2 Bedroom is DP worth it?? HELP...PLEASE...

[addiedisney]

Hi!

Some advice please? We will have a two bedroom for the last week of January - 2 Adults, 1 Kid. I can't figure out if it would be worth it to do the DP. If we did not have a kitchen I would say yes, but with a whole kitchen I just can't figure it out.

We really have loved the Dining Plan before and don't want to feel "deprived." We LOVE to get our Disney treets, but money is an issue for us as well. We will have a car, so I'm thinking traveling to other restaurants would work ok, but we would not "love it."

I'm so undecided. I think we could go with having one TS restaurant every other night, breakfast in the room, and our favorite snacks & counter service during the day.

I would just hate to add up grocery bills at the end of our trip and figure out it would have been cheaper to do the DP.

Any suggestions or help?

Thanks!!

 

[disneynutz]

The DDP has never been cheaper for us. Too much food and waisted credits for the longer stays.

Do you qualify for the TIW card? That might be an option.

 

[addiedisney]

Another question. My cousin that lives in Orlando and has a AP to DW and is going to come visit us for the day. If we did get the DP can we purchase a meal for her? Does each person need to present a card? Thanks!

 

[CraftyMouse]

We also feel like the DDP is too much for us and a waste of food/money/credits. We never feel deprived by not having it. When we have a full kitchen we often do breakfasts and the occasional dinner in the room. So I'd say that going without the DDP wouldn't be difficult at all. IMO, the DDP used to be a good deal but since they've taken away the appetizer (or was it the dessert?) and no longer include the tip its value has decreased significantly.

As for your last question, yes, you can purchase meals for those not on the plan. When you order just let your server know who will be using credits and who will be using cash.

 

[spiceycat]

never getting one again.

this last time was okay. but only okay. If you have to wait hours for your food - well heck, would rather cook it myself...then I know exactly what is going into it.

allergic to pepper, rye, oats, more vegetables - so eating at WDW is not the pleasure for me as it is for most people.

 

[Chuck S]

Another question. My cousin that lives in Orlando and has a AP to DW and is going to come visit us for the day. If we did get the DP can we purchase a meal for her? Does each person need to present a card? Thanks!

If your cousin is a day guest, you will not need to purchase the DDP for her, you can pay out of pocket for her meals. If she stays the night on your DVC reservation, you'll need to add her to the DDP for every night of your reservation, an expensive addition.

As to you original question about whether the DDP is worth it...it depends entirely upon your normal dining habits. For us, as two adults, we usually have a car. We usually have breakfast in our villa, a nice Table Service lunch, and a light counter service dinner. We have always spent less paying cash than the DDP would cost us. But again, it depends entirely upon your normal dining preferences.

 

[addiedisney]

Thanks so much for all the information. I think I need to clarify my second question. If my cousin comes to meet us for the day can we buy her a meal using our DP card? Thanks!

 

[disneynutz]

Another question. My cousin that lives in Orlando and has a AP to DW and is going to come visit us for the day. If we did get the DP can we purchase a meal for her? Does each person need to present a card? Thanks!

I think what your asking is no, you can not use your DDP credits to purchase a meal for her.

 

[kimberh]

When we had a two bedroom we had 8 people. We did purchase the DDP. We ate breakfast in the room, then the DDP for the rest. We had very late nights in the parks, there was not any way that we could have cooked. I guess it depends on what your park schedule is going to be. We really love the DDP when we are a large group. I would worry about the bill to much.

 

[cccory]

QUOTE=addiedisney;28010026]Thanks so much for all the information. I think I need to clarify my second question. If my cousin comes to meet us for the day can we buy her a meal using our DP card? Thanks![/QUOTE]

We did last year. The credits are on your card and if you get her a meal it would just be one less credit. When we went, you could buy all your snack credits in one day, if you wanted. They don't know who is eating what.

 

[Chuck S]

Thanks so much for all the information. I think I need to clarify my second question. If my cousin comes to meet us for the day can we buy her a meal using our DP card? Thanks!

We did last year. The credits are on your card and if you get her a meal it would just be one less credit. When we went, you could buy all your snack credits in one day, if you wanted. They don't know who is eating what.

If by last year, you mean 2007, the plan changed in 2008, and the number of guests shows on the card. If the card says "2 Adults and 1 Child" you can not feed three adults at the same table this year.

Also the official rules of the plan for 2008 expressly forbid sharing the meals with people not on the plan.

 

[Dean]

IMO the DDP is rarely worth the dollars. Exceptions are for kids (3-9) that eat a lot, teens and shorter stays. It also makes a difference what your restaurant choices are, some are a better value than others and it's easy to be under the line of value at many restaurants. Still, it is possibly to get a value out of the plan if you chose your choices (meals and restaurants) with the idea of doing so and it can be a good way to try things you wouldn't otherwise for a controlled price.

 

[Chellymouse]

I did DDP for 2 adults in August and it was still worth it. I've figured out how to get the most for my $$ and we do breakfast on our own (either in the villa or hot breakfast which was $12 for 2 adults every morning) and do CS for lunch and TS for dinner. Even on the new plan (which I don't really care for) we did still save around 35-40%. DH and I did the old plan last year and loved it. We ate better and felt better. DH and I will be doing the DDP in Dec. as well. I look at it like this...I cook enough at home...not cooking at WDW!! In order to get the most $$ of your DDP, you do need to eat at the pricer CS and TS which is a treat for us because pre-DDP....well....let's just say, we always had to pack a big tub of Tums!!

 

[Muushka]

The only times we do DDP is when it is free, or if we are in a studio. Otherwise, it is just not worth it.

 

[Dean]

I did DDP for 2 adults in August and it was still worth it. I've figured out how to get the most for my $$ and we do breakfast on our own (either in the villa or hot breakfast which was $12 for 2 adults every morning) and do CS for lunch and TS for dinner. Even on the new plan (which I don't really care for) we did still save around 35-40%. DH and I did the old plan last year and loved it. We ate better and felt better. DH and I will be doing the DDP in Dec. as well. I look at it like this...I cook enough at home...not cooking at WDW!! In order to get the most $$ of your DDP, you do need to eat at the pricer CS and TS which is a treat for us because pre-DDP....well....let's just say, we always had to pack a big tub of Tums!!

Can use snack credits for bakery items, esp at the BW bakery.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have done the DP with DVC and liked it, but we have also done the DP with DVC and hated it. It really does not save any money, since we rarely to never eat counter service. We ended up at the end of the DP trips with more than half the counter service credits unused. That made it feel to us that we weren't getting our money's worth. Now with the tip not included and no choice of an appetizer instead of dessert....just not worth it to us. We like to eat one table service a day and do our other grazing from our own kitchen.

 

[melissac]

We have always done the DDP and love it. We love eating at TS and feel that we do save money. Not any where near as much as when the tip was included but still save some. We are leaving in a coulpe of weeks with a party of 11 and using our points for our good friends family and told them that if they wanted to come with us they would have to do the DDP. Maybe it is just me but I like to leave home and know that all plans have been done and not worry about where we can eat and for sure don't want to think about cooking on vacation. Just my thoughts

 

[JimMIA]

I think the only way to accurately evaluate DDP is to try to estimate what your family would really spend for food with and without DDP.

A lot of people compare the cost of DDP to the "value" of the inflated menu prices of the Disney restaurants. To me, that's a bogus comparison, and the one the Disney marketing kids hope you will make. DDP will come out ahead every time using that system, because it is structured to look good that way.

One key question, IMHO, is whether you want to (or really would) cook on vacation. We would not, but many families enjoy cooking.

Another thing is you need to understand that there have been major changes to DDP for this year, as mentioned above. The appetizer and gratuity are no longer included this year, and Disney has implemented a mechanism for enforcing the "no treating" rule. It's not just what is shown on your card; the computer system is programmed NOT to allow you to buy a meal for people not on the plan.

Finally, based on personal experience, I can tell you there are MANY good option offsite -- from fine dining to inexpensive. We dined offsite on our most recent trip (after several years of DDP) and we will never go back to DDP. It's actually not a matter of cost for us -- the food is better offsite.

All that said, you really have to look at your family's needs and preferences. DDP will still work for many families, and the new CS DDP will work for many budget-minded folks who don't care to eat a big meal every day.

You have to look at all the options and make the best decision for your family. My family's experiences may have nothing to do with how your family vacations.

 

[SSRJen]

We didn't do the dining plan before DVC and now that we have DVC, will probably never do it in the future.

On our last trip, we were in a two bedroom. We stopped at a Super Target and bought some of our favorite foods for cooking. We splurged on very bad for you foods that we love but, normally don't eat. It helped us not feel deprived of Disney treats. We were there in the Summer so we would eat a large breakfast in the room, hit the parks till about 1...head back to our room for lunch and some swimming/napping...etc. We would head out for a table service dinner almost every evening and do the parks at night when it was cooler.

We did do dinner in the rooms some nights, but would substitute a meal out for lunch on those days (aka...Sci-Fi Diner for lunch).

 

[minnierealtor]

For the last 3 trips we have had DDP. We are a small, 3 person family staying in a one bedroom. We have the capability of cooking but we don't. It's nice to have a car to get in-room snacks and drinks but we generally don't eat off-site. For us DDP is just easier and I'm not worried about the prices when I look at the menu. My DD can use her snacks when she wants to instead of asking us to buy something for her. The last trip I threatened to bring the crock pot and my DD said "yuck, we can have that at home". I guess my cooking isn't very magical. I would rather save money by not buying over priced t-shirts than experiencing family time at a special place.