DDP Users-Do you order the most expensive item?

[Melanie B]

For us we always get our money's worth from which ever plan we use but I never look at it that I have to order the most expensive thing or what has the largest portion. I order what sounds good to me at that moment.

 

[SandiR]

Heck no. One of the reasons I love the DDP, because I don't even have to look at prices, so I usually don't.

I really don't get the DDP hate here. I like the DDP because once I've paid for it, I'm done. I can relax and enjoy my vacation without worrying about cost. Without the DDP, my husband would try to talk me into quick service places for dinner every night or he'd agree to table service and then order the cheapest thing. So the DDP just makes our trip much easier and more enjoyable.

 

[sethschroeder]

Heck no. One of the reasons I love the DDP, because I don't even have to look at prices, so I usually don't.

I really don't get the DDP hate here. I like the DDP because once I've paid for it, I'm done. I can relax and enjoy my vacation without worrying about cost. Without the DDP, my husband would try to talk me into quick service places for dinner every night or he'd agree to table service and then order the cheapest thing. So the DDP just makes our trip much easier and more enjoyable.

I think because quite a few people feel free dining and DDP cause Disney to shortcut the food options.

I personally order last summer 1 or 2 things that were not on the DDP (Artist Point had a nice cheese tray I remember). I personally hope more resturants start to seperate 1-2 apps and entres from the DDP to allow for a better class of food and more Chef creativity as they are not capped by a cost to stay under for DDP.

Inclusive and all you can eat usually is the downfall of great food. I personally think disney food is still really good so they seem to be handling the DDP alright.

 

[quakechicago]

Nah as my DH can testify I never look at prices. lol

We just order what sounds good (which can be tricky between my picky/foodie tendencies and our food allergies).

I pay to upgrade us to the deluxe plan and then everyone can get whatever they want even if in the case of desserts where we all try a bit of each other's.

Then everyone's happy and no one from my Mom to my DH is constantly adding.

 

[krismanda]

I don't have a strong feeling about it either way but I do think it's interesting that some of the points people make against ddp really seem to contradict eachother.

I mean, on one hand, people say they don't like it because they aren't really saving money or if they are it is an insignificant savings that you really only get if you are having expensive choices at every meal.

On the other, it's bringing the food down because Disney is cheapening their offerings to be able to make a profit.

How is it not really any savings, and a burden for Disney profit wise all at the same time ? Lol

 

[CSchex]

We always have the dining plan when we go. That being said, out of 8 trips since 2007, we have only paid for the dining plan twice. We never try to order the most expensive thing on the menu, we just order what we feel like that night. We don't search out the most expensive restaurants and try to maximize value, we simply pick restaurants where we like the menu. We have received the dining plan free for 6 out of the 8 trips, so I certainly don't feel pressured to get my money's worth. The 2 times we have paid for it, it was more about pre-payment for me than saving money. I have two teenagers and my husband, and they eat a lot! I liked the dining plan because I did not have to worry about a food budget. We enjoy a table service meal each night and use all the snacks on the plan. The main feature was that I did not have to think about the cost while we were on vacation. We saved money - I have no doubt about that - we kept all the receipts and added them up when we got back home. I am an accountant and I just had to know! When compared to a room only discount (typically 30% at a moderate, which amounts to about $70 per night) we do save more with free dining, as we have 4 people.

 

[dawnhaze]

I don't order expensive entrees just to get the most out of the dining plan... The dining plan lets me order the expensive entrees I want without the sticker shock at every meal. I like steaks and seafood, but if I'm paying OOP, I'm probably going to order the chicken or the pasta.

 

[RobynPrincess]

When we had the DDP (before TiW) I would always just got for what I fancied. Hubby often went for a more expensive item but again, only if it was what he fancied to eat. No point eating the most expensive thing when what you really fancy is the cheapest.

 

[Three cats]

We definitely don't pay attention to what costs what when we order. We just order what we want. For us that is the beauty of having the dining plan.

 

[mcconnellfam96]

We are not big steak or seafood eaters....so, it became clear to us that the DDP doesn't make much economical sense for our family. We are consistently ordering chicken dishes, salads or sandwiches and our (Disney adult) kids are ordering lots of burgers. Plus, we seldom order a dessert with a meal. Not the best choices to "make the most" of your dining plan!

 

[lam0037]

Agree with others that it allows me to choose what I want without worrying about the price. If it happens to be the most expensive thing on the menu, then it is. I plan on getting the filet and lobster at Narcoossee's on our December trip, but I also just ordered that a couple months ago at a restaurant in town.

I also like the convenience of it, as I'm going with my boyfriend. We don't have to worry about splitting checks or figuring out who buys the next meal. It's paid for beforehand.

 

[Minnesota!]

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.

Exactly my response. I typically go for the veg option when paying OOP but will "upgrade" to the fish if using DDP. Once in a very blue moon I will get a steak...

 

[JCornell]

I wouldn't say we just try to maximize bang for our buck. We do tend to choose some different restaurants when on DDP. To a lesser degree, we probably make some different meal selections but don't simply order the most expensive item on the menu. We do have a bad habit of ordering desserts more than we probably want to, though.

 

[momofboyz3]

DDP for me means convenience. It also means that everything has been pre-paid (other than the tip). As a single mom I am always looking at prices & when we do go out to dinner no way would I let my 3 boys order a $40 entree! But, with the DDP they usually get the most expensive items on the menu, if that's what they want. It doesn't matter to me if it makes financial sense or if I'm getting the best bang for my buck. I like having everything all paid for.

 

[wellesleyprincess]

Convenience, we do a lot of buffets plus I'm vegan which a lot of time means ordering off menu. On the DDP, the chef doesn't have to worry about what he or she's charging me for the special entree.

 

[nikkij]

We usually try to get the best of both worlds...We try to get something more expensive but we know we will enjoy. We would never order the most expensive menu item and hope we would like it or if it was a borderline preference. We would never get burgers or a sandwich with TS. However we are really really in the mood for a lesser expensive item we go for it. With all that being said, we really aren't buffet people but character meals are pretty much strictly buffets at WDW and in order to take advantage of that we go with character meal buffets, we would never pay oop for a nugget character meal.


We use ddp because it allows for less stress when it comes to budgeting on our trip since the food is paid for, not to mention we get snacks and the mugs. Again the snacks and mugs aren't something we would likely pay oop for.

 

[ajwolfe]

We usually just order whatever we want when on the DDP, but I will say that being on the DDP causes me not to worry about the price as much. If we were not on DDP, I would be ordering the cheaper items on the menu. That said thought we don't usually order a sandwich for dinner at a TS either.

 

[BudgieMama]

We got Free Dining for our trip (along with 40% off our room rate Very nice).

We're wary of tips, as we have to tip at a rate much higher than we would normally be comfortable with (one of the downsides of visiting the USA), so we will order what we want to eat, but keep an eye on how much the tip will cost us. Some of those can really add up!

 

[nkereina]

I don't know that the dining plan is meant to be a cost savings. It CAN be IF you go to the most expensive places AND order the most expensive menu items. But I'd imagine few do that for the duration of their stay. Anyone who pays for the dining plan (you're still paying for it even under the free dining promo since you pay rack rate for the room), is paying for the convenience of it, since most of the time you will break even or overpay.

 

[vtownpatty]

I don't always order the most expensive option, but as a previous poster stated, if I were not on the DP I would most likely be looking for lower cost options. I order whatever looks good to me.