What is better--DP or TIW Card?

[boxer]

I know this is kinda tough to answer, but what are the opinions of everyone in regards to the DP-vs-TIW? We have done DP for literally YEARS, but this is our first trip as a DVC Owner, and we are not sure which is the better value?

We love to eat at least 1 TS meal a day, but do not really 'need' the desserts. We would probably eat most CS meals within the park, or at the resort--but again do not need the desserts. I have a couple Buffet/Character meals scheduled, but not as many as in years past due to the boys getting older. My current reservation schedule is:

CM
Via Napoli
Liberty Tree
Cape May Dinner
Le Celliar
Crystal Palace
Nine Dragons
San Angel
Coral Reef
Grand Floridian Café


I haven't even looked at the cost of the DP plan, and not even sure if DVC gets a discount on that? If I'm understanding correctly, the TIW gets a 20% discount across the board (food/beverage/alcohol), but costs $80 for the card initially.

What is everyone's opinion on the value of DP-vs-TIW? Any advice or suggestions?

 

[erionm]

I haven't even looked at the cost of the DP plan, and not even sure if DVC gets a discount on that? If I'm understanding correctly, the TIW gets a 20% discount across the board (food/beverage/alcohol), but costs $80 for the card initially.

The TiW Card costs $100 for DVC Members and Annual Passholders. FL Residents that don't have an AP and are not DVC Members pay $125.
TiW Website: http://tablesinwonderland.com/

There are no member discounts on the cost of the Disney Dining Plans, but members don't pay any seasonal price increases and aren't subject to mid-year price increases.

2014 Disney Dining Plan (1 TS, 1 QS, 1 Snack per night) Pricing:

• $58.66 per Guest age 10+, per night of your stay
• $18.88 per Guest ages 3-9, per night of your stay

(All prices include tax. Gratuities are not included unless otherwise indicated.)

 

[kbonner]

Price is off:

$100 for AP Holders / $125 for Florida Residents

It is valid at everyplace you are looking to eat. I personally will always get the TIW card. It is a much better value for me. It is good for one year, so I get two trips out of it.

It also carries an automatic 20% tip added to your bill.

It allows you to get a discount on exactly the food you want.

 

[kshark1958]

I know this is kinda tough to answer, but what are the opinions of everyone in regards to the DP-vs-TIW? We have done DP for literally YEARS, but this is our first trip as a DVC Owner, and we are not sure which is the better value?

We love to eat at least 1 TS meal a day, but do not really 'need' the desserts. We would probably eat most CS meals within the park, or at the resort--but again do not need the desserts. I have a couple Buffet/Character meals scheduled, but not as many as in years past due to the boys getting older. My current reservation schedule is:

CM
Via Napoli
Liberty Tree
Cape May Dinner
Le Celliar
Crystal Palace
Nine Dragons
San Angel
Coral Reef
Grand Floridian Café


I haven't even looked at the cost of the DP plan, and not even sure if DVC gets a discount on that? If I'm understanding correctly, the TIW gets a 20% discount across the board (food/beverage/alcohol), but costs $80 for the card initially.

What is everyone's opinion on the value of DP-vs-TIW? Any advice or suggestions?

Actually the card is 100.00 dollars and is not excepted everywhere. We are going in Sept 2014 and will be using the TIW for the first time. We have always used DDP before but I have no use for the mugs and don't always eat desserert. I looked at the restaurants we will be eating and did a price comparison. I still think we will do better with the TIW card but will know better after our trip. One drawback for the TIW card is except for a couple places in AK it is not accepted at the QS restaurants in the other parks. So we will be doing more TS lunches which may actually be kind of nice. Their are a lot posts on Disboards concerning this issue. Just type TIW in the search window and you will find plenty.

 

[Kidanifan08]

Based on the places that you are eating, I think that the TIW would be a good value. That is particularly true if you plan on having some appetizers and a few adult beverages. There are some times of the year where TIW is blacked-out, so you would want to look at their website to make sure that you are not traveling during one of those times before you buy it.

The nice thing about TIW is that it is good for about 13 months, so we can usually get two trips in on one card, which makes it a no-brainer for us.

 

[butsy113]

Correct 20% savings including alcohol. The card costs $100 for DVC members. If you spend $500 you will recoup the cost of the card. It is good for 13 months so you can often get multiple trips out of it.

Our family loves the TIW card. We very seldom get dessert and sometimes like to have a drink with dinner. I also like to order an appetizer or salad with my meal which the DP does not cover.

 

[AmyB2006]

Price is off:

$100 for AP Holders / $125 for Florida Residents

It is valid at everyplace you are looking to eat. I personally will always get the TIW card. It is a much better value for me. It is good for one year, so I get two trips out of it.

It also carries an automatic 20% tip added to your bill.

It allows you to get a discount on exactly the food you want.

I believe the tip is 18%. Discount 20%, Tip 18%. Unless that's changed recently.

OP... I'm with you, we never eat dessert. Very rarely do we get dessert at the restaurant. We love TS. We do 2 TS meals a day usually, breakfast and dinner, we wing it for lunch or snack throughout the day.

You have to figure out if the way you eat is compatible with the DP. For us, it's not. We always come out way ahead on TIW. It's a no brainer for us.

 

[boxer]

Ok--this is the first I'm hearing that it might not be accepted at CS locations---is this true? I don't know if just being used at TS will make it worthwhile if we cannot use at CS locations.

If I'm thinking correctly, the DP will cost us $200/day. I can see an average 'Disney' dinner being in the $120 mark, so that would leave $80 for drinks/snacks/lunch throughout the day. We don't eat breakfast, or if we do, it is usually just cereal in the room.

I can see the TIW card being the better value IF we can use it at CS locations. Can anyone advise on this, or what you do for lunches when using the TIW card?

 

[drusba]

TIW costs $100 for a DVC Member or AP holder and is good for approximately 13 months (e.g., buy any time in June 2014 and expiration date is July 31, 2015; the last one I got was in mid-Nov 2013 and is good till Dec 31, 2014). You get 20% discount off of food, drink, and alcohol at places it is accepted (most table service and buffets but only a small number of counter service). They do automatically add tip at table service and buffets, 18% of non-discounted price. Key to the card is multiple use in that you have to spend at least $500 to break even.

DP's vary in cost depending on which one you get. DVC cost is same as regular resort guest cost. The extent of any discount off of just paying regular prices with no discount depends on use, and unless you actually use most everything in the plan, including breakfast, snacks, and dinners, you may not even end up paying less than just paying regular prices.

For a schedule like yours, and if any alcohol is involved, the TIW card would likely be the choice. It would undoubtedly be the choice if you intend another WDW trip within 13 months of the one you describe.

For list of places the TIW is accepted, go here: http://tablesinwonderland.com

 

[erionm]

Ok--this is the first I'm hearing that it might not be accepted at CS locations---is this true? I don't know if just being used at TS will make it worthwhile if we cannot use at CS locations.

The TiW card is accepted at a limited number of CS locations. It's accepted at Value & Moderate Resorts that don't have a TS location. It's accepted at a number of CS locations at DAK. The TiW website has a full list of participating locations (see Post #2 for link).

 

[boxer]

The TiW card is accepted at a limited number of CS locations. It's accepted at Value & Moderate Resorts that don't have a TS location. It's accepted at a number of CS locations at DAK. The TiW website has a full list of participating locations (see Post #2 for link).

Ok, I just looked, and there are next to no CS locations available? How does everyone make this work for it to be a better deal than the DP? I'm not arguing--I am seriously just trying to make the better decision for meals, and save a couple bucks.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We love TIW. Just got it renewed. We usually have a bottle of wine with dinner most nights so thst is a significant savings right there. And we rarely get dessert. We used it for 10 days in March and more than made our money back on dinners for 4 and some lunches. Saved over 50 at California grill alone one night. We have 3 more trips planned before it expires again next April.

 

[daisyx3]

The only counter service places I have seen are some food courts and the AK restaurants. But here's why we are switching this time:
1) DH is not a big dessert eater. Usually he will just order ice cream with chocolate sauce. DS doesn't always eat them either. Even I don't need the desserts at the counter service places. Sometimes the appetizers look great but they are not included. With TIW we can get an appetizer for 20% off and DH and DS can skip dessert.
3) By the end of a trip we usually feel like bloated messes if we have been eating dining plan meals every day. I have also been on a diet since March and although I have no plans to diet in WDW, I probably can't eat the big amounts of food (which is why we only have one buffet scheduled). If we get full towards the end of the week we can split meals
4) we don't drink much but if I want a cool tropical drink of some sort I can get it at a discount.
5) DH and I are going back in October for a weekend visit to visit our daughter who will be in the CP. We may also go back in April for spring break.

Now admittedly my situation is different because we only have our youngest left at home and he will be 16 when we go. But I fell in love with the original DDP (appetizer and tip included, and much less $). Now it's not that great a deal.
I know one advantage is seen to be "pre-paying" for a vacation. I went to Target and got $1150 in gift cards, which was our estimate if we did DDP. I got 5% off because of my target card. I plan on going to the desk and paying our bill off with gift cards every couple of days. So in a sense even though I'm buying a TIW card, I'm prepaying in my own way.
Daisyx3

 

[kgsmith]

Ok, I just looked, and there are next to no CS locations available? How does everyone make this work for it to be a better deal than the DP? I'm not arguing--I am seriously just trying to make the better decision for meals, and save a couple bucks.

The TIW card really works for us. We almost never eat any CS meals. We typically do a TS breakfast and an early TS dinner each day. The DP stopped working for us when my son became a 'Disney adult' at age 10. Even at 12 years old, he still likes to eat from the kids' menu most of the time. We get at least two trips out of each card. I've used a couple of online calculators to see what is the best value for us, and it's always overwhelming in favor of TIW.

 

[ryanl81]

Just on the tipping side of things, is the TIW card essentially a way of covering the tip i.e the 20% covers what would be the tip.

 

[nalajms]

OP - Will you be going again in the next 13 months? That plays a big part into this equation.

If you already had TIW, based on your reservations, TIW would be better than DDP. You don't have enough character meals to get value out of DDP from the kids end, and most entrees in your TS are around $25. Also LeCellier is a bad use of 2 credits on the regular plan. Ok if you're on deluxe. Even if you ordered the most expensive item, you'd still get more out of 2 TS - with desserts.

If you were to buy a TIW just for this trip, it's not worth it. I don't think the savings over DDP would be enough to cover the $100 buy-in.

Here's my math: for a regular plan, the TS has to be over $48 per adult to beat TIW. This assumes about $17 for QS and $3 for each snack. For kids, the TS has to be over $12 (Assumes $6 for QS and $3 for snack).

Most TS you won't get near $12 for the kids meal. But all character meals will be over $12. Very few TS will get you to $48 for an adult. The few that do, usually have cheap kids meals. I think Akershur is the only one meets both adult and kids TS.

If you do have another trip planned within 13m, then TIW is a better choice based on your eating habits and the TS you've picked.

 

[PuppyPrincess]

We also prefer TIW over DDP. Last time I did a spreadsheet with what it would have cost for the DDP and what I paid with TIW. Even with the $100 purchase price of TIW, we saved over $400. DH prefers soup with his meal instead of dessert so it works really well for us. We still do some CS meals and I don't mind that it's not included because I know we will come out in the long run over the DDP at the end of our trip.

 

[boxer]

OP - Will you be going again in the next 13 months? That plays a big part into this equation.

If you already had TIW, based on your reservations, TIW would be better than DDP. You don't have enough character meals to get value out of DDP from the kids end, and most entrees in your TS are around $25. Also LeCellier is a bad use of 2 credits on the regular plan. Ok if you're on deluxe. Even if you ordered the most expensive item, you'd still get more out of 2 TS - with desserts.

If you were to buy a TIW just for this trip, it's not worth it. I don't think the savings over DDP would be enough to cover the $100 buy-in.

Here's my math: for a regular plan, the TS has to be over $48 per adult to beat TIW. This assumes about $17 for QS and $3 for each snack. For kids, the TS has to be over $12 (Assumes $6 for QS and $3 for snack).

Most TS you won't get near $12 for the kids meal. But all character meals will be over $12. Very few TS will get you to $48 for an adult. The few that do, usually have cheap kids meals. I think Akershur is the only one meets both adult and kids TS.

If you do have another trip planned within 13m, then TIW is a better choice based on your eating habits and the TS you've picked.

Yes, we will have another long trip the same time the following year, and may even sneak in a short trip in the meantime. Basically, I will get 2--if not 3--trips from my TIW purchase.

 

[Andrew015]

I am another in favor of the TW card. I like the flexibility, the fact that it works with alcohol, and that you can get multiple trips out of one card if planned accordingly.

 

[MinnieLee]

I am another in favor of the TW card. I like the flexibility, the fact that it works with alcohol, and that you can get multiple trips out of one card if planned accordingly.

I totally agree. Love that it covers alcohol even if we want to stop at the Rose and Crown or the lounge at DHS and just grab a drink. We found that DDP was not cost effective for us. Love the fact that there is more flexibility than the dining plan.