Contemplating first time without the DDP.,,

Jessica Meier

Jessica Meier

Well-Known Member
So really thinking about not doing the DDP this upcoming trip. Problem is, my husband is a serious cheapskate. Afraid we will be eating PB&J out of a backpack for most of our trip. Which will totally take away a lot of the pixie dust for me. I enjoy our meals there. It's a time to relax and enjoy each other. My question is how much do you budget per day if you go sans DDP?? I figure we will eat one big meal a day and small bites for the rest of the day. It will be myself, my husband and my daughter. We seem to enjoy the buffet style or family style meals the most.
 
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Monty

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
How long is your trip? Do you have an AP?

If you go often or it's a long trip, the TiW card can be much better than DDP.
 
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smk

smk

Well-Known Member
No help from here, we never do the DP and we are both serious cheapskates! I think that IF I was to eat at a buffet and say one QS meal a day, I would think 150 a day would be about right? The buffet meals are some serious cash and until I take my grandson for a character meal then I will not spring for one, never for just the two of us. So, if you pick one character buffet for your child and one for adults for the trip you could bring that budget more in line with what a cheapskate would accept. We spent about 180 for our entire trip last year on food, seven days. We had some snacks too. See, we would never pass for anything other than cheapskates!!!
 
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PoppinsFan

PoppinsFan

Active Member
When we don't get the DDP, we try and make a late lunch ADR at a TS restaurant. Lunch is usually cheaper than dinner. We also review the menus before making ADR's and check the prices, this helps us estimate what the cost will be. I would think for the three of you, $150 a day would be a fair estimate.
 
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Chernaboggles

Chernaboggles

Well-Known Member
Jessica Meier said:
So really thinking about not doing the DDP this upcoming trip. Problem is, my husband is a serious cheapskate. Afraid we will be eating PB&J out of a backpack for most of our trip. Which will totally take away a lot of the pixie dust for me. I enjoy our meals there. It's a time to relax and enjoy each other. My question is how much do you budget per day if you go sans DDP?? I figure we will eat one big meal a day and small bites for the rest of the day. It will be myself, my husband and my daughter. We seem to enjoy the buffet style or family style meals the most.
Click to expand...

Maybe you could add up what you would spend per day on the dining plan, round up or down as your prefer, and then put that onto gift cards? If you do the $50 Disney gift cards from Target you're already saving 5% (if you have their Red Card) and it's no different than paying with $50 bills. You're still pre-paying, so you can't really go over budget, and anything left is on a Disney card, so you can use it for something else fun at the end of your trip.
 
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DVCPluto

DVCPluto

Well-Known Member
We're also a family of 3 and we decided that while our son still enjoys the character meals, the best value is to get the DP. However, if we were to go off property and do uni for a few days, then I would not do it. I really think it depends on your plans and where you want to go each day.

And if your hubby is going to stress or react to each dollar spent on food, do yourself a favor and just get the DP!! ;)
 
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micknminnie

micknminnie

Active Member
I actually took the time to price out the food on menus and estimated what I would pay for our meals/snacks per day for us compared to the DDP and it would be cheaper for us to not get the DDP. We are a family of 6 and I still have picky small eaters. On our next trip I am getting a Disney gift card and use it strictly for food.
 
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Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Pick what counter-service and TS meals you think you'd like, and this calculator will give you an idea of the cost, both for the DDP and out-of-pocket. http://www.distripplanner.com/ That should give you an idea of what you need to budget per day.

If you're worried that DH will shrink away from the prices once he's in WDW, you might consider getting Disney gifts cards with your food budget and "spending" those on food, which will give DH the reassurance that the food's been "pre-paid" in an amount that isn't likely to run out, while also giving you the reassurance that you can order what you like without the DDP constraints and likely save money in the process.
 
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Jessica Meier

Jessica Meier

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
All great advice! I figure we have a year and I can add it closer if I want. So for now will just start collecting disney gift cards and just keep thinking on it.
 
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jaklgreen

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
We are not fans of the dining plan. Most of the time you end up spending more money then you would have paying out of pocket. My husband gets physically sick spending money. LOL So I just tell him "I got it" and charge it back to the room and then pay for it that way. Everyone is happy. :D
 
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HRHPrincessAriel

HRHPrincessAriel

Well-Known Member
Weather_Lady said:
Pick what counter-service and TS meals you think you'd like, and this calculator will give you an idea of the cost, both for the DDP and out-of-pocket. http://www.distripplanner.com/ That should give you an idea of what you need to budget per day.

If you're worried that DH will shrink away from the prices once he's in WDW, you might consider getting Disney gifts cards with your food budget and "spending" those on food, which will give DH the reassurance that the food's been "pre-paid" in an amount that isn't likely to run out, while also giving you the reassurance that you can order what you like without the DDP constraints and likely save money in the process.
Click to expand...
Ditto all this.
I used this to realize it was just not worth it for us!
http://seeyareelsoon.wix.com/seeyareelsoon#!dining-plan-calculator/cxc0
I set a grocery budget and my goal was to be under that. If I was a bought a GC that week in the difference. My grocery sometimes has the bonus of 4x fuel points which works out even better.

At the end of the trip my gift cards paid for all of our meals(multiple character meals, sit downs and some booze) as well as all our souvenirs.
 
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Jessica Meier

Jessica Meier

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
That is a really good idea. I need to do this. I always wind up spending a ton on groceries we don't really need. This will help keep me in check and save the money.
 
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HRHPrincessAriel

HRHPrincessAriel

Well-Known Member
I just went back and looked. We did 7 nights 8 days
8 sit downs(4 character ones and the Fantasmic package) and 11 CS

I did get the TIW card since we are going back in about a month.

We saved around $150 from what the DP would have been with the card and $125 from what it would have been with just OOP.

We did not really monitor what we ordered. Just got what we wanted to get.
 
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Jessica Meier

Jessica Meier

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yeah we eat breakfast buffet and family style meals and enjoy those most. We don't eat a ton of quick service unless at the hotel. My daughter is REALLY picky and really doesn't eat a lot. So I honestly think we would do better by sharing meals and snacks versus having to get stuff and wasting a lot of food.
 
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Alix26

Alix26

Active Member
Great choice about not going with the DDP. Not only will you save serious $ but you will be a bit more free with choosing where to eat or how big each meal is going to be/how often you can eat.

I have accomodated for $50 PP per day before and that was seriously enough.
This time Im sticking to a budget of about $40 PP per day but i still dont think i will spend this everyday, somedays like most people I have a bigger appetite and other days not so say for instance one day you might spend $60 PP one day but then the next day you may only spend $30 PP.

You will 100% be fine without the DDP, yeah it has its pros but it also has many cons.
 
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