Am I the only one who *hates* the DDP??

[Ro Z]

This is why I stressed at the end of my post WHY some may like the DDP...it just doesn't work with our WDW vacay style and was looking for like minded Disers...

Ya. Someone who goes to WDW once every few years may find the dining plan a good choice because they may not get a better deal. No AP, TIW or whatever. But for me, except for F+W it is not our best option.

 

[Tricia's mom]

Dining Plan sucks and is for pigs.....

 

[danceintherain]

I don't understand why you can't have a choice of either a dessert or an appetizer. It makes so much sense...you could share an app and a dessert. I just can't eat a whole dessert.

Money.
Even if an appetizer didn't cost more than a dessert, if given the option, people would probably do exactly what you're suggesting. They would end up spending more time at their table without actually spending more money. It's beneficial to Disney's bottom line to turn over as many tables as possible.

I don't *hate* the dining plan, because it just doesn't work for me. That would be the same as *hating* coupons, because I don't use them. It's one option.
It is, however, frustrating that DH *loves* it. This makes it difficult for me to convince him that we don't want it.

 

[emmabemmainc]

I also don't really understand why this thread was started. Obviously, if you've been on this board longer than a day, you would have known that no, you are not the only one who hates the DDP. End of story.

 

[Ro Z]

I couldnt agree more. I dont get it either. If you do your research beforehand you can decide if its worth it for you or not. I dont get why ppl feel the need to create a thread about it. You tried it once, hated it, end of story. Move on. Dont get it ever again. Why post a thread about it? I paid OOP for two nights/three days (just got back today), and had the DDP for the rest of our 6 night stay. I gotta say, we spent a forture paying OOP. How do ppl save money? I thank god for the DP cause it saves us a ton of cash. To each their own right?

Like I said before. We save enough $ using our AP DISCOUNT that paying oop for meals works for us most of the time. Add our TIW 20% discount and we save even more. I have friends who swear by free dining and they spend more than 10 days in WDW. And I think they should get an AP. BUT they don't have one. IMO if you pay full price for your room, unless you have 4 adults in one room. Free dining is not a great deal.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Quote: IMO if you pay full price for your room, unless you have 4 adults in one room. Free dining is not a great deal.

I dont agree at all. My preteen son eats like a machine. We spent a fortune paying OOP. We think its a terrific deal. Plus it works for us. We dont have AP or TiW thou. Not an option for us.

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[DisneyFanJon]

I wonder how many people that "hate" (which is a strong word for an optional discount offer) the dining plan are frequent visitors, and hence don't need to try and cram in as much as possible to a vacation ? Or are US residents and have a decent chance of getting PIN codes or suchlike?

For us, the DDP at a discounted rate (generally for each trip the DDP has been free with stay, and been able to upgrade to the next level for a small cost) is a big thing. especially as flights etc continue to rise in costs. We very rarely have an appetiser when dining out at home, and that is, to myself and most friends here in England, pretty common. Yet most of us will always have a desert.

Like others say, it's optional, and when it's free its usually got a fair few conditions attached, and even then, certainly going off the prices of Travel Agents and Disney here in England, it's also at the cheapest times of year.

Even with the plan being free when we are on our next trip, I've got each restaurant thats bookable booked, and all were our first choice.

But then again most of the stuff at Disney seems good value compared to the rip-off prices here so

 

[LaurenT]

Hate is a strong word, but I wouldn't do the DDP. And, FD...well, it isn't really free, is it? You're paying rack rate to get that "free" which could be a substantial difference from another discount you could be taking advantage of.

I use TIW. My friend and I just took our girls. We were there for 9 days. Ate TS everyday, drank wine or margaritas every day, got the appetizers we wanted, etc.
In the end it averaged out to $80 a day for each of us ($80 for me and my DD and $80 for her and her DD), so that's $40 per person per day for all meals with drinks, appetizers and tips included. We ate at Le Cellier, Marrakesh, the Wave, Mama Melrose, Sanaa, Flame Tree Barbecue, Restaurantasaurus, Rose and Crown, The Fountain (discount honored due to mix up), Cape May breakfast, San Angel Inn, Wolfgang Puck, Captain's Grille, Big River Brewery and Bongos (I may be forgetting some).

I'm pretty sure if I added in the tips, alcohol and appetizers to the DDP (since they're all OOP on DDP) the cost would be significantly higher. Or, I could just make myself eat dessert and avoid all alcohol and appetizers....that would be a big drag on my vacation.....

 

[jekajekalynn]

Meh, after reading some touring blogs about it I'd rather skip it. For one , the free one isn't really "free", the cost of the dining is being distributed amongst other items like lodging , ticket prices, etc etc..(although I can understand wanting it just for the convenience of it)

 

[buzzrelly]

We have done the DDP many times in the past but I don't think I'd get it again due to the price increases and the fact that my kids would now have to be "adults" on the plan. It just wouldn't be worth it for us. We just don't normally eat that way anyway. We'd be perfectly content sharing snacks and CS meals.

And I don't understand why people are jumping all over the OP and getting offended by her post. People are allowed to come here and voice their opinions...that's what they DO here. She's just voicing hers....don't take it so personally people.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

Just to be clear, I'm not arguing anyone liking the plans or not, if it works for you, grand, if not, peachy. For me this was just one "I hate the DDP" thread too many.

 

[eliza61]

I don't hate it. I treat it just like any other mass market discount, some times they work for me, some times they don't.

I too am in the camp that it was a better deal when tips and appertizers were included. that was more in line with how my family dines.

Now that it's about 50 bucks a head, no way does it ever save me money. that's 200 bucks a day for my family (actually more because you must pay tips) While maybe 2 days out of 7 we spend more, last year we average 163 bucks a night including tips and 2 days where dh and I had adult beverages (beer and wine).

I do think its negatively effected food quality.

All and all though, I'm glad some folks can benefit from it.

 

[eliza61]

Just to be clear, I'm not arguing anyone liking the plans or not, if it works for you, grand, if not, peachy. For me this was just one "I hate the DDP" thread too many.

I can understand, but why read them then? title was pretty clear. I sympathize though. for a while there were tons of threads on the budget board along the lines of "welfare abuse". seems like everyone had a friend, relative, neighbor who was on welfare while living la vida loca (including multiple deluxe wdw trips), while they themselves were struggling to make ends meet.

I had the same complaint until some one mentioned the same thing to me.

Now I completely avoid them, they are the same rant to me and I'm just a happier person if I skip the conversation all together.

We always get some topics that go through cycles. nothing new.

 

[wdw&sonny]

Hate is a strong word, but I wouldn't do the DDP. And, FD...well, it isn't really free, is it? You're paying rack rate to get that "free" which could be a substantial difference from another discount you could be taking advantage of.

The same people who think FD is "free" probably also buy trip insurance for their package of room, tickets and dining.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The real problem with the DDP is each restaurant gets a fixed dollar amount for each meal served no matter the menu price of the meal. These amounts, of course, are separate for signature dining, regular table service, quick (counter) service, and snacks.

This has led to unreasonable pricing for buffets for people paying OOP as the amount paid to them by DDP is significantly less than the menu price and they have to make it up by charging more for those paying OOP.

And also for the regular meals, the top-end food is limited. I have noticed there tends to be about a $15 range between a restaurant's lowest and highest priced entrees. The restaurants cannot afford to increase this range, so the upper end quality is limited.

And they can't have a separate menu for DDP as people will complain about discrimination. And they cannot mark items on the menu that are not subject to DDP and must be OOP as people on the DDP will claim they did not notice the restriction.

And, of course, human nature being what it is, many people taking advantage of "free" dining will look to the high end of the menu.

 

[JimmyV]

I don't "hate" it, but am more disappointed in its inflexibility. I am frustrated by the fact that Disney has selected one format of dining and created a plan that caters to that model and leaves everyone else behind. Families like ours that enjoy appetizers, split a dessert three ways and never snack between meals are left out in the cold. If apps cost more than desserts and they wanted to bump the price $5 per person per day to allow us to have apps and a main and pay OOP for a dessert, I'd consider it. Or charge me the same price and allow apps instead of desserts and scrap the snacks, I'd do that too. With everything being computer coded, it can't be hard to build a "Dine Your Way" plan. But the current model of the DDP is just too many snacks and desserts to be workable for us. (And I don't need the: "but you can get a banana or apple as your snack" lecture. Yes I could. But I can also bring those into the park for next to nothing.)

As for free dining, we are only a family of three and prefer Deluxe resorts. Paying rack rate and only getting three DDPs does not work out economically. Toss in the great rates that you can get at the Swan and Dolphin which are not DDP eligible and free dining at Deluxe rack rate is a no-go.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I couldnt agree more. I dont get it either. If you do your research beforehand you can decide if its worth it for you or not. I dont get why ppl feel the need to create a thread about it. You tried it once, hated it, end of story. Move on. Dont get it ever again. Why post a thread about it? I paid OOP for two nights/three days (just got back today), and had the DDP for the rest of our 6 night stay. I gotta say, we spent a forture paying OOP. How do ppl save money? I thank god for the DP cause it saves us a ton of cash. To each their own right?

I do notice a lot of people who hate the DDP go to WDW quite often. And its the "dreaded" free dining that amps up the hate even more. And that is what I am more posting about this time around, "the I hate FREE dining", which if I went to WDW more often might apply to me, but for at this point in my life, does not!

I do feel that the menus have definitely changed, they do feel more standardized and I now know what works for restaurant choices for us to mix and match where it doesn't come out feeling like we ate the same thing night after night. I miss some things I used to get at a few restaurants, but overall the menus are fine for us and we enjoy pretty much all our meals.

For us, when free DDP is offered, this is hands down our BEST discount. We are intelligent enough to know its not free per se but it works for us when its free. When its not, we do manage to save money although we certainly don't eat as well! And for us, having done the DDP most of our last trips since 2006, and having it be free dining at that the last four trips, it would be really hard to go without it. Just paying OOP for a couple of nights this past March reminded us of how much nicer it is to be on the plan and while we didn't spend that much, we shared alot and my kids in particular had a countdown going when our "free" dining package would begin!

We fly from Denver, airfare is always very high for us, and free dining allows us to save money in a way that makes it possible for us to come and really have a great time, living it up with meals that to us, are a very nice change of pace and a real treat. We know they aren't all going to be "gourmet" but we do enjoy the food and admittedly are not foodies on a mission to create our own version of a Food Network show. Its much more fun for me to set my two teenagers off on their own, knowing their KTTW cards have all those handy "credits" on them to get what they want. No "okay kids, here's a $20 bill, go find something to eat and bring me back the change". Or at a ts "you can have x, y, but not z since its too expensive".

Just as the DDP won't work for a lot of people's eating styles, for many of us it allows to vacation on a whole different level if we get it, whether we pay for it or get it discounted.

And while I won't "buy" it anymore, its not because I hate it, but rather that its very pricey for the four of us. Well over $200 a day and we can eat for half that if we really scrimp. Which is no longer fun and why we do what we can (and so far so good in getting this discount over our dates) to come during free dining.

The attitude that those of us who love this discount are somehow not quite smart enough to understand how it is in fact a discount, frankly come off as condescending.

All discounts Disney offers are about getting you to come to Disney and hopefully spend above the discount. Free Dining is no different. TIW is no different. AP's and the disounts they offer that are so coveted, are no different than Free Dining, they are just covering a different dynmaic of customers.

To each their own.

Not opposed to the thread,or the many others, just opposed to when some seem to think you are somehow just not able to grasp what it really is whether you are paying for it or getting it for "free".

 

[Princess_taffy05]

This will be my first time using the "free dining." It actually is my first time using the dining plan period, but in my past Disney travels, my patents were footing the bill. I think it is pretty convenient for us because we are big drinkers and this is a way to have our actual meals already covered ahead of time and we can spend oop for our adult refreshments. The thing I am concerned with is the "too many desserts." I do not have a big sweet tooth and tend to fill up very quickly on meals and wine/beer. I'm hoping I can at least take some of these desserts back to the hotel, but I'm not sure I will even eat them.
I can see everyone's point of view here. If this weren't my first trip back in 5 years and we went annually like I used to as a kid, I probably would skip it if it weren't being offered for "free."
I was shocked when we booked by how cheap this trip is...

 

[Princess_taffy05]

*parents

 

[goofy78]

I'm a little confused. As someone who has never used DDP these threads along with threads praising the DDP are very helpful in deciding if we would be interested in a "FD" offer or RO for our upcoming trip. Someone mentioned being able to spend less than 200 a day if they scrimp, but I am on vacation and am not going to scrimp at all. Someone else mentioned the not included items on the DDP. I thought you could order anything on the participating restaurants menu. Of course apps and alcohol would be OOP. Was I wrong about this? If I can't order what I want off the menu it's definitely not for us. So thank you to everyone who starts these threads!