Disney dining plan went up

Hcalvert

Hcalvert

Well-Known Member
The DDP can have value if you work it right. For example, I have a split stay coming up. For the first part of my stay, I booked the DDP. On those nights, I booked the character meals and more expensive restaurants. For instance, we booked the Tusker House River of Light package that is $60/adult and $36/child. At three of us going, that is about $156 before tax and alcoholic drinks (another $20), so with tax probably about $188. I spent $175 total (with tax) for all three us on the DDP each day. Factor in lunch at about $20 for entree and drink each (total $60) and two snacks each for $30 total, then the total is now $278, at least a $100 savings. On the second part of my trip, I didn't book it and reserved the less-expensive restaurants to pay out of pocket. This will be the last year of character dining and the DDP as my son will be 10 in late 2020.
 
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Tony the Tigger

Tony the Tigger

Well-Known Member
Hcalvert said:
The DDP can have value if you work it right. For example, I have a split stay coming up. For the first part of my stay, I booked the DDP. On those nights, I booked the character meals and more expensive restaurants. For instance, we booked the Tusker House River of Light package that is $60/adult and $36/child. At three of us going, that is about $156 before tax and alcoholic drinks (another $20), so with tax probably about $188. I spent $175 total (with tax) for all three us on the DDP. Factor in lunch at about $20 for entree and drink each (total $60) and two snacks each for $30 total, then the total is now $278, at least a $100 savings. On the second part of my trip, I didn't book it and reserved the less-expensive restaurants to pay out of pocket. This will be the last year of character dining and the DDP as my son will be 10 in late 2020.
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Well-played.
 
Minthorne

Minthorne

Well-Known Member
I went for a week in May and we decided to try the DDP - we had some specific ADR and we like a drink so we thought it would make sense.

I saved receipts and did a full spreadsheet and calculated that we saved about $180 vs paying out of pocket for what we got. The $8 lobster tails as a snack at Flower & Garden certainly helped with that - I think I used 7 of my 14 snacks there :)

BUT

We both agreed that we would never have bought as much food if it weren't included in the plan and it was just TOO MUCH FOOD.
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
The dining plan jumped the shark in real terms probably five years ago...

Any interest I ever had ended when they cut the tips and said it was by “guest and employee request”

...yes...because people hate it when they don’t have to do math and pay out of pocket and low paid wdw employees HATE having stable, predictable incomes that allow them to live above serf levels.

“One born every minute “
 
Sirwalterraleigh

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Queen of the WDW Screne said:
I've seen a lot of transitions on my days going to Disney.
In the last few years the parks have become more and more crowded during what were traditional slow times.
Disney is trying to more evenly distribute crowds and even lower them a bit by raising the prices.
Once they notice a lull especially in on property stays the discounts come rolling in.

I'll add what I said to another poster... FD likely won't be offered this fall but thats due to the shift in crowds in the last few years.
I'd never have thought FD would be offered July 5th! But here we are because crowds have shifted from summer to fall.
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They are absolutely trying to evenly distribute the crowds

They are also not trying to lower them in any way...just sell that to the people that are paying more for what they think is there own benefit
 
Da Bird is Da Word

Da Bird is Da Word

Active Member
I was gonna start a topic about this, but figure it's already been done to death and this thread seems a good fit. So... My girlfriend and I are going to Disney for a week in September. My first time in a LONG time and her first time EVER going to Disney. We'll be at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village with a Savannah view room and we got the park hopper tickets and everything. I want the vacation to be magical and as stress-free as can possibly be, and the idea of our food being pre-paid sounds really attractive to me. With the DDP, all the cash we have on hand during the trip can be used on drinks and souvenirs.

The thing is, I'm gonna have to pull out all the stops to get this $1100 dining plan for the two of us, and I'm having a hard time justifying spending that much. Then again, I'm also stressed out about the prospect of getting to Disney and finding myself wholly unprepared to be able to afford our meals. We won't be doing any signature dining, but I do want to do at least one character dining meal, one buffet, and a couple other table service restaurants while we're there, on top of eating at some quick service restaurants for lunch. So, without the DDP, about how much money do you set aside for dining expenses for a week at WDW? I know there's no one-size-fits-all answer to that question, but some anecdotal replies would be appreciated.
 
Hcalvert

Hcalvert

Well-Known Member
Da Bird is Da Word said:
I was gonna start a topic about this, but figure it's already been done to death and this thread seems a good fit. So... My girlfriend and I are going to Disney for a week in September. My first time in a LONG time and her first time EVER going to Disney. We'll be at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village with a Savannah view room and we got the park hopper tickets and everything. I want the vacation to be magical and as stress-free as can possibly be, and the idea of our food being pre-paid sounds really attractive to me. With the DDP, all the cash we have on hand during the trip can be used on drinks and souvenirs.

The thing is, I'm gonna have to pull out all the stops to get this $1100 dining plan for the two of us, and I'm having a hard time justifying spending that much. Then again, I'm also stressed out about the prospect of getting to Disney and finding myself wholly unprepared to be able to afford our meals. We won't be doing any signature dining, but I do want to do at least one character dining meal, one buffet, and a couple other table service restaurants while we're there, on top of eating at some quick service restaurants for lunch. So, without the DDP, about how much money do you set aside for dining expenses for a week at WDW? I know there's no one-size-fits-all answer to that question, but some anecdotal replies would be appreciated.
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I think this depends on your eating and drinking habits. Do you like having desserts with meals? Do you like alcoholic drinks? If so, they need to be factored into your food budget. I would suggest you look at some of the menus of the restaurants that you want to eat at and add up what you would get. Add 6.5% tax at all the restaurants and tips for Table Service restaurants. If you plan to have a snack at the parks, factor in another $10-$15 per person per day. This will at least give you a ballpark figure and whether or not the dining plan is the way to go or not. How long is your trip and which dining plan were you considering?
 
Club Cooloholic

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
So I did a split stay last trip, well more like a cut up the pie stay as we bounced around 4 different hotels (4 nights at a BCV 2bd with in-laws, 3 nights in a studio at poly with just us, another 3 nights in Vero and 1 night at OKW so the drive to the airport would be short, nuts but fun). Anyway, we did the DDP for the Poly portion. I booked the big character meal dinners during that and really maxed out the value, but there is no waybInwould have wanted it for 7 nights straight. We had a car so it was nice to hop out the world to eat, just saying that a split stay with the DDP for part of it is a strategy. Now I wonder if they will raise food prices AGAIN...
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Da Bird is Da Word said:
I was gonna start a topic about this, but figure it's already been done to death and this thread seems a good fit. So... My girlfriend and I are going to Disney for a week in September. My first time in a LONG time and her first time EVER going to Disney. We'll be at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village with a Savannah view room and we got the park hopper tickets and everything. I want the vacation to be magical and as stress-free as can possibly be, and the idea of our food being pre-paid sounds really attractive to me. With the DDP, all the cash we have on hand during the trip can be used on drinks and souvenirs.

The thing is, I'm gonna have to pull out all the stops to get this $1100 dining plan for the two of us, and I'm having a hard time justifying spending that much. Then again, I'm also stressed out about the prospect of getting to Disney and finding myself wholly unprepared to be able to afford our meals. We won't be doing any signature dining, but I do want to do at least one character dining meal, one buffet, and a couple other table service restaurants while we're there, on top of eating at some quick service restaurants for lunch. So, without the DDP, about how much money do you set aside for dining expenses for a week at WDW? I know there's no one-size-fits-all answer to that question, but some anecdotal replies would be appreciated.
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Figure out where/how you want to eat, and do the math. (There's a handy calculator tool here, but be sure to read the assumptions made, like assuming everyone will want to buy a beverage with every meal...) https://www.distripplanner.com

If it doesn't look like the DDP is going to save you money, you can get the joy and convenience of prepayment simply by purchasing a Disney gift card in the amount it looks like you're going to spend on all of your meals (TS and CS), drinks and snacks, plus an extra 20-25% or so to cover your table service tips and give you a cushion so you feel free to order what you want. Use the gift card to pay for all of your dining, and use the remaining balance for souvenirs or other incidentals.

FWIW, my family of four doesn't buy the dining plan, but we do tend to have one CS, one TS, and 1-2 snacks per person, per day. We eat at a variety of TS restaurants (some that are among the most expensive, like dinner at Jiko or 'Ohana, and some that aren't) and we order what we like (whether it's the $18 hamburger or the $40 steak or the $25 appetizer we'd like to substitute for an entree), but we still save hundreds on food every visit by paying out of pocket (we do sometimes get modest discounts at certain venues by using our Disney VISA card, and/or Landry's Select Club card), and have the flexibility to order what we want, where we want, rather than having to slavishly plan each meal around what the dining plan will cover. Obviously, your mileage may vary depending on your own dining habits and appetite.
 
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D

DavidG528

New Member
Ricky Spanish said:
We had considered buying the DDP for the trip that we just took.
It would have cost about $1500 for the three of us on the QS plan, two adults and a teenager.
After the trip, I added up all my receipts.
We actually spent $800 on food at WDW.
Ate everything we wanted and shared a lot of meals because we feel that some meals are enough for two.
Glad we didn't spend the extra $700.
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Hope you bought merchandise to make up the difference :)
 

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