Bye Bye DDP

[Pat329]

Well, I'm none of the above which explains why I've never heard of it. Thanks for the info though!

 

[Karlzmom]

I would really like to try OOP on our next trip, but my husband much prefers the convenience of pre-paid meals. When we went last June, we actually had several QS credits and a ton of snack credits left over at the end of the trip (I made sure we used all of the TS credits!) - I think it was just too hot to eat so much food! Of course we bought meals from the resort before checking out and took them with us to my mother's house for the kids to eat (we visited her after our Disney vacation), but they wound up going to waste in her refridgerator!

I wish I could convince my husband that it would make more sense to pay OOP. He wants to get the DDxDP this year - which means even more food that will go to waste. Oy vey.

Would putting the money you would spend on the DDP on a gift card work to solve the "prepaid" thing? I've considered doing that this trip so I have the convenience and feel of "prepaid" but I am not locked into eating what is "allowed" or worrying about "maximizing" or worst of all figuring out how to spend a bunch of credits at the end that I've already paid for.

 

[patsal]

Throwing this question to all who pay OOP...
Do you still do a table-service meal each day?

I think I would still want to. Only thing about DDP is that I just know that my DH would go back to the mindset of ordering something cheaper from than menu as opposed to if we were on DDP & he knew it was already paid for.

Yes, sometimes two and sometimes signature. If I could find my stuff from last year I could get specific, but off the top of my head 10 nights at Disney,No DDP--I remember eating at: Kona, Cali Grill, Via Napoli, France, Coral Reef, Tea Room at GF, Brown Derby, Yak and Yeti, Tony's, Liberty Tree Tavern, Plaza, Portobello's, I may have forgotten something...
CS included but again I may have forgotten some: Sunshine Seasons, France, Moracco, Wolfgang Puck Express, Earl of Sandwich, Starring Rolls, Columbia Harbor House, Pecos Bills, Cosmic Rays, Pinocchio's.
Snacks and many would not have been included in DDP (too expensive for a snack credit like chocolate caramel apples)--Boardwalk bakery, Goofy's, Main Street bakery, Main Street confectionary, Girardellis, Aunty Gravities, KRNR Station, etc.

Before we left, I said the only way to compare our totals to see which is less expensive is to just order whatever you want, get whatever you want for snacks then I'd tally it all up. No one skrimped. We also had alcohol on several occasions and ordered apps many times. Even with these after tax and tips I was still less than DDP.

 

[patsal]

I did the math for an upcoming trip for my daughter (6) and I. We are eating 3 buffet meals over a 6 day trip and I come out $100 ahead on the ddp. If it weren't for all the buffets I don't think it would be worth it.

Buffets and children under 10 mess the math everytime! You'll notice none of my TS were buffets and all people I had in my party were over 10.

 

[nkereina]

My goal wasn't to save money, rather do what we wanted and eat where we wanted. Rather not be bound by using credits because you paid for them and didn't want to waste them. Granted we didn't purchase meals for my son at every dinner nor did we eat two desserts at every lunch. The last several times we went on the DDP we left several CS behind and I still have bags of lollipops and jellybeans in my pantry.

You have to remember that two of the meals that we did enjoy were signatures and we would have been short dinners two nights on the DDP.

Also granted we didn't get two adult desserts per meal, but we always got an appetizer and a dessert. If you remember from my post the app at the California Grill was a $20 Sushi app that was awesome btw.

The only night we ate two desserts was the night at Kouzzina where we had a $10 app and then two $8.00 sundaes at Beaches & Cream (which I didn't count toward against my paid snacks). I put up the sundaes at B&C against any other dessert.

And our snack count was only 4 short for 8 nights which isn't bad. I know people leave that many snacks on the table all the time. And we weren't bound by what Disney calls a snack. We had several items that were not approved DDP snacks.

So yes, we spent slightly more but I feel that we ate so much better. Plus my meals were portable (LegoLand & SeaWorld). And God forbid one night someone isn't feeling well and wants to skip a dinner, you are not out a credit. You can also share a meal. Eating 8 nights like that you tend to get stuffed.

Even if we weren't going back this summer and didn't get to use the TIW again, I would still do it again. Overall the extra $133 spent was well worth it. I don't know what I would do for a single shorter trip.

We did not deprive ourselves in any manner.
Using the DDP is an exercise in constantly trying to beat the system by eating the most expensive meal all the time and using all of your entitlements. On OOP I can still eat dinner at Le Cellier without using a signature

OP - thank you for explaining. I respect that!

If I read the OP correctly, they would have needed to pay for one of the signature meals (or 2 other meals), if they had DDP. Also, they would still have had to pay for the food at Legoland & Sea World. These meals seem to be added to the OOP cost, but not added onto the DDP estimate. If that is the case, they really saved quite a bit by paying OOP.

Even if a signature meal, or two cheap meals, were paid for OOP had they done DDP, it wouldn't have totaled the difference. Plus OP said they still ate at WDW on Legoland and Sea World days so that's a non issue. If OP's objective was to save money, that was not successful. But since OP clarified that their goal was not to save money, then it's sensible for them.

OP's experiment is a good example to show the different sides of DDP - you can be "restricted" of sorts to what the DDP offers you, or you can spend more and do what you want. It's like park hopper - restrict yourself to one park per day or spend more and do what you want. Worth it to some, but not to others.

 

[summermac]

Yes, you really "make" money with kids and eating a buffet. The price OOP for kids is generally $10 above the price of the DDP for the day. Because we have two buffets planned for our next trip, we are cutting back to only 4 TS total and also have a cheaper lunch in there - SciFi to help.

Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed the DDP when we used it in 2009 and got a lot of value out of it because we worked to get the value. This time, I just want to not be tied to so many ADRs.

I might do the prepaid gift card thing but then I'm worried I'll have $100 or so on it and that will bug me. Maybe I'll prepay it for around $500 instead. Hmmmm....

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Even if a signature meal, or two cheap meals, were paid for OOP had they done DDP, it wouldn't have totaled the difference. Plus OP said they still ate at WDW on Legoland and Sea World days so that's a non issue. If OP's objective was to save money, that was not successful. But since OP clarified that their goal was not to save money, then it's sensible for them.

OP's experiment is a good example to show the different sides of DDP - you can be "restricted" of sorts to what the DDP offers you, or you can spend more and do what you want. It's like park hopper - restrict yourself to one park per day or spend more and do what you want. Worth it to some, but not to others.

The OP said they spent $133.31 more than if they'd used DDP. It would be difficult to feed a family of three (if their son didn't usually eat) 2 meals or a signature meal for that at WDW. They did say they had dinner at WDW the nights they went to SW & LL, but the other meals those days were eaten off property. I think it's a safe bet that they spent more than $133.31 on all those meals. I'm not advocating whether anyone should or shouldn't use DDP. It does appear the OP saved by paying OOP, unless I misread the original post.

 

[mjr0483]

While my calculations were straight up DDP vs OOP, I did spend more and that throws some people. If I had done what some others have suggested and considered the meal at California Grill a Signature as it is and then add the cost of Hoop-Dee-Doo on top of the DDP, then it certainly is a wash.

I also have been using the DDP for years and every time I was at a snack cart and some sucker in front of me was buying a couple mickeys bars and the CM said is that a snack and they said no that will be cash, I had to chuckle and couldn't wait to use my snack credits.

Count me as one of those suckers now

 

[mjr0483]

The OP said they spent $133.31 more than if they'd used DDP. It would be difficult to feed a family of three (if their son didn't usually eat) 2 meals or a signature meal for that at WDW. They did say they had dinner at WDW the nights they went to SW & LL, but the other meals those days were eaten off property. I think it's a safe bet that they spent more than $133.31 on all those meals. I'm not advocating whether anyone should or shouldn't use DDP. It does appear the OP saved by paying OOP, unless I misread the original post.

Savings here is objective because the end total did come out to be $133 more. But that was what DDP would have been straight up. The objective wasn't to only purchase what I could have gotten on the DDP and compare. The objective was to purchase what I wanted when I wanted and in my mind think everything was on my OOP Plan. Including CS & snacks at LL & SW.

To me it was worth $16 more per day to not be bound by the restrictions of the DDP.

 

[vinotinto]

I think we're going to take the plunge and go OOP next trip (whenever that trip is). We have done the Deluxe Dining Plan during our last 3 trips and one DDP trip before that. We generally only do TS, with about half dinners being Signatures and half dinners being regular TS. The last few trips we did a lot of character dining, and having kids, the DxDP was a great deal. But, I am wondering if we (2 A and 2 C) went OOP, would we really spend $1,500 in one week? Also, if grandma comes with us (3A and 2 C), it would be $305/day or $2,135 in one week. I think since my DH will explode if I book any character meals, we would probably come ahead OOP. We often ordered both kids a meal, since it was pre-paid. In some cases, it made sense, and it some cases it didn't. For example, each of their meals at San Angel Inn was absolutely huge. They could have each fed an adult. So, I think there is a lot to think about, especially in terms of how credits are used.

 

[pmcneff]

Our family and some friends are going to WDW in July 2012...a total of 8!

We have decided not to go with the DDP this time which we have done the last few times. DDP has scaled back the options and raised the price making the plan not worth the money. we will pay cash this time to get exactly what we want from where we want it.

 

[summermac]

Also keep in mind that using DDP for all your entitlements at a TS meal (so I guess I basically mean dessert for every person on DDP) also increases your tip. Since a party of six = automatic gratuity it's a good bet that for the most part many are more than a party of 6 so the tip goes up automatically with each dessert you order. Or any other more expensive item you might not have chosen under OOP.