Trying to price out if the dp is worth it...

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

Okay folks... I've perused the menus and prices, and threads... I get it that tip isn't included.... What about tax? Do the prices at all ears included the tax or do I have to add that on? I think I understand that the ddp pays for the tax though. So if a kid meal is $8.59 or what ever... Is that including taxes? If it is, I think I have my answer to ddp or not for us

 

[IhrkeFamily]

Taxes are covered with DDP. So when comparing figure in what you would pay OOP for meals plus tax versus what the cost per day for DDP is. Since you need to pay tip either way there is no need to include. Hope that helps with the math!

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

All right... So if All ears says something is $18.99 that is not including taxes.... That sways us to the ddp then...

Check my thinking... I have $1050 of meals (going by what we are likely to order, no appys, very few desserts, no alcohol, mostly water to drink, occasional soda or coffee-which is how we eat in DL) add in approximately $70 in taxes (you math people, tell me can I just do 1050*.065?) add in tips which would be approx another $200, misc snackage of $125 comes up to: $1445

Vs the dining plan for 2 adults and a kiddo: dp cost (this might change for 2014 I guess, but right now...) $953.40 no need to add taxes, can order anything off menu, plus we don't have to just drink water, and we get desserts and possibly more snacks then we usually partake in, add $320 for OOP costs because we won't have enough credits to cover everything, and $200 in tips... $1473.40

So for $28 more we have more freedom in eating and drinking, and more food in general. Am I calculating right? Seems to me Disney has some pretty smart people figuring out how much to charge for the plan for our numbers to come so close to each other, we do get a little more of out the deal but not much for that $28 I think.

 

[bdklein]

All right... So if All ears says something is $18.99 that is not including taxes.... That sways us to the ddp then...

Check my thinking... I have $1050 of meals (going by what we are likely to order, no appys, very few desserts, no alcohol, mostly water to drink, occasional soda or coffee-which is how we eat in DL) add in approximately $70 in taxes (you math people, tell me can I just do 1050*.065?) add in tips which would be approx another $200, misc snackage of $125 comes up to: $1445

Vs the dining plan for 2 adults and a kiddo: dp cost (this might change for 2014 I guess, but right now...) $953.40 no need to add taxes, can order anything off menu, plus we don't have to just drink water, and we get desserts and possibly more snacks then we usually partake in, add $320 for OOP costs because we won't have enough credits to cover everything, and $200 in tips... $1473.40

So for $28 more we have more freedom in eating and drinking, and more food in general. Am I calculating right? Seems to me Disney has some pretty smart people figuring out how much to charge for the plan for our numbers to come so close to each other, we do get a little more of out the deal but not much for that $28 I think.

So for $28 more we have less freedom in eating and drinking

 

[Cafeen]

Taxes are covered with DDP. So when comparing figure in what you would pay OOP for meals plus tax versus what the cost per day for DDP is. Since you need to pay tip either way there is no need to include. Hope that helps with the math!

The tip would be canceled out if, and only if, you're ordering identically when doing OOP vs DDP. If you'd order more (e.g. sodas/desserts) with DDP, then it has to be figured into the total.

All right... So if All ears says something is $18.99 that is not including taxes.... That sways us to the ddp then...

Check my thinking... I have $1050 of meals (going by what we are likely to order, no appys, very few desserts, no alcohol, mostly water to drink, occasional soda or coffee-which is how we eat in DL) add in approximately $70 in taxes (you math people, tell me can I just do 1050*.065?) add in tips which would be approx another $200, misc snackage of $125 comes up to: $1445

Vs the dining plan for 2 adults and a kiddo: dp cost (this might change for 2014 I guess, but right now...) $953.40 no need to add taxes, can order anything off menu, plus we don't have to just drink water, and we get desserts and possibly more snacks then we usually partake in, add $320 for OOP costs because we won't have enough credits to cover everything, and $200 in tips... $1473.40

So for $28 more we have more freedom in eating and drinking, and more food in general. Am I calculating right? Seems to me Disney has some pretty smart people figuring out how much to charge for the plan for our numbers to come so close to each other, we do get a little more of out the deal but not much for that $28 I think.

For the bolded part: For an estimate, that's fine. There'll be slight rounding differences which can add up (remember, tax is always rounded up, even if it's $19.9900001, it will be rounded up to $20 ), but overall, it's not going to make that much of a difference)

The calculations look right, though the tip cost would be higher with the plan since you're getting a few extra desserts and sodas, though that won't be all that much either.

In the end, with a difference of $28, it's pretty subjective whether you feel that you'd be tied down by the dining plan, or freed up by it.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

The tip would be canceled out if, and only if, you're ordering identically when doing OOP vs DDP. If you'd order more (e.g. sodas/desserts) with DDP, then it has to be figured into the total.

For the bolded part: For an estimate, that's fine. There'll be slight rounding differences which can add up (remember, tax is always rounded up, even if it's $19.9900001, it will be rounded up to $20 ), but overall, it's not going to make that much of a difference)

The calculations look right, though the tip cost would be higher with the plan since you're getting a few extra desserts and sodas, though that won't be all that much either.

In the end, with a difference of $28, it's pretty subjective whether you feel that you'd be tied down by the dining plan, or freed up by it.

Thanks for the helpful response. As a DL vet, this whole dining plan thing is new to me, we have good friends who are wdw vets and swear by the dp, so I am trying to figure it all out. It's too bad that we can't flip an appy for a dessert sometimes... Which is about the only deviation I can come up with that might foil the whole dp idea... If we get sick of sweets and would rather have an appy... Which I can see happening, at DL it seems like we were inundated with sweet stuff without even trying (lots of buffet meals, and surprise treats in our room)... Good thing I can think on it a bit longer.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I found that amazing spreadsheet from see you real soon... Omg, it took me 5 minutes to plug in what I have already spent too much time on!! Basically It said dont do the ddp... I'm going to play with some of my food choices, but I think it's right... I'll just load up my gift cards like we do for DL and eat as we please!

 

[bdklein]

I found that amazing spreadsheet from see you real soon... Omg, it took me 5 minutes to plug in what I have already spent too much time on!! Basically It said dont do the ddp... I'm going to play with some of my food choices, but I think it's right... I'll just load up my gift cards like we do for DL and eat as we please!

Glad you came to your senses. Lol. Have a great trip.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

Glad you came to your senses. Lol. Have a great trip.

Can tell you don't have an opinion on the matter lol

 

[brertoad]

You would also get refillable mugs for each of you with the dining plan, that would make up the difference of the $28 more.

 

[Mary7116]

You would also get refillable mugs for each of you with the dining plan, that would make up the difference of the $28 more.

Refillable mugs are a great Idea in theory but if you're relying on Disney transportation & staying in a rm
far from the resort restaurant they're bulky and cumbersome to carry around all day. You have to take another trip back to your rm if you don't want to carry them in the parks. Also, aren't regular drinks refillable?

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

Since typically we drink 1 soda a day on a vacation, the refillable mug is not something I am into... plus lugging it around?! Yeah, I'd rather get a cup for water occasionally

 

[xbatman]

Since typically we drink 1 soda a day on a vacation, the refillable mug is not something I am into... plus lugging it around?! Yeah, I'd rather get a cup for water occasionally

It's good for coffee, too and for filtered water from the soda machine at the resort.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

It's good for coffee, too and for filtered water from the soda machine at the resort.

My hubby would like it for the coffee... I dunno... still thinking things through...

 

[missmickey]

I found that amazing spreadsheet from see you real soon... Omg, it took me 5 minutes to plug in what I have already spent too much time on!! Basically It said dont do the ddp... I'm going to play with some of my food choices, but I think it's right... I'll just load up my gift cards like we do for DL and eat as we please!

Hi! I'm trying to decide the same thing for a summer 2014 trip! Can you pleases tell me where to find that spreadsheet? Thanks!

 

[aaarcher86]

Hi! I'm trying to decide the same thing for a summer 2014 trip! Can you pleases tell me where to find that spreadsheet? Thanks!

Google 'See Ya Reel Soon'

I would use it and then still do the pen and mapper math. The spreadsheet worked out pretty inaccurate for me.

 

[lauradis]

Mugs are good for "drinking" next to pool and using them at home.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

Hi! I'm trying to decide the same thing for a summer 2014 trip! Can you pleases tell me where to find that spreadsheet? Thanks!

See ya real soon spreadsheet is what I searched... I dunno it came up within $100 of my hours long calculations. So I thought it was pretty cool!

 

[WantToGoNow]

I like the dining plan and I don't really try to make sure we are coming out ahead.

We like having our meals prepaid. We like being able to order anything we want off the menu without considering the cost (chicken vs steak). We like having soda for dinner instead of water and we like having dessert even if we don't need it. We always buy the refillable mugs anyway as a souvie even if we don't use it much.

This trip was booked with the QSDP until this week. We had 3 adrs made - lunch with princesses at Epcot for dd9, Garden Grill at dd29s request and Sci-fi for ds12. I realized that it would cost almost as much for those 3 meals as it would to upgrade to the DDP and then we have 3 more TS meals for no additional cost.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I like the dining plan and I don't really try to make sure we are coming out ahead.

We like having our meals prepaid. We like being able to order anything we want off the menu without considering the cost (chicken vs steak). We like having soda for dinner instead of water and we like having dessert even if we don't need it. We always buy the refillable mugs anyway as a souvie even if we don't use it much.

This trip was booked with the QSDP until this week. We had 3 adrs made - lunch with princesses at Epcot for dd9, Garden Grill at dd29s request and Sci-fi for ds12. I realized that it would cost almost as much for those 3 meals as it would to upgrade to the DDP and then we have 3 more TS meals for no additional cost.

Why wouldn't you make sure you are coming out ahead? This is what I am trying to figure out... We go to DL almost yearly and there is no dining plan, I also like to pay nothing out of pocket while there, so I spend my year loading gift cards to bring to pay for all our meals, we can eat at DL for about $60 a day pp, this is almost always 1 character meal, 1 cs, and one other TS meal a day. Right now I am looking at $200 a day or $66 pp per day so almost a wash with DL... I had heard so much about the wdw dining plan I was excited to "get a deal" but I don't see it... Even the supposed free dining doesn't sound real free if you have to pay rack rate for the room... Maybe if there are 5 of you that you are cramming into one room... But we only have the 3 of us, and dd is not a big eater.