yet another is it worth it question!

[mommytomy3]

I know its been asked many times before, but Im wondering if the DDP is worth it for us.... first, we like to eat 2 TS meals a day.. one BF and one dinner-- we usually skip lunch, although would probably use at least one CS for lunch for our 2 year old (he can't skip a meal) so we really wouldnt use the CS credits
also, if we go to a TS meal and want to buy a child meal for our 2 year old (if he doesnt like what we order, or there is not a good appetizer we could order as his meal), can we pay for his out of pocket? Im afraid they would take a TS credit off our DD's card. Also, if we do pay OOP for his meal, and say a beer for DH, can we put that on our room card, or do we need to pay cash or credit card? I hate bringing cash- I love being able to charge to the room.
We would have to get a 10 day DDP- this is what ADR's I have so far:
Crystal palace BF
Tony's dinner
50's prime time lunch
Garden Grill dinner
Cape May BF
Cinderellas Gala Feast dinner
Resterauntasaurus BF
rainforest Cafe dinner (I know not on DDP)
Sci fi lunch
crystal palace lunch

I know I should pay for sci fi
and 50's OOP
Yes, I know, we eat like pigs, LOL.. but hey, you walk it off!!!
I still need a dinner for 4/22, 4/28, and have nothing booked for 4/29 & 30 yet
Im thinking Boma, Coral Reef, Mexico, Spoodles, Clam bake

So.. if you were me, would you get it? Thanks in advance!

 

[Stitch65]

Well, I asked this same question not too long ago.

What I did was sit down and make a list (Ok, actually it was a spreadsheet) of eating with no plan, and what it would cost with the plan. Turns out we're saving $250 with the plan, but we only do 1 TS a day. I think it depends on your family. You may have to go the spreadsheet route!

 

[siestakeys04]

Well i did a spreadsheet of all the places we wanted to eat. I let dh pick every food he would want to eat if he didn't have to worry about price, i also did this for me and my 2 kids 10 and 6. I am coming out cheaper with the dp and i have also tried to figure out a way to us my cs to pay for 2cs breakfast and then 2cs for lunch and we can share because reading on the boards everyone is saying that lunch is large enough for everyone to share. It just takes some time to just sit down and do some number crunching. Hope this helps have fun planning!!!!!!

 

[Lewisc]

You can charge back to your room anything you pay out of pocket, the only thing you can't do is charge back an extra tip if that's the only thing you're charging back.

You're literally not going to use your CS credits. The meal plan is something like $38 /day, figure your snack is worth $2-3 so any meal that costs more than $35 including tax and tip is a savings. I don't think the numbers work for you.

Where are you staying? If you're staying at CSR you could use your CSR credits at the Pepper Market. It's somewhere in between cs and ts but counts as a cs meal.

 

[pedro2112]

You can charge back to your room anything you pay out of pocket, the only thing you can't do is charge back an extra tip if that's the only thing you're charging back.

You're literally not going to use your CS credits. The meal plan is something like $38 /day, figure your snack is worth $2-3 so any meal that costs more than $35 including tax and tip is a savings. I don't think the numbers work for you.

Where are you staying? If you're staying at CSR you could use your CSR credits at the Pepper Market. It's somewhere in between cs and ts but counts as a cs meal.

Lewis, when we went last March, the cost of our dining plan equalled the cost of our TS meals almost exactly. So every snack and CS meal were basically "free." So even if they don't use any CS meals, it still may be worth it if they really want to order some of the better entree's but wouldn't if they had to pay for them.

 

[mommytomy3]

You're literally not going to use your CS credits. The meal plan is something like $38 /day, figure your snack is worth $2-3 so any meal that costs more than $35 including tax and tip is a savings. I don't think the numbers work for you.
Where are you staying? If you're staying at CSR you could use your CSR credits at the Pepper Market. It's somewhere in between cs and ts but counts as a cs meal.

Thank you for your replies..
Im not sure if the number s work either.. a few meals are probably going to be more than $35, but not all.. but, then again, like Pedro says, it may break even with the snacks (and maybe occasional CS)
Im staying at the Boardwalk.
well, I have a little over 2 weeks to decide.. we arrive on 4/22, and I have until 5 days before to add it to my DVC ressie. I really wish they made the DDE available to DVC'ers-- I think that would have been better for me!

Thanks!

 

[Lalita]

I would get if I were you, our family is a totally pig as well. We had some out of pocket meals about 3 times. Don't forgot that this plan includes tip, which is a really big savings for us. We tip out of pockets a couple times for really great service. If your planing to buy your 2 year the dining plan, don't forget than you need to buy your 2 year theme park tickets as well. Since everyone needs to be on the same package, but if your not going to buy the dining plan for your child, than your child doesn't need park tickets as he/she is under three.

I don't think very many of your meals will be less than $35 per person at a table service, cause you get an appitizer, entree, dessert and a drink. Even at the cheapest place that we went to, it was over that, and we didn't order the most expensive thing on the menu. Unless you counting buffets and they run over $25 plus tax, that would be your cheapest meal if you decide to do buffets, and if you weren't on the dining plan you would have to tip. I personally think its a great saving. Don't forget you also get a counter service and a snack. That price of 38.99 is a huge savings for us.

 

[kaybird]

One of the biggest advantages for us is the safety factor. We already know what we have paid, we can pretty much eat whatever we want, and there is no sticker shock once we get there. We have always taken advantage of whatever the dining savings have been, back in the old days there was one called Food n Fun, which was not as liberal as this plan, but still resulted in a lot of savings.

Have a great time whatever you decide, we go to eat, the fact that there are rides is a great perk!!

 

[allegracristina]

I had been going back and forth with "do the DDP" or "don't do the DDP". Last Nov. we ended up spending A LOT on food and snacks (granted we like a lot of the signature and specialty dining restaurants). This time my main concern was, would we be limited and constricted with the DDP. The only way to really figure it out is to figure out all the restaurants you are going to eat at, check out the menus, and add up how much you would spend without the plan. When I did that, it turned out that JUST our dinners added up to the price of the whole dining plan! That basically means for us that we could eat CS lunch every day we are there, plus a snack without paying any more! Needless to say, I signed up today for the DDP.