Anyone NOT on the DDP?

[keishashadow]

We do split stays, DVC 1st for 5 nights; current perc is ability to buy DP w/o tix purchase requirement. We've been picking up the DP & stretching it out over the 6th day, easily do-able as to the large amount of food on the plan.

Must admit once we're back to paying oop, we don't order appetizer or dessert - whether it's due to cost or the fact that we're just stuffed - who knows?

 

[AKLRULZ]

We're with you on this one. We're deluxe resort snobs , so the AP rate is a definite for us. Also, we really can't eat that much food (on the DDP).

I've crunched the numbers more time than I care to count, and just can't make it work out as a savings for us.

We do have the DDE card, so we get a savings on TS restaurants that way.

Someday, however, I'm sure I'll try the DDP just to say I did it.

You basically read my mind. I think it's a good value for families and especially for infrequent or first time visitors, though.

For us, however, DDE is a huge savings - we saved over $600 in meal costs (family of 5 here) on 4 visits over the past 14 months.

 

[Kay1]

Never work for us. We always get and AP or FL Res discount. Last Sunday we had lunch at the Kona Cafe. I suspect the couple sitting behind my husband was on the DP. They each had an appetizer, then huge sandwich platters, then two desserts. It just seemed like way to much for lunch. I gain weight very easily and would have to bring multiple-sized clothing.

 

[PlutoLuvr]

No DDP here. We stay in our off site timeshare, have many must-do restaurants at non-WDW places (Emeril's, O'Brien's), and do the FL resident Play Three ticket, then upgrade to a seasonal pass when we get home.

With the way the menus have been changing, there's no way I'd be tied to having to eat all my meals at WDW and having to pay rack rates for tiny rooms and buy full price tix. Nah. Give me a turkey leg, a lamb sandwich from Morocco, filet at Jiko (I really hope they don't take that way, too), and that's about all I need food-wise at WDW.

 

[DaisyD]

No DDP here either. Another deluxe resort snob and food snob also! We generally don't gorge on all of us each getting our own appetizer, entree, and dessert. You'd have to roll us out of there! I also don't want the hassle of wondering what is covered and what isn't. We will probably spend more without the DDP but think this fits our style better.

 

[ElizabethB]

The free dining promotion was a very good value for us. We didn't find it was "too much food" because we ordered and ate what we wanted and didn't worry that we left credits on the table at departure. But, I must say with the free dining promotion, I actually felt like we "took" Disney, instead of feeling (as I usually do) like Disney "took" us.

However, I really don't see the value in the DDP if we have to pay for it. The 1TS restaurants are cutting back -- significantly -- on both choices and food quality, leaving only the 2TS restaurants as decent options for dinner (IMO). I don't think DDP is a good value if you eat at 2TS restaurants. So, we're going in October -- we've booked our villa with an AP discount at a DVC deluxe and we'll be using DDE for discounts on our meals.

 

[DVC Sadie]

The DDP is not for us. We enjoy leisurely TS breakfasts and TS dinners so we do a lot better with the DDE card. With Orlando having some wonderful restaurants that we enjoy it would be foolish for us to be tied down to only WDW dining.

With WDW changing menus and quality of food we are grateful to have different dining options even if they are offsite. . We love dining offsite at places such as Emeril's, Tchoup Chop and Ruth Chris's and will be enjoying more places like those to dine in the future.

 

[Donald is #1]

I'm also not doing the DDP for my October trip. I racked my brains for a couple of weeks before deciding that at least for this trip the DDP is not for me. Since I am going during the Food & Wine Festival, I am not sure how many TS meals I will actually eat. I think that most likely when I am in EPCOT, I will probably snack a lot at the various food booths and not actually eat a meal. Therefore I don't think that I will average a TS meal a day. I am glad that I am not the only one not doing it. From reading these boards for the past few months it seemed like everyone was doing the DDP.

 

[KimWDW]

We don't do it. We're not big eaters and do mostly cs meals so we can get in, get out, get on more rides quicker.

 

[JandJ]

We don't use DDP either. First, we're there a lot for day trips so it's not even an option. Second, we have the DDE. Third, we are not big eaters. We usually split a CS lunch order and aren't big on sweets. Whenever I hear someone at a CS order on the DDP they get so much food. We couldn't eat all that at one sitting.

 

[baileybelle]

We have also decided not to do the DPP. We are only booking a couple of TS"s Chefs(lunch) or Le Cellier(lunch)., LTT(lunch), Planet Hollywood(2 AAA $15. vouchers). We enjoy eating around the world at Epcot and also like to eat in the Crossroads area restaurants.

After checking out the menus, the CS's seem to have a lot more variety than they used to and the prices are more reasonable. The TS restaurant prices continue to go up, but the quality seems to be going down.

I have crunched the numbers several times and we would definitely save money without the plan.

 

[terri01p]

We are going to WDW in April and we won't be doing the dining plan, it was just to much for us to pay for this time around. I would have loved to of had it though.