DxDDP is it worth it

[DISgirl82]

I was wondering if it was worth it.

 

[rocadonismom]

After much reading of these boards, we upgraded to DxDDP for our trip in 6 days. I work in food service, love to eat, eat at odd times so will be missing the crowds and am looking forward to trying new things. However, everyone is going to have their own opinion.

Some complaints that you will see on the board include...
~Too much food
~Sit down meals take away too much time from the rides and other attractions
~The amount of money you need to allot for tips is higher on the DxDDp

You'll also see positives which include...
~We saved so much money on the DxDDp
~I like having the time to sit down and relax, and it takes just as long to get a counter service meal as to sit down and have someone bring me my food.
~You get to try things that you may not order if you were paying out of pocket.

All that being said, your best bet is to go to the allears.net site. Make a list of which restaurants you would be interested in trying. Then look at the menus and make a quick list of what you would be likely to order of that menu. Add up your totals and see if you at least break even with what the plan will cost you.

Good luck, and welcome to the craziness.

 

[pezaddict231]

You will definitely get a lot of different opinions on this. We did DxDP last year and it was definitely worth it for us. Saved a bunch of money, although I never did tally exactly how much but it was significant. But we enjoy a nice relaxing meal out each day, that is part of a great vacation to us. We would order an appetizer, entree and dessert anyway. We don't really like CS. Most of the time we did a breakfast or lunch and then a signature dinner. I loved having 2 snack credits per day. We used mostly on drinks, but it was nice to be able to get a treat now and again and not worry about the cost. In fact, it was so worth it for us that we decided to upgrade to the DxDP this year!

Many of the complaints are as pp said. If you normally split meals or only order an entree and generally not dessert, it probably won't be worth it. We must be big eaters because I truly do not think that we would be able to split a CS meal and have it be enough for us! I'd be looking for a snack pretty soon after that, but more power to those that can! Allearsnet is a great place to start and figure out which places you want to go to.

Only you can say if it will be worth it for your family based on how you like to eat while on vacation.

 

[alan_renfroe]

As others have stated, you will get a LOT of varied answers on this subject. We have only been to WDW once, and we were on the DxDDP. It is A LOTTT of food, but if you think you would enjoy doing some 2TS restaurants, it becomes a viable option.

We are actually doing the Deluxe Dining Plan again on our upcoming trip in May! We loved it, but then again we are "foodies." (My wife was going to be a chef, but became a mommy instead!) Anyway, I would have to say the main reason we love it is not necessarily because it saves us money - it's actually because we love the "all-inclusive" mentality. In other words, we like to be at Disney and know we can eat whatever we want whenever we want! AND, the best thing is that it's all prepaid, so when we get to Disney I don't even have to take my wallet around with me....just our Keys to the World cards.

I will admit that it is a LOT of food. We do a lot of 2TS dinners, like California Grill and Narcoosee's. But I've got to tell ya, that dinner at California Grill, followed by watching the fireworks at the MK from the 15th floor of the Contemporary....THAT is a magical Disney moment. We felt like VIPs!

Consider this as well: there are lots of 1TS places that you can order out of pocket for a good bargain. For instance, I could go to Le Cellier and eat just the Cheddar Cheese Soup and the complimentary pretzel bread and easily make a meal from that. OR, I could go to Kona and easily make a meal from the wings on the appetizer menu.

All of that being said, if price is not an issue, it is a wonderful treat to be on the Deluxe Plan!!

So......long story short....(i know, too late!)...

DO IT if:
- you like the convenience of not worrying about paying out of pocket for the entire trip
- you enjoy a lot of sit-down dinners and three meals a day
- saving money is not your primary motivation
- you want to really feel like a VIP!! With the deluxe, you get an appetizer, entree, and dessert. It's a real treat!

DON'T DO IT if:
- saving money is your primary motivation
- you don't think you'll want sit-down meals everyday
- at the table service restaurants, you don't mind limiting your order somewhat

That's a lot of information, but I hope it helps!

Alan

 

[Justsyd2]

I believe that it's worth it if you do a character breakfast each morning, or an early TS lunch, and a 2TS dinner at night. It appears to be too much food if you do three meals a day. We were going to do this plan, but this will be out first visit to WDW. We don't know where any of the restaurants are, or what the transportation is like, but on our next trip, we will do DxDP, and do the Dinner Shows and 2TS meals each night.

 

[Tam1067]

I've run numbers many times, and we decided to upgrade to the DxDDP this time, after doing the basic DDP the last three years.

It's worth it if you will have at least two of the meal credits used at TS places per day. That means you could do a signature (which uses two credits for a meal), or you could do two one credit TS meals. Your third credit can be used at a CS place, and you would still break even or come out slightly ahead.

But if you use three credits on TS meals (again in any combination), you're really going to be ahead versus if you paid OOP for those meals.

Of course, you have to use the snacks, too.

I hope I've clarified--I fear I've just been more confusing.

 

[Colleen27]

Tam has it right - it is cost-effective if you're using roughly 2/3 of your credits for sitdown meals. With 18 of 24 credits planned for, many at signature dinners, we're at the breakeven point on our ADRs alone without taking into account the other meals, the mugs, or the snacks. Our experience on our last trip was similar - the value of the plan really is a no-brainer if you like sitdown meals.

The bigger question is whether or not it fits your travel style. We've been to Disney enough times that we're well past trying to do it all in any one trip, and we're happy to take a little slower pace and enjoy nice meals as a part of the vacation experience. We all - including my kids - enjoy eating out and trying new foods, so we don't have behaviour issues to worry about at meals. We're not picky eaters or particularly light eaters, nor are we members of the clean plate club; we like having all 3 courses at a meal even though we may not finish every bite. And if we don't want dessert, we don't feel like we should order it anyway just because it is included. I think that's an important thing to think about - the deluxe plan can make for some big meals, and if you're going to feel like you have to finish every bite or order every course, it might not be all that enjoyable. If, on the other hand, you just want to be able to order whatever strikes your fancy without regard to cost, it is wonderful!

 

[ancestry]

I think everyone gave pretty good advice. I thought Alan's analysis of why to do it and not do it was particularly good.

We are on the DxDP and are scheduled to go in June. I actually sat down and compared what we will most likely order with the cost of the plan. We will probably save at least $500 if not more.

We are going to eat 2-3 table services per day. It is advantageous for us as my husband tends to naturally order the most expensive thing on the menu. We enjoy the "down" time that we get during our dining experiences. It gives us quality time together as a family to have a conversation, etc. Doing table service is important to us on a vacation. We rarely eat out at home and even trying to eat one meal a day together is difficult with our schedules. So this is a priority to us while on vacation.

My husband also like the peace of mind knowing that everything is paid for in advance and that we aren't worrying about money and how much we are spending while actually on vacation. The only thing we need to think about is tips.

 

[Trina7020]

For us it is...

1. We like the prepaid mindset... even if we are forking over a couple hundred in tips....

2. We like having 2 or 3 TS a day... we still especially enjoy character meals with our kids.... We like the break and a chance in the summer to sit in the a/c and eat without sweating.... We find the time is very similar to that spent at CS.. esp. during peak dining times... which with kids as young as mind we unfortunately have to stick to We also do a TS breakfast and dinner.... last year that was all we did... this year I have some ADRs for lunch but time will tell if we actually use them

3. We using have long days the day we arrive and leave giving us an extra day to spread out the credits....

4. We don't do any signature restaurants, but we do enjoy a dinner show here and there

 

[mbanks21]

like others have said, if you plan on doing some signature restaurants or dinner shows then yes it can be worth it. If youre the kind of person that does 2 CS meals a day then no its not.

 

[kcashner]

For us, it wouldn't be worthwhile. We found that we had too much food on the regular dining plan. We even went to the Boardwalk Bakery before leaving and "spent" our remaining snack credits.

As above, if you want at least 2 sit down meals per day, it can be a good deal. If you are a one sit down and one GOOD CS person, there are better options financially.

 

[lisa3383]

For us, we found we enjoyed the food more when we had the deluxe dining plan. On previous visits (without a DDP) we had been pretty disappointed with the food quality.

But most recently, I think we were less critical of the food because we weren't being directly billed for it. There were a couple of meals where I didn't eat much (including Le Cellier), but because I wasn't paying for it right there I had this no worries feeling at the time and I would go out and get a snack afterward without thinking twice.

This experience convinced me that the Deluxe Plan was worth every penny.

My only frustration were the CMs that didn't fully understand the Deluxe plan and would try to tell you that you didn't get an appetizer, or something like that. The inconsistency on this level is very annoying, but so long as you're knowledgeable about the plan you will do fine (and most CMs know their stuff).