Why are DDP's too much food?

[CaptainCook]

I have read numerous posts on how DDP is alot of food and that upgrading to DxDP is just crazy b/c it's just so much food and most poeple can't eat it all, leaving WDW with unused meal credits and forcing themselves to spend leftover snack credits on candy to take home. (sure we may save a few for treats on the plane ride home, but I can't imagine filling a suitcase like I have read others do). I also don't buy into the 2TS restaurants for dinner every night as a good way to "use up the credits" either.

Most people I know eat 3 full meals plus a few snacks every day all year. Given that I am a) on vacation, b) at Disney and c) walking and/or swimming all day every day, I think the DxDP sounds like the perfect amount of food for me. Am I just an abnormally big eater? Maybe, but I am active and maintain a healthy weight, and I just can't believe so many of you DISer's eat so little.

I guess with this post I am trying to get some more insight from you all as to why I seem so different than the majority of posters. I have justified to myself that the DxDP is the right way to go for me, DW, DS(4.5), and DD(2.5) for the following reasons:

• young kiddos will do best on a normal schedule of 3 meals / day at regular times
• we want to do as many character meals, especially breakfasts as possible
• we want a sit-down break from the heat for lunch each day
• DD(2.5) eats for free at buffets so the more TS credits the better
• appetizers at TS can also be used to share with DD who doesn't have her own credits
• have most ADR's planned ahead so don't have to decide what CS each day, and finding tables at CS can be hard enough, having an ADR at TS is nice
• do lots of buffets, they don't take as long and kids can get food and start eating as soon as we sit-down
• with such young kids we are not missing out on valuable touring time, character meal time is more fun for them than touring, and we can avoid the lines for meeting characters in parks
• we figure on only a few hours of touring per day anyway with kids at that age
• all you can eat meals don't have to mean more food than you would normally eat
• not alwyas true, but is usually easier to eat healthier options at TS vs CS
• 6 snacks / day on DxDP seems like it can easily be used up by the 4 of us on water, juice, ice-cream etc. (will be there during summer heat)

Please provide your feedback. I feel that upgrading to DxDP is going to be the best use of time & money for our family but am interested in hearing the other side too.

Thanks.

And sorry I am new to this, I don't have a signature and all of that stuff yet. But I have been reading here for a while now and have been to WDW many times but not since having kiddos and never with DDP before.

 

[theweave]

Well I have never done the DDP or the DxDDP so I can't say much but... I am planning on the DxDDP when I go in Feb next year. Reason being, I want 3 meals a day like you and want the flexibility of being able to have either CS or TS each day. I am by no means a big eater but I want to be able to eat where I want without having to scan menus for "cheaper" things like I did last year!

Every one has their own reasons for and against the plans and I am sure you will hear more here!

 

[clc053103]

I am not so sure that it's too much food. We do DxDP too! We do a few CS meals and some signature meals, so we don't always eat 3 full sit downs a day. We also use a ton of snack credits towards fruit and bottled water. It is also possible to eat lighter foods at TS like entree salads!

We love not reaching into our pocket for money every time we are thirsty!

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

It's too much food because:

A An app, an entree and a dessert is usually more than we can each eat (not to mention the snacks in between!)
B You're at Disney! You don't want to spend half your day sitting in restaurants.

That said, we're doing the DxDP in June because we're focusing on 2TS credit restaurants and are not going in "commando" mode at the parks

But there's no way I'd do 3 TS meals a day at Disney, I'd be chomping at the bit to get out and ride some rides!

 

[TDC Nala]

It's great for some. I almost never eat breakfast. A full lunch of three courses plus a signature dinner would mean I'd have to take it easy on the signature dinner - not what I'd want to do. And I don't usually order all three courses. There's some who like to avoid the entree AND the dessert and just get a couple of appetizers and a cheese board (like me). I don't do character meals and buffets are rare. If I do them, it's Boma or Biergarten.

and TIW covers the booze!

I don't use the plan and just buy whatever I'm in the mood for.

 

[dischic89]

Last year, we were on the regular dining plan and while I don't think is was too much food we were absolutely stuffed by the end... I ended up gaining five pounds, seriously. I definitely don't feel that I eat very little while at home, I just think that the foods are different. At home, I'll have string cheese or fruit snacks during the day, but at Disney I'll have ice cream and popcorn. And on the dining plan I have dessert with lunch AND dinner, something I wouldn't normally do. I think it just depends on the person and what you're used to. If I had three sit down meals a day at Disney, I honestly don't think my clothes would fit by the time I had to go home .

 

[dischic89]

I forgot to add...

 

[Disneynut5]

We are going Deluxe in September (Dh, me - DW, Ds -8, and Dd - 4). We have planned 2 TS per day. I also figure that the lines for CS will be long during free dining as most people will want to save their TS credits for dinner. I also do not like fast food and TS with salads and all fits us better. Just because they give you 3 courses (App, meal, dessert) does not mean you have to eat everything - I can pace myself and only eat half of many items if I need to.

Of course, this is our first trip. With small kids we will not be doing the popular thrill rides anyway. If fact there are MANY rides and shows we are just not interested in and we have 2 days at eaach park if needed.

So maybe we are both crazy CaptainCook!

 

[ancestry]

Well we have the DxDP so I must say that I agree with you.

Honestly I do think it will be a bit too much food for me (and I'm not exactly a small woman to begin with) when you add in the appetizers, meals, and dessert, but my kids do eat three meals a day plus snack in between at home. Also, my husband likes to eat when we are on vacation. We look forward to having three sit down meals a day. Our meals are our family time and our down time during the day.

 

[Gina35]

I'm going through the same decision process right now (whether or not to do deluxe). We have had the regular dining plan the last few times we've gone to DW and loved it. We have 7 in our family, so the additional $32 per day does add up...but it sounds very enticing! I agree with some of the "positives" noted by previous posters: having the choice of TS or CS, avoiding the table search at CS restaurants, being able to combine breakfast buffets and signature dining, and not having to think about putting any money out (except for tips). I'd have to say that I'm leaning toward deluxe, but I'm still not sure. Keep your thoughts coming; it helps to read others' experiences with the plan.

 

[Colleen27]

It isn't too much food for us! We enjoyed the deluxe plan in January '08 and are looking forward to doing it again in Sept. We don't usually eat 3 meals per day at home or away, just because we're not breakfast people, so we go with an early lunch and a signature dinner most days and the kids use snack credits while we're getting coffee/tea in our refillable mugs in the morning.

I think one of the reasons people find the plan to be too much food is because they're thinking about getting the most from it rather than eating the way they want to. So they're eating larger and heavier meals than they really want, eating dessert even if they're full, not "wasting" snack credits on drinks when they're thirsty, etc. We love the plan, but we use it the way we want to eat. Sure, we'd get more dollar value out of it if we ordered steak at every meal, shipped bottled water to the resort so we could conserve our snack credits for sweets, and ordered dessert whether we wanted it or not. but we get our money's worth and a fair savings by eating what we want even if that means the cheapest entree on the menu and skipping dessert.

 

[maggiew]

I think it depends on your family. For mine, we have 2 preteen/teen girls that hardly eat anything. Normally (at Disney and when we go out to eat at home) we share food. We may get 3 meals for the 4 of us. Or 2 meals plus one appetizer. We rarely eat dessert because we are too full. So paying for 4 "adults" on the REGULAR plan is about $160 per day plus tips. The DxDDP would be about $288 plus even more tips!!! We probably wouldn't spend that much normally. We might spend UP TO that amount, but not more. Some days much less. We usually eat one Table service per day too. But some of our favorites are on the cheaper end of the scale. One thing my kids do eat pretty well is breakfast food, so we often do a character breakfast or two. But those are usually cheaper to do OOP than on the dining plan. Also, we go in the summer and it is too hot to eat too much. Plus, this year we are doing 7 nights at WDW due to the buy 4 get 3 deal. If we were only doing 4 or 5 nights like we normally do, I might try it.

However, if DH and I ever go alone without the kids, I hope to do the DxDDP just so we could try the signature places. Although I don't think I will order an appetizer, entree and dessert at each place. Although sometimes the fancier the restaurant, the smaller the portions! So we would have to see.

Maggie

 

[SunnieRN]

Welcome Captain! I have argued with myself over the pros and cons of QS, DDP and DxDDP over and over.

I can see the advantages to all the plans. For my family I have noticed our eating trends and habits and find that for us, with a 1 and 3 year old and three adults, that we are better off with the QS plan right now.

That having been said, we are doing DDP in Sept. as we are taking additional family members who have never been and may not go back again. We want them to be able to experience some of the restaurants there. I will definately miss the extra snack credit however and don't feel the DDP is as good a buy as the DxDDP!

We were there last Sept. and it was so hot that our appetites were practically non existant by lunch and dinner due to the heat! Last month it was a lot more fun to eat! We did the QS plan for most of our trip and over 9 days I only ate one burger. There are a lot of really good choices!

When the boys are a bit older (say 4 and 6) we plan to try DxDDP and try all the places we dream about right now!

It definately sounds like a great fit for your family!

 

[I'mwithGrumpy]

Having just returned from a 7 day trip using the DxDP, I felt as you, it would not be too much food. I knew going in to it that we would not be doing the parks commando style, as my mother would need rest breaks frequently. I planned out some 2 credit TS restaurants and figured using snack credits for drinks etc would work it all out. I made 2 TS reservations per day leaving one meal for CS. It really was too much. I have used the regular DP in the past and loved it. I was disappointed when they removed the appetizers and especially the included gratuity, so I thought the DxDP would be great. Even with all the thought, planning and preparation, we found it was just too time consuming. We often were not even hungry when it was time for the next meal and we just couldn't use it as we thought we would. We had 5 meal credits unused, and 21 snack credits unused. We cancelled 2 of our dinner reservations during the week, as we just didn't want to stop what we were doing to head for our reservation. We chose to do CS one night instead, and the other night all we wanted was a light snack. So for us, we won't be doing the DXDP again, we'll stick with the regular DP. I like having a sit down meal at the end of the day, but I want to enjoy my time in the parks, not in transit to dining reservations, waiting to be seated, waiting for cast members to take my orders and bring food etc...I do feel the DP should also have appetizers included. They go so overboard on the deluxe and have no give for the regular. For the cost of the deluxe, the gratuity should be included instead of the refillable mug, then I might be more willing to do it again

 

[MKCP5]

Someone tell me again what the DDXP is? We have the DDP in August, and I know there is an upgrade, but not sure what it is or the cost. I know I have seen alot about the DDP being too much and I dont get it either. I think we will be fine, and mau even wish we had a couple more credits b cause I would like to do a signature one night but haye to use 2 credits each

 

[nmmom95]

Someone tell me again what the DDXP is? We have the DDP in August, and I know there is an upgrade, but not sure what it is or the cost. I know I have seen alot about the DDP being too much and I dont get it either. I think we will be fine, and mau even wish we had a couple more credits b cause I would like to do a signature one night but haye to use 2 credits each

DXDP entitles you to three meals per day with any combination of TS or CS that you choose. It includes appetizers at TS meals, a refillable mug, and 2 snacks per day as well.

We usually do the DDP, but will be trying the DXDP on our next trip. We like to do character meals and shows such as the Hoop-Dee-Doo Review and Spirit of Aloha. My DS's (11 & 6) are picky eaters and TS meals keep them from eating nothing but chicken fingers. I'm expecting them to sprout feathers any day now! It also gives us a nice break during the day. I have heard that it is a lot of food, but the themed restaurants are a fun experience.

 

[jlw29]

We just got back from using the DxDP for a 6d/5n trip. I, like some previous posters, thought it would NOT be too much food as DH is a big eater, DD13 has become a bottomless pit and I have an average to above average appetite. The only light eater was DD11. Long story short, it WAS too much food for us and we did a few room service meals and several signature meals. There's no way we could have eaten 3 TS every day! The heat really zaps your appetite (except DD13 she ate non-stop. Ahh the metabolism of a teenager!).

Even with it feeling like too much food, we probably will use the DxDP over DDP again as we are appetizer people and I like having things prepaid. Even though you don't get the "best value" we would probably order fewer desserts and share meals more often.

 

[sarahk0204]

I think one of the reasons people find the plan to be too much food is because they're thinking about getting the most from it rather than eating the way they want to. So they're eating larger and heavier meals than they really want, eating dessert even if they're full, not "wasting" snack credits on drinks when they're thirsty, etc. We love the plan, but we use it the way we want to eat. Sure, we'd get more dollar value out of it if we ordered steak at every meal, shipped bottled water to the resort so we could conserve our snack credits for sweets, and ordered dessert whether we wanted it or not. but we get our money's worth and a fair savings by eating what we want even if that means the cheapest entree on the menu and skipping dessert.

I think this is a key point. We used the regular DDP last July and will use it again this June. Our girl/boy twins were 4 last trip and are 5 this trip, so some of the things the OP mentioned - mid-day breaks in the AC, fruit and ice cream snacks, not having to jockey for a table - are important to us too. We didn't change our eating habits for WDW, and we didn't stress about leftover credits. I think we had 4 CS meals left over, essentially child's CS (although I know CS credits are not separated). I sure don't worry about the dining plan "rules" like "only spend TS credits on dinner" (we usually do lunch), "never buy a 2TS meal" (we love Mickey's Backyard BBQ), etc. We might even do Deluxe someday, but since we stay at a resort with a full kitchen (FW cabins), 2 meals/day works for our family. If we ever tried another resort, I might look into Deluxe. However, I wouldn't plan on 3 TS/day even then.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

The one reason I want it for my June/July trip is because it's going to be so hot. Yes, the heat makes you not want to eat - but by the time I sit down in a nice air conditioned restaurant, sip a cold drink and look over the menu, I'll be ready to eat. For me, in the heat, counter service is out - I can't eat when it's too hot (I am actually sick to my stomach) and not eating all day is not an option for me (I always say, I can be tired OR hungry but not both).

Do I expect it to be a lot of food? Absolutely!

Do I expect that there are times I won't want to eat all 3 courses or finish everything on my plate? Absolutely!

Do I think that I'll get lazy and not want to leave my air conditioned hotel room and order room service? Absolutely!

Will I have snack credits left over at the end to use up on treats to bring home for family and friends? Absolutely!

Will I come home 5-7 pounds heavier? Absolutely! (but I expect that most of that is, ummm, additional intestinel weight I'm going to call it - so a few good movements later and I'm back to normal - and I'm not trying to be gross but this seems to happen every trip. I come home bloated and within a week or two I'm back normal).

But, on the flip side:

I don't have to pick 8 restaurants - I can choose up to 24

I can order the salad or soup without thinking, "$8 for a bowl of soup - are they insane! "

I can finally try more of the signature restaurants.

I can have a character breakfast without cringing at the bill (either because of the cost $$ or because I think of it as a "waste" on the DDP).

I can order room service without guilt or hesitation (even the expensive entrees!)

I don't have to purchase a case of water and a case of pop for the room or pack snacks or breakfast foods for the room (I plan on using some snack credits on the first day to put a few drinks in the fridge and a couple of snack items in the room for those late night munchies or a little something before heading out in the morning).

I can relax knowing that all of my dining needs are taken care of and I don't have to worry about the # of credits I have because I know I'll have enough (maybe one extra which can be used for a picnic lunch for the trip home).

 

[Faldred]

We did deluxe in March (myself, DW, DS3, DD2, and DS2) for exactly the reasons you have listed in post #1, and it worked out great for us.

When people talk about the "time away from the park", they often underestimate just how long it takes to order from CS, find a table (and high chairs or boosters, if necessary!), and actually eat, especially with young children who may take their time. Even more so if you're trying to keep on a "normal" schedule which may include trying to eat at peak lunch times.

We did roughly half CS and half TS for the lunches we were there (3 and 4, respectively), and I thought that the TS meals went much better than the CS ones. It made us be a bit more schedule-oriented, but we had shorter waits (and in AC) and more relaxed meals. As such, we didn't need to take afternoons off to go back to the resort (it helped that the twins napped in their stroller and DS3 [now 4] doesn't take naps) -- the 60-75 minutes for a quiet TS meal did a lot to keep everyone's energy level up.

As for "too much food", as long as you don't "pig out" on the buffets, I don't see a problem. Granted, I'm a big eater (easy to do, and still lose weight, on Atkins), but the increased activity level and being out in the sun makes me hungrier anyway. Only once did I feel "too full", and that was after breakfast at Crystal Palace (the puffed french toast is toooooo good...)