# Dining plan versus gift card



## stoler527 (Jul 23, 2013)

We have not stayed on world in a long time. We are going next month and were going to get the standard dining plan. Someone suggested that purchasing a gift card in the amount we would spend on the dining plan would have a lot of advantages.

-allowing to eat when and what we wanted
-allowing use on days we were not staying on world
-not expiring.

Is it true that this is a better way to go?
What are the disadvantages of doing this?


----------



## lilpooh108 (Jul 23, 2013)

Crafty527 said:


> We have not stayed on world in a long time. We are going next month and were going to get the standard dining plan. Someone suggested that purchasing a gift card in the amount we would spend on the dining plan would have a lot of advantages.
> 
> -allowing to eat when and what we wanted
> -allowing use on days we were not staying on world
> ...



Unless you are getting a discount on the gift cards, I don't see why you wouldn't just use a CC to pay for meals if you are not doing the dining plan?  Is it for budgeting purposes?

I also think that unless you always order drinks plus dessert, you will most likely save money by not doing the DDP.  We personally like it b/c we do character meals, but it really depends on how your family likes to eat.


----------



## Rsauer3473 (Jul 23, 2013)

*Disney Gift Card is the way to go*

Given the current cost of the DDP, if you miss one meal due to an emergency or missed bus connection, you have lost the value of the plan. With a gift card, you have a prepaid plan that does not require any particular use( meals, quick service, snacks). Use what you want. People often get the plan and fail to make advanced dining reservations and end up using meal credits at second or third choice venues. Of course, if you just charge your meals to your room card ( if you are at a Disney resort), then you have the convenience as well. Remember, you will be charged a full gratuity if you use the plan. Pay cash or credit card and let your best judgement determine the tip.


----------



## stoler527 (Jul 24, 2013)

*No dining plan*

Ok I see that the dining plan would be a mistake for us. We like to wander and eat when we are hungry. We have three dining reservations, the Japanese, the new pizza place in Italy and Chefs de France.  We are staying for ten days. One day at OKW, 7 days at Marriott Royal Palms and 2 days at SSR. The gift card would work for the whole trip and give us more flexibility.

Charging to the room is an option I hadn't considered. Is this a safe thing to do? Or is there a strong chance that the bill will be wrong? Also, the room card wouldn't work when we were at Marriott. 

We thought that the gift card would be more foolproof. Maybe using a plain old credit card would be best.

Does anyone have the Disney card from Chase? We looked at it and couldn't decide if the rewards would be worth it. We always spend so much at Disney, that I thought that it would be nice to get something back. If we charged the park tickets and meals, shouldnt we be well on the way to rewards?


----------



## mj2vacation (Jul 24, 2013)

Check out the tables in wonderland.    20% off food and drinks at the sit down restaurants.      It is $100 for members for a rolling 12 month period.   

We typically save enough in 2-3 days to cover the cost for the year.


----------



## ptlohmysoul (Jul 24, 2013)

Crafty527 said:


> Ok I see that the dining plan would be a mistake for us. We like to wander and eat when we are hungry. We have three dining reservations, the Japanese, the new pizza place in Italy and Chefs de France.  We are staying for ten days. One day at OKW, 7 days at Marriott Royal Palms and 2 days at SSR. The gift card would work for the whole trip and give us more flexibility.
> 
> Charging to the room is an option I hadn't considered. Is this a safe thing to do? Or is there a strong chance that the bill will be wrong? Also, the room card wouldn't work when we were at Marriott.
> 
> ...



We have the Disney card from Chase.  We use it throughout the year, then use the rewards for food money at the parks.  We had $500 saved when we went last.


----------



## tschwa2 (Jul 24, 2013)

It may not be enough savings to make it worth it but, you can get 5% off each $50 Disney gift cards if you use a Target debit or credit card at http://www.target.com/p/disney-mickey-gift-card-50


----------



## stoler527 (Jul 24, 2013)

*Gift card discount*

This is the first way that I have seen to get a discount on a gift card. A discount could make all the difference.

Shouldn't it be possible to combine this discount with the Tables in Wonderland?

Food is so expensive at Disney, that every percentage point off the price is a lot of money.


----------



## MichaelColey (Jul 24, 2013)

95% of expensive is still expensive.  If budget is a factor at all, eating off site or cooking in a timeshare is far more economical.

The value of the DDP has steadily declined over the years.  It really takes some unique circumstances and/or some fuzzy math to make it a good deal.

I would also be hesitant to dump money into gift cards, versus just paying with a credit card, even for a 5% discount.  You're taking money that you could spend anywhere, and putting it on a card that you can ONLY spend at Disney.  What if you put $500 on and only use $400.  Will it be another year before you go back?  Want to sit on that other $100 for a year?  Will you remember where you put it?  Would you be tempted to blow extra money just because you have something left on the card?


----------



## bnoble (Jul 24, 2013)

I have never, not once, spent as much just eating what, when, and where I wanted vs. what the "appropriate" dining plan would cost.  If someone is picking between gift cards and DDP, in most cases gift cards would be better.

That said, I *also* don't think there's all that much to recommend gift cards, unless you are paying for this trip hand-to-mouth.


----------



## Myxdvz (Jul 24, 2013)

Crafty527 said:


> This is the first way that I have seen to get a discount on a gift card. A discount could make all the difference.
> 
> Shouldn't it be possible to combine this discount with the Tables in Wonderland?
> 
> Food is so expensive at Disney, that every percentage point off the price is a lot of money.



TiW + GC = This is how we do it.  The Gift Cards per se won't make anything cheaper than the DDP. It's just a means to pay.

However, if you're getting a discount on the gift cards (Target 5% or Target Employee Discount 10%, Disney Chase Rewards GC), then sure use that to pay the bill.  We use TiW for our discounts, and charge everything to my KTTW.  I use GCs to settle my account (to get the 5% discount).  Without that 5% discount, I will charge it to my Credit Card to at least get 2% cash back or points.


----------



## LUVourMarriotts (Jul 25, 2013)

Myxdvz said:


> However, if you're getting a discount on the gift cards (Target 5% or Target Employee Discount 10%, *Disney Chase Rewards GC*), then sure use that to pay the bill.



Can you explain what you mean about the Disney Chase Rewards GC?  Did you mean CC (credit card) or GC (gift card)?

I just received a letter from Chase yesterday for a Disney Chase card.  I'm considering doing that to purchase our park tickets, since we will get a $200 credit after purchasing $500 within the first 3 months.  We use a Chase Marriott card as our primary card now.  Can you explain the Disney Chase comment, as that might entice me more to get the card, if there is another level of discount we can obtain for our trip to Disney next year.  Dining is something we are still trying to figure out what to do, DDP or other.  Thanks.


----------



## stoler527 (Jul 26, 2013)

*Chase cards*

There seem to be two levels of these cards, one with an annual fee $99, and the other without the fee. The one with the fee gives more rewards for purchases. Disney purchases seem to give more rewards.

I am thinking of getting one of these myself. I could use rewards to cut some of the cost of Disney trips.


----------



## Twinkstarr (Jul 26, 2013)

I have yet to upgrade to the Premium Disney card, just have the regular one.

We use the rewards for food, though the one year I had oodles of reward dollars and used some to buy one of the AP's.  Also usually get the TIW card.

We've never used the DDP. I'm doing a solo trip in October so I decided to run the numbers on the QS plan and out of pocket. No it doesn't work for me. 

Saw a comment on a Disney board, saying there really should be a cashier line at QS restaurants  exclusively for dining plan users, because who else gets behind someone who wants the cashier to help them figure out how many credits they have!


----------



## MichaelColey (Jul 26, 2013)

Crafty527 said:


> There seem to be two levels of these cards, one with an annual fee $99, and the other without the fee. The one with the fee gives more rewards for purchases. Disney purchases seem to give more rewards.
> 
> I am thinking of getting one of these myself. I could use rewards to cut some of the cost of Disney trips.


The standard card only gives 1% back in Disney reward dollars, so it's probably better to use a cash back or other rewards card that returns more value.

The premier card has an annual fee of $49 and gives 2% back on gas, groceries, restaurants and at Disney.  You would have to earn an extra $49 in Disney rewards to break even on the annual fee, so $4900 in spending in those categories.  (And that's assuming you don't have any cards that earn you something you value at more than 1% back.)  Plus those 2% categories (other than Disney) often earn higher rewards with many other cards, so it's probably not that great of a deal.

My only use for the (no annual free version) Disney card is the signup bonus and the in-park perks.  You can get a free character meet & greet and 5x7 print, among other things.


----------



## Myxdvz (Jul 26, 2013)

LUVourMarriotts said:


> Can you explain what you mean about the Disney Chase Rewards GC?  Did you mean CC (credit card) or GC (gift card)?



Hi, sorry for the confusion.  I did mean Disney Chase Rewards GC.  This is the rewards $ that you earn from the Disney Chase CC.  I guess the right term is reward card, not reward GC.

I personally only have the Disney Chase Rewards CC for the special perks - some discounts, sometimes 6 month no-pay, special photo op at the park.  With Chase offering a Disney Debit Card with the same perks, I don't even really need this card - but since it's free I keep it.

The problem I have with the Disney Chase Rewards CC is that the $ can only be used in Disney (I didn't have a problem with that in the beginning) -- but more than that, I thought the redemption process was stupid.  You had to call/go online to redeem it and get a Reward Card which you can then use. So you have to allow for a couple of days if you want to do this - or waste time at Guest Services.

Anyways, I have since moved all my CC purchases to Sapphire Preferred which does earn 2% as well on all travel related (including Disney, DVC).  I charge all my purchase in my room and then charge that to by CC.  That way I can use the 2% for whatever I want (Disney, or airfare, or air miles, hotel, etc).


----------



## LUVourMarriotts (Jul 27, 2013)

Myxdvz said:


> Hi, sorry for the confusion.  I did mean Disney Chase Rewards GC.  This is the rewards $ that you earn from the Disney Chase CC.  I guess the right term is reward card, not reward GC.
> 
> I personally only have the Disney Chase Rewards CC for the special perks - some discounts, sometimes 6 month no-pay, special photo op at the park.  With Chase offering a Disney Debit Card with the same perks, I don't even really need this card - but since it's free I keep it.



Thanks for the clarification. It seems the offer that I received via mail is a lot better than the normal offer of $50 GC ( or $100 GC for Premier card). I'm thinking of getting it just for that initial perk ($200 credit on balance) to buy the park tickets and then be done with the card. I will also look into the Disney Chase Debit Card, since Chase is my primary bank. Thank you.


----------



## MichaelColey (Jul 27, 2013)

We got in an a $200 signup bonus, too.  My wife and I **EACH** signed up for a card, so we really made out like bandits.  Plus, when we do the private cardholder meet & greet, we get TWO free 5x7s (when we bring both cards).


----------



## rfc0001 (Jul 31, 2013)

*TIW*

+1 on TIW.  For DVC members its $100/yr and will save you 20% (including alcohol) on all the same restaurants and dinner events that accept DDP.  The benefit is you end up consuming less than if you were on the DDP since you don't feel like you have to use the credits and it isn't' as rigid with the number of sit downs and quick services, snacks, etc.  TIW is just way more flexible -- you can do what you want when you want, and not worry about using up your credits, and not feel bad when you splurge either.  The only one negative is using TIW automatically adds an 18% tip -- which is how much I normally tip anyways, however, I've had some absolutely horrendous service at WDW, so not thrilled about not being able to tip accordingly for the rare folks who provide substandard service to let them know they provided substandard service.  I guess you can complain to management if you get bad service, but that's about it.


----------



## LUVourMarriotts (Aug 4, 2013)

MichaelColey said:


> We got in an a $200 signup bonus, too.  My wife and I **EACH** signed up for a card, so we really made out like bandits.  Plus, when we do the private cardholder meet & greet, we get TWO free 5x7s (when we bring both cards).



Did you both get the $200 sign up bonus?
I signed up yesterday with the offer. My wife tried today through the same offer and got a response that said the application must be reviewed before proceeding. It isn't her credit score, so wondering if the computer caught us.


----------



## MichaelColey (Aug 5, 2013)

Yes, we each got approved and received the $200 gift cards. That's been several years ago (4-5?). They might have tightened things up a bit since then.


----------



## Twinkstarr (Aug 5, 2013)

rfc0001 said:


> +1 on TIW.  For DVC members its $100/yr and will save you 20% (including alcohol) on all the same restaurants and dinner events that accept DDP.  The benefit is you end up consuming less than if you were on the DDP since you don't feel like you have to use the credits and it isn't' as rigid with the number of sit downs and quick services, snacks, etc.  TIW is just way more flexible -- you can do what you want when you want, and not worry about using up your credits, and not feel bad when you splurge either.  The only one negative is using TIW automatically adds an 18% tip -- which is how much I normally tip anyways, however, I've had some absolutely horrendous service at WDW, so not thrilled about not being able to tip accordingly for the rare folks who provide substandard service to let them know they provided substandard service.  I guess you can complain to management if you get bad service, but that's about it.



Some changes to TIW for 2014, more blackout days and Victoria & Albert won't be included

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2013/...bles-in-wonderland-dining-discounts-for-2014/


----------



## stoler527 (Aug 5, 2013)

*Tables in wonderland changes*

We looked at this card. It seemed to be the best deal for large families. For small families it would be much harder to recoup the $100 fee. 

Also, we usually tip 15%. We only tip more than that for exceptional service. Lately we haven't been receiving exceptional service very often at Disney. So the 18% added tip was costing us 3% of the discount. 

The new restrictions wouldn't affect us that much. We try to avoid really crowded times at the parks. Victoria and Albert's has always seemed too formal for our vacation incarnations. 

The card would pay for itself in parking if you liked to visit the parks in the evenings and had no other free parking pass.

We haven't decided whether or not to get this card.  And we are leaving for Kool-Aid land on Saturday!!


----------



## kanerf (Aug 13, 2013)

BTW, the DDP is tied to your reservations at WDW and cannot be used with your external reservation, so at most you could have it for 3 days based on what you described.  Also, if you are staying a full 7 days at a resort and you opt for the DDP, you have to take it for the full 7 days, you can't choose just 3 days or whatever.  I assume this works that same if you are only staying 5 days or so, but I have only ever stayed for 7 days at a time.


----------



## MichaelColey (Aug 14, 2013)

Yes, it works that way for all reservations.  If you choose a dining plan, it must be for the full length of the reservation and must be the same for everyone on the reservation.

In the past, some DVC owners have got around that by making multiple back to back reservations and just put the dining plan on one of the reservations.  I've heard that Disney is cracking down on that.


----------



## maggiesmom (Aug 14, 2013)

*disney DP or GC*

I have used distripplanner.com to help me decided.


maggiesmom


----------



## stoler527 (Aug 14, 2013)

*Heat and DDP*

We decided not to get the DDP and to pay as we went along.

Boy are we glad that we did. If has been incredibly hot and humid at WDW. We have been having a lot of trouble dealing with the heat. Eating large heavy meals to get our money's worth would have made the heat worse.

We have been eating a lot of salads, ice cream, and frozen drinks. No one has much of an appetite. We either would have not used all the food we paid for or we would have been uncomfortably full. 

The DDP would be better in another season of the year, like Chrismas.


----------



## queenofthehive (Aug 14, 2013)

I would pay for all meals out of pocket. I would not use a gift card. You will be surprised how much money you save. Do not factor in tips when you compare pricing of the two because you will have to pay that anyway. Trust me, there are some days when you do not feel like eating all the meals or a dessert with each meal. It is just so overpriced and not a bargain/value at all. I do not even understand the convenience factor. A dollar is a dollar not matter how you roll it up...


----------

