-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Paying OOP for first time! Are we wrong to try this????
- Thread starter Minnesota disney fan
- Start date
HouCuseChickie
Well-Known Member
I'm just going to put in my 2 cents...
I know many people love DDP and go nuts over it when free dining comes out, but I challenge everyone to sit down and determine where they'd really eat and what they'd really order if they were just paying OOP. Too often, people get caught up in what the plan provides and the convenience of having things paid in advance to actually look at the true costs and losses.
1. I love snacks...don't get me wrong, but if you weren't on DDP...how many of those snacks would you actually buy? i.e. if you just hit WDW with a chunk of cash in your bank account to cover anything you might want...how many would you really buy? Not what the plan provides that you feel obligated to use, but truly want. For me...never even close to what the plan provides. We wind up wasting credits.
2. I love appetizers, but don't always want desserts. So, if I'm stuck with the confines of DDP- I can pay OOP for my appetizer (or pay a lot more for DxDP) - so right there...added costs to get what I want. But I'm also stuck with a dessert that I didn't want = waste.
3. I may want chicken! - in order to really get value out of the plan, you must order the most expensive items...and that's usually not the chicken. So, if I order the chicken while on DDP...yup, wasting $ again.
4. What if I won't be dining enough for DxDP, but know I won't be using much if any of the qs meals on regular DDP? We like a TS breakfast and a TS dinner...but not always signature. So, either I'm paying OOP for one of those meals and wasting qs credits or I'm upgrading to a plan that includes more than I need. Either way- I'm wasting $ again.
5. I usually do not want a soft drink- DH is often he same. It's a small cost to factor in, but if we're going for 6 nights...and the avg drink is $2.50...$2.50x2x6 = $30 wasted.
6. Sometimes we want to share or maybe just make meals out of appetizers. This is about as far from the mindset of the plan as possible. So, I'm having to pay OOP altogether in many sharing or appetizer only scenarios.
7. I always seem to come out ahead paying signature meals OOP- regardless of what I order.
OK...this is probably more than 2 cents, but don't fear going without DDP. Save up enough $ to order what you want and buy what you want. I've been doing this for our last few trips and I've come out much better off going OOP. My philosophy...get what you want instead of being suckered into what's included.
EDIT- I know in some family/group cases the plan may be a better savings just due to ages and numbers, but you really need to do the math to know for certain.
I know many people love DDP and go nuts over it when free dining comes out, but I challenge everyone to sit down and determine where they'd really eat and what they'd really order if they were just paying OOP. Too often, people get caught up in what the plan provides and the convenience of having things paid in advance to actually look at the true costs and losses.
1. I love snacks...don't get me wrong, but if you weren't on DDP...how many of those snacks would you actually buy? i.e. if you just hit WDW with a chunk of cash in your bank account to cover anything you might want...how many would you really buy? Not what the plan provides that you feel obligated to use, but truly want. For me...never even close to what the plan provides. We wind up wasting credits.
2. I love appetizers, but don't always want desserts. So, if I'm stuck with the confines of DDP- I can pay OOP for my appetizer (or pay a lot more for DxDP) - so right there...added costs to get what I want. But I'm also stuck with a dessert that I didn't want = waste.
3. I may want chicken! - in order to really get value out of the plan, you must order the most expensive items...and that's usually not the chicken. So, if I order the chicken while on DDP...yup, wasting $ again.
4. What if I won't be dining enough for DxDP, but know I won't be using much if any of the qs meals on regular DDP? We like a TS breakfast and a TS dinner...but not always signature. So, either I'm paying OOP for one of those meals and wasting qs credits or I'm upgrading to a plan that includes more than I need. Either way- I'm wasting $ again.
5. I usually do not want a soft drink- DH is often he same. It's a small cost to factor in, but if we're going for 6 nights...and the avg drink is $2.50...$2.50x2x6 = $30 wasted.
6. Sometimes we want to share or maybe just make meals out of appetizers. This is about as far from the mindset of the plan as possible. So, I'm having to pay OOP altogether in many sharing or appetizer only scenarios.
7. I always seem to come out ahead paying signature meals OOP- regardless of what I order.
OK...this is probably more than 2 cents, but don't fear going without DDP. Save up enough $ to order what you want and buy what you want. I've been doing this for our last few trips and I've come out much better off going OOP. My philosophy...get what you want instead of being suckered into what's included.
EDIT- I know in some family/group cases the plan may be a better savings just due to ages and numbers, but you really need to do the math to know for certain.
Hmm, thanks, but really didn't need a snarky response. You might be surprised how many people don't understand that, so it wasn't an approval, but a reality check. You do, so good for you. I applaud you for making sure that your child has an enjoyable and worry free time while at WDW. Pity more parents don't do that.
Chezman1399
Active Member
I used to love the DDP. I got it every time I went for years, then I had a trip that started with a real awful meal at Le Cellier that made the entire party sick then there was more food the next day and we were barely recovered from the previous day and the trip went down hill, we also decided it would be nice to have an app instead of dessert at some places, and we like to go for food and wine anyway so we tried Tables in Wonderland through AP/DVC and haven't looked back. I don't overeat in the parks anymore and I feel so much better day to day, one bad meal doesn't send the whole trip into a spiral, and I'm guaranteed to save 20% minus the cost of TiW. The next trip will be our only one though in the next year and it's a 10 day trip for F&W so we've just booked a couple restaurants and plan to go OOP with no TiW (Cost > Savings for us) or DDP, however we will buy the Food and Wine Premium package, since we'll spend at least half the trip at Epcot eating F&W treats.
rob0519
Well-Known Member
It wasn't meant to be snarly. Sorry it came off that way. I should learn to use those little faces with the smiles winking eye to show I was joking around. Sometimes text just doesn't convey what you'd like it to.
rob0519
Well-Known Member
No worries!
Yeah, those things!!!
So you've come out of the dark side! Good for you. We have always used the TiW (and the DDE - Disney Dining Experience). We crunched the numbers, not to mention that your entire vacation pretty much revolves around food, and it just isn't worth it. My wife and I will frequently have just an appetizer or two for a lunch or dinner. We don't make ADRs for every meal, and wing it most of the time. We make a few must-dos for those that we know we will have to make in advance, and decide on the fly for the rest.
Club Cooloholic
Well-Known Member
Out of pocket is great. Remember those things called appetizers? You can get few of those sometimes and its a meal. No force feeding desserts. If your big on buffets maybe you lose otherwise your gonna save.We are 2 adults so it's just us for dining. We are in our 60's and find we don't eat 2 big meals a day, just one a day and snacks are fine with us. We have always used the free dining, and never paid out of pocket. So I am concerned that we will be missing out on ? I've looked at some of the menu's and think we could save money without the dining plan. What have other's found out to be true for them???? Do you prefer paying OOP or use the dining plan? Esp adults only? Thanks
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Look at the numbers. That's all it comes down to. Check out the menus online, see what you think you would eat. Keeping track of what is covered under the dining plan and what isn't tally your costs, and see if you come out ahead. My DW and I almost never get desserts with our meal, so that would be wasted money, same thing with individual drinks at a CS meal, we normally split one or drink water. Me being a vegetarian and my wife preferring to eat a varied selection of proteins, ordering a steak at every meal to come out ahead of the plan doesn't work either. But your eating habits may be better suited to the plan. For us, its OOP and TiW all the way.
Dad 2 M & M
Well-Known Member
We don't use the DDP anymore... but are glad we used to use it. Without the DDP we would have never been exposed to many of our Must Do Ressies....now OOP of course!
mousehockey37
Well-Known Member
For some, I think vacations come down to free dining so that they can go on vacation to eat.... and only eat. For others, it comes down to a value that they will get ahead. Others, like myself, can do without the plan because well, in the hot/humid Florida weather, I'm not necessarily all that hungry all the time. So to have to put myself through huge meals all day every day... I couldn't do it. There are those that can, and that's fine if that's what they want to do.
AnCsMommy
Member
We like the free dining solely because of the characters meals. Because my kids are both over age 2, we HAVE to pay for them at character meals, and they LOVE character meals.
I've done the math otherwise and we save even buying the ddp, but I'd be willing to bet in a few years we'd save a *ton* pay oop.
mousehockey37
Well-Known Member
I like OOP just because if DGF and I are in the MK and if it's 95 degrees outside, we may only want a kids chicken tender meal with an additional drink because that's all we're hungry for and we'll get that and split it. On the DDP you can't do that. So it all boils down to everyone's particular situation. Our last trip was entirely OOP and we stayed within a budget on our meals. I splurged with 3 ADR's, 1 of them being lunch, so it wasn't as expensive anyway, but for my situation, OOP vs DDP, we would've lost out big time.
popcenturylover
Well-Known Member
We have used the DDP on our trips in the past until our most recent one. This time we paid oop & I think we saved but, I won't know for sure until I go through all of our receipts this week. We shared some meals & snacks. I also ordered a kids meal for myself sometimes. We don't eat dessert with most of our meals & the dining plan comes with so, that was another reason not to do it.
Back in the day when free dinning plans were truly a perk, we took advantage of them and had dinning experiences that we normally would not be able to afford. I have done the math versus buying dinning plans and for my family's eating habits, dinning plans are always more expensive. And now the free dinning plans tend to not really be free. Sometimes you have to stay at a different resort or extend the stay to qualify. But I still remember (and often dream about) those free disney dinning days...
DisneyDebNJ
Well-Known Member
This is the best advice actually. We happen to be huge fans of the dining plan. I love the idea that by the time my feet hit Disney soil, all of my needs are paid for and taken care ofWe are adults only mid-late 30's and love the dining plan but everyone has different needs. We are DVC members and always still purchase the plan. TIW card/discount does not work well for us being we only go once a year usually and have done the math and the dining plan we usually break even or close and like it being paid for ahead of time.
But if you have done the math and it does not seem cost effective for you then do not purchase it or go for a room discount (if available) if you usually do free dining.
It falls down to what is best for each individual family.
The upside, is if you don't use all of your snack credits during your stay, you can always fill up on candies, cookies, etc to take home and share 
Two adults for 7 nights last October. Originally we had planned to use the dining plan, but canceled it when our time frame was not included in the free dining offer. I kept track of our out of pocket food expenses to compare to the cost of the dining plan. I had purchased Disney gift cards at Target (getting a 5% discount by using their credit card) to use for our food, so our food was “prepaid” even without using the meal plan. We were joined the evening of day 3 by my son and daughter-in-law, who have a TIW card. When the four of us dined together, we just split the bill instead of trying to figure out who had ordered what.
The meal plan would have provided 7 snacks, and 7 table meals and 7 quick service meals, which would have included a non-alcoholic drink, entree, and dessert each. Instead, we ate what we wanted, sometimes getting two appetizers and splitting an entree. We often skipped dessert at the restaurant to get something later in the parks. We had adult beverages most every night. We often split appetizers. We had dinner at two signature restaurants; Citricos and California Grill. Our California Grill night included drinks, appetizers, entree and dessert for all. We also ate at Crystal Palace, Be Our Guest (lunch and dinner), 50's Prime Time Cafe, Tutto Italia Ristorante, and twice at Beaches and Cream for lunch and ice cream. We spent our last evening at the Food & Wine Festival, eating and drinking our way around the world.
Our total out of pocket costs, including the alcoholic drinks, appetizers and tips that would not have been covered by the meal plan, ended up being $105 less than the cost of the meal plan. Not only did it save us money to pay out of pocket, we ate what we wanted, when we wanted, instead of trying to order to make the most of the meal plan. We certainly didn't skimp on snacks. We never had a problem anywhere splitting an entree or appetizer. In fact, if we told the server we were splitting, it would be brought to us split onto two plates.
The meal plan would have provided 7 snacks, and 7 table meals and 7 quick service meals, which would have included a non-alcoholic drink, entree, and dessert each. Instead, we ate what we wanted, sometimes getting two appetizers and splitting an entree. We often skipped dessert at the restaurant to get something later in the parks. We had adult beverages most every night. We often split appetizers. We had dinner at two signature restaurants; Citricos and California Grill. Our California Grill night included drinks, appetizers, entree and dessert for all. We also ate at Crystal Palace, Be Our Guest (lunch and dinner), 50's Prime Time Cafe, Tutto Italia Ristorante, and twice at Beaches and Cream for lunch and ice cream. We spent our last evening at the Food & Wine Festival, eating and drinking our way around the world.
Our total out of pocket costs, including the alcoholic drinks, appetizers and tips that would not have been covered by the meal plan, ended up being $105 less than the cost of the meal plan. Not only did it save us money to pay out of pocket, we ate what we wanted, when we wanted, instead of trying to order to make the most of the meal plan. We certainly didn't skimp on snacks. We never had a problem anywhere splitting an entree or appetizer. In fact, if we told the server we were splitting, it would be brought to us split onto two plates.
Magnolia Mickey
Member
Two things to consider: My family of 5 went for the first time last year without the dining plan. We ordered everything we wanted, kept receipts, and actually saved just over $300. If you are only eating one meal per day, you will save even more. Second, depending on where you are staying, the room discount can actually be a better deal than free dining. For example, if staying at a deluxe resort, the 30% off, when available, may save more. This was the case for my family a couple of years ago. If using a travel agent and both free dining and the room discount are available, have them figure your price both ways.