Worth It?

[JHASdiz]

My DH and I are planning a visit during the food and wine festival in 2014. We will be meeting my family and wanted to eat at a few table service/character dining restaurants during our 5 night stay. Would it be worth adding the DDP? We've been there many times but never added the DDP so any suggestions will be helpful! Thanks for your help!!

 

[Mukta]

You have to do the math to see if it is worth it for you.

The plan is around $56 a night per person in 2013.

Look at menus on this site, allears, wdwinfo etc and see what you would order if there were no restrictions on you. If what you chose was an entree, dessert and drink (TS and QS) that comes to more than $56 a night, it might be worth it for you.

I am the type that like appetizers, snacking and not always eating dessert. I also drink tap water, so the DDP isn't practical for me.

 

[JHASdiz]

You have to do the math to see if it is worth it for you.

The plan is around $56 a night per person in 2013.

Look at menus on this site, allears, wdwinfo etc and see what you would order if there were no restrictions on you. If what you chose was an entree, dessert and drink (TS and QS) that comes to more than $56 a night, it might be worth it for you.

I am the type that like appetizers, snacking and not always eating dessert. I also drink tap water, so the DDP isn't practical for me.

Thanks!! I'll do some checking around

 

[stevehousse]

Also look out for free dining offers! They usually run during when the F+W festival is going on during the fall!

 

[Disvillain63]

Again, even with Free Dining, you need to do the math. With FD, you have to pay full price for the room & tickets, so it may be less expensive to go with a room discount and pay for your dining.

 

[JHASdiz]

Again, even with Free Dining, you need to do the math. With FD, you have to pay full price for the room & tickets, so it may be less expensive to go with a room discount and pay for your dining.

What type of discounts do they offer for resort stay? We are looking at a moderate resort, if we book the resort next month and they come out with discounts do they honor the discounts on existing ressies if asked to do so?

 

[luv]

There is so much math. You have to know where you're staying, what you're eating, etc.you really have to do the math. Figure out what you'll eat and what you'll pay with and without the dining plan (including taxes and tips and all that.) Make sure the things you want are included in the plan. Compare the room rates you can get with and without a plan. It's a lot of work, lol.

For me, the dining plans were not the cheapest way to go, but it really is a very individual thing.

It's a lot of math.

 

[luv]

What type of discounts do they offer for resort stay? We are looking at a moderate resort, if we book the resort next month and they come out with discounts do they honor the discounts on existing ressies if asked to do so?

Sometimes you can switch to a discount.

But if you're using Free Dining, you can't get a discount on the room. You have to pay extra for the room (that's why the food is free, lol.)

You might try using a travel agent who specializes in Disney. They'd be able to figure out what the cheapest way to do it all might be.

 

[englanddg]

I am a fan of the plan, even when it comes out as not as much of a value...for the simple fact that I don't worry about prices at all when ordering.

It sounds silly, I know, but if I know I have to pay for the meal afterwards, I will subconciously look at the prices and use that to sway my choices.

With the DP, I don't have to do that.

The Deluxe plan for an adult / child came out to need about $127 a day in food / snack expense to justify it. We blew through that many days, but other days we didn't. The whole analysis (sans the last day) is in my trip report from August.

Again, on the Deluxe, if you do a lot of Table Service (or toss in some signature experiences), the plan can easily pay for itself, but it's not a huge value.

There is a Dining Plan Calculator (free) online that can help you make this decision.

http://seeyareelsoon.wix.com/seeyareelsoon#!dining-plan-calculator/cxc0

 

[Courtneylee212121]

What type of discounts do they offer for resort stay? We are looking at a moderate resort, if we book the resort next month and they come out with discounts do they honor the discounts on existing ressies if asked to do so?

If you book now and a discount pops up then they will add the discount to your package! It is usually better to book before a discount becomes available! ( We booked a few months back and i got an email about free dining during our stay and was able to add it to our reservations with no problem! we always get dining plan discount or not) The dining plan is 100% worth it! Disneys food, drink, snacks are so overpriced that dining plan is really the only way to go unless you bring some of your own food!! I suggest the dining plan that offers 1 table service , 1 quick service and 1 snack!

 

[JHASdiz]

Thank you all for the help! Looks like I have some homework to do!!

Whats your opinion on annual passes? I've been told this gets you a discount as well... If so what sort of resort discount does it get you? Again is it worth it?

 

[Tuvalu]

The break even point for AP is spending 10 days in the parks over a year. Resort discounts have not been much better than the general public discounts (for example, save 37 percent at deluxe versus 35 percent.) There are no free dining offers for APs. The are a few other AP perks which you can find info about. Only you can determine if it is ''worth it'' for you.

It is for my family.