I've done the maths on the DDP

[Rodders]

For our trip and there are some interesting results. I have gone through the menu's and had a quick look at what we are likely to order and then calculated a $ per DDP TS. The results are as follows

$17.00 CRT 2
$17.50 Cali Grill 2
$18.50 Artist Point 2
$20.50 Narcosse 2
$24.25 Brown Derby (Fantasmic) 2
$25.50 Biergarten 1
$25.50 H&V (Fantasmic) 1
$27.50 Ohana 1
$27.50 Luau 2
$27.50 Hoop De Do 2
$29.00 Tony's 1
$31.00 LeCellier 1
$34.49 Mamma (Fantasmic) 1

This is based on myself and my DW dining and paying out of pocket for 2 entrees, 2 deserts and 1 soft drink as I would order beer or wine anyway. Obviously what people order would vary but this is how the figures came out for us.

It looks like the 2TS meals are the best to pay OOP for as they don't cost twice as much as the others. I'll pay cash for CRT, Cali and Artists Point. We'll then have enough TS credits to use the DDP for everything else. Any thoughts?

[dizneeat]

I have a bit of trouble understanding your chart. What are your ordering at CRT for $17?? To my knowledge these are fixed price meals, not worth the 2 credits, but more than $17.
We LOVE the California Grill and even using the DDE (20% off the whole bill) our bill ALWAYS is 100$ - what is there to eat for 17,50? Are you just having starters?

But you are right - most signature restaurants are better to be paid OOP. Same goes for most breakfasts!

[Rodders]

Sorry, I wasn't too clear on that. What I have tried to calculate is how much each TS credit is worth based on what we would have to pay out of pocket. As the TS only covers entrees, deserts and non alcoholic beverages then these are the things that I have included in the calculations. Also I have usually only included 1 non alcoholic beverage as I will also order wine or beer. I should have also pointed out that I have booked CRT for breakfast :blush:
Info Central lists this at $31.99 and they count that as 2 TS credit's so it's the equivalent of $17 per TS credit.
Cali Grill is similar, the DDP would buy for us Spit Roasted Chicken @ $21.5, Center Cut Beef Filet @ $29.5, 1 non alcoholic beverage @ $3 and 2 deserts @ around $8 each. Obviously there would be more on the bill but that would happen when using the DDP or not. By my reckoning that's around $70 but they would take 2 TS credits for this so we are only getting about $17.50 per TS credit.

These are 2 that we will certainly pay out of pocket for and gladly so. I am confident that we will be happy with the value and service of the meals but I wish to maximise the benefit of the DDP plan by choosing the right meals to pay out of pocket for.

Gosh, I'm such a tightwad :D

Yours,
Scrooge McDuck ;)

[doodleboy]

I still have yet to see the value in DDP. Not sure if it is just me, but after taking over a dozen trips and averaging our food cost per day, it is still cheaper for us to go OOP. I have had many people on dining plan tell me that they never use all of the credits by the end of trip. Doesn't that defeat the purpose? Believe me I love a bargain. We are AP holders, DVC members, and DDE members. I use my discounts whenever I can. But I still haven't seen the DDP value, at least for my family. We eat a TS meal everyday, including character dining meals, and I don't feel shorted on food ever.

Am I missing something here?

[JPL]

I still don't understand the logic of your chart?

Is that what you would be saving or paying OOP?

There are other factors you are overlooking in the math as well such as room rates which are usually Rack Rate Rooms which can run 20-40% above any discounted room offerings.

The best way to calculate the Dining Plan is to add all the costs of the plan including the possible extra cost of the room to qualify. then subtract the average costs of meals and the snack.

Average CS is about $9-$11 per person
Snack Credit is $4
Average TS $25-$30

On the higher end of the scale you are saving about $7-$8 a day per person on the plan provided you didn't pay for a rack rate room. But at the same time you can just break even at the low end of the scale.

[poeticeclipse]

One thing that I always try to remind people of is that the DDP may not be your best option if you wouldn't eat the same way if you weren't on the DDP.

As an example...

My family has taken a few trips before we used the DDP. We never ate at any TS meals since it's just so expensive and eating at those adds up quickly. Then, we started using the DDP so we could experience the amazing TS meals that Disney had to offer. We loved it and it was hard to imagine a trip without eating at some of these places. So, we used the DDP a few more times and loved it just as much each time.

Then, the DDP changed and it made us re-think things. While, technically it's still a savings, on this particular trip (late April of this year) we are trying to cut costs. It wasn't really that hard to say "look, we can pick a few of our favorite TS meals and pay out of pocket and then eat CS the rest of the time." I will miss the convenience of having our meals payed for ahead of time. But, with all of the new changes that came along with the new revised DDP, it won't be that much different. We'd have to still bring cash or use our debit card for the tip. Eventually we might use the DDP again. We'll see.

[Rodders]

I still have yet to see the value in DDP. Not sure if it is just me, but after taking over a dozen trips and averaging our food cost per day, it is still cheaper for us to go OOP. I have had many people on dining plan tell me that they never use all of the credits by the end of trip. Doesn't that defeat the purpose? Believe me I love a bargain. We are AP holders, DVC members, and DDE members. I use my discounts whenever I can. But I still haven't seen the DDP value, at least for my family. We eat a TS meal everyday, including character dining meals, and I don't feel shorted on food ever.

Am I missing something here?

I accept the point about the room rates. The rates on offer over here appear to be quite different to over there. At the time of booking the "free" dining plan still made sense compared to the small discounts available.

The best that we could ever hope for on the DDP is to break even. There is no way that we would ever pay full price for it. The free offer at POFQ was about $400 each more than the best price I could find for a similar trip staying at PopC with no food. For $400 each more I got a resort upgrade and the DDP. I feel that this is good value for 2 people. If someone knows how to get better discounts in the UK then I would love to hear it :mickey:

[Rodders]

I still don't understand the logic of your chart?

Is that what you would be saving or paying OOP?

There are other factors you are overlooking in the math as well such as room rates which are usually Rack Rate Rooms which can run 20-40% above any discounted room offerings.

The best way to calculate the Dining Plan is to add all the costs of the plan including the possible extra cost of the room to qualify. then subtract the average costs of meals and the snack.

Average CS is about $9-$11 per person
Snack Credit is $4
Average TS $25-$30

On the higher end of the scale you are saving about $7-$8 a day per person on the plan provided you didn't pay for a rack rate room. But at the same time you can just break even at the low end of the scale.

If I was trying to work out if the DDP is worth paying for or if the "free" offer was worth it then what you are saying is spot on. Thanks for the info.
We already have the "free" ddp. As we have a few 2TS credit meals booked we have to pay OOP for some of our meals. This is fine but if we pay OOP for the wrong meals then we could pay up to $150 more over the 2 week trip.

If I used my DDP for CRT Breakfast then I would be spending 4 TS credits on a meal that would cost only $68 to pay out of pocket. On the other hand I could use those credits to pay for a $110 dinner show.

Sorry for any confusion :blush:

[Rodders]

One thing that I always try to remind people of is that the DDP may not be your best option if you wouldn't eat the same way if you weren't on the DDP.

As an example...

My family has taken a few trips before we used the DDP. We never ate at any TS meals since it's just so expensive and eating at those adds up quickly. Then, we started using the DDP so we could experience the amazing TS meals that Disney had to offer. We loved it and it was hard to imagine a trip without eating at some of these places. So, we used the DDP a few more times and loved it just as much each time.

Then, the DDP changed and it made us re-think things. While, technically it's still a savings, on this particular trip (late April of this year) we are trying to cut costs. It wasn't really that hard to say "look, we can pick a few of our favorite TS meals and pay out of pocket and then eat CS the rest of the time." I will miss the convenience of having our meals payed for ahead of time. But, with all of the new changes that came along with the new revised DDP, it won't be that much different. We'd have to still bring cash or use our debit card for the tip. Eventually we might use the DDP again. We'll see.

I totally agree. On our last trip we hardly eat at TS places. We could never get value for money if we paid for the DDP. This time we have it for "free" so I want to ensure that we make the most of it.