Planning Tools - DDP vs. OOP

[RedDad]

There have been several threads lately about trying to save money using either the free dining or room discounts, and in one of those threads I mentioned an awesome spreadsheet that was developed by someone who is a bigger math nerd than me (and that's saying something!). It has pull-down menus for each on-site restaurant, lets you enter all your dining reservations, number of diners and days at WDW, and then calculates your estimated OOP expenses vs. the DDP cost. It will also determine whether a free dining discount will save you more than using the room discount.

Anyway, I noticed an article by the spreadsheet's author over at the Touring Plans blog, so I thought I'd share it in case anyone wants to use this for their upcoming trips. My wife and I have used this tool several times, including for our upcoming trip, and have generally found that we can do better money wise by not utilizing the DP. I love the convenience of having my meals prepaid before we go, so I'm sure we'll use it again some day!
http://blog.touringplans.com/2013/03/15/disney-dining-plan-calculator-spreadsheet/

 

[Figgy1]

I like to do the things the old fashioned way pen and paper. So far it has served me well! Best of all I don't have to worry about power outages or a crashing computer! LOl I also write down all my ADRs and put them in 2 places just in case! I guess that makes me old or at least old fashioned.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I do spreadsheet similar to this for our trips. I calculate everything down to the tip and tax at TS meals. Last Sept, we had APs so we had the TIW card but they were offering free dining so I wanted to compare the two. I think utlizing the free dining and paying for the upgrade cost us about $50 MORE than using out TIW card. But that extra $50 included a 2 day base ticket plus the refillable. So technically, it brought us out ahead since the mug is $16 and the 2 day base ticket is $187. Now we have 2 days credit to put towards our AP in May. Woot!!

But if we were paying for the DDP, it's just not worth it for us. We just don't get dessert at all of our sit down meals.

 

[RedDad]

The first two trips we took we used the DDP and the second one was free dining, which we loved, but we ended up with a mini fridge full of those chocolate cakes and a bunch of left over snack credits. The first trip was when tips were included, and it was cheaper, so it was definitely a better deal then. I think if you are really careful about which meals you reserve the DDP can be a good deal. My wife keeps trying to convince me to move to FL so we can get an AP and TIW...maybe one day!

 

[luv]

Not only can you usually do it cheaper on your own, it's also easier. You don't have to keep track of credits or ask if you can have X or Y on your plan.

 

[bethymouse]

I know you're not really "saving" anything on the DDP, but it's just peace of mind for us.

 

[disneysince71]

I have this thing about wasting food... and my family 3 older teens and a 10 year old... we cannot eat all of the food that is offered on the DP. Its a lot more economical for us to be on our own and pay OOP. Its a families choice. But not many people I know go into restaurants and order 6 desserts at the end of the meal... Maybe we are missing something....