DDP worth it???

[momofthreekids]

I am new to these boards and planning a trip in June 2008 for 12 days. We plan on staying at POP and are looking at the dining plan. We are a family of 4 over the age of 10. We have never been to WDW (hooked on cruising) We do like to do sit down dinners but not sure how easy that will be to do. It would cost about 1800.00 for our stay for the dining plan. Is it worth it to do the dining plan?
My plan from what I read on these boards is to go to a park in Am and around lunch go to motel for break and then back to the park. Is that a good plan?

 

[texasteacher35]

If you think that you will actually used all the CS, TS and S credits...AND, if you plan ahead and make the ADRs, I think it is a wonderful experience and I have never gone to WDW without it ( in my adult life)! If you have 3 kids over age 10, you are paying for "adult" meal plans, so I think it would be cheaper to do DDP...
I would possibly stay in the parks for lunch and maybe take a break after lunch back to the hotel, if needed! If you are doing the DDP, you should try to maximize all the credits and not even waste the snack ones, I am going to try really hard to make sure we are grabbing these even late at the hotel, or while leaving the park, if we did not use them during the day!
I would try to figure out WHERE you want to use your TSs and then plan the parks around that, and then fit in your CS credits around it! I make a big itenerary w/ all my ressies and what parks we are visiting each day...I also make sure that I have "penciled" in where I think we want to grab a bite at the CS or like, lunch, so I have some idea of when and where the credits will be used!

 

[gogo65]

Hi,

Have you thought about doing a split stay?
Maybe stay 5 or 6 nights on the DDp and then the rest of the nights as a room only.
Then while you are on the DDP you can do all your expensive character meals/sit down restaurants, and then while room only you could do it a bit cheaper!

Thats what we have decided to do.
They can link your reservations, you do have to check out and back in again, but everyone says it is very easy. While they don't guarentee that you will stay in the same room, from what I understand no one has ever been asked to change rooms.

Just a thought
Have fun planning

 

[texasteacher35]

That's an interesting idea! That could work!

 

[mcco5543]

If you go with the plan I highly reccomend no more than 1 TS meal per day, if you do 2 make sure it's spaced quite far apart (breakfast/dinner or brunch/late dinner). Instead of going back to the motel you could have a rest by doing a TS. The dining plan only seems to come out worth it if ALL your TS credits and Most/all of your CS credits are used.

 

[waltdisneyworlddreamer]

I think the dining plan is well worth the money. We always take some snacks (poptarts, donuts, cereal) for a quick breakfast in the room while everyone gets ready---plus this also saves time, we have a CS for lunch and a TS for dinner. I love the freedom of choosing what you want on the menu and not having to keep up with money to pay. The DP really allowed us to experience many restaurants that we would have never tried before due to a tight budget.