DDp vs. not...brainteaser question....

[hsmamato2]

here's a brainteaser...anyone want to chime in?
we're going for 7 nights in December- I have approx 550.00 in Dis rewards money,maybe have another 200.00 when we go,so max of 750.00- we're a fam of 4,all 'adults'
considering buying the dining plan (room already set) using all my rewards money. I think the total for that would be 1204.00 (?) ....so..... taking away the 750.00 in rewards would bring the cost down to 454.00 (?)
or actual oop cost 65.00 a day for 4- which would get us one cs,one ts and snacks. that's a great deal,right?
...OR.....I could just use the 750.00 rewards to buy a nice meal every night,but that would likely cost us more than the ddp ,right? We don't NEED TS nightly,just thinking about how fun it would be to try it.
We've been multiple times,and never done DDP yet. I mean, a buffet like Boma for 4 adults is like 150.00 with a tip,etc,right?
WWYD?

 

[Elvis1515]

If you are considering eating a TP for most nights, the DDp would save you money. You do have to pay for tax and tip but you would also if you didn't have the plan. One way to check the numbers is to check the menus on allears.net and add up the prices.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I think your estimate of $65 pp per day is very low.

If you want to use your rewards to pay for the Dining Plan, you need to do that at least 72 hours prior to your arrival date. This also requires converting a room-only reservation, if that's what you currently have, to a package including tickets. If you already have a package, no problem. If you need to convert to a package, you'll need to pay for everything in full during the phone call.

 

[Psychodisney]

Are you going during free dining? Have you priced that out? You could use your rewards to pay for the room and/or your tips.

 

[JCMHutch]

DH & I just got back and had used the dining plan. We rotated our table service between lunches & dinners (table included 1 meal, 1 dessert & 1 non-alcoholic drink per person).

This is what we averaged for food prior the DDP credits being applied:

Breakfast (Quick Service 1 meal): $13-$15 shared

Lunch (Table Service: 2 meal credits): $60-$75 for two

Dinner (Table Service: 2 meal credits): $75-$90 for two

Quick Service lunch or dinner: $13-18 shared

Snacks ranged from $1.50 to $5.00 depending on what you get.

 

[pooh4evr]

When are you going in Dec- we went last Dec and had free dining (9th -19th)- we used rewards to pay for tips, and my 2 yr DD meals

 

[dd50]

I think your estimate of $65 pp per day is very low.

If you want to use your rewards to pay for the Dining Plan, you need to do that at least 72 hours prior to your arrival date. This also requires converting a room-only reservation, if that's what you currently have, to a package including tickets. If you already have a package, no problem. If you need to convert to a package, you'll need to pay for everything in full during the phone call.

She doesn't have to pay for it until she has 45 days to go. She is going in December.

 

[Psychodisney]

If your staying on points, you don't need a package.

 

[tigger51276]

If you are considering eating a TP for most nights, the DDp would save you money. You do have to pay for tax and tip but you would also if you didn't have the plan. One way to check the numbers is to check the menus on allears.net and add up the prices.

You don't have to pay for tax if you are on the DDP, only the tip.

 

[hsmamato2]

If your staying on points, you don't need a package.

Thanks for all the replies.... We are staying DVC,no 'cash' out for room, can we add DDP to that without making it a package?
we always eat mostly CS to save $$$, but using DDP if we could, might cost almost the same if I get to use my Disrewards and then pay the balance for it OOP.
The 65.00 per day is the cost of the DDP over the rewards points I have
-DDP cost -Disrewards= amount I pay with cash for DDP =approx. 65.00 per day of our stay-

 

[Psychodisney]

Yes, if you are staying DVC on points, you can get the DP without a package. Are you a DVC member or did you rent from a member? If you rented from a member, that member would need to call and add your DP.

Don't forget to add the cost of tips to your $65/day.

My vote is go for the dining plan!

 

[wide awake]

Love the DP, wouldn't go to WDW w/o it.

 

[clutter]

If you want to try a ts meal every night, and everyone would eat a full cs meal every day as well, then DDP is usually a good deal. If you really only want a few ts meals, it's probably not such a good deal. Can DVC members get the CS DDP? That one seems like a good deal to me, too, and maybe more in your style. Then you can pick one or two ts meals to pay oop.

 

[brandylouwho]

In the end you'll need to figure out if a TS and a CS every day fits your touring style.

We have only done the DDP once when staying on points, but we don't like to do a TS every day on our vacation and since we usually stay in a 1 bd villa, we take advantage of that and order groceries/use the kitchen for breakfast every day and for some other meals too. It does save us money to not eat out, but we also like not having a gazillion ADRs to plan for (and try to plan around) with unpredictable little kids.

If you are interested in trying the DDP, it seems like a good trip to give it a try as you have all these rewards points to use--it will be a less expensive trial than paying all out of pocket. If you usually eat a lot of CS to save money, the DDP may be a treat you'll really enjoy!

The DDP generally seems like a good monetary value if you 1) use all your credits 2) actually want to eat out that much at the restaurants that are on the plan and 3) like dessert but don't mind skipping appetizers (or paying OOP for them).

Good luck making your decision and have a fun trip!

 

[HaleyB]

Thanks for all the replies.... We are staying DVC,no 'cash' out for room, can we add DDP to that without making it a package?
we always eat mostly CS to save $$$, but using DDP if we could, might cost almost the same if I get to use my Disrewards and then pay the balance for it OOP.
The 65.00 per day is the cost of the DDP over the rewards points I have
-DDP cost -Disrewards= amount I pay with cash for DDP =approx. 65.00 per day of our stay-

While thinking about it you need to not consider the reward money.
That is $ for $ the same as any other money, so don't discount it's value!

Now look at the DDP cost. Figure out the total price (I think you have that number).

Look at menus. Price out eating where you want, ordering what you want. Do two or three test days, or the whole trip. For instance, I prefer water and never want dessert with a CS meal (they are just never worth the calories) and we love appetizers but really prefer to share desserts. Now look to see if there is anything there NOT included in the plan (alcohol, appetizers). Subtract that $ amount.

Is the number you have left more than the cost of the DDP? Enough more that the loss of flexibility is worth it to you? (by this I mean, it locks you into a TS every day. Sometimes we don't feel like spending our time on a TS meal.) On the other hand are the numbers close to each other? Have you considered Tables in Wonderland? More flexibility and still a good savings. Or the last possibility. You would end up paying more to have the DDP.

For my family it is always a close call, so sometimes we do the DDP sometimes we do not. Two years ago at Christmas the seasonal price increases made DDP a better than normal value for us. Plus the super crowded parks meant we were done touring by midday and had lots of time for sit down meals. Next month we are going with Tables in Wonderland, even with "free dining" we can save more with a room discount and paying oop for our meals. We have less park time, so we wanted the option of eating all CS meals some days. Yes you can do that with the DDP, by eating two TS one day then use two CS credits the next day but that negatively impact $ value of the plan (because you would use a TS credit for a meal other than dinner).

Let the numbers decide!

 

[tigger51276]

I am DVC and the last 3 trips I've bought the regular DDP as I like to eat at restuarants and thankfully my kids do to.
I am going for 2 weeks this year and am doing a split stay (one week OKW and one week AKV) and I was very tempted do just do the regular DDp for week 1 and then the QSDP for week 2 as the DDP is just sooo much food, but in the end the regular DDP won and now I'm going to try a bunch of the restuarants I haven't tried yet and only a couple of my favs.
I will say after my trip is over every year I say that next year I'm not going to do the DDP because it's just too much food, but then by the time my trip comes around I cave in and do it. I like that the meals are paid for (well except for my DD1) and when I look at the difference in QSDP and DDP and realize it's only a $10 difference per day for adults and $1 for kids, I think that the extra $11 per day for my kids and I is worth having "real" food once a day and not just QS which is for the most part a lot less healthy.