DDP Cramped our "Free Time" Style

[bwbuddy5]

Don't get me wrong - DDP during our summer trip ended up being our favorite part of our vacation, by far.

But, we were so excited about getting reservations at Beach Club seven-months out, so we could take advantage of Stormalong Bay (we usually stay at Boardwalk). We found instead, however, since we had to allow extra "travel" time to get to our meals (Kona Cafe was worth it regardless of the 70 minute one-way wait/trip!), that we only had time to enjoy Stormalong once for about 30 minutes, during sprinkles (over 7 days). And, we never made it to Disney Quest, as we usually do (2 adults, 3 teens, btw), and only one trip to the water parks.

So, did you find yourself no longer able to do as much "extracurricular" stuff that you had done in years past, due to your required DDP timing?

Favorite DDP Choices

Sitdown -- Kona Cafe, Polynesian (also ate at Beaches and Cream, Chefs de France, ESPN Zone, Spoodles, Raglan Road)

Counter -- Sunshine Season, Epcot (Asian) (also ate at ABC Commissary, Spoodles Pizza window, Cantina de San Angel, Tusker House, Cosmic Rays).

Snack - Boardwalk Bakery Cinnamon Roll (while Dole Whip was our biggest disappointment after all the hype).

 

[SnowWitch]

No, but we have always done 1 CS and 1 TS per day. We also always have tried to make our dining plans around what we would do that day or evening. If we're planning for MK that night then thats a great night for Kona. Evening at Epcot well Le Cellier or Coral Reef here we come. Hang out at the resort then Beahces and Cream or Downtown Disney somewhere. Our boys would meet up with us for TS meals but they went to the water parks and DisneyQuest when they wanted for the most part. They would pick up CS for lunch and then spend the evenings with us and enjoy a TS meal.

 

[fws]

We planned like SnowWitch, so we were mostly near where we were eating in the evening anyway. Our problem was being in the parks all day, every day and not being able to take advantage of the wonderful food court at POR!

 

[saschab]

I'm with SnowWitch. We usually utilize both CS and TS each day. We park hop, and I plan ahead on which parks, which part of the day. So it didn't change our modus operandi.

It also helped that we made late ADR's for dinner. (This was a last minute trip and was all they had). Our kids being older, it worked out well. Most nights by the time TS ADR's came around, we were done in the parks anyways.

 

[bwbuddy5]

I'm with SnowWitch. We usually utilize both CS and TS each day. We park hop, and I plan ahead on which parks, which part of the day. So it didn't change our modus operandi.

Yeah, we did that too, but TGM's plans usually had us finished at each park by early afternoon, so we always went back to our resort before supper.

 

[saschab]

Yeah, we did that too, but TGM's plans usually had us finished at each park by early afternoon, so we always went back to our resort before supper.

We did too. I'm thinking we made more dinner choices "closer to home" and that made the difference.

Our next trip we may branch out a bit, and that may cut down on our late afternoon pool time, for sure.

 

[thunderbird1]

Don't get me wrong - DDP during our summer trip ended up being our favorite part of our vacation, by far.

But, did you find yourself no longer able to do as much "extracurricular" stuff that you had done in years past, due to your required DDP timing?

Sort of. We booked 9 dinners and 2 lunches, and ended up cancelling one of the dinners. My dh's favorite time of day in the parks is at night, after dark, so I found having dinner plans every single night to be a little too restrictive, as it cut into that time. It was much more relaxing the day we had a TS lunch, then just had snacks and CS's in the evening when we got hungry.

Not that I wouldn't do the dining plan again (like you, it ended up being our favorite part of the vacation), but I think I'd do half lunches and half (early) dinners instead of (nearly) all dinners. I admit, we were sucked into the mindset of "getting the most for our money," but since we go when the DDP is free anyway, who cares?

 

[Kimberlyfamilyfv]

we had three table services: Hollywood and Vine, Le Cellier, and Nine Dragons.

The only one i would return for is Le Cellier. We had an 11:50 reservation and showed up 20 minutes early and were seated almost immediately. The food and service was wonderful from start to end.

-cappicino milk shake
-cold shrimp and wasabi salad
-new york strip steak w/yukon potatoes
-creme brule.

My bill before tip was 54 dollars. (wow) thank goodness that we were on the dining plan.

I plan in the future to only book my table services only for lunch. I believe it will make my trips be more free style.

Kimberly

 

[Cass]

I mostly plan my ADR's in conjunction of where I will be, but for the odd one that requires travel time - sometimes we just grab a cab. 4 people, average cost 15.00-20.00 for the cab fare and you don't have to leave so early from your resort or whatever you are doing.

 

[angelmav]

I definitely think that if you like to park hop the DDP is going to cramp your style as you really need to know where you want to be when so you can cut down on your travel time and get the most out of your park visits.

 

[eliza61]

We thought it did. For our short 4 day vacation we went with the DDE card instead and found that to work a lot better for us. We've been to wdw a number of times so we no longer need to follow any of the tour guides and plans. We are now definitely more free spirited.

 

[n2mm]

70 minutes to get to Kona--wow. Actually what makes things easier for us is that we always rent a car, so it takes about 10 minutes from WL to Kona. However, we too feel like we are eating non-stop. We just returned from a 13 day trip and had the DDP (4th time this year) and really need to do it differerntly. So I'm planning my Feb trip and my 2 week May trip. I have decided for May that I will do a couple of signature meals and use some CS for dinner on those nights that I don't have TS credits. Breaking up your TS meals for late lunches seem to help too, but keep an eye on the menu when you do that as some of the dishes are different as we found out at Coral Reef. We also now use some CS meals for breakfast. Once you get past the idea of more bang for the buck and know that you are going to have to do some OOP expenses, if does get better. We love having a sit down breakfast, especially at WCC when we stay at WLV, and find we are never hungary to do this. Sit down breakfasts are always OOP for us, so I'm getting better about planning how to allocate the ddp credits. I never go to WDW with the intention that the ddp will cover my meals and have no problem paying OOP, especially since we also have a DDE card too.

 

[Nancyg56]

We did the DDP the last two trips and planned meals around where we were going to be, except CRT. Planned our day around that one. For us, mealtime is a part of our vacation, so teh DDP worked well for us. The only time we had a tough time was the day we went to the YSH. I did not plan that one well and found that we were on the bus too long.

 

[KatiebugsMom]

Yeah, we did that too, but TGM's plans usually had us finished at each park by early afternoon, so we always went back to our resort before supper.

Finished at a park by afternoon???? Never!! That just gives me more time to ride, ride, ride until my ADR!!!

PS Yes I am a park commando.