DDE or DDP or Both??

[ascardino]

I posted on another board but didn't get much of a response. Thought I would try my question here.

We used the DDE card last year and it definitely saved us $$s. The card expired May 2006.

We are going back with our APs this November for seven nights and then again next year in April for 7 - 8 nights. I booked the DDP for us thinking that it would save us $$. We definitely love to eat and will have no problem with using up the credits. Looking at the dining threads, it also looks like we would tend to want to eat at signature dining places and character dining on average at least once a day. So, with using 2 table service credits for the signature dining, I am wondering if I should also get the DDE card again or should I just drop the DDP altogether?

I have tried to get a handle on "maximizing" credits and do not know how "creative" I can be.

Part of vacationing for us is to enjoy a good meal at a nice restaurant and we would love to minimize the cost where we can.

Thoughts are appreciated!

 

[karrit2000]

If you think you will be able to use up all the dining credits CS & TS with no problem then The DDP is definitely a good idea. As far as maximizing the credits I will say the following based on my experience. Using 2 TS credits for 1 meal is not the way to go if you are trying to maximize. Use the TS credits for the most expensive TS meals that will only require 1 credit. Don't waste the TS credit on something like Beaches & Cream. Using DDE is the better choice there. Our experience using the dining plan this last trip was wonderful. Of course we ate much more food than we normally would. We tend to eat more CS. So normally we would not purchase the DDP. If you are the type of people who normally order appetizers, entrees & desserts for everyone in your party you will definitely make out using the DDP. If an entree & splitting dessert is the way you normally go then DDE may work better. But If you normally do at least one TS meal per day in addition to another meal then the DDP will save you a ton of money. Our TS bills averaged between $70-$90 for dinner each day for 2 people. That's just 1 meal, but DDP includes a CS meal & a snack also for each night of your stay. So based on what we ate the dinner bill usually was more than what you would pay per day for all the food that day on DDP. If you like to have alcoholic drinks with your meals the DDE card will save you on those as they aren't included in DDP.

 

[MrsG]

We got both. We found that when we used the 2 TS credits, we could use the DDE on the meal that was left over. Also, DDP is per night, so we were short a meal for the day we were leaving, so we used the DDE. A good way to cut costs is to use the DDE for a large lunch when the meal costs are less. Anyway, it may not be the most cost effective way, but we know we can eat at a discount at most places. Since you will be visiting twice within the year, you will probably break even, at least.

 

[jdvm]

I'm a big Disney Dining Experience fan and not a big Disney Dining Plan fan. Loads of people swear by the DDP but we have found that we were a bit of a slave to plan, planning our days around eating. We enjoy the control we feel by eating where we want (on and off property) when we want. In the end, it's a personal decision. Good luck.
John

 

[dgaston]

I plan on using both over DD's college graduation trip. We are going to HDD (2 TS each) and also have ADRs at LeCellier, Prime Time 50's, and need to replace our Teppanyaki ADR. We'll use the DDE for our lower cost breakfasts at 'Ohana and Donald's Breakfastosaurus.

 

[JimC]

I'm a big Disney Dining Experience fan and not a big Disney Dining Plan fan. Loads of people swear by the DDP but we have found that we were a bit of a slave to plan, planning our days around eating. We enjoy the control we feel by eating where we want (on and off property) when we want. In the end, it's a personal decision. Good luck.
John

Sums up our view quite nicely.