Meal plan or pay as I go

[arlinar]

I've heard that a lot of people use their snack credits at F&W in Epcot. Isn't FD available in a moderate during your stay? You would be spending a LOT more if you switch to a moderate and then pay for the DDP on top of that.

We would upgrade from quick service to full dining with the table service if we get moved up to moderate (which I hope happens but IMO I don't think would happen) My travel agent wants us to stay in the value resort and upgrade from the quick dining.

We are going to calculate how much food we really eat and see if we can take off the free dining and get a nicer resort. We are going back next year with my son and my boyfriend's family in which the food plan will be more then likely worth it.

Crossing our fingers!

 

[robinb]

We would upgrade from quick service to full dining with the table service if we get moved up to moderate (which I hope happens but IMO I don't think would happen) My travel agent wants us to stay in the value resort and upgrade from the quick dining.

We are going to calculate how much food we really eat and see if we can take off the free dining and get a nicer resort. We are going back next year with my son and my boyfriend's family in which the food plan will be more then likely worth it.

Crossing our fingers!

Free dining it just discount promotion like any other, so it's good to compare it to other promos. Your QS free dining is worth $88 per night at ASSp and you're paying $40 more per night to upgrade to the DDP.

I went to a lot of character meals when I went to WDW with my DD when she was an infant so you'll want to take that into account. Character meals are very expensive.

 

[Hikergirl]

We would upgrade from quick service to full dining with the table service if we get moved up to moderate (which I hope happens but IMO I don't think would happen) My travel agent wants us to stay in the value resort and upgrade from the quick dining.

We are going to calculate how much food we really eat and see if we can take off the free dining and get a nicer resort. We are going back next year with my son and my boyfriend's family in which the food plan will be more then likely worth it.

Crossing our fingers!

I don't know if it would be the same with the mods but make sure you check what the room only discount is for the mod you want and what it would be with FD.
I originally booked a deluxe with free dining, but wanted a different resort and ended up finding a RO discount for the one I wanted. I booked it, and added the DDP (paying OOP for it) and it was over $200 cheaper than the original reservation I made with free dining.

 

[Ava]

Actually, the OP is in what I call the "DDP Sweet Spot" with 2 young children. The DDP can save you money if you have kids under 10 and you go to character meals because the character meals are so ridiculously priced.

This is where we will be next trip, with 2 adults and 2 children, but I'm still not sure the plan will be best for us. We're a family of vegetarians and a lot of the AYCTE meals are very meat-centric for lunch/dinner, and breakfast doesn't usually provide a good value on the plan. Plus I don't want early pre-park opening TS breakfasts every day. I'll have to sit down with DW and decide exactly which TS meals we want to do and see if the cost of those meals will make paying for the DDP worth it. And then there is the scheduling factor; having an ADR every day makes for a very scheduled trip, and makes it difficult to change your plans on the fly. I feel like we might do better choosing just a few must-do TS meals and paying OOP. I don't think the QSDP would be worth it for us since our meals are usually among the least expensive, but again I'll have to sit down with menus and do the math. But we do sometimes get adult QS meals for our kids because the vegetarian options are better, so that might make it worth it. We've had the free DDP for the last 2 years in a row and the convenience of having everything pre-paid is nice, but we're planning to rent DVC next year so we won't be eligible.