Hypothetical situation DDP vs room only discount

[TinyDancer]

So I have a tentative trip planned for September 2014 (4 people) and I've been doing some research regarding free dining vs using a room only discount. We'd most likely be staying in a Value and then upgrading to the standard dining plan if we utilize free dining. Using the discounts on the books right now, what are you opinions about using free dining or the 20% off room only discount? I'm not concerned about making the dining plan "worth it" necessarily, just looking from a dollar standpoint.

Thanks in advance! I hope this makes sense haha.

[DizneyRox]

It doesnt make sense actually... you mention youre not interested in making the dining plan worth it, but then youre asking from a dollar standpoint which is cheaper.

Every time I've done the math on the DDP it's always been the most expensive way for us to eat at WDW. More expensive than paying OOP anyway more expensive than TiW.

[greengeen]

The question makes sense to me, I understand that it's hard to compare for some people.

If you stay in a value resort with the max number of people (4) and all are HUGE eaters and you plan every meal and use all the credits, then maybe free dining makes sense. But for my family, it never does. We're mostly vegetarian and don't eat that much food, so it's always cheaper for us to get a room-only discount and pay OOP for food. Since we go to WDW often, we have annual passes and a Tables in Wonderland card that gives us a 20% discount on table service (and some counter service). That, for us, is a great deal.

So think about how many people you have and how much they eat, does the "free" dining make it worth paying rack rates for the room?

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I agree. The more people you have in a room, and the more your "normal" eating habits are like the DDP, the better value the "free" dining is for you.

So, if you're 4 people in the room, and you'd normally eat a TS meal and a CS meal a day, then the free dining promotion would generally offer some savings.

The less people in the room, and the more often you wouldn't normally eat what the DDP offers, then it room discount may be better.

We're fans of the DDP. For 3 in the room (all "Disney" adults), we save more with the free DPP than the room discounts.

[Dulcee]

They way we work it out is I take all our ADRs (as we make these based on whether we have DDP or not) and total an approximate amount we'll spend on checks. I figure out a total for each food costs per meal, tax, tip and alcohol. I also work out approximate how much we spend on snacks.

Then its easy, just compare!

Price of your room at 20% off + ticket cost + your total expected OOP dining cost (food, tax, tip, alcohol)

versus

Price of the full package with free dining + OOP cost for any additional dining that may not be covered in your package + all tips and alcohol + (in your case) upgrade cost to basic dining package

We usually come out ahead by using free dining but we're big eaters on vacation and always have 1 if not 2 TS. We also snack through out the day and enjoy signature restaurants.

This is made all the easier by the fact that I really enjoy numbers and spreadsheets :blush:

**I should also note we always use all our main credits (CS/TS) and if we have snacks left over they are used to purchase gifts for friends/family. If you don't always use all your credits you'd need to take that lost money into account as well.

[joonyer]

The last time we used the DDP it was much less expensive than now. We enjoyed it but we ate way MORE food that we normally would (family of 4),(7 night trip).

The next trip, we used room discount and paid OOP for meals and ate according to our normal eating habits. We spent $600 less on on the same length trip (park passes were same price). That's almost $100 per day savings. The savings would be bigger for us now since the DDP costs even more than it used too.

Disney knows the DDP does not save guests money. That's why they market it so heavily. Probably 90% of guests who use it will spend more $$$ on their vacation than if they were paying OOP for food. It only makes sense for those people who would eat a TS meal (or 2) every day anyway, even if they were going to pay OOP. And the CS option is a total ripoff.

[2MuchWDFun]

As other's have said--the way you eat may not fit the dining plan(vegetarian, don't eat a lot, would rather have two appetizers and no main course, etc). Plus, if you are staying at a deluxe resort then it is more cost effective to take the 30% room discount over the free dining.

Here's the way I would break your hypothetical situation down:

If the price of the value room is $129/night and you are staying 6 nights here's the cost breakdown.
Staying at Value Resort:
$129 x 6=$774
QS to DDP upgrade/adult: $18.01/adult/day
$18.01 x 6nights=$108.06/adult

QS to DDP upgrade/kid: $2.84/kid/day
$2.84 x 6 nights=$17.04/kid

I'll assume 4 adults since you didn't mention children in your hypothetical situation:
6 nights Hotel: $774
4 adults dining plan upgrades: $434.40
+ tickets.

With 20% discount:
$103.20 x 6nights = $619
OOP food-one TS, one QS & snack
I tried to keep the dining estimate on the low side. One day we may eat at an expensive TS for a special night out, other days we may just have 2 QS.
$45/adult/day= $45 x 4 adults x 6 days=$1080
+ tickets

TOTAL COST of room and dining:
Value Resort w/free dining: $1208 + tickets

Value Resort w/20% off: $1699 +tickets

Another caveat is whether you plan on using annual passes? If not, then you can't purchase a TIW card (unless you are a FL resident). A TIW card will add $100 cost to Option #2, but you will save 20% off dining.

[TinyDancer]

I'll have to talk to the others, but for me personally it sounds like the Dining Plan makes sense. I really LOVE to eat and love to experience the restaurants. I also would do dinners instead of lunch and have a couple character dining/buffets. I don't drink alcohol enough to even factor it in and don't usually do apps. As for dessert, hey if I don't want it/can't take it with me, I'll pay it forward!

I'm so excited :mickey:

[princessgirls]

I just looked at my travel emails for last years trip if this helps you at all.

We went November 15-22 Family of 4 staying at the POP Century. All are considered "Adults".

We got a 7 day park hopper pass, and upgraded from the "Free" Counter Service promo to the "DDP" with one table service, one counter service and one snack per person a day.

Disney total was $2937.78. I HONESTLY think that is not bad considering it was hotel, entertainment and food for a week. A trip to the beach costs me $2,500 for the week.
We used every credit on the DDP and enjoyed some great meals. We used our Disney Rewards from our Visa for tip money.
For us, it works.
Julie:mickey: