gopherit
I'm not in the book, you know.
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2003
Did the math, and think it's a really good option for our fam of 5!
And understand this is coming from someone who hasn't done CS since 1998, and usually eats half her meals in the villa or from a small cooler!
I should also note that I did the math on the DDE and it does NOT appear to be a good thing for us.
So why does it DDP work for us where DDE doesn't?
DDE requires an AP - but our fam has oodles of old PHP passes and goes to WDW once per year and prefers to do a park all day one day... then not at all the next. Not exactly conducive to a DDE. And while I may have a libation or two, DH rarely ever drinks alcohol, so no savings on that high-markup item. We usually only make one big long trip to WDW every year or 2. Just not conducive to DDE savings.
As for the DDP - using the first 7 days of our last trip as an example, we spent about $1100 on food (and that includes groceries for meals cooked in the villa, as well as any snacks ans such.) Using the DDP, our cost is about $952 for the same # of days. A modest savings. THis includes using 2 TS for a HDDR meal. For kids, you are actually coming out ahead on HDDR - typically a kid's price for HDDR is $25. But two days of a kid's DDP is only 21.96, so even if you then use both the TS for HDDR, you still get 2 CS and 2 snacks per kid - plus pocket change to spare - relative to the usual pricing! Not too shabby, sez I. PLus - our DS will be classified as an "adult" by WDW this year, and that means meals will cost more than the 1100 I forecast based on last year's receipts. (The DDP calc is based on 3 adults and 2 kids).
Our only dilemma with the DDP - I sure do wish we could "trade up" some CS for TS, LOL. We love so many of the TS dining places, it's always so hard to limit oneself!
We figure we will use 2 TS for HDDR, and do our best to stretch out what we buy. All I know is, from this mom's perspective, not having to do a bunch of grocery shopping (and better still - not having to then do something with the left-overs afterwards!) and cooking is worth its weight in gold! WHen our kids were much smaller, we used the kitchen more because the kids needed that downtime to not have to practice restaurant manners 24/7. And it was great getting them something to eat BESIDES a chicken nugget or burger, LOL! Our kids are old enough now, however, to be excellent little diners and also adventurous enough to find something enjoyable on virutally any menu. I think that helped in the decision process.
I am intrigued, however, by all the comments in this thread about too much food and wanting a plan that lets you "order what you want". I did my calcs based on what we actually ate, and from that, determined we could get the same stuff for less moeny with the DDP. THe fact that we get more food than what I calculated doesn't mean we have to eat it, LOL. I think that's just an issue that varies from person to person with their individual spending habits. Me, I'll order what I want, whether it's 10 bucks or 1. But DH - I could totally see him feeling he should get the best "bargain". I plan on stretching those CS out quite a bit - perhaps getting 2 of our 5 daily CS in the morning and splitting them for a group b'fast, then getting the remainder at lunch and splitting. We also will be "short" by one TS (since we plan to do HDDR) so there's a day wherein we could use a CS if necessary. And I know we will still do a fair portion of breakfasts in the room - simply because my kids wake up hungry and really enjoy their quickie breakfast in the room routine! A box or two of cereal, packets of oats and grits, some milk and a token banana or two should fill that bill nicely without much cost at all.
And understand this is coming from someone who hasn't done CS since 1998, and usually eats half her meals in the villa or from a small cooler!
I should also note that I did the math on the DDE and it does NOT appear to be a good thing for us.So why does it DDP work for us where DDE doesn't?
DDE requires an AP - but our fam has oodles of old PHP passes and goes to WDW once per year and prefers to do a park all day one day... then not at all the next. Not exactly conducive to a DDE. And while I may have a libation or two, DH rarely ever drinks alcohol, so no savings on that high-markup item. We usually only make one big long trip to WDW every year or 2. Just not conducive to DDE savings.
As for the DDP - using the first 7 days of our last trip as an example, we spent about $1100 on food (and that includes groceries for meals cooked in the villa, as well as any snacks ans such.) Using the DDP, our cost is about $952 for the same # of days. A modest savings. THis includes using 2 TS for a HDDR meal. For kids, you are actually coming out ahead on HDDR - typically a kid's price for HDDR is $25. But two days of a kid's DDP is only 21.96, so even if you then use both the TS for HDDR, you still get 2 CS and 2 snacks per kid - plus pocket change to spare - relative to the usual pricing! Not too shabby, sez I. PLus - our DS will be classified as an "adult" by WDW this year, and that means meals will cost more than the 1100 I forecast based on last year's receipts. (The DDP calc is based on 3 adults and 2 kids).
Our only dilemma with the DDP - I sure do wish we could "trade up" some CS for TS, LOL. We love so many of the TS dining places, it's always so hard to limit oneself!
We figure we will use 2 TS for HDDR, and do our best to stretch out what we buy. All I know is, from this mom's perspective, not having to do a bunch of grocery shopping (and better still - not having to then do something with the left-overs afterwards!) and cooking is worth its weight in gold! WHen our kids were much smaller, we used the kitchen more because the kids needed that downtime to not have to practice restaurant manners 24/7. And it was great getting them something to eat BESIDES a chicken nugget or burger, LOL! Our kids are old enough now, however, to be excellent little diners and also adventurous enough to find something enjoyable on virutally any menu. I think that helped in the decision process.
I am intrigued, however, by all the comments in this thread about too much food and wanting a plan that lets you "order what you want". I did my calcs based on what we actually ate, and from that, determined we could get the same stuff for less moeny with the DDP. THe fact that we get more food than what I calculated doesn't mean we have to eat it, LOL. I think that's just an issue that varies from person to person with their individual spending habits. Me, I'll order what I want, whether it's 10 bucks or 1. But DH - I could totally see him feeling he should get the best "bargain". I plan on stretching those CS out quite a bit - perhaps getting 2 of our 5 daily CS in the morning and splitting them for a group b'fast, then getting the remainder at lunch and splitting. We also will be "short" by one TS (since we plan to do HDDR) so there's a day wherein we could use a CS if necessary. And I know we will still do a fair portion of breakfasts in the room - simply because my kids wake up hungry and really enjoy their quickie breakfast in the room routine! A box or two of cereal, packets of oats and grits, some milk and a token banana or two should fill that bill nicely without much cost at all.
