DDP best value

[Kaz65]

Those well experienced in using ddp please advise on best value. Would you go for a dinner res more than a breakfast one? Any suggestions for good value of quick/ snack options and counter service choice. Seems to me a waste to use up an option on bottled water or am I wrong 

 

[disneyholic family]

yes, for the buffets, i would always go for the lunch or dinner over the breakfast...
if you pay out of pocket, lunch and dinner buffets cost more than breakfast buffets, but they all cost the same 1 table service credit..
so clearly, lunch and dinner buffets are better value...
the same is true of regular non-buffet meals..

as for the snack, DD used hers every morning for breakfast..
at the food court, a little box of cereal together with a little carton of milk was one snack credit....so that's what she used it for..

but there are some great snacks out there...i'm sure lots of suggestions will come up...

 

[2Tiggies]

If you have paid for your dining plan then you do want to try and get the best out of it, which to many means at the very least, a break-even with what you have paid. Remember when calculating prices that your dining plan includes tax at 6.5%. The menu prices do not. And with Disney's rate of inflation it is pretty easy on the regular DDP to justify the expense of the plan. However there is a happy medium between working at trying to get the maximum value out of the plan and actually letting it work for you. To me, trying to order the most costly things off the menu defeats the whole purpose of the 'convenience' aspect of adding it in the first place as it then just becomes a bit of a chore. If you feel like ordering a chicken salad and feel you need to go for a steak just to get value for money I think you've lost half the battle already. Just my take on it however.

As above, you will get better value on dinners. However that should not stop you from enjoying some breakfasts and lunches if you prefer and if they suit your touring plans better for the day. A little bit of everything should still bring you out well ahead in terms of cost.

As far as the approach to 'wasting snacks' on things like bottled water, I am in the minority with my take on it. Yes, a bottle of water is not a good use of a snack credit IF you are going to use all or nearly all of your snack credits during your stay. However saving up snacks and paying out of pocket for waters and sodas so as not to 'waste' credits, only to end up on your last day running around trying to redeem leftover credits for snacks makes little economic sense to me.

There is a sticky on the Dining Plan sub forum. It is kept updated on a regular basis and everything as reported by guests on their return as an eligible snack is added to the list, which is categorised by location to make it easier to reference. What I do notice on here is that the snacks are being updated, but the prices are not as the items we ordered in October which are on that list were already then at least 10-20% more expensive and tax still needs to be factored in. From what I can work out, most of the items reflect 2009 prices, but it will give you a general idea. Here is the sticky:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2640292

For counter service, here are some of the winners in terms of value (if you care for the items listed of course):

Personal favourites:

Main Street Bakery Cinnamon Rolls

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2010/05/14/disney-cinnamon-roll/

Aloha Isle in Adventureland: Dole Whip Pineapple floats

The Lunching Pad in Tomorrowland: Frozen Cherry Eclipse

Epcot cart near to the Land Pavillion: Cinnamon Pretzels - hot and yummy!
(Excuse us, but we started eating it before we remembered to take a picture )

MAGIC KINGDOM

Cosmic Rays: Rib & Chicken Combo - $14.19 plus tax
Pecos Bills: Angus cheese burger - $9.09 plus tax


EPCOT:

Sunshine Seasons (love this place!): Seared Tuna Noodle Salad - $9.99 plus tax
Asian hot meals - all $9.99 plus tax

SS has an amazing selection of desserts to go with your food too

Tangierine Cafe: Chicken & Lamb Combo Shwarma platter - $13.99 plus tax

ANIMAL KINGDOM:

Flame Tree BBQ: Half rack of ribs - $10.49
Half grilled chicken - $9.49 plus tax

Yak & Yeti Counter Service (it's called Andapur Local Food Cafe): All their hot meals come in at $10 before tax and I really like the food here - its something different too and not the usual CS fare you find in most of the Disney QS locations

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

I am not crazy about CS here, but Starrin Rolls have some really good offerings but you need to get there early as they close when they sell out which is usually round early to mid afternoon, depending on the time of year.

They serve Deluxe focaccias which are HUGE. You also get the usual choice of beverage with it as well as your choice of any of the decadent desserts in the case and also a whole fruit or a bag of chips (crisps), which makes it pretty good value. DD and I got the latter and it totalled around $17 for that meal and was one CS credit.

DOWNTOWN DISNEY

There is no contest on this one: Wolfgang Puck Express

You can easily rack up a bill averaging $20 -25 per person if you get a full main meal and your beverage and dessert. The food is really good and it is pretty much a table service meal for a counter service credit. Be prepared to leave a tip though as you are served, but honestly, it is so worth it.

 

[Kaz65]

Wow thank you for the great advice. I agree a mixture sounds the best action plan. We have a breakfast res at Boma for our last morning and a couple of lunches already. What would you advise between counter service Yak & Yeti or dinner res? I cant seem to find a menu for dinner option

 

[2Tiggies]

Wow thank you for the great advice. I agree a mixture sounds the best action plan. We have a breakfast res at Boma for our last morning and a couple of lunches already. What would you advise between counter service Yak & Yeti or dinner res? I cant seem to find a menu for dinner option

The Yak & Yeti proper is a table service at AK and you will want to make a reservation if you can. THe AK closed quite early so it would be an early dinner. If you are doing that park for the day I would try get the latest possible TS reservation so it doesn't cut into the day unless you want a break halfway through.
http://allears.net/menu/menu_yak.htm

The counter service Yak & Yeti is called Andapur Food Co. so not called what we call it

http://allears.net/menu/menu-anad.htm

 

[orangetiggs]

check out all ears net thats got alot of the menus

when we first did the ddp i said i'm not wasting a credit on a drink, by the last day we had around 20 left over so i should of used them for drinks and not worried about it

afterall we spent over $2000 on food for 14 days and we paid nothing for it as the ddp was free

that figure was without snacks

 

[Kaz65]

Thanks AGAIN. Ive just rechecked and we actually have a 230 res for Y&Y so I guess that will be a lunch menu I need to find. We planning on taking advantage of the extra early hour that day as more chance to see animals early on so expect by 230 we will be in much need of a sit down in a nice cool restaraunt

 

[dixonsontour]

Dinner is more expensive than other meals so best use of a credit but we like a few character breakfasts aswell.

Snacks - we didn't use 1 on water! Bought a case of water at walmart and took some in with us each day.

Good uses are anything near the $4 mark. Dole whip float, cakes at starring rolls at HS, cakes at kusafari coffee shop at AK, pretzel at AK. Don't forget sweets at goofys candy company.

If there during F and W festival in Autumn you can use your snacks at the booths - I had a $7.50 lobster roll for a snack credit.

Great QS options are WPE at DTD marketplace and pepper market at Coronado springs. You will easily get $20 plus worth of food for 1 QS credit and it is good.

In the parks QS we like

MK - pecos bill (burgers) and columbia harbour house (fried shrimp platter)

AK - flame tree bbq (pulled pork/chicken), restaurantosaurus (burgers/shrimp po boy)

HS - backlot express (burgers/chicken strips) , starring rolls (sandwiches and cakes)

Epcot - french bakery, cantina de san angel (mexican)

DTD - WPE, Earl of sandwich

Resort food court - 16 inch pepperoni pizza for 2 QS

If you look at the dining review link in my signature there are lots of pictures of our food from 14 days on DDP in October. It was our second attempt at DDP so we were more clued up and I felt we used the credits well.

 

[scojos]

you have been given some v good info.
akerhaus is a good ts, buffet with a free photo with belle
norway at epcot does amazing cinnamon pretzels
sunshine seasons is very good for everything

dont worry about wasting sc, get water, then use the fountains to fill it up, so you only need 1 per day, iwskim
dtd goofys candy shack is amazing
dole whips are good, as are the carrot cake cookies at starring rolls.

fudge is also good at SR

really, you re on holiday, just enjoy it, i would recommend bfast at boma, and dinner at 50s PTC, ok, just "junk food" but you the service is amazing as for a lively waiter, dh was totally humiliated and it was the kids v meal of the trip, even though we did better dining experiences

as a point of interest (and well kept secret, the amazing cakes in starring roles can also be brought at the cs inside disney quest, if you are heading there..their brownies rock, and are the size of a dinner plate!

hth
tracy