GillianP1301
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2012
I've just returned from a 10 day trip. The past 3 trips, I have had free dining that I upgraded to deluxe dining to take advantage of the fact that my under 10 year old could order off the adult menu for the kid dining plan price. This year he was 10, I still had free dining, but I did not upgrade to deluxe. I didn't let number of credits dictate where or how often we ate. My dining plan was the same this trip as it was for all previous trips which is 2 - 3 meals a day. Here are my numbers (rounded up to nearest dollar):
Cost to purchase DDP would have been: $1510
Cost to purchase DxDP would have been: $2325
Cost to upgrade from free DDP to DxDP would have been: $815
Summary of credits and meals I used:
20 out of 20 TS credits
12 out of 20 QS credits
40 out of 40 snacks
I paid for 20 credits worth of meals OOP
The value of the meals that I used the TS & QS credits: $959
I did not track every dollar of snack credits, but assume a $4 average: $160
Refillable mugs: $38
Value of meals that I paid OOP: $549
In total the value I got out of the free dining plan: $1157, so I spent $353 less then I would have had I purchased it outright.
If I add to that $1157 the $549 that I spent OOP, the total is $1706 and would have been covered under the deluxe plan, which means I spent $619 less then I would have purchasing the plan outright and $266 less had I purchased the upgrade from free DDP to DxDP.
What did I learn? Now that my son is a Disney adult, the value in the dining plan is no longer there for me unless I get the free dining promo, which I always book on bounce back. I compared that to the room discount and still come out a couple hundred dollars less with the free dining. I loved the deluxe dining plan the times we used it, but from now on I will most likely stick with the regular plan and pay OOP for the meals not covered. I know I will never use all the QS because we prefer TS, but as long as I still come out ahead, I'll continue to either leave them unused or trade them in for some candy to take home.
Moral of the story? Some times the dining plan makes sense and sometimes it doesn't, it's very situational. Best to always run your numbers to know which scenario will work best for you.
Cost to purchase DDP would have been: $1510
Cost to purchase DxDP would have been: $2325
Cost to upgrade from free DDP to DxDP would have been: $815
Summary of credits and meals I used:
20 out of 20 TS credits
12 out of 20 QS credits
40 out of 40 snacks
I paid for 20 credits worth of meals OOP
The value of the meals that I used the TS & QS credits: $959
I did not track every dollar of snack credits, but assume a $4 average: $160
Refillable mugs: $38
Value of meals that I paid OOP: $549
In total the value I got out of the free dining plan: $1157, so I spent $353 less then I would have had I purchased it outright.
If I add to that $1157 the $549 that I spent OOP, the total is $1706 and would have been covered under the deluxe plan, which means I spent $619 less then I would have purchasing the plan outright and $266 less had I purchased the upgrade from free DDP to DxDP.
What did I learn? Now that my son is a Disney adult, the value in the dining plan is no longer there for me unless I get the free dining promo, which I always book on bounce back. I compared that to the room discount and still come out a couple hundred dollars less with the free dining. I loved the deluxe dining plan the times we used it, but from now on I will most likely stick with the regular plan and pay OOP for the meals not covered. I know I will never use all the QS because we prefer TS, but as long as I still come out ahead, I'll continue to either leave them unused or trade them in for some candy to take home.
Moral of the story? Some times the dining plan makes sense and sometimes it doesn't, it's very situational. Best to always run your numbers to know which scenario will work best for you.
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