Anyone else not doing DDP this trip?

[JodyLynC]

When we went in Dec. 2005, we got the DDP. Our DDs were 2.5 yo so we did not have to pay for them so it worked out great. There was plenty of food for us to share with the little ones. We ate mostly buffets so DDs ate what they wanted. I think for 1 TS meal, we ordered an item OOP off of the kids menu that they split. Since Gratuity was included, it turned out to be a fantastic deal for us.

This year we are choosing not to do DDP. I see that they are no longer including the gratuity and have cut back on appetizers. DDs will be 5 this trip and we will now have to pay $$.

We plan on staying in a FW cabin and eating a few meals there. When we are in the parks for lunch (especially Epcot WS), we prefer to graze and eat a little bit here and a little bit there, sharing what we get so we can sample more items.

I sat down and wrote up all the places that we would definitely be eating at and wrote down the prices for each of us. Buffets were easy being just one price. Other places I used the menus on allears.net to determine what we would most likely eat. I even included the prices of proposed snacks. I compared those figures to what I would be paying for the DDP.

For us at this point, DDP isn't the better bargain. If gratuities were included then it might be close.

Anyone else opting out of DDP this go 'round?

 

[Tricia1972]

The DDP value really varies per specific party this year. Last year it was still a value pretty much across the board. This year everyone needs to look at what they're doing for themselves.

When we looked at it, we looked at it the same way you did. We looked at where we would eat and what we would eat if we were paying OOP. We didn't look at what we could get on the DDP when calculating our cost because the DDP is not how we eat really. We graze throughout the day, we don't ever get desserts at CS locations, we would rarely order desserts for everyone at TS locations.

We added up our totals, and came out ahead by $450 by not using the DDP for a 7 night/8 day trip (5 adults, 1 child and 1 infant)

We're still eating at Jiko, Crystal Palace, Tony's, Beaches and Cream, and LeCellier, as well as going to many nicer CS locations (Wolfgang Puck Express, etc.)

We're happy to save money, hope that we don't come back feeling like we don't need to eat for a week, and are looking forward to our magical vacation.

Others experience magic in the DDP and that's cool too!!

 

[JodyLynC]

I agree with the dessert thing. If we get dessert, we don't order for everyone. We split. (unless it is a buffet, then we sample, sample, sample!)

 

[Tricia1972]

I agree with the dessert thing. If we get dessert, we don't order for everyone. We split. (unless it is a buffet, then we sample, sample, sample!)

I think we'd travel VERY well together. Our styles sound very similar.

 

[Disney Ron]

We decided to pass on the DDP also. We used it in the past and DH & I decided it was just to much food. We never would get dessert with a CS but felt had too because it was included. We did not like the changes made to the DDP in 2008.

We prefer the DDE instead.

Mrs. Disney Ron

 

[GC&S]

We keep going back and forth, but all my numbers keep coming out that we are breaking even or slightly ahead using the DDP. We do a TS everyday (even before the DDP) and the price of the DDP for children really can't be beat. I'll continue to run numbers but we'll probably end up using the DDP again. We can't get the DDE or we would probably use that.

 

[Laurabearz]

Never did the plan and never will. Always seemed like there was too much thinking involoved. lol

 

[m&m's mom]

Never did the plan and never will. Always seemed like there was too much thinking involoved. lol

Me too! Also we are not big eaters. At home when we eat out we order 2 entrees and split between the 4 of us. Usually that is plenty. Cannot imagine adding desserts for everyone.
I am also so type A that I would make everyone miserable trying to make sure we made the most of our DDP.

 

[PatsMom]

We've used the DDP in the past and thought it was a good deal for us since we usually did a sit down each day that would include an appetizer even if we weren't on the DDP. We thought we got good value even though I frequently didn't even order desert (diabetic and prefer to use my carbs on app and entree). But now that we would end up paying OOP for an appetizer (even if shared), the numbers just don't work out for us, especially when you consider the gratuity. We have AP's so we are going with the DDE instead.

 

[loco4dis]

We did DDP last February, but can't this June because we're going on a conference rate. I thought the DDP was a good value, and it was certainly a ton of food, but there aren't enough choices for our teen daughters (they just wanted what was on the kids' menu). I also found (don't go crazy on me) that there just aren't any really good restaurants at Disney. They aren't all awful by any means, but most are just average mass-quantity establishments. I know others don't agree, but the hassle of getting to every ADR on time no matter what we were doing, only to have a pretty blah meal made me re-think the whole thing. There were times when I know my family would have been happier with pizza at the pool back at the resort. We'll probably do 3 or 4 TS meals (and/or buffets) over our 6 days in June and the rest will be CS whenever we feel like it. We like burgers and fries (especially on vacation!), and we don't feel at all like we're missing out by not being on the DDP. I think the best aspect of DDP is that so much of your trip is paid for before you step on the airplane. With the DDP, you aren't always reaching for your wallet and that's nice, but I've researched the CS places and have a very flexible itinerary in mind. Might do DDP again, but if not, that's okay.

 

[smep013]

We have done Free DDP and paid for it last summer. It is too much food for us, and we do not think it's a good value compared to what we would actually order if we were not on it. Therefore, we will not choose to pay for DDP in the future. If it's free, sure.

 

[Luv4Disney]

We are skipping the DDP this trip too. We figured out the cost of what we'd ACTUALLY eat (we were ordering 2 apps and desserts because they came with it) versus paying OOP with the DDE card and OOP came to about $400 cheaper. Plus, they don't include gratuity anymore and with the restaurants we're eating at, we wouldn't maximize the benefits anyway. Plus, it was waaay too much food.

 

[love2driveinct]

The reasons you're all giving for not using the DDP are all of the reasons we were thinking of for not using it, and since we don't have anything to compare it to (first trip to Dis), it's great to hear everyone's perspectives. Thank you!

We are staying at SoG, so obviously DDP wasn't an option. But we had gone back and forth for awhile about whether to stay at another resort so we could use the plan.

Also, another justification for us is that we're following our 5-night stay at SoG with a 3-night cruise on the Wonder. So I think we can handle eating a little more "conservatively" at the parks if we know we'll have some more freedom on the cruise. LOL

Another thing I thought of -- these dine plans aren't exactly promoting healthy eating, are they? I mean, really -- we Americans aren't great eaters to start with and have so many health problems. We all work so hard for our money, so we feel like we need to get every penny's worth out of our plans, and maybe end up eating more than we should?

I guess the flip side of the that is that you (or your kids) might try something you wouldn't normally, and I do think that's a great thing. It's hard to justify paying $10 for a unique dessert or whatever just to have your kids go "BLECH"! I am looking forward to the cruise portion of our trip so we'll have those opportunities.

But even if we weren't doing the cruise, I still think we'd stick with the SoG/no DDP option.

Btw, what does DDE stand for? (newbie here )

 

[Cinders Mum]

we did it last year (free) and it was too restrictive, we were constantly quitting parks earlier than we would have liked, to get to wherever we needed to be for our meal.

We were offered free dining again on the bounceback deal, but opted not to take them up on it, and stuck with my TA discount. Free is not really free for us, but the numbers just don't add up anymore.

For others it is a no brainer great deal

oh and DDE is Disney Dining Experience, it is a card Annual Passholders can purchase which will give discounts on their dining.

Val
xx

 

[got2travel]

The DP has worked great for us in the past. It is just DS12 and I. We would split a CS for breakfast, maybe add a snack credit if we wanted something more. Then split a CS for lunch. Finally each of us would use our TS at dinner. So it never seemed like too much food. Although with an appetizer, entree and dessert, we would get very full. But we weren't overly full the rest of the day becuase we were splitting.

However, now with the changes, it just doesn't work out for us anymore. Without the plan, we will probably only do 1 TS for the whole trip. Everything else will be CS. I just couldn't get the numbers to work out to justify paying for the DP, then paying for tip on top of that.

 

[McSooner]

This will be our first trip with 2 boys (9 & 13) and the numbers just don't add up for us either. Also, our nine year old eats a wide variety of food and the choices on the TS children's menu are, at absolute best, completely horrible. Would you eat on Disney property if you had only the same 3 choices at most restaurants? Probably not. Why in the world they force the kids to do that is beyond me.

 

[mom2my3kids]

We had it last year during free dining, we loved it but it but was to many TS meals for us. This year we will not be purchasing the dining plan and just eating at 3 Ts and the rest CS meals. We will save a couple hundred by doing it this way. Plus my 10 year old will order off the kids meal, he just does not eat a adult meal.

 

[dchronister]

We are going in Dec, and are skipping the DDP. One of my DD just turned 10 and will not eat anything but chicken strips and fries or baked potato, waste of money on the ddp. My other DD is 12 and she will eat more of a variety, but doesn't eat much of it, mostly salads. So, it just isn't cost effective for us. Plus, we are in a villa at WLV, so we can do breakfast in, so that only leaves a dinner for us for the day, maybe a snack. If my kids were orlder, we would probably do DDP, but not this year. Dena

 

[ProudMomTo3Boys]

We did the DDP last year but are passing on it this year. I have a 12 year old who counts as an adult as he did last year but this year I also have to pay for a 3 year old. My kids also told me they would rather just eat at POR or at the parks. It takes away from their rides they said. If the tip was still included I would probably do it but without it and no appetizer its really not worth it for our family.

 

[CamColt]

I only do it if its free. Otherwise it is not a good value for us.