Could the dining plan actually save me money??

[mster425]

DH and I had the food plan in 2009 and the deluxe in 2010- we felt full and overscheduled and did not get it on our last trip. 5 years and two kids later- (5 & 3)

-We have QS scheduled at BOG 3X and will likely get Sanaa one or two mornings
-Our kids are terrible eaters so last time they survived on yogurt tubes, popcorn, and mickey pretzels
-Crystal Palace, H&V for fantasmic, and probably one other buffet/character meal are non-negotiable for our family.
-MAYBE one other TS (we are there 6 nights/7 "days") like SciFi or Via Napoli

Anyway according to the calculator we save like $300 with the plan. Is that possible??

 

[sharonabe]

Your two kiddos and all the buffet, set price meals you are planning are what is giving you the savings. I'd be surprised if it was $300, but it could be. Personally, I'd run the numbers myself just to be sure. Remember if you do Sanaa for breakfast, adults can swap their drink entitlement for something with a the snack logo next to it. You should have your mugs for drinks anyway.

 

[Faldred]

Yeah, it's the kids that help. Cost-wise, QSDP and DDP for adults really doesn't work out unless you are actively working to squeeze every penny out of the system. But either is a real good deal for kids, and those cost savings help balance it out - even 1 kid is enough to make it break-even without trying hard, 2 kids should save money unless you're being very suboptimal.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The key to making DDP work is to have Disney kids (under 10) and do character meals.

Example case: Breakfast at CP is $20 for a kid, L/D is $26. But when you buy DDP for a child, it's $22.85/night. So, the question becomes: if you're having CP breakfast, can you squeeze $3 of value from a QS credit (can order from adult menu, too!) and 2 snacks (in 2017)? Obviously, if you're doing CP Lunch or Dinner, it's all profit once you've met Pooh Bear.

H&V Fantasmic Package is another place where you make bank with Disney kids on DDP. Price of that is $36 per kid. But, wait! You only pay $23/night for DDP for a child under 10. (Heck, you profit for the adults too on H&V F! -- adult price for that is a boggling $58. Adult DDP is $63.70/night. So, again, you need to get $6 of value out of a QS and 2 snacks. Not hard.)

 

[Nancyg56]

DDP and kids and character meals. Perfect match IMO.

You have young ones and you are plannign a lot of character meals, so I would say that you can make the plan work for you. AKershus Breakfast is a pricy meal, but for us was one of our favorites. 1 TS credit. The day is almost paid for for each adult in that meal, and I think it is all clear from there for the children.

CHef Mickey dinner is another one that is expensive but is a great value on the DDP.

You have BOG booked three times, and if you planned to actually eat there, you have another good CS value. We would order 2 CS meals, either breakfast or dinner, and share. I think there would be enough, especially at breakfast for a family, and you woudl gain more value from your plan.

I honestly do not know what your savings will actually be, but given what you have already shared, I believe that your savings will make the plan a very good value for your family.

 

[mster425]

I'll be honest, I'm kind of excited to gorge myself

 

[busymommy2pink]

We always save. And several hundred at that. Most of our sit downs are close to the cost of the plan. Making the quick service meal, two snacks and the mug all gravy on top.

 

[mikeyg1479]

You are saving money if you order the $30+ steak/seafood entrees, or doing the character meals (dinners in particular are extra expensive), and being smart about using snacks for some of the pricier things out there and not wasting it on bottled water.

You aren't saving if you are going to the sci fi diner and ordering the burger, or any entrée really under $20.

Honestly, if you are going to use it to get the stuff that might be too expensive for you to order it OOP, you are doing it right. But if steak/seafood holds no appeal you really do just want that burger at most places and character meals aren't your thing, you may be better served going OOP.

 

[bamaliving]

I used this calculator to decide whether or not we were going to do DDP. We have 2 character meals and several other table service meals scheduled, and it pays off for my family. Especially when you consider all of the snacks that would cost $20+ for my family a couple times a day. All the $5 sodas we won't have to buy will help too.

http://www.distripplanner.com/

 

[Daniellenbella]

I used this calculator to decide whether or not we were going to do DDP. We have 2 character meals and several other table service meals scheduled, and it pays off for my family. Especially when you consider all of the snacks that would cost $20+ for my family a couple times a day. All the $5 sodas we won't have to buy will help too.

http://www.distripplanner.com/

Thank you for this link! I was wondering if the deluxe plan was worth it and for us, it saves us money.

 

[drdrowsy]

when i ran the numbers for my fam (2 adults, 2 kids) on DDP for 9 day trip (many character meals), it looked like we'd break even over all of the meals, the value added was for all of the snacks and the mugs. we will use all of the snack credits (if only to bring snack souvenirs home) , and we have 72(!) snack credits (2 per day per person), so we could come out ahead by at least $300