Do You Feel Limited?

[Eeyores Butterfly]

My family is discussing a possible Disney trip when I get my Master's in May :banana: . I have discussed the DDP option with them and they are reluctant. They have seen other people use it and think it looks overly complicated/ is too restrictive. I have read the brochure and the FAQ and saw that several of our misconceptions were put to rest. If I have have this right you can order any entree/dessert off the menu (I had originally thought you were limited in what you can order).

Do you find that you felt limited by it any way? I told them I would ask here because you all are the experts. :) We've never thought about this before because before now I was a CM and received discounts on dining so we didn't do the plan. Now that I am no longer a CM :( this sounds like a great way to save money and have one less worry on our trip. So please give me your reviews good or bad.

[septbaby]

I actually felt exactly the opposite. Usually when I eat out I'm restricted by my wallet, no such thing on the DP. I just did a quick weekend at WDW, no parks so I paid for all my meals. For bfast I chose platter and fountain drink. On DP I would have gotten the same platter, but two bottled drinks, a much better deal.

If you choose the Basic or Deluxe plans you need to make reservations for TS meals and show up for those to value out of the plan. There are places not on the DP, but there are so many great place on the DP it is an not issue in my book. Again on the recent trip I ate at HoB, not on DP. I also paid for breakfast at Boma, it is a DP option.

I learned now that I have experienced the DP that is the way I prefer to eat at WDW.

If this trip is your celebration and you want the DP, book it.

[GC&S]

For us, the DP makes it easier. Never felt it was restrictive and we have never had any problems with it. No limitations (previously for some restaurants you couldn't order lobster on the DP but most have taken it off the menu anyways so it's not an issue). We like that it's already paid for so no worrying about prices. And you need to make ADR's whether you're on the DP or not if you want TS.

[beroh2253]

We also felt the opposite, you can choose from everything except the app. and also always thought the CM were very nice and very helpful, We have gone now on the DDP 4 times 3 free DDP and 1 OOP DDP

[brokenlola]

We have not gone yet so take my perspective with a grain of salt... I went back and forth on wether to do the DDP, QSDP or neither... we ended up getting the DDP. The 2 big things I think we may not like are getting a dessert with all meals, we normally don't get desserts when eating out but feel the need to with the DDP so we are "getting our money's worth". Also we have 3 children, one of which is under 3, so isn't on the DDP. The kids meals look limited so I have really had to scour the menu's to find CS places that offer more than pb&j and mac and cheese and also for places that DD can share my food. If not on the DDP we may have just bought the boys an adult meal to share.

[Colleen27]

I don't think it is restrictive at all. You can order anything off the menu that is included in your plan (entree & dessert on std plan) and the snack credits are good for a LOT more than the options specifically listed on the brochure. We find the plan freeing, because even when we've got an ample food budget I tend to look at menu prices. On the plan, I never have to look at a price!

There are a few places that don't take the plan (in the parks only Rainforest Cafe and Bistro de Paris, but most DTD restaurants don't take it), but the vast majority of park & resort restaurants do.

We'll be using the plan for the 4th time in May (2nd time on the deluxe plan) and at this point, I think we're well aware of the few limitations on it. For our room-only trip in Dec, we're planning on lunch at Tokyo Dining (where the ala carte sushi isn't on the plan), tea at the Gardenview Tea Room (which doesn't participate in the plan) and dinner at Fultons (which doesn't participate in the plan). Those are the only 3 ADRs I plan to make for that trip, because they're the only places we want to try that the DDP falls short on. So that should say something - over 4 trips that add up to 29 nights on the DDP, we've only come up with 3 meals we'd like to have that aren't covered.

[2manypets]

With the DDP, I quit telling my DH and kids "NO" that's too expensive. It was very liberating and I was the best mom ever because I insisted my kids eat their desserts. :lmao: We won't go without the dining plan anymore.

[Laurabearz]

I felt very limited on the dining plan...

Some meals I might just want 2 or 3 appetizers as my meal, can't do that on the dining plan...

Also for the kids, sometimes the offerings for them were not to their liking, but we didnt have the option to order something off the adult menu....

And my DH felt he needed to eat the most expensive thing on the menu even though it might not be his first choice... he is goofy that way :rotfl:

[*NikkiBell*]

We rarely go to WDW without some form of the dining plan whether it be deluxe or regular. The only time I felt slightly restricted was on the regular dining plan because we prefer the signature restaurants and like to hit them moreso than other places. With the regular plan, you have less TS credits to work with for signature meals. The deluxe made it easier because there were more TS credits to use (we rarely have breakfast and use these extras).

[summermac]

Never had it before but I'm only find it "limiting" in that I feel like I have to do all sit-down dinners to get our money's worth. Does that make sense? I went in all gung-ho about maximizing the DDP to get every single cent I could out of it. I finally had to stop doing that and really look at what my family would enjoy not what would be the best deal. For example Coral Reef is a pretty pricey restaurant but honestly very little on that menu appeals to us. I wanted it b/c it's a deal. I know we'd love breakfast buffets but they aren't the best deal when it comes to DDP. However, in the end I decided 2 breakfasts & 5 dinners (which one might become a lunch just to mix it up a bit) and just on TS meals alone our total assumed OOP is $533.01. This means we still have to spend $103 to break even on DDP on CS & snacks across 7 days ($15 per day). Once I realized this (b/c $15 per day is nothing for a family of 3 on CS and snacks) I felt so much more freedom in making meal choices. Sure I could maximize the plan to save tons of money but I think 7 dinners is overkill. So mix it up a bit. Have fun with it. Breaking even is what's important, not saving hundreds of dollars b/c you ate at the most expensive restaurants you could find. Okay, I'm rambling.

The only other thing I find "limiting" is that it only offers two meals total a day and our family is a three meals a day kind of family. I wish there was a 2 CS & 1 TS plan out there b/c we'd really enjoy that. And I have a hard time with paying for more meals after already paying $650 for the DDP. But we'll work it out. :)

[vedlin71]

my hubby will not go if we dont do dxddp.we like to do a ts breakfast then cs lunch. and the ts dinner. we save about $400 - $500 we have me hubby and 3 teenagers.

[NJRA]

LOVE the dining plan. We tried it for the first time last year, and it was great. We were actually relaxed at our dinners instead of worring how much the bill was going to be. It was a great feeling to know we could order what ever we wanted and had no worries. It wasen't restrictive at all. In fact there was almost to many choices!!! I would go for it. We will not do WDW again without it!:thumbsup2

[wishtdream]

We love the dining plan. We do a light breakfast in our room or on the way to the parks. (Dry cereal,bagels, fruit and Juice or milk box for the kids. Coffee for DH and I.) We like an early counter service lunch and a sit down meal each night. We often get the counter service Dessert to go in the form of a fruit bowl or other fruit options. We then use these to help fill our kids bellies when they inevitably are hungry while waiting in line. We also like the snack credits as they allow us to say yes to that humongous sucker that we know DD is not going to eat.:goodvibes

[madisonsmommy7704]

We love the dining plan. We do a light breakfast in our room or on the way to the parks. (Dry cereal,bagels, fruit and Juice or milk box for the kids. Coffee for DH and I.) We like an early counter service lunch and a sit down meal each night. We often get the counter service Dessert to go in the form of a fruit bowl or other fruit options. We then use these to help fill our kids bellies when they inevitably are hungry while waiting in line. We also like the snack credits as they allow us to say yes to that humongous sucker that we know DD is not going to eat.:goodvibes
ditto this if you don't want dessert at the CS meal get something packaged you can ggrab with you- like the fruit bowl or even a packaged cookie ;)

[PaulaSB12]

I have been to disney 3 times with the free dining plan, this last year if I wanted an appetizers I paid for them oop. This year I am paying for the dining plan (it was cheaper that way) and on the deluxe dining plan so appetizers away. I do intend to do all 7 of the signature restaurants though.

[horsified1]

We have done the regular and just got done using the QSDP. We liked them both and there was plenty of food. The thing we liked about the QSDP was not having to be tied to reservation times. There are positive and negatives to each plan, but we definitely save money by doing it. Last year when we did the regular dining plan, I saved our receipts and added them up. They totaled almost $600. We only paid $260 for the plan. Well worth it in my book.

[caroline1851]

We loved the dining plan. We got $800 worth of food for $604. Actually, it would be more if you added in all the stuff they gave dd2 for free-they almost never charged me for whatever I ordered for her.

The ddp was great for us because we tend to be cheap and not want to spend a lot on a meal. This allowed us to eat wherever and whatever we wnated without feeling guilty since it was paid for in advance as part of a package.

[commdoc]

I agree with those who feel the dining plan is liberating. Eat what you like, get dessert... We came home yesterday and it was a real tranisition to have to look at prices again at the airport restaurant!

[Mrs.Reese]

I've done no DDP and DDP. I debated on adding it to this trip but DH really likes to eat. We go to Disney and he turns into the human eating machine. I'm not a big eater and can easily live off kids meals sometimes but we chose the dining plan for this trip. Last year, we spent around $120/day on food for two people. This year we'll spend less just by having the DDP.

I don't feel limited by the plan in fact it's kind of liberating. I really enjoy Boma but since I eat like a sparrow DH refuses to eat there unless on the DDP.

[TDC Nala]

I would think the dining plan isn't at all limited if you're OK with eating exclusively at restaurants on Disney property. If you like offsite or more gourmet choices, you might find it limiting.

Complicated? It seems not in the least complicated if you order straight from the offered menu. On the basic plan, you can order pretty much any entree and dessert on the menu, hand over your dining card and have it paid for. Where it gets complicated is if diners want to substitute or mix and match menu items - wanting appetizers instead of desserts, wanting a fixed price offering on an a la carte menu, ordering extra appetizers or alcoholic beverages thus having to sign two payment slips, signature restaurants costing two credits per person, children who don't want kids' menu meals, etc.

Personally I find it too restrictive to use - no way would I want a dessert with every single meal (you don't get one with breakfast, but I don't mess with breakfast.)

[cajunprincess]

I think DDP allows us to eat in places we would have NEVER tried if we had to pay out the pocket for each meal when we were there. Once we pay for DDP, your food is *pretty much* covered for the trip. So you may as well go and try all the unique restaraunts!! Without the DP, I know we would not be eating a dessert w/ every meal. I think that may be why i like the DP the most... I just love my sweets!!! :rolleyes1

[bigbabyblues]

We've used the regular dining plan 4 times and have never felt limited with it. That said, we're probably a target family.....kids are still Disney kids and don't really mind the kids' menus too much at the cs places; we share with them when they don't find something they want. We generally did one TS meal per day, sometimes two, but we just paid cash for the cheaper ones. If we want appetizers or whatever, we don't mind paying for it.

[eandesmom]

I really thought we would feel limited, we had some concerns going in but did the math and it seemed to make sense.

Honestly I don't think we will ever go without the DDP again. While we would likely not save as much next time (saved $450) as we will have one less kid on the kid plan (potentially two), it was incredibly liberating as many have mentioned.

We can go with 2 meals a day and had purchased breakfast items for our cabin at FW. Combine the two and we were stuffed, pretty much constantly. I could have ordered far less for the cabin food supplies. By choosing the plan it "forced" me to think about ADR's which we've not done in the past. And, as a party of 6 we can't just walk in anywhere. So this trip I did my homework, made my ADR's and we couldn't have been happier with our dining choices.

I was very worried about the app versus dessert debate, not being a big dessert eater. But never having to say no to my kids for 6 nights about dessert and one mid day treat? Wow, they felt spoiled and like it really was vacation. That would NOT have happened if we were OOP. I did not miss the apps and salads like I thought I would...I was just too full! And really given that you can usually switch a dessert for a side at a CS, I had enough of that elsewhere. All our buffets had salads so really with planning, I only missed that salad 50% of my dinners.

I can honestly say we felt truly limited a total of 3 times, with 6 people.

1. We wanted to eat at HOB. So that was OOP.
2. In Future world it was hard to find a smoothie at the time we wanted one for one of the kids.
3. In the world showcase we were saddened to find a lovely cart full of espresso items but none were snack credits and we didn't feel like hiking to france for an espresso. Epcot in general, for snacks (outside of sunshine seasons) was a little challenging unless you wanted to trek back to the WS.

All of those were annoyances...not deal killers!

From a meal standpoint, yes, we had one day of whining from the 9 year old about the kids menu. But realistically we often make him order from the kids menu anyway, his eyes are bigger than his stomach and many restaurants don't have decent mid size alternatives that aren't quite a bit more expensive. And I found the CM's to be super helpful in guiding the kids to mix up the sides with their meals to give them what they wanted and with some homework there is a little variety in those kid menus...if you look for it, and we did! We specifically tailored our ADR's to address this, if we were all adults it may well have been a different restaurant mix but it worked out really well.

As a mom, being able to say "yes" to a mickey bar EVERYDAY or that GIANT sucker that I'd never ever buy...or the piece of fudge as big as my hand well....the kids thought the plan rocked! And for a 16 year old to get carte blanche on a menu when he's used to only looking at the less expensive items...he thought that was pretty amazing. "Really?" ANYTHING? Yep dude, anything.

:)

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

We have not been on our trip yet, but I am excited about being on the DDP. We are going to eat at places that we wouldn't have considered before because we wouldn't have wanted to spend that much money. The only thing I'm afraid will be limited will be the space in my clothes after I eat all this food.:rotfl:

[buzznina]

I think the DDP's are great but not for everyone.
Over the past 4 years we have found that the DDP is not for our family for the following reasons. We do not do a lot of TS meals usually for a week stay I will normally only make 2 ADRS, we do not like working our day around ADRs. I know a lot of people are the other way and like having a schedule but I have to deal with schedules and deadlines at work so when we go on vacation we like to just wing it. Also; having a toddler (DD now 4) and another DD on the way:love: it's just easier not having ADRs, you never know when she will get hungry or if she falls asleep or... We have only did DDP once and it was during free DDP time and truthfully it was to much food for us and I ended up over eating most of the time, we also felt like we had to use all the TS credits:confused3 Since then I have drove my DW nuts because we will only use our room charge for food, so I can compare what we spent to what DDP would have cost us. On our last 5 trips we saved $ by not purchasing DDP. But if we get a package with free DDP we will definitely take it:) Now WDW came out with QSDP and we are going to try it out on our trip in 16 days, this might actually be a plan for us.

[Lily & Giny's Mom]

Free dining the last 3 years, I think we hit all the places that otherwise we would not have. This year no ddp, I think we will enjoy it more, get apps. instead of a entree. No dessert,ect.