DDP or OOP

[janet89]

OK. I've crunched the numbers and we will save money doing the DDP, IF we eat at all the TS places chosen. I KNOW we will waste food on the plan because we are light eaters. As an example, when we ate at WC at WL, DH and I split nachos and a dessert. DS ate about 1/2 of his kids meal. It will be DH, DS (age 7) and myself. This will be for a trip Sat. - Wed.

Here is the initial plan with DDP: Arrive Sat. late afternoon/early evening, CS at Pop so DS can swim. Sunday lunch at MK Crystal Palace/Sunday Fantasmic Dinner Package at Brown Derby (2 TS). Monday lunch Epcot CS (Cantina San Angel)/Monday dinner Epcot Le Cellier. Tuesday lunch AK CS (Tusker House)/MK dinner CS (need suggestions, we have done Cosmic Ray's only). Will use snack credits for bkfst items for in the room, water, fruit, etc.

The concern I have with DDP is that we will be too scheduled. I know TS meals take longer. We are not frequent WDW visitors. The last trip we did was DCL and MK only in 2005. We probably won't be back for quite a while. If we do OOP, I will probably ship some snacks from home (Pop tarts, doughnuts, etc.) We have UPS at our store so that is not a big deal. We will stop on the way in to pick up bottled water, beer, etc. Would like to keep Crystal Palace, would choose between Le Cellier and Brown Derby. If not BD, we will do Mama Melrose. If not Le Cellier, I would like to snack our way around WS while waiting for the fireworks. I would pay for meals with my visa reward credits, about $200.

What are your opinions? Thanks for your help!

 

[jess-sarah]

I have a similar situation. When you say you will be wasting food, aren't you essentially wasting money? Afterall, you have paid for plan. When I crunch our numbers (booking room and tickets separate and comparing that to DDP package), I am allotted $238 per day for food for 4 people. I plan to bring/ship water, cereal, juice, bread, p&j and snacks. That will take of breakfast and snacks. We typically eat one other large meal late afternoon (I try to make ADR around 4 to take advantage of lunch menu prices) then sometimes we like to order room service late evening (pizza). I think we will spend less than 238 a day, thus making it cheaper to pay OOP.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Just wanted to let you know we had the same dilemma. We are going to be dropping the DDP - it does save $$$ BUT as you said in your post to fully utilitze the benefits of the plan you need to go to all the TSs. We've decided 7 TSs (we're staying 7 nights) in one week for us is ridiculous - all the time waiting for a table, waiting for our meal, & waiting for the check times 7 is just too much time away from what the kids would really want to be doing. We go out to a sit down restaurant maybe once a month.

Theres no doubt about it the DDP would save us money but we need our vacation to be as flexible as possible w/3 kids. The odds of making it to all the TSs w/o one of the kids being too tired/not wanting to go is slim. So why feel the pressure of having to attend every TS at a certain time to get the full benefit of the DDP. I thought "oh well we could cancel if we need to" and try to schedule another TS another time - well w/the popularity of the DDP that would be difficult NOT impossible just difficult to get a good supper time.

So anyway thats what we're doing. Its a hard decision but we decided what would be good for our family. Maybe when they're older we'll give the DDP a try who knows! Good luck on your decision.

 

[janet89]

Thanks, it really helps me to put things into perspective when talking to others. I certainly understand going with what DS wants to do. I originally was wanting Cali Grill for Saturday night. I thought the fireworks would be awesome from there. I mentioned it to DS and he said he just wanted to swim! There you go.
This is a short trip, so time is precious. I'm thinking we may do Brown Derby for a nice, sit-down meal. I know Le Cellier has really good reviews, but I like the idea of trying several things from the other WS areas.

 

[jojoandhb]

We're sit down dinner people. My DF is a cook. He's also one of those super skinny, I-Can-Eat-Whatever-I-Want people. So, the dining plan made sense to me. I'm actually worried that it isn't enough food for him. I'm considering sticking with buffets. He's really whiny and crabby when he's hungry.

 

[Ilovefozzie]

I'm going to speak up in favor of the DDP.

Yes, there is a LOT of food. But when we go on vacation we are on vacation. I refuse to cook, make food. The work involved in making breakfast and grocery shopping doesn't change for me at all. I'm still "working." Sorry I'm a stay at home mom and I do enjoy the cooking and the cleaning and the shopping. But come on, I'm on vacation.

For us we would do a couple of TSs anyway. We use ours for character meals and sometimes double them up for the signature meals. On average we spend 120 a day on the DDP, and one meal at Nine Dragons or Rose and Crown would be 200-250. I don't mind the time restrictions, because I plan them with our day in mind. We are eating at every park at least once and that is the park we will spend the day in.

You need to look at everything, not just the "cost."

 

[janet89]

I'm not too concerned about the cost of the DDP. My main concerns are the total waste of food, time involved at TS restaurants and making the ADR set times. This is a short trip (3 full days) so we want to make the most of it.

 

[Laura]

It sounds to me like the plan wouldn't work for you, especially considering you're light eaters and don't want to be too scheduled. We actually saved money NOT doing the dining plan last year. It's not for everyone.

And there are great counter service restaurants in WDW as well--my favorites are Columbia Harbour House in MK and Tangierine Cafe in Epcot.

 

[janet89]

I do feel the plan is a good deal. We would do it if we were taking a longer trip. . . . I just would hate pulling DS away from something fun to get to an ADR. . . . .

 

[bicker]

The concern I have with DDP is that we will be too scheduled. I know TS meals take longer.

True. That should be a major consideration, and indeed, your family's personal touring style should be factored in as well. Do keep in mind that park touring could be pretty exhausting, and a TS meal could be a perfect opportunity to catch your breath. It's an hour or two where you're not walking, not standing around, not interaction with crowds of people (at least not in the same way as when you're jockeying around the park).

I have a similar situation. When you say you will be wasting food, aren't you essentially wasting money?

No, not at all. The Dining Plan is priced very favorably, and the pricing factors in a substantial amount of non-use, not only of food available at any one meal, but it even factors in a measure of non-use of credits. It is possible to go home having some CS and/or snack credits unused, and still make out better with the Dining Plan.

However, the Dining Plan isn't for everyone. For example, if you would normally do two TS meals over the course of a week-long stay, then perhaps you'd be better off without the Dining Plan. As many have said, if you're not going to use all your TS credits, you really would be better off without the Dining Plan.

 

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

We used the ddp last year. There was alot of wasted food and wasted desserts. Personally I don't like being really full. My mil and I are planning on splitting alot of our meals and so will my kids (3 and 5) they are very light eaters! So we figured that we will save quite a bit by paying oop. Last year the kids got tired of the sit down meals. We had to wait 20 minutes for our table at WCC and they were grouchy the whole dinner. We will schedule 2 or three ts but eat mostly counter when the mood catches us. We are early risers and early lunchers and therefore early dinnerers ! I don't think we will have any trouble eating this way. We usually eat our large meal at lunch.

Anyway, I agree. Unless Disney offers free dining during our stay we are nt buying it this time.

 

[minniemomof3]

We just tried the ddp this past Janaury, there are definitely a lot of pros and cons to the plan. While I think it is a great value in terms of the cost, you really need to consider your families eating habits and touring habits.

Our dinners alone would cover the costs of the dining plan, however, had we gone oop, we definitey woud not order as much food.

We enjoyed the plan and its flexibility but didn't enjoy being tied down to adrs and feeling full all the time.

Whether the plan is worth it or not will be different to everyone, however, I think it's defintely worth a try at least once.

 

[SummersMom]

I understand your delima - I've been crunching the numbers and decided we too are better off without the DDP. It's too structured for us and we don't normally like to eat that much food, nor do we like to eat that many sit-down meals. It just doesn't fit our style.

 

[Susan555]

One thing that would be wonderful is if Disney would allow guests to trade 1 TS credit for 2 CS credits. This would suit our family MUCH better, and I would feel much better about paying for the dining plan if we could do this. I've agonized over making ADRs for our 9 night stay, and never having done Disney before we really don't know for sure where we'll be on any given night. I have a plan, but who knows if we'll stick to it. In addition, my kids are going to get tired of daily table service meals when they could be spending their time on rides, at the pool, etc. Considering the cost of most TS meals, it seems Disney would profit more from guests who choose 3 CS a day instead of 1 CS and 1 TS. Oh well, maybe one day that will be made available.

 

[Mrs.PrinceCharming]

I like the DDP. Back when there was the Magical Wishes plan, my family used them all for meals anyway. We are not go back to the pool or room and rest types, so a sit down meal guarrantees that will cool off and rest for a bit. By the end of the week, I enjoy the order from the menu meals better than the buffet meals.

 

[ssnelle]

We just got back from Disney late last night and we did the DDP for the 5 nights we stayed in a 1 BR at Boardwalk. The DDP is a FABULOUS plan if you tend to eat that way. We personally will not be doing the DDP again. I felt like we were something out of a fast-motioned movie. We were always on the go (as is typical with WDW) but then had to leave where we were to get to our dining reservation which was usually in a different park then we were in. The parks were CRAZY busy for some reason with people so we always had to plan on 1-1 1/2 hours of travel time and it DEFINITELY took the spontanuity out of our trip also by our constant struggle with a time schedule and time management to rush to a meal that none of us were hungry for. On the other hand it was SO nice to have it all paid for ahead of time, but we found we had to work hard to eat it all and in the end we didn't. We had to always be conscious of eating lunch early (whether we were hungry or not) so that we would have an appetite for dinner, which we never did. PLEASE do not feel like I am a downer on the DDP because I am sure it works well for many families, but if I can offer some first-hand experience on some guidelines to make it work best, they are:

-Try to figure out ahead of time what park you will be at and plan for dinner at THAT park so you can make the most of your touring and not be so time-conscious and rushed; yes, this takes the spontanuity out of your vacation, but it is CRUCIAL to plan ahead or you would not even get a TS reservation if you wait until the last minute. It was so unexpectantly busy at every park we went to (1/27-2/3), we sometimes waited up to 75 minutes for some popular rides and attractions and then needed to leave the park completely unfinished to cross the world for a dinner reservation.

-Order what you like, not something because it is the most expensive thing on the menu. I made this mistake at a couple TS restaraunts and in the end would have preferred the less expensive meal that was more to my personal liking. No matter how you slice it, the DDP is still going to save you a TON of money even if you order the cheapest meal on the menu most of the time at the TS restaurants.

-Plan a light breakfast, early lunch, midday snack and later dinner (7 pm) if you want to have an appetite if you are a light-medium eater. We had made early reservations for TS (5-6 pm) because we had 3 small kids and had dreams of getting them to bed early so we could then relax. Turns out we were never hungry at 5-6 pm and felt like we had to force ourselves to eat a wonderful dinner that we just raced across the world to get to.

-The POSITIVES about the plan, and there are MANY: (1) Monetarily, it is a steal, (2) The food is paid for ahead of time which is SO NICE not having to worry about the cost, (3) Ordering whatever you want (except lobster), (4) Having SO MUCH food and choices, you will NOT be hungry, (5) The variety is amazing...we were so pleased that for CS we never ate a hamburger which is what I thought Disney only had, (6) Having a Mickey ice cream everyday, (7) Trying restaurants and food I might have never experienced if not on the plan, (8) Giving my children lots of nice-restaurant experiences, polite table-manner lessons, and cultural exposures all in one at a child-friendly place, (9) The DDP got me to EPCOT almost everynight (my favorite touring park, with the AK a tight 2nd)

-The NEGATIVES: (1) The time lost for traveling and dining and planning and getting to our dinner reservation every night vs. eating any close-by quick service meal, (2) The 9 lbs. I gained...the food is fabulous and plentiful, but we would never eat even 1/3rd of that amount if not on the plan, (3) The spontanuity lost by having to plan parks, dinners, eating times, travel needs, all ahead of time, (4) Having to bypass the needs of my small cranky tired children always just before were to rush to eat at our TS restaurant (although they always behaved incredibly well at the actual meal), (5) Even though the plan is amazingly cheap for what you get, if we just ate the way we normally would, NOT being on the DDP would probably have been a bit cheaper (but it would have been much more relaxed)!

Summary, plan to eat your TS at your touring park-of-the-day to avoid most of my negatives! We had to constantly change the park we were GOING to be at due to rain and crowds and childrens needs, but that is just the way it goes! Our best TS food was Le Cellier followed by Teppanyaki. We did not care for Marrakesh, Mama Melrose was good and Coral Reef is amazing for the view but the food was not terrific. Our favorite CS was Wolfgang Express and Ribs at AK, and all our other CS/QS lunches were good or great, we never had a poor CS meal and the portions are huge...I honestly think with the variety and portion sizes and healthy choice lunches, we could all five of us share 3 CS for lunch and again for dinner or even pack some meals here and there and then supplement with CS, maybe eating out 1 night at a TS and be very much below the DDP cost, but mostly so we could relax more and have more downtime or touring time, not necessarily for the money savings reasons.

The DDP is a wonderful thing and I am glad we did it even though we probably will not do it again. Whatever you do, make it fun and try to avoid what we did by moving all over the place so to not miss our dinner reservation; with a bit more experience and planning, it would have been a much more enjoyable time for us, but we all live and learn. Well, this is just one families experience and I hope this is helpful to you all.

 

[Katiebell]

ssnelle, for that report! That was a very thorough explanation of the pros and cons. I planned our trip for being primarily at one park each day (since we won't have a rental car and will be relying on resort transportation), and picked the park based on EMH -- then made an ADR for that park. That's the plan...hope it works!

 

[janet89]

Thanks so much for all your info and replies. I'm still not sure. I do know that I was originally thinking Cali Grill for the first night to watch fireworks. I told DS, and he said he just wanted to swim. I agree with Susan555, it would be great if Disney would allow 2 CS for 1 TS. That way, if you couldn't make the TS for some reason, you could just cancel and do CS. Maybe they will eventually.

 

[bicker]

That would be nice, and the exchange rate that is being discussed (you give up 1TS and they'll provide you 2CS) seems viable. Note, however, that the opposite transaction (you give up 2CS and they give you 1TS) would never fly, and I suspect since there is no equal and reciprocal exchange that would be beneficial for Disney to offer, that there never will be one offered.

 

[All Morganic]

I'm not too concerned about the cost of the DDP. My main concerns are the total waste of food, time involved at TS restaurants and making the ADR set times. This is a short trip (3 full days) so we want to make the most of it.

These were the main problems we had last week using the DDP. We ordered food because it was on the plan and then either gorged ourselves or wasted it. We spent between 1 1/2 and 2 hours at each TS meal. Too long to be out of the action AND too long with 2 little ones, IMHO. Having set ADR's was a pain too.

I think the DDP is a GREAT value if you are a big eater, want to have set TS meals and don't mind time away from the parks.