Is There a Non-Dollar Value of DxDDP?

[Delilah1310]

So I just ran the numbers for our 5-night trip of doing DDP versus doing DxDDP.

If we went with the DDP and paid OOP for three breakfasts and the snack difference, we would saving a whopping $50. ;) (Perhaps more if we didn't actually buy all those additional snacks, so maybe a maximum savings of $95. )

But in the grand scheme of a $4,000-plus vacation, is saving $50 - $95 really something to worry about?

Is there a non-dollar value in having the DxDDP, like the convenience or the pre-paid aspect?

Please tell me what I am not considering both in favor of the DxDDP and in favor of the DDP (and its $50 savings).

thanking in advance,
delilah

[Markstudy]

Is there a non-dollar value in having the DxDDP, like the convenience or the pre-paid aspect?
Spending 7 days without looking at the price on a single menu, or ever worrying about the total of a check when it comes to the table... adds a great deal of joy to my week at Disney. Disney prices are eye-popping! and it fun to be able to add things, just to try them, without concern to sticking with THE ORIGINAL BUDGET. (What ever you budgeted?... add more $$$ because Disney will find a way to get you to try something new)

Want to give this "intangible" a dollar value? pixiedust:
If I could turn my "joy" into Happy Dollars... My exchange rate would be- 1 Happy Dollar to 1 real dollar.... the DxDDP is easily worth $300 Happy Dollars to me, during a weeks vacation.

Disney works very hard to leave the real world behind. This is the last piece in the puzzle, if you enjoy a total escape from the everyday world :beach:

[Superspectral]

So I just ran the numbers for our 5-night trip of doing DDP versus doing DxDDP.

If we went with the DDP and paid OOP for three breakfasts and the snack difference, we would saving a whopping $50. ;) (Perhaps more if we didn't actually buy all those additional snacks, so maybe a maximum savings of $95. )

But in the grand scheme of a $4,000-plus vacation, is saving $50 - $95 really something to worry about?

Is there a non-dollar value in having the DxDDP, like the convenience or the pre-paid aspect?

Please tell me what I am not considering both in favor of the DxDDP and in favor of the DDP (and its $50 savings).

thanking in advance,
delilah

Good question about the non-dollar value:
If you are about $50-95 under break even vs. DDP, you are wanting to eat at a lot of TS anyway, so the pros and cons of lots of TS vs. CS don't apply. But there still are some pros for you...

DxDDP Pros:
*DxDDP involves less on-site book-keeping and is more flexible and can be more spontaneous (as long as you use 60% of your credits for TS or signature).
*no need to worry about when to pay OOP vs. use the DDP. Easy to make mistakes here which undercut best value of DDP by accidently paying for a more expensive meal OOP.
* no seperate CS and TS pools of credits. Scheduling too many extra TS will make CS hard to use, can easily end up with extra. Likewise, cancelling or missing a TS can result in an unusable DDP credit - at least you can use a DxDDP credit anywhere.
* more of the trip is entirely pre-paid, no need to focus so much on dining money.
* in early 2008, at least, DxDDP credits for adults and children were pooled (again overall easier to track of since there are fewer catagories).
* 2 credit options are a good use on the DxDDP but can be a bad use on the DDP. If you do a 2 credit meal on the DxDDP,you are essentially taking away a breakfast counter service (the typical 3rd credit use of each day), most of the time, which is a cheap OOP trade. And even after a signature, you still have lots of credits.
*you may save more money than you thought vs DDP (this happened to me) if Disney increased prices.

Cons:
* Disney is the master at convincing people to pay $50 more here and $50 more there. It adds up when this happens to you 10 times during the trip.
* It can be hard to use all DxDDP credits if you don't have some time on either your arrival or departure day to use credits (or soak them up with signature dining).
* you can lose more money than you thought vs. DDP if you just don't want to use all your credits by the end of the trip; or buy only the cheap entrees, etc.

[dustyraye]

We have booked DxDP for the first time on this trip. On other trips, we have paid OOP (with TiW), and often split entrees. Because I have had gastric bypass surgery, we have avoided buffets and all-you-can-eat restaurants, because I couldn't eat enough to justify the price. If we were not sharing an entree, I made sure to order something that would reheat well in the microwave later on.

For this trip, we decided to splurge and add the DxDP, and take this chance to try places that we wouldn't have tried if we were paying OOP. By including the DxDP as part of our overall package price, we are not going to worry about the prices, and just enjoy the experiences of places like Boma and CRT, as well as some of the 2 TS signature restaurants. We also won't have to compromise by needing to agree on a shared entree, so we will both be free to order exactly what we really want from each menu, and I am going to take the opportunity to not worry about what will make good leftovers.

So for us, the freedom is a huge non-dollar value addition.

[cmesq61]

So I just ran the numbers for our 5-night trip of doing DDP versus doing DxDDP.

If we went with the DDP and paid OOP for three breakfasts and the snack difference, we would saving a whopping $50. ;) (Perhaps more if we didn't actually buy all those additional snacks, so maybe a maximum savings of $95. )

But in the grand scheme of a $4,000-plus vacation, is saving $50 - $95 really something to worry about?

Is there a non-dollar value in having the DxDDP, like the convenience or the pre-paid aspect?

Please tell me what I am not considering both in favor of the DxDDP and in favor of the DDP (and its $50 savings).

thanking in advance,
delilah


Along with the pros already listed, we saved a ginormous amount on the DxDP and the savings are a huge pro. Most days, we had already paid for the cost of the DxDP part way through lunch, so the at-least-$200-and- often-more cost of dinner was all profit. While many people say they wouldn't eat so much if they were not on the DxDP, my hungry teens like to eat. And frankly, so do I. We loved the ability to sit down as a family even on vacation for a meal. My BF and I are returning in June and are doing the DxDP again.

[gigi1313]

did you include the value of the refillable mugs (at $12+ each)? how 'bout the appetizers that are included w/DxDDP and not regular DDP?

we also took advantage of the extra credits to go to HDDR, SoA and CRT wehre gratuity was included...

i liked having carte blanche... not looking at prices... being able to try new things w/out feeling like it's going to cost me a fortune to find out i don't like shrimp... and it all being prepaid and not reaching in my pocket...

[Suellen]

I love not thinking about the price of anything and doing as many character meals as we want!!

[Colleen27]

Is there a non-dollar value in having the DxDDP, like the convenience or the pre-paid aspect?


We think so. I love not having to think about a dining budget or look at menu prices, and regardless of how much we have to spend I am the type that would be thinking about $$, thinking "OMG, $40 for a so-so lunch with Cinderella!" or "Do I really want that appetizer $12 worth?". And DH is the kind of guy who thinks spending money on water is just ridiculous, so the DxDDP saved us the eyerolls and the usual conversation about convenience vs cost when one of the kids wants water in the parks. So for us, there is immense value in the "all inclusive" feel of the deluxe plan. We did save some money with it, but even if it came out equal we'd still do the plan for the convenience.

[noahdove]

I must add that in August 2008 we had the dining plan and I cannot begin to say how much it saved me. I had a 14 and an 8 year old and that being said, they ate well, and little to no food was wasted, we had serveral character meals and that saved us time waiting in lines for autographs inside the parks. I will be taking an 8 year with me this year and we again will have the dining plan and her mother reminded me that Kenna can eat more than her brothers....so...once again I know I will save many $$$$:) Good luck with your decision. Oh, one last thought, I made tip envelopes for the table services and I didn't need to worry about the tip when the meal was finished:)

[TifffanyD]

Benefits of DxDDP vs DDP

- You get the refillable mug (about $13 value pp)
- You don't feel restricted by not being able to get an app
- You can ditch the restaurant and get a CS
- Extra snack!
- You don't feel like you have to get "max value restaurants" because if you eat 3 sit-downs or even a signature and a reg you will def come out ahead

[Matt71]

All the PPs have covered all the pros.

One con to keep in mind is that with the DxDDP the $ value of your meals will be higher because you will be eating more TS and getting Appetizers. As a result, you will probably be tipping more as well (likely a couple bucks per person per meal if you stick with 18%).

We just upgraded to the DxDDP and think it is well worth the extra cash.

[Rootskate]

We had the DDP on our last trip and I found myself trying to decide which places to pay out of pocket for, running out of snack credits towards the end of the week, and paying out of pocket for appetizers at 90% of the places we went to.

When I started planning for our upcoming trip I looked at the places we would likely eat (including 3 signature places) and decided that it would be crazy not to book the deluxe plan this time around. I do need to figure out though how many credits we would actually use because I know we won't do a table service for lunch and dinner. It would just be dinner we used those for.

The bottom line is, even if we don't use all of the credits it still seems like we would come out ahead and avoid stressing about credits like the last time.

[NMW]

AS others have stated the Deluxe dining plan is so convenient, we would never go without it. We do a character or resort breakfast every morning and several signature dinners. We do not waste credits or food. We space our meals out: early breakfast, mid day lunch or just snacks, late dinner. This plan works out prefectly for us.

Plus, I think people under estimate the value of the snack credits (2 per person, per day). The 5 of us buying bottles of soda is close to $15. Do that every day, sometimes twice a day and it adds up. If we are using snack credits, I don't even think about it. We had no problem using all of our snack credits.

The mugs were nice when we got back to the resort from a park. DH and the boys would go fill them, while I showered DD. Same thing when we got bake at night.

My sons 12 & 10, eat from the adult menu. They want filet, mussel appetizers, etc. With the deluxe plan, they ordered whatever they wanted, just like at home. I look at it this way. If we go to Outback Steakhouse and my 12 year old orders the $19 filet and the $3.50 clam chowder and then doesn't eat all his filet because the new wire on his braces is making his teeth hurt. I'm not going to freak out over $19. However, if we go to Yachtsman and pay $54 for his meat, and $14 for his appetizer, I'd probably tell him that I didn't care if his teeth hurt! Just kidding...:goodvibes

Although it is nice to not even notice prices and just let the kids order what ever they want. If we were paying cash for it, I might feel like I wanted to order for them, thereby insuring that they like what they will be getting. With the deluxe plan, I let them experiment and try new things. It makes our trips fun.

So yes, there is more value to the deluxe plan for our family than just the $$$ amount.

[PrincessTrisha]

I don't know where you're staying but I have to admit one thing that has me looking at the DDXP is Room Service. There's something nice about feeling like there is always an alternative to fall back on if your plans change - or I just feel lazy - to be able to say - no big deal, lets use 2 credits and just order room service. Or waking up in the morning, extra hungry and deciding, let's get a "real" breakfast and heading to a sit down restaurant (not necessarily a buffet) for steak and eggs (or whatever floats your boat).

I guess it comes down to flexibility - once you're there, things can change and it's nice to have a plan that can be as flexible as you want it to be. Even if you have plans to have a sit down lunch, if you suddenly decide that the double bacon cheeseburger at Cosmic Ray's is too good to resist, you can easily change your plans and not have to worry about how many of each type of credit you have.

There's also the whole - order anything you want (appetizer, entree and dessert) and not look longingly at that crab cake and think - "Do I really feel like paying an additional $9 for that?".

The one thing I found about the dining plans is they let me forget about money, prices and value, and order whatever I want on the menu.

[Markstudy]

I need help. I really love the DxDDP :cheer2: pre-paid meals make me happy:beach:

I'd like to stay at the Swan Dolphin...and get a good view of the Epcot fireworks from my room.

I've stayed Beach Club and Yacht Club and like the area around the Boardwalk...Yet I've never been interested in the theme of the Board Walk Resort.

As I understand it, there is no dining plan at Swan/Dolphin even though they have extra magic hours and Disney Transportation:confused3 .