Am I just cheap?

[bluejasmine]

No your not cheap it is ridiculous but I find that the DDP does save us money and we are able to have some very nice meals

 

[Mom2Stitch]

Funny that you ask the Am I Cheap question because that's exactly what I've been doing for the last 24 hours. We decided to quit WDW on our last trip5/17, same as we have done for the last 17 years, lol.

But then that little bug starts biting and the Disneyitis just grows until I start pricing out packages and rooms, onsite, offsite, rental cars, meal plans, tickets- driving myself to near insanity trying to get the best "deal" I can. And DS is graduating from college that's a big deal and what a great way to celebrate right? I always start simple enough with "hey we can just rent a pool home and a car and save lots of money on lodging and food" and trying to budget wisely. Then the DH and the DS want to eat at all of these TS places. It's too much money, too much not great food, but it's "tradition" and/or they really do enjoy the (insert entree/food/dessert) at (insert ridiculously hard to get ADR restaurant). And the QS are even worse with the burgers and nuggets (well there are some I'd eat at regularly, mmmm, Flametree) By the time I get a list of everywhere they want to eat it makes sense to stay onsite and get a dining plan. I end up booking a darn package with deluxe dining and a whopping 10% room discount . (seriously, I need help people!)

Way back when I remember paying $3000 for 2 adults and a child for 7 nights at the Poly-that included the best dining plan you could get, PHs, water parks...and I remember thinking about how we were nuts for paying that much money. 6 nights at CSR for 4 adults, 7 day PHs, and deluxe dining is pricing out at almost $6300--with whatever little discount they are running right now. When I saw that I asked myself WTH I was doing even considering such a thing! Is it worth it? Am I just Cheap? How in the World do people justify staying at the Poly or GF ? I mean I use to, so I'm in no way judging, but I can hardly get past the moderate price now! And the bad thing is that we would love to have more room-it's me, DH, DS and his GF!

Signed, Mousebitten and Crazy....and still trying to figure out a better/cheaper way.

 

[LilyWDW]

Some places I am willing to pay the prices and some I am not. Just depends.

Raglan Road? Well worth the money.
Jiko? Well worth the money.
Le Cellier? Way overpriced for not so good food.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I was spoiled by the early days of free dining where we ate at great TS restaurants with appetizers, entrees and desserts...for free! Last time we went to Disney we bought the quick service DP, which I felt was a little steep.
Now I am planning our trip for May and I think we are just going to eat and pay as we go. I was thinking we may splurge on a nice dinner maybe on our last night like Ohanas (which I haven't been to since free dining). I mean, I know it's delicious and I know eating out on vacation is obviously more than at "home" but is it really worth $250 for a family of four?? Don't even get me started on the luau at Poly. I know it's a show too but wow. We spend a lot of money on a DW vacation for room and tickets but We can barely afford to eat!! Am I just too cheap??
Sorry so long. Maybe I just needed to vent

I don't think you're cheap. It's expensive to eat there and, because of the wide variety of quality you'll find between TS, I think you should be picky about where you eat!! To answer your question specifically, no, I don't think O'hana is worth that. We've eaten there numerous times over the past 12 years and our last visit in December 2017 was terrible. The service was really bad, we did not get enough appetizers and the server came around and plopped about 3 lbs of meat on my plate before even asking if I wanted it and how much. It was so unappetizing. And there was barely any entertainment. We were there for almost 90 minutes and there were no coconut races, no limbo, just some music and some dancing. It was not worth the cost. We had much better meals at almost every other restaurant we went to. My advice would be to pick a good a la carte TS that appeals to you and go there. You can then order exactly what you want to keep costs where you want them and not pay more for food you may not even eat. You may even want to pick a signature and only order an app and entree or entree and dessert (two courses) which would probably cost around the same as going to O'hana. We paid slightly more on our meal at Artist Point and it was so, so much better than O'hana. The small increase in cost to eat a really great meal was totally worth it. There are some great 1 TS restaurants as well.

 

[bbak30]

No, the cost is out of hand. Eating at Disney makes everything else seem cheap!

It would be ok if there was some consistency and you could expect really good food. My experience is that Disney food is inconsistent and not always good and worth the cost.

We have eaten at 'Ohana a few times on the dining plan and the last time it was just subpar. I couldn't see spending $200 on a meal that may just be ok. So we skipped it on our last trip when we paid OOP.

 

[Elle23]

I don't think you're cheap. It's expensive to eat there and, because of the wide variety of quality you'll find between TS, I think you should be picky about where you eat!! To answer your question specifically, no, I don't think O'hana is worth that. We've eaten there numerous times over the past 12 years and our last visit in December 2017 was terrible. The service was really bad, we did not get enough appetizers and the server came around and plopped about 3 lbs of meat on my plate before even asking if I wanted it and how much. It was so unappetizing. And there was barely any entertainment. We were there for almost 90 minutes and there were no coconut races, no limbo, just some music and some dancing. It was not worth the cost. We had much better meals at almost every other restaurant we went to. My advice would be to pick a good a la carte TS that appeals to you and go there. You can then order exactly what you want to keep costs where you want them and not pay more for food you may not even eat. You may even want to pick a signature and only order an app and entree or entree and dessert (two courses) which would probably cost around the same as going to O'hana. We paid slightly more on our meal at Artist Point and it was so, so much better than O'hana. The small increase in cost to eat a really great meal was totally worth it. There are some great 1 TS restaurants as well.

I honestly forgot there was supposed to be entertainment at Ohana. There was nothing at all when we ate there, except for the ukulele player walking around.

 

[kirstenb1]

We've never done the DDP in nearly 30 yrs of going to WDW. But, for me, time is $$$ at Disney. We grab counter service mostly to maximize our time for rides, shows, etc. We paid OOP for character meals when the kids were little, but that's it.

 

[holden]

We were at WDW 12/14-12/21. I honestly could not believe how mediocre the food was. It was shocking to me. At the end of the trip, I was shaking my head at how much money I had forked over for subpar food and service.

When we got to MCO, my kids (15 and 13) were so excited to get McDonalds and exclaimed how sick they were of Disney food. That’s how bad it was!

There were some really good things (like the Ohana bread for example), but overall, the food was absolutely not worth the money we paid. And it makes me really sad to say that.

Totally agree

 

[gypsy_at_heart]

I don’t think you’re cheap, it is pricey. Some places at Disney I find more overpriced than others, but I suppose that’s part preference based as to what we think is worth the cost. Personally I refuse to eat at Le Cellier because I refuse to pay extra for tenderloin flown from my home country down to meet me in Florida lol I also don’t eat salmon, sushi or Indian food at Disney because we have really great places for all of that back home so I don’t want to risk shelling out extra money and thinking it is better at home. And, for myself, I would never pay that at Ohana because their menu doesn’t really appeal to me. I’m sure it’s 100% worth it to some people, but I don’t think it makes you cheap if it isn’t worth the $ to you.

 

[SA mom]

OP, no, I don't think your are cheap, I think you are realistic. We rarely book buffets because of the expense.

We stopped using the DP when our 10 year olds were considered adults. I think if you have kids 9 and younger, it can work out in your favor. However, for the cost of 4 adults, we can eat really well by sharing. Portions are huge. We don't all need an entree. Usually we order just two entrees and app or dessert. It's not like we can take leftovers home.

 

[Kingdome8]

We did dining plan 2 trips ago and it is pricey. Last trip we didn’t do it and felt trip was missing something. Did chef mickeys
And hoppy do review. Just those two for party of 5 was like 500 bucks. Kept thinking for another grand or so could have had a lot more. Next trip I will definitely do it. Makes trip more enjoyable and do th even think about it. Kids get snacks all day. It’s convienant.

 

[mco65]

I agree with you; we never do the dining plan anymore.

My "only" up there was because the OP had stated it would be $3000 for the 7 nights. That's a huge math error, in my opinion.

Not the OP here but it was my math error.. i went back and DUH, i had scheduled 8 nights (9 days).. not 7... 7 is our typical vacation to WDW... but it was 3k more for the DDP for 8 nights/9 days in July of 2018.

 

[Praying Colonel]

IMHO DDP is a prime example of the old boiling a frog story. Shave a little product quality/value here, raise the price a little there: it's the Disney way, and not just a DDP thing, but you really see it with onsite dining generally and the DDP specifically if you've paid attention over the years.

I've got a certain amount of money I'm going to spend on my vacation, and Disney's quality/value determines how much they get. With their resort pricing/quality they determine whether I'm giving my lodging money to them or an offsite condo, and with their meal pricing/quality they determine how much they'll get and how much I'll give offsite restaurants or Publix (eating at our condo).

On our last WDW vacation we stayed offsite and ate about 40% of our meals onsite. We tended to eat lunch there because we still wanted to get in park time so we'd eat quickly and continue on with our touring. But we ate breakfast in the condo, some of our lunches back in the condo or offsite and almost all our dinners either in the condo or offsite. We only ate 2-3 dinners onsite because we just don't feel like taking out a 2nd mortgage to eat a TS meal that is average at best.

 

[sharonabe]

Not the OP here but it was my math error.. i went back and DUH, i had scheduled 8 nights (9 days).. not 7... 7 is our typical vacation to WDW... but it was 3k more for the DDP for 8 nights/9 days in July of 2018.

Interesting.....

The math on the screen shot you posted does NOT correlate with what we've previously calculated the cost of the dining plans to be. Both the QSDP and the DDP numbers are off. I'm going to go to do some math. Wondering if Disney has raised the price of the plans with no announcement.

 

[GillianP1301]

I'm not sure I would call you cheap, because that word has a negative feel to it that I don't necessarily agree with. Frugal may be a kinder word.

Personally, when I take a vacation to WDW or really any touristy type place, then I factor in the cost of food. Is it more than eating out at home? At some TS yes, it is. But honestly, I don't find WDW prices to be outrageous at all if I compare it to my local amusement park or even a local fair and I'm getting much better food for my dollar. I do think there is a big shock when you go from a pre-paid dining plan, especially if you were on a free dining promo, to paying OOP. But at the end of the day, assuming you eat the same on DDP as you do OOP, the costs are not that far off from each other, it's a mental block thing for sure.

I think it really all comes down to how high of a priority is dining on your vacation plan and how does that fit into your overall budget. Some people would rather pay for a deluxe room and cheap out on food and others would much prefer to take that same money and stay at a value and go all out on their meals. It's a personal choice really and I would never call either of those scenarios cheap.

 

[sharonabe]

Not the OP here but it was my math error.. i went back and DUH, i had scheduled 8 nights (9 days).. not 7... 7 is our typical vacation to WDW... but it was 3k more for the DDP for 8 nights/9 days in July of 2018.

Okay, I can't figure out what they've done with your quote. Prices haven't changed. Even with 8 nights, you should only be paying about $2200 more for DDP and $1600 for QSDP. Are your 2 children 9 and under?

 

[DisBuckMan]

Okay, I can't figure out what they've done with your quote. Prices haven't changed. Even with 8 nights, you should only be paying about $2200 more for DDP and $1600 for QSDP. Are your 2 children 9 and under?

Looks like the "kids" are not Disney kids.

$75.49 x 5 x 8 = $3019.60

Looks pretty spot on to me.

 

[Disneylover99]

Maybe you're cheap. But there's nothing wrong with that. I'm cheap too when it comes to price fixed meals and buffets at DW. We're just not big eaters. I'd rather order off the menu and pay for what I can/will eat.

 

[mco65]

Okay, I can't figure out what they've done with your quote. Prices haven't changed. Even with 8 nights, you should only be paying about $2200 more for DDP and $1600 for QSDP. Are your 2 children 9 and under?

Bingo.. they are 13...

 

[Oshay1]

Disney food prices are crazy, but when you are onsite how many people are really going to go off site to eat, especially when there are plenty of good options on site but none of them are cheap. When they first introduced the DDP it was a great deal and very much worth it, but over the years they kept changing and tweaking it to the point that is has lost all value as far as I am concerned and it has been this way for the last few years.

I get that people purchase it for the peace of mind that all of the food is already paid for and they might eat at restaurants they would not usually because it is included in the plan and that is great. But that does not mean it is a great deal by any means, that is unless you get it included for free with a package you are purchasing from Disney. Also, it is no longer even being advertised by Disney as a discount or a way to save money, they are just selling it as Pre-Paid meals, and if you don't use it then you are out of that money.

If you want to have your meals pre-paid, I suggest doing what other people have suggested, buy a Disney Gift Card every week and use them for Dinning. This is a way better solution than paying for the DDP IMHO.