Do you feel you use all your food/snack credits on DDP?

[jodim]

We are wavering on adding the DDP for our next trip in March... we have the TIW card and are annual passholders, but even after doing the math it looks like we will be saving a little bit if we do the DDP. That is if we use all the credits they give us.... We did the DDP years ago and we had a bunch of snack credits left but we also didn't use them like we should have because we didn't want to run out so not sure that's an accurate accounting.

Soooooo for those of you have done the DDP, do you feel that you have leftover credits, if so is it many or just a very few (like 1pp, 2pp, etc)

 

[hjvigz72]

We just returned and although we had a lot of credits leftover (mostly from our unused QS as we did use ALL of our TS and all but 1 snack). We were able to turn them into snack credits and take home some pre-packed treats as give aways to family members. So even though they were left over, we used them up.

 

[Dis703]

We only had the dining plan once and we struggled to use all of our credits. But that was partially because I got sick during my trip and was unable to eat much for a couple days. But then we also cancelled a dinner one night because we changed plans. Ended up at the time converting TS meals to QS meals and QS meals to snacks and took home some treats all in a panicked last day trying not to waste it. Even if I hadn't been sick I don't think we would have used it all up without having put in more effort up front.

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

We used up all of our TS credits, but we had some QS and snack credits left on the last day. As mentioned upthread, we converted the QS to more snack credits and used up everything on goodies to take home. I think that happened to us because we had a day at Universal on that trip. This time we are not leaving WDW, and, if all goes as planned, it looks like we will use all of our credits. We also have a daughter who thinks WDW snacks are the best thing in the whole world and will do her best to use up the snack credits. We could probably do well without the DDP on our trips (only came out slightly ahead last time), but we buy it anyway because DH likes having the entire trip paid for well in advance.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

We did the dining plan last trip, and have it booked next trip (free, BB).

We used all our TS credits and almost all of our QS credits. We didn't make the best of our snack credits. At first, we were nervous to use them up to quickly.

Sometimes we used them for light breakfasts (bagels, muffins, pastries) or venti Starbucks drinks, and we had some park treats...but we had a lot left over. We were going to visit family after we left WDW, so we just stocked up on drinks and snacks which worked out but maybe wasn't the best "use/value."

 

[sharonabe]

Just another wrench in the mix: we do not yet know if we will be able to get snacks for leftover QS/TS credits or if we can, how many snacks they will give you. A QS meal now only consists of an entree and a drink, so it seems like giving 3 snacks for 1 QS would be too many, but no one has tried it and reported back since Sunday (the 14th) when the 2017 plan went fully into effect.

 

[melana]

We have never had a problem using all our snack credits or TS or QS ones. LOL. on the last day, if we have snack credits left, we get some snacks to munch on during the ride home or to being home as gifts.
We like to eat.. LOL..

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We have never had a problem using all our snack credits or TS or QS ones. LOL. on the last day, if we have snack credits left, we get some snacks to munch on during the ride home or to being home as gifts.
We like to eat.. LOL..

That's us. We use all of our credits when we have the plan. And we don't have a problem using them. We might have 2 days of snacks on the last day, but that is just enough for our last day and a snack for the trip home.

We like to eat, too.

 

[butterfly71076]

We get the regular dining plan and have never had trouble using our credits either. We eat 2 meals a day, if we do a breakfast, we might get a snack around 2 or 3, then eat CS for dinner around 7. If we have a TS dinner, then we use the CS for breakfast and get a snack around 1-2. If we have snack credits left, we use them for take home treats.

 

[LaidBackDad]

You basically are illustrating the fatal flaw of the dining plan. You can't use simple math to try comparing DDP to paying OOP. The DDP is basically trigonometry because of it's excessive restrictions and variations. No matter how much planning you do, when you get into the parks things change. I get some people love the DDP for whatever reason. But, when a family "does the math" and ends their trip with 50 snack credits left over and they fill their suit cases with munchies they never would have bought otherwise, that's not good math. For some people, that may make a perfect ending to their trip and that is good for them. If you have even the slightest reservation about the DDP and whether or not it's for you then you shouldn't do it.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

We've never had credits left over. The last few trips we've gone during Flower & Garden or Food & Wine and used all of our snack credits at the food booths. We usually book one signature meal so we'll use the QS credits to fill the gap on one of our dinners or pay out of pocket.

 

[VACamm]

We usually have a few left over at the end of the week, so we go into the candy shop on Main Street and load up on candy for the airplane ride home!

 

[Farro]

No - we use them at food/wine and we also use snack credits for breakfast.

 

[MikL99]

Use them all. ESPECIALLY since i can get a large frappuccino at Starbucks and it counts as 1 snack credit!!! My son also gets mickey ears ice cream

 

[NYCANC]

We just left yesterday- with the new 2 snacks per day per person- I had over 50 snacks on the last few days to use!
We used some in Epcot and the rest- I brought home a ton of snacks for my DH's employees and their kids.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

You basically are illustrating the fatal flaw of the dining plan. You can't use simple math to try comparing DDP to paying OOP. The DDP is basically trigonometry because of it's excessive restrictions and variations. No matter how much planning you do, when you get into the parks things change. I get some people love the DDP for whatever reason. But, when a family "does the math" and ends their trip with 50 snack credits left over and they fill their suit cases with munchies they never would have bought otherwise, that's not good math. For some people, that may make a perfect ending to their trip and that is good for them. If you have even the slightest reservation about the DDP and whether or not it's for you then you shouldn't do it.

What's funny is that when we use the plan, and we don't always, it doesn't always save us money, our snack credits are free. When we use our dining credits the money out of pocket adds up to the cost for the day. So anything saved on snacks is extra.

Of course there are trips where we calculate it and the plan won't save us money. But for those trips, we simply don't add it to the trip.

 

[Mollygirl21]

If we don't use all our snack credits, I plan to pay for a few snacks for folks in line with me. Same for QS -if we end up with 1 or 2 left, we'll someone lunch!

 

[jodim]

You basically are illustrating the fatal flaw of the dining plan. You can't use simple math to try comparing DDP to paying OOP. The DDP is basically trigonometry because of it's excessive restrictions and variations. No matter how much planning you do, when you get into the parks things change. I get some people love the DDP for whatever reason. But, when a family "does the math" and ends their trip with 50 snack credits left over and they fill their suit cases with munchies they never would have bought otherwise, that's not good math. For some people, that may make a perfect ending to their trip and that is good for them. If you have even the slightest reservation about the DDP and whether or not it's for you then you shouldn't do it.

We have only used the dining plan one other time when it was free dining. We normally pay oop for what we want (but we also normally stay offsite too).
We calculated the cost oop with 1 snack and only 3 refillable mugs (as opposed to the 5 our plan will come with) and we still saved a little bit using the ddp, if we use all our credits.

I think we will this time though because we have a 2yo (he eats as much as our 5yo!!!) traveling with us so we will have to buy him food at the places that aren't buffet and he will be using some of our qs and snack credits too.

I am just having a hard time convincing myself to do it because what if we decide not to do as many ts meals or what if ??? I need to just make up my mind and then be happy with my decision lol

 

[chris benton]

You basically are illustrating the fatal flaw of the dining plan. You can't use simple math to try comparing DDP to paying OOP. The DDP is basically trigonometry because of it's excessive restrictions and variations. No matter how much planning you do, when you get into the parks things change. I get some people love the DDP for whatever reason. But, when a family "does the math" and ends their trip with 50 snack credits left over and they fill their suit cases with munchies they never would have bought otherwise, that's not good math. For some people, that may make a perfect ending to their trip and that is good for them. If you have even the slightest reservation about the DDP and whether or not it's for you then you shouldn't do it.

I could not agree more with this. I also think that unless you plan your meals correctly, that there are some that don't take waste into account, either. OOP, my wife and I could probably split a full qs meal at a decent amount of places, and be very sated, if not totally full. For us to do the regular DDP, we have to strategically plan to come out ahead. For us, that means mixing and matching TS/QS credits, and combining a few ts credits for things like CM or HDD with the kids (even though that's usually not the best use.) If we just went in and ordered a qs meal, and a ts meal, and two snacks each day, we'd be throwing out food left and right. The thing is, that you pay for everything on the plan (unless you're lucky enough to get it free.) That food you're tossing? You paid full price for it. You may have paid for it a few months ago, but you still paid full price for it. Also, I'm an avid glutton. After a few QS meals, I was blown away at how much food you get in a standard qs meal. The snacks, however, never a problem. She's Starbucks, and I'm Dole Whips.

 

[happymommy]

The last two times we had the QSDP (free), it was just DD and me. Granted, we're not huge eaters, but we ended up with many credits left over. Last trip, we took home 14 snacks in our suitcase (bags of candy and trail mix things).

We would never pay for the plan, as it's quite restrictive. It's fun when it's free.