Going w/o DDP, but don't want to stress! Any advice?

fiversmama

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 30, 2013
I usually fall squarely in the camp of getting the DDP, so everything is seamless and invisible, and so my DH (frugal by nature) doesn't opt out of things he might enjoy bc of Dis prices.

We are: DH, DS15 ( Dis adult who does not eat like one who can fully appreciate bang4$$ DDP menu choices...) and DS8.

FD was offered during the time we are there, but we could not take advantage of it (we are guests of a DVC member).

So, I want to see if we can eat and drink what we want and still come in under the cost of the DDP. Plus, we are more of a "get a couple appetizers and share an entree family" anyway. But I want it to be as seamless and invisible as DDP.

Any advice for best ways to do this? Prepaid debit cards (with the exact cost of the DDP on them)???

Any better ideas??
 
So, I want to see if we can eat and drink what we want and still come in under the cost of the DDP. Plus, we are more of a "get a couple appetizers and share an entree family" anyway. But I want it to be as seamless and invisible as DDP.

Any advice for best ways to do this? Prepaid debit cards (with the exact cost of the DDP on them)???

Any better ideas??

You can go with the gift cards or prepaids, but you can also just charge to your room and pay it at the end. I think how/when you pay is more a matter of preference than making it seem invisible and seamless.

The harder part is convincing your DH to order and eat whatever he wants without looking at the price. I've looked at the menus and know my family well enough to know we can do this and spend less than the DDP. I don't know if it will work, but it you tell DH you NEED him to order as if he is on DDP, so you can see if it truly is a savings or if OOP is better, will he be able to truly eat what he wants or will he still think frugal?
 
We have gone without the DDP for our last several trips - haven't had the DDP since 2012 I think. We always just put our food spending money on a Disney gift card and used that, which made it seem "pre-paid".

The DDP always came out "not being worth it" for us, but now that we are a family of 5, we realize that we could have really benefited from the DDP our last go round in August. Luckily, we were able to book a Free Dining BB deal for next August, and I am very much looking forward to the "stress-free" experience again. :)
 
If you have Target card, you can purchase "discounted" Disney gift cards, which will save you some $$... last time we went, we paid OOP as well and it was fine. It was 2 adults and 2 children. I splurged on one meal per park/day, and the other times were regular QS and we also brought food by packing lunches/snacks. I managed to get a reservation at BOG for lunch, which felt like a table service. For Epcot, I brought sandwiches from home for lunch and then we had dinner in France! It worked out perfectly because there was a mini fridge in our resort room and so I could bring items from home to pack.
 


If you have Target card, you can purchase "discounted" Disney gift cards, which will save you some $$... last time we went, we paid OOP as well and it was fine. It was 2 adults and 2 children. I splurged on one meal per park/day, and the other times were regular QS and we also brought food by packing lunches/snacks. I managed to get a reservation at BOG for lunch, which felt like a table service. For Epcot, I brought sandwiches from home for lunch and then we had dinner in France! It worked out perfectly because there was a mini fridge in our resort room and so I could bring items from home to pack.
I glad that worked for you.

But that isn't really what the OP is talking about. She wants to be able to not stress about it. Packing lunches and "splurging" on one meal per park isn't the same as not stressing.

At least not to me.
 
Take a piece of paper and cover up the prices on the menu. Seriously.

You have to come to terms with the fact that paying out of pocket for the food you actually want to eat will be less expensive than paying for the dining plan. If you’re staying onsite, charge everything to the room so you see one big bill at the end of your trip. You’ll probably have some souvenirs in there, and I bet it will still be less than the plan would have cost.
 
They also sell discounted Disney gift cards at BJs and Sam's Club, which as PP mentioned about Target, saves a few dollars, and if you use them to pay off charges later, it is kind of like having DDP, if you have an amount set up to use for meals, and you are pulling from it, sort of like credits. I don't think there is a way to make it totally freeing like DDP, not looking at prices unfortunately - we have been able to come during FD times every trip since our second trip in 2009, and this trip for DD and I in Nov will be first without it since DD is in high school now and timing is trickier, so we will be doing just our favorite meals (luckily CP and TH are brft we love so less $$) and I enjoy the shrimp pasta at Sci-Fi, but will probably choose the burger so I can also get dessert or milkshake and stay on my budget. But as you mentioned, you also have freedom to order appetizers and share a meal, like pizza at Via Napoli, which you can't do on DDP.
 


I usually fall squarely in the camp of getting the DDP, so everything is seamless and invisible, and so my DH (frugal by nature) doesn't opt out of things he might enjoy bc of Dis prices.

We are: DH, DS15 ( Dis adult who does not eat like one who can fully appreciate bang4$$ DDP menu choices...) and DS8.

FD was offered during the time we are there, but we could not take advantage of it (we are guests of a DVC member).

So, I want to see if we can eat and drink what we want and still come in under the cost of the DDP. Plus, we are more of a "get a couple appetizers and share an entree family" anyway. But I want it to be as seamless and invisible as DDP.

Any advice for best ways to do this? Prepaid debit cards (with the exact cost of the DDP on them)???

Any better ideas??
I recommend just bringing a credit card with more than twice as much credit as you think you'll need on it. That way you won't worry about having enough money. Then pay it off when you get home, so you can then see how much you spent (and saved over buying DDP), and avoid paying any interest fees.
 
The process is the same. You either scan your MB to use credits or scan it to charge it to the room. Either way you have to pay OOP for alcohol and tips. I've never understood the "DDP as a convenience" idea.

To not stress? Keep in mind the dining plan was never intended to save you money. I'm sure Disney offers it because the unused credits makes them money.
 
The process is the same. You either scan your MB to use credits or scan it to charge it to the room. Either way you have to pay OOP for alcohol and tips. I've never understood the "DDP as a convenience" idea.

To not stress? Keep in mind the dining plan was never intended to save you money. I'm sure Disney offers it because the unused credits makes them money.
It is mostly the same.

But if you don't want that charge hitting your account, then you must then take a second step, by going down to the front desk to pay off the balance either with cash or a gift card.
 
Just my 2 cents....most times have had free dining. Went this time with DD13 without dining plan we do QS as it works for us and few OOP TS. This year it would have been almost $700 for the plan for the 2 of us. We spent a total of $710 for QS meals, snacks, refillable mugs, 3 TS meals and gifts for back homes always thought I wanted meal plan, but this was so much better. Drank less soda as I don't drink much at home but with meal plan I feel I need one at every meal, plus no stress with left over credits at the end (which dissent matter in free dining, but add up if paying for the plan). At close to $50 per person per day, for QS just doesn't work. We ate what we wanted when we wanted.....no stress at all.
 
I also save money going without the plan.

But like most here, I change how I dine. So, is that really the same?

If I purchase the plan, I eat with the plan. If I don't, I pack snacks, eat in the room, and watch prices.

I can't stop myself.

So, if my husband wants a trip where we don't have to think about prices, he likes me to get the plan. Because otherwise he knows he will have to fight me to stop to eat. (And I don't mean fight me, but he does have to remind me that breakfast was 4 or 5 hours ago and lunch shouldn't be out of the question. )
 
If you have somebody in your party who is a price watcher, as you said your DH is, then going without a dining plan is likely going to cause some stress. The only way to really be stress free paying OOP is not to pay attention to the prices and eat the way you want. If it were me, I would make all my dining plans then look at menus and choose "most likely" to order items for your party and tally it up, add in a 10% buffer and put that money aside. I personally wouldn't bother with a gift card, I would just charge my credit card and pay it with the stashed away money when billed. Once you've done that planning, the trick will be convincing your husband that you have enough to cover all food costs and to have him order what he wants knowing it's planned for and covered.
 
I also save money going without the plan.

But like most here, I change how I dine. So, is that really the same?

If I purchase the plan, I eat with the plan. If I don't, I pack snacks, eat in the room, and watch prices.


I can't stop myself.

So, if my husband wants a trip where we don't have to think about prices, he likes me to get the plan. Because otherwise he knows he will have to fight me to stop to eat. (And I don't mean fight me, but he does have to remind me that breakfast was 4 or 5 hours ago and lunch shouldn't be out of the question. )

This is a very important point. If you aren't eating how you really want (i.e. overeating because you want to milk every penny out of a dining plan or under eating because you want to save $), then your approach is wrong, regardless of which approach that is. The ideal situation is OOP and eating whatever you want and when you want it without stressing about the price.
 
Book ADR if needed, go to restaurant, order what you want, charge to magic band.

I think in park using the dining plan seems more complicated than paying OOP.

OOP you can use the mobile ordering at various QS locations.

At the end, add it all up and see how it compares.
 
We (4 adults) have done the dining plan, and gone without it. We are definitely in the go without it group now. We have found that the real savings in the DDP come from the quick service meals each day, but we were wasting a ton of food. We now just get gift cards and pay for whatever we want with those.
 
I usually fall squarely in the camp of getting the DDP, so everything is seamless and invisible, and so my DH (frugal by nature) doesn't opt out of things he might enjoy bc of Dis prices.

We are: DH, DS15 ( Dis adult who does not eat like one who can fully appreciate bang4$$ DDP menu choices...) and DS8.

FD was offered during the time we are there, but we could not take advantage of it (we are guests of a DVC member).

So, I want to see if we can eat and drink what we want and still come in under the cost of the DDP. Plus, we are more of a "get a couple appetizers and share an entree family" anyway. But I want it to be as seamless and invisible as DDP.

Any advice for best ways to do this? Prepaid debit cards (with the exact cost of the DDP on them)???

Any better ideas??

I'm a price watcher but I have to remind myself I'M ON VACATION. I've never done the dining plan (mainly because I can't handle the sticker shock upfront, weird I know) and pay out of pocket at the moment (because I hate the huge bill at checkout). I usually budget 75 dollars per adult per day for food. My husband has to be convinced to eat half the time so really that food expense is for me...I also will keep the funds in a separate checking account so I don't accidentally eat away the electric bill.
 
Book ADR if needed, go to restaurant, order what you want, charge to magic band.

I think in park using the dining plan seems more complicated than paying OOP.

OOP you can use the mobile ordering at various QS locations.

At the end, add it all up and see how it compares.

Exactly. It always seemed to me the DDP was more complicated. We just order what we want and be done with it, paying out of pocket.
 
I also save money going without the plan.

But like most here, I change how I dine. So, is that really the same?

If I purchase the plan, I eat with the plan. If I don't, I pack snacks, eat in the room, and watch prices.

I can't stop myself.

So, if my husband wants a trip where we don't have to think about prices, he likes me to get the plan. Because otherwise he knows he will have to fight me to stop to eat. (And I don't mean fight me, but he does have to remind me that breakfast was 4 or 5 hours ago and lunch shouldn't be out of the question. )

This is SO me. On our last trip (2015), I ran the numbers and came out ahead on the DDP, but barely. I ran some hypothetical numbers for my upcoming trip in March. Looked like I'd come out ahead without it, but I know me. I wouldn't get the same things I'd get on the plan. And all my crew is now 21+, so there's the wine issue. I'll get it just because I like "seamless and invisible" and prefer coming home to (almost) no bill.
 
I usually fall squarely in the camp of getting the DDP, so everything is seamless and invisible, and so my DH (frugal by nature) doesn't opt out of things he might enjoy bc of Dis prices.

We are: DH, DS15 ( Dis adult who does not eat like one who can fully appreciate bang4$$ DDP menu choices...) and DS8.

FD was offered during the time we are there, but we could not take advantage of it (we are guests of a DVC member).

So, I want to see if we can eat and drink what we want and still come in under the cost of the DDP. Plus, we are more of a "get a couple appetizers and share an entree family" anyway. But I want it to be as seamless and invisible as DDP.

Any advice for best ways to do this? Prepaid debit cards (with the exact cost of the DDP on them)???

Any better ideas??
I just recently came back from my first trip without using the ddp and it worked out for us. We spent about $20 per day more than the QS plan would've been but ate how we wanted, including 1 TS that would've been oop anyway and that includes quite a few drinks, again not included so we came out ahead. I didn't compare prices until coming home.

If he will really worry, why not keep a daily tally of the actual costs vs dining plan costs? If he really wants a $34 steak at dinner, tell him he still has $50 to spend that day or something along those lines. Truthfully, I was pleasantly surprised because we've always gotten the plan.
 

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