Any former DDP users out there?

[moparop]

Or looking to start a huge debate but we are thinking of forgoing the DDP on our next trip. If you had used it in the past and are. O longer now, how did it change the way you ate? Did you still do a TS meal a day? Did you find yourself looking at prices? Did you feel cheated out on all the food or more liberated because you didn't have to eat within set criteria?

Discuss.

 

[MartyM]

We will not be using the DDP in the future. We found it not to be as good for us since we have drinks with each meal on vacation, and really prefer to have a sampling of a few of the small plates on the table, rather than the rigid app/entree/desert requirement.

We will use Tables in Wonderland in the future.

 

[momto3pirates]

We have done both the regular DDP and QSDP. This year will be our second trip without. While it is great to have the food prepaid, I just felt pressure to order the more expensive items and always have dessert to get the most value from what we had paid for. Really, there are times I just want something small and no dessert. We have a few TS ADRs this year and are debating on getting the TIW card. We have 14 people going with us this year and are eating at Ohana's, SciFi and Tusker House so I feel like we get the benefit of TIW discount.

 

[chskover]

We did not use the DDP in May for the first time. We now have TIW. We felt like we weren't pressed to use up all our snack credits. We also didn't feel restricted in how many TS meals we ate. We will be going back in OCT because I got a PIN for free dining.

 

[cluvsdisney]

We found it liberating to pay out of pocket. We used the plan a couple of times early on when it was very easy to save money but the way it is now, it costs us a lot less to pay OOP.

Since nothing is prepaid, we are not compelled to eat a TS dinner every single day and discovered we enjoy a TS lunch a lot of the time and then grab something quick for dinner. We would have to pay extra for the appetizer we are dying to try and skip the dessert that was included in the plan. We only make a couple of ADRs and sort of wing it the rest of the time - go someplace like ESPN or go offsight.

For reference, we are 2 adults and don't go to character meals or buffets which (I think) provides a better opportunity to save money.

 

[lilmrsellis]

We LOVE DDP and use it every time! We love the all-inclusive feel. We also like that we can eat whatever we want regardless of price. Otherwise, we would eat as cheap as possible and miss so many great TS meals.

 

[MagicallyDelicious]

Great thread. I was wanting to hear the same opinions.

I've always used the DDP, and for our upcoming trip we won't be for the first time. I plan to create a budget, divide it by the number of days and I'll try my best to stick with it, but if I don't, it's not the end of the world.

I use my Amex for everything to get membership rewards, so I'll be putting all of our meals on that card. I figure it can't be any more inconvenient to hand over that card, versus our room key.

 

[robinb]

Or looking to start a huge debate but we are thinking of forgoing the DDP on our next trip. If you had used it in the past and are. O longer now, how did it change the way you ate? Did you still do a TS meal a day? Did you find yourself looking at prices? Did you feel cheated out on all the food or more liberated because you didn't have to eat within set criteria?

Discuss.

We used to buy the DDP, but don't anymore because (1) the price is too high, (2) my 12-year old picky vegetarian DD is considered a "Disney Adult" but won't eat fancy adult vegetarian meals, (3) we just don't do character meals anymore and (4) the CS desserts are nasty and we rarely eat them but they are included in the "DDP value".

The main reason we don't pay for the DDP is because my DD won't eat $54 worth of food per day. She is way too picky and eats like a bird. It would be a complete waste of money for us. We now have the Tables in Wonderland card which gets us 20% off most TS restaurants and some CS restaurants. We order what we want and don't worry about maximizing the value of the DDP. We have cut back on the TS meals in favor of more CS meals and driving offsite occasionally.

OP, from your signature photo it looks like your kids are still small and you have at least one which is between 3 and 9. I think that even if your oldest is a "Disney Adult" you are still in what I call the "DDP Sweet Spot" of families with children 9 and under who enjoy character meals. I think that you will come out ahead on the DDP since character meals and buffets are soooo expensive even for children. You should put together a little spreadsheet with a list of your favorite places and compare how much it would be OOP and what would be covered by the DDP.


FYI: I just looked back at historical pricing and when the DDP started back in 2005 it was $35 and included 1 CS meal, 1 TS meal (appetizer, entree, drink, dessert, tax and tip) & 1 snack. The current DDP is $54 and no longer includes an appetizer or tip. It has nearly doubled in price in just 7 years when those are taken into account!

 

[patsal]

I ahve used the DDP or the QSDP in the past but over the last few years have opted to just pay OOP. We find that OOP works better for the way we eat and drink (usually order water and and a cocktail or wine, prefer an app to dessert, don't get dessert with CS and don't always want snacks that are included on the plan). As a result we find we spend about the same or less than the dining plans but eat exactly what we want. DD and DH would never consider prices when choosing their meals, they have never done that and never will. I ocasionally found myself doing that (stems back to being very poor growing up), but I still order what I want. We have gone so many times that I usually know what I want before I get there, lol.

 

[Hunclemarco]

We have done both the regular DDP and QSDP. This year will be our second trip without. While it is great to have the food prepaid, I just felt pressure to order the more expensive items and always have dessert to get the most value from what we had paid for. Really, there are times I just want something small and no dessert. We have a few TS ADRs this year and are debating on getting the TIW card. We have 14 people going with us this year and are eating at Ohana's, SciFi and Tusker House so I feel like we get the benefit of TIW discount.

The use of the TIW card will pay for itself with the Ohana's reservation alone!

 

[moparop]

I ahve used the DDP or the QSDP in the past but over the last few years have opted to just pay OOP. We find that OOP works better for the way we eat and drink (usually order water and and a cocktail or wine, prefer an app to dessert, don't get dessert with CS and don't always want snacks that are included on the plan). As a result we find we spend about the same or less than the dining plans but eat exactly what we want. DD and DH would never consider prices when choosing their meals, they have never done that and never will. I ocasionally found myself doing that (stems back to being very poor growing up), but I still order what I want. We have gone so many times that I usually know what I want before I get there, lol.

Things like wanting water instead of a pop, an appetizer instead of dessert and skipping CS desserts in lieu of snacks that are not covered is a lot of what is driving our decision. Like someone else noted, our kids are still pretty young (8,6,&3) and the children's DDP is such a good value. I know we will do at least 2 character meals as well. So many things to think about!

 

[Hunclemarco]

We have done both. We generally go twice a year, once on the plan, the other with TIW.

When we vacation with friends, they enjoy using the Dining Plan, so we opt for it then. (and also use the TIW when needed)
When we travel alone, we only use the TIW card. On all ocassions, we generally vacation from 10-14 days.

We have found that we saved about $350.00 by using the TIW over the dining plan, but that was for our personal eating style.

Many times my wife and i split meals, and went to the lesser expensive restaurants, but was able to get what we wanted. We do stay away from the more expensive items on the menu when we were not on the dining plan, and that was probably more a psychological thing than anything else.

Also,when we use TIW only, we kinda do our own "prepaid dining plan"....since we do enjoy to have a "prepaid vacation"... We'll add money to our gift cards at the disney store prior to our vacation, and we'll use that card along with the TIW to pay for our meals.

 

[catne]

we have used the DDP and DxDDP many times, both free dining and paying full cost for the dining plans. We also have annual passes...and this year we purchased the TiW card.

I don't think we will ever do the dining plan again. We just don't care for the "rules" anymore. So many times we'd rather share an appetizer, have the entree, drink water & skip dessert for a snack later. Total waste to do that on the regular dining plan...you're paying cash for the app (not covered on dining plan) and you're paying for a soda you don't drink (water is free, but a beverage is included on the plan) and if you skip dessert at the restaurant, you lose the value of the dessert you paid for in the plan...and then if you want a dessert later, you're paying additional cash for that.

With TiW, we can order whatever we want, including cocktails, and get the discount on the total meal even if we do something offbeat like order appetizers as our entrees, split a dessert and have cocktails instead of soda.

We love the freedom of no dining plan...we love only paying for what we actually want to order. And we love not having "wasted" credits, or wasted components because we were too full to use all parts of a meal credit.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I used to be one who would only go to WDW with a dining plan. Loved it! In our case, it insulated me from things like upcharges on allergy foods (3 of the 4 of us have allergies) and ordering off-menu due to allergies. I didn't need to worry about how foods were rung into the computer because it cost me the same 1 credit regardless. It also allowed us to enjoy the fixed price meals which I personally found to be outrageously expensive for what you get.

I was really afraid to go without a dining plan. We decided that we'd try a split stay with the last 3 nights of the trip not having a dining plan just to see how it would go. I built myself a detailed budget by figuring out the most expensive items on menus that each person would enjoy plus extras that people may want (milkshakes, desserts, appetizers). Mentally, I told myself that I had already spent that money so that I wouldn't think about the prices. This worked. I felt comfortable encouraging everybody to order things I knew they'd like and sometimes we'd get expensive things and sometimes cheap, sometimes we would get extras and sometimes we wouldn't. This has carried on to subsequent trips as well. It's become very liberating. We also find that we're no longer following the 1TS, 1CS, 1Sn per day either. Some trips we're eating 2 TS and a couple Sn while other days is TS with splitting some CS and maybe a Sn. Even when we're eating 2TS plus Sn in a day we're still coming out cheaper than with the DDP. Granted, we don't do many fixed price meals but then again my kids don't really want those meals much any longer anyway. We've also discovered a love of staying CL with TS for lunch and light breakfast and snacking in the evening in the lounge by getting away from dining plans. We're just so much happier in general now that we're not using dining plans.

For our upcoming trip we actually are using QSDP for the last 7 nights of our trip (free dining for our party of 5 was a much better discount than any room only discount available). It should be interesting to see how it goes.

 

[jagafen]

It truly comes down to a matter of your personal eating style....

If you like to splurge a bit on vacation and have dessert with every meal, then the DDP might be for you. IF you go soup to nuts with an appetizer and dessert, then the deelux is more your style. If you just want to grab a few quick meals throughout your day, consider the QS plan.

But if you're the type that has appetizers for meals, likes to share meals, or just snack your way through the day, the dining plans aren't really going to be a perk for you.

If you like to "pre-pay" for your meals and snacks, that's another pro for one of the dining plans

When we go, we like the convienence of paying for all of our food ahead of time. That way we can go and eat what, and when we want without giving it a second thought. At least, while DS is still a Disney kid we can have that sort of cavalier attutide about it. Once he turns 10 though, we'll have to re-consider our strategy, cause he still "eats like a kid" and would never survive a trip to WDW if he was limited to the adult menu.

 

[Colleen27]

We're fence sitters... For some trips, the DDP is great. For others, it just doesn't work. Our most recent trip was without the plan and we certainly did better paying OOP. It was just me, my girls (10 & 3), and my mom. We still had at least one sit down meal per day, but we often shared meals or just had appetizers and desserts. We also went to tea at the Grand Floridian, which is a nice light meal that is not included on the dining plan, and my 10yo and I had dinner at the AMC Fork & Screen which is also not on the plan.

My 10yo is a fairly light eater and my 3yo doesn't like kids' meals, so when I'm travelling with them it makes more sense to pay out of pocket and let them share an adult entree than to be paying adult DDP prices for a kid who won't even come close to finishing an adult meal and child prices for a little girl who is happier sharing with an adult. The only way the plan works for our girls' trips is when it is free, and in that case we often but not always upgrade to the deluxe plan because we really don't eat much counter service.

But when I add DS14, aka the bottomless pit, and DH into the mix the plan is a far better fit and the DxDDP is the way we go. Some of the kids' meals still go unused but the guys are more than happy to polish off the girls' leftovers so the quantity of food isn't so overwhelming. They're also much more likely to order the most expensive item on the menu, since both love steak and seafood, while the girls and I often prefer lighter fare and don't eat as much red meat.

And when we're traveling with extended family, we scale back to the basic plan. We don't love having that much counter service and might pay for an extra TS meal here or there, but find that one "appointment" meal per day is enough. Any more than that and it gets too overscheduled to balance everyone's interests.

My 2013 trips will be my first as an AP holder and I'm interested in seeing how TiW compares. To me it seems like the best of both worlds - the ability to order just what I want, but with a discount that comes very close to matching the savings we've realized on the deluxe plan.

 

[havoc315]

Have used the DxDP twice before, and entirely skipping the dining plan for a trip next month.
So I'll have a better comparison after the next trip.

But just in the planning, some notes:
We are staying club level this time. While I don't expect it to replace meals, I do expect it to replace some snacking and drinking.
We plan a lot of time relaxing at the hotel pool this time, due to summer heat.

The biggest complaint I heard about the DxDP from people in my traveling party the last time: The DxDP created a lot of pressure to always get an appetizer and dessert, and more expensive items.

So this time, we have made several dinner reservations -- But we will order what we want, with no pressure. Can share, can get an appetizer as the whole meal. We don't need to plan out every meal this time. Of the dining reservations we have made, at least the non-signature ones, we have the freedom to cancel them and just eat a pizza by the pool instead. As we are staying in the Epcot resort area, we have the freedom to use the Swan/Dolphin restaurants it we choose.

Do I expect that being without the dining plan will make me more or less price conscious? In the past, I felt I HAD to pick expensive items. So overall, I think being without the plan will make me LESS price conscious. But not totally --- For the most part, I'll still order what I want. But I'll certainly purchase less snacks since we don't have snack credits to burn. And I can't possibly justify $68 for a lobster at Narcoose's out of pocket. But it's not like I'll skip a $30-$40 entree just because I'm oop.

We are staying 5 nights -- So that would be 5 credits under the DDP or 15 under the DxDP.
Our loose plan right now-- Breakfast every morning in the club lounge.
Day 1, arrival --- Reservations at Kouzinna for dinner, but can cancel at the last minute if we aren't in the mood.
Day 2-- Light lunch, played by ear. Dinner for adults only at Flying Fish.
Day 3-- eat light, because very early dinner as part of Fantasmic package at Brown Derby
Day 4-- Lunch, CS at hotel or Epcot. Dinner at Tutto Italia, though can always cancel if not in the mood.
Day 5-- Totally open right now. Will play it by ear, completely.

So its nice not being tied to a ton of reservations. We are still going to pretty expensive places. In fact, if using credits -- We'd be using 6 credits. (Meaning we would need either the DxDP or to pay for a meal OOP anyway). I'm betting it ends up being cheaper than the dining plans, but we'll see.

 

[MagicallyDelicious]

FYI: I just looked back at historical pricing and when the DDP started back in 2005 it was $35 and included 1 CS meal, 1 TS meal (appetizer, entree, drink, dessert, tax and tip) & 1 snack. The current DDP is $54 and no longer includes an appetizer or tip. It has nearly doubled in price in just 7 years when those are taken into account!

I've read rumors on here that it will be going up to $62 per person for the basic dining plan, for 2013.

That means we have to eat more than $186 per day for it to save us any money (if that's true), and I'm going with a picky eater. Even at $54 per person, I'm having a difficult time justifying it. Plus, I'm pretty sure we're staying CL this time around. I just can't see us being able to fully utilize both.

 

[moparop]

Man I wish we had an AP so we could get a TiW card. I think that would make this decision so much easier!

 

[AmongMadPeople]

I've had a different experience than most venturing off DDP. We're two adults. We took two weeklong trips this year that were each broken up by conferences, cruises and hotel changes. Because of all those things, DDP just didn't work so we bought TIW.

I was completely shocked to add up our costs and realized that we spent way more money paying cash than we did if we had been able to buy DDP with our hotel stays. When we're on DDP, usually I'm sickly full after lunch (I hate the QS desserts but eat them anyway because they are "free") and never snack because of that. Once we were able to order whatever we wanted without feeling like we "had" to get dessert at lunch and each get a soda, we snacked a lot, which is what primarily tipped us over what DDP would have cost us. With DDP, we usually scramble to use our snack credits before leaving, but without it we were snacking multiple times a day.

We still ate meals in the typical DDP fashion, quick at lunch and table at dinner. At dinner we sometimes shared an appetizer and dessert and got water when we didn't feel like a beverage. One thing I missed about DDP was us each getting our own dessert. Hubby balked at paying for 2 desserts, so we usually picked one to split. We have very different dessert preferences, so inevitably we were both sacrificing what we really wanted.

We've got another trip later this year, and I'm torn between paying for DDP and just using TIW. I loved the freedom we had without a dining plan, but the room charge we had racked up wasn't so great. Ours is a problem of budget, and the DDP was good at keeping us on one.