Updated dining calculator?

[Ashleybs]

What is the most accurate, up to date dining calculator?

 

[rwdavis2]

Many are posting that the various dining calculators are out of date. Did you try a search in this forum? I could be mistaken. Just consider how much information is required to keep one up to date. If you are using it to see if the DDP makes sense then keep in mind the various dining plans are not designed to save money except in specific circumstances.

 

[sharonabe]

What is the most accurate, up to date dining calculator?

Unfortunately, it's the calculator you have in your home. As PP said, there's just too much data and Disney changes prices too often to keep anything online up-to-date. I don't know if they ever added the possibility of alcohol into the calculations, but just THAT variable is huge. You can get anything from an $8 beer to an $18 cocktail. How do you figure that kind of difference into any calculator? It was a good idea, and it worked for about 6 months, but if you really want to know if a plan will work for your family, you need to do your own math.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Will you order the 20 pasta dish or the 35 entree? Alcohol?

as po said, the averages don’t work. The plan may be a great value if you like beef. If you like plain pasta or chicken, there is a huge variation in cost.

ive gone into random calculators and checked. One had no recent buffet prices. Another had no alcohol option.

 

[sponica]

I just used an excel spreadsheet and actually guessed at what we were likely to order (even if prices increased between now and our trip).

On our original plan, we had added the DxDDP in. A) It was going to be our go big or go home trip before we took a break and B) I had planned on a ton of character dining.
But life got in the way, so we had to shorten the trip and move it up, we're just sticking with OOP.

 

[lovethesun12]

I use a spreadsheet too.

As a general rule though, if you plan to do a lot of character/buffet meals, and/or order expensive meals like steak with dessert and alcoholic beverages most nights of your trip the dining plan will probably work in your favour.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I do love a good spreadsheet

 

[sapphirerose915]

I do love a good spreadsheet

Yes... this exactly...I use spreadsheets for everything regarding disney trips...
From dining costs, to day planning, to packing checklists!!

 

[Pumbaa_]

Yes! They are good for so much!

 

[Ashleybs]

Thanks everyone! Anyone have a good dining spreadsheet to share before I try and work on one?!

 

[Pumbaa_]

No, I make a different one each time. Lots of tabs too

i usually start w the overall plan, what days what parks, travel days etc
the top is the day of the week, the rows morning, afternoon, evening
w park emh under each column. I add the planned park and adrs to the time sections

then I have a tab for the actual meals, by day, by time section w extra rows for meal costs. theres just 2 of us, so easy to add. W a family I might do extra rows, one for each person. Add a calculation column for tax and tip, then totaled by person by restaurant.

i copy the details w totals to the next tab. So I can mess w it. Adding columns for ddp cost and then a column for difference.

what I like about getting to this level of detail is it’s so easy as. A visual! You have your entire food budget if a dining plan doesn’t work. And then decide if your picks were driven by dining plan or actual wants. (Like bfast at bog, are you going for the food or because it’s a great value for a qs credit)

please do let me know how your spreadsheet comes out.

 

[pawstat]

This is all good info, my DH loves a good spreadsheet. I’m wondering how you know exactly what/where you’re going to eat each day when working on a spreadsheet. We usually grab something wherever we happen to be and everyone’s hungry. We’re trying to decide if we should do a DP, we’ve done table service once in all the years we’ve gone. So, we’re looking at Quick Service plan. We don’t do character meals because we have teenagers. The only real planning we do is our fastpasses, and eat on the go. Do we sound like DP material?

 

[sponica]

This is all good info, my DH loves a good spreadsheet. I’m wondering how you know exactly what/where you’re going to eat each day when working on a spreadsheet. We usually grab something wherever we happen to be and everyone’s hungry. We’re trying to decide if we should do a DP, we’ve done table service once in all the years we’ve gone. So, we’re looking at Quick Service plan. We don’t do character meals because we have teenagers. The only real planning we do is our fastpasses, and eat on the go. Do we sound like DP material?

We tend to eat predominately TS (because my husband is insane). But even if we did eat QS, we usually have a rough idea of where we'd eat based on what park we're in and go from there.
The upside to the QSDP is that once you do your fast passes, you could do the math about where you think you might be eating based on the parks you're in and then compare it to the QSDP, if you make out add it in, if you don't keep it OOP. Keep in mind you do lose the alcohol value in MK as I don't think any of their counter services have alcohol (maybe BOG does because it's a weird hybrid)

 

[MrInfinity]

Keep in mind you do lose the alcohol value in MK as I don't think any of their counter services have alcohol (maybe BOG does because it's a weird hybrid)

BOG is the best value in MK, probably everywhere. $29 entrée and $11-$16 drinks make it a $40+ QS point. Heck it's a good Deluxe point. But to be fair those prices are artificially high, there's no reason an eggs benedict should be $29 or a mimosa $11. I wouldn't eat breakfast here if not on a DDP.

This is all good info, my DH loves a good spreadsheet. I’m wondering how you know exactly what/where you’re going to eat each day when working on a spreadsheet. We don’t do character meals because we have teenagers. The only real planning we do is our fastpasses, and eat on the go. Do we sound like DP material?

Back of the napkin math, I'd say no. And I'm generally a fan of the DDPs. But you have teens, and teens both bill as adults and don't benefit from the alcohol inclusion. It's not too hard to ballkpark what you'd eat... Look at say, Columbia Harbor House. I can tell at a glance our kids would order a Combo or a Skewer. Probably the Trio, so I'd just ballpark $14. Add a soda and tax, call it $19. Next! You don't need the gritty details, you're just looking for if it's generally going to be good or way off.

2x $19 QS and 2x $7 snacks is $52. You're basically a few $ below the QSDP $55. So I guess it's not as bad as I thought. If you or several in your party would get alcohol, maybe that would tip it in your favor.