at SSR does accept it.

 

[Dean]

We are renting a 1Bdrm Villa in SSR for our Dec. trip. This trip will be a bit different then our usual WDW trip. We usually go in the Fall and upgrade our free dining to Deluxe. We usually stay in a Value-so no cooking facilities. And we have every day planned out.

This trip we will are planning to take it a bit slower. We are not going to go out every day for breakfast ressies-we plan to have breakfast in the room instead and get a lazy start . Also our DD 9 is getting older and character breakfasts aren't such a big deal anymore

We plan to have 2 or 3 nice dinners (ie: Cirtricos, Jiko etc.) and are easy for lunch-counter service is fine with us.

We are looking at either doing the base plan (1TS, 1CS,1 Snack per person) or just getting an AP and getting the TiW card.

So what do you guys think?

If I were you, I'd go through the menu's and plan out what you'd likely order then runt he numbers. I think when you do that, you'll find that the DDP and TIW will both cost you money to break even at best. Likely your cheapest option is to keep to your dining plans and look at any possible AP or DVC discounts. IF you'll be going again within a year, the TIW might jump ahead enough. If your 9 y/o turns 10 before your trip, the DDP would be even less of a value. Signatures tend to be about the worst value within the DDP structure because you're using 2 credits but not getting double value compared to top single credit options. Once you're able to get the DDP for partial, the numbers will all change but I'm not sure that'll help you for Dec. Of course the 9 y/o is going to be your best value portion so look at the kids meals.

IMO, once you run the numbers, you need to have about a 20% savings with the DDP and at least a break even min with TIW to justify either. The reason I think you need more with the DDP is that there is a chance that you'll miss a meal or someone doesn't feel well. Let us know what happens.

 

[deerislemaine]

Our family visited WDW and stayed at OKW last April. We were there for 9 days, and we did the DP. We had a great time, but we plan to do TIW this January. My main reason for not doing the DP is that we all ate too much. We wanted to get the full value, so we got desert every meal and did snacks. We had more than enough food, and the kids loved it because we had credits or snacks, etc. If restaurants were also great because my wife did lots of research about the best places to eat.

In January, we'll do TIW so that we can skips deserts and share meals if necessary. My wife still did lots of research and made reservations 180 days out. For us, we love good food, but TIW makes more sense because it allows us to scale back on portions, etc. It will also allow us to visit a few restaurants in downtown Disney that don't take the DP.

We also have 3 trips planned in 12 months, so the TIW makes sense for us.

We're new to the whole Disney thing, but that's what we found from our brief experience.

 

[StitchFan73]

Thanks for the input so far everyone. I think Dean is right-I really need to try and run the numbers a bit.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

Well, anyway you add the dining plan, you'll have to pay as soon as you add it.

You can't add it when you arrive and if you are renting a reservation from a member, you will have to pay them the full amount for them to add it.

We're renting DVC points from someone but don't have to pay for the DDP until we check in. It's listed on our reservation paperwork that way. That's totally different from what you're saying.

 

[DisneyMoM3418]

We're renting DVC points from someone but don't have to pay for the DDP until we check in. It's listed on our reservation paperwork that way. That's totally different from what you're saying.

Until just a few weeks ago you could add the dining plan to a reservation and pay upon arrival. It is likely that your reservation was made prior to October. Disney just changed their policy. Now you must pay for the dining plan when you add it. Don't worry! You are fine.

 

[Bill and Jen]

If you are looking for the most cost effective method, I would recommend the TIW card. Take a look at the prices you are going to pay for your planned meals and subtract the cost of your tips from the total, then see how much the dinning plan will cost and add the cost of the tip.

If your more concerned about prepaying, and the TIW is a better deal, pre pay with a Disney gift card.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

Until just a few weeks ago you could add the dining plan to a reservation and pay upon arrival. It is likely that your reservation was made prior to October. Disney just changed their policy. Now you must pay for the dining plan when you add it. Don't worry! You are fine.

Thanks! Yes we booked this summer. Since I'm not a DVC owner I wouldn't have known about the change.

I figured we were fine or I would've heard about it from the person we are renting from. I wonder why they changed this?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thanks! Yes we booked this summer. Since I'm not a DVC owner I wouldn't have known about the change.

I figured we were fine or I would've heard about it from the person we are renting from. I wonder why they changed this?

Probably to discourage renting.

 

[heaven2dc]

We're renting DVC points from someone but don't have to pay for the DDP until we check in. It's listed on our reservation paperwork that way. That's totally different from what you're saying.

I am also renting points and just found out today after calling Disney Dining about my missing ADR's (some of which they cancelled without my permission!) that my DVC person didn't add the DDP to our ressie. We made this reservation 11 months ago and I was so certain it had been added. It has been worked out between us and he has been so great throughout this whole reservation. I'm glad I called Disney Dining today or we may never had added DDP to our reservation!! (I want to give a HUGE thank-you to my DVC guy - you will certainly be blessed for all the hard work you have gone through the past few months!)

 

[RobPickles]

I went thru all this while planning for our vacation this past summer.

I made spreadsheets, estimated costs, even went all out and selected what we would possibly eat each day and at what restaurant to estimate how much it would cost with using the Dining Plan vs. OOP vs DP with TiW, etc.

All i know is in the end it all comes down to how much you eat and how much you care to spend on eating! LOL!

After all that estimating and number crunching, we ended up getting the Dining Plan AND a TiW card to supplement the cost of appetizers.

The cost difference was pretty close to being the same no matter how I shook it up and came within $100-$200 difference of the course of our 3-week stay.

So - the moral...

- If you like to eat and don't want to have to worry about it while you are vacationing, get the Dining Plan and enjoy!

- If you don't eat that much and just pick here and there throughout the day, don't get it and just pay OOP. And if you are going to be doing some TS restaurants the TiW give you a nice discount.

 

[pilferk]

We are renting a 1Bdrm Villa in SSR for our Dec. trip. This trip will be a bit different then our usual WDW trip. We usually go in the Fall and upgrade our free dining to Deluxe. We usually stay in a Value-so no cooking facilities. And we have every day planned out.

This trip we will are planning to take it a bit slower. We are not going to go out every day for breakfast ressies-we plan to have breakfast in the room instead and get a lazy start . Also our DD 9 is getting older and character breakfasts aren't such a big deal anymore

We plan to have 2 or 3 nice dinners (ie: Cirtricos, Jiko etc.) and are easy for lunch-counter service is fine with us.

We are looking at either doing the base plan (1TS, 1CS,1 Snack per person) or just getting an AP and getting the TiW card.

So what do you guys think?

Here's the kicker:

How old will your daughter be when you take your trip?

If she's 10, will she eat like an adult? Because you'll have to pay the adult price for her.

I know that will be the departure point for our family, and the DDP. Right now, the value of the kids portion for our 3 is fabulous...and for the adult portion it's just so-so. As soon as our first is old enough to be considered an adult...the value will completely disappear. She won't eat like an adult (based on how much she eats, now).....so will get little value from the adult plan.

 

[ValpoCory]

Once you're able to get the DDP for partial, the numbers will all change but I'm not sure that'll help you for Dec. Of course the 9 y/o is going to be your best value portion so look at the kids meals.

IMO, once you run the numbers, you need to have about a 20% savings with the DDP and at least a break even min with TIW to justify either. The reason I think you need more with the DDP is that there is a chance that you'll miss a meal or someone doesn't feel well. Let us know what happens.

Agreed. We find it a challenge to use all our credits. A lot of times, on our travel days we don't use many or any of our credits. And we get behind and can never catch up without seriously over-eating.

With the new DVC system, If we go for a week, we'd make 3 ressies. A 5-night ressie bookended by two 1-night ressies, and then do the DDP for just the 5-night ressie. I think that might work better for us.

 

[TDC Nala]

I am also renting points and just found out today after calling Disney Dining about my missing ADR's (some of which they cancelled without my permission!) that my DVC person didn't add the DDP to our ressie. We made this reservation 11 months ago and I was so certain it had been added. It has been worked out between us and he has been so great throughout this whole reservation. I'm glad I called Disney Dining today or we may never had added DDP to our reservation!! (I want to give a HUGE thank-you to my DVC guy - you will certainly be blessed for all the hard work you have gone through the past few months!)

I would not trust Disney Dining to be able to tell you with any accuracy whether or not you have a DDP on your reservation. Always double check any information you get from WDW-DINE. They are not a consistently reliable source for anything.

 

[DCLbrideSept2009]

Another thing to consider... TIW card gets you FREE valet parking at resorts. This came in handy when we ate at 1900 Park Fair, Ohana, etc. (Valet is usually $12.) It also gives you 20% off alcohol, whereas the DDP doesn't include alcohol. There are 7 of us when we go to WDW, so the TIW card came in VERY handy on our trip in March! (We more than broke even and then used it again when DH and I went without kids in July.) But we already had APs... if you're going to get an AP just to get the TIW card, then you have to factor that extra cost in also. We have only done the DDP when it was free dining in August 2009. Now, that was a good deal, as there were 7 of us and we were staying at Pop for $82/night x 2 rooms!!