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

[brertoad]

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?

The OP asked essentially, "am I missing something" in regards to her calculations on DP vs. OOP. I just mentioned the mugs. I am not making any argument about if that is right for the OP or anyone, just mentioning that it is something that was not taken into consideration with her $28 estimated price difference. Three mugs would cost more than $28.

I could see something like this happening to some people where the calculated everything out, then realized later they were buying mugs OOP. We have bought mugs and paid OOP, rather than using the dining plan.

Directly to comment on your post, I agree that sometimes you don't want to carry your mug around. We usually have a backpack, so we can put our empty mugs in a ziplock inside our bag if going into the parks. Usually we carry them when we are going to the resort QS to eat and fill the mug. Otherwise we leave it in the room.

Regular fountain drinks, tea, coffee, etc. are refillable at the resort QS locations for the duration of your meal, you can refill your drinks while you are there for that sitting.

 

[Paigesmom2013]

Your post prompted me to do a little math of my own...
` I was kinda bummed because we would have been eligible for QS free dining this trip, but we bought our tickets through DH's work before the promotion started. Since it didn't matter at that point, I booked our ASMu through travelocity with a promo code. I saved over $400 versus booking tix and room through Disney. I don't think the two of us would have used that much QS meals and snacks for 5 days! (Free dining doesn't start until day 3 of our 7 day trip.)

 

[disneydan11]

Just this afternoon I worked with that spreadsheet. At first glance it is really good. However, if you look at some of the pricingthey have for the dinners I am not sure if it is all that accurate. i.e: I have a family of 4 - 2 adults and 2 kiddos going t oChef Mickey's for the character dinner buffett so the costs are set. The spread sheet they created calculates that to total cost at $114.98 but when I checked the Disney.com Chef's Mickey page and the Allears.net menu page the actual costs for a family of four are a good bit higher. Same goes for askerhus and Ohana. Once I corrected for current pricing for us the DDP works out beause we are hitting 3 big ticket dinners and 2 mid sized dinners. For our family, we come out ahead so long as the DDP covered costs of our TS meals averages $88 per meal and the CS meals average $45. (your costs will be different since you are a family of 3)

Once knowing that then we just had to make the decision: Do we want to spend $100+ for dinner EVERY night we are there. If that answer is yes then the plan works. If the answer is no then we would have been better off OOP.

Either way we will also be using the TIW so even the items we purchase (wine/beer) that are not covered by the DDP we will save 20% on.

 

[MomofIndigo]

We usually do the DP but this year we are not. We did what you did and priced it out but we are saving ourselves in total $250. Neither plan worked for us. We felt it was too limiting for what we want for this trip. I did not want a table service meal everyday nor did I want to be restricted to counter service only. I make our snacks at home and pack them with us. So we did not need the snack credits the last time we went. So for us, it was not worth it.

 

[retlaw_yensid]

I, like most people, spent lots and lots of time trying to research prices and work out the math. After awhile, I just came to the realization that while figuring out WHERE to eat in advance is necessary (for ADRs), figuring out WHAT SPECIFIC ENTREE you'll be in the mood for that far in advance wasn't going to work. So for me, the biggest draw to the DDP is just the convenience of it. We're on vacation...do I want to be the one in the group that questions what everyone wants to eat because of the price? No, I don't. Do I want to give them (and myself) the freedom to order whatever satisfies their craving that day? Yes, I do. I equate it to going on a cruise. By paying for the cruise, you've also paid for the food in advance. But when you are on the cruise, do you want to sit there and make sure your food selections are making the cost worth it, or do you just want to enjoy your vacation?

 

[goherdibg]

I posted this thread a few weeks ago:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3131089

It points to a Dining Plan Calculator I created just to help answer these questions. It is still evolving and we will be updating regularly as we receive user feedback.

The address for the web site is http://www.distripplanner.com

GoHerdIBG

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I posted this thread a few weeks ago:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3131089

It points to a Dining Plan Calculator I created just to help answer these questions. It is still evolving and we will be updating regularly as we receive user feedback.

The address for the web site is http://www.distripplanner.com

GoHerdIBG

Thanks, just ran your calculator, I had it do 1 appy and 1 dessert just for comparisons sake... My numbers were $1375 with tip, yours came up $1454--assuming no tip, and says I'll save $82 not doing the dp... So assuming I put that much (I was planning $1400) on gift cards, I will probably be fine with no dp and not really have to nitpick items people are ordering... When I run my numbers I usually do 1 high end meal, 1 middle and then the kids meal. So there shouldn't be much nitpicking anyway.

Great calculator, super easy to use!!