DDP and 2 Adults- Worth It?

[DisneyDoll10/28]

Hello everyone! I am trying to get as much information as I can for our upcoming honeymoon at the world. Here is my delima...

My soon to be DH and I are food lovers. We enjoy going out to eat not only for the food but for the whole experience. I know how expensive eating at the world can get so I thought we could maximize the DDP and save us some money... except now he's thrown a wrench into the planning saying he doesn't want to have every minute planned and wants to have freedom to go and do what we want.

So really is the DDP for two people worth it since I will have to make ADRs and have at least a basic plan of where we will go on which days? For the 5 days we'll be there, the DDP will cost us about 450.00. Can two adults eat for that for 5 days without the DDP? Should I just tell him tough cookies and do the DDP and make ADRS?? (And I know I'm late for making ADRS --- see under my name "Earning My Ears" )


Danielle

 

[JimMIA]

For a five night stay, the DDP will cost the two of you $379.90 -- $75.98 per day. Keep in mind that INCLUDES tax AND tip. It does not include adult beverages.

Are you going to make an ADR for a nice dinner each night? Sounds like you are. By the time you add food, tax, and tip, that will probably cost you more than $75.98 per meal without alcohol.

If you are going to eat a nice meal each day, I'd say you'll come out ahead on the DDP and all your CSs and snacks will be freebies that you take on the fly whenever you feel like it.

You don't have to micro-schedule to enjoy the DDP.

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

If you are food lovers and want to enjoy the restaurants at Disney you will want to make ADR's. The dining plan is filling up the restaurants and getting same day seats is hard.

That being said- If you think you'll do one sit down a day the dining plan is a savings. You can order whatever you want, 3 courses + a drink. And you still get a fast food meal and a snack later.

I say get the plan. We did it for our group of 8 and loved it!
The planning ahead took a few hours but that was time saved at Disney.

The first night we were there we had adr's for 5:30...the couple in front of us was hoping to get in to eat and they were told that the next spot was at 7:30...2 hours to waste..that made me feel like the 4 hours i spent researching and planning was well worth it.

 

[kvogel11202]

I would not be able to go to Disney w/out my ADR's made. Maybe with only two it would be different, but if you enjoy food and want to eat at least one good meal per day the DDP and ADR's are worth the time and effort. I have never found it took anything away. In fact, looking at my first few trips as a kid- which had no real plan in place vs. my most recent trips where I pre-planned alot, the more recent trips are the ones we got the most out of with the least amount of stress. Went in April with a group- we had our ADR's made and plan in place (only had 3 days!) Another family did not- they saw so little the first day that they followed my plan the next two, except meals, and they wished they had ADR's. There is (in my opinion) no "wrong" way to Disney, everyone travels differently! Of course for my family my way is the ONLY way!

 

[krissyh]

DBF and I went in Feb. (President's week so ADR's were pretty important). We got the DDP and would not go back without it. We knew we'd want to do table service meals all or most nights. He does not like to plan on vacation. I do.

If you love food and had access to all of the great restaurants would you be happy getting CS for dinner?
Has DF been to WDW in recent years? Does he realize that if you do not have ADRs you may not get to eat at your choice of restaurant for the day or have a two hour wait if you are lucky enugh to get a table?
Do you have park hoppers? If so, it will be easier to plan meals and be able to play more the the trip by ear.
I would pick your restaurants, make you ADRs and then have "alternate" plans for each day. If you are eating at Epcot, you have to go to Epcot that day (or another park if you have hoppers) if you are eating at a resort, you are really free to do whatever you want that day anyway.
Get the DDP - it will be less to worry about on your honeymoon. We loved kowing that it was all paid for (except alcohol which,honestly, we tended to not get since it wasn't "paid for"). We spent about $50 over five days on extra snacks, drinks, adult drinks - it was awesome and I ate steak every night - guilt ($-wise anyway) free! If we paid OOP for our dinner at LeCellier, it would have been $108! We paid $76 for the day!

 

[DisneyDoll10/28]

Thanks guys! So its the DDP for us. I know he is going to want to have nice sit downs each night and since this is his first time there (and as I am trying to convert him to a disney obessed crazy like myself) I will start making ADRs. It's on my list of things to do... along with 200 wedding to-dos. LOL. we should've just eloped! HAHA

 

[indigoxtreme]

Thanks guys! So its the DDP for us. I know he is going to want to have nice sit downs each night and since this is his first time there (and as I am trying to convert him to a disney obessed crazy like myself) I will start making ADRs. It's on my list of things to do... along with 200 wedding to-dos. LOL. we should've just eloped! HAHA

We just the 2 of us went in Feb for our 30th anniv and we had the dining plan. We also had it last sept with the family. It is so worth it. But remember, unless you have adr's at the signature restaurants that require a 48 hour notice for cancellation, you can check each day and see if something else is available if you decide to make a change in your plans. Just call dining and if they do have something else make that ADR and cancel your other one.

 

[CJK]

Congrats on your upcoming marriage!!

It sounds like the dining plan definitely suits your schedule. For dh and myself, the dining plan doesn't work so well. We only plan about 2 table service meals for the week. It's cheaper, for our style, to not do the dining plan. So basically, each guest needs to decide how many table service vs. counter service meals they plan on enjoying. Since you do enjoy table service meals, you'll LOVE the dining plan!! Have a great time!!!

 

[cdtommie]

We used the dining plan for the first time in May and it worked out fairly well and was a good value. The one consideration and the reason we're not going to use the plan in October is that we prefer dining at the signature restaurants and felt like we compromised our choices in May (ie. we dined at Kona Cafe and Spoodles since they were one TS and found them to be just ok). In any event, you will need AR's regardless of your decision.

 

[JimMIA]

Thanks guys! So its the DDP for us. I know he is going to want to have nice sit downs each night and since this is his first time there (and as I am trying to convert him to a disney obessed crazy like myself) I will start making ADRs. It's on my list of things to do... along with 200 wedding to-dos. LOL. we should've just eloped! HAHA

Make your ADRs as soon as you can. We went last Dec and were planning to just go up to Le Cellier and put our names on the waitlist, walk around for a while and then come back. They were so overbooked they weren't even taking names -- "We're sorry, we're full - now go away!"

Make your ADEs! You can do them 180 days out, and a lot of people start then. They fill up quicker than you think.

 

[disneyagain]

You don't need to make ADR's just because you're on the DDP. It is not a requirement, BUT...It is highly recommended whether you are on the DDP or not.

If you enjoy TS meals, you need to make ADR's whether you're on the plan or not, so you might as well save yourself some money and sign up for DDP.

We're giving it a try in a few weeks (free), can't wait to experience all these restaurants...I too am a little concerned with being someplace at a certain time, but fortunately, I have all my 4 ADR's around 5:00pm, so we'll do the parks in the morning head back to the hotel for a mid-day break and then head to the ADR/parks for the rest of the evening. I have 1 ADR for 9:00 am at Poly, we'll go the Poly-Parks. My last one is a lunch at LTT at 12:00 noon, so we'll do MK that day and head back to the resort after lunch for a little break. I only scheduled 1 per day, just because I don't want to be so tied down, we're used to eating on the fly while we're at WDW.

Congrats on your upcoming marriage...enjoy... DH and I went to WDW on our Honeymoon, way back in 1983.

 

[frayedend]

You don't need to make ADR's just because you're on the DDP. It is not a requirement, BUT...It is highly recommended whether you are on the DDP or not.

If you enjoy TS meals, you need to make ADR's whether you're on the plan or not, so you might as well save yourself some money and sign up for DDP.

We're giving it a try in a few weeks (free), can't wait to experience all these restaurants...I too am a little concerned with being someplace at a certain time, but fortunately, I have all my 4 ADR's around 5:00pm, so we'll do the parks in the morning head back to the hotel for a mid-day break and then head to the ADR/parks for the rest of the evening. I have 1 ADR for 9:00 am at Poly, we'll go the Poly-Parks. My last one is a lunch at LTT at 12:00 noon, so we'll do MK that day and head back to the resort after lunch for a little break. I only scheduled 1 per day, just because I don't want to be so tied down, we're used to eating on the fly while we're at WDW.

Congrats on your upcoming marriage...enjoy... DH and I went to WDW on our Honeymoon, way back in 1983.

Ditto to that. Your fiance didn't throw a wrench in because if he wants table service he needs ADRs. The dining plan has nothing to do with that. Have a great time. And congrats on the wedding.