DDP vs Gift Card

[Capang]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place (maybe this is best for budget board, idk?) or if there's already a thread regarding this (I searched but didn't see any).

Anyway,
I got to thinking.. would putting the money that we'd spend on the DDP onto a Disney Gift Card be a better option?
I've been learning about how you can get discounts/money back by purchasing DGCs. I've also been going thru all my options for snacks, QS, and TS. The DDP has some restrictions (like no appetizer) + I kinda want to try some snacks and meals that wouldn't necessarily be a good value per credit.
Basically, I'd like to know if there's any restrictions they have on using DGCs at restraunts or at Disney Springs. I looked up the general rules but imo, personal experiences are best.
Sorry again if this is out of place or already been discussed :/ and thanks in advance for any info

We did this this summer and it worked wonderfully for us. We took the cost of the dining plan and put it on 2 gift cards. We ate however we wanted. Sometimes getting apps, sometimes just desserts, you get the idea. We liked it because we weren't locked in to entree, dessert, etc. Sometimes we just snacked our way through the day. At the end of the trip when we knew we would have leftover money we used the remaining amounts on extra souvenirs.

We've done the DDP and I hate how it locks me in to the entree and dessert. I always gain way too much weight and frankly many of the desserts are just not tasty. This trip I didn't deprive myself of anything i wanted but i didn't waste time on things that were not very good, either. I doubt we will go back to DDP. We will stick to the cards instead.

 

[DisBuckMan]

We would never pay for the dining plan due to the restrictions. Besides, it's not designed to save money anyway. We just order what we want. I've never understood buying DDP to avoid caring about prices. Over the course of a trip the difference between inexpensive and expensive choices is almost a rounding error given the overall cost of visiting WDW.

Truth.

I don't understand how people have the ability to "trick" themselves, either.

I want the ability to order whatever I'm in the mood for when I get to the restaurant. Sometimes, I just want chicken. Sometimes, I just want an appetizer. Rarely do I order a dessert, and if I do, my wife and I will share it. If I want the most expensive thing on the menu, I order it.

I'm not going to allow Disney to dictate how I order because I'm boxed into some pre-determined prepaid "plan".

I'm not going to take the chance that one or more of us won't get sick and we'll leave credits unused. The stress created by making sure we use every credit to make sure we get what we prepaid for is much more of a burden than any bills that result because we did indeed get exactly what we paid for.

It works fine for some...doesn't work at all for us. Son is 12, so no "kids" in the family.

 

[Order66]

Our family used the dining plan several times when it was "free". I paid for it once. Then my kids turned 10 and it lost value. I've been doing exactly what you proposed, putting our "food budget" on disney gift cards (purchased as discounts or even free sometimes) and paying as we go. Our last trip this summer was 4 people (myself and three teenagers) for 11 days/10 nights. The dining plan would have been around $3000. Really even less value when 3 of your party are under 21. We spent closer to $2000 and that's eating what we wanted, buying whatever snacks we wanted and 5 TS ADRs. I do order water, juice, breakfast foods, etc... to the room, but I did that even when we had the DDP. I paid for our meals with disney gift cards every time. In the parks and DS. They were accepted at Villa Napoli, Wofgang Puck Express, Deluxe Burger, Polite Pig, Rainforest Cafe (and T Rex on other trips), Earl of Sandwich and Ghirardelli...all not disney owned. I don't doubt there are some places you can't use it, but I haven't been to 1 yet. If so, I'd just pay another way for 1 meal if I really wanted it.

regards

 

[loves to dive]

Just make sure you don't get too much on Disney gift cards, you can only use them at Disney or at Disney stores. Most of the time I get the visa/mc ones and then I can use them when I get back home if I don't spend all the money on them.

 

[danielocha30]

I would definitely try the GC, I understand you’re planning to use the same amount as if you were paying for DDP, so no difference in budget, just control over what to order without any pressure.

 

[LovePug]

Just make sure you don't get too much on Disney gift cards, you can only use them at Disney or at Disney stores. Most of the time I get the visa/mc ones and then I can use them when I get back home if I don't spend all the money on them.

This^. It truly sounds as if the GC would be the better option for you. I think I would be inclined to do a VISA gift card rather than a Disney one, though, as mentioned above.

 

[LaidBackDad]

The best thing about using gift cards instead of DDP is being able spend all the money left over on souvenirs or just save the balance for your next trip. Too many times credits are just wasted on the DDP. The only thing you can’t do with gift cards is mobile ordering at the QS restaurants. The app makes you enter a credit card and you can’t bill back to your room aa a payment option.

 

[larissawbb]

I found out on my last trip that it is super easy to charge all your meals and tips (even non Disney owned restaurants) back to your room and then pay the bill with discounted gift cards.

 

[DaddysPrincess]

We did this this summer and it worked wonderfully for us. We took the cost of the dining plan and put it on 2 gift cards. We ate however we wanted. Sometimes getting apps, sometimes just desserts, you get the idea. We liked it because we weren't locked in to entree, dessert, etc. Sometimes we just snacked our way through the day. At the end of the trip when we knew we would have leftover money we used the remaining amounts on extra souvenirs.

We've done the DDP and I hate how it locks me in to the entree and dessert. I always gain way too much weight and frankly many of the desserts are just not tasty. This trip I didn't deprive myself of anything i wanted but i didn't waste time on things that were not very good, either. I doubt we will go back to DDP. We will stick to the cards instead.

gaining fat is unfortunately very scary to me and I will be quite upset if that happens. Gaining muscle is a different story imo. Obviously I'll be walking a ton but I can see where having the plan would dictate the kind of food I'll be fueling myself with, on top of it probably being a huge portion + dessert. Hmm... I'll also feel more compelled to do buffets and get alcohol, which is just kinda unnecessary calories.
I'm making 2 itineraries. One with the plan, one without. Assuming both cost the same, I wanna see if either one is "less magical" .. if anyone is interested, I'll post it

 

[DaddysPrincess]

I found out on my last trip that it is super easy to charge all your meals and tips (even non Disney owned restaurants) back to your room and then pay the bill with discounted gift cards.

can you do this with snacks/drinks/quick service too? Or is it just TS restaurants?

 

[Capang]

gaining fat is unfortunately very scary to me and I will be quite upset if that happens. Gaining muscle is a different story imo. Obviously I'll be walking a ton but I can see where having the plan would dictate the kind of food I'll be fueling myself with, on top of it probably being a huge portion + dessert. Hmm... I'll also feel more compelled to do buffets and get alcohol, which is just kinda unnecessary calories.
I'm making 2 itineraries. One with the plan, one without. Assuming both cost the same, I wanna see if either one is "less magical" .. if anyone is interested, I'll post it

This was the first big trip we've done with no dining plan and I didnt gain a pound. I still ate anything I wanted, but without the plan I didn't feel compelled to eat a dessert I never wanted in the first place.

 

[LaidBackDad]

can you do this with snacks/drinks/quick service too? Or is it just TS restaurants?

Yes, anything you purchase in the parks or Disney Springs can be charged back to the room with the magic band and paid with a gift card.

 

[gillep]

The dining plan does not work at all for how DH and I typically like to eat. More often than not I prefer an app vs an entree, or an app and a side. We also prefer to eat at lounges which do not accept the dining plan. We rarely eat dessert with a TS meal, and do not snack nearly as much as we think we will or the dining plan allows. We would feel very restricted by the dining plan and would feel like we couldn't eat the things that we want.

 

[Nancyg56]

Ty sm for your replies!! I'm kinda thinking on the same page as @22Tink regarding planning to get the most expensive stuff; however, the likelihood of that is low.
the issue I'm having now is I'm scrutinizing prices in opposite way! I feel like with the plan, I have to get the most expensive thing on the menu. Let's take BoG for example. We both reeeeally wanna eat there. Dinner is out of the question since it's a signature meal. Lunch imo has the best food options but is not a good value if using a credit. Breakfast is an awesome credit value but the menu isn't that great (for us).
But then I start thinking about Crystal palace, Boma, Ohanas, and the RoL package at Tusker. All are things we'd like to do. .. Jeez, first-world problems, right?
Sigh..... decisions, decisions.
Again, thank you for commenting

I htink you are working this backwards. Plan your meals first. Look at the restaurants you are booking, and then take a best guess at how your family will order. You know them, so you have a good idea what they like to eat. Dessert at TS? Beverages? How about CS meals? Do you stop to eat lunch or breakfasts, and if so, what do you normally eat? My family is hooked on Disney snacks and this trip is the snacks that got away! Once you do that, you can have an idea if a Dining plan will be feasable. It usually is for us, but as I said, I book our meal first and then crunch my numbers.

We would never pay for the dining plan due to the restrictions. Besides, it's not designed to save money anyway. We just order what we want. I've never understood buying DDP to avoid caring about prices. Over the course of a trip the difference between inexpensive and expensive choices is almost a rounding error given the overall cost of visiting WDW.

You don't get it because you do not live in my head. I like steak. DH likes steak. I can take or leave chicken, enjoy pork, and pasta I can have at home. I love dessert, enjoy snacks, and will have beverages with my meals, as well as wine. I am fine for day one ad maybe day two. And then I can't look away from the prices. I would come home with a pretty filled gift card, which is not my goal on vacation. Add to this that we a take people with us. And often it is a fully paid trip. I am not going to have them take price into consideration when ordering dinners or choosing snacks. Get what you want, it's paid for.

WE all are different in how we look at dining plans. Some pay for it on cards and use them, however I don't do well that way. Others cringe at dining plans because it works the opposite, they feel compelled to order the most expensive items. I figure we all knwo what works best for our family.

 

[PRomano]

This trip I’m going during “free dining”. We are staying value and I did upgrade to the regular do. I had started to buy gift cards but the free dining became available. I would not pay for the dining plan, we really don’t eat that much. I do plan on using snack credits to bring snacks home. I’m going in November and the ts meals will give my mother a break from all the walking. I bought the gift cards at bjs for a small discount and used discover when it was an extra 5% back.

The dining plan adds a lot to the cost of the trip. You can figure out if it is worth it or not. Good luck!

 

[Lilysmom]

We are a family of 7. 5 disney adults and two kids. I have never gotten value out of the dining plan with the way we eat. We dine similarly to Farro. We have a ten day trip coming up in a week and I have $3000 on disney gift cards that will cover food (most likely with some money to spare.) On past trips there has been enough money left on the card for souvenirs as well.

 

[ellbell]

You don't get it because you do not live in my head. I like steak. DH likes steak. I can take or leave chicken, enjoy pork, and pasta I can have at home. I love dessert, enjoy snacks, and will have beverages with my meals, as well as wine. I am fine for day one ad maybe day two. And then I can't look away from the prices. I would come home with a pretty filled gift card, which is not my goal on vacation. Add to this that we a take people with us. And often it is a fully paid trip. I am not going to have them take price into consideration when ordering dinners or choosing snacks. Get what you want, it's paid for.

WE all are different in how we look at dining plans. Some pay for it on cards and use them, however I don't do well that way. Others cringe at dining plans because it works the opposite, they feel compelled to order the most expensive items. I figure we all knwo what works best for our family.

I am this way as well. I get the plan, pay 30 days before I arrive and forget it. I eat how I want and never once do I think well maybe if I get the burger instead of the steak I can buy an extra souvenir. If I want a burger I'll eat a burger, if I want a steak I'll eat a steak. The value for me is never having to think that the souvenir (purely an example) is worth having something I didn't want and that is how I would think if I used gift cards.

 

[Magical2017]

It is really about personal preference. I don't feel there is any wrong way to do dining at Disney!

If I was on the fence, I would probably try the DDP once to see if it worked for my family. So many people love it. The one time we did the DDP, we found it was way too much food for us. I think the time of year might also make a difference to me. During the hot summer months, I cannot imagine us wanting that much food in the heat.

As far as spending, we have usually just put aside the amount we would have spent on the dining plan for our food budget and have always come out ahead. We used the leftover money for souvenirs. This does not have to be done as a gift card, but we have done this as well. We just order what we want. If it is the most expensive item on the menu, fine. It if it is just sharing an appetizer and dessert, also fine. If we want to book a character meal, we do. I don't want to worry about menu prices when on vacation (which is also an argument for why so many people find the DDP convenient).

 

[PlainJane]

The DDP doesn’t make a lot of sense for me in its current state. We rarely eat dessert after a meal, we prefer to get an ice cream as a snack (but, not every day). We do drink, but not super frequently. You still have to pay for tips (as someone mentioned above this is a non-issue for the QS plan). I’m more likely to want the grilled chicken than the steak. I don’t want to think about maximizing credits and leftover credits would bug me.

I’m leaning towards setting a food budget for the trip, and just having it set aside. For me, I don’t think the GC savings is a big enough to lock the money up for Disney only use. The budgeted amount would be based on the prices of what we would most likely eat. Seeing the bill amount always bugs my husband, but this is easily avoided if I just grab the check. A high bill doesn’t bother me when I know it’s within our budget.

 

[Arazia]

As many others have mentioned already, the first thing seems to be to figure out if the DDP even works for you/your family. If you calculate it out, and it saves you money, then it's probably the better option because it's less stress and less fiddly than playing the gift card game.

That said...
It wasn't worth it for us. Every way I crunched the numbers, we ended up losing a couple hundred dollars by choosing a Dining Plan. For us, it's a combination of eating things not covered by the plan, and just not being able to use all the credits. However, we were able to save a bit by picking up gift cards. If you're savvy and willing to hunt deals, you can easily find cards for 10%+ off, though your mileage may vary. I personally managed to save about $150 in total off of our estimated dining bill for a nine-day trip.