DDP or DxDP

[cmorris303]

I am planning a trip with my DH, DS (2yr), and DD(4yr). Is the DDP enough if we plan on doing a couple character dinings? I don't want to have leftover credits, but also want to be able to do try different places.

 

[havoc315]

Except for CRT, other character meals are 1 credit.
If you want to average exactly 1 counter meal and 1 table meal per night, the the ddp could give you value. On the other hand, some people are better off paying oop.

If you want 2 or more table service meals per day, including some 2 credit meals.. And if you don't intend to eat many counter meals, then the DxDP can be a pretty good value.

If you are some where in between....
Then your best options are to either skip the plan, or possibly get the regular Ddp, understanding you will pay oop for sone of your table meals.

 

[Faldred]

The general rule of thumb is that you need to spend at least 2/3 of your DxDP credits on table service for the plan to make sense. If you're doing a lot of buffets/character meals, that might not even be good enough. (While they're good deals for children on the DDP, they're not particularly good "value" for adult DDP credits.)

Your best bet is to figure out what you want to do, look up the menus and get an idea of how much it would cost to pay out of pocket (for ordering off a menu, just choose a likely option), remembering to add 6.5% for sales tax.

Once you have that number, you can then see how any of the dining plans may or may not help. As noted above, there are basically 4 options:

1) DxDP if you're getting enough value out of the plan to make it cost effective.

2) DDP plus paying OOP for a number of (the cheapest) meals. Note that you can pay for some people OOP and others with DDP for the same meal, so you can pay OOP for adults and DDP for the child at a breakfast buffet, and vice-versa at dinner, which is better value for the credit in both cases.

3) DDP, dropping the additional meals.

4) No dining plan at all. One recommendation if you like the pre-paid aspect of a dining plan is to put the same amount of money of a gift card, and use that to buy meals and snacks as you go.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Unless you are planning on doing multiple signature dining experiences (2 TS credit meals), the Deluxe dining is a waste of money. We have 4 kids the regular plan is perfect.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

I'd make a list of where you want to eat. (Assuming you would eat where ever you wanted and not figure out DDP or DDDP.) Then I'd count up your meals and figure out the costs. Unless you plan on doing a number of signature meals it is normally better to do DDP and then pay for your cheaper meals out of pocket.

 

[Colleen27]

As previous posters suggested, the best way to decide is to make a list of where you want to eat and tally up the prices for yourself. It is time consuming but worth it to know you went with the option that really makes sense, rather than second-guessing your choice and wondering if you might have been better off with a different (or no) dining plan.

 

[havoc315]

Noticed a couple people suggesting that the DDP is a better value than the DxDP unless you are doing signature meals. Really, not so simple.
It may be the case where the best value is the DxDP, OOP is the second best value, and the DDP is the least value.
It all depends on what you are seeking.

Under the DDP, you are paying about $30 for a table service meal (with the rest of the price going towards the CS meal and snack).
Under the DxDP you are paying about $25 per TS credit, plus including the extra of an appetizer.

Now, if you are only going to use approximately 1 TS per day.. or even slightly more than that, then the DxDP makes no sense. You are best off with the DDP or OOP.

But the DxDP is approximately $30 more than the DDP.

So what are you getting for the $30 more?
Well, assuming you were going to do TS dinner either way -- Now you get an appetizer thrown in. That's worth $6-$12 at a non-signature restaurant.
For people who don't really care for CS.. it lets you do a TS lunch instead of a CS lunch. What is this "upgrade" worth? Plus, it includes an appetizer at lunch. Thus, this "upgrade" from a CS lunch, to a TS+appetizer lunch, is easily worth $15-$25 or more.

Finally, what do regular DDP people do about breakfast? Often, they buy things that can be eaten in the room, or they use their snack credits to get something in the morning. But the DxDP patron can sit down for a TS breakfast, grab a CS breakfast, and/or have more snack credits to use towards getting breakfast items. Thus, the extra breakfast options on the DxDP are easily "worth" anywhere from $5-$20 or more.

Throw in the availability of extra snacks through the day, plus the refillable mug (personally, I don't care for it. But some people love it), and you are talking about an extra value of anywhere from $3-$8 per day or so.

So *if* you prefer TS to CS... plus you would make use out of appetizers... And you would likely apply the meal plan in some way for breakfast.... Then the value of the upgrade is easily anywhere from $28 to $65 per day.

To throw another hypothetical into the works..

What if you want just 2 meals per day, with no signatures? DDP? Not necessarily. What if you want 2 meals per day, and you want them all to be TS? Throwing even more into it, let's say you want all those meals to be TS, but you don't plan to consistently get desserts and/or appetizers?

Then the most economical plan, is quite simply -- pay everything OOP.

 

[mjp12831]

There are plenty of 1ts character meals, so DDP doesn't limit you in that way.

DDP can save you money over OOP, especially if hitting a bunch of the buffets (which are generally the character meals) - I calc'd a 30% savings last year.

If you're going for value and plan on hitting character meals, I'd suggest DDP.

BUT, If you're going for a 1x great experience (or if $$ is less of an option), DX is an awesome experience. The extra snack and the resort mug are VERY nice to have. The ability to hit burn extra credits and hit some of the 2ts restaurants/dinner shows is Great. We LOVED the Backyard BBQ. CRT is cool as an experience. The SoA show is fun. HBD is nice because it gives you a great TS option in a park that doesn't otherwise have great food. Yachtsman was one of the better restaurant meals I've EVER had (not jsut at WDW). IF you're also in a grand gathering, the Safari/Tusker dinner is teriffic because you get a private (much longer/relaxed) Safari tour, and then the food is pretty good.