DDE Review

[FLYNZ4]

We just used our DDE card for the 2nd time this year and it certainly paid off for us. We generally do not like counter service meals... we only went to one during our 12 night stay this trip. We usually eat at two TS restaurants per day, but we seldom order Appetizer, Entrée, Dessert, and alcohol. Instead, we usually just get an entrée, and either dessert or appetizer. We drink very little alcohol (none at most meals)... but we will occasionally order a bottle of wine at some nicer restaurants. Our two kids ordered more alcohol than Debbie and I... and we let them splurge a bit.

We also eat breakfast in the room each morning. I made bacon & eggs each morning... but some people ate cereal, frozen breakfast sandwiches, danish or doughnuts.

Four my family of four... there were 3 adults for 12 nights... plus one adult for 4 nights during this trip... so a total of 40 person-days. During the last 5 nights... we had an extra 2 adults staying in our condo, and joining us at all meals. However, they paid separately, so their total is not included below.

We ate as follows (each grouping is a separate day):

- Rose and Crown
- Nine Dragons

- Liberty Tree Tavern
- Beaches and Cream
- Wolfgang Puck Dining Room

- Beaches and Cream
- Boma's

- Prime Time Cafe
- Big River
- Germany Biergarten

- Coral Reef
- Bistro de Paris

- Trails End Buffet
- Le Cellier
- Boardwalk Bakery

- Cape May Cafe

- ESPN
- Pinocchio's (our only CS restaurant)
- Plaza Ice Cream Parlor

- Beaches and Cream
- O'Hana

- El Marrakesh
- Teppanyaki Dining (DDE not accepted)

- Prime Time Cafe
- Whispering Canyon

- Brown Derby Fantasmic Pkg (DDE not accepted)

Total for food and alcohol was $1849.27 or $46.23 PP per day... excluding the groceries that we bought for breakfast. I was satisfied overall... and for us... eating two TS restaurants per day is preferable.

I do not think that I will plan to get the Fantasmic Pkg again. We have done it before... and I realized that it was not the best value... but we did have guests with us and we were not too sure how busy we would be as "tour park commandos"... so we felt the reserved seating pass would be worth something... it wasn't.

For us a Disney Dining plan wouldn't have worked well. We only ate CS one time... and it was lousy. By contrast, the TS restaurants were generally really good, and a nice escape from the heat. It is a great opportunity to relax, cool down, and re-hydrate.

There were a few meals which included appetizer, entrée, and dessert as part of the price (Boma, Biergarten, Trail's End Buffet, Cape May Cafe, Brown Derby Fantasmic). In general... I think we ate too much at those places because it is human nature to want to get the "best value". I also noticed that we tended to pick the most expensive items on the menu when the price was set. By contrast... at the rest of the restaurants... we tended to just order what we wanted... without significant concern about the price. For this reason... we think that DDE is a better plan for us over the DDP.

/Jim

 

[mickeywho?]

Thanks for the review!
We're going back again in February - but this time with my parents/sister/brothers. For a total of 7 adults and 2 children. We're all staying together (OKW GV) so the decision to get DDP or for me to buy the DDE will made by all of us.
The last two times we've gone down (myself, DH & DSs) we've bought DDP - although we were less impressed by the buffets on the last trip (yes, food quality has definitely gone down). We're still not decided on what to do for this trip - DDP means we don't have to worry about budget while we're there but if we want to eat offsite on a "shopping day" the money spent will be wasted - although I know we'd end up spending just as much I don't know if everyone else would be convinced.
This year we'll be staying away from buffets (maybe just CP for breakfast) and will do TS every night for dinner and possibly some lunches as well.
Thanks again - it's great to hear many opinions on this one!

 

[jekjones1558]

Hey, Jim! You could be our resident restaurant critic!
Just out of curiosity, did you have ADRs well ahead of time or were you able to get into these places without them?

 

[FLYNZ4]

Hey, Jim! You could be our resident restaurant critic!
Just out of curiosity, did you have ADRs well ahead of time or were you able to get into these places without them?

Jean,

We did have ADRs all arranged prior to the trip. I made them 3 or 4 months ago for the most part... but changed them around. Bistro De Paris only has a 30 day reservation... so I originally made a reservation for Chefs de France... and then switched at the 30 day mark.

We did move a few reservation when we were there. The biggest instigator was the hurricane that was headed toward Florida... and I was afraid that we would get rain during our Fantasmic dinner package. There was only one reservation date available for us to switch, but we were able to do so OK. It ended up we got no rain anyway .

We also switched nights for Morrocco and Japan. Morrocco was easy, but we needed to take a non-optimal time for our Japan reservation.

With all of the dining plans going on... getting a table at WDW is MUCH worse than it used to be in my opinion. We often saw people getting turned away from restaurants who did not have reservations... and they seemed frustrated.

/Jim

 

[byoung]

Thanks for reporting.

 

[Canadian Tom]

Hello: I think the main reason the TS rest. are busier now is because of the DDP. People who normally wouldn't do TS are now doing it because it is prepaid as part of the plan.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thanks for the report. Am I correct in saying that the tips are not included in your sum?

What/where is Big River? Thank you for mentioning that Japan's restaurant doesn't accept DDE. We have ressie there for October and we would have been taken by surprise.

I don't understand really why the Fantasmic Dinner package, or the Candlelight Processional Package don't accept DDE, but they do the DDP. We have DDE, but for our December trip, we're considering going with DDP because we want to do those two things.

Bobbi

 

[DVCconvert]

What/where is Big River?

Big River Grill is on the boardwalk - I recommend the burger

 

[bobbiwoz]

Big River Grill is on the boardwalk - I recommend the burger

OK, Thanks, but I have that listed among the ones that do not take DDE, am I wrong??

Bobbi

 

[jekjones1558]

Can the Dining Plan be used for Fantasmic packages?

 

[Granny]

DDE works better for us than DDP but for different reasons.

One is that we don't eat all our meals on-site. We have a vehicle and eat off-site a few times each trip.

The other is that we don't eat as much as the DDP calls for. That's just way too much food for us.

The DDE card saves us money and we can use it for at least two trips each time. So it easily pays for itself.

I can see where the DDP could be a great savings for some people. For us, it just isn't.

I do not think that I will plan to get the Fantasmic Pkg again. We have done it before... and I realized that it was not the best value... but we did have guests with us and we were not too sure how busy we would be as "tour park commandos"... so we felt the reserved seating pass would be worth something... it wasn't.

This is the only part that we personally would disagree with. Going to WDW in the summer and spending an hour and a half in a cattle-car line for Fantasmic in 90+ degree weather is not a fun thing for us. The Fantasmic dinner package is well worth it for us.

 

[FLYNZ4]

Thanks for the report. Am I correct in saying that the tips are not included in your sum?

Bobbi

Bobbi,

Sorry for the late reply. Our totals did include tips.

/Jim

 

[FLYNZ4]

This is the only part that we personally would disagree with. Going to WDW in the summer and spending an hour and a half in a cattle-car line for Fantasmic in 90+ degree weather is not a fun thing for us. The Fantasmic dinner package is well worth it for us.

Granny,

On the day that we had our fantasmic dinner... we were exhausted by the time they opened the gates, so we headed to the "special entrance" as soon as it opened. This is roughly the same time as they opened the main gates... so we just walked past the fantasmic private seating area (which is on the side)... and we got great seats dead center. We could have walked in the regular entrance and had the same seats at the same time.

/Jim

 

[MinnieGirl33]

We just used our DDE card for the 2nd time this year and it certainly paid off for us. We generally do not like counter service meals... we only went to one during our 12 night stay this trip. We usually eat at two TS restaurants per day, but we seldom order Appetizer, Entrée, Dessert, and alcohol. Instead, we usually just get an entrée, and either dessert or appetizer. We drink very little alcohol (none at most meals)... but we will occasionally order a bottle of wine at some nicer restaurants.

That sounds exactly like us!

For us a Disney Dining plan wouldn't have worked well. We only ate CS one time... and it was lousy. By contrast, the TS restaurants were generally really good, and a nice escape from the heat. It is a great opportunity to relax, cool down, and re-hydrate.

There were a few meals which included appetizer, entrée, and dessert as part of the price (Boma, Biergarten, Trail's End Buffet, Cape May Cafe, Brown Derby Fantasmic). In general... I think we ate too much at those places because it is human nature to want to get the "best value". I also noticed that we tended to pick the most expensive items on the menu when the price was set. By contrast... at the rest of the restaurants... we tended to just order what we wanted... without significant concern about the price. For this reason... we think that DDE is a better plan for us over the DDP.

/Jim

ITA!

Glad you had a good time!

 

[Fionasmommy]

I know this is an older post - I found it with the search engine - but I just wanted to say thanks to the OP for sharing your experience with the DDE! You answered all of the questions that I've been wondering about, particularly in relation to the cost w/ DDE vs. DDP. Thanks a bunch!

 

[goofy4dvc]

Can someone explain the difference between DDP and DDE? I think I can remember some differences. I researched DDP, so I know what that is. But how does DDE work? Seems like I remember you have to have an annual pass? And how do you make it work for two visits? Again, is that because it's tied to annual pass? Thanks.

 

[Fionasmommy]

Can someone explain the difference between DDP and DDE? I think I can remember some differences. I researched DDP, so I know what that is. But how does DDE work? Seems like I remember you have to have an annual pass? And how do you make it work for two visits? Again, is that because it's tied to annual pass? Thanks.

DDE is a card that you purchase that entitiles you to 20% off your meal at most TS restaurants, and some CS restaurants (like in the AK, where no TS is available). I believe you have to have an AP holder or a FL resident to purchase the card.

So the main differences is that it's a flat discount off your OOP price, as opposed to a meal plan, and you have a bit more flexibility with what type of meal you're eating - you can eat more TS if you want to without forfeiting credits.

 

[Boston5602]

DDE is a card that you purchase that entitiles you to 20% off your meal at most TS restaurants, and some CS restaurants (like in the AK, where no TS is available). I believe you have to have an AP holder or a FL resident to purchase the card.

So the main differences is that it's a flat discount off your OOP price, as opposed to a meal plan, and you have a bit more flexibility with what type of meal you're eating - you can eat more TS if you want to without forfeiting credits.

also the DDP includes tax and tip but the DDE does not BUT the DDE includes 20 % off meal AND drinks ( alcohol too ) .

I went in August this past summer and the DDE paid for itself during that trip. I'm going again in a couple of weeks and will use it with the DDP and then I'm going for 10 days with family and friends this August and will use only the DDE so any savings on my next trips is above and beyond the cost of the card already.