Down to the wire and waffling -- ditch the DDP?

[Thomasboys]

Any insight, recommendations, etc. would be greatly appreciated!

We pay our final bill in two days and are trying to make a decision on the DDP. Up until this point we had decided to do the plan, but now we are waffling. Last year we had the plan and we liked the ease of it but ended up with extra snack credits and felt like we had to order the most expensive thing on the menu just to get our money's worth. I've used the distripplanner calculator and plugged in our meals, but I wonder if there are better calculators out there to use.

For background, it would cost us $1736.06 to add the DDP for 2 adults and 2 kids. My husband and I will both likely want an adult beverage at every dinner. We do not have to have dessert with every meal like on the DDP. I think 1-2 snacks per person per day is about average for us. We are planning on eating at the following:

Day One:
B: Travel
L: Travel
D: Coral reef

Day Two:
B: Snacks in room
L: Pecos Bill
D: Ohana

Day Three:
B: Tusker House
L: Flame Tree BBQ or other QS
D: Yak and Yeti (we would pay out of pocket if on DDP)

Day Four:
B: Dining event pre-paid
L: Snacks
D: Whispering Canyon

Day Five:
B: QS
L: Woody's Lunchbox (probably share a meal)
D: 50's Prime Time

Day Six:
B: Garden Grill
L: QS or Snacks in WS
D: Biergarten

Day Seven:
B: Snacks in room
L: QS
D: Sebastian's Bistro

Day Eight:
B: QS
L: Mama Melrose (may cancel and do QS)
D: Beaches and Cream (would be OOP if we stay on DDP, or we may cancel and just do QS)

Day Nine
B: 1900 Park Fare
L: QS
D: Travel

 

[siren0119]

Honestly only you can answer that question. If you're really concerned about the value of the DDP, the best thing you can do is sit down with the online menus (they include prices, and for those that don't, Touring Plans lists good reference prices). Figure out what you're most likely to order and then you'll know for sure if the DDP is going to provide the monetary value you are comfortable with.

If the money isn't an issue, then it's definitely more convenient (feels more all inclusive) to have the DDP. But you can just as easily purchase Disney Gift cards in the amount you budget for meals, and use that as your "dining plan" through your stay.

It's such a personal decision, you'll get an equal number of responses saying "keep it" and "Ditch it"....it's really something you have to suss out for yourself and what works best for the way YOUR family eats.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Are you worried about losing money? About wasting too much time in sit downs? About getting sick of the sit downs or getting sick (and having to cancel and lose a lot)? About your kids tossing a lot of food they don't want later in the trip? About feeling like you're gonna eat too much?

I mean, DDP normally only works if paid OOP if you do buffets/character meals and have kids...or you drink alcohol at most meals. So, you may fall in the category it works out...BUT, even when it does...well, would you have made these plans if you weren't trying to hit $1736+ in value (or about $2000 when you add tips), or would you have been happy getting an uber and hitting an offsite happy hour, of ordering in a pizza, or doing an apps/tapas night? Only you know the answers to those questions.

If it were me, with your length of trip...I'd never pay to do it. Too many things could go wrong or could change that I wouldn't want to put $2K (with the tabletop tips) up almost all in advance. But, I'm not you.

 

[DKNHM]

Personally, my DH and kids could care less about food and DH eats very healthy and does not drink alcohol. The DDP was a definite no for us. $2,000+ (including tips and OOP meals you mentioned) is a lot of money for nine days (or less if you factor in travel) of food. We spent less than $600 for our 8 day trip. We ate predominantly QS, had 1 TS meal and the kids enjoyed several treats during that trip. If you are concerned about not maximizing the plan enough then I would nix the DDP. If you know you will return to Disney in the near future you could buy $2,000 worth of discounted Disney gift cards and pay your meals with those cards or charge back to the room and then go down to the lobby to pay off your balance with those cards every couple of days. If there is still money left then you can save it for the next Disney vacation. That way you know you are not losing money, and you won't feel forced to spend snack credits in the gift shops/food courts on candy or rice crispies to take home. If you start to run low on gift card money then you can tweak and adjust your meals so that you do not go over budget. If the idea of doing this is stressful and not appealing, then buy the DDP. The convenience of having food prepaid for helps add to the enjoyment of the vacation. Good luck! You will have a wonderful time with or without the DDP.

 

[Pumbaa_]

The calculators are worthless, imho. By using averages it just doesn’t work

do the math. $2000 is worth an hours work.
you will either agree it is a value or you will have your food budget figured out.
I don’t know if your kids are Disney adults or kids. That can also make a difference. especially w the changes effective 1/1 w child and adult credits being defined now.

 

[sharonabe]

You really need to do the math, but even subtracting the two you say you'll do OOP, you still have two too many meals for the plan. You only get credits for the nights you stay, and I count 8 nights, but 10 TS meals (not counting the OOP meals).

 

[MarkS2112]

Drop it. I have run that so many times and based on how we eat we always lose. You have to basically eat at the more expensive sit downs and order the highest cost items. Looking at some of your ADRs you will lose out. If you don’t use all your credits you lose out. We only get ddp when it is free. When it first came out it was good. But now if you don’t eat expensive and all the credits plus deserts you will lose. It’s easier to be free to eat what you want and not worry. Paying to room charge is just as easy and convenient.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Are you eating at all of those sit-down places because you WANT to, or because you have the DDP and need to use the credits? For us it was the latter. We save $100's every trip and don't miss the DDP one bit.

Edit to add;
The plan for my next trip is to do what you just did and estimate what we will spend on food, then use our Target Red Card to buy Disney gift cards in advance of the trip. There you go - we've pre-paid our meal plan and save close to $100 in the process.

 

[kpd6901]

Count me in on the do the math crowd. Also, you need to figure your typical meal portion sizing and how lucky your kids are or not. Also, with adults starting at 10, 2 younger Disney adults will not eat nearly what you are paying for. We have 3 kids. Our last trip, the youngest 2 were age 9 and younger. This upcoming trip, one graduates to Disney adult. He already has a low appetite. No way it's worth it for us anymore.
We had some leftover QS and snack credits that we were able to load up on with snacks we could pack and bring home, but we like to do some dessert parties also, less need for credit-able meals. Between the portion sizes and how much/little we eat, we will share now.

It was really nice to have things paid for in advance via the DDP, but it comes down to how much food your family will reasonably eat vs how much you'll be charged.

 

[loves to dive]

I'm also in the do the math team. It's a pain but the calculators are just wrong. If you left snack credits unused and you ended up ordering the most expensive thing not because you wanted it, I'd guess it probably isn't for you. Remember, when you order the most expensive thing, your tip goes up so you need to factor that in with your numbers as well. Only you can know if it's going to work for you. It doesn't work for us, even when my kid was a kid (he's 39 now) it didn't work because it's just not the way we eat. We rarely drink soft drinks, he will drink a coke for breakfast but that's it. We enjoy refreshing adult beverages. We don't snack between meals, although there are many days that snack type things - not sweets - are a meal. In all fairness, years ago when we did do the plan, we would use a snack credit for breakfast for a yogurt or a pastry but now days I tend to want some protein and not yogurt most mornings. Either I get a kid's meal and he gets an adult meal or if he's not ready to eat yet, we share an adult meal. More often than not if eating at a table service, we share an appetizer and share a dessert if we get one and I've been known to get an appetizer for my meal. We like to eat at lounges and just get a couple of small plates and share them as well. Heck, we were there in Jan. and one day we had something from the shop in France for breakfast, chips/guac/cheese dip and drinks at LaCava and just ate at the booths the rest of the day.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Or you could put the money you would have paid for the dining plan on a Disney gift card. Pay for all your meals with the card. If you need to add money to pay off everything you eat, the plan might have worked out better. But if you have money left over for your next trip, you are ahead of the game. Plus you can get appetizers instead of entrees if you want to and skip desserts.

 

[North of Mouse]

Last year we had the plan and we liked the ease of it but ended up with extra snack credits and felt like we had to order the most expensive thing on the menu just to get our money's worth.

OP, looks like you answered your own question right here!!
We 'always' come out way ahead oop and not scrimping on anything.

 

[Thomasboys]

Thank you all for your feedback. We took it off and then added it back in and that is our final answer. Since we have so many character meals and pricier non-character meals (Ohana), and we like a drink at dinner - we went with the DDP. I went through every menu and added up what it would cost us OOP and it looks like we would actually pay more. Had we not scheduled 1900 Park Fare, Ohana, Garden Grill, Tusker House, Biergarten, etc., and not order a drink at dinner - OOP probably would have made more sense. Since so much of our time is carefully planned around these places and time schedules it made sense to keep it. For example, I could give up Garden Grill, but then I give up my 8a PPO which puts me at Soarin first thing.

 

[Pumbaa_]

The math never lies

 

[kiford]

It's a definite no for us. We don't eat dessert, usually have an appetizer, sometimes have more than one alcoholic drink, rarely eat snacks, don't drink soft drinks so wouldn't use the mug and sometimes I order just 2-3 appetizers with no entree. Totally depends on what how you eat, what you eat, when you eat and where you eat. Gotta run the numbers.

 

[sapphirerose915]

We love it.. makes it feel all inclusive and to not have to budget for food while we wre on vaca is great for us. You have 4 character meals I think.. plus ohana.. those are all $$$$ and that's how you make up your value.. also lots of snacks and QS. I think you will be ahead.. but grab a calculator and see approx costs if what you order and compare to dining plan cost.

 

[rwdavis2]

We never buy it. It’s not designed to save money unless you use it certain ways. I’ve never understood the “ease“ idea. It’s no more difficult to just pay by credit card or magic band.

 

[DKNHM]

We never buy it. It’s not designed to save money unless you use it certain ways. I’ve never understood the “ease“ idea. It’s no more difficult to just pay by credit card or magic band.

Some people like to know that everything is already paid for and the DDP gives them that comfort. It also helps them to relax and enjoy (when they look at the prices on the menus). I have had several people (in real life) tell me they are "so glad" they "bought the dining plan because food at Disney is SO expensive!"

 

[Pumbaa_]

The best part about Disney is there is something for everyone

the dining plans are an added available option
just like park hopper tickets
dessert parties
hard ticket events

Folks work hard for their $.
here's a scenario why dining plans can be a godsend(solely on the psychological part, not. The value)
you make $15 an hour. You have saved for this trip. Now you are at a character meal and see the cost of (let’s say) $50 for your 10 yo to eat French fries, a slice of pizza and cookies. For $50! You had to work almost a half a day for your beloved gremlin to eat cookies

or

your gremlin got to eat his favorites and saw tigger! Best photos of the trio and we talked about this memory constantly.

you still paid the same amount, but it was packaged as a vacation cost. You don’t have to worry about every singletime someone is hungry or thirsty and having to open your wallet for a $4 soda.

just my thoughts from the daughter of a man who wanted to have a great time but worried about the actual cost. Prepaid dining plan let him eat whatever and wherever he wanted without the stress of a bill at the end (ignore tipping for this example). Dad enjoyed getting ‘free’ meals vs paying $200 right now

so yes, the plans are an exceptional value for some families.
but you do have to do the math. Vacation planning is one big homework assignment after all

 

[North of Mouse]

Using mind games on yourself is amazing - guess I'm way too practical for them to work on me! LOL Would definitely bother me more to shell out huge amount at one time for the DDP than pay as I go for what I really want at the moment.