2011 DDP Rates - Is It Still Worth It?

[Jacks2583]

What if the only snack you really want is the ice cream sandwich. According to reports, it is no longer covered.

I just got back. I had an ice cream sandwich as a snack credit.

I haven't gone through and read all of the posts here (where many of my questions may be answered) but I have many questions about the DDP!

We go every year for 8 or 9 days and we tend to budget a certain amount per person per day for food (similiar to a per diem) just so we have an idea of how much cash we need to bring for meals. The quote that I got for the DDP is $319.52 cheaper than what we would bring cash wise.

My questions to you are:

• Is it truly worth paying the money upfront?
• Is it confusing to use when figuring out your credits or points?
• What are the pros and cons of the DDP?

We are a family of four (me, DH, DD- 17, DS- 12) and we typically do one TS and CS per day plus a snack...

Thanks so much in advance for your assistance!!!!!!!!

If it is over $300 cheaper to go with the DDP than what you thought you would be spending without the DDP, then I don't know why you wouldn't use the DDP.

It is not confusing to me at all. You have 1 cs, 1ts and 1 snack per day per person. At the bottom of every receipt it tells you how many credits you have left. I planned out our meals and knew where we were going to spend our TS and CS (for the most part). Then the snack credits we used when we needed/wanted. Some days we wouldnt use snack credits and other days we would use a couple.


DH, SD(13) and I just got back. We had free dining but I added up all the receipts for our CS, TS and snacks. We saved $1383.40 with free dining ($501.61 if we had paid for the dining plan)!

I honestly cannot imagine going to WDW without the dining plan. I loved being able to eat things that, if we were paying OOP for, we would not be able to (desserts, filet at Le Cellier, etc). I am the kind of person that stresses about finances. Knowing exactly what we were going to spend before we went and not having to make restrictions (ordering the cheaper items) on our eating was wonderful. Often times SD (and sometimes myself too) would pick some of the cheaper options on the menu even with the DDP, which was fine. We still saved a ton of money.

We did use all but one of our TS credits for dinner. We had bfast at 1900PF our last day. Our TS dinners were at Le Cellier, Cape May Clam Bake, WCC, Ohana, Teppan Edo, and Mama Melrose.

We have our next trip booked for Sept 2011 with free dining again. I don't think I will ever do WDW without the DDP.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I loved being able to eat things that, if we were paying OOP for, we would not be able to (desserts, filet at Le Cellier, etc). I am the kind of person that stresses about finances. Knowing exactly what we were going to spend before we went and not having to make restrictions (ordering the cheaper items) on our eating was wonderful. Often times SD (and sometimes myself too) would pick some of the cheaper options on the menu even with the DDP, which was fine. We still saved a ton of money.

I am the exact same way. I want to enjoy our meals and not feel my blood pressure rise when DH orders filet at Le Cellier.

Our TS dinners were at Le Cellier, Cape May Clam Bake, WCC, Ohana, Teppan Edo, and Mama Melrose.

We are planning the same meals except Mama Melrose. Plus Coral Reef and several character meals for our 2 week trip.

 

[Jacks2583]

I am the exact same way. I want to enjoy our meals and not feel my blood pressure rise when DH orders filet at Le Cellier.



We are planning the same meals except Mama Melrose. Plus Coral Reef and several character meals for our 2 week trip.

We had an ADR at Coral Reef, but at the last minute switched to Teppan Edo. I wish we hadn't. DH said there wasnt enough seafood on the menu, just fish confused3) so he wanted to do Teppan Edo instead.

I am so jealous you get to eat at all those yummy places soon! I can't wait to go back. We LOVED Le Cellier, Ohana and Cape May. Have fun!!!! and eat some yummy food for me

 

[yaksack]

Where can I find out what is in each plan and how much it costs per day?

Thank you.

 

[havoc315]

Where can I find out what is in each plan and how much it costs per day?

Thank you.

See the stickies at the top of the board.

 

[MichaelColey]

Not for us. For of family of four (two adults, two kids), it's $853.72 (during peak season) per week. After tips, easily $1000. Sure, we could probably find meals that would cost $1200 if we paid out of pocket, but replicating what we would eat on the dining plan isn't always the best option. We'll be staying in timeshares, so we can easily cook breakfast and dinner and pack a lunch and probably only spend $300 per week. Or we can have several nice meals out and still keep the total under $500. It's just not worth 2-3 times as much.

 

[yaksack]

Not for us. For of family of four (two adults, two kids), it's $853.72 (during peak season) per week. After tips, easily $1000. Sure, we could probably find meals that would cost $1200 if we paid out of pocket, but replicating what we would eat on the dining plan isn't always the best option. We'll be staying in timeshares, so we can easily cook breakfast and dinner and pack a lunch and probably only spend $300 per week. Or we can have several nice meals out and still keep the total under $500. It's just not worth 2-3 times as much.

I figured for three adult tickets at 45$/day for 10 days it would cost us $1,350. Can my wife, my DD10 and I eat $45 worth of food a day? I looked at the prices of meals on other sites and think maybe. My wife and I yes, but DD10 no.

 

[enyaj40]

My dining plans include 1900 Park Fare (Dinner), Boma (Dinner), Biergarten (Dinner), Kouzzina (Dinner), Akershus (Dinner), Chef Mickey's (Dinner), and O'hana (Breakfast). If I purchased the one item I'm most looking forward to trying at Kouzzina, the cheapest thing on a lunch menu at the CS restaurants I've chosen, and spent an average of $3 for one snack it would cost me $294 + tax. (What is the tax rate?)

DDP for the 7 nights, if I'm understanding the price of $44.99 correctly, will be $315. (Probably means with tax I'm about breaking even?) However, I most likely will not be picking the cheapest item on the CS meals...I just used that for my example.

So, it looks like I will, at the very least, break even if I'm doing the math right? I definitely do like not worrying about prices...that makes the DDP a bonus for me. Even if I'm not hungry for desserts included in the CS, I'm looking at things that I could take back to the room and nibble on later.

ETA: When figuring the cost of my CS meals I forgot to add the cost of a drink & dessert which would make my OOP costs a bit higher. Figure $5 more just to go on the low side? For a total of $319 + tax?

 

[yaksack]

I think the meal plan is worth it you order expensive meals, but for someone who wants to order what they like, no.