Trying to work out whether DDP is good value for us

[Cumbley]

Hi all, we are trying to decide whether the Dining Plan is going to be good value, we have some ADRs booked but how can I tell how much it would cost if we weren't on DP? For example we're going to Crystal Palace for breakfast one day - the website indicates that the cost is $15 - $35.99 does it vary seasonally? We go 14-21 November. Sorry if this is a silly question, I just can't find the info anywhere!

Thanks
Cheryl

 

[Mdoyle07]

Have you checked the Allearsnet.com website? They list all of the restaurant menus with prices. You should be able to get a pretty good idea of how much each meal would cost out of pocket based on what you would order.

 

[Mdoyle07]

*allears.net

 

[Paendrag]

Check out the information on Dad's Guide to WDW. He has a couple of spreadsheets that may help you crunch the numbers.

I would love to link the site, but apparently havent posted enough yet to share links.

So just type the following into google and should be the first link:

dad's guide to wdw dining plan Will it save you money?

 

[Reddy]

http://www.allears.net/menu/menu_cpb.htm
depending on time of year you are going
Adult price range: $24.49-$28.75; Child (ages 3-9) price range: $13.84-$15.97

Tax is included; gratuity is not included. A standard, non-alcoholic beverage is included in this price.

 

[Cafeen]

For example we're going to Crystal Palace for breakfast one day - the website indicates that the cost is $15 - $35.99

Something that leads to a LOT of confusion is the fact that the prices shown are NOT specific to the restaurant in question. They are general "buckets" that Disney sorts all of their restaurants into. They are also setup to lump the most common ones together (as you can see with the $15-$35.99 price range) to make the more pricey ones in that range seem cheaper .

So, the average dinner "entree" cost at CP is somewhere between $15 and $35.99, it doesn't mean that the lowest cost at CP is $15, and the highest is $35.99! (You'll see many, many other restaurants in this same price range).

(As a note, CP barely makes it into this category, as adult dinner is $39.40 incl. tax during "low" season).

 

[Cumbley]

Something that leads to a LOT of confusion is the fact that the prices shown are NOT specific to the restaurant in question. They are general "buckets" that Disney sorts all of their restaurants into. They are also setup to lump the most common ones together (as you can see with the $15-$35.99 price range) to make the more pricey ones in that range seem cheaper .

So, the average dinner "entree" cost at CP is somewhere between $15 and $35.99, it doesn't mean that the lowest cost at CP is $15, and the highest is $35.99! (You'll see many, many other restaurants in this same price range).

(As a note, CP barely makes it into this category, as adult dinner is $39.40 incl. tax during "low" season).

Aah! That makes sense now! Thanks

 

[Cumbley]

http://www.allears.net/menu/menu_cpb.htm
depending on time of year you are going
Adult price range: $24.49-$28.75; Child (ages 3-9) price range: $13.84-$15.97

Tax is included; gratuity is not included. A standard, non-alcoholic beverage is included in this price.

Thanks, the all ears info is great. So do the prices shown on the menu's include tax (how much is that?) or not - need to check I'm comparing like for like.
Cheryl

 

[Cumbley]

Have you checked the Allearsnet.com website? They list all of the restaurant menus with prices. You should be able to get a pretty good idea of how much each meal would cost out of pocket based on what you would order.

Thanks!

 

[Cumbley]

Check out the information on Dad's Guide to WDW. He has a couple of spreadsheets that may help you crunch the numbers.

I would love to link the site, but apparently havent posted enough yet to share links.

So just type the following into google and should be the first link:

dad's guide to wdw dining plan Will it save you money?

Thanks, will check it out
Cheryl

 

[cajunprincess]

I'm working on this currently for my family. I'm using pricing I've found for restaurants we will do and throwing in CS places we may stop by. I've included everything the dining plan covers including tax, however, I did exclude the dessert that comes with the CS meals because we would not buy it if it didn't come with it.

I've entered it all in a spreadsheet and then averaged out all the days combined. It may be a little excessive, but I am an accountant for a reason. I don't want to pay more than I need to!

 

[Cafeen]

I'm working on this currently for my family. I'm using pricing I've found for restaurants we will do and throwing in CS places we may stop by. I've included everything the dining plan covers including tax, however, I did exclude the dessert that comes with the CS meals because we would not buy it if it didn't come with it.

I've entered it all in a spreadsheet and then averaged out all the days combined. It may be a little excessive, but I am an accountant for a reason. I don't want to pay more than I need to!

Pfft, you haven't even SEEN excessive

(Note: the 3% "discount" on the room is due to the dates I'm going, the room discount is not available for the full time, so it doesn't cover the full time. If I used it, it'd be slighly less than 3% off the room cost, yup, I went that detailed ) (and yes, the Free dining calculation gets funky with kids' costs). Heck, I even take out the value of the mug as savings if I wouldn't buy it otherwise

This one shows how I choose different locations and food depending on what plan (or TiW, or OOP) I'd be doing. It's a bit more realistic as I'd not likely be getting a dessert with every meal if I were paying OOP (though, there are a few that I would....toffee cake...mmmm)

 

[Nohal]

We use the dining plan and find that it saves us money. Of course we would not be ordering desert if paying OOP. I believe that the sales tax is either 6 or 7% so make sure you include that in your totals. We usually go during free dining but have paid for the dining when we went in Oct a few years ago. I like the fact that my food is paid for in advance and I don't have to look at prices when ordering I just order what I want. DH and I have shared counter service meals and actually had 1 or 2 left over. If you don't want a counter service breakfast in order to save credits, you can get a bagel, pastry, oatmeal etc. for a snack credit.

 

[wishing4PA]

Cafeen, I'm not sure whether to bow down to you, or run away screaming!

OP, just a note of caution. I absolutely love allears, and the menu information there is great! But remember, they are not an "official" site, and can run behind if prices/menus have changed (shoot, even official info could do that, come to think of it.) I once switched ADRs from breakfast to lunch (Akershus?) based on the listed prices. But when we got there, prices were significantly higher from a recent price increase (not the seasonal thing.) I wrote to allears, and they promptly updated their information, but they are not infallible. Leave a little wiggle room.

 

[denise5374]

Pfft, you haven't even SEEN excessive

(Note: the 3% "discount" on the room is due to the dates I'm going, the room discount is not available for the full time, so it doesn't cover the full time. If I used it, it'd be slighly less than 3% off the room cost, yup, I went that detailed ) (and yes, the Free dining calculation gets funky with kids' costs). Heck, I even take out the value of the mug as savings if I wouldn't buy it otherwise

This one shows how I choose different locations and food depending on what plan (or TiW, or OOP) I'd be doing. It's a bit more realistic as I'd not likely be getting a dessert with every meal if I were paying OOP (though, there are a few that I would....toffee cake...mmmm)

Would you be willing to share these spreadsheets? This is the kind of info I love but don't know how to create ....Thanks!

 

[msheriffm]

We arrived yesterday and ate at Le Cellier for lunch. Our bill was $154 for four adults, thank goodness we had the dining plan.

 

[havoc315]

We arrived yesterday and ate at Le Cellier for lunch. Our bill was $154 for four adults, thank goodness we had the dining plan.

Good example. You say "thank goodness" for the dining plan.

But let's break it down. Le Cellier is 1 of the most expensive lunch options. Most of your dining options will not be quite as expensive. And I assume, since you were on the dining plan, you each got a dessert. Which you might not have even desired, it not on the ddp.

So you paid for 4 adults, summer pricing of the DDP: $53.54 per adult:
You spent $214 for the dining plan for the day.
So $214-154 = $60. If the 4 of you got $60 of value out of your QS+ snack, then you just broke even.

Assuming a median value of about $15 for a CS credit (with CS meals ranging from about $9 to about $20), and assuming a median snack value of about $3.50 (ranging from about $1.50 to about $5).
That would put your grand total savings for the day --- At $3.50 per person. Or, about $14 for the 4 of you. Maybe a little more, maybe a bit less.



So yes, you saved a little bit of money. You saved about $14, or about 6.5%... or you can look at it, as if you got free sales tax, or you can look at it like your snack was "free."

So getting a super expensive meal, you still got only a 6.5% savings. Does a 6.5% savings really make meals so much more affordable? Is a 6.5% savings, thank goodness?

In fact... if you had ordered 2 desserts instead of 4, at your TS meal and at your CS meal... then that would probably be cheaper than having purchased the dining plan.

 

[Cafeen]

Would you be willing to share these spreadsheets? This is the kind of info I love but don't know how to create ....Thanks!

Of course. I did just finish a feature on it as well (has to do with sorting price points on selected restaurants, good for when you go over credits and have to figure out which to pay OOP for), so it'll take me a couple days to write up documentation on it, but I should be set by the end of the week or earlier.

I'll host the stuff on my webspace, so no need for email addresses and the like.

Good example. You say "thank goodness" for the dining plan.

But let's break it down...[snip for berevity]

Yup, and that's why the plans (especially DDP and QSDP) really only work if you stick very closely to the structure and order from the top half of the menus. Variances can, and likely will, undermine any daily savings. (And, at a Disney TS, I see $154 for 4 adults as "not that bad"... I think my perspective has skewed ).

 

[patsal]

Good example. You say "thank goodness" for the dining plan.

But let's break it down. Le Cellier is 1 of the most expensive lunch options. Most of your dining options will not be quite as expensive. And I assume, since you were on the dining plan, you each got a dessert. Which you might not have even desired, it not on the ddp.

So you paid for 4 adults, summer pricing of the DDP: $53.54 per adult:
You spent $214 for the dining plan for the day.
So $214-154 = $60. If the 4 of you got $60 of value out of your QS+ snack, then you just broke even.

Assuming a median value of about $15 for a CS credit (with CS meals ranging from about $9 to about $20), and assuming a median snack value of about $3.50 (ranging from about $1.50 to about $5).
That would put your grand total savings for the day --- At $3.50 per person. Or, about $14 for the 4 of you. Maybe a little more, maybe a bit less.



So yes, you saved a little bit of money. You saved about $14, or about 6.5%... or you can look at it, as if you got free sales tax, or you can look at it like your snack was "free."

So getting a super expensive meal, you still got only a 6.5% savings. Does a 6.5% savings really make meals so much more affordable? Is a 6.5% savings, thank goodness?

In fact... if you had ordered 2 desserts instead of 4, at your TS meal and at your CS meal... then that would probably be cheaper than having purchased the dining plan.

Exactly my point, a person very often thinks they have saved so much using the DDP and years ago we all did. We are conditioned to believe we got a good deal becasue the deals were good years ago. However the new reality is there is very little to be saved using the DDP, but as a per person total it looks better than the sticker shock of seeing the 4 TS used in tandem on one bill.

 

[denise5374]

Of course. I did just finish a feature on it as well (has to do with sorting price points on selected restaurants, good for when you go over credits and have to figure out which to pay OOP for), so it'll take me a couple days to write up documentation on it, but I should be set by the end of the week or earlier.

I'll host the stuff on my webspace, so no need for email addresses and the like.

Thanks so much....just post when you are finished!