Using DDP knowing you won't get value?

[5kidsmommy]

Neither plan works for us. We won't do a TS everyday and we know if we get the QS plan we'll have to pay out of pocket for some TS meals and then we'll end up with extra food. I also know there is no way we'd eat two snacks for us. I looked at it for our upcoming trip because it would have been nice to bundle it all together and pay it off knowing the only thing we would need to pay cash for was tips. But in the end we decide to forego the plan. I just know we can't get any value out of it.

 

[senadler]

I think the statement that "you will never save money regardless of what you do" is clearly not true for everyone. There are certainly people that the dining plan works well for, even without the "convenience" factor. When you have children on the plan, or plan to share credits with those not on the plan, there can be some significant savings.

We are doing a split stay in March, and after moving a few things around for the first half or our trip, it looks like the regular dining plan will either save us a little or be just about even. And yes, we do count the refillable mugs because we would absolutely buy them anyway. For the second half, we will do the deluxe plan, schedule all of our two credit meals and spend two days sharing credits with family who are joining us for a couple of days during the trip.

I agree the dining plans are not for everyone, and many families are better off paying for their meals OOP. But there are situations where the plan is convenient and is about even, or even those times when it could save quite a bit.

 

[Nancyg56]

I think the statement that "you will never save money regardless of what you do" is clearly not true for everyone. There are certainly people that the dining plan works well for, even without the "convenience" factor. When you have children on the plan, or plan to share credits with those not on the plan, there can be some significant savings.

We are doing a split stay in March, and after moving a few things around for the first half or our trip, it looks like the regular dining plan will either save us a little or be just about even. And yes, we do count the refillable mugs because we would absolutely buy them anyway. For the second half, we will do the deluxe plan, schedule all of our two credit meals and spend two days sharing credits with family who are joining us for a couple of days during the trip.

I agree the dining plans are not for everyone, and many families are better off paying for their meals OOP. But there are situations where the plan is convenient and is about even, or even those times when it could save quite a bit.

You have to know up front what your intentions are, how your family eats, the ages of your kids. Last august we traveled as an extended family and had two rooms, one with free dining. We listed the adults in the FD room, and in the other, with two little ones under 9, we paid for the DxDDP. This really ended up paying off, those girls could eat!!! They were allowed to order off the adult menu, and since as a family we have always made sure the children were not limited to childrens menus, the cost of the plan worked in our favor. It was something like 33 per kid. We shared the credits with both rooms, allowing more TS meals, which was best for us. Lunch in a TS restaurant was a good break.

No one can determine what works for another family.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

But then...

So you painstakingly calculated the DDP vs. OOP and found it was financially beneficial to use the DDP, but you don't want to share how you did it or back up your assertions in any way? Hmmm... I just asked the "ghost who never lies" for his opinion on this and he's very skeptical. Remember, he never lies.

I also calculate, each and every trip.

But, quite honestly, it is simple addition. Add up what you would spend. Compare it to the cost of the plan. If it is cheaper to go with the plan, then go with it. If it isn't, don't go with the plan, pay out of pocket. Pretty straightforward.

The only thing that I might do a little different is that I prorate the cost of the mug over the number of days we are there. But again, simple addition and subtraction.

Oh cool! Please share it. I'm sure other folks here considering the DDP will love to give it a whirl and compare it to the other calculators out there. Since your calculations are more accurate, you'd be doing a great service for everyone relying on those misleading websites that thousands of people use each year.

Simple addition. I'm sure you learned how to do that back in elementary school.

 

[Ratzo]

I also calculate, each and every trip.

But, quite honestly, it is simple addition. Add up what you would spend. Compare it to the cost of the plan. If it is cheaper to go with the plan, then go with it. If it isn't, don't go with the plan, pay out of pocket. Pretty straightforward.

The only thing that I might do a little different is that I prorate the cost of the mug over the number of days we are there. But again, simple addition and subtraction.

Simple addition. I'm sure you learned how to do that back in elementary school.

That's why I don't get why it's so difficult to share the information. I'm not asking for anything new. Just post what was already done. There's a whole bunch of ways to screw up a dining plan such that you lose money. I just want to see her wining formula. I don't get why this is an unreasonable request.

 

[wilkeliza]

My fiance booked it on our first trip even though he was sure we wouldn't get the full "value" of it since we don't go for the most expensive menu item but just eat what we want at that moment. The reason we did it was so that we could literately check out on the trip. We didn't have to be concerned with money when it came to the 2 meals and a snack we got each day. It was my first trip ever to Disney World and he just didn't want me to consider money at all (because I'm budget conscious all the time) so to remove that stress from me he went with the DDP. The last time we used it before was when a group of us went during free dinning and were staying in the same room. 3 adults paying the minimal standard upgrade at a value got a lot out of the dinning plan. Again when there were 5 of us getting it at the CM price we did it again so people paid only 30 bucks for the standard plan.

I have a friend that also uses it for the prebudget convenience. Again he likes to be able to just live in the bubble and know his food is taken care of.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

That's why I don't get why it's so difficult to share the information. I'm not asking for anything new. Just post what was already done. There's a whole bunch of ways to screw up a dining plan such that you lose money. I just want to see her wining formula. I don't get why this is an unreasonable request.

My point is, it isn't a formula.

It is addition. I'm pretty sure you know how to do that.

The difference may be that we enjoy soda or other non water beverage and desserts. We aren't that big on apps. Oh, and we happen to like steak but it isn't something that we eat at home.

 

[Ratzo]

My point is, it isn't a formula.

It is addition. I'm pretty sure you know how to do that.

It's more than just meal prices. If you have the non-deluxe dining plan and go to a 2 point restaurant, you screwed up. Don't bother adding the meal prices up, because they're, in reality, cut in half because you just wasted two meals on one TS. There are many paths to failure, but few to success, if any. She claims to have done it, saved a lot of money and had great meals. All I'm asking is for her to copy and paste what she did here or just share the spreadsheet with the restaurants and menu items with the OOP costs. It's not hard if she actually did it.

 

[Nancyg56]

It's more than just meal prices. If you have the non-deluxe dining plan and go to a 2 point restaurant, you screwed up. Don't bother adding the meal prices up, because they're, in reality, cut in half because you just wasted two meals on one TS. There are many paths to failure, but few to success, if any. She claims to have done it, saved a lot of money and had great meals. All I'm asking is for her to copy and paste what she did here or just share the spreadsheet with the restaurants and menu items with the OOP costs. It's not hard if she actually did it.

You are insisting on putting words in my mouth. I never said a saved a lot of money. I said I came out ahead. You have embellished what I have said, and once again, I wonder why. You have also managed to speculate on the choices we made. So I repeat: do your own math and choose to use a plan or do not. I did mine. I do not claim to have saved. I did. I had great meals. I have no intention of attempting to prove anythng to you.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

It's more than just meal prices. If you have the non-deluxe dining plan and go to a 2 point restaurant, you screwed up. Don't bother adding the meal prices up, because they're, in reality, cut in half because you just wasted two meals on one TS. There are many paths to failure, but few to success, if any. She claims to have done it, saved a lot of money and had great meals. All I'm asking is for her to copy and paste what she did here or just share the spreadsheet with the restaurants and menu items with the OOP costs. It's not hard if she actually did it.

I've done it too. So add me to the list of people that have saved money and won't post where I ate and what I ordered. (Like her, I saved. I don't know that I saved what you would considered "a lot of money.")

Figure it out for yourself. If you regularly eat at two credit restaurants, never want dessert but always want an app and only drink water, you probably won't save.

 

[sharonabe]

It's more than just meal prices.

Actually, if you're smart enough to do the math, it is just meal prices. I don't know why you are so intent on running down the dining plans. As I've already stated, it doesn't work for our family as we don't eat that way. I even showed how much we save and how we get even more value paying OOP. But just to show YOU that saving money is possible with the DDP, I ran the numbers for my family eating the way the plan dictates. I even subbed out some drinks for snacks for QS since we prefer water. Can't do that with TS, but found things we could drink. DH and I can always do coffee, but it's not really our practice. For my family of 4 Disney adults, with a 5-night stay, we could easily save $185. For families with kids, they are going to save even more. Here are the restaurants I picked:

Flame Tree lunch
Akershus dinner
50s Prime Time lunch or dinner
Backlot Express lunch or dinner
Akershus lunch
Sunshine Seasons dinner
Columbia Harbor House lunch
Crystal Palace dinner
WPE lunch
Ohana dinner

 

[Ratzo]

Actually, if you're smart enough to do the math, it is just meal prices.

Are you suggesting you just use the meal price for a 2 point signature restaurant without adjusting for the extra point?

Not one of you can show your work. It all mysteriously disappeared into the ether, I suppose.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Are you suggesting you just use the meal price for a 2 point signature restaurant without adjusting for the extra point?

Not one of you can show your work. It all mysteriously disappeared into the ether, I suppose.

Counting every time I have been to Disney, I have eaten at a two credit restaurant, once. And we didn't have the plan on that trip.

But either way, what kind of adjusting do you have to do? I spend 7 nights, I get 7 TS credits or 21 TS credits depending on the plan. That means, I add up either 7 or 21 meal totals for my cost. When I get to 7 or 21, I stop adding.

You are really making this much more difficult than it is.

 

[senadler]

Are you suggesting you just use the meal price for a 2 point signature restaurant without adjusting for the extra point?

Not one of you can show your work. It all mysteriously disappeared into the ether, I suppose.

I had mentioned that I was originally not going to do the plan for the first part of our trip, but once I moved some things around, we are going to about break even. Keep in mind, we will absolutely get mugs whether we use the dining plan or not, I left one CS off because we may or may not use it, and used $4 for snacks since we use some for waters.

Here is the math:

We are doing the following meals with estimated costs (2 adults and 1 child):

50's Prime Time $ 70.29
Via Napoli (Child only) $ 15.00
BOG (Counter Breakfast) $ 66.03
Counter $ 42.60
Counter $ 42.60
Ohana (Adults only) $ 85.90
Hoop Dee doo $ 187.00
Mugs $ 54.28
Snacks $ 102.24
Total $ 665.94
Dining Plan Cost $ 635.52
Savings $ 30.42

We have a split stay, and the second half of our trip is a completely different story. We are doing the deluxe plan, sharing credits, and estimate a savings of over $400, but this is a very unique situation. I just wanted to illustrate that it is very possible to break even or save a little on the dining plan.

 

[PolyRob]

I have many friends who go to Disney multiple times a year. One is DVC and has been using the dining plan since it was available to him and his family. Another used it when it was in its early stages when there was only one plan, but has seen changes that do not fit her and her family's needs so she stopped. The biggest reason I hear people use it is for convenience and ease and I do believe that can be justified. I like to stay at certain resorts for convenience in travel and amenities. Some may think this is silly, but I do not. A bed is not a bed to me. Paying off a dining plan little by little over months may not be the same to someone as charging upwards of $1,000 on a credit card or carrying this much cash or even buying and combining Disney Gift cards.

I am a planner. I love making spreadsheets and figuring out what the best deal is for my family. I even purchase Disney Gift cards at Target, add them to my Disney Vacation Account, and save my 5% on top of receiving the $20 bonus per $1,000 applied. This is just how I am. Some of my friends cannot be bothered with this. I used many calculators and the actual meal prices based on our dining preferences. For my family of all adults who wanted to eat at signature meals and order "adult beverages," the dining plan did not work. I knew I also wanted Memory Maker, the Club Villain discount, AP discount for merchandise (back when it was only 10%), and that I had another trip coming up within 365 days. I made a spreadsheet factoring in an upgrade to an AP, purchase of TiW, and what I would save. I easily broken even on my ticket upgrade, and made back the TiW money half way through my third day out of eight. The actual calculation was fun for me, and I still do it for every trip to see if the dining plan could work based on its yearly changes.

If I had a family that loved desserts and included multiple children and wanted a bunch of character dinners I would make a spreadsheet and could probably justify the dining plan.

If OP has wanted to try it, thinks it would be convenient, and would not otherwise try other restaurants, then yes, it may be "worth" it for the ease and new dining experiences alone.

 

[Lesverts]

It's more than just meal prices. If you have the non-deluxe dining plan and go to a 2 point restaurant, you screwed up. Don't bother adding the meal prices up, because they're, in reality, cut in half because you just wasted two meals on one TS. There are many paths to failure, but few to success, if any. She claims to have done it, saved a lot of money and had great meals. All I'm asking is for her to copy and paste what she did here or just share the spreadsheet with the restaurants and menu items with the OOP costs. It's not hard if she actually did it.

Not all 2 credit TS are a 'screw up' as you put it. The 80 dollar brunch at California Grill is one of them.

I've decided I am going to do the Dining Plan,

Raglan Road - $45
Akershus - $50
California Grill - $80
Cape May Cafe - $45
Garden Grill - $32
Chefs de France - $50
Resort Mug - $18
QS - BOG - $24
6 random QS meals - ~$90
14 snacks at an average of $5.00 = ~$70
Total: $504
Dining Plan: $469

So I am actually coming out $35 dollars to the good. Though I will admit that I made plans around having the dining plan, specifically using snack credits as lunch at Flower and Garden. I plan on using the 35 dollars to pay OOP for 1900 Park Fare breakfast.

I have a lot more pro's than con's. And am looking forward to a trip were I a) don't have to carry a lot of money around and b) and going to try a few restaurants I otherwise wouldn't have picked.

And before anyone makes a comment about the large selection of buffets/AYCTE. I am going solo, I feel more comfortable at those types of meals.

 

[PolyRob]

Not all 2 credit TS are a 'screw up' as you put it. The 80 dollar brunch at California Grill is one of them.

I've decided I am going to do the Dining Plan,

Raglan Road - $45
Akershus - $50
California Grill - $80
Cape May Cafe - $45
Garden Grill - $32
Chefs de France - $50
Resort Mug - $18
QS - BOG - $24
6 random QS meals - ~$90
14 snacks at an average of $5.00 = ~$70
Total: $504
Dining Plan: $469

So I am actually coming out $35 dollars to the good. Though I will admit that I made plans around having the dining plan, specifically using snack credits as lunch at Flower and Garden. I plan on using the 35 dollars to pay OOP for 1900 Park Fare breakfast.

I have a lot more pro's than con's. And am looking forward to a trip were I a) don't have to carry a lot of money around and b) and going to try a few restaurants I otherwise wouldn't have picked.

And before anyone makes a comment about the large selection of buffets/AYCTE. I am going solo, I feel more comfortable at those types of meals.

I am happy it works for your style of touring and allows you to try new experiences while also saving you money that can be spent on another meal! Those flower and garden booths have many items ≥$5 so those snack credits can also add to some of your savings

 

[buzzrelly]

I find it way more convenient to eat what I like, when I like. Put it all on your room account and pay it off with gift cards. It couldn't be easier.

 

[eeyoresmom]

We are DVC members and go often, at least twice a year. We USUALLY do not use a DDP but outside of the well known "pricey character dinner every night and good value for kids under 10" advice, there ARE situations that save money. I am bringing 8 adult family members, staying in 4 DVC studios. I am buying the Deluxe DDP for 1 room and sharing all of those credits ( 36 deluxe credits) to cover all of our TS dining. For just about the same price, we are getting an extra TS meal AND each person will be able to order an app, dessert and drink which I did not factor into my OOP cost for each meal. EXCEPT for our lunch at Sci Fi where each couple will share a deluxe credit which is PLENTY of food there, I have done it before. When figuring out what the meals would cost OOP, I chose : No apps at all, average priced entrees, half the guests getting a soda and sharing a few desserts. I did figure in the extra tip cost associated with all the extra food we will be ordering. Everyone getting their own app, dessert and drink are nice bonuses that will add to our experience, especially since we are bringing two adult newbies. It will be nice to say "order whatever you want" and know THEY will not feel awkward getting the steak. We do snack and will share those 4 snacks a day we get with the DxDDP ( and pay OOP for many more), with other family members. We also do get great use out of the refillable mugs as we take pool breaks every day. I'm not going to show my math. I don't have spread sheets, I have hundreds of pieces of scrap paper with calculations every time I think of something else that may effect my math! No one can show someone else how it works unless you are willing to eat exactly as they do AND have the same family size over the same vacation time. Not to mention other discounts available to you, use of a kitchen ,etc. Just got to do the math, usually over and over again. I do wish I could make the QSDDP work for our situation as well and am still thinking that one over. Maybe QSDDP for one room and list the 2 big eaters in there.........

 

[Beer Me]

If you don't think you will save money you shouldn't buy the dining plan. I don't get the "peace of mind" aspect. It gives me peace of mind to know I'm not wasting money! That being said it obviously works for many people.

I know it doesn't work for my family because I've crunched the numbers with real data from our last two 6 night trips. We ate when, where and whatever we wanted. I added up every meal, snack, bottled water etc. and it comes out around $300 less than the regular dining plan.

Some reasons why it doesnt work for us:

-We don't always order higher priced entrees. Inevitably at one or two meals someone will want to eat very light (salad or just appetizers etc).

-We usually leave at least one day without planning a TS meal - not to save money but because its nice to just wing it sometimes and try some snacks and quick service. That alone probably erases any value that the plan provides

-We don't choose the most expensive TS. For example we are planning Beaches and Cream for an upcoming trip. That would almost certainly be a wasted dining plan credit. But it's what we want for reasons other than monetary.

-We sometimes split QS meals. Again the motive isn't saving money just that traipsing around in 95 degree heat often results in not being very hungry. Most QS meals are more than enough to split, especially if you're going to have a Mickey bar later.

I also think the calculators are relatively accurate. To be safe add 10% to the calculator's total. If its still less than the dining plan don't buy it. Use the cost of the dining plan as your oop food budget. I guarantee you won't find it restricting.