2 meals plus snacks adds up to a lot more food than you think. YMMV but the big difference to us is:
without the
DDP
- we generally focus on where we want to spend our day and just eat whatever happens to be around us
- we generally don't eat in a lot of table service places. We like to sit down and enjoy a drink and a nice meal so we do it a couple times if we're there a week, but not every day
- we are very concious of the price of the food we're ordering. For instance, I wouldn't be likely to get a $25 entree when there's a $15 one I know I would like.
- we'd get one appetizer, maybe two at the very most to share.
- we'd almost never order dessert. That's less about cost and more about how we normally dine out. It's just something we don't normally do.
with the DDP
- we think about where we want to eat and it becomes part of the planning of where we'll spend our day. This tends to make us park hop a little more since some parks like Epcot and the resorts have more table service restaurants we like than the other parks.
- we eat a table service each night. The good part is all of the good food we get to try. The bad is this means you generally need a reservation and need to plan to consume 1.5-2 hours of each day in a restaurant and plan our days and parks around where we want to eat.
- we order whatever looks good on the menu with no regard to price. Well, to be honest, it has the opposite effect of making me tend to order the pricier items.
- we each get an appetizer. That can mean a lot of food or a lot of waste, especially with my DDs.
- we each get a dessert. For people that don't normally get dessert, that's a lot of extra food. Keep in mind counter service also comes with a dessert. By day two we're either getting cookies to go for later or getting an extra bottled water instead.
- also, there are counter service meals where one credit can provide enough food for two people to share so the counter service credits can easily go farther if you want them to
Personally I'm glad we've done the DDP and look forward to
free dining in August this year but I don't know that I'd do it every time. It's great to experience the restaurants and try so many new things but it's also a lot of food and it's not the only thing we're there for. If you're the type of family that goes through the parks commando-style then keep in mind that DDP is a time commitment if you really want to take advantage of it. If you like taking breaks in the day and relaxing then this will probably be a more welcome thing.
