Don't get the raves about DDP

[brymolmom]

Thanks for your comments! Actually, no we don't eat hamburgers and fries our entire trip. I was just thinking that if you get a CS and a TS and 2 snacks, do those of you who get the DDP ever have to purchase outside the DDP? I would think you would if you eat 3 meals a day. Just curious. We usually don't get into all the dining experiences while at Disney but maybe sometime we will.

We usually spend $0 - $20 extra for an entire week when we get the basic dining plan. It is a lot of food. There are 2 Adults and 2 kids in my family. We never get more than 3 CS meals at a time and share them (sometimes even 2). Plus on arrival and/or departure nights we usually get the pizza at the food court for 2 CS and split that. This leaves extra CS meals to use/share for the 3rd meal if desired. We also bring 1 box of cereal in our luggage and will have a bowl of cereal plus a couple of snack credits (the HUGE cinnamon muffins from Main St Bakery) to split for our breakfasts on some days. Another 'trick' I use is having a late CS breakfast at the food court (on our 'sleep in' day or two) and then having 'ICE CREAM FOR LUNCH' using snack credits around 1:00pm (fountainview in EPCOT gives you two huge scoops as a snack - definitely filling) - and then we schedule an early sit down dinner at about 5:00. Sometimes if we get hungry between we'll also split the Nachos CS at the Mexico restaurant as another snack - only using 1 or 2 credits depending how hungry we are.

The $20 might come up if I want to buy an alcoholic drink OR on occassion I want to get an appetizer (not included) like I needed to try the french onion soup at Chefs de France - so I paid OOP for that. Other than that very occassional type of thing. Besides tips - we don't actually pay OOP for much at all when on DDP.

 

[brymolmom]

well it will probably be taken care of by September then! oh well--we ordered him extra stuff at the beginning of the trip anyway. I don't understand the signing of the slips--what?? they didn't do anything with them, so what was the point? why would they have told us that when we ordered at ABC Commisary and CR? it must be so confusing for all the CM's!
how would they know when you ordered that it was a meal for you or your child? we don't always order together-we split up kids and separate sometimes. I guess it's something for them to work out-kinda like the resort mug issue. I was so mad when I saw people using halloween mugs from MK from 1996 at Pop Century! last year! UGHH!

Yeah - Right now, without CS credits separated, they DON'T "really" know. Just like the mug thing - it is on the honor system for the guest to follow the policy of what they purchased.

 

[livie1205]

We ALWAYS use the ddp...it works for us because we like to have a good sit down meal in the evening after a long day.I could not stay at wdw for 7 days and eat nothing but CS meals...we enjoy going to ohana and places like that.If we were paying out of pocket we would not eat at TS places each night.We do not eat out much at home so when we are on vacation we like to have nice meals.

 

[delmar411]

we have found the QSDP to work rather well for us. Esp since we have 3A and 3C on the plan (well 1 is just a Disney adult! LOL), it makes for a very easy meal break down of approx $21 per day per person for 2 meals and 2 snacks each. We do buy the refillable mugs so taking those out of the equation brings the price down even more. We haven't found a way to pay less OOP for 6 people to eat 2 meals per day w/o having to bring in food. I refuse to do that on vacation.

 

[ajh88]

but one has to realize that is a personal preference for you and doesn't fit everyones vacation.

A HUGE part of my vacation is being able to sit down at a meal, order ANYTHING I want and not have to worry about the price of it. Its very relaxing.

I agree. I also like having it paid for ahead of time. We've done DDP once in the past and will be doing it again on our next trip. We always do at least a couple of character meals, which can add up by themselves, and it also encouraged us to try some new restaurants we probably wouldn't have paid for OOP (like Le Cellier) but got the chance to see how we liked them. I know you're still paying for it one way or another, but it was less stressful knowing that it was pre-paid.

I think we probably saved a *little* doing it the first time, but I figured if you at least break even, it's all good. I agree that it may not be for everyone though.

 

[MamaJessie]

From a budget standpoint, I agree, not worth it. From a relaxation standpoint I can understand why some people do it.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

We have done the DDP on our last 2 trips. The first time was when tips and appitizers wer included and it was amazing. On previous trips I would order a kids meal, pack food, have the kids share a Mickey bar. My DH really enjoyed that I didn't worry about money and just enjoyed. I have to say it really did add the the enjoyment of the trip.

Second time tips and appitizers were not included (we knew that, not a surprise.) In the begining it was nice to order whatever we wanted, but the tips were really adding up. We did more TS meals then we really needed to so we decided this time we would not get it.

We are debating right now the QSDP for our upcoming trip. DH wants me to still order what sounds good, not what is cheapest. We are trying to run the numbers to see if it would be worth it for us to get it or not. On the cost of just the plan I think it would be good, but DH can book our room at a discount through SoG (he's a disabled vet so this is an option we have not used the last couple trips but are considering it again.) We have to see if it is worth the price difference of the room too, which it isn't but that is assuming a room discount won't come out for the general public which I believe it will. That is more then yo uasked though...

Anyway, if you like ording whatever you want reguardless of price and you like having it paid ahead of time, it works. If you are ordering $7 meals everywhere with no drinks, desserts, etc then you can surely go cheaper then the DDP.

 

[kaytieeldr]

yes,I like that part too....my husband says he and i just go to Disney to eat

Including tax
A hot dog or quarter pounder* with fried or apple slices and a free water but no dessert $7.01;
A hot dog* with fries or apple slices and a free water but no dessert $7.01;
A bowl of oatmeal $2.84*;
Two bottles of water, a popcorn, and a mickey bar $9.75**
Total $26.61. If someone wants to eat the same foods every day of a vacation, great.

*only items at these locations which would qualify for the OP's pricing
**prices average, based on all prices for individual found at http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningmain.cfm#disneydining

Love the DDP, but it depends on where you eat and what you order if it saves you money.Also,it is not as good a value now,as the tip and appetizer are not included

But neither applies anyway, with the QSDP.

 

[klacey1]

We would never do the QSDP-- part of the Disney experience for us is trying the TS restaurants. The DDP is worth the peace of mind for us-- handing over our KTTW is much easier + convinient than handing over the CC. Easier for us just to budget for tips. We learned from our last trip that we'll never go to Disney w/o staying onsite or w/o the DDP!

 

[deerhart]

Thanks for your comments! Actually, no we don't eat hamburgers and fries our entire trip. I was just thinking that if you get a CS and a TS and 2 snacks, do those of you who get the DDP ever have to purchase outside the DDP? I would think you would if you eat 3 meals a day. Just curious. We usually don't get into all the dining experiences while at Disney but maybe sometime we will.

Sometimes. For example, we bought miso soups at Teppen Edo (and extra ones for the kids). I got the cheddar cheese soup at Le Celliar, potato leek soup at Rose and Crown and we may have occasionally paid oop for an extra snack or drink towards the end of the week. Though usually oop expenses were alcoholic in nature!

 

[monorailsilver]

This thread is making me hungry just thinking of all the yummy counter service food I can't wait to eat again.

I wish the QSDP was in effect when I went last but I don't think it was. I think it would of been worth it for us. We ate all CS except for 3 meals-Chef Mickey's for dinner on our arrival day, WCC for dinner & Ohana's for breakfast.

And we also bring breakfast from home-cereal, bagels, pop tarts, etc...

So in a few years I am going to have to calculate the cost between the two along with our few meals we do eat at TS.

 

[tlh0726]

As PP have stated it is about how your family eats and does vacations.

Our family are more snackers than eaters while on vacation. We seem to average one meal a day(mid afternoon) and snack along the way the rest of the time. Every third day we kinda look at each other and say need some real food, we then head off site (golden corral last year) and eat our fill.

Also have to be at a certain place at a certain time is not something we like to do either while on vacation, so having to make ADRs for TS meals is definitely out of the question for our family.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Thanks for your comments! Actually, no we don't eat hamburgers and fries our entire trip. I was just thinking that if you get a CS and a TS and 2 snacks, do those of you who get the DDP ever have to purchase outside the DDP? I would think you would if you eat 3 meals a day. Just curious. We usually don't get into all the dining experiences while at Disney but maybe sometime we will.

With Quick service you get 2 CS and 2 snacks and the mug

With Regular DDP you get 1 CS, 1 TS, and 1 snack..

With Deluxe DP you get 3 TS (you can subsitute CS), 2 snacks, and the mug

We seldom purchase outside of the Regular DDP, maybe a soda or water if we are on the run, but I have yet had to purchase any food. We can usually share meals for breakfast/lunch and then has a TS. We do a show show (2TS) each time and I get gift cards for Rainforest/TRex to supplement that meal. Don't forget if you do the regular DDP or Deluxe DP, you need to budget in tips for your TS meals.

 

[branv]

I have noticed that a lot of the reasons people seem to like the dining plan is strictly psychological...and that's fine too! Some people want to pay for it up front so it's not on their minds what they're spending while on the trip. Some people will talk about how much they saved over what the food would have cost but then openly admit they didn't have room (or much room) for that "free" dessert...or they always order the most expensive thing on the menu b/c they CAN not b/c that's what they want the most. So the value becomes a little more about theory than actuality. And again, I don't think that's weird per se, just not me. Though I will say that the one that gets me a little , is people saying they like the ease of just handing over their card for the DP. Ummmm, well, how is that different than just handing over your KTTK card to charge it to your room account? Just dollars vs. points, otherwise it's the same. But hey, different strokes...

For us, the other day I sat down and figured out where we'd like to eat. No concern with cost (well, except ruling out V&A, but that's not DP inclusive anyway), just what we knew we'd like to do. Some were CS b/c I knew I'd rather be in the park then sitting down at that time, some were TS, some were signature, as well as snacks and drinks through out the day. I pulled menu items I knew we'd like to try (often steak), with apps/dessert at the TS. Then I compared each of those to the quick, regular and deluxe DP -- removing or including costs as applied to what each would cover. And it just never came out to a savings over the length of the trip. I do believe it somehow comes to a savings for some people, but I can honestly say that when planning it out even without holding back for budgetary restrictions, with what we would honestly want and could eat, a DP would have cost us more money. To be fair, the regular DP was within about $20 to being even, but I still wouldn't do it for "convenience" b/c it locks us in more to not being able to change our minds about our schedule or what we're in the mood to do/eat.

I will say in the end, I'm glad it works for those who are happy with it. Everyone should take their moments of gladness where they can find them

 

[maleficentmom]

But neither applies anyway, with the QSDP.[/QUOTE]

Good point! Sorry,forgot to specify,I was talking about the reg. DDP, not QSDP...I probably wouldn't do that plan,(unless I could eat my 2 daily meals at Flame Tree BBQ),I just love that place! We love the character meals too much.But you're exactly right, with QSDP, the OP would probably fair well, and the appetizer/tips would not apply. Either plan is a good deal.

 

[dclfun]

I'll say it again.....I'd pay *more* for any plan that had tips included, purely for the convenience factor, even if it didn't make economic sense. We loved the DDP those first few years when tips and apps were included as my family really enjoys the appetizers much moreso than a dessert. The tips do add up on the basic DDP and I don't buy that guests complained about poor service, thus the tips were removed from the equation so they had to be earned. Perhaps we were the exception, but we had poor service only once, and that was at Ohana when we were a party of 7. That was out of three years of stays that were 10-14 days each. Oh well, I knew it wouldn't last. Now that people have been introduced to the plan and have gotten used to it, I feel the value is being watered down. The original plan really was almost too much though and I understand why changes were made. It's not for us anymore but for some it's a great value and I wouldn't dissuade anyone from trying and using it. In fact, I would encourage everyone to give it a try as it does feel good to have things prepaid.---Kathy

 

[SOnotLayuh]

For us the convenience of not having to worry about money and prices makes it worth it. We're always cutting corners, and I really just don't want to deal with the stress of worrying about how much we're spending while I'm on vacation.

Eating at the different TS places is one of our favorite parts of vacationing at WDW, too.

 

[disneyjunkie]

We learned from our last trip that we'll never go to Disney w/o staying onsite or w/o the DDP!

 

[tzolkin]

As PP have stated it is about how your family eats and does vacations.

Our family are more snackers than eaters while on vacation. We seem to average one meal a day(mid afternoon) and snack along the way the rest of the time. Every third day we kinda look at each other and say need some real food, we then head off site (golden corral last year) and eat our fill.

Also have to be at a certain place at a certain time is not something we like to do either while on vacation, so having to make ADRs for TS meals is definitely out of the question for our family.

This also describes our family.

We drive, so we go grocery shopping our first day. We usually stop for CS twice a day, but we only get a few meals each time and share them so we average about one full meal per person per day. Our kids are little and this is what has worked best for us.

My parents and adult sisters went to Disney last September and they had to get the Deluxe Dining Plan. I thought it was an unnecessary expense and couldn't see how they could enjoy the parks or relax with all those reservations, but to them part of the fun of a vacation is eating at different restaurants every day.

Since they would have done the TS meals anyway, they did save money with the dining plan. They also liked the dining plan because they felt that you could order anything on the menu without looking at the prices like you would if you were paying OOP.

 

[tinkmom2]

The Deluxe was for sure a waste of money for us. This last trip in November we had the free dining but upgraded to having on TS a day and one QS. We ate a few times at the resort but saved our credits for character breakfasts and restaurants like Teppan Edo and Sanaa. A meal at either of these places can easily cost $30-40 a person. We also like to eat at new places everytime we go. Our custom is to eat a big breakfast and a midday snack then dinner. Sometimes we don't even eat lunch.
Our first time at WDW we didn't have the dining plan at all and brought $1000.00 with us. I kid you not we were broke by the time we boarded the plane home. And to top it off our plane broke town and we were stuck at the Hyatt at the airport with meal vouchers.
So for us it's something we won't go without but you really have to consider what your family will eat.