- On a BCV waitlist for March 10th in a 1 brm. I have a reservation for March 7-10 and 11- 14 I have been waiting several months. I am at 68 days out. And just hoping it comes in prior to 60 days out…for my FP. I have a cash ressie for a studio for my missing night so it is not the end of the world, but fast passes will be a pain. Is it true I can book all nights FP’s even though I have 3 different reservations at the 10 day window?
- AP vs 8 day PH- there is about a $150 price difference between the Gold AP and the 8 day PH, should I gamble that DH/Son will go again with in a yr(I am fairly sure DH will)? (I am ok if they don’t go too)
- Deluxe Dining Plan vs AP or DVC disc and paying oop. All of our restaurant choices qualify for an AP or DVC disc., and we have at least 1 TS a day then we have a couple Beaches and Cream(which are TS) and Ale/Compass Breakfast which we are treating as a brunch on our resort day and also a Ale/Compass Lunch. DH/Son love to order apps and no dessert. I like dessert. They all are Low carb (so bacon/eggs, steak, fish salad) I know DH found QS hard last yr. We have lots of free time- should I do the deluxe or do OOP and get discounted meals and Disney gift cards to make up the difference?
Thanks
Yes, you can make FPs for the length of your stay.
Will you want memory maker?
I already have MM with my AP that I started last year, so not a deciding factor.
Since you have your dining reservations/plans lined up, go through menus and guess at what you all will order, including specialty drinks/alcoholic drinks (we like and are more inclined to order if they are included but might not if they aren’t), apps, entrees, and dessert and snacks. Price them out (don’t forget tax) and see which way makes more sense–for us, if we come out ahead or it’s close, we do it for convenience. If it’s not and it likely won’t be for all adults with a AP/DVC discount, then you have your answer.
2 Likes
For dining you can also use some of the calculators:
The deluxe plan has always saved me money but it is a lot of food.
1 Like
This.
Doing the math is kind of a drag but makes deciding very clear.
2 Likes
DxDP gives you 3 TS meals a day (or 2, if one is signature), with apps and dessert at each (obviously a moot point at buffets). Plus I think 2 snack credits. At least this is what it was last time I considered it. The real question is this: If you were paying strictly OOP, would you be eating this much food? If I were to do the DxDP, I would have a TS meal every lunch, a Signature meal every dinner, and use snack credits for breakfast (I never eat huge breakfasts) - but for me, dining is as much a part of the WDW experience as are the rides and shows. Here’s where it kind of breaks down for me; “normally” I would rarely have an app at lunch and virtually never have a dessert at lunch, so that’s potentially 14 servings of food that I would be paying for that I wouldn’t necessarily want (but would probably end up eating - because I’m paying for them anyway). Even for me, that’s a lot of food. Another consideration is that $200 signature dinner for 2 is still going to cost you $35-40 in tip (which is not included in the DDP). In the end, I decided to go OOP and eat the way we would “normally” eat with a TiW card. For my wife and I, for 7 days, our dining budget came in about $400 dollars below what the DxDP would have cost.
If you would normally have 2-3 TS meals a day, and would normally order apps and dessert at every meal, then the DxDP will definitely save you money over paying for everything OOP.
But if you want the convenience of having most of your meals “prepaid”, and not really having to pay any attention to menu prices (except for what it will add to the tip), then it can make dining less “stressful”.
3 Likes
Thank you- I loved this calculator and it also said pay OOP
1 Like
My DH is a big “vacation mode” kind of guy and while I do all the cooking and we rarely eat out at home- he relishes the eating out. Reflecting on what you said about volume of food- hit me- I think he just wants access to what he wants when he wants it. And eating Low Carb the choices are much better at TS- that being said I am agreeing with you I think we might be better w OOP even if we eat all TS…Does that make sense? We only have 2 buffets so menu us what it is- I will run the numbers…(and I could make low carb breakfasts in room -1brm BCV- but DH likes the lets go out to eat, and I think he feels it slows the pace down of the vacation)
“Running the numbers” is really the only way to get a semi-accurate estimate. If you are eating TS, then you have ADRs for each meal (at least I hope you have ADRs for each meal). Menus for every restaurant are available on line; most of them stay pretty consistent with minor changes here and there, and as long as they are from within the past year, the prices should be close enough to estimate (I don’t select individual dishes, but I get a rough idea what the median price is and use that). Signature menus change more frequently, but even if the individual dishes are different, the price range will be roughly the same.
For your OOP calculations, remember to add the 7% tax (it’s included in the DDP). Also consider alcoholic drinks. I believe one is included with the meal on the DDP, but for OOP you’ll have to figure that into the cost of the meal.
Have you also looked at Tables in Wonderland?
I was just going to suggest the same thing. Tables in Wonderland works well for the I-want-to-have-whatever-I-want-to-have cost-cutting without committing you to using up what you are allowed under DDP. And now it includes a number of lounges (like Nomad) where the discount applies to rather expensive specialty drinks as well as the small plates, which can pretty easily make a meal
1 Like
Thank you everyone on my 3 questions.
#1) good to go
#2) I think I am just getting gold ap with discount GC from Sam’s on my disney cc.
#3) I ran the numbers: 2547 oop w dvc disc, 2499 deluxddp, 2290 tiw inc cost of pass. So it seems like a clear winner. Thank you all
3 Likes