DDP Users-Do you order the most expensive item?

[aristocatz]

With all the discussion about cost/food quality cutting due to DDP, I was just wondering the percentage of DDP user styles on the Dis:

When using the DDP, do you find yourself only ordering the most expensive items on the menu? & going to only the mos expensive restaurants that your credits will allow, in order to get the most bang for your buck? Or do you just order what you want, regardless of value and DDP value?

Poll to follow....

 

[wdwjeffc37]

You will probably get two schools of thought here. For most people to get "your money's worth" you have to get the most expensive food at the more upscale restaurants. Some people though, don't worry about getting the best value. They just like the idea that all of their meals are paid for up front. That's why it's an individual decision for each person. Do the math and see what is the better deal for you. We gave done it both ways and have opted not to do the dining plan lately. We find it to be too much food. We do a few table service meals and pay out of pocket. Of course, free dining throws a twist in there.

 

[amg35]

Had table service plan one time - we didn't order the most expensive thing on the menu, but certainly didn't worry about the price when choosing our food.

Decided we didn't like having to have a sit down everyday, wasted too much time.

Now we pay table service out of pocket for only a couple dinners each trip. We find there are a lot of good counter service options and bars/lounges with appetizers.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

Nope. Never tried the "maximize the value" route. Whenever we use the Dining Plan we use it for the ability to order whatever we want. On the flip side, when we go without the DP, I tend to order a less expensive item. I guess I am the target audience for the DP.
We didn't have any plan this past trip and loved the freedom of not being tied down to a TS meal on a regular basis...but I still gave way to much thought to the expense of food. Next trip QS Plan.

 

[Primpcess]

We don't use the DDP, but when we ate at BOG a couple weeks ago, the people at the table next to ours told us that our entrees looked really good and they wish they could have tried them, but they each ordered the steak because they're on the DDP (the steak is the most expensive entree). I understand wanting to maximize the value, but I much rather order the entree that is most appealing to me rather than the one that is most expensive.

 

[sharonabe]

We don't use the DDP, but when we ate at BOG a couple weeks ago, the people at the table next to ours told us that our entrees looked really good and they wish they could have tried them, but they each ordered the steak because they're on the DDP (the steak is the most expensive entree). I understand wanting to maximize the value, but I much rather order the entree that is most appealing to me rather than the one that is most expensive.

Thus the probable reason for the OP's poll.

There are only three entrees on the BoG dinner menu that will cost more or break even with the $37.50 "value" of a TS credit on the DDP. Desserts here are very inexpensive, so it is difficult to get that value. If you use your logic of always ordering what's appealing with no thought to the price, you will more than likely end up paying more for the DDP than you would OOP. But that prepaid convenience is worth it to some people.

 

[jeepwreck]

For me it all depends on what I am in the mood for

I have only got the most expensive thing once off a menu but it was kind of what I wanted to try it was lamb shank and it was great.

But for me and my wife we do the dinning plan mainly for the convenience and not having to worry about money if the DDP works out to save us money then that’s great if not that’s fine too but so far it has always saved us money.

I keep track of all the food and snacks and at the end of the trip I add it all up the bills and see what we would have had to pay. So far it work in our favor

also we always get the deluxe meal plan, so we have 3 course meals all the time with the non alcoholic beverage and once you add up appy, entre, dessert and a drink I think it is a great deal

 

[supersnoop]

I think it's going to depend if you have "free" dining or if you're paying for the dining plan. With "free" dining, you don't have any perceived cost to recoup, so you can order whatever you want, but someone who's paying for the dining plan is more likely to seek out the maximum value.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

I just order what I want, it's vacation and I'm nit about to pull out the calculator and tab it up to make sure we break even, that is not the reason I like the DDP. I like an all inclusive feel, I have anxiety, and knowing that I won't have to pay a bill at the end of the meal calms me, if we paid oop I wouldn't enjoy it because I would be worried about the cost of everything. It is easier to me to look at it as if the cost of the DDP (free or not) is included in our package. More relaxing for me, so I like it.

 

[Shadowcat70]

We've only done the QSDP once before when free dining was offered. For our family, it was nice to just be able to order what we felt like eating without looking at prices at all. And to echo a previous post, when we have to pay OOP for food, we get the least expensive menu items just because vacation budgets get tighter and tighter every year.

On the flip side, I am not sure if I would feel different if I paid OOP for the DP. I don't think it would change my mind of the price of entrees, but I do believe it would make me consider portion sizes. For instance, I think if I paid OOP for the DP I would tend to look for bigger portioned meals we could share to stretch our QS credits.

 

[nat8199]

I usually do, but that is why I like the DDP. DH and I both tend to order steaks when we are at restaurants and I LOVE a good cheese plate.

 

[theduhaimes]

With 4 kids, we find ourselves eating at a lot of character buffets. The kids love them and the DDP definitely saves us money when eating at buffets.

 

[aristocatz]

I just order what I want, it's vacation and I'm nit about to pull out the calculator and tab it up to make sure we break even, that is not the reason I like the DDP. I like an all inclusive feel, I have anxiety, and knowing that I won't have to pay a bill at the end of the meal calms me, if we paid oop I wouldn't enjoy it because I would be worried about the cost of everything. It is easier to me to look at it as if the cost of the DDP (free or not) is included in our package. More relaxing for me, so I like it.

I am the exact same way

 

[deakam]

Our past 5 trips have been with free dining so I don't even think about the price of the food. I have only paid for the dining plan twice and both times we found that it comes out to a free counter service meal each day. But that was before the change to exclude appetizers. If I did not get free dining I do not think I would get a dining plan simply because I probably would not eat dessert with every meal and some times I just drink water or have a glass of wine instead of a soda or coffee.

Back to the question at hand. I think I would stress myself out if I spent my vacation trying to maximize my dining plan. I eat what I want when I want it. I have actually gone to Yak and Yeti and had a burger. Grant it, it was a really good burger but a burger none the less. And one of the more reasonably priced table serve meals I have ever had at Disney.

 

[tinkerbella16]

I always get what I'm in the mood for. I don't pay much attention to the most expensive items unless they are what I'm in the mood to eat at that time. We have gotten the dining plan free in the past and this year as well for our upcoming trip so we don't order by the price.

I have no interest in saving receipts and adding things up in the end to see how we would have made out had we paid for DDP.

 

[beachbumbob]

I happen to love filet mignon and beef tenderloin, which are usually the most expensive (or close to it) on many of the TS menus. So ordering what I want to eat usually gives me the best bang for my DDP credits anyway.

 

[Googilycub]

I order what I want. Sometimes when I look at a menu I might hesitate against an entree because of the price, but on the dining plan I can order anything and not worry about it. I normally do a fish or vegetarian dish, so I normally pick the veggie dish because of the price. On the dining plan I might skip the veggies because the extra $15 for an entree isn't swaying my opinion.

 

[brertoad]

I will not order the most expensive items unless that is what I want to eat. We save a little with the DlxDP, but we're also spending a lot - definitely more than what we would spend if paying OOP. For example, we don't both get appetizers and desserts with every meal unless we are on the DlxDP.

If paying OOP, I could eat a lot less and still be happy with what I order. I could just get a soup and salad, or just an appetizer, or just an entree.

 

[LJSquishy]

We had free dining when we went and tried to get the most bang for our credits for the most part. A few times we had less expensive meals but did consciously choose the more expensive meals the majority of the time.

We will never get the dining plan again (free or not) since we would eat differently without it...we wouldn't normally get a beverage at each meal, nor would we get desserts. We would save money paying OOP for the food we really want.

 

[krismanda]

I go for what I want. The only time I consider cost is when trying to decide what to pay out of pocket for if we go over our number of TS credits.

I've seen a lot of breakdowns and I believe we are probably just breaking even but I do like prepaying it.