Disney Dining Plan Calculator

[goherdibg]

I have been a member of the WDWMagic forums for nearly 2 years. Over the years, I have made multiple trips to Disney World and have always struggled with the question "Should I use the Disney Dining Plan?" From reading this forum (and others), it is obvious I am not the only one who asks this question before every trip.

In the past, to help me with the decision I built documents and spreadsheets of overly complex calculations based on the people who were traveling with me. I also posted on forums asking for advice and pretty much ended up with a similar answer each time - "It depends". While there are many factors that go into the decision to use the dining plan or not, it appears most members are concerned with one main factor - cost. Cost was always my main factor when deciding whether or not I should use the dining plan.

To help me with the decision for future trips and to help others with the same decision I have worked with a friend to put together a web site called the "Disney Dining Plan Calculator" that uses estimated meal costs along with some trip information to determine if a Disney Dining Plan is financially beneficial.

The site is easy to use, free to access, does not require you to create an account, and does not require any personal information.

The address for the web site is http://www.distripplanner.com

Feel free to visit the site and let us know what you think. This is the initial release of the Dining Plan Calculator. In the future, we plan on also providing a list of restaurants with full menus to allow you to choose what you think you would eat to provide a more exact price comparison in addition to the current estimation method.

If you have any questions about the site or have any exciting recommendations for future enhancements please provide us with feedback on the site.

Thank you,
GoHerdIBG

I discussed this post with wdwmagic, the owner of these forums and he has given me permission to post this information.

 

[disneysince71]

Great job... very useful!

 

[goherdibg]

You may also want to remind people of the gratuities not being included. They are very important... and they do add up...

Thanks for the comment. From a purely mathematical perspective, not having the gratuity included should not affect the end cost comparison.

For meals that do not have it included, you will be paying for the gratuity out of pocket whether you are on the dining plan or not. We expect your tip percent would be the same for both cases.

For the meals that do have it already included such as CRT, HDDR, Mickey's Backyard BBQ, and the Spirit of Aloha dinner show the tip is hidden in the single cost of the meal and does not change with being on the dining plan or not being on the plan.

Also, not sure if you saw the assumptions we use under the section "View the assumptions used for these estimates", we add in an 18% gratuity to all TS meals. In a future release, we will allow the end user to choose what tip percent they usually give at a typical meal.

 

[littleroo]

Super Neat!! Thanks so much!!

 

[Master Yoda]

So far so good!

I am assuming that you are using an average menu item for your price for each restaurant. If that is the case, I thought of a couple things you might be able to add in between now and having a fully functioning menu for each restaurant that will make the calculations a little more personal and accurate. I would add a "vegetarian", "most expensive meal" and "older child ordering from the kids menu" options. These are three areas that will quickly take the DDP from saving you money to costing you money and back again pretty quick.

As a rule the vegetarian items are among the cheapest on the menu as is a guest that is technically an adult ordering from the kids menu. Lastly, we all know that many of us order the most expensive meal by default when on the dining plan. Two vegans will rarely make out on the dining plan. Two carnivores can make out like a bandit.

 

[goherdibg]

So far so good!

I am assuming that you are using an average menu item for your price for each restaurant. If that is the case, I thought of a couple things you might be able to add in between now and having a fully functioning menu for each restaurant that will make the calculations a little more personal and accurate. I would add a "vegetarian", "most expensive meal" and "older child ordering from the kids menu" options. These are three areas that will quickly take the DDP from saving you money to costing you money and back again pretty quick.

As a rule the vegetarian items are among the cheapest on the menu as is a guest that is technically an adult ordering from the kids menu. Lastly, we all know that many of us order the most expensive meal by default when on the dining plan. Two vegans will rarely make out on the dining plan. Two carnivores can make out like a bandit.

Awesome suggestions. I will look into how each of your options moves the cost up or down and try to add the delta to the calculations.

Thanks again.

 

[piazza]

Great!!!! thank you....Now make one for DVC!!!!!

 

[goherdibg]

Based on feedback we have received, we have decided to post an update to the application in the next day or two. As most of you know, the number of dining plan entitlements is based on the number of nights of your trip and not the number of days.

In the initial version of the Disney Dining Plan Calculator we decided to create a list of choices based on the number of nights in your trip. In order to make the numbers work we decided to leave off the departure day. We also added in dates for the choices to help identify what meals were to be used against the dining plan and what meals were to be paid for out of pocket. Adding dates to the list is what we believe has caused some of the confusion. However, we also realize some travelers will be eating only dinner on their arrival date (arriving in the afternoon) and eating only breakfast and lunch on their departure date (leaving in the evening).

We feel the best response is to update the application to show both the arrival date and departure date and add some wording to make sure everyone understands the number of entitlements is based on the number of nights of their respective trip. This will also allow us to add a nice feature to a future release – the ability to add the dining choices to your personal calendar with the push of a button.

Thank you again,
GoHerdIBG

 

[danpam1024]

very neat! still can't make DDP work for us, but not I have another tool to prove it!

 

[Jo DeVil]

I think I am having a BIFF moment! We use DDDP I have put all ADR's in and it says additional out of pocket cost $796.96 with 3 credits remaining. All meals are covered by the plan I don't get what the additional costs are. Like I said I am probably being a biff it is after midnight here!!

 

[DizneyPryncess]

This is a great tool! We have tried to mathematically figure out if DDP is for us multiple times, and always have decided against it. This will make it easier for us, now that we have a child, and our ADR's will be different with each trip. Thanks!

 

[goherdibg]

I think I am having a BIFF moment! We use DDDP I have put all ADR's in and it says additional out of pocket cost $796.96 with 3 credits remaining. All meals are covered by the plan I don't get what the additional costs are. Like I said I am probably being a biff it is after midnight here!!

The additional OOP cost listed is the amount the plan would cost you above the price of the meals selected based on your dining choices. For example, if the dining plan would cost you $2000.00, the meals chosen would cost you $1203.04 - based on your number of $796.96. If you have a savings listed, that is the amount the dining plan would save you against paying for your meals out of pocket - at least the ones listed under the "Covered Meals" section.

We are going to release an update soon that lists the cost of each plan and show more detailed information - to help clarify what the numbers mean as we have received feedback asking for clarification of the values.

Feel free to send us feedback on the site listing your dining preferences and meal choices if you have any more questions - especially about the 3 remaining credits.

Thanks again.

 

[Jo DeVil]

Th

The additional OOP cost listed is the amount the plan would cost you above the price of the meals selected based on your dining choices. For example, if the dining plan would cost you $2000.00, the meals chosen would cost you $1203.04 - based on your number of $796.96. If you have a savings listed, that is the amount the dining plan would save you against paying for your meals out of pocket - at least the ones listed under the "Covered Meals" section.

We are going to release an update soon that lists the cost of each plan and show more detailed information - to help clarify what the numbers mean as we have received feedback asking for clarification of the values.

Feel free to send us feedback on the site listing your dining preferences and meal choices if you have any more questions - especially about the 3 remaining credits.

Thanks again.

Thanks for that, my brain just wasn't working! This is really good tool, We have done the DDDP for 3 trips and know it works for us, but it is still nice to see it in black and white. I have book marked it and will pass it on.
Again well done.

 

[Tinkerfan4ever]

This is very well done. Thank you for putting this together.

 

[hull327]

We just went in October (myself, my wife, and my 9 and 7 year olds) and got the free dining plan. At the time it was going for about $950. We didn't eat at any double point restaurants and didn't buy a single bit of food off the plan. As an experiment for myself I wrote down the food total for every meal and/or snack we got. At the end of 7 days it totaled a hair over $1100. Even if I would've paid for the meal plan I would've come out $150 ahead.

 

[goherdibg]

We just went in October (myself, my wife, and my 9 and 7 year olds) and got the free dining plan. At the time it was going for about $950. We didn't eat at any double point restaurants and didn't buy a single bit of food off the plan. As an experiment for myself I wrote down the food total for every meal and/or snack we got. At the end of 7 days it totaled a hair over $1100. Even if I would've paid for the meal plan I would've come out $150 ahead.

There are many cases where a dining plan is cost effective and sometimes even provides a decent savings.

I am neither a proponent nor an opponent of the dining plans. I do not, however, like to see people (myself included) spend money where savings are possible. If being on the dining plan can save you money and this tools help show it, great. If not being on the dining plan is a savings and this tool shows that, great again.

If you are like me, the more money you can save on dining, the more money you can spend on other things like souvenirs, etc.

 

[hull327]

There are many cases where a dining plan is cost effective and sometimes even provides a decent savings.

I am neither a proponent nor an opponent of the dining plans. I do not, however, like to see people (myself included) spend money where savings are possible. If being on the dining plan can save you money and this tools help show it, great. If not being on the dining plan is a savings and this tool shows that, great again.

If you are like me, the more money you can save on dining, the more money you can spend on other things like souvenirs, etc.

Totally agree. It worked for us because #1. It was free and #2. We made reservations for several character lunches/dinners at Hollywood and Vine, Akerhaus Royal Banquet, etc. Had it not been for those character dinners at slightly more expensive restaurants we would've likely lost a few bucks and the DDP wouldn't have been worth it had we had to pay for it.

 

[Disnee4Me]

Bookmarked this page. Trip is 18 months away, but when I reach that 180 mark (plus 10?) and have decided where we are eating, i'll definitely do the comparison.

 

[lunchbox1175]

Great tool, seeing as how the dining plan is always tied in to a ticket and room package....any way you can show the costs vs. a room only rate...that is honestly where the DDP isn't a savings.

 

[LucyK]

What are the meals not covered by the plan? I keep seeing Sassagoula there but I know for a fact it is covered. I'm staying for 12 days, doing one 2 credits restaurant, no QS on our first day and by day 8 I've run out of QS and TS credits.

Can you explain the relation between Additional Cost and Meals Not Covered by plan?