DDP Vets thinking about going off the plan...

[Epcot Dave]

We went 11/7-11/17/14 and went back off the DDP after doing it 2005-2013. At one time it was a pretty good deal, but now I wouldn't ever pay for it again. I can remember when it was, what $38/day with tip?! Heck, I can remember it being $45 or something.

We have a 10yo that doesn't eat much at all and still wants "kids food", basically chicken and pizza. We have a 6yo as well that eats better, but not a lot. We'd be out what, $192 plus tax per day for the 4 of us? Our average per day cost was $150-$160 before the TiW discount, and that's with one TS and one QS per day, with some snacks thrown in.

It all depends on how much you eat. It wasn't lost on me that the past several trips I gained 2-5 pounds by the time I got back. This year, actually lost a couple pounds because I wasn't eating more than I should "to get my money's worth."

Is it convenient to use the DDP? Yep. Will it save you $$$? Not likely, and you'll probably eat enough that you'd regret it later.

Places we ate:
1900 Park Fare
Brown Derby (we had 2 Cobb Salads, 2 kids meals, and soft drinks, so we got off cheap)
Crystal Palace
Plaza Restaurant
Kona Café
Chef Mickey's for Breakfast (first and last for breakfast, back to dinner for that place)
Hollywood & Vine
Via Napoli
Biergarten
Liberty Tree Tavern
Cinderella's Royal Table (at 2 credits, we always paid cash)

We do a fair amount of buffets and try to eat smart...I found I could do a QS breakfast (except Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's) and usually make it to a 4-5:00 dinner no problem.

We bring granola bars and whatnot to get us by if we need a little something, and try to keep fruit in the room fridge (PORS).

We're going back to June trips starting in 2015, so our TS meals are either breakfast or dinner. I have too many memories of filling up at lunch and feeling three shades of green for the afternoon. Not again.

I hope this helps. It all depends on how much you eat, what you can eat (if you have diet restrictions), and where you like to eat (I have simple tastes, so the really fancy places we don't do).

Do the math...we could do two bounty platters ($9 ea), two milks ($4 ea) and a couple of rolls ($4 ea) for breakfast with two of us using the refillable mugs and there was always enough for us to eat in the AM.

The pasta at the Riverside FC is enough for two, probably two and a kid, really. I got something Asian at the Land FC as well that was huge, too.

-Dave

 

[Jessica Meier]

@Epcot Dave do you mind if I ask a rough est of what you spent on food? Looks like you ate at a lot of places we would like to go to.

 

[Epcot Dave]

As near as I can tell (my Father In Law bought some stuff, so I have to estimate what it would have cost with just us paying for only us 4), we ran between $150-$160 per day on average, well below the $215 or so with tax it would have cost for 3 adults and 1 child per day.

I'm not sure exactly how to factor in CRT, as we'd have paid cash for that visit regardless....we're not in favor of using two credits for a meal.

I hope this helps. A lot of the savings were found by using our heads on the fly and not buying more than we really needed. On average a QS meal for us was in the $40-$50 range and a TS meal in the $110-$130 range with tip.

I think DW and I were in the $30-$45 range with a soda/pop per TS meal each.

I didn't get appetizers, deserts (except at buffets), and alcohol, so if you get those, your experience will certainly vary. I enjoy adult beverages, but not really at the prices WDW likes to charge. Yeesh.

Where we could we'd get child's meals for our 10yo we did as well....that helped a lot.

The difference between DDP and pay your way for us will be even greater when my 6yo turns 10 in 2018. I cannot imagine us eating $240+ tax of food with our eating habits and tastes...no way. And that doesn't include the ever increasing prices WDW will charge for the DDP. I wouldn't be surprised to see it at $70 per adult plus tax for the same features in 3-4 years.

We easily paid for our TiW card, with $56 being the CRT savings alone. If you can get TiW, I would. For those who stay at PORS, you can walk right to POFQ and use TiW at their food court.


I hope this helps.

-Dave

 

[Jessica Meier]

It does help. We are a family of 3 so will be just slightly cheaper. My daughter and I can share on some meals. She isn't a huge eater. And not very adventurous. So I think we will be good.

 

[sgtmgd]

There alot of pros and cons for the DDP, one thing not mentioned is that gratuity is not covered so if you do eat at Le Cellier, Yachtsman Steakhouse or the like yuo have to factor that in and depending on your party size that can be a nice chunk of change. Im a DDP advocate (usually do the deluxe where we eat breakfast and then have a nice signature meal for a dinner and relax before heading back out to the parks) to each their own as there are merits for both sides of the coin

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

We are actually big fans of the dining plan. Even on the standard plan, there are many ways you can stretch your credits. I never did signatures when my son was younger, and always had credits to spare. The best way to see if the dining plan is worth the $$$, check out the menu prices of places you are looking to dine at, do a total, and weigh out the difference. Also with the three of you, you have three snack credits per day, and if you visit during food and wine, they can be used to try offerings at different kiosks.

 

[Jessica Meier]

@DisneyDebNJ you know we always have been too. And we may still do it if we can get free dining and no room discount. But I am really thinking we may only do two big meals (Ohana and Akershus) and have the rest be food and wine sampling, Epcot places that we can share like Via Napoli and Les Halle's de Boulangerie and Mexico. Now to find places in MK and HS I want to share food at.

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

@DisneyDebNJ you know we always have been too. And we may still do it if we can get free dining and no room discount. But I am really thinking we may only do two big meals (Ohana and Akershus) and have the rest be food and wine sampling, Epcot places that we can share like Via Napoli and Les Halle's de Boulangerie and Mexico. Now to find places in MK and HS I want to share food at.

Years ago, I happened to visit without a dining plan, and was actually shocked at how much things cost. Maybe just do the QS dining plan and pay OOP for Akershus and Ohana? Again, take under consideration the cost of snacks too.

 

[Jessica Meier]

That may be what we do @DisneyDebNJ. I would have to see if the cost to upgrade to upgrade to regular DDP would be cheaper than what we would pay out of pocket for the two big meals.

 

[Roakor]

I have no doubt we would save a lot of money by not using the DDP. However that would be because we would likely choose the cheaper restaurants and menu items. Its that thinking of wasting money on things we don't really need. We do that all the time in our daily lives. it has just become a thing of habit. So I have no doubt should we not use the DDP we would end up doing a lot of quick service and not going to any of the nicer table service restaurants. In fact I know we would be cause that's exactly what we did before the DDP. We would always talk about going someplace for dinner but never would because it just cost too much. Or if we did go everyone would order the cheapest thing, to save money.

I have saved the receipts, totaled them all up and (aside from the first year they offered it which was a BIG savings) for our group, we have at worst broke even. With the DDP though I have been to many places I never would have gone to otherwise. Whether or not the DDP is worth the money though is heavily dependent on your group. I can easily see how some would be much better off not using the DDP. So I don't think there is one definitive answer as to whether or not the DDP is worth it. It can and it can not be, it all depends on what you want.

 

[rwdavis2]

We are in the exact opposite boat. I've never done the dining plan and want to try it. M big thing is when we do table service restaurants we only do nice ones like steak houses, which I hear cost 2 table service vouchers per person. If that's the case, it's not worth it for us. For you, I'd try not using it for 1 trip and see the price difference. Do everything the way you normally do and compare.

The dining plan is not designed to save money. And unless you eat several character meals you will probably lose $$.

 

[Baldy]

We are in the exact opposite boat. I've never done the dining plan and want to try it. M big thing is when we do table service restaurants we only do nice ones like steak houses, which I hear cost 2 table service vouchers per person. If that's the case, it's not worth it for us.

We do the dining plan too. Although we don't necessarily go to the top steakhouses, my son has steak for dinner every evening. We generally don't go to the Signature restaurants, but there has only been one steak dinner that he didn't enjoy in three 7 day trips. At home he is stuck with a bunch of vegetarians

 

[Baldy]

@Epcot Dave do you mind if I ask a rough est of what you spent on food? Looks like you ate at a lot of places we would like to go to.

Allears.net has menus and prices. Pick out some of the restaurants that you think you might choose and price out what your meals and snacks might work out to.

 

[TXDisney]

We love the steakhouses. But since we aren't familiar with the dining plan we are gonna look into it our next trip (May2016) we are going for 6 days 5 nights and will probably eat steak 3-4 of the nights. So we just need to see what dining plan we need.

 

[sgtmgd]

We love the steakhouses. But since we aren't familiar with the dining plan we are gonna look into it our next trip (May2016) we are going for 6 days 5 nights and will probably eat steak 3-4 of the nights. So we just need to see what dining plan we need.

Most of the good steaks will come at signature restaurants like Yachtsman and Le Cellier (dont think Shula's accepts the dining plan) with cost 2 credits per person..which is why we do the deluxe plan, typically we do a signature sitdown every evening and use the last credit (3 per day per person) for a good breakfast or early lunch..lots of ways to make the plans work for you. It really is more a matter of convenience for us..I simply prefer have the trip paid for in advance and eat all I care to while on vacation.

 

[sgtmgd]

Years ago, I happened to visit without a dining plan, and was actually shocked at how much things cost. Maybe just do the QS dining plan and pay OOP for Akershus and Ohana? Again, take under consideration the cost of snacks too.

LOL you can see that same look every time you visit a park in families that ARE NOT prepared for food costs, or saunter into a signature and see the menu prices.