Paying OOP... Need advice

azcavalier;2462559 wrote: One thought (that hasn't been posted on here yet) is to see if you qualify for the Tables in Wonderland card. That will give you discounts at TS restaurants. Basically, it covers the tip. But hey! That's a lot of money!

I mentioned it in an above post, but even with that you need to be careful. Some restaurants don't take it, you need to figure out how many days you will be using it and for how many people. I don't suggest buying it unless you are sure you are going to at least break even.

I think it costs $100 for annual pass holders so you would have to spend $500 at table service restaurants that take the card in order to break even. This is easy to do if you have 5 people for a couple of days at restaurants that take the card....but if you only have two people on a long weekend or not all of your restaurants participate then you may be wasting your money.

honeybear;2462558 wrote: I have actually never had the dining plan and was thinking of using it next time I go. It never dawned on me to do a comparison! I think I will do that before I go. But if they offer a free Dining plan, I will take it!

Keep in mind that, when they offer "free dining", you will be paying rack rate for your room. Part of your price comparison should include the difference between the package (including room rack rates) versus being able to get a room discount along with paying for dining out of pocket. When we did this comparison, there was no doubt that our "free dining" was actually more expensive than having a room discount and paying for our food out of pocket. Others have pointed out that this difference may disappear for larger families. This could be true since my traveling party consisted only of two adults.

faline;2462587 wrote: Keep in mind that, when they offer "free dining", you will be paying rack rate for your room. Part of your price comparison should include the difference between the package (including room rack rates) versus being able to get a room discount along with paying for dining out of pocket. When we did this comparison, there was no doubt that our "free dining" was actually more expensive than having a room discount and paying for our food out of pocket. Others have pointed out that this difference may disappear for larger families. This could be true since my traveling party consisted only of two adults.

This is true also....And this is why it is so important to take an hour or so and make comparisons. I make a chart one with "free dining", one with the room discount instead, one with TIW, I add in the amount of people in our party, number of days we will be there, and where we will be eating for the upcoming trip. All of these variables can make a difference. What is cheaper for us on one trip may not be for the next because the variables change from trip to trip. That is why everyone should figure out the cost for their own families because one size does not fit all.

Thanks for all of the great suggestions, everyone!

Question about room discount: Do they offer room discounts for value resorts? Pop, specifically. Just wanting to take that into account when making a dining/room rate analysis.

the other micki;2462883 wrote: Question about room discount: Do they offer room discounts for value resorts? Pop, specifically. Just wanting to take that into account when making a dining/room rate analysis.

Yes, definitely. Actually, room only discounts are often easier to get with your top choice than package discounts, and way easier than "free" dining discounts. It's been pretty rare that I haven't gotten the room only discount at the resort I wanted.

Chris, aka Strmchsr
INTERCOT Staff: Vacation Planning, Guests with Special Needs, and Weather Guru

 

Everyone already pretty much said what needs to be said about ddp versus oop. I just wanted to add that we too rather pay oop than ddp.

We did ddp, twice. First time we just went with it cause it was offered at the time for free. Then the second trip we did it again for experimanetal purposes and saved all our receipts and did the math. For some it might be true that they save money using ddp, but that's really only if you really eat three times a day with the way they offer ddp. with us, we never eat deserts except once in a great while, we don't really snack through the day either and we prefer maybe one big meal a day and the second being a light counter service, if even that, depending on our mood that day.

How we prefer to prepare for our vacations now, is calculate what the the ddp cost would be if we were to purchase it, we save that amount of money in our budget, but we don't actually purchase the ddp. We just use those figures for money budget purposes. Then let's say the ddp for our vacation would cost $800.00 for the week, we just use the $800.00 as cash to pay as we go. That's our budget. And to be honest, we have never come close or even gone over that budget for dinning. We always come home with money. That's the other great thing about paying oop, you don't get stuck with unused credits you have to leave behind, you have nice green cash to come back home with or to use somewhere else on vacation if you want.

Plus, as others said, you can order wherever and whatever you want, apps versus entrees or desert, no desert or two deserts, whatever you want wherever you want. More freedom allows you more options which is a deal in itself. And paying oop, we have never not ordered something for price. I know a lot of people say differently, but we have never not ordered the most expensive item on the menu if we want it, we have never not eaten somewhere because of it, in fact we even ate at fultons while not on the ddp, we eat at ohana, cape may cafe all in one trip, plus more. And we have never gone close to budget.

NJGIRL;2462584 wrote: I mentioned it in an above post, but even with that you need to be careful. Some restaurants don't take it, you need to figure out how many days you will be using it and for how many people. I don't suggest buying it unless you are sure you are going to at least break even.

I think it costs $100 for annual pass holders so you would have to spend $500 at table service restaurants that take the card in order to break even. This is easy to do if you have 5 people for a couple of days at restaurants that take the card....but if you only have two people on a long weekend or not all of your restaurants participate then you may be wasting your money.

Yes, absolutely. We've had the TIW card for two years, but we've also had APs and have been going on multiple trips each year...some with just the two of us, and some with larger groups. So, for us, it has definitely paid for itself. Though, it is kind of disheartening to know that it really only covers the same amount as the tip. So it doesn't really feel like much of a discount.

We have almost always gone on a room only discount or rented DVC and paid OOP. We aren't huge eaters, and I really like the flexibility of being able to share meals and not worrying about wasting credits. The one time we did the DDP, I was stressed the whole time trying to keep track of things, and a couple of times the CM didn't charge us correctly and wasted our credits (which I didn't catch until later).

We love Starlight Rays at MK. For CS its not that bad, and its a cool space. For us its always been a good budget choice. The Wave at the Contemporary had an awesome brunch and we'd definitely go back. We're trying the Kona Cafe this time, as the prices seem pretty decent.

I'd avoid anywhere like Chef Mickey's or CRT if OOP...we did Chef Mickey's last time and it felt like a waste of money. I would highly recommend Cape May Cafe if you want a character meal. The food was great and the character interaction was so fun. And BOG for brunch or lunch, you still get to dine in a castle without the crazy prices.

I could never get the DDP to make financial sense for us. Especially with the room discount. But we just don't eat that much, and really like being flexible.

We do out of pocket and eat at:
Peco's Bill, and Liberty Tree. Epcot, we usually go doing Food/Wine so whenever we go during off times, it's just whatever (except the German Caramel Place).

MGM, backlot CS as there is usually good seating.