I did the math on the CSDP

[AJ Springfield]

I posted this in my trip report, but thought that this would apply to this board as well:

I did the math on using the CS dining plan. Our family has never had it since we thought it would cost more than what we would pay out of pocket...and we were correct. On the drive home yesterday I looked at our check out bill. The CS plan would have cost us $860-- the difference between a room only reservation and a room plus CSDP reservation. We spent a total of $685.03 on food..but only $449.41 would have been covered by the dining plan. $235.62 would NOT have been covered. This means that we would have paid $1, 095.62 for food ($860 + 235.62)--- more than $400 over what we actually paid. We ate at only one table service restaurant (The Plaza-- which was the cheapest TS place we could find). We didn't split meals and were more than satisfied with the amount of food we received. I am glad I did not give into the pressure from the reservation clerk when she told me that I would be "sorry" if I didn't get the dining plan. My DH just says that WDW doesn't offer something to lose money on, and he is right.

I am not trying to be anti-WDW. I just want people to be aware of what my expenses were. I can't understand paying BEFORE going on the trip for food that you may or may not consume. I also didn't like that the cancellation policy was different if you book with a dining plan versus resort-only.

[forever a child]

Thanks for sharing. It is a great comparison and warning. It seems unless you eating preference is similiar to the design of the dinning plan, then they are not worth the $.
We are going to try the regular DDP but i am researching it to make sure it is a good fit.


I also didn't like that the cancellation policy was different if you book with a dining plan versus resort-only.
What exactly are the differences? I was not aware that there were any?

I am planning to add our DDP on just shortly before we leave. We currently just have the Room only ressie and I understand that we can add the MYW tickets and DDP up to 3 days before we arrive...so that should not affect our ADR's.

[MizMissy]

I am planning to add our DDP on just shortly before we leave. We currently just have the Room only ressie and I understand that we can add the MYW tickets and DDP up to 3 days before we arrive...so that should not affect our ADR's.

I'm not sure if this is correct for all situations, but wanted to let you know what happened to me. I received a pin code and booked room only and basic tickets. I knew I could add DDP and upgrade my tickets later. However, when I went to add my DDP, the CM had to make a new reservation and cancelled my old room only and added a DDP - well, I lost my 40% pin code because it was after the date you were supposed to book the pin code. However, because he did not tell me before he dropped the old reservation that I would have to pay rack rate on the room, they were able to fix my reservation such that I had my pin code and added dining. So, just letting you know that in theory you can add DDP up to several days before arriving, but if you had a special rate or other promotion when you booked your trip, make sure you do not lose that special rate before you change your reservation to add DDP.

[AJ Springfield]

The difference between a room only and a room+DP:

A "Room only" reservation requires a one night down payment and you can cancel up to 48 hours ahead of time for a full refund. You pay the remaining balance at check in.

With a "Room +DP Reservation", you need to put a payment of $200 down at the time you make the reservation, and the entire amount must be paid in full ahead of time (I can't remember the exact date, but I think it's like a month ahead of time). The cancellation policy is different, too. You must cancel a month or two ahead of time for a full refund or else they apply a portion of the money you paid at the time of making the reservation towards a future trip.

You best bet is to call 407WDISNEY and ask very specific questions. They will say the CSDP may be $32 per adult...but there are taxes and "package fees" that are tacked on. Get a quote on a room only package with it's stipulations (amount due at reservation and cancellation policy) and then ask for a quote on room + DP (and pay attention to it's cancellation plan) . Subtract the two numbers and you will see what the DP actually costs. Good luck!!!

[forever a child]

I'm not sure if this is correct for all situations, but wanted to let you know what happened to me. I received a pin code and booked room only and basic tickets. I knew I could add DDP and upgrade my tickets later. However, when I went to add my DDP, the CM had to make a new reservation and cancelled my old room only and added a DDP - well, I lost my 40% pin code because it was after the date you were supposed to book the pin code. However, because he did not tell me before he dropped the old reservation that I would have to pay rack rate on the room, they were able to fix my reservation such that I had my pin code and added dining. So, just letting you know that in theory you can add DDP up to several days before arriving, but if you had a special rate or other promotion when you booked your trip, make sure you do not lose that special rate before you change your reservation to add DDP.

Thank you for sharing that! I asked the CM when I booked and put down my deposit about this. She told me I would have to cancel and rebook as a package but she assured me that I would not loose my 40% room discount because I was doing an upgrade. Now I have read enough on the boards to know that CM's often get things wrong...so I am going to check again before the deadline in July just to make sure. It sounds like yours worked out at least in the end.

Quite honestly..the CM I first booked with wasn't even going to give me the 40% off. You see, I have 3 emailed pin codes associated with my name this year. Two of them are the 30-35-40 % discounts tiered to the rooms. The last one is the 40% for any room type (val-mod-del). Well when he gave me my price with the "PIN" discount...he was only using the 35% and I had to INSIST that he apply the number on my email (for the 40%) to insure that this was correct because by my calculation the room should have been cheaper. Once he redid it the cost came up $89 cheaper...the cost of one nights stay! He acted like..well I guess it did save you a little more $. :mad: Yeah, MY $! So I think they have some sort of incentive to make mistakes in Disney's favor myself!

So, yes! I will be checking to make sure we can make a change and not loose our 40% room discount:thumbsup:

[Strmchsr]

With a "Room +DP Reservation", you need to put a payment of $200 down at the time you make the reservation, and the entire amount must be paid in full ahead of time (I can't remember the exact date, but I think it's like a month ahead of time). The cancellation policy is different, too. You must cancel a month or two ahead of time for a full refund or else they apply a portion of the money you paid at the time of making the reservation towards a future trip.

The cancellation policy is 45 days in advance for full refund. Within 45 days you incur increasing penalties for cancellation with a package. As correctly noted, with a room-only you can cancel much closer to time without penalty.

I would not recommend calling Disney reservations, however, for 2 reasons. 1.) The quality and knowledge of the CM you talk to varies. You might get someone really good or you might get someone who has no clue what they are talking about. 2.) The CMs work for Disney. Their job is to make the company money, not to look out for your best interest. I don't blame them for that. It's their job. So, you might not get the best deal that way. I ALWAYS recommend working with Magical Journeys to make sure you get the best deal. I've been looking at APs + room only for next versus packages and DDP and Wendy at MJ has been wonderful at helping me break down all the options to make sure we get what fits our family. You'll never go wrong working with MJ.

[JROriole8Fan]

It has been cited before. If you simply eat when you want what you want, it will always be cheaper than the plan's, because they give you more than you would normally eat. However, if you compare the exact same food costs purchased separately or under the DDP, the DDP will save you money. We enjoy being in the parks 4-5 weeks a year, never use the DDP and always spend less than we would if we elected the DDP.

[TheDuckRocks]

First of all let me say that AJ is correct in stating that the dining plans are not for everyone and it sure wasn't for their family.
But we are people that have used the DDPs on 4 trips now and have always saved money using them. Our latest trip at the end of April we used the Deluxe DDP and paid $1511.79 for the plan. Including the cost of a refillable mug, all the meals we ate and a big bag of snack goodies, that I took home and handed out to friends and family, was $2237.04. Or a savings of $725.25!
Will we ever use the Deluxe plan again? No! Way too much food. But we will use the regular plan in the future as we always take the time to have one relaxing TS meal a day.
Before signing on for a dining plan I do feel it is very important to do some research and know if it will be a fit for your family.

[TheVBs]

Thanks for sharing this info! It's good to know what other people's experiences are with the dining plans.