Basic questions for a newbie - ADR +10?

[snykymom]

Please forgive me if these questions are redundant, but I've been reading and am confused.

What's ADR +10? Does this mean that if I stay on property, I can book an ADR at 190 days?

I've also seen references to DDP and DDE. I know what they stand for (Disney Dining Plan and Disney Dining Experience), but what are the differences between the two?

Thanks so much!

 

[Aliceacc]

Hi and welcome.

The official rule is that you can book ADRs 180 days before you need them.

BUT if you stay at a Disney resort, they change it a bit: you still have to wait until 180 days before you arrive. But, when you hit that 180 day mark, you can make up to 10 days worth of reservations at once. (As opposed to calling each day, 180 days before you need a particular reservation.)

The DDP is the more basic plan: 1 snack, 1 counter service and 1 table service meal per day. There's also a more comprehensive plan that offers more for a higher cost.

I'm not sure on the DDE.... wati, I looked it up:
"Become a member in the Disney Dining Experience program for $60.00 and add a second membership for your spouse or partner for $25.00.

The Disney Dining Experience gives you:

20% off of food and beverages at over 70 Disney Resort hotel and Theme Park RESTAURANTS. (Discount is good for up to 10 guests.)
Theme Park and Resort parking for dining purposes
Member-Only invitations to exclusive events
Half Price admission at Pleasure Island for DDE member
Free Admission to Boardwalk's Atlantic Dance for DDE member and guest
Annual Passholders can join up by calling 407-566-5858 (Mon-Fri, 9:00am to 6m EST). The Disney Dining Experience is not accepted during holidays, including New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Please allow 2 to 3 weeks for processing. NOTE: If you order your card and it doesn't arrive before you leave for WDW, you can pick up a temporary voucher at Epcot's Guest Relations. "

 

[gabbyrosebud]

Hi! You can make your reservation 180 days before your arrival date, then you can make your reservations for your other ADR for up to 10 days into your trip. I got this information from the Disney World Mom's panel website. It might explain it better.

Staying at a Disney-owned resort will give you a little more leeway with making your Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs). This also applies to Disney Vacation Club resorts. First, you will be asked for your resort confirmation number or your phone number so that the Cast Member can verify your reservation.

You will need to wait until you are 180 days in advance from your day of arrival. Then, you can place a call to 407-WDW-DINE (939-3463) and make up to 10 days of reservations for your entire vacation.

For example, when you place the call, you can also make an ADR for your day 2 of vacation which will be 181 days out from your Check In date. You will have the privilege of making reservations up to your 10th vacation day. Always count Day 1 as your Check In date.

Non-Disney owned properties such as Shades of Green, Swan and Dolphin, Downtown Disney and off-site hotels will have to place calls to Disney Dining each day at the 180-day mark. For example, a 10-day vacation would require 10 days of phone calls to obtain dining reservations at popular restaurants.

I hope this clarifies the 180 plus 10 dining reservation benefit given to WDW resort guests. This advantage saves money, time and helps secure seating at coveted restaurants. When I recently made I enjoyed only having to make 1 phone call!

 

[kaytieeldr]

180+10 means that 180 days before you arrive, you can call and make dining reservations for that day and the following nine days. It does not mean you can make reservations 190 days in advance. Note that there have been recent reports (valid? rumors?) of Disney changing the advance reservation time to 90 days.

DDP is explained VERY well in the sticky thread at the top of this forum, in the first post - so I won't repeat that information here.

DDE is a discount card. It costs $85 per year and entitles the holder to 20% discounts on much (but not all) of the food at Disney. It is generally valid only in table service restaurants, except at resorts that don't have this option - in which case the discount can be applied on food court purchases.

Only certain people are eligible to purchase the DDE - Florida residents, and Annual Pass Holders (and possibly one other group). Items purchased using the DDE discount automatically incur an 18% service charge, except at food courts (where tipping isn't customary).

 

[snykymom]

You guys are great (and fast!) Thank you so much!

 

[gabbyrosebud]

You guys are great (and fast!) Thank you so much!

You're welcome and just wanted to say to the Disboards!

 

[Aliceacc]

You're welcome!!

Just a bit of personal opinion: Take a look and see whether either of the meal plans make economic sense for you; they're not for everyone.

They were a good idea for my family for a few reasons:
- 2 of my 3 kids are under 10. That means they're getting fed for $10 per day, including a sit down meal. My son is 10, but always orders off the adult menu anyway.

- That sit down dinner is important to me for our family. Sit down meals provide more time for real conversation (although they do take you away from the parks.) We probably wouldn't do as many sit downs if not for the DDP.

- In a similar vein, we're doing restaurants that would probably be out of our price range had it not been for the DDP.

But take a look at the menus and do your homework. Let us know if we can help!

 

[Rylee]

Hi,

ADR + 10, means, for guest staying at a Disney resort, starting 180 days prior to your trip, you can call and make advance dining reservations (ADR) for a full 10 days, instead of having to call back each day, 180 days from the exact date.

DDP - (Disney Dining Plan or Deluxe Dining Plan) Disney offers dining plans for guest staying at a Disney resort. The basic DP currently cost about $38 for adults and $10 for children ages 3-9, per night, and consist of 1 Table Service meal (TS - think... waitstaff waits on you), 1 Counter Service meal (CS - think... fast food style) and 1 snack for each night of your stay. It does not cover tip or alcoholic beverages.

Many people like the Dining Plans because of the convenience of having meals pre-paid.

To decide if the DP is a value for your family...
1) think about how your family likes to dine/eat.
2) how you like to tour the parks and spend your time.

Read menus and prices, here, and at the allears site.

My family likes the DP. I would be miserable eating CS all week, and we enjoy the themed restaurants and taking a relaxing break from the parks.

DDE - Somone will come along and explain this better, I hope, because I don't have one, but I think... The Disney Dining Experience Card, gives 20% of the total bill. The card can only be obtained by certain groups of people... AP holders, etc.

 

[snykymom]

Thanks for those tips! I'm not eligible for DDE, so I'll just forget about that one. (It's nice to be able not to think about something when planning a vacation! )

And we're going in January, so I don't know what dining will look like. We used a different plan way back in '82 and loved it, then tried one in '90 and didn't like it at all - took too much time for the sit-down meals.

I'll have to crunch some numbers when the new meal plan comes out. If it has appetizers and dessert, probably not worth it - we don't eat that much. But we'll see.

I'm bookmarking this thread to make sure I don't lose it when it comes time to decide! Until then, staying glued to the computer for more hints!