Disney Dining Experience.

[bethsg]

I know the web site says you have to order it in advance, and allow time for it to arrive in the mail. Has anyone ever tried to purchase it person?

 

[Chuck S]

You can not purchase it in person, you must purchase it by phone. The closest alternative would be to call when you arrive at the resort and make arragments to pick up a temporary card at EPCOT. You can not call Dining Experience on the weekend, only during "normal" business hours M-F

 

[Judique]

I know the web site says you have to order it in advance, and allow time for it to arrive in the mail. Has anyone ever tried to purchase it person?

I arrived at Downtown Disney in October, 2005 around 3pm, purchased my annual passes at Guest Services; asked for the DDE phone number; used the extension phone to the left of their desk; ordered it, then left and checked in at BWV. At 5:30pm we picked it up (temporary card with a listing of restaurants) at Epcot, took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom where we had a 6:15pm ADR in the Castle at Cindy's Table. It paid for itself in three nights. Dinners at the Castle, Le Cellier, Bistro de Paris and breakfast at Spoodles and a lunch in AK. Next trip we'll do the dining plan and use it for extras, such as wine with dinner. The permanent card arrived several weeks after we returned home.

 

[JimMIA]

You can order it onsite, but all the planets would have to be in perfect alignment for there to be any advantage to doing that.

Whether there would be any advantage at all would depend on the exact date you order the card, and the exact dates of any future visits. Unless ordering at a particular time would give you DDE coverage for an extra trip...what's the point?

Also, ordering the DDE onsite can be additional steps during one of the busiest parts of you visit...arrival. So -- although I considered ordering it onsite -- I chose to order it a little ahead of time, just to get one more detail out of the way. I DID time the ordering so we'll probably get three trips, but I ordered about a month ahead from home.

Incidentally, we also paid for our card in just a couple of days, and we still had 12 1/2 months left on the card!

I have to say, though, that when it comes to renewal we will NOT get the extra card. It's great when it's for free, but paying $25 extra for the second card is just price gouging which offers little benefit for us.

 

[CarolMN]

Just chiming in to add that if you plan to order by phone on site, you need to do it early in the day if you want to get the temp card that same day. Otherwise, you have to wait until the following day to get the temporary card. (I don't remember the cut off time).

Also, as Chuck already posted, the DDE office is not open on the weekends or in the evenings.

IMHO, it's best to order DDE from home, even if you still have to pick up the temporary card for the first trip. At least you'll have the discount for the whole trip if you arrive on a weekend or after the DDE cut off time to get same day pick up for temp cards.

Best wishes -

 

[Lesley]

Also note that the DDE office isn't open today....so I presume they are not open on any national holiday. Something to consider so you don't plan to call on Presidents Day, or MLK Day (today), or Columbus Day (not sure if they're closed for that....but I'd assume so to be safe).

I didn't realize it was MLK day today until I called...and geez...I put mail out in the mailbox too. Seems to be a holiday every time I need to call somewhere, mail something, or make a bank deposit!

Oh, well, we don't leave until Sunday. Our temporary card should be waiting for us at Epcot by then.

 

[jodifla]

But if I don't have my annual pass yet, how do I get the DDE card? I was going to get my AP once I arrived....

 

[byoung]

jodifla you can get your AP now you will not have activate it untill you arrive. That way you can get your DDE.

 

[JimMIA]

jodifla you can get your AP now you will not have activate it untill you arrive. That way you can get your DDE.

That's right. With typical Disney consistency, the clock starts ticking on the DDE when they manufacture the card; but on the AP, the clock doesn't start ticking until you appear at WDW and actually activate the card.

In the meantime, you'll have an AP voucher with the necessary numbers you need to order the DDE.

 

[problemchild718]

I purchased my AP in advance, but didn't get my DDE until the day I arrived. I called in the morning and went to pick it up at 5:30 that nite in EPCOT. When they say after 5:30, the mean it! The cards are sent from the DDE office once a day when they close at 5pm and it takes the driver 30 min to arrive at Guest Relations in Epcot. I used it the same night, but it will take a few weeks to get a permament card in the mail.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm someone who "missed" the part about DDE's administration not being opened on a weekend. We arrived on a Friday, got AP's and had to wait to Monday morning to call and then wait to pick up the temp cards at Epcot. We did call early in the day, and the card was ready that evening. Calling before, getting vouchers for AP's just seemed too complicated, but things worked out. We missed using it for just 1 - 2 meals, but we've more than made up the cost of the card since getting it.

Bobbi

 

[ArnyVee]

We paid for our card (and then some) on a short 4day trip last month. So, with our next trip, we can definitely enjoy the extra benefits even more!

We ordered it ahead of time and didn't know about the effective date being the 'manufactured' date. Gotta check on that!