back 8/30,truth about DP

[Letsbgoofy]

I'm not going to review all the restaurants that we ate at because many other people have done a better job than I could. I do want to clear up some misconceptions about DP "rules".

The cast is my DH and myself, both in our early 40's. We have been to WDW many times, and have eaten at nearly all the CS and TS restaurants. DS and I went without DH last year during free dining - this is always the time we travel so the free dining is a nice extra.

No sharing - false! We shared every CS meal and at 2 TS. For some reason, I'm just not hungry when we travel to WDW. Probably a combination of the heat and walking around all day. Not one server acted like sharing was a problem. Note that we didn't eat at any signature restaurants, and obviously didn't share at LTT. We tipped extra when we shared at TS.

You can't "treat" other people - false! We had lots of credits, and treated my GF and her BF at Le Cellier. I asked beforehand, and both servers I spoke with seemed surprised that there was even a question about that being a problem. We also used more than our 2 credits at once at The Earl of Sandwich - using credits left to get food for the plane.

The service is not good if you are using the DP - false! We ate at LTT, Le Cellier, Kona Cafe, Sci Fi Dine In, and Maya Grill and had excellent service each time. The severs actually seemed happy that we were on the DP; especially since we knew what we could order without being told. We got our dessert to go most meals. At Sci Fi, the waitress made a point to tell us that we could get milk shakes as drinks. We tipped extra at every meal for excellent service.

We noticed a lot of empty tables at each meal. I don't think they were taking walk ups though (except at Sci Fi for lunch). I'm guessing that they were trying not to strain the kitchens in order to keep up the quality?? Or maybe a lot of people didn't show up for their ADRs, who knows?

One "rule" we didn't have to contend with is the child/adult credit issue. I can't see why you would pay for a child's meal to get extra credits anyway, there is so much food I wouldn't even want more!! It is prohibited as per the brochure you get when you check in, but I also saw lots of kids with those sneakers with wheels, so we know WDW isn't good at enforcing their rules!

The next trip we take to WDW, I would purchase the DP for the first part of the trip, but leave a few days without it. The plan really ties you to WDW (the plan of course!), and we like to visit Sea World, the beach, and my GF in Tampa.

 

[Uncleromulus]

An interesting report with information that many will find useful.

 

[grcmag]

we have a friend picking us up at the airport and she has booked a room for 2 nights of our trip at por riverside however she doesn't have the dining plan. we are treating her to dinner at le cellier that first night and i had planned to pay for her dinner and use 2 credits for our meals. so, you had no problem using an additional credit to pay for guest as there are only 2 on the plan? that would be nice since we don't eat much either and wouldn't mind sharing a ts later in trip (prefer to share!)

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

This mirrors our experience with the DDP (free and paid) as well. Never had an issue sharing meals, often get desserts to go, nearly always pleasant helpful servers...

4 weeks from today, I'll be downing my first (of many) bags mini-donuts at Blizzard Beach! If I can pull my hand from the bag long enough, I will make my way over to Summit Plummet!

Glad you had a great trip!

 

[disneypharm]

This mirrors our experience with the DDP (free and paid) as well. Never had an issue sharing meals, often get desserts to go, nearly always pleasant helpful servers...

The same with us.
Letsbgoofy, I agree with everything you mentioned. We did the DDP in Dec 2005 and loved everything about it. We never had an issue sharing meals in CS places. We also didn't want to use child credit for adult meals. There is so much food I wouldn't even want more!!

 

[kaybird]

This echoes our experience last week as well. We knew the plan, the waitstaff was ALWAYS courteous, appreciated our selections, shared at CS (Our day of eating around the world showcase to follow) and have never ever seen as many heelies in the park as I did on this trip.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

thanks !

 

[melomouse]

Thank you muchly, letsbgoofy! This helps future guests with DDP!!!

 

[Letsbgoofy]

so, you had no problem using an additional credit to pay for guest as there are only 2 on the plan?

No, we used 3 credits (card was for 2A) that night and paid OOP for my cheese soup (which was all I ate that night - okay, and about 5 breadsticks!)

I had planned to use my credit for my GF because it was her birthday dinner and all I wanted was the soup and breadsticks. I was happy that they let us use a credit for her BF as well. He's in the British army and stationed in Tampa. I know WDW is expensive, and it was nice of him to come over to meet us. Being able to use a credit to pay for his meal was great. He didn't order dessert, so I took a whiskey cake to go.

 

[ntink]

This was pretty much the same experience we had. We just returned 8/30 also. A couple of things that we experienced:

No one mentioned anything about child vs. adult credits. When we checked in (5 nights, 2 adults, 2 kids) we received a paper that indicated we had 20 each of TS, CS, and Snacks. I did not read the brochure that the OP referred to. On the day my kids were at the Wonderland Tea Party, we ate at the Grand Floridian Cafe and used 2 TS credits. Then when we ate breakfast at Boma we used the 2 remaining credits and they took off the price of the adult meals.

We paid OOP at Jiko in order to have an additional TS meal. While the meal there was absolutely fabulous, the price was no more than our meal at Marakesh (Morocco) so we did not want to use 2 TS each.

A cool tip about the CS credits that we discovered by accident at Blizzard Beach:
When I was ordering our meals, I noticed that they had really yummy looking soft-serve. However, I did not want to get it with my meal because by the time I would be eating it would be melted. Also, I knew we would be too full to have dessert right away. The lady in front of me told me that you could order the ice cream for pick-up, save your receipt and get it later. The cashier confirmed this so we at lunch around 12:30 then when the rain came in around 4:30 and everyone was rushing to leave, we sat under the covered area eating our ice cream. I never got the chance to see if this would work at any other CS. We only ordered dessert 1 other time because we just typically do not eat dessert at lunch.

 

[disneypharm]

A cool tip about the CS credits that we discovered by accident at Blizzard Beach:
When I was ordering our meals, I noticed that they had really yummy looking soft-serve. However, I did not want to get it with my meal because by the time I would be eating it would be melted. Also, I knew we would be too full to have dessert right away. The lady in front of me told me that you could order the ice cream for pick-up, save your receipt and get it later. The cashier confirmed this so we at lunch around 12:30 then when the rain came in around 4:30 and everyone was rushing to leave, we sat under the covered area eating our ice cream. I never got the chance to see if this would work at any other CS. We only ordered dessert 1 other time because we just typically do not eat dessert at lunch.

nTink, Thanks for the tip about Blizzard Beach CS. I just told DH about it. We will definitely do that when we visit BB in 2 weeks.

 

[LegoMom3]

.... The severs actually seemed happy that we were on the DP; especially since we knew what we could order without being told...

Is this info available anywhere on the Internet, or do you have to wait to see the menu at each restaurant? I'm sure I've seen that someplace but can't remember where. It would be great to know ahead of time if there were exclusions on the menus of the places we are going! I can also see the CMs appreciating that a guest already knows about such stuff.

Anyway, thanks for the report! 2 1/2 weeks for us!!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Thanks for giving us the scoop! We'll be there in about 2 weeks and plan to do many of the things you mentioned =)

 

[TSM1993]

Is this info available anywhere on the Internet, or do you have to wait to see the menu at each restaurant? I'm sure I've seen that someplace but can't remember where. It would be great to know ahead of time if there were exclusions on the menus of the places we are going! I can also see the CMs appreciating that a guest already knows about such stuff.

Anyway, thanks for the report! 2 1/2 weeks for us!!

Check allearsnet.com out I know they have menus listed on their website.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

Is this info available anywhere on the Internet, or do you have to wait to see the menu at each restaurant? I'm sure I've seen that someplace but can't remember where. It would be great to know ahead of time if there were exclusions on the menus of the places we are going! I can also see the CMs appreciating that a guest already knows about such stuff.

There weren't any exclusions. I was referring to the fact that we knew that we could each get an appetizer, entree, drink, and dessert with our credit. I could hear people at tables next to us and they had no idea what was included - they must not be in the DIS! I guess it does seem too good to be true when you car told you can order anything on the menu, and I'm sure the servers get tired of being asked "Is this included?"

 

[Wafflestoo]

The next trip we take to WDW, I would purchase the DP for the first part of the trip, but leave a few days without it.

I totally agree!! We just returned from our 8 day stay and for the first 4 days we were free dining, but the last 4 days were not since I had rented points to stay at the VWL. I am so glad that we were NOT on the plan the last four days...My tummy needed the break!!! No one forced me to eat all the food offered during the free DP, but it was so DARN good I couldn't stop myself. Those desserts were increadable. I gained 5 pounds, my DH gained 4 and my kids both put on a few.

 

[english rose 47]

Can anyone else confirm Milkshakes at Sci Fi can be ordered as your drink? Cos I would love to do that I had thought it counted as a dessert. The appetizers at Sci Fi aren't to great .. selection wise Onion rings sound great but 4 orders would be TOO much and we wanted to share appetizers any ideas thought???

 

[Letsbgoofy]

Can anyone else confirm Milkshakes at Sci Fi can be ordered as your drink?

I'm not sure how much more of a confirmation you need. We were there on 8/28 and my DH ordered an oreo cookie milkshake as his drink. The people in the car in front of us also ordered shakes for their drinks (yep - I'm nosy!). I know they were drinks because they also had dessert. On the bill, the shake was listed as was the desert. The waitress was very clear about milkshakes being counted as a drink as soon as she found out we were on the DP.

The spinach and artichoke dip is very good as an appetizer.

 

[disqueen2]

Thanks so much for the info. We will be at WDW for Christmas and are on the DDP. DD is considered an adult, and doesn't eat that much, we we were wondering if sharing CS meals would be ok. You just put my mind at ease.

 

[english rose 47]

So glad about the milkshakes! I had read that somewhere people pn DP were told i6t counted as dessert, but it may not have been Sci FI! I thought the artichoke dip sounded good for me not sure how picky, pickier and pickiest will like it though, but it sounds a good choice as opposed to 4 orders of onion rings. Another thought Kids appetizer is carrot/celery sticks and they all like that could they get anextra of those?