What is better, DDP or TIW card?

[Disneyfun1]

we are going to wdw for 8 full days(10 if you include arrival and departure dates), and we are signed up on the DDP through DVC which will cost us $377.91 each for a total of $1511.64 for 4 of us-which is a lot of money for a weeks worth of food-but we are eating a table meal each day and already have them all booked.

I was just thinking, since we are getting AP this trip, if paying cash and getting the TIW card is better to go, or is the DDP the best bet? Is there an easier way to figure it out besides looking at each menu, each day and trying to decide what we will all get to eat that day and then just doing a side by side comparison?

thanks for any advise!

 

[Silver Queen]

Not sure about a financial comparison, but every since we switched to TiW we've become big fans. For us the plusses are being able to take 20% off of alcohol a well as food, having the opportunity to go to signature restaurants more easily, and having more flexibility to order appetizers and either skip or share dessert. Love TiW!

 

[baler31]

For our family TIW works out to be a much better value but we do not eat many desserts and tend to share some meals so we don't need that many credits. For us the DDP is way too much food.

 

[pixarmom]

I'd suggest the menu search and side-by-side comparison. It will be different for every family, based on the number of kids, ages of kids, eating habits of each family membe, etc..

For us, TIW is a much better deal. That's because we have two pre-teen "Disney adults" along with our pre-schooler, we rarely order a dessert with a meal (exception: grapefruit cake at Brown Derby), we share entrees, I almost always order a salad and appetizer instead of an entree, and my husband and I sometimes order wine or beer with dinner. We also love TS restaurants because they give us and our three boys a nice and scheduled break from the parks. With 20% off almost every place we eat, and anything we choose to order, it's a great deal.

The dining plan no longer works for all the reasons we mentioned, and because we found ourselves feeling like we should order more expensive items (even if it wasn't our first choice at the time) to get the most "value" from the plan. (We used to do the dining plan when we went to lots of fixed price TS restaurants and all our kids were 9 and under.) On the regular dining plan, it also meant only one TS per day. But now, TIW is completely flexible, and allows us to save no matter what we choose to order.

But I highly recommend doing the math. I pulled up all the menus, estimated what each of us would realistically order, and then based the comparison on those figures. Again, it could turn out different for each family.

Good luck!

 

[Tiger926]

We've done regular DP and DxDP many times, and love our TIW (formerly DDE)! Kids eat adult meals, so they like to share adult meals, and this is great with TIW. Plus, we don't usually eat dessert either. We also don't like CS meals (maybe eat at 2 the entire 2 weeks we are there), so TS meals are better for us. We don't drink alcohol, so this isn't a factor for us.

Basically, TIW gives us the flexibility to eat the way we want without the restrictions of the DP. A huge positive is the fact that you won't lose credits should someone get sick, or want to cancel. You can just cancel your ADR, and away you go (with the exception of restaurants with cancellation policies, of course).


Good luck with your decision, Tiger

 

[dvc at last !]

Not sure about a financial comparison, but every since we switched to TiW we've become big fans. For us the plusses are being able to take 20% off of alcohol a well as food, having the opportunity to go to signature restaurants more easily, and having more flexibility to order appetizers and either skip or share dessert. Love TiW!

ditto

 

[SophiasDad]

I agree with the previous posters as well. We love TIW. DD6 and DS4 dont always like to eat from the kids menus. With TIW, we can order them something from the regualr menu. There are some TS restaurants that we want appetizers and some dessert. TIW gives our whole family the option to order whatever we like. I also like that they automatically add the 18% gratuity as well. Makes it easier on paying out the bill. You also have the option to increase the tip as well.

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

TiW works best for us too! We do not want to be driven to consume all those credits, if we don't feel like it. When we're tired, we often do not want a table service meal at all, but would feel obligated to use the credits.

Also, as others have said, we are far more likely to eat an appetizer with an entree. We tend to eat desserts later in the evening. We also have had many instances of wanting to make a meal of two appetizers, which would also not work with the DDP.

Financially, once you've spent $375 with TiW you have repaid your investment of $75. For our family of five (all adults now), we reach that amount after three TS meals.

 

[Leota]

TiW works better for us as well. We like to split lots of courses. Sometimes, we just want a couple appetizers. We rarely eat counter service. We like to have a drink and or wine with dinner & don't always do desserts. We like the flexibility of TiW. It just works better with the way we dine. Plus we like to stay at the Swolphin & the DDP isn't available there.