Suggestions on whether to buy DDP?

[Ufgatorfan24]

We are taking our first disney trip in March. We will have 2 adults and one child that is 2 years old. Is it worth buying the deluxe dining plan with one quick service meal and one table service meal, or just paying out of pocket? Thanks.

 

[letsgoreds]

You will have to look at this for your family. We have never done the dining plan even when it was 'free'...the room only discounts were always a better deal for us.

I will say that with a 2yo, we rarely ate at sit-down restaurants, so I wouldn't even consider the dining plan. Many 2yo are overhwhelmed by Mickey and the other characters, so I wouldn't necessarily book a ton of those either.

Paying OOP gives you more flexibility when you are ordering food. I often want an appetizer or an app and a salad/soup, and those are never covered by DDP. We prefer to share a dessert...and definitely don't eat them at every meal.

Here is the best tool I have found that helps you determine whether or not DDP is for you.

Click on the 'Disney Dining Plan Calculator' at the top
http://seeyareelsoon.wix.com/seeyareelsoon

 

[sharonabe]

We are taking our first disney trip in March. We will have 2 adults and one child that is 2 years old. Is it worth buying the deluxe dining plan with one quick service meal and one table service meal, or just paying out of pocket? Thanks.

Your child will not be on the plan, so it will just be two adults. You can either buy the 2 yr old their own meal, or they can share off your plate. At buffets, they can ean eat free.

The plan for the two of you in 2014, will cost about $118 per NIGHT of stay. Only you can tell if it is worth it, and the best way to do that is to peruse menus to see where you might want to eat. Then either do some virtual dining and count the cost or use one of the DDP spreadsheets you'll find somewhere either in this forum or over on the regular restaurant forum (search for it or google it).

Some questions you need to ask yourself are do you WANT two desserts at EVERY meal? Do you both drink sodas/coffee/tea at EVERY meal? Will you usually order the most expensive entree at EVERY meal?

One more thing, the plan you describe is just the regular DDP, not the deluxe. The deluxe plan (DxDDP) allows you 3 TS credits and 2 snacks per person per night and is $104 plus some change per person per night.

 

[Ufgatorfan24]

Thanks for the replies. I was mistaken in my first post. I meant to say we were considering the standard dining plan, not the deluxe. Thanks for the tips.

 

[Jonathan Swift]

Thanks for the replies. I was mistaken in my first post. I meant to say we were considering the standard dining plan, not the deluxe. Thanks for the tips.

Still going to be a bad deal (most likely.)

 

[havoc315]

The reality is that especially for adults, the plan is a poor value for most people.

Unless you ALWAYS eat the most expensive item at the most expensive restaurant, and ALWAYS eat at the most expensive TS restaurant for dinner, and ALWAYS get an individual dessert, and drink gallons of soda--- unless you fit that exact profile, then skipping the dining plan is cheaper, sometimes much cheaper.

For almost $60, the dining plan provides 1 TS meal, 1 cs meal, and a snack.
For me, ordering anything I want, that's usually under $50-$55 in value. (I typically will eat a $12-16 cs meal and a $20-33 TS meal, and maybe a $3-$5 snack).

 

[bdklein]

The reality is that especially for adults, the plan is a poor value for most people.

Unless you ALWAYS eat the most expensive item at the most expensive restaurant, and ALWAYS eat at the most expensive TS restaurant for dinner, and ALWAYS get an individual dessert, and drink gallons of soda--- unless you fit that exact profile, then skipping the dining plan is cheaper, sometimes much cheaper.

For almost $60, the dining plan provides 1 TS meal, 1 cs meal, and a snack.
For me, ordering anything I want, that's usually under $50-$55 in value. (I typically will eat a $12-16 cs meal and a $20-33 TS meal, and maybe a $3-$5 snack).

Ditto. Skip the DP, especially for your first trip, and with a 2 year old. You need flexibility, not rules.

 

[Ufgatorfan24]

Thanks. I have read that more people than not think its not worth it