Cost Savings on the DxDP

[Colleen27]

Wow, I'm an accountant and I can't get to that level of savings but more power to you! Here's an example I tried -

50's Prime Time Cafe - TS dinner
Meatloaf - 14.99
Ice cream sundae - 4.99
Soda - 2.09 Total dinner with tax - 23.50

Backlot Express - CS lunch
Dbl Cheeseburger - 6.89
soda - 2.09
desert - 3.59 Total lunch with tax - 13.38

Snack - 4.00 max - probably for bfast w/tax 4.26

Total for day 41.14
cost for day 39.99
Savings 1.15
Savings for week 8.05
Savings for party of 4 32.20

Given, if you always eat at the nicer restaurants this number will go up but to get to $500? I don't see it. And if you eat ay Jiko and use 2 credits when the menu prices are less that le cellier, I'd loose.

Where am I going wrong?

It looks like you're looking at the value of the standard plan, which is much more dependant on how you use it. We were talking about the deluxe plan, which is 3 meals and 2 snacks per day.

Here's one day's example from my spreadsheet for my May trip:

Fountainview Bakery breakfast
bagel - 2.29
cafe mocha - 3.69
orange juice - 1.49

Total with tax - $7.47

Rose & Crown lunch
cheese plate - 9.99
shepherd's pie -12.99
apple crumble - 5.49
soda - 2.09

Total lunch with tax - $32.55

Tutto Italia dinner
bufala mozarella - 15
cannelloni - 24
lemon sorbet - 8
soda - 3

Total dinner with tax - $53.25

Snacks
bottled water - 2
kaki gori - 2.25

Total snacks - $4.25 (can't remember if they're priced tax-inclusive or not)

Daily total - 97.52
Plan cost - 71.99
Day's savings = 25.53

With 4 adults (3 actual adults and DS11 who out-eats us all) and one kiddo, it is easy to save $500+ on the deluxe plan in a week.

 

[jcjohns91107]

Wow, that a lot of eating! I don't think my family could handle that. Thanks.

 

[jcjohns91107]

You get the appetizers with the deluxe dining plan? From what I have read here they are not included in the standard DDP anymore.

 

[MarieA]

It looks like you're looking at the value of the standard plan, which is much more dependant on how you use it. We were talking about the deluxe plan, which is 3 meals and 2 snacks per day.

Here's one day's example from my spreadsheet for my May trip:

Fountainview Bakery breakfast
bagel - 2.29
cafe mocha - 3.69
orange juice - 1.49

Total with tax - $7.47

Rose & Crown lunch
cheese plate - 9.99
shepherd's pie -12.99
apple crumble - 5.49
soda - 2.09

Total lunch with tax - $32.55

Tutto Italia dinner
bufala mozarella - 15
cannelloni - 24
lemon sorbet - 8
soda - 3

Total dinner with tax - $53.25

Snacks
bottled water - 2
kaki gori - 2.25

Total snacks - $4.25 (can't remember if they're priced tax-inclusive or not)

Daily total - 97.52
Plan cost - 71.99
Day's savings = 25.53

With 4 adults (3 actual adults and DS11 who out-eats us all) and one kiddo, it is easy to save $500+ on the deluxe plan in a week.

Your actual savings would be much less then $500 since you are not figuring in a tip for the TS lunch and dinner.

 

[ancestry]

Your actual savings would be much less then $500 since you are not figuring in a tip for the TS lunch and dinner.

I don't quite understand the people who keep brining up the point of a tip. You would have to leave a tip for ever TS whether or not you were on the dining plan. So how does the tip "reduce" one's savings?

If I eat a $100 meal on the dining plan I leave an $18.00 tip. If I eat a $100 meal off of the dining plan I still have to (or at least I should) leave a $18.00 tip.

 

[Faldred]

Tipping is a wash, for the most part. The only times it's relevant is if you get into the whole "well, would I have ordered the same thing OOP?" argument and if you want to calculate a percentage savings as opposed to a dollar savings. (Since A+T / B+T gives a different result than just plain old A / B)

 

[Colleen27]

Your actual savings would be much less then $500 since you are not figuring in a tip for the TS lunch and dinner.

But we'd be paying the tip either way, so it doesn't factor in at all. The only potential difference is in desserts - on the deluxe plan, we tend to order a couple desserts for our whole group to share. Without it, we might skip dessert entirely.

 

[Colleen27]

You get the appetizers with the deluxe dining plan? From what I have read here they are not included in the standard DDP anymore.

Yes, they are still included with the deluxe plan but not with the standard plan.

 

[Colleen27]

Wow, that a lot of eating! I don't think my family could handle that. Thanks.

We love it, but it definitely isn't for everyone. We usually don't do 3 meals per day. Most of our days involve a TS lunch and a signature dinner, but the day I used for an example will be a long one because we've got a morning tour followed by a full day at Epcot. And good food is a big part of any vacation for us - we live in a small town with no real restaurants and vacation is when we really get to indulge our foodie side.

 

[mrsannb]

People always forget to factor in the new pants they will need after gaining 20+ pounds on the DxDDP.

 

[Colleen27]

People always forget to factor in the new pants they will need after gaining 20+ pounds on the DxDDP.

Oddly enough, I managed to LOSE 3 lbs on our first deluxe dining trip... All that walking at a time of year when I'm usually hibernating must have been good for me. I can only hope to be so lucky this time.

 

[pianoronni37]

You know, I just added up the total cost for us for the DxDP and estimated what we'd get. Including the refillable mugs and snacks, we're saving approximately $250! And that isn't ordering the most expensive thing just to have it, that's getting what we want... I think that's a significant savings.

Especially since we are bouncing back and getting the DDP free anyway, and our upgrade only cost us another $320... so in reality we're saving $650!

Plus, we get to try signature restaurants that we wouldn't ordinarily try, on top of snacking around the F&W festival, and just not having to worry whatsoever about having any cash on hand (besides tips!) makes the DxDP a great bargain for us!

 

[BreTyPres87]

We're doing the DxDDP more for my peace of mind than the savings.. theres nothing better than going on a vacation and not having to check my account to see how much I can spend on meals (and i'm reallllly bad with money so that happens!) definitely seems worth it to me!

 

[herbanretreat]

Just a quick post. We just got back on the 1st and I saved every single receipt (my husband thought I was a nut) anyway I had figured our cost of the meals we chose before the trip and it only worked out to be around a $350 savings. Since we got back I totaled up all our receipts and it saved us over $700. So never underestimate the power of DXDDP!!

 

[matthew&haleysmom]

Just a quick post. We just got back on the 1st and I saved every single receipt (my husband thought I was a nut) anyway I had figured our cost of the meals we chose before the trip and it only worked out to be around a $350 savings. Since we got back I totaled up all our receipts and it saved us over $700. So never underestimate the power of DXDDP!!

That is great savings! I am using the DXDDP in June for our first 7 nights. I am another who will do it for peace of mind. I know that if I don't, I will stress over the costs of the meals!

 

[ancestry]

We are traveling June 20-27. I promise to save all of our receipts as well and I will post the actual cost versus what we paid for the DxDP for everyone to see.

When I did my initial calculation (which is what started this post) we weren't looking to maximize our savings but rather just plan meals at restaurants and locations that were appealing to us as a family.

 

[Shagley]

I don't quite understand the people who keep brining up the point of a tip. You would have to leave a tip for ever TS whether or not you were on the dining plan. So how does the tip "reduce" one's savings?

My point with the tip is that I wouldn't order as much if I wasn't on the DxDP (I don't always have an appetizer, entree and dessert), so I wouldn't have to leave as much for a tip. The tip difference could end up being substantial.

For example:

Rose & Crown lunch (with dining plan)
cheese plate - 9.99
shepherd's pie -12.99
apple crumble - 5.49
soda - 2.09

Total lunch (without tax) - $30.56
18% tip - $5.50

Rose & Crown lunch (If you wouldn't order the extras without the dining plan)
shepherd's pie -12.99
soda - 2.09

Total lunch (without tax) - $15.08
18% tip - $2.71

Tip difference for one person for one meal - $2.79
for a family of four for 3 meals a day - $33.48 per day
for a family of four, 3 meals a day, 10 night trip - $334.80

I know this is an extreme example, (because sometimes people will order more than just an entree and drink, and buffets are the same whether you are on or off the DxDP, breakfasts don't include appetizer and entree anyway, etc), but this is what I meant when I mentioned to make sure to take the tip into account when figuring out of the DxDP will work for your family.

 

[Colleen27]

I know this is an extreme example, (because sometimes people will order more than just an entree and drink, and buffets are the same whether you are on or off the DxDP, breakfasts don't include appetizer and entree anyway, etc), but this is what I meant when I mentioned to make sure to take the tip into account when figuring out of the DxDP will work for your family.

Yeah, but that's going to depend heavily on how much you adjust your eating habits because of the plan. Still, I don't think you can extrapolate the extreme example over an entire trip because 1) only 2 meals per day include appetizers, 2) kids meals at 1TS restaurants are mostly fixed price so the tip difference doesn't apply to the 3-9 set, and 3) it would be rather unusual to have a 10 night trip with no buffet or family style meals.

For us, the difference is minimal because the plan is fairly close to how we like to eat. DS11 might not order an appetizer at every meal without the plan and we'd probably share 2 desserts between the 4 adults (including the 11yo). I ran the numbers on the deluxe plan with everyone ordering an app but still sharing desserts. So for us, the difference is about $2-3 in tips for the entire group rather than a couple dollars per person. Multiply that by the 10 ala carte lunches & dinners I have planned and the deluxe plan comes out to about $30 in extra tips over a week's trip.

 

[buzz1fan]

We are staying 4 nights in June, and with adding in 2-3 character meals OOP along with the included basic DDP, we break almost even just with paying the few meals OOP with the holiday pricing, and maybe getting 2 mugs. This is with 2 adults and 1 child, my youngest is under 3 so he is not included.

 

[fey_spirit]

Can someone please help me understand this mindset?
I mean I can understand if it's more food then you want, but not if it's more food then you would normally order op.

I'm not trying to put anyone down - I'm just really trying to understand because this is so different then my own frame of reference. I don't figure out what we would order according to what we would normally order if we didn't have as much money at our disposal, I figure out what I would order if money was no object - then if I save money on the DXDP (which we always do, this time better then 700 dollars) I get the plan so I can have what I want, not what I would be stuck with without it.

It's a vacation why limit yourself to normally, when you can have what you want? To quote my favorite HSM3 starlet - "I want it all!"

Again, not putting anyone down, but it fascinates me when I hear a pov so very different from my own. It makes me want to understand where the other person is coming from... because it's in our differences that we learn.

I ran a spreadsheet for our upcoming trip with myself, DW, and DS3 on the plan. Picking out reasonable choices from the menu (i.e., what I think we'd be likely to order) based on everyone using their full entitlements, I figured out that we'd save about 26-27% vs. OOP for the same food.

But that qualifier "for the same food" is the kicker. Would we have ordered the same things, and as much, if paying OOP? Not a chance.

So I re-ran the numbers dropping 1 adult appetizer and 1 adult dessert from each (non-buffet/AYCE) meal. The savings drops to about 3-4% over OOP.

Figure that we likely wouldn't get the resort mugs or buy as many snacks, and that we'd choose less expensive menu items overall if paying OOP... all said and done, we're more or less breaking even over OOP.

But there are non-cost benefits as well -- there's the peace of mind of having it pretty much all pre-paid (and since we're getting the $200 gift card special, that offsets the tips nicely). We also don't have to worry about the urge to "cheap out" on our selections to save money.