Any tips, tricks, hacks with the DDP i should know of?

[HollowxBastion]

I'm thinking of purchasing the Quick Service dining plan with my resort stay and was wondering if there's a solid way to optimize and get the most out what i paid for?

So basically, my plan for the Quick Service DDP is to be used at resort, park days & Disney springs, If i get quick service, i don't mind paying out of pocket for Akershus & Storybook Dining considering my budget has a lot of wiggle room or at that point, should i just get the full-on dining plan to use for character dining? (willing to either pay out of pocket or spend both my credits for that day)

 

[MillauFr]

The best way to optimize your value is to not buy the dining plan.

 

[TexasJedi]

It's difficult--though not impossible--to come out "ahead" on any dining plan vs. paying out of pocket (although some of the current free dining promos for Disney kids would make it easier depending on party size). Are you/every adult going to want an alcoholic beverage with every prepaid meal? If not, that math gets much harder.

Honestly, people hate to hear it, but your best bet is to look at the menus of some of the places you'd like to eat and run the numbers yourself on what you'd pay out of pocket for what you'd like to order vs. what the cost of the dining plan you're looking at is.

The first time my family did that and realized that after our oldest child turned 10 it would never work for us because the adult dining plan cost factors in alcohol even when they're not old enough to drink, we haven't looked at a dining plan since.

Now, if you want convenience of prepaid and the "all-inclusive" feel, that can be a different story...but if you're truly looking for value/making the most bang for your buck, the overwhelming majority of the time, paying straight out of pocket will work out better.

 

[Disneylover99]

I'm thinking of purchasing the Quick Service dining plan with my resort stay and was wondering if there's a solid way to optimize and get the most out what i paid for?

Order alcohol at every meal.
Order the most expensive entrees.
Use snack credits in Epcot at festival booths (if there is a festival going on).
Use your refillable mug at your resort often.

If you decide to upgrade to table service dining, be careful with the restaurants you choose. Check to see if they are two credit restaurants. Many 2 credit restaurants are not good value on the dining plan.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We just don’t find we get value out of the DDP any longer. I used to get it every trip but once they removed exchanging a QS for 3 snacks, it lost its value.

We’ve visited many times since they reintroduced the DDP and when I add up what we spend for food and drinks, we’re never close to what we would have paid for the DDP!

 

[leebee]

I've found we save several hundred dollars by NOT using a dining plan. If you like the pre-paid concept of the dining plan, get a Disney gift card before your vacation and use that to pay for your food. I figure out approximately what we might spend on food and drink and then buy a gift card/cards at Target. If I use my Target red card for the purchase, I get 5% off the cost of the Disney card, so pay $95 for every $100 on the gift card. It's not much, but anything that I don't have to give to The Mouse is a plus! If there is "leftover money" hahaha on the card, I save it for the next trip or Disney purchase, as the Disney gift card is good for all kinds of things, but the dining plan is just for the dining plan and unless you get the alcohol and the dessert in addition to the most expensive entree, you are gonna lose money every time.

 

[DisneyDadBod]

I agree with what others have said. It just depends on your family situation.

I have actually ran deep into the numbers, even pricing out each meal we would are going to dine at. Takes time but is worth the little bit of typing and calculator work.

We are probably in the minority at this time amongst most. The plan will actually save us money compared to what we were going to do anyway. 2 Adults, 2 kids, and an infant (2) when we go this June. So we are getting two kids plans for "free". We need 4 meals for each time we would dine. The youngest eats their fair share but with the 4 meals we will have enough to feed all 5 of us. This works really well in buffet and family style restaurants as well We would also get at least two mugs. But we get 4 which is an additional positive when the cost is already in our favor.

Value Tips-

Character Meals- These are typically one credit except a few. We do these, and the plan helps cut that cost difference quite a bit.

Fantasmic Dining Package- We were already planning on doing this. It adds about 75 in value and many of the choices are one credit each. We did this last year and it saved us a lot of time by having a guaranteed great view.

Alcohol with meal- If you order alcohol with your meals, this can also be a better value. We typically do not, and it is still a plus expected value for us.

High End One Credit Meals- If you were already going to order the more expensive meals, this can also help make it a value. There are certain one credit restaurants (Steakhouse 71 for example) that help with the value.

We have a split stay and it works with our plans anyway. Doing one part just QS and one TS. That also helps a lot, since we are not doing TS for the entirety.