Is DDP worth the price?

[jcjohns91107]

We'll be at the Yacht Club in June and I'm debating whether to buy the DDP for the family (4). My kids are teens and will eat steak, etc., but it seems like unless you eat at Le Cellier or Coral Reef or Chefs de France, etc. every night I might not get my $40/day out of it. Appears as though eating at the 50's prime time diner, Rose and Crown, etc. for dinner would result in daily total being less than $40. Also, we probably wouldn't eat dessert every night and every lunch. Thoughts?

 

[PrincessTrisha]

It's not that difficult to break even on the $40 (especially if you order the steak).

Sample day (using one of your sit down places)

Lunch: Electric Umbrella -
Bacon Double Cheeseburger - with apple slices or fries $7.59
Iced Tea $2.29
Chocolate Chip Cookie $1.59 (can save for later)

Total w/ 6.5% tax = $12.22

Snack:
Fruit cup $2.99

Dinner: Rose and Crown -

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Harry Ramsden's Fish & Chips - Battered fresh Cod served with English Chips $15.99[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sticky Toffee Pudding $4.99[/FONT]
Coke $2.39

total w/ 6.5% tax = 24.89

total for the day: $40

And these represent some of the lesser expensive options (but does include both desserts).​

 

[cjackearl]

I think it depends on whether you'd enjoy eating in the style of the dining plan. Would you enjoy getting a snack and desserts with your meals? Also, would you appreciate the convenience of having everything paid for, not having to stress over the filet your teen wants to order? I agree, with teens the bottom line may be close. Maybe check with your husband and kids and see where they would actually chose to eat and look at some menus. BTW, we'll be at the BC in June and if my hubby had his way, we'd be hoofing it over to WS for dinner EVERY night!

 

[Mrsdennison]

I was wondering the same thing with two small children 3 and 6.

My dh works out and needs more calories than the avg. person. So I think it would be best for him.

Mariah

 

[aceys_h0ney]

I was wondering the same thing with two small children 3 and 6.

My dh works out and needs more calories than the avg. person. So I think it would be best for him.

Mariah

For the kids it is really worth it. They are 10.99 a day (I believe). Most of the buffets for the kids are 14.99 to 18.99 so that in itself is a great deal then you get a CS and a snack still for them. We planned mostly buffets because that is what we would enjoy most, so I cannot comment on the TS meals but I would have to think it would still be a great value for the kids.

 

[summermac]

I haven't used DDP yet but I do feel it's a great deal. As I just stated in another post, I worked up DDP vs. OOP and we came ahead $12 for the week without even factoring in snacks & 2 CS meals. I did not try to maximize either - just picked typical things I think we'd eat when eating out. Some days we were waaay ahead and other days we were just at or below the $40.

 

[colinsdad]

If you follow these DDP "rules" you should always be ahead even factoring out the price of the CS desserts (which I didn't particularly want each day, and skipped all but a few days on my trip. I did have Mickey Ice Cream bars with my CS lunch at the waterparks though!!).

1. Always use DDP Adult TS credits on DINNER.
If you want to book a Character BF or 2, pay OOP because an adult CBF is 18.99 for most of them (much less than the cost of an average dinner). Note: If you want to use your Adult TS for Character BF's, you likely will not come out ahead on the day (but it should still be within $7 of the daily plan cost).

2. Addendum to #1: If you have kids with you at the Character BF use their Child TS credits for these meals while you PAY OOP. This is because a child CBF is usually 10.99 (while child TS dinner is usually $7.49). Of course you will have to pay OOP for 2 of their TS dinners during the stay if you do this.

3. Never (repeat Never) use 2TS for any meal.

4. Always use CS credits on LUNCH.
Same principle as #1, but this time since lunch costs more on average than breakfast.

5. Use snack credits on BF items, not snacks. Most items under $4 qualify for a SC. You can get a nice coffee roll or mickey muffin at MS Bakery, Boardwalk Bakery or Starring Rolls each morning for a snack credit. Use another credit to split an OJ, pay OOP for a coffee and you'll be set. Since you get 7 SC's each, you should be set for BF for about 4 days using the SC's in this way. The days you aren't using SC for BF items pay OOP or go to a character BF and have some fun following rules #1 and #2.

Those are the basics I have followed to get the most "value" from the DDP. My last trip I followed them to a T and figured I saved about $230+ for a family of 2 adults and 1 child.

DISclaimer: All "rules" have exceptions. Look over the menus, see if a restaurant appeals to your tastes, look at the prices of items you would order and go from there. Don't base the value of the DDP on the most expensive item you can get, just the items you would order. Don't let the DDP dictate how you eat. Factor how you eat and then see if a particular DDP will work (or not). You don't have to do it. And finally, you don't have to come out ahead every day to come out ahead overall.

 

[immachesnut]

I think if you really sit down & crunch the numbers you will find that you are still saving quite a bit of money even without ordering the most expensive choices on the menus. I totally understand, originally I had the exact same thoughts as you as hubby & I are more burger, fries type people but we do enjoy a big breakfast. I did the math & ended up having to upgrade to the DDDP. I would sit down & look at menus and crunch numbers to see if it benefits you. Good luck!

 

[jerryn2368]

What we did last time we were in DW(07'), was, we had the DDP, ordered about $75 worth of breakfast foods(we were in SSR for a week) from Garden Grocer,and used all of our credits on lunches and dinners. What that enabled us to do was enjoy 4 terrific restaurants that cost double dinning plans points. We ate @ California Grill,Coral Reef,Brown Derby and the Italian restaurant that is now closed in Epcot(forget what it was called. I think we even ate at the French restaurant too(don't recall if that was dbl points)

My kids were 8,9 and 12 at the time. The 12 year old still ordered off the kids menu half the time,I think once or twice she may have even split an adult dish with a sibling.

Just another point of view for you.

Ps We are doing the same thing this year. We arrive tomorrow!!!!(BCV!)

 

[tndisneyfan]

I think you just need to look at the places you think you might want to eat and crunch the numbers. Do your figuring with what you would normally order, if you don't think you will eat dessert then don't figure it in. That's the only way to see if it's worth it to you and your family.

 

[jmain007]

Went with it and without it and the difference was a little money saved, but tracking the plan versus just going with the flow was not worth it - I most likely won't use it again.

 

[phisigprincess]

We absolutely love it, even if we just break even. It helps to have the food paid for before we leave for the trip, so I don't have to worry about budgeting food money when we're down there. When it used to include gratuity and an app, we saved about $200. With the changes, we don't save an overwhelming amount anymore, but the convenience makes it worth it for us.

 

[bangzoom6877]

We went with the DDP in July and loved it. We have little ones though, so not the adult price. We also did all-you-can-eat meals for our dinners, like character meals, which meant I was able to see exactly what it would cost OOP at those meals before making the final decision to get the DDP. We ended up ahead, even if we had not gotten ANY snacks or desserts at CS lunches. Realistically, if we had been paying OOP, I will admit that I probably would not have gotten dessert at CS lunches. However, you also do not have to get cake or ice cream. One time I got apple slices (I normally have a fruit right after my lunch meal on a daily basis at home so this fit into my normal eating pattern) and another time I got strawberry yogurt and gave it to my younger son who was under 3 and not on the plan.

Our normal pattern on vacation is to sit down to a dinner each evening. We normally do not go to a fast-food place for dinner on vacation. We would do this more for a quick lunch. So the DDP fit right into our normal plans. It allowed us to pre-pay for our lunches and dinners, had some snacks thrown in there as an added bonus (which was nice especially at Epcot as we got to sample different foods) and we paid OOP for 2 character breakfasts. Those were the least expensive out of all our TS ADRs so we decided to pay OOP for them. At first we considered the deluxe plan, as we LOVE to eat a lot on vacation, but then we realized that at the parks, we would not be eating as much earlier in the morning and we did have cereal in the room most mornings so we could get out earlier for rope drop. So getting the basic DDP and paying OOP for 2 breakfasts was MUCH less money than getting the deluxe plan.

We enjoyed the DDP and will get it again for our next trip. As far as when the boys are over 10, I had said to DH that we probably won't get the plan as they would cost $40 in today's money and his answer to me was..."You think a 10-year-old boy can't eat $40 worth of food in a day? They will be eating machines!!" I never had brothers growing up, only a sister, so I did not ever experience a 10-year-old eating machine!!!
Perhaps we will need the deluxe plan when they are teenagers just to keep them well fed!!!

 

[caroline1851]

It worked out really well for us on our last trip. It was dh, me, ds6 and dd2 (not on plan).
We did not try to "maximize" the plan other than i never used a snack credit if the item was less than $3. I would just pay oop if we wanted a banana or something else small.
We used our credits at these places just ordering what we wanted, not the most expensive and we saved $200.
TS (7 credits each)
CRT breakfast
Coral Reef dinner
Crystal palace lunch
Sci Fi lunch
Maya Grill dinner
last credit traded for CS

CS (7 credits each)
Wolfgang Puck Exp dinner
Pepper Market dinner x 2
Pepper Market breakfast x 3
ABC Commissary lunch

The cost of stuff just really adds up. A typical lunch will end up costing you almost $15pp by the time you add in a drink, tax and basic dessert.

We didn't even get the dessert with all of our meals and we still came out ahead $200.