DDP VS OAP analysis

[skstorm]

So as promised this year was our first DVC stay. Having always had the DDP previously we were trying to work out before we went if we would be better purchasing the DDP or one of the discount cards. I did say I would document how it went for anyone else wondering.

A bit of background - we are a family of 4, 2 adults 2 children aged 4 & 7. We didn't buy direct so didn't get any DVC discount on food and as we go roughly once every 2 years at the moment we don't have an annual pass so no discount for that. My husband would usually have a drink with his meals or throughout the day but I would say there wasn't a lot of alcohol being consumed. We had booked for 14 nights however it turned into 16 nights due to Hurricane Dorian. This included food for 17 days (arrival and departure day included)

We did decide to purchase the TIW card before we went. We also had a Landry Card.

We ate mostly in the parks and it included meals at :-
T Rex
Be Our Guest - Breakfast
Liberty Tree Tavern
Coral Reef
Hollywood & Vine
Sci Fi
Cinderella's Royal Table
Yachtsman Steak House
Garden Grill
Ale & Compass
California Grill
Cape May Cafe
Rainforest Cafe

We didn't scrimp on food and ate what we wanted when we wanted although we did find that we didn't eat half as many snacks as you get on DDP (by choice).

DDP would have cost us $3311.04 for 2 adults and 2 children.

The direct comparison is against those meals bought at Disney which we may have been able to use the DDP on and the amount we spent is a total of $2306.53 - not including tips so in our case it would have been much cheaper without the dining plan.
Included in that price is $68 spent at Walmart on water etc which we took to the parks
The highs and lows were
much nicer not running around to be in places at certain times and to be honest would probably cut down some of the restaurants we did eat at next time and do a lot less.
We weren't eating for the sake of it but didn't scrimp on anything either, we took bottles of water with us and the squeezy stuff but if we ran out we just bought some. the kids had treats or ice creams pretty much every day.
no-one was really eating the deserts but we did have a few starters instead.
What was more noticeable was the cost of the food in the parks (not just disney) in general as you were paying for it, it really was more noticeable at how expensive it was and some of them really weren't wortht it.

Other info
In total we spent $2742.04 on food during the holiday with $2306.53 spent in Disney.
We paid tips of $239.25.
We had discount of $267.97 using TIW card and got 1 night free valet parking with that at contemporary resort (we forgot the rest of the time). The card cost $150 to buy so again was worth it for us although if we cut down the amount of table service we did may not be.

Final note favourite meal for the 2nd trip running was liberty tree tavern. Coral Reef was disappointing this time, Hollywood & Vine was ok but horrendously overpriced. A lot of the menu's had changed slightly and we didn't feel they were as good as our last trip including CRT.

Hope this helps someone decide

[howerd]

Thanks SKStorm. Our comparison is very similar to yours I think. This year we had the first 8 nights on the DDP and 8 nights on points with the TIW card. We tried to eat in the same places as before but just chose what we wanted.

One thing we did notice was the eye watering cost of the character dining in the 2nd week. Something you don't think about on the DDP, we ate in one and then changed the rest.

Doing the first half on the DDP actually worked quite well and was kind of the best of both worlds. By the end of the first 8 nights we had enough of food and ended up eating in similar TS places but cutting down on the food intake (kids sharing meals, not having desserts etc).

The other thing we noticed is the tips are naturally based on an increased bill (with desserts, most expensive thing on the menu etc). Our 'food bill' (tips and couple of extras) in the first period equated to about £28 per day. Our TS meals in the 2nd half were on average £60 inc tip! This was with a few meals shared though (Chicken at Homecomin that could have fed us all I think!) but also included a character meal.

All in we ended up spending about £100 per day on food in the 2nd week inc 8 TS (with TIW), 8 QS meals, and Snacks, compared to £28 per day in the first period..

We have decided to book cash for our first 5 nights next year at SSR to use the DDP at the expensive restaurants we want to eat and stretch our points a bit. Plus cash worked out better value than using our points for those 5 nights once you factor in the gift card, cashback, DDP etc. We are hoping that by the time we move onto our points stay we will be nearly fed up with food again! We will then have the TIW card to use to so can make use of that for the final 11 nights.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Very interesting, well done. I have never in all our years managed to get cheaper than cash with a TIW card. Plus the DDP includes things we don't want anyhow.

[YorkshireT]

Very good analysis- I came to the same conclusions myself.

In fact with the teenage kids, we do a lot less table service. We eat a lot more quick-serve.

I am in two minds about that. It is extremely good not to be running around to meet ADRs in this park and that. I have realised now what a pain in the backside it was, and it was making the kids miserable. It also results in huge savings- including no tips.

The last trip to WDW I saved a fortune, with all the food we bought from Instcart, mugs etc I was spending about $130 a day I think for 4 in total!

Now I do like a sit-down meal. In fact in the past few years the stand out meals I have had in Florida were Bahama Breeze, Longhorns (no surprise same group) and believe it or not (I like a good burger and the whole thing far surpassed by expectation), Hard Rock Cafe Universal. And these were all done on our Universal trip when we had the car.

However, we did like Yak and Yeti and strangely enough (much better than expected) Rainforest Cafe at WDW last summer. We are booked in at Yak and Yeti for Christmas dinner.

I think when the kids are no longer with us we will do a few more table service again, but I doubt it will ever exceed 50/50 now. I just cannot stand being ripped off.

Like Tom, we have no real interest in desserts, and not only are you obliged to do sit down table service every night, but also eat the most expensive stuff on the menu to claw your money back on DDP. I will never do DPP. I may actually get a TIW card thinking about it, as I am having 3 trips in 12 months, but I could be struggling to get the money back even then.

For Xmas I have so far booked Ale and Compass, Wave, Yak and Yeti and Skipper Canteen. That is it in 11 nights.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

YT. You need to nip offsite and try Bonefish Grill. Especially on a Tuesday when you can get a salad a main and a dessert to take home for under $20

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

YT. You need to nip offsite and try Bonefish Grill. Especially on a Tuesday when you can get a salad a main and a dessert to take home for under $20

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Been to Bonefish many times Tom, particularly like the one in Naples which is on the water- same chain as Outback and Carrabbas- both of which I also like and generally are better than WDW food, I fully agree- and half the price for the same type of thing.

[skstorm]

Bahama Breeze is one we have been planning to get to for a few trips now and unfortunately our plans always seem to get messed up on the days that we have it planned.

I absolutely agree YT that I don't think you realise how stressful it was on the DDP always having to be in places for certain times whereas this time we did a lot more just wandering around and eating when we wanted or passed something that looked good. When we did Cali Grill this time we also took the kids for hotdogs at Casey's beforehand as they don't really like the things on the menu so that worked out better too rather than arguing with them over what they wanted to eat. Gave them a phone to play with and we had a really relaxed meal.

Howerd - yes we noticed a massive amount of differencee in tips this year as to what we have paid in the past I would say about half and that made a huge difference.

Also the kids found it easier as they would rather have burgers and hotdogs than some of the things on the menu of the TS restaurants.

That said like YT we also like some of the TS restaurants and enjoy eating at some of them so would want to continue doing that to an extent.

I think the exchange rate has made a huge difference this year as we were on between 1.18 - 1.21 when we went which significantly showed when looking at the cost of meals and I don't mean just the character meals. We found Islands of Adventure particularly expensive and it was over $60 for 4 burgers and chips with a drink ! For us Hollywood and Vine was the most noticeable of the character meals and felt like the most expensive, CRT was prepaid (yes I did build that cost in) so we didn't really notice it on that but HV was $163 for a buffet of which we didn't really eat tons and the children next to nothing and that was more than it cost at Yachtsmans! The food was ok there we didn't have a problem with that just the value for money so looks like we will find somewhere else for the fantasmic dining next time. Garden Grill in comparison was cheaper for meeting characters and I would say it felt like we ate more as well.

We went to the car show at Old town for the first time and in contrast went to flippers pizza. For a huge pizza, garlic bread and drinks it was $37. Kids thought it was great.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

I don't include Americans in this as they tend to pre book as much as they can and pre pay for the DDP but then only stay for 4 or 5 nights.

However if the UK ditched the free DDP I bet we wouldn't see hardly any Brits in the restaurants paying OOP. Mediocre and vastly overpriced food.

[howerd]

I agree with that Tom. I think the ddp offers value while included in the booking (still can’t bring myself to call it free!) but would never pay for it. A number of the restaurants just aren’t worth paying oop for.

[Shooby doo]

We had FD for our first week & tbh thought that the food prices were crazy! I think our average for a meal for 2 worked out approx £100. Couldn't believe Kona Cafe, $55 for a steak, notice I said "a steak" because that's all you are getting as sides are now extra & not included on DDP! Also paid OOP for a few, with the likes of Cali, Le Cellier & FF pushing $200! & tbh they are just not worth that- Back to offsite dining next year
SD