DDPers who wished for DxDP?

[Sappermont]

Anyone out there that did the DDP plan and then wished that had done the DxDP? I'm thinking that the DxDP is too much food for us, but for some reason I really want to be talked into the DxDP. I'm a sucker for "all inclusive", I think!

Thanks so much!!!

 

[mickeynut1]

We've always done the DDP and it has worked great, but I have always wanted to try the DlxDDP . I felt like you.....I thought it would be way too much food. Well, we took the plunge last December and we loved the DlxDDP . I did the math and compared the cost of the deluxe plan to what we would pay for the DDP + extra meals OOP + the refillable mugs (which we always buy) and the DlxDDP won out . And I must say we LOVED it!!!! Now our sights are set on the DlxDDP.....I don't know if we can ever go back to the DDP .

 

[Sappermont]

We've always done the DDP and it has worked great, but I have always wanted to try the DlxDDP . I felt like you.....I thought it would be way too much food. Well, we took the plunge last December and we loved the DlxDDP . I did the math and compared the cost of the deluxe plan to what we would pay for the DDP + extra meals OOP + the refillable mugs (which we always buy) and the DlxDDP won out . And I must say we LOVED it!!!! Now our sights are set on the DlxDDP.....I don't know if we can ever go back to the DDP .

Thank you MickeyNut! I appreciate the feedback. Do you find yourself always going from restaurant to restaurant? I was looking at our schedule and what we'd have to pay OOP and I was thinking even if we used several of our meals at counter service and skipped out on some desserts it would still be a good deal? Right now we only have one 2 credit meal on our schedule. Did you fill up on 2 TS meals? If you don't mind me asking - what was your eating pattern/habits like? I see calamari and shrimp cocktail on so many menus and dining reviews and I just know that my DH would love to order those up (they are his favorites!).

Thanks so much!!

 

[mickeynut1]

Thank you MickeyNut! I appreciate the feedback. Do you find yourself always going from restaurant to restaurant? I was looking at our schedule and what we'd have to pay OOP and I was thinking even if we used several of our meals at counter service and skipped out on some desserts it would still be a good deal? Right now we only have one 2 credit meal on our schedule. Did you fill up on 2 TS meals? If you don't mind me asking - what was your eating pattern/habits like? I see calamari and shrimp cocktail on so many menus and dining reviews and I just know that my DH would love to order those up (they are his favorites!).

Thanks so much!!

You're welcome . We didn't feel like we were always eating and we didn't do all 2 credit TS meals for dinner. We ate like we normally do when we go to Disney, which is a TS meal every night for dinner and 1 or 2 of our favorite buffets for breakfast. We did try a couple of signature restaurants, but we did not fill our dinners with those.....we did some 1 credit meals as well, along with some CS . Alot of people feel like they have to eat 3 TS meals a day or do a TS for breakfast and a signature meal every night to make the DlxDDP worthwhile, but we didn't feel we needed to do that. We actually came out ahead with the deluxe plan vs what it would have cost us if we didn't upgrade. The deluxe plan worked well for us because we do like an appy or salad along with an entree, as well as dessert (sometimes.....if we're not too stuffed ). But we also like the buffets, so we thought the dlxddp gave us a good variety and the flexibility to eat the way we want . If you and/or your DH like appys and there are things that appeal to you, I say try the deluxe plan.....we loved it and it was great not having to pay OOP for any food.

 

[Sappermont]

You're welcome . We didn't feel like we were always eating and we didn't do all 2 credit TS meals for dinner. We ate like we normally do when we go to Disney, which is a TS meal every night for dinner and 1 or 2 of our favorite buffets for breakfast. We did try a couple of signature restaurants, but we did not fill our dinners with those.....we did some 1 credit meals as well, along with some CS . Alot of people feel like they have to eat 3 TS meals a day or do a TS for breakfast and a signature meal every night to make the DlxDDP worthwhile, but we didn't feel we needed to do that. We actually came out ahead with the deluxe plan vs what it would have cost us if we didn't upgrade. The deluxe plan worked well for us because we do like an appy or salad along with an entree, as well as dessert (sometimes.....if we're not too stuffed ). But we also like the buffets, so we thought the dlxddp gave us a good variety and the flexibility to eat the way we want . If you and/or your DH like appys and there are things that appeal to you, I say try the deluxe plan.....we loved it and it was great not having to pay OOP for any food.

Thanks so much!! I was thinking that it would be nice to not have to pay for all our breakfasts OOP and then we could try a few 2TS. Thanks for all of your help!!

 

[heatherwillmom]

We have done bothe the regular & deluxe dining plan & I think we prefer the deluxe. It's nice to have so many options. It's really great if you want to do signiture places too. I probably would hate to pay OOP for those places but it doesn't seem so bad when it's pre-paid. If you chose your food options right, you will save a lot of money. The refillable mugs have always been a selling point for us too because we all get them each trip. I think they changed that this year to where they are included with every plan

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

We always do DxDDP and I love it. We are big eaters but it is a lot of food. We usually have a character breakfast and then a signiture supper and it works for us. Most of our snack credits get used for bottled water. DH claims it would be cheaper just to pay OOP but I love the convenience. Truthfully we don't really use the mugs much because I'm the only one who really drinks much pop. We like apps not so much for dessert. Being on the DxDDP forces us to eat at least 2 decent meals a day. If we were OOP, I know we wouldn't stop to eat as often. We would likely just grab CS and keep moving. But every year DH pushes for us just to try OOP but I haven't given in yet

 

[heatherwillmom]

We use our refillable mugs a lot but not just for soda. We also get tea & hot chocolate. We like to go buy the food court after a day in the parks & get a drink. DH drinks a lot at a time so it helps us. Many times we will eat CS in the evening at the resort, get a soft drink or two with dinner then get one to take back to the room.

 

[inkedupmomma]

I'm a big fan of the dxDP, works great for us. I do always have a few credits left over at the end though. i wish they would do an ala carte type thing, where you pick how you want your dining to plan to look like!

 

[AirGoofy]

We did the DxDP after DP and will never do it again. We did a character breakfast each AM, a snack for lunch, and signature dining (or show) for dinner. It was way too much food, spent too much time in restaurants, and we still left with 40+ Mickey krispie treats when we left. Plus, i'm not a big fan of my children drinking that much soda. I am a big eater, but ever since Disney took gratuity and appetizer away from DP, they no longer are a good deal.

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks so much!! I was thinking that it would be nice to not have to pay for all our breakfasts OOP and then we could try a few 2TS. Thanks for all of your help!!

Glad I could help . We never did any signature restaurants until we did the DlxDDP and now we plan at least 1 or 2 signatures each trip . I agree.....it's nice to have everything paid for ahead of time and not have to worry about paying for anything out of pocket .

 

[pigletto]

I was always in the camp of "too much food!!!" until I really sat down and crunched the numbers. We've always done the DDP.
This time I wanted to try signatures and dinner shows. So we've planned it out to two reservations per day. One in the am.. and one around dinner.
We know it is very unlikely that we will eat every bite on our plates. We'll eat until comfortably full.
To me it isn't a huge difference from the regular DDP. I mean with that one.. I am eating breakfast in the room, a CS lunch and a TS dinner.
With the Deluxe plan I will eat a TS for late breakfast, a snack mid day, and a 2 credit dinner. The ONLY difference in amount of food consumed will be the appetizers and an extra snack.

We always use leftover snack credits on candy and rice crispie treats for home and the kids friends. I also ended up paying OOP for quite a few Mickey Bars and fruit smoothies last trip.

OP, do what feels right for you. I like being able to choose from more restaurants and the dinner shows without using up all my credits. The only thing you have to remember is that most days you will also be tipping more.

 

[wezee]

We did the dxdp twice and loved it. It allowed us to try all the sig. rest. at least once. It's something we would never done paying oop.

 

[Colleen27]

We love the deluxe plan and haven't done the basic plan since DxDDP was created. For us it isn't really a question of more food but rather different food - instead of a counter service and a table service each day we do a table service and a signature restaurant.

 

[Sappermont]

Thanks everyone for your help and input. I really appreciate all the advice. I'm going to chew on this one for a bit longer. All the dining reviews have really been so fun to read and making me lean towards the DxDP. But I want to make certain that I still eat at some CS like Cosmic Ray's. I love that place - although it was called something else the last time I was there. Thanks so much!!!

 

[Sappermont]

I was always in the camp of "too much food!!!" until I really sat down and crunched the numbers. We've always done the DDP.
This time I wanted to try signatures and dinner shows. So we've planned it out to two reservations per day. One in the am.. and one around dinner.
We know it is very unlikely that we will eat every bite on our plates. We'll eat until comfortably full.
To me it isn't a huge difference from the regular DDP. I mean with that one.. I am eating breakfast in the room, a CS lunch and a TS dinner.
With the Deluxe plan I will eat a TS for late breakfast, a snack mid day, and a 2 credit dinner. The ONLY difference in amount of food consumed will be the appetizers and an extra snack.

We always use leftover snack credits on candy and rice crispie treats for home and the kids friends. I also ended up paying OOP for quite a few Mickey Bars and fruit smoothies last trip.

OP, do what feels right for you. I like being able to choose from more restaurants and the dinner shows without using up all my credits. The only thing you have to remember is that most days you will also be tipping more.

Thanks Pigletto. I was wondering about that. If I were to use my one snack (on the DDP) for my breakfast then I'd have to pay OOP for any other snacks and I was thinking that might add up. I appreciate you sharing your DxDP strategies with me!!