Using DDP knowing you won't get value?

[Farro]

Like I've said in past threads, I make no claims that I'm saving money with it, I have no idea, and I realize that irks some of you.

But the way we travel, everywhere, is to pay as much as we can up front. Hotels, air, all-inclusives in the Caribbean (if they are good), booze packages on cruises, etc. We get the entire cost, decide if we can afford it at the time, and then pay for it cash, no credit. And then it's done. Then I relax.
Of course I bring extra cash, a credit card, etc. because I shop. A lot. And vacation/cocktails go hand in hand. Also, we know we will eat a sit down every night. We tried not doing that last time, hated it.

Also, now having two snacks works. We are there during food/wine,we always share those plates. So each day between the two of us we can taste 4 plates from the food wine booths. More if we use more of our allotted snacks.

I understand the argument that it's a waste if people get sick, but then a lot of our trip is going to be a waste if that happens, it's a chance we take.

It may not make sense to most of you, I have no clue if it saves money, but as I posted earlier, our trip is paid off, food is taken care of and I feel good about it, and I don't think about the cost of the trip again. That's enough for us!

NOW LET'S EAT!!!

 

[Nancyg56]

Like I've said in past threads, I make no claims that I'm saving money with it, I have no idea, and I realize that irks some of you.

But the way we travel, everywhere, is to pay as much as we can up front. Hotels, air, all-inclusives in the Caribbean (if they are good), booze packages on cruises, etc. We get the entire cost, decide if we can afford it at the time, and then pay for it cash, no credit. And then it's done. Then I relax.
Of course I bring extra cash, a credit card, etc. because I shop. A lot. And vacation/cocktails go hand in hand. Also, we know we will eat a sit down every night. We tried not doing that last time, hated it.

Also, now having two snacks works. We are there during food/wine,we always share those plates. So each day between the two of us we can taste 4 plates from the food wine booths. More if we use more of our allotted snacks.

I understand the argument that it's a waste if people get sick, but then a lot of our trip is going to be a waste if that happens, it's a chance we take.

It may not make sense to most of you, I have no clue if it saves money, but as I posted earlier, our trip is paid off, food is taken care of and I feel good about it, and I don't think about the cost of the trip again. That's enough for us!

NOW LET'S EAT!!!

This is how we travel. It's all paid before we leave the house. We decide what we want to do, and how we want to eat. I have gratuities for meals, sky caps, valet and cabs, bell services, and mousekeeping set aside. SOme trips are more than others, depending on what our plans for that particular trip are. Like you, I want at least one TS meal a day. And it includes wine. And an appetizer. And dessert. My DD and her family will skip that when they travel without the rest of our crew.

We have never cruised before and when my DH retires we are joining my son and DDIL for our first one. He has planned a CL suite with an all inclusive package because he knows that on the rare occasions my DH vacations he wants every bit covered. I have no idea the ins and outs of this particular kind of vacation, and I will not make him show me his work, but he has spent a great deal of time making choices that will work for our family, and is stinkin good with numbers crunching, so I know that the cost, when we are ready to set our dates, will be the best one for our choices, and our vacation style. We will pay more for accomodations and amenities because we use them. I tend to believe that there some folks who think we are confused by the difference between frugal with cheap. We are a frugal family, meaning we want what we pay for, and we pay for what we want. We have always gotten that on our Disney vacations.

 

[MrInfinity]

That's why most people I know outside the Dis buy the DDP. If someone mentions it at work or something, the conversation does not reduce instantly to whether or not that is a profitable financial transaction and whether they will make $50 or lose $50 on their trip... The talk focuses on how they loved it last time, it freed them up to eat whatever they want, they didn't mind buying $5 ice cream bars when it's just points, and so on. It's like an all-inclusive Mexico trip. It's nice to be in the bubble and leave the worries of cost behind. Then there's the aspect of prepaying for it which is another huge plus.

If you think about it, the big financial expense is going to WDW in the first place. Say it's $5000 for your trip and $1500 for food... Surely $6500 can be spent on your home, college, or fixing something on your car. So once you're paying the $6500 (for the sole intention of having fun) it doesn't matter if you spend $6550 or $6450 if your vacation is that much better and you live it up and eat more things you like that you wouldn't order if you were considering the cost of each one.

 

[robinb]

Exactly. You calculated the average price whereas I went to the menus and actually "ordered" what we would probably eat. Subbing out drinks for snack items at many places definitely gets us more value as well. And I also added the tax. Please remember, we would never eat this way, but there are those who do, so to give a better picture, here's what we would eat for that $185 savings:

Flame Tree: 4 combo plates, 2 onion rings, 2 fries, (no drinks) $100.11
Backlot Express: Caprese salad, burger, nuggets, chicken salad, 2 cupcakes 2 drinks $63.90
Sunshine Seasons: Fish tacos, Cuban, turkey sand, Rotisserie chicken, 2 fruit/cheese plates, 2 cakes $76.68
Columbia Harbor: Broccoli salad, tuna sand, shrimp plate, fish/chicken, 2 chili, french fry, apple crisp $68.59
WPE: Rotisserie chicken, Alfredo, chicken tenders, chicken sand, 4 drinks $73.49
50s Prime: 2 Samples, 2 Pork chops, 2 apple crisps, 1 choc cake, 1 upside down cake, 2 shakes, 2 coffees $152.30
Tusker House dinner $47.93 x 4 $191.72
Aker lunch $57.51 x 4 $230.04
CP dinner $47.93 x 4 $191.72
Ohana dinner $45.80 x 4 $183.20

I valued the snacks at $5 each, but will use your $4 each $160

Grand total is $1491.75
Cost of DDP for 4 for 5 nights is $1346.60

So we still save $145.15

I did NOT include the mugs which have little value to us other than a souvenir.

I'm confused. In your original post you said: "But just to show YOU that saving money is possible with the DDP, I ran the numbers for my family eating the way the plan dictates." Now you say that your family would
never eat this way". Which is it?

I think it's easy to select a bunch of AYCE restaurants and character meals to make the DDP "work". I think that's one of the reasons why it can be such a value for families with "Disney Kids" 9 and under because they will be going to those restaurants anyway.

FWIW, I did include tax and it's not clear that Disney will continue to allow the substitution of drinks with sides/snacks.

 

[cdh]

We love using the deluxe dining plan for our family of three but I can see how it wouldn't be beneficial for all families. When our daughter was younger and we wanted to take her to lots of character buffets it was definitely worth it. Those meals were around $150 per meal for the three of us and I don't like buffets....so, I might nibble on something and then leave the restaurant and get a snack in the park. Now, that our daughter is older and we don't go to as many character meals, I still enjoy the dining plan. If we went to Le Cellier and were paying OOP then I would have an entrée but I wouldn't order a appetizer or a dessert. When we have the deluxe dining plan I will order those items and take a bite or two just to sample the food.

We usually arrive at Disney late afternoon (around 3 to 4 pm) on our first day and we usually leave early morning on the last day.....so we only need one meal for the first day and usually don't need a meal at all for the last day. Therefore, when I'm making our resort reservations I will have two separate reservations. The first is for five nights with the deluxe dining plan and the second is for one night (room only). That saves around $300 on the deluxe dining plan that we would have to add if we had only one reservation. When you add the deluxe dining plan to your trip you receive 3 table service meals and 2 snacks per person per night.

Here's an example. We plan to stay at the Contemporary for six nights in May. I will reserve a package for April 30 to May 5 and a room only for May 5 to May 6. When we check in I will explain that we have a continuing reservation and would like to stay in the same room on the last night. They've always kept us in the same room. The cost is slightly more for five nights deluxe versus six nights regular dining (Club level room/PH and Waterpark tickets for six days/deluxe dining(five nights) is $7488. Same room and tickets with regular dining for six nights would be $7157). With deluxe dining we will have 45 table service meal credits and 30 snacks for the trip. With regular dining we would have 18 counter service meals and 18 table service meals and 36 snacks for the trip. The difference in cost is $331 but we enjoy the flexibility of eating wherever we want, whenever we want without thinking about the dining plan once we are at Disney. We will have the dining plan from check in on April 30 to midnight on May 5. So, if we would have breakfast on the 6th it would be OOP but we are always in a hurry that morning so we eat breakfast on the way home.

So, for our trip, regular dining would cost $1206 for 6 nights and deluxe dining would cost $1545 for five nights. With deluxe dining for five nights we will have an additional 9 meals (45 total meals versus 36 total meals) and we can eat every meal at a table service restaurant if that's what we choose. With the table service meals we have more of a selection. I can only stand so many hotdogs, cheeseburgers, and flatbread pizzas in one week. We would pay at least $1200 OOP if we didn't have a dining plan so, for us, it's worth a little extra to pay for the plan and enjoy eating whatever we want while we are at Disney.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

You will not save much money even if you do "everything right." Period. Google "Disney Dining Plan Calculator" and see for yourself. People who claim to be saving hundreds of dollars are either miscalculating or counting the full price of the refillable mugs towards the "savings." I would NEVER knowingly get the dining plan if I knew I was going to lose money. I really don't get the people who do this because they don't want to see big bills at the end of each meal.

Me: If the price of the dining plan rose to $1,000,000, would you still buy it?
Them: Of course not! That would be silly.
Me: Okay, let's cut it in half. $500,000
Them: No.
Me: Alright, half of that. $250,000.
Them: No!
Me: Well, what's the most you'd be willing to spend?

This is usually when the cognitive dissonance kicks in because they realize paying even $1 more than what you'd pay OOP is unfair and they'd be a fool to do it.

The only dining plan I would do is at Universal. If your entree is $12-$13, get the plan. If not, don't. Even better, you can buy it at the register. No planning required.

I don't agree. I don't think they are fools to use it. I find intrinsic value in the DDP beyond just the cost of food. It takes a lot of pressure of me and makes me more able to enjoy my vacation. We are usually within $100 of what the plan would cost anyway, and that money is worth my piece of mind. I'm not a fool. I know what I am getting for my money, and choose to spend it for the piece of mind it affords.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Are you always so nasty? In all the time I have posted on the DIS, I do not recall ever trying to bait someone into an argument, and I refuse to be drawn into one with you. I have been clear: you accept waht I have said, or you do not. It makes no difference to me, but for some reason this makes a difference to you. I wonder why.

From what I have seen, when it comes to the DDP, yes.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I agree with most of what you said. However...



The point we're trying to make is that you DON'T have to alter your dining plans to pay OOP. You DON'T have to settle for cheaper menu items to save money paying OOP. We welcome a completely apples-to-apples cost comparison. The only thing the DDP does is provide a psychological trick that benefits Disney, not the consumer. On the other hand, you DO have to limit your dining choices to even hope to break-even using the dining plan.

You cannot possibly know what is of benefit to me. It is of benefit to me NOT to have to worry aobut what i am spending on food for my trip. I value that. It has worth to me.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

You're actually agreeing with me. People have said in this thread that it's simply a matter of adding up meal costs. It is not! The fact so many people who claim they saved money cannot see this is a red flag that they probably didn't know what they were doing. This is why you have to show your work. People will take their advice thinking it's a good deal, but they won't have the same view of what's valuable.



Success requires precise planning and a lot of luck. Don't mistake an ideal case under perfect conditions for reality. One tummy-ache leading to a skipped TS meal puts the dining plan in the red. Spending your last hour at Disney scrambling around gift shops for snacks that might survive the trip home just to get all your credits is not something people include in their plans, but it happens way too often even to the best of us. Why subject yourself to this nonsense?

Again everyone who uses a plan is NOT stupid. Several people here have shown you the math. I have personally kept receipts many times and done the math on EXACTLY what we would have spent. It is always very close. You are insistent on thinking that people who don't agree with you are ignorant or incompetent. Neither is true.

 

[Farro]

I so rarely get to act foolish or blissfully ignorant in real life, it really makes me relish my time with the Disney dining plan.

 

[sharonabe]

I'm confused. In your original post you said: "But just to show YOU that saving money is possible with the DDP, I ran the numbers for my family eating the way the plan dictates." Now you say that your family would
never eat this way". Which is it?

If you look through the entire thread, you'll see my first post where I show that for MY family, we get much more value paying OOP. My second post was in response to the one who says the DDP cannot save money; I wanted to show that it could. You then questioned my math, so I showed my math. My family does not use any dining plan, because they do not fit the way we eat, but they do for many others.

it's not clear that Disney will continue to allow the substitution of drinks with sides/snacks.

Actually, that IS still written into the brochure, and that is why I used it in my calculations. Be Our Guest is the only place where I've seen reports that it is not allowed, and that is because their drinks are self-service and therefore could be abused.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

I so rarely get to act foolish or blissfully ignorant in real life, it really makes me relish my time with the Disney dining plan.

It's liberating, isn't it??? Apparently we are all , but I enjoy the heck out of it!

 

[robinb]

If you look through the entire thread, you'll see my first post where I show that for MY family, we get much more value paying OOP. My second post was in response to the one who says the DDP cannot save money; I wanted to show that it could. You then questioned my math, so I showed my math. My family does not use any dining plan, because they do not fit the way we eat, but they do for many others.

Sure the DDP can save money but only if you maximize it (like you did in your calculation) or if you have children under the age of 10. I did not read your first post and your second post was not clear to me that you were not talking about your own family's use of the DDP.

Actually, that IS still written into the brochure, and that is why I used it in my calculations. Be Our Guest is the only place where I've seen reports that it is not allowed, and that is because their drinks are self-service and therefore could be abused.

I read that it was in the brochure somewhere in the fine print, but when I brought up the current brochure I could not find it. Can you give me a link to the current one that has the fine print and direct me where I would be able to find it?

 

[eeyoresmom]

The DxDDP does not need to be "maximized" to save money. Each TS credit only needs to be around $32 (assuming no value from the mug and actually a little less, tax not included) to break even and that includes an appetizer, entrée and dessert.

 

[Faldred]

The DxDDP does not need to be "maximized" to save money. Each TS credit only needs to be around $32 (assuming no value from the mug and actually a little less, tax not included) to break even and that includes an appetizer, entrée and dessert.

Quite correct; I'd say the range is between $28 and $32 (pre-tax), depending on your valuation of snack credits and the mug value; using $4 and $0, respectively, I get closer to $30.

At many locations, you can skip either drink, appetizer, or dessert and still come out ahead, without even ordering the most expensive items on the menu. If you want to do 3 (or 2, with one being a signature) sit down meals a day, DxDP is a very good option, and is far more flexible about leaving entitlements "on the table" than the basic DDP or QSDP.

Of course, the flip side is that you really need to want to dine that way and it makes dining a significant portion of your trip - for some, that's ideal, for others, a nightmare.

 

[Nancyg56]

We love using the deluxe dining plan for our family of three but I can see how it wouldn't be beneficial for all families. When our daughter was younger and we wanted to take her to lots of character buffets it was definitely worth it. Those meals were around $150 per meal for the three of us and I don't like buffets....so, I might nibble on something and then leave the restaurant and get a snack in the park. Now, that our daughter is older and we don't go to as many character meals, I still enjoy the dining plan. If we went to Le Cellier and were paying OOP then I would have an entrée but I wouldn't order a appetizer or a dessert. When we have the deluxe dining plan I will order those items and take a bite or two just to sample the food.

We usually arrive at Disney late afternoon (around 3 to 4 pm) on our first day and we usually leave early morning on the last day.....so we only need one meal for the first day and usually don't need a meal at all for the last day. Therefore, when I'm making our resort reservations I will have two separate reservations. The first is for five nights with the deluxe dining plan and the second is for one night (room only). That saves around $300 on the deluxe dining plan that we would have to add if we had only one reservation. When you add the deluxe dining plan to your trip you receive 3 table service meals and 2 snacks per person per night.

Here's an example. We plan to stay at the Contemporary for six nights in May. I will reserve a package for April 30 to May 5 and a room only for May 5 to May 6. When we check in I will explain that we have a continuing reservation and would like to stay in the same room on the last night. They've always kept us in the same room. The cost is slightly more for five nights deluxe versus six nights regular dining (Club level room/PH and Waterpark tickets for six days/deluxe dining(five nights) is $7488. Same room and tickets with regular dining for six nights would be $7157). With deluxe dining we will have 45 table service meal credits and 30 snacks for the trip. With regular dining we would have 18 counter service meals and 18 table service meals and 36 snacks for the trip. The difference in cost is $331 but we enjoy the flexibility of eating wherever we want, whenever we want without thinking about the dining plan once we are at Disney. We will have the dining plan from check in on April 30 to midnight on May 5. So, if we would have breakfast on the 6th it would be OOP but we are always in a hurry that morning so we eat breakfast on the way home.

So, for our trip, regular dining would cost $1206 for 6 nights and deluxe dining would cost $1545 for five nights. With deluxe dining for five nights we will have an additional 9 meals (45 total meals versus 36 total meals) and we can eat every meal at a table service restaurant if that's what we choose. With the table service meals we have more of a selection. I can only stand so many hotdogs, cheeseburgers, and flatbread pizzas in one week. We would pay at least $1200 OOP if we didn't have a dining plan so, for us, it's worth a little extra to pay for the plan and enjoy eating whatever we want while we are at Disney.

I learned that lesson the year my DH came. DD and i looked at out OOP dining and felt the upcharge foe DxDDP woudl not pay off. Boy were we wrong that time! WE book several signature meals each trip, and always TS each night. I did not factor TS breakfast or as many aps as we ordered. I would have been much better off that trip to bite the bullet and pay the Upcharge. We had booked CL that trip so I figured breakfast in the lounge and if we wanted an appetizer we would get something before we left the resort. It did nto work that way. LOL! The next trip I learned my lesson.

 

[qwerty2k]

Not quite sure why the DDP tends to illicit such a divisive response to be honest, its horses for courses.

I've only ever done Disney twice (I'm from the uk) and did DDP once and OOP once, much preferred DDP and so did my gf. I understand the logical mathematical side of it *may* work out cheaper to OOP rather than DDP, but unfortunately we as humans aren't strictly logical beings. So for me its less stress, hassle and gives me a greater sense of freedom when i know that the meals have been paid for up front and sort of gives me license to treat myself where as i wouldn't otherwise.

So for my next trip (Honeymoon in August 2018) when we book it i will be hoping for the 'free' (yes I'm aware its not free ) dining plan offer so when we get there we can simply switch off and enjoy the experience.

 

[eeyoresmom]

Quite correct; I'd say the range is between $28 and $32 (pre-tax), depending on your valuation of snack credits and the mug value; using $4 and $0, respectively, I get closer to $30.

At many locations, you can skip either drink, appetizer, or dessert and still come out ahead, without even ordering the most expensive items on the menu. If you want to do 3 (or 2, with one being a signature) sit down meals a day, DxDP is a very good option, and is far more flexible about leaving entitlements "on the table" than the basic DDP or QSDP.

Of course, the flip side is that you really need to want to dine that way and it makes dining a significant portion of your trip - for some, that's ideal, for others, a nightmare.

In my situation, we are sharing the DxDDP credits we will purchase for 2 people to cover the TS meals we have planned for 8 of us. We will do 5 TS restaurants in 7 days which is perfect for us. Saying this because I wouldn't want to dine the way the deluxe plan is set up, but because of our special circumstances (4 couples in 4 rooms), we get lots of extras for just about the same price of 4 of those meals without apps, dessert and drinks.

 

[vinotinto]

I've gone with DDP, DxDP, and OOP on different trips based on whether I think the DDP would save us $$.

I would not get the DDP, unless it's saving me at least 5%. You are pre-paying and cannot get this reimbursed if you don't use it. What if someone in your group gets sick and wants to only have soup from room service? What if your arrival is delayed and you don't get to use any credits on your first day? What if a coveted, last-minute FP+ for the next day suddenly appears and you have to change your dining plans? I guess I prefer to not tie my $$ in advance without a cushion.

 

[Beer Me]

Not quite sure why the DDP tends to illicit such a divisive response to be honest, its horses for courses.

I've only ever done Disney twice (I'm from the uk) and did DDP once and OOP once, much preferred DDP and so did my gf. I understand the logical mathematical side of it *may* work out cheaper to OOP rather than DDP, but unfortunately we as humans aren't strictly logical beings. So for me its less stress, hassle and gives me a greater sense of freedom when i know that the meals have been paid for up front and sort of gives me license to treat myself where as i wouldn't otherwise.

So for my next trip (Honeymoon in August 2018) when we book it i will be hoping for the 'free' (yes I'm aware its not free ) dining plan offer so when we get there we can simply switch off and enjoy the experience.

It shouldn't be divisive! Personal preference.

It doesn't work monetarily for me but it also suits my preferences. I'm more comfortable eating when, where and whatever I want without thinking about credits. Based on past trips my family's eating habits are not compatible with any of Disneys dining plans. We come out hundreds of dollars ahead.

That being said - if I got home and discovered we had gone $100 over the cost of the dining plan would I feel like a fool? No! Because I didn't want a plan. It is about more than math.