Disney Dining Plan or Disney Dining Experienc

[MarieA]

We used both the DDP and DDE our last trip to WDW. We saved about $600 (8 night stay) with the DDP and about $100 using the DDE ($160 savings - $60 initial cost). We are returning to BCV in January and August 07 and will definitely add the DDP to our reservations.

My DH and I like both enjoy breakfast, so we used the DDE for our breakfast each morning. Since we dined at a signature restaurant on the DDP, we had to pay for our last night's meal OOP. We used the DDE for our last meal at Jiko. We also used the DDE for any alcoholic beverages we purchased with our meals. Our DDE doesn't expire until the end of Aug. 07 so we intend to use it on our trips in Jan and Aug and expect to save at least another $200.

You can use both the DDP and DDE together. The DDP would be used for your meal and the DDE for anything extra you order (alcoholic beverages, etc.).

 

[raidermatt]

I think another factor is the size of your party. (meaning the number of people in your party...)

You can use one DDE discount card for up to 10 people. The more people in your party, the smaller the cost per person. With the DDE, the cost is the same per person no matter how many people there are.

For example, with the DDE, the breakeven point for one person is $300 of spending. Two people only need to spend $150 per person to breakeven. Ten people need only spend $30 per person.

We prefer the DDE for the same reason others do... flexibility. Our last trip was 15 nights, and we didn't want to deal with making sure we took advantage of all of the credits. The DDE is accepted at most sit-downs (and some that don't take it still give a 10% AP discount). We also had at least 2 other adults with us, and at times we had 4 others, so we saved a lot.

On top of that, we are going back in just under a year to use our APs again, and of course will still have the DDE card to use.

The DDE is also valid at several of the counter-service places in AK, which is nice.