'08 Changes make me DROP it

[wendy*darling]

What if you go during a time where there is no promotion going on? Then you're not paying "extra" right?

Even without a "promotion" many people are eligible for room only discounts (like AAA, for example). You could not get the AAA discount AND the DDP. You have to buy the Magic Your Way Plan which is a rack rate room, at least a one day basic pass and the DDP for every night of your stay.
In this example- your savings are less- but... there is usually still some savings.

DVC is the way to go!

[MizMissy]

Remember, Jeff, if you are DVC there isn't that extra 30-40%. Also, Disney does at times offer package discounts with dining (and not the free dining promo). If you are DVC, you very well could see a decent savings over paying out of pocket or the Disney Dining Experience card (if you also purchase an AP).

This is a little off topic, but can you get DDP if you rent DVC points?

[SignguyTom]

The old plan was a better value, but, that aside, the new plan is still a savings. Consider:

1 Snack - $2.50 - $4.00

1 CS Meal $8.00 - $12.00
1 CS Drink $3.00
1 CS Dessert $3.00

1 TS Meal $15.00 - $27.00
1 TS Drink $3.00
1 TS Dessert $5 - $7

Totals $39.50 - $59.00

They way I see it, if you are going to go to the nicer restaurants anyway, you still come out ahead with the DDP at $37.99/day, even if you use your credits for the least expensive items throughout the day.

But the old plan was better.

[MicMouse]

The one question people need to ask themselves about the DDP is if you did not have it, would you still eat as many meals or as much food at each meal?

IMHO I kind of feel that the DDP forces you to spend money on meals that you probably wouldn't have eaten or food you wouldn't have ordered. Sure you will be saving money when you look at the cost of the meal, but are you really saving money??

Its a matter of choice. Some people don't like to spend extra for a Magic Kingdom view or Club level rooms.

[SignguyTom]

The one question people need to ask themselves about the DDP is if you did not have it, would you still eat as many meals or as much food at each meal?

IMHO I kind of feel that the DDP forces you to spend money on meals that you probably wouldn't have eaten or food you wouldn't have ordered. Sure you will be saving money when you look at the cost of the meal, but are you really saving money??

Its a matter of choice. Some people don't like to spend extra for a Magic Kingdom view or Club level rooms.

I don't think it forces anything. If we did not buy the DDP, I know we would spend less $$$ on food. I would eat fewer TS meals, more CS meals.

For us, it is a bit of a luxury. We dine out rarely in our real world. When at WDW, though, I feel good not even considering the prices on a menu. If my DD14 wants a $28 filet mignon and a dessert, I think it's way cool to not have the price enter into it. I have crunched the numbers repeatedly, and it is more than worth it for us. It makes it easier for us to relax and enjoy our meals. So what if we spent a couple hundred bucks more. We still talk about the restaurants and can't wait to try some new ones in May!

[jszczur5]

well im sorry dizneyrox, but i would have to disagree as well, on our last 2 trips me and dw saved well over $300 by being on the DDP, the plan was an extra $500 towards our trip, when we got back home i tallied all of our reciepts from snacks included and both times it was over $800. Victor

There is another way to look at this. Most of us who have saved heaps of money using the DDP did so by eating at restaurants that we would not normally choose if we were paying OOP across the board. When choosing a TS meal on DDP, many of us are more inclined to book a "nicer" restaurant (and also to choose the more expensive apps and entrees) just to get the most bang for your buck. Admit it, most of us would not be dining in this manner if we were not on the the DDP. I call it the DDP mentality - eat the best food at the best restaurants - to make it worthwhile. Otherwise, there are a plethora of nice places to eat just outside the gates, for way less money.

[MicMouse]

SignguyTom, you are right. You don't have to buy the DDP. And it is nice to not have to worry about meals while you are at the best place on earth!!

I just wish you didn't have to think about where you wanted to eat 180 days before hand.

But...planning a trip to WDW is almost as much fun as being there.

[JPL]

Now i've got another question... say I book when there is a promotion going on that we could apply to our package and say I use the DDP. Obviously, i'm paying rack rate because i'm forced to but would it then be better for me to opt out of the DDP, take the rack rate, and pay OOP for all of my food?

This would really be crunching the numbers especially since tip is no longer included on the DDP so the math becomes a bit more complicating factoring in the category of resort and the 18% OOP tip you will be paying on the full amount of the bill along with the cost of the DDP.

So for instance let's say you are staying at a Deluxe resort and you get a discounted rate of $199 when the rack rate is say $299. If you are staying for 7 days you are forfeiting a $700 savings on the room. If 2 People are staying in the room that's $50 a day more each add that to the cost of the DDP around $38 each per day and the actual cost of the plan is $88 per person per day.

Broken down into meal cost averages:

Snack Value $4.00
CS Average $9.00
TS Average $25-$50 (+18% tip OOP)

so even at the higher end averages you would be spending $62 a day on food without Tip as opposed to the $88 per day the plan will coast you. When You add a tip to the TS of $9 which would be 18% of the high end dining you are still only spending $71 per day as saving of $17 a day over the plan.

[Hammer]

Jeff, the only problem with your example is that sometimes you can get a discounted package rate which will include dining. I'm not talking about free dining either. Case in point. I had a package last October and I added Dining. I received a PIN code. Debbie at MJ called and presto the price of my package went down $400 (5 night stay) and I still had Dining included.

[JPL]

I understand that on occaision they are available but I am going by the Norm according to standard Disney Policy. Pin codes are usually sent to individuals and there is no garauntee of receiving one.

[Hammer]

True enough, but I have also seen that when they offer general package specials, discounts are available for packages with dining. Also, your calculation does not work for DVC members. Like Linda said earlier, DVC is the best way to go !

[glenpreece]

The one question people need to ask themselves about the DDP is if you did not have it, would you still eat as many meals or as much food at each meal?

IMHO I kind of feel that the DDP forces you to spend money on meals that you probably wouldn't have eaten or food you wouldn't have ordered. Sure you will be saving money when you look at the cost of the meal, but are you really saving money??

Its a matter of choice. Some people don't like to spend extra for a Magic Kingdom view or Club level rooms.

I totally agree. when we don't have the DDP I don't eat as much at WDW. I'd rather spend time doing things then eating lol.

[Ian]

The one question people need to ask themselves about the DDP is if you did not have it, would you still eat as many meals or as much food at each meal?

For us, I can definitely say yes ... we would still eat that way.

I know, because we did it long before the DDP came into fashion and we used to spend a small fortune dining when we were on vacation.

For us, the food in WDW is a major part of the attraction. Having been so often, I find it tough to get worked up about riding Soarin' for the 1,000th time. But get me into Chefs De France and start talking about the tuna steak??? That'll get my eyes to light up!!

We like food and fine dining. Even at home we tend to eat at more upscale places, have wine with meals, apps, etc. For us, the DDP is a no brainer.

Also one thing people should consider is just the flat out convenience factor. Many people (myself included) are willing to pay for convenience and there is nothing easier than having all your meals prepaid in advance.

Now one thing I will say is that I haven't dined on the new plan yet, without the tip. I'll see how that works out in May and it could change my opinion on the DDP.

But I'd also echo what Wendy said ... DVC with DDP is the way to go.

[poeticeclipse]

In regards to our dining habits with or without the DDP, we do what we can to save money but still have fun.

If we didn't use the DDP we WOULD NOT eat the same way. Meaning, no Coral Reef and Le Cellier type meals every day. We'd probably only pick 3 or 4 TS meals and then we'd CS the rest. Now i'm curious as to how much we would spend if we didn't use the DDP. We wouldn't eat breakfast ever outside of our room. We'd probably just bring Pop-tarts and granola bars like we've done before. Snacks probably would only happen once a day because we'd be so full from our meals (just like when we use the DDP). I think it's time to crunch some numbers.

Side note: I love talking to you guys about DDP! We all try and help each other out.

[Mackflava99]

I find it hard to see how you couldnt save money- With kids especially, the amount is very reasonable.
We have done the DDP for 3 trips and each time we saved at least 200$. Now yes we do like to go to nice dinners, but in reality we would have exceeded the daily cost with dinner each night.
I have a great example- Last year we went to BCV and so did my sister and her family. We each have a family of 4 ( 2 adults 2 kids about same ages) we did the DDP and they did not ( they wouldnt listen) we kept receipts and at the end of the trip- they paid 225$ more.
This was over 10 days, but YES it adds up. Plus they are cheap so they were ordering some of the lower priced dinners.
They are using it this year.

[JPL]

DVC members using the DDP is a totally different situation when compared to people booking a trip themselves or through a travel agent. DVC members will save more money on their food than most regular customers using the DDP for the simple fact the number of points used per night doesn't go up when you use the plan. However the norm for regular customers is you must pay rack rates for the room in order to participate in the DDP. So you might be saving money on your food but paying more for your room. See my example earlier in the post. Unfortunately some people calculate their savings based on the food alone if you saved $300 but you paid and extra $400 for your room because you paid rack rate and lost your room discount to save money you actually paid $100 more for your trip with DDP. I like to think of it like the Gambling scenario people who say they won $100 on a slot machine but fail to realize they started the using $150 and are so happy they won the $100 they never think about the $50 they really lost in the deal.

The main thing I want to point out to people is do the math before deciding on the DDP make sure at the time you are going it is the best deal and really will save you money. It could save you money on one trip and cost you more the next. Just don't blindly say I want the DDP because it saves me money.

[SBETigg]

Jeff, I'm sure you're technically right but... I can't stand bargain hunting. I'm going to book my trip the easy way even though, yes, I'm not saving money and it will probably cost me more. I'm going for the package.

So if I'm booking a package anyway, then trying to decide between adding or not adding the DDP, I think adding the DDP will save most people money. Not money in the long run, as in we could have booked a cheaper trip if we hadn't gone with a package in the first place(not always the case, but often), but money over having the package and not going DDP.

When we, the package travelers, feel as if we're saving money on the DDP, you can smile to yourself and know that we're not-- but we'll still feel we've made a small bargain. It comes back down to doing the math. If you've booked a package and you want to know if the DDP will add up to additional savings or if you're losing money, think of how you eat normally, where you plan to eat, check out the menus, and price it out. We do eat a TS dinner almost nightly and at the occasional signature dining place with some days all CS, and it works out to be a savings for us. Maybe not for everyone. And certainly not if you're Jeff saving more by getting deals with room only.

[Meteora]

I've never used the DDP, but just judging from the discussion, it seems like what would make the most sense would be sitting down and figuring out where you actually want to eat and maybe even looking at menus from those places to decide if the dining plan would be worth it to you. How much money you will save seems to depend entirely on your eating habits to begin with.

[JPL]

Jeff, I'm sure you're technically right but... I can't stand bargain hunting. I'm going to book my trip the easy way even though, yes, I'm not saving money and it will probably cost me more. I'm going for the package.

That's fine I understnad booking for convenience I have done it many times myself My posts were directed more to those who want to save money and are concerned with budget. I know people who love to bargain hunt to the point where it gets scary.

[Disneyatic]

We are the family that loves the DDP because of the convenience and probably don't get a whole lot of savings out of it.
Honestly, on our first trip we were so new at everything that it never occurred to me to run the numbers and compare costs. The prepayment aspect had me at hello!
We like some of the buffets and doing sit down breakfasts so I am sure we don't maximize the value, but it sure feels great getting the tab and just handing over a room key.
This year having the tip OOP will make us have to do a little more planning to make sure we always have enough cash with us for proper tipping but we still chose to get DDP because of the prepayment convenience.

On a side note, I really wish they would let you choose between an appetizer and a dessert though!