DDP vs. OOP??? Which was the better deal? RESULTS ARE IN!!

[kdault]

Great reviews, great pictures. Looking forward to the outcome also.

 

[JulieODC]

Great reviews!

We decided to do OOP instead of the DDP this December as well...can't wait to see if it paid off for you!

 

[maggiew]

I'm curious, are you only eating on Disney property? Not having the dining plan you should have the opportunity to go off site. This may tend to be less expensive than on site, such as TGIF's and outback?

Yes. We only ate on property.

Our goal was not to eat the cheapest way possible. We enjoy eating at Disney restaurants. We didn't have a car to go off property anyway.

My dilemma was whether or not the dining plan would be cheaper based on where we wanted to eat.

Maggie

 

[ChristyWI]

I'm hooked!

 

[maggiew]

Day 4: Rainforest Cafe lunch

I originally had an ADR for Yak and Yeti. We have eaten here on our past few trips to WDW and liked it. So I thought we would try again. I asked DH if he would rather do Yak and Yeti or Rainforest Cafe since I have the Safari club and can get the free appetizer. DH surprised me and said he would rather go to Rainforest. So, we cancelled the Yak and Yeti ADR and headed over to Rainforest Cafe.

We didn't have an ADR but had no trouble getting in around 11:30. The Safari club allows you to go to the head of the line, but this was not needed since there wasn't a line!

DH got a diet coke ($3.19) and I got a coke ($3.19). With the safari club you get a free appetizer. I chose the Pita Quesadilla ($9.99) and ate this as my entree.

This was more than enough for an entree for me. I actually left 2 of the pieces. It was also good! It is like a quesadilla (chicken, cheese, maybe onion and peppers? can't remember), but the pita bread makes it deliciously different.

DH ordered the Blue Mountain chicken ($14.99) with side of fries ($1.99).

DH liked his sandwich. And the fries were good too. There was plenty and I was able to share with him since my entree didn't come with fries.

The waitress surprised us with an anniversary dessert (free).

They also came and sang Happy Anniversary to us.

This meal hit the spot with us. We do have 2 Rainforest Cafes near us that we sometimes go to. We have always had good food there. I know some people don't like to go to chain places like RFC when at Disney, but we were happy with the quality of the food.

Coke $3.19
Diet Coke $3.19
Pita Quesadilla $9.99
Blue Mountain Chicken Sandwich $14.99
Fries $1.99
Subtotal $33.35
Tax $2.17
Total $35.52

- $9.99 Safari Club free appetizer

$24.88 Total before tip.

(I know the math doesn't work out perfectly here.) I wrote out the prices, etc. before she took off the free appetizer. Then when she brought the bill minus the appetizer, it was just the signature receipt, not the itemized one. I think the small difference might be due to the tax difference??

Maggie

 

[maggiew]

Day 4: California Grill dinner

Tonight we had La Nouba booked (6 pm) and then California Grill dinner at 9:35 pm for the fireworks. Since we ate lunch around 12 noon, we decided to get a snack at DTD after the La Nouba show. We decided on a pretzel at Wetzel's pretzels.

We got a regular pretzel ($3.69) and Frozen lemonade ($3.99). Sadly I forgot to take pictures of these.

Regular pretzel $3.69
Frozen lemonade $3.99
Subtotal $7.68
Tax .50
Total $8.18


We then headed over to the Contemporary for California Grill. We came here for our 10th anniversary with the kids. We decided it was fitting to go back for our 19th anniversary withOUT the kids!

DH started dinner with the Seasonal Salad which was a peach and blue cheese based salad ($14). DH said it was the best salad he has ever had!! And DH likes to get salads!!

I started with their version of a Caesar salad ($11). I asked for no dressing (remember from the Via Napoli report that I don't do dressing). He asked how I felt about the marinated anchovies and olives and I said I could do without them. He then said, "Then its just like a regular Caesar salad". And I said that was PERFECT!! He brought me lemon wedges to squeeze on the salad.

As I was eating it, I told DH that the parmesan cheese was REALLY good. When the waiter came back to remove the salad plates he asked how everything was and I told him my salad was really good and that the parmesan cheese tasted especially good. He said that it was real parmiggiano regianno (sp?). I could definitely tell!!

There was also bread on the table with the salads.

The bread and butter was really good. I would have eaten more, but I restrained mysef since I knew I wouldn't be able to eat my entree if I did! The salad and bread would have been enough.

For my entree I got the Filet ($44) cooked medium rare. It came out bright pink - just how I like it. It may have been a little rare for some people, but I like it that way. I just wanted to comment that they seem to have the doneness down pretty well. At many steak places I have to order one step down from what I really want because they tend to overcook things.

As you can see, mashed potatoes came with the filet. I just noticed that on the allears menu, it was listed as a cheddar gratin.

Everything was good, but I found the terriyaki glaze just a little too much. Don't get me wrong, I liked it. But I found I had enjoyed the filet at Chefs de France more due to the lack of sauce there.

DH got the pork tenderloin ($34).

It came with goat cheese polenta. The pork also came out pretty rare for pork. But the waiter had mentioned this when he took the order and DH was fine with that. Just an FYI if that would bother you. DH ate every last scrap on his plate, so I guess he liked it.

DH started with a glass of Chris Krug wine ($14) and then moved onto a Sierra Nevada beer ($6.75). I had a coke ($2.69)

We were too full to have any dessert!!

We really enjoyed our meal here. We had an interesting table right by the kitchen. I liked watching the chefs cook and prepare the plates. I also liked being able to see what the orders looked like as they went out! It helped me pick my entree - although I had my eye on the filet all along.

Our waiter was really good and the fireworks were nice. We didn't have a view of the fireworks from our table, so we went out to the balcony to watch.

Sierra nevada beer $6.75
Chris Krug wine $14
Soda $2.69
Seasonal salad $14
Pork tenderloin $34
Romaine salad $11
Filet $44
Subtotal $126.44
Tax $8.22
Total $134.66 before tip.

Maggie

 

[maggiew]

Today was our day to sleep in a little. We had reservations to do the parasailing at the Contemporary Resort at 11:30 am. So we woke later. I woke up before DH and got ready. I knew today would be my one day to get a Mickey waffle (since I had no breakfast ADRs planned), so I headed down to the food court to get myself breakfast. I picked up the kids Mickey Waffle platter with meat. It also came with a small orange juice bottle and a small container of applesauce.

Day 5 Breakfast: Pop Century Food Court

Kids meal mickey waffle platter $4.39
Tax .29
Total $4.68

I got this to go and unfortunately forgot to get syrup! Luckily I don't use much syrup normally, but a little bit would have been nice. But the waffles tasted just as good as I remembered - even without the syrup. It is like pure Disney magic on a plate!! My bacon was surprising good. I usually do not care much for bacon on the breakfast buffets because its usually undercooked or something. The sausage patty was ok. Tasted like the sausage patty in a sausage mcmuffin.

DH was just starting to get ready when I came back with the food. DH didn't eat anything. I saved the orange juice for later. I drank it on our departure day while we were waiting for Magical Express. I never did eat the applesauce. I am not a fan of applesauce.

Maggie

 

[maggiew]

Day 5 Lunch: Via Napoli - MEAL #2!

After our parasailing adventure at the Contemporary (which was great, by the way), we headed over to EPCOT to tour around World Showcase. I had lunch ADRs at Tutto Italia. But DH liked Via Napoli so much that he wanted to go back. I enjoyed our meal there too, so I agreed!

We only had to wait a few minutes to be seated. (Remember, it was still walk-up only - no ADRs - since it was during the soft opening time. We were seated in nearly the same seats as last time! But we had a different server.

We decided to get something different for our pizza today. So we settled on the Pepperoni pizza this time ($16).

This pizza was really good too! The pepperoni tasted like it had been sliced from a pepperoni stick. It wasn't at all like the Hormel pepperoni you get at the grocery store. It had a much more concentrated flavor. Yum! It did make the pizza a little more greasy than the pizza margharita, however. I took the first piece while the pizza was still hot and ended up with drips of grease on my plate. DH waited until the pizza cooled down a little and had no grease drips.

We also got the house salad for 2 ($3 each for a total of $6). Again I asked for the dressing on the side. I thought it would be no problem since I got it that way the last time. But the waiter said it was "NOT POSSIBLE" since the salad was already mixed with the dressing. He said he would "ask" however, if it could be done. Now, I did not see him ask anyone. He went from our table to the cash register thing where they input orders to the table next to us to check on them. He then came back and said he had asked and that it was impossible to get the dressing on the side. I said, Ok. Now, I didn't have my eye on him for every second (just mostly ), but I didn't see him get near anyone??? I think he just told me he would ask to satisfy me. He thought it would be impossible, but entered it in the computer as requested. He then told me that he had asked and been denied.

Lo and behold, the salad came to our table with the dressing on the side. (Our waiter was not the one who delivered it.) When our waiter came back to check on us after we were served the salad, he was shocked to see the dressing came on the side! I believe this portion was a lot more than the portion we got a few days before.

I am not a demanding person. I requested the dressing on the side. When I was told it couldn't be done, I said fine and left it at that. I figured DH would eat the whole salad himself. But, come on. I can't be the only one who requests things like this?? In fact, the next day at Teppan Edo, the lady who was sitting with us asked for her salad dressing on the side! ( I didn't order salad there.) I think Via Napoli will need to be a little more flexible in their service. Granted, my request was met each meal. However, both waiters were emphatic that it could NOT be done and used words like IMPOSSIBLE.

We decided on no dessert today since the dessert we had last time made us too full for comfort!

However, our waiter surprised us with an anniversary dessert. We were wearing our anniversary buttons this day. We didn't wear them on our first visit, so no free dessert that time.

This really was only like a small cookie (think, a vanilla wafer) with whipped cream squirted on it and 2 candles. They also sang a special, in-your-face kind of anniversary song!

DH also got a diet coke ($3) and I got a coke ($3).

Our meal this day was as good as our meal a few days before!! We really liked this place and I wouldn't be adverse to eating that pizza each day of the trip!

Pepperoni Pizza $16
Coke $3
Diet Coke $3
House Salad $6
Subtotal $28
Tax $1.82
Total $29.82

Maggie

 

[maggiew]

Day 5 Afternoon snack - Pop Food Court

We left EPCOT for a late afternoon break. We would be leaving in 2 days and we were flying directly from Orlando to New York City for 5 more days before heading home. So I decided to take the opportunity to do some laundry. Since we had slept in this day, I wasn't tired enough for an afternoon nap (like all the previous days!!). So I headed over to the food court to get a snack. I wasn't really too hungry, but I had been dreaming about the tie dye cheesecake ($3.59) for a year!! So I figured this was as good a time as any to get it!

I threw in a load of laundry and then headed to the food court. (DH took a nap!)

I know it looks fluorescent and maybe not appetizing! However, it tastes just like a regular cheesecake (which I love!). The unique thing about this version is the red velvet cake on the bottom of the cheesecake instead of a graham cracker crust.

While I can get cheesecake everywhere and this tastes like regular cheesecake (except for the unique red cake layer), I like this more for novelty reasons!! You can't get this just anywhere! And again, it is sort of that "Disney feel" to me.

Tie Dye Cheesecake $3.59
Tax .24
Total $3.83


Maggie

 

[ilovepete]

I am interested to see how this turns out! Love your pics.

 

[Krissalee]

I am loving your reports! I choose not to do the dining plan because it doesn't fit to how we eat. I am glad you can appreciate that, too. I hope you enjoyed your trip!

 

[basketlacey]

Love your review! I can't wait to see your total OOP compared to dining plan!

We have FD this trip. It is our first stay onsite since the DP was introduced. We have 2 character buffets booked. With three kids (one who counts as an adult), the DDP helps us not feel so wasteful with our total bill there!

 

[emmysmommy]

Hey, you ate at some of the same places as us!!!! Via Napoli looked amazing!!

The Wishes dessert party looks very nice! I agree that even if you don't get your $ worth for the food at least you have a reserved spot to view the fireworks.

 

[GettinReadyforDisney]

I'm enjoying your reviews, particularly since our tastes in restaurants are somewhat similar.

I can't wait to see how the OOP v. DDP cost comparison turns out in the end, as we are stuggling with a decision for our March 2011 trip.

Had free dining in June 2010, which we upgraded to DxDP. We were able to do a number of signature restaurants, which was a great treat!!. But -- it was way too much food. Now, our youngest will be 10 and count as an adult, yet has the appetite of a child. While, it was worth it to upgrade from free dining, I'm not so sure it's worth it anymore, given the price increase and the additional adult.

also -- we enjoy appetizers more than desserts, so the DDP is not a great fit for us. We are debating this but are leaning towards OOP.

Thx for sharing your experiences!!

 

[maggiew]

Day 5 Dinner: Il Mulino

After "we" finished the laundry and I ate my snack, we headed back to EPCOT to catch Illuminations. Our first viewing wasn't that great of a vantage point. So we were trying again. We decided to try to watch it from the area at the beginning of World Showcase - just after the bridge from Future world. We had a nice view, but people ended up standing in front of us, some some of the view was blocked. Oh well, we will try again tomorrow.

After Illuminations, we headed over to the Swan through the International Gateway. We originally had ADRs at Flying fish, but DH was in the mood for pasta. So we ended up at Il Mulino. We were in park clothes (long khaki type shorts with t shirts) with rain jackets and felt slightly underdressed. But the restaurant wasn't crowded this late. There were some other people in park clothes too. But there were also a few tables of people dressed up.

When we sat down, the waiter brought an antipasto plate and some bread to the table. My picture didn't turn out well because it was dark in the restaurant and I didn't use a flash.

DH ordered wine ($15) and I ordered a coke ($3). DH started with a house salad ($10) but I didn't have an appetizer. I knew that since I had eaten that tie dye cheesecake earlier, I wouldn't be able to eat a lot.

For our entrees, DH chose the manicotti ($24) and I had the gnocchi ($24).

The manicotti was really big! Its not like the manicotti shells you buy at the store and stuff! These were homemade pasta sheets in which the cheese was rolled.

My gnocchi were really good too. They were very light and fluffy. Sometimes gnocchi can be very heavy, but these were not like that. The sauce was a meat sauce. The meat was very finely ground and make the sauce kind of thick and rich. I liked it very much. DH said it would have been too rich for him to have very many.

At this time, the asst. waiter noticed our anniversary buttons and said we could have a dessert or 2 glasses of champagne on the house. We knew we wouldn't be able to eat dessert, so we went for the champagne. I'm not a big drinker, so can't comment too much on the quality of the champagne. But I thought it was pretty good!

I had a restaurant.com gift certificate for this place. After we ate, I pulled out the paper and started looking at it to read all the fine print. As I had it out the asst waiter came by and said, "Is that a restaurant.com gift certificate?" I said yes and he pleasantly took it from me. No problem whatsoever using it.

DH and I both liked this restaurant. There were many things on the menu that i would like to try. I think we will definitely try this place again.

Wine $15
Coke $3
House Salad $10
Manicotti $24
Gnocchi $24
-$25 restaurant.com gift certificate
Subtotal $51
Tax 4.73
Total $55.73 before gratuity

Maggie

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Great reviews so far -yum!!!!!

 

[maggiew]

Day 6: Teppan Edo

I didn't set our alarm today because we weren't planning on doing rope drop. But we didn't end up waking up until 10am!!! We barely had time to get showered and ready, bus to EPCOT and walk all the way over to Japan in World Showcase for our 12:00 noon ADR at Teppan Edo!!! We made it before they started seating people, but we were too late to see the opening show they do.

We were seated at the grill with another couple, who sat beside us, a mom/daughter combo and an older couple who were also celebrating their anniversary! We talked a little with the couple next to us who were very nice.

The waitresses and everyone at Teppan Edo are so nice! They say thank you for everything and are so polite!

They started off by taking our drink orders. DH got the hot green tea ($2.95) and I got an Ichigo ($4.50) - which was sort of like a virgin strawberry daiquiri - only better!!! It was sooooo yummy!

DH drinking his green tea

This is after I drank some of it. It originally was filled up to the top.

The waitress then too our appetizer orders. I didn't get anything, but DH went for the spicy tuna roll ($7.95)

DH said these were really good. But he thought it was too big for an appetizer portion! He ate the whole thing, but would have liked to have had maybe 4 rolls, so he could have a little more room for his entree.

For entrees, DH got the chicken and sirloin combo ($28.95) and I got the chicken ($20.95).

I stole a couple of DH's sirloin pieces and I think there may be one or two showing on the side in this picture. But it didn't come with my chicken only entree. So don't be confused.

They both came with a side of rice, but you can't see it in DH's picture.

These meals were really good and we ate it all up! YUM!

We were too full to order dessert. However, they did bring us out a complimentary green tea pudding to celebrate our anniversary.

DH ate about half of it and said it was surprisingly good!

We had a nice meal here and will come back again. We will probably alternate between Teppan Edo and Tokyo dining because we like them both.

Here is a picture of our chef. Sorry its blurry, but I wasn't expecting him to pose like that and I had to quickly snap the picture!

Chicken entree $20.95
Chicken and sirloin entree $28.95
Spicy tuna roll appetizer $7.95
Hot green tea $2.95
Ichigo (strawberry drink) $4.50
Subtotal $65.30
Tax $4.25
Total $69.55


Maggie

 

[maggiew]

Day 6: Afternoon Snacks

After Teppan Edo, we shopped around World Showcase for awhile. In the late afternoon we headed to future world to finish up rides there that we hadn't done yet. We did stop in Sunshine Season's to get DH a diet coke since he was thirsty.

Diet Coke $2.39
Tax .16
Total $2.55

We did Mission space, Ellen's Universe of Energy, Figment and then Captain Eo. After that we decided to get a snack since we weren't planning on eating dinner until after Illuminations. So, I talked DH into going to Beaches and Cream for a sundae. B&C is a family tradition and we were getting very close to missing it this trip!!! We walked over to the Beach Club through the International Gateway.

We were able to be seated fairly quickly, even though it was getting to be close to an early dinner hour (around 5 pm). We sat at the counter, which was fine with us since we were only going to be getting ice cream.

We chose the Fudge Mud Slide ($7.99), which we get every time. Although usually it is 4 of us sharing - me, DH and our 2 teen DDs! We weren't sure how much we were going to be able to eat with only DH & I.

This has a brownie/cake like thing at the bottom, ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and cherries. Plus a few oreos shoved on top. HEAVEN in a cup!!!

We did pretty good eating this. We made it mostly down to the brownie. I ate a few bites of the brownie. I don't think DH ate any brownie. We were full!!!!!!

DH also ordered a decaf coffee ($2.39). I drank water.

When we exiting Beaches and Cream it started POURING down rain. It was a huge downpour!!! We sat at the little tables outside of the restaurant to wait it out. But it kept going and going and going. We waited as long as we could and when it started to slow down (not stop, but at least slow down a little), we headed back to EPCOT.

Fudge Mud Slide $7.99
Decaf coffee $2.39
Subtotal $10.38
Tax .68
Total $11.06

Maggie

 

[maggiew]

Day 6 Dinner: House of Blues

Our original plan for this evening was to watch Illuminations and then eat at Yachtsman Steakhouse. However, the super-heavy rain was putting a damper on that. We wanted to go back to the viewing location we had yesterday for Illuminations (in the front of World Showcase) but stand in a better location so the view wasn't blocked. But, with the rain, and the fact that we had seen Illuminations 2 times already that trip (although both were severely blocked views), and it being our last night and we were tired, we decided to just head back to the resort.

So we headed back to the resort around 8 pm. We cleaned up/dried off the best we could. The rain had slowed down a little. We then hopped a bus to Downtown Disney to do our last minute shopping and then eat at House of Blues.

We ended up at HOB around 10 pm. They were just starting their half-price apps. We didn't get any, but that seemed to be a good deal. I got a coke ($3.25) and DH got a diet coke ($3.25). DH then ordered the soup special which was a spicy African soup ($3).

He thought it was pretty good! It was sort of like a vegetable soup with spice!

For our entrees DH chose the Smokehouse Burger ($16) and I had the BBQ Beef Sandwich ($14).

I think DH's meal came with sweet potatoe fries. Mine came with regular fries that were really tasty. They were those thin kind of fries that were nice and crispy. My BBQ Beef was really good and I think I ate the whole thing - which is unusual for me because I almost never can finish anything.

DH has never seen a key lime pie he doesn't like, so when he saw that on the menu, he had to get dessert ($6).

While we were eating, a band started playing there in the restaurant and it started to get crowded. The band was good, but it made it impossible to have any kind of conversation.

DH commented on how much he liked HOB. I was surprised since he only got a burger - I mean how impressive can that be?? But he liked the atmosphere and the menu. So he wants to go back some day.

I did have a restaurant.com gift certificate for this restaurant. It was taken with no problems at all.

Coke $3.25
Diet Coke $3.25
Spicy African Soup $3
Smokehouse Burger $16
BBQ Beef Sandwich $14
Key Lime Pie $6
-$25 Restaurant.com gift certificate
Subtotal $20.50
Tax $2.99
Total $23.49


Well, that is all! Up next will be the $$$ comparison between what we spent OOP and what the dining plan would have cost me. Stay tuned!!

Maggie

 

[Symans3honeybees]

Maggie, I love how you planned all your OOP meals. I will be checking out the restaurant.com certificate for our next trip. Can't wait to read your next installment.