Meal Plan not worth it anymore.

[kazmomma]

me again... I took your advice and did some quick math to see if it would be worth it for us and since we are doing 4 different character meals with the 3 small kids, it definitely seems to be in our favor to do the DDP. Even on the days when we want Ohana's or Teppan Edo, etc. it seems to be worth it.

Thanks for everyone posting their thoughts... all information is so helpful!!!

 

[wdwobsessed]

There is little difference in price between the regular (Plus) DDP and the deluxe DDP. We also do a lot of table service because...

(1) we like dining, especially at the fun restaurants with music, characters, entertainment, and

(2) at table service, the chefs meet with us about our DS's food allergies and prepare special items so we know it is safe. Counter service offers fewer options with the food allergies and is more difficult to figure out.

(3) compared to using the regular DDP, the additional cost of a 2 or 3 non-covered TS meals, some appetizers, additional snacks, the refillable mugs... about equals the cost of going deluxe. The only way I can imagine not saving money on the DDP is if we were just eating counter service all the time but there's even a DDP for that.

and most important...
(4) It's vacation, so let's pig out and enjoy appetizers and desserts with every meal!!!!! I don't want counter service hot dogs, nuggets, burgers and the like... I want some really good food and the fun stuff like belly dancing at Marrakesh, breakfast with the characters, biergarten music and dancing, etc...

This is EXACTLY how I feel. I keep going back and forth between DDP and DxDP. We will eat 3 meals a day and have a type 1 diabetic who has to eat three meals a day ...especially in the heat.

With the DDP if we wanted to do a Character meal in the AM OOP, our 1 CS for lunch and our 1 TS for dinner ...that character meal is going to cost close to the $25 to upgrade (peak season) to the Deluxe plan! So if I get the deluxe plan I have the added benifit of having an extra credit that can be used to CS or TS or as an extra credit for a 2TS place. Plus a mug ...plus an extra snack. And my kids always want snacks.


I think it's going to be DxDp for us

 

[tinacaplan]

Its so funny because I thought I had it all figured out before my husband and I went in February and had the DxDDP. What we found:
1. We ended up eating in a way that we would NEVER eat if left to our own devices.
2. Generally, we would have had more fun eating snacks/popcorn/etc. during the day and had one really great meal at night.
3. Even though we thought we left plenty of time between lunch and dinner, we often found we weren't up to ANOTHER big meal at the end of the day.
4. We ended up spending a LOT more on alcholic beverages than we might have otherwise.
5. Tips add up!
We probably spent another $500 on morning coffee that wasn't included, tips, and "adult" beverages that weren't included. Not so sure it saved us so much money.

I'm not sure the convience was all that convient, either.

Now, our next trip will include our three year old son and I'm wondering whether or not the reg. DDP will be worth it. I can see us doing a number of buffets, as my son enjoys those and will LOVE the character interactions. If we do that, it would seem the plan would pay for itself (and that's all I want it to do in the end) That said, we would end up paying OOP for some things, which makes me question in the end if the plan would be worth it all.

A PP mentioned that isn't worth it when your TS credits go to places like Sci-Fi, which is another interesting point to ponder. In the end, I think I'll just have to open up Excel and crunch some numbers.

This is an interesting thread, though. That's for sure!

 

[CrabbyPatty]

We're upgrading from bounceback free dining to DxDP this year because DD is 9 and it's $150 for me to upgrade and $45 for her. That way, we can get every show out of the way (we're doing Spirit of Aloha, CRT and Hoop-De-Doo!) plus Le Cellier, Ohanas, Akershus, Teppan Edo and more.

That way, I figure when we go next summer when DD is a Disney-adult, we can just go w/o the DDP and graze at various CS places throughout the day and try some DTD spots. We'll have APs by then so a discount will probably be cheaper than getting DDP with a package and having to purchase a ticket.

So I guess as far as the DDP being worth it, right now it's very much worth it to us - for the entertainment value as well as the food. But continuing on down the line, I can't see doing the DDP every year.

 

[lucyem]

Sort of worth it for us. We have 2 adults and 2 kids. I sat down one evening and wrote out what we would eat and where for the ddp at the regular (non peak) price. We saved less then $100 BUT we would be forced to eat in a way we do not normally eat. I think if we did hoopdeedoo and some other more expensive sit down meals it would be more worth it.

This year we are getting an AP and TIW to cover our next two October trips. (I spent a lot of time playing with a spreadsheet that night )

 

[2DisPrincesses]

This year we are getting an AP and TIW to cover our next two October trips. (I spent a lot of time playing with a spreadsheet that night )

I came the the same conclusion- so excited for APs and TIW!!!

 

[Donald4Life]

I really think the dinning plan and its worth depends on what you want for meals and how you want to eat while staying! Many people enjoy the dinning plan because they prefer to have a SS, QS and TS each day. They want to have each kind of service, and its worth it to them in that way(for that particular dinning plan). Some people have posted that the dining plan is not worth it overall~ but in my opinion, if your saying its not worth it maybe you should be saying its not worth it for you to use personally. One thing I enjoy with the dinning plan is not having to carrying around a lot of cash or credit/debit cards while I'm out and about. I guess like I said, the dinning plan in my opinion, is a little more of a personal preference than just an overall better deal~

 

[VAN]

I just read the original post. Yes, I also agree.

However, for anyone thinking about it, I would suggest they calculate the numbers for themselves.

 

[cmm]

"This year I'm saving so much more with a large room discount, GAD ticket discount saving $80 per person basically"

What is a GAD ticket discount?

 

[TDC Nala]

GAD = Give A Day Get A Day promotion.

 

[lisam427]

We have been either buying, or using, the DDP since it's inception, and feel it is still an incredible value. We have two kids, one is 7, the other 1 1/2. At that rate, it is less than $100 per day for food on the plan. There is NO WAY we would spend less than that out of pocket.

As we are normally fairly strict with our diets, and exercise, we really let loose when going on vacation. Not total slobs mind you, but dessert with every meal is a good thing. We truly enjoy one table service meal per day, and frankly, that alone pays for the plan. The addition of the snacks and CS meal take it over the top.

Now, once our kids are over 10, it may be a different story, but for now, we think it's great!

i agree!!! for our family the dining plan works. we wouldn't go without it. for me its worth it to have everything paid upfront and to be able to order any entree i want. we are on vacation. i'm not going to Disney to inhale food but we do enjoy trying new things. i want to be able to eat desert even if its a fruit cup. i enjoy having to have my dole whip or my ice cream cookie sandwich and not worry about the cost. we enjoy having a table service everyday and without the dining plan there would be no way i could afford it. we had 3 adults, 1child (16 y.o.) on the dining plan this past September. our sit down meals averaged between $160-$200 (1 entree, desert, and drink) . this didn't include our counter service meal or snacks. to me, even if the dining plan only saved me $100.00 thats $100.00 in my pocket.

 

[TDC Nala]

we had 3 adults, 1child (16 y.o.) on the dining plan

16 years old is a dining plan adult - I'm guessing this is a 6 year old.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

I think DDP is worth it for us now. That is because we are 2 adults, 2 DDP kids and 1 baby. We wouldn't eat as much dessert without DDP, but we would DEFINITELY spend more than $12.99 per day per kid - especially with character meals and buffets. You spend more than that with 1 meal. We also know that we wouldn't share meals with the kids. That's not how we eat at home, so we know we wouldn't do that on vacation. Once DD1 and DD2 hit 10, it won't be worth it anymore.

 

[luvdisney00]

It is definetely worth it for our family of 5. We like the sit down meals and the buffets/character meals and my 2 older kids (13 &15) like to eat nice meals. They will order steak or fish entrees for a TS and not chicken fingers or burgers. Each meal we ate on our last trip was well over $100 (TS). We also split CS meals because we can't finish all of the food, so maybe 3 CS meals for lunch for the 5 of us, including dessert, and then we have 2 credits left over to get 2 breakfast platters the next morning to split for breakfast. It works out really well. Could we do it cheaper OOP? Yes, but if we ate the way we all wanted to, it would be more expensive. I don't want to nag the kids to order a cheaper entree, or order one myself to save money on vacation, and it is so nice to have it all paid for upfront. The last 2 years we had FD and that makes it even bettter!

 

[jakespop]

Depends on the size of your fam and what you want to do. For us, taking time out to make reservations at character meals and nicer resort resteraunts made it worth it. We would not have tried these if not for the DDP

 

[llqool]

We are lucky that we can add the plan w/out having to add tickets (we have had an AP and have also had military tix), so that really helps make it "worth" it. But I *did* calculate the costs of the QSDP for our upcoming trip, and even if I don't count the refillable mugs (which we wouldn't ordinarily purchase) we come out just a teensy bit ahead. It's worth it to us this time b/c usually we drive and bring some of our snacks and drinks w/us. This time we are flying, so we can't bring much of anything. That makes it a better deal in this particular situation.

 

[Happy Mom2]

We used it on our trip, and it more than paid for itself. We loved it, and will use it again in the future.

 

[seadd67]

I agree with another post where stated that could you save a little more OOP.ya sure. But I to like that when you open the menue you do not have to automaticaly search out the prices before the meal. We are diffently a sit down typ of family,dont get me wrong the counter service i like to,but the restraunts in and around Disney our almost appart of the parks them selfs. This year we are doing the DxDDp,and can not wait. I love the Idea that you get apptizers with this one and desserts to top it off. Part of the fun of going to WDW for me at least Is the food,wondering what the next meal will bring. Plus eatting gives us more of a chance to slow down, my DS will be 18 when we go In Oct,not a big eatter but to likes takeing breaks(Now!) to catch our breaks. Really my only regret Is that Rainforest cafe and T-rex our not on the list.