Keeping track - OOP costs vs dining plan?

[WDW&MK]

We have free dining this year, so of course we're taking it. However, seeing the price for the dining plan is going up so much for next year, I want to keep track of what we would pay out of pocket vs what the dining plan costs. I want to figure out if it pays for us to buy the dining plan in the future or even if it makes sense to take it for free dining if there is another discount available at the same time. Any suggestions on what would be the easiest way to do this? We won't have a computer or a cell phone with us. Would you just keep the receipts until you get home? Any other ideas?
Thanks!
Kari

[Capt_redshirt]

problem is that receipts wont show cost of items my recommendation would be to have a mini note book (since you wont have a cell phone...)

[chefmickey3]

I ditto pp...keep a notebook. I would also note which restaurants you would have skipped dessert or would have fathered have had an appetizer. Mane sure to keep track of snack credits used.

[WDW&MK]

Thanks for the ideas. Yeah, I'll have to carry a little notebook. I was wondering if the receipt you get to keep has the prices on it.
Thanks for the reminder about appetizers and desserts, we'll for sure have to be mindful of what we'd really purchase if we weren't on the plan.
Thanks!
Kari

[disneynarula]

I am sure you can always ask for a copy of the original bill.

[TinkerbellT421]

I am sure you can always ask for a copy of the original bill.

Yes. This is what DBF and I did two trips in a row to be able to calculate our cost for ddp versus oop. We asked and kept the original bills with the price breakdowns, as the restaurant doesn't even want those back once you get the ddp receipt. So then we kept those in my pocketbook type binder thing I had and when we got home we created an excel type spreadsheet and added our costs. We made a line for deserts, snacks, etc separate from regular food because normally we dont eat desert at every meal, etc so we figured what regular food costs were then what it was with snacks and deserts and then we made the decision of ddp versus oop.

[faline]

We tracked it the last time we used "free dining" which, I believe was in the spring of 2010. I created a spreadsheet of our costs (including the room costs) versus what we would like have paid out of pocket and came out ahead had we not used the dining plan.

[disneynarula]

We also just got the "free dining" promotion for our upcoming trip. We got "lucky" with the dates. I plan on keeping track very carefully to see if the dining plan would be worth it to purchase in the future.

I am also going to write down what I would have ordered if we were not on the dining plan.

[spinnerf]

For what you will eat while on the "free" dining plan you will likely save money, however, I would bet you actually would eat a whole lot less if you didnt feel like you had to eat. You really need to assess what you ate on a trip w/o free dining and then on a trip with. For my family it wasnt worth it. We bought Tables in Wonderland this year and that reflected a true savings in food cost.

[mom2morgan]

Impressed with your "financial management" skills! What did you conclude?


Yes. This is what DBF and I did two trips in a row to be able to calculate our cost for ddp versus oop. We asked and kept the original bills with the price breakdowns, as the restaurant doesn't even want those back once you get the ddp receipt. So then we kept those in my pocketbook type binder thing I had and when we got home we created an excel type spreadsheet and added our costs. We made a line for deserts, snacks, etc separate from regular food because normally we dont eat desert at every meal, etc so we figured what regular food costs were then what it was with snacks and deserts and then we made the decision of ddp versus oop.

[TinkerbellT421]

Impressed with your "financial management" skills! What did you conclude?

Lol, most of the credit goes to DBF, I am awful at math. Lol. We concluded for the way we eat we save as much money as if we were going to "buy the dinning plan" . So we take the cost of the ddp, multiple it by our days, so that's the amount of moen we budget. BUT we make all our reservations and eat anything we want, we never worry about prices of things, and we pay out of pocket. Every trip at the end we have extra money back that we just throw back into the budget for next year. :mickey:

[joonyer]

When I calculate the DDP cost, I compare it to the cost of food that we would actually purchase if we were not using the dining plan, NOT to what the same items that we ate on the DDP if paying out of pocket for those same items. That is because we would never order the same quantity of of food(or number of TS meals) if were not using the DP. Disney knows this. That is why the offer the Dining Plans. They are not losing money on the deal. They know that guests who do not buy the plan spend much less on food than the cost of the dining plan, which is why they promote it so heavily.

For us it is about $500 less for a week long trip to simply eat the way we want and pay OOP. But we are on a tight budget and have to save however we can to be able to go to WDW in the first place.

[sainter]

We did the opposite one trip. We choose NOT to take the free dining (using a room discount instead) and paid out of pocket. We kept track of everything we bought; meals, snacks, desserts, drinks (non alcoholic). I just put an index card in my purse and wrote things down. We had a 2 or 3 nice meals, as we normally would on a trip. It came out very close to what the plan would have cost, a little cheaper.
Granted, we probably would have ordered more expensive entrees in some cases. BUT, what makes us not want to do the TS plan is the constrictions of making ADRs so far ahead and then having to be somewhere at a certain time every day. Just doesn't seem like a vacation when you can't do what you feel like at least most days.
We did do the CS meal plan once for a few days and enjoyed it. That may actually be a better fit for us. But we usually stay at a moderate ... here's hoping for a room only discount!!

[azcavalier]

We did the opposite one trip. We choose NOT to take the free dining (using a room discount instead) and paid out of pocket. We kept track of everything we bought; meals, snacks, desserts, drinks (non alcoholic). I just put an index card in my purse and wrote things down. We had a 2 or 3 nice meals, as we normally would on a trip. It came out very close to what the plan would have cost, a little cheaper.
Granted, we probably would have ordered more expensive entrees in some cases. BUT, what makes us not want to do the TS plan is the constrictions of making ADRs so far ahead and then having to be somewhere at a certain time every day. Just doesn't seem like a vacation when you can't do what you feel like at least most days.
We did do the CS meal plan once for a few days and enjoyed it. That may actually be a better fit for us. But we usually stay at a moderate ... here's hoping for a room only discount!!

Even if we weren't going to use the DDP, we'd still make ADRs. How else can you eat at your favorite restaurants? Not being critical...just find it interesting how different people are when it comes to dining at WDW. We're going in November, and since there are 11 of us, we've snagged free dining. (Here's to hoping the crowds aren't nuts.) But my DW and I are going back in late April, just the two of us, and we probably won't buy the DDP. We'll just pay OOP, but will still use ADRs so that we can eat at Le Cellier, Artist Point, etc.

[sainter]

Even if we weren't going to use the DDP, we'd still make ADRs. How else can you eat at your favorite restaurants? Not being critical...just find it interesting how different people are when it comes to dining at WDW. We're going in November, and since there are 11 of us, we've snagged free dining. (Here's to hoping the crowds aren't nuts.) But my DW and I are going back in late April, just the two of us, and we probably won't buy the DDP. We'll just pay OOP, but will still use ADRs so that we can eat at Le Cellier, Artist Point, etc.

That's why I love these discussion boards.. You get to learn about all the various opinions and reasoning!

We do make ADRs but only for maybe 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts on a 9 or 10 day trip. On the dining plan you need to make them for every day!
I don't want to be that structured is all. We have also been known to cancel an ADR if we just don't feel like it that day. Yes, we do call and cancel, not just not show up. ;)