We ran out of money for meals at the end of the trip, had to skip eating at one of the more expensive restaurants, and had to pay with credit cards until vacation was over.
There is always that but what if though which isnt convienent for MY family. Also like I said in a previous post we always save money when using the dining plan so just putting the cost of the dining plan on a gift card wouldnt work...
Except I still do on the DDP, just in the opposite direction. I go for the more expensive meals and avoid things that are too inexpensive to be a good use of a credit.
This isn't a good example because you aren't comparing dining plan to no dining plan. You simply estimated wrong. I am not suggesting to come up with some random number and put it on the credit card.
I am suggesting to take the exact amount of the dining plan and put it on the gift card. For this to really be a fair comparison, you would also have to charge your tips back to the room, because that is what is done with the DDP. You can also add 18% of the DDP to get you close enough to the gift card for convenience.
Again, I never once suggested that it is impossible to save money with the dining plan. In some very very specific circumstances it can. If your circumstance is one of those, then get the DDP. but that is not a matter of convenience. That is a matter of economics.
In general, you pay a premium for convenience. That is why restaurants cost more than buying the groceries and making food yourself. That's why Disney restaurants in the park cost more than some random restaurant off property.
You know... now that I have been thinking about it your totally right! For the past 15 years I have been totally inconveniencing myself with the DP.... gosh I wish I would have figured it out sooner....This isn't a good example because you aren't comparing dining plan to no dining plan. You simply estimated wrong. I am not suggesting to come up with some random number and put it on the credit card.
I am suggesting to take the exact amount of the dining plan and put it on the gift card. For this to really be a fair comparison, you would also have to charge your tips back to the room, because that is what is done with the DDP. You can also add 18% of the DDP to get you close enough to the gift card for convenience.
Again, I never once suggested that it is impossible to save money with the dining plan. In some very very specific circumstances it can. If your circumstance is one of those, then get the DDP. but that is not a matter of convenience. That is a matter of economics.
In general, you pay a premium for convenience. That is why restaurants cost more than buying the groceries and making food yourself. That's why Disney restaurants in the park cost more than some random restaurant off property.
This is outdated advice IMO. The changes on the plan can ensure your family saves money, but the only way to know is to do some math in advance. The advice to blindly put money on a gift card can be an expensive mistake for soem families. The calculators are outdated, so using them can be a disaster financially as well, so again, math is your financial friend.
I have a headache.This isn't a good example because you aren't comparing dining plan to no dining plan. You simply estimated wrong. I am not suggesting to come up with some random number and put it on the credit card.
I am suggesting to take the exact amount of the dining plan and put it on the gift card. For this to really be a fair comparison, you would also have to charge your tips back to the room, because that is what is done with the DDP. You can also add 18% of the DDP to get you close enough to the gift card for convenience.
Again, I never once suggested that it is impossible to save money with the dining plan. In some very very specific circumstances it can. If your circumstance is one of those, then get the DDP. but that is not a matter of convenience. That is a matter of economics.
In general, you pay a premium for convenience. That is why restaurants cost more than buying the groceries and making food yourself. That's why Disney restaurants in the park cost more than some random restaurant off property.
After going back and looking at the original post and noting just how long ago it was started(something I failed to notate previously) I can only determine that you don't actually want an answer, you just want to argue that anyone is wrong for thinking differently than you. Now, I don't mind having a discussion, but stooping to posting textbook definitions or suggesting that 14+ pages worth of people responding don't understand your very simple question is just rude.I think people are actually misunderstanding the question. I understand that it can be a stress reducer for some. I understand that in certain circumstances it could be cheaper. But that's not what I asked. I asked what makes it "convenient"?
con·ven·ience
/kənˈvēnyəns/
1. the state of being able to proceed with something with little effort or difficulty.
None of those things reduce effort or difficulty.
I LOVE your post!! But your absolutely right... this whole post truly was created to start an argument.After going back and looking at the original post and noting just how long ago it was started(something I failed to notate previously) I can only determine that you don't actually want an answer, you just want to argue that anyone is wrong for thinking differently than you. Now, I don't mind having a discussion, but stooping to posting textbook definitions or suggesting that 14+ pages worth of people responding don't understand your very simple question is just rude.
You can go on believing that you're right, I truly don't care, but as I said before you can be right and someone that finds the DP convenient can too because it's all a matter of perspective, not irrefutable fact, which is why I said that you can't get an objective answer to a subjective question. But hey, people are already divided along so many other lines like politics and religion and which sports teams to support, why not add the Disney dining plan to the list of things to look down on one another for?