Any former DDP users out there?

[moparop]

We have done the DDP for the last 4 trips and have generally enjoyed it. By day 3 or 4, we are enjoying TS meals but feeling a bit overboard by all of the food and not enjoying desserts as much as we did at the beginning of the trip. For our next trip, I am wondering if we should forgo the dining plan. We are not annual passholders so we will not have a TiW card, but I think we would still eat a TS meal every day, with 2 or so being character meals over the course of the week.

If you used to do the dining plan and do not now, do you find yourself looking at prices more? Did you still do a TS meal daily? Did you calculate the costs of DDP versus paying out of pocket? Are you glad you've changed?

 

[OhThePain]

We had used the DDP on past trips, with this most recent trip being the first without it and I have to say I am not sure we would go back. We decided not to do the DDP this time because we had a couple of dinners that were not on the plan (Wanyama Safari, Chef's Wine Tasting Dinner at Flying Fish and up until 2 weeks before the trip Shula's). While some people who go from DDP to OOP often look at the prices and stay away from the expensive dishes, we looked at it more like we can order what we want and not have to worry about trying to get value out of our credits. We also found that not feeling forced into having dessert with every meal or snack durring the day as a bit of a relief. We still had at least 1 TS a day and on some days 2. Some nights we had a quick 1TS dinner and other nights we went Signature, and some days we had a CS lunch, some days we skipped lunch. It was nice not having to worry about using credits and to just eat what and where we wanted without having to worry.

It is just my fiance and I, so I don't know how much having kids might change things around. I have not done the math for dining with more of a family than just the 2 of us yet.

 

[NHKristy76]

I like going on the Dining plan for a couple of reasons. One of the main reasons is that I like to pay for everything before I arrive in WDW so that I can really get lost in the joy of it all. We never worry about getting the most out of the plan - we eat what we want, when we want. There are some times we leave without having dessert because we just don't have room!

We used the free dining offer this time and upgraded to the deluxe plan so that I will literally not have to think about a thing...

 

[lshaw]

We have not done the dining plan the last few times that we have been- going in 13 days and we are not doing it again- The dining plan as far as I'm concerned is not a VALUE any more- at least not for two adults- it was awesome when it was like 36.99, appetizer and tip included plus desert! I think the 2012 price is something like 52.00? Thats just ridiculous when you consider the removal of appetizer and tip- People with children probably would find it a value as you probably can't feed a child for less than they charge per day- but as for us adults, we will eat what we want, have an appetizer and skip the same ol' same ol' carrot cake and creme brulee for desert that seems to grace EVERY restaurant menu.

We don't budget a certain amount each day- some days we spend more than other days- It's vacation and we don't worry about it. (till the credit card statement comes due, that is!!)

 

[summermac]

We used DDP in 2009 and definitely enjoyed it. However this time I think we are going to forgo it on our May trip. Even with eating 1 TS every day I'm coming up with being $300 under the cost of DDP based on my estimates of what we'd order. And again that's also based on 1 TS per night b/c right now I made ADRs that way just in case we get free dining. I plan on reducing the ADRs to 3 or 4 instead of the 6 I have now. I also didn't go super cheap with ADRs. They are:
Ohana (dinner)
SciFi (lunch)
Crystal Palace (breakfast)
Akershush (lunch)
Yak & Yeti (dinner)
Kona (dinner)

I'm coming up with spending about $510. DDP would cost us $804.

If we end up without free dining, I'm cx Ohana and Yak & Yeti for sure. We might also cancel Kona but am not 100% sure on that one just yet.

 

[summermac]

Yes it's $52 per day adult for 2012 and $15 for kids.

And at least with my kids ages (7 & 4) it isn't even a good value kid-wise (save character meals) b/c honestly my kids share most meals at restaurants. I am pretty confident I can feed my kids for less than $30 a day in WDW.

 

[lshaw]

Oh, and that Tables in Wonderland for Passholders- I am a passholder but somehow I just cannot wrap my mind around spending something like $75? for this just to get a 20% discount, in which they add a 18 or 20% tip no matter what (buffet, bad service etc.) As a DVC member, there are lots of restaurants that you can get a 10% or 20% discount at. There must be more to it than I am understanding because many people buy this!

 

[xipetotec]

We have done the DDP for the last 4 trips and have generally enjoyed it. By day 3 or 4, we are enjoying TS meals but feeling a bit overboard by all of the food and not enjoying desserts as much as we did at the beginning of the trip. For our next trip, I am wondering if we should forgo the dining plan. We are not annual passholders so we will not have a TiW card, but I think we would still eat a TS meal every day, with 2 or so being character meals over the course of the week.

If you used to do the dining plan and do not now, do you find yourself looking at prices more? Did you still do a TS meal daily? Did you calculate the costs of DDP versus paying out of pocket? Are you glad you've changed?

We haven't quit on DDP yet. But we DID calculate costs and have come *awfully close* to quitting it. I'm still not sure we're making the right decision.

In my case it's not for the same reason. We go in a large group and DDP is a way to get plenty to eat, AND control just how much everyone gets ( otherwise, we let the teens room charge, and that can get out of hand .

But that being said, looking at the 2012 DDP, we were VERY hesitant. The price hike is quite considerable and Disney's attempt to "offset" it with the free cup is not something we feel offers the right value to make it "okay". That being said, we calculated how much our group would spend and found that it's "right on the line" ... So it was a very tough decision but the "control" aspect of it kept us in... I gotta say though, next price hike like that might move us away from it.

 

[summermac]

I agree, the mug isn't a value to us either. Boo.

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

We used the DDP this past October, and it will be our last time. At $52 a person, it is no longer a value to us. We did the math, and it's going to be cheaper for us to just do the TS's for lunch and CS for dinner out of pocket.

 

[NLD]

We did DDP in 2009, then when I went with just my sister in 2010 we did not.

It's funny because one of the things that originally appealed to me about a Disney trip in 2009 was the meal plan--the all-inclusive aspect.

But I found out that it didn't work as well for us as expected.

So in 2010, on that "girls only" trip with my sister, we skipped it and opted for a room discount instead. I was sooooo much happier NOT having the DDP.

No credits to keep track of, no trying to maximize the plan, no unnecessary desserts. More snacks (feel like a banana in the morning? Just get it and don't calculate in your head whether you should use a snack credit or "save" the credit for something more cost-effective).

To keep the pre-paid aspect (which was the only thing I liked about DDP once we actually started using it), I got us gift cards instead. We used the gift cards to pay for all our food once onsite.

So that's the plan for this January, too: figure out a food budget and get gift cards to cover the amount.

 

[Texas Disney Fan]

Oh, and that Tables in Wonderland for Passholders- I am a passholder but somehow I just cannot wrap my mind around spending something like $75? for this just to get a 20% discount, in which they add a 18 or 20% tip no matter what (buffet, bad service etc.) As a DVC member, there are lots of restaurants that you can get a 10% or 20% discount at. There must be more to it than I am understanding because many people buy this!

How do you find out which restaurants give the DVC discounts? Thanks

 

[Gibbygirl]

Great question as we are trying to figure out which way to go for our summer 2012 trip. First trip we got free dining. Thought it sounded like a cool idea. We had fun eating (and eating, and eating...) without thinking too much about it. We often commented about the prices & how if it weren't for the (free) dining plan we wouldn't have been able to afford eating like we did. And we wouldn't have. We would have done all CS. But that was the nice thing about being on vacation--NO WORRIES! Second trip we knew we wanted the plan again & "lucked" in to free dining. GREAT! Except we felt like we HAD to get dessert every meal since it's included. That meant not eating all of our yummy dinner or walking out overly full--ugh! Now we're thinking we might try OOP. I've done a lot of math & think we'll come in under the plan. There would be opportunities to split meals & we would probably only do 1TS. We'll see...if free dining comes around we may be lured back in...

 

[NLD]

You know I also have to say, I think CS gets a bad rap.

There are some great CS food options, and there are also some lovely places to enjoy eating them.

Kusafiri bakery at AK--get a bagel and cream cheese and some fruit for breakfast, and sit down at one of the tables nearby and maybe even catch the drummers while you eat.

Boulangerie Patisserie--get a ham and cheese croissant sandwich for lunch, sit outside in France and people watch while you eat.

AKL--grab some stew from Mara and take it out to the pool, surrounded by palm trees.

Cosmic Ray's--okay it's a bit of a madhouse inside ordering, but once you get through that, take your food to the outside tables and watch the castle change colors at night.

Columbia Harbor House--forget burgers and hot dogs, get the Lighthouse veggie sandwich (mmmmm) and take it upstairs or take it into the park with you... sit wherever you want in MK... by Cinderella's wishing well... plop on a bench in Fantasyland... wherever.

 

[Pakey]

We gave up the dining plan several years ago and wouldn't consider going back to it. We are not dessert eaters and we think flexibility is more important than cost savings.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

We have used the Dining Plan the last 6 trips. The last trip we were underwhelmed by the TS and now our DD will be 10 by the next trip so NO way are we paying for the Dining Plan..my little peep would NEVER eat $52.00 worth of food a day. No Dining Plan for us in the near future!

 

[summerlady]

We've used the DDP twice (1 time free DDP) and the QSDP three times, will probably not use a dining plan next trip because the value just isn't there anymore for us. That kinda makes me sad because I really do like the convenience of having a dining plan, but if it's going to cost way less OOP, that's the way we're gonna do it.

 

[patsal]

I did calculate the savings we ended up under $30 per person per day. We had whatever we wanted whenever we wanted it and sometimes had 2 TS per day. We do not do any buffets. If you do buffets the DDP may be less expensive. I refused to look at prices when I ordered food, beverages or snacks, just the bottom line for comparison prices only. Having the flexibility to only get the snacks when and where we wanted to have drinks and apps if we wanted and dessert only when we wanted. I am convinced that for the way my family eats there is no DDP thus no DDP is less expensive and much more flexible.

 

[jgplimdesign]

We just returned from this year's trip. We utilized the Free Dining Promo during this trip-----as we did during the previous year.

Last year it was a 'new' experience (the DDP) and we got to try more TS restaurants than we had visited in previous trips. . .which was fun!

This year I think it was just TOO much. . . Next year I'll be looking to go with a room promo discount instead if available. . .and stick with OOP paying and perhaps a few less TS ADRS so we are more able to 'graze' and 'sample'. . .

We like the convenience of having it all set and taken care of-----but it was just way too much food. . . We always left food and sometimes skipped the desserts all together . . .mostly, I was disappointed that with the timing of our meals (having planned them 180 days out and 'guessing' when we'd be hungry), we were never "hungry" or remotely interested in any of the snacks and specialty items that we could have sampled throughout the day. . .

I circled past Food & Wine Booths time and again saying. . .oh', I'd like to try that. . .but we just ate. . .or. . .we were eating in another hour. . .I finally broke down and bought the small caramel corn in Germany that I wanted this trip. . .and barely enjoyed it. . .

I take some of the blame for some of the time slots I opted for, for our meals. . . I don't remember us feeling this way last year though. . .

We'll see. . . then again. . .I've got some 10 or 11 months to figure out a new strategy

 

[lshaw]

How do you find out which restaurants give the DVC discounts? Thanks

There is a list of restaurants that give a DVC discount right on the DVC website!