DXDDP Issues

[lisaanddenny]

this is better than Rocky I, I have my popcorn and diet coke and waiting for the final round, ha.
who really cares if blu hated the DDXDP, it is a message board, read it and go forth..............it is her opinion, you take it for what it is worth......we are doing the DDXDP for free dining in Sept, I have been to Disney enough where I am going to eat 3 excellent meals a day and take my time and not run through the park............I have seen it all, this trip, I am going to take it slow and hope there is new stuff to see or just see the old stuff through fuller eyes, I would never of done the DDXDP for a child and one adult, but that is me.................now, can we move on? One question, how do you know if you are average or not? Hmmmmnnnnn I hate fine print too, but unless you read the entire document, you cannot blame anyone but yourself, I have been guilty too, angry when things didnt go my way but also guilty of not reading documents completely, my fault, I hate fine print..........and I still say, Disney is A MAJOR MAJOR PLANNING TRIP, NOT A VACATION, BUT A TRIP, the Riviera Maya is a vacation.................Cancun is a vacation, Disney is a trip, a very hectic/exhausting trip......................I never come back rested but I do come back with wonderful memories.

 

[bluwater]

Some peope are missing the point....so I will clarify - and then I am done with this thread since I think I've made my opinion and others have stated theirs - and anything beyond that is counter-productive.

I am not here to complain and be "angry" about the DXDDP. I am here to state that the RULES of the PLAN, are too restrictive for me.

Regardless of whether or not I read the rules before I left ,the rules are static....they do not change. It really doesn't matter whether or not I read them. It realy does not matter how much I planned. It doesn't matter whether I spent a year of my life planning on this forum or not. The rules are the rules.

That being said, those same rules are what I don't like. They are, indeed, too restrictive, IMO.

You can blame me, beat me up, tell me I didn't plan enough, tell me that my daughter and I should have shared meals (which doesn't work when a kid has braces and can't eat a ton of items on the menu - so I would have been even more restricted there).....but why not just take my opinion as just that, my opinion, without making it a capital punishment case?

Why not just share that YOU do/did like the plan and share how you used it (as some of you have) - rather than telling me about all the things I did *wrong* and how I *should* have done things. Since you are not me and know very little about me and my DD, there is no way you can tell me what I did wrong (I should have shared meals with my DD, I spent less than 10 mins planning, etc).

I am also one who doesn't find the Disney food that appealing. I am amazed that some people go to Disney just to eat. I cannot understand why. Yes, the food at DTD places that are not "Disney Owned" are better, some of them very good. But, some people find the food at the Disney restaurants to be "amazing" and I think "really"? I don't think Disney does "TS" food well. I think they do a fine CS, yes....and snacks are great - they do a really nice job with snacks. I know that others also feel this way since I have read this opinion on many threads. If you want to dine well, plan a visit to NY, Philly, Chicago, New Orleans, L.A., San Fran (or any foreign country)......not Disney World. Again, my opinion....but one that I am sure is shared.

For the poster who questioned how I know I am average....my response is that I know I am not average - for sure. However, as a travel professional, I know the travel habits of the average person. I know how much they spend, how often they travel - and how they plan. I know that the average person does not plan what, where, when and how they'll eat for a year in advance of a vacation. This forum does not represent the average traveler (Disney or otherwise) - by far. There is a very, very small minority who will plan the way you are all suggesting...people just don't have time, energy or interest. Some people will have taken 3-5 different trips to foreign lands in the time you are suggesting to plan for one Disney visit. I've planned a successful visit to Thailand in less time.

How about just taking posts at face value? Someone didn't like something at Disney, that's a very valid opinion. You liked that same thing - that's also a very valid opinion. If both posters share their reason's why, others will be able to read the opinions and take away nuggets of helpful advice - and come to their own conclusion.

There's no need to try to beat someone into submission if they share a negative opinion about one "option" they've tried at Disney.

I appreciate the sound advice from those who shared suggestions. I hope other visitors will gain from the words of wisdom.

For us, as I stated prior to our departure, this was probably our last visit for a long while. I told my DD that when she turned 10, we would spend more time visiting the "real" countries, not the EPCOT countries. That's why we splurged on this trip - and why we tried to do so much. When in EPCOT last week, she was to pick a country to *really* visit. She picked France - wants to celebrate turning 10 in Paris. That's our plan. And, no, they have no Dining plan for me to worry about planning- thank Goodness! But,we will have ADRs at Taillevent !!

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I am now putting a warning on this thread.....if the bickering continues, it will be locked.

Opinions.. people, we all have them and are entitled to them....can we just not bash each other for having a different opinion...

So for now, leaving this open for discussion, but with a warning that it will be locked and points issued if necessary.

 

[quixoticvalue]

Thank you so much for your input. I am sorry you had a less than stellar time with the deluxe plan. I hope you and your daughter have fun in France! I would love to go there some time! But for us? Disney World is convenient, we are young and quite local, so its easier to plan a week there than it is to NY, Chicago, or San Francisco. If we were older, or had more money, or more oppertunity (since we are still both in college), I would definitely want to go "out there."
What a lucky 10 year old to experience France!

 

[LizinSTL]

I used the word "restricive"...

The plan is restrictive. I stand by that word. It is.

If I had read the "fine print" (wherever it *might* be printed), I would have known - but that doesn't change the results, nor does it change my feedback. It is too restricitve for me. When I booked it, nobody read any rules, nor did anyone direct me to a policy guideline.

It's just an opinion.

There are people who will like it - and people who will hate it. That's how *everything" at Disney works, right?

It's new! I tried it to see what I thought of it and to give feedback. I don't think the average person will enjoy it or be able to enjoy it. I believe, based on my years of exeprience, that most people will waste money on it.

From those of you who are defending the DXDDP plan, I'd like to hear how YOU used the DXDDP plan...for adults and children. Really, would value your feedback.

As for the exaqmple using Character buffets, my DD doesn't like Character buffets. It isn't worth the extra money to me.

What I'd planned to do was use 2 TS meals per day. We cannot eat 3TS meals per day - nor can we eat 2 TS and 1 CS meals per day, with snacks.

We checked in at 8am and had a departing flight at 8:25 pm. This gave us a full arrival day and a full departure day. Even with that, we still weren't able to use all of the meals due to the restrictions.

"Restrictions" is the operative word.

As far as buffets are concerend, I try not to eat at too many of those. We did eat at Cape May, OOP, and enjoyed it.

May I ask why you paid OOP for Cape May if you left credits behind? (nevermind.... I saw the split stay explanation.)

It's really important to use credits first and then pay OOP on any of the disney dining plans, I think. Same with snacks. Folks pay cash for water and then end up bringing home 20 rice krispy treats! It doesn't make sense to me.


The value of each "credit" for an adult on the DxDDP is $23. The value of each "credit" for a child on the plan is $7. Take the snacks and mug out of the equation and if you spent an average of $30 per credit for your meals, you broke even. The DxDDP isn't intended to be a huge money saver (though it can be for some who plan carefully.)

I believe you were misinformed by the CM who told you that you couldn't use more than 1 A/1C credit per meal period. But since the DDP is non-transferable, I think they meant you couldn't use more credits for others, including your own child at the same MEAL. If you went to 2 different restaurants (7am breakfast and 10:30 am brunch/lunch) you'd be fine or a 4:30pm dinner at Coral Reef and a 9:00pm dinner at le cellier- your credits would run through without a problem assuming you are only attempting to order 1A/1C meal at each place.

 

[lisaanddenny]

Are you average, not average or a travel specialist? I don't really think there is bickering here, I do apologize if I have contributed to "bickering" but actually I am laughing I think the whole point is, people don't get how some complain when the rules/restrictions are in plain typed ink and those who choose to NOT read the rules/restrictions prior, complain, it is just a little frustrating, do your homework, that is the kind of trip Disney is, if you choose not to do the homework, then shhhhh! You don't have to do your homework for a year, but you should read fine print for anything your purchasing, that is what my lawyer says........my lawyer said he would be out of buisness if we all read fine print I am doing the DDXDP in Sept and I know before this thread the rules/restrictions. ..........there are two ways to do disney, go, don't plan and buy OOP food and have lots of fun, or do the DDXDP and plan your hearts away and have lots of fun. I do like to plan, but not obsessed, it is part of the fun for me for Disney, and as for food in Disney, I don't go there to eat, but while I am there, I might as well eat well.....like I said, I am no stranger to Disney, so I don't go to do as much as possible when I get there, luckily, for me, financially, I can go again and take my time, and not to the marathon thing.......as for NYC, you can have it, I would never travel to NYC to eat, been there done that, no plans on going back..nothing against it, just not for me. Chicago, good while your there, no plans on returning anytime soon, I do however love the different foods in Las Vegas, we go once a year, San Fran, good while your there but would not book another trip just to eat there but nice! IMO

 

[wezee]

Dh and I are thrilled to be able to experience the DxDDP ( add-on to free dining) this Sept. We have been on the Dis since last Oct. and feel comfortable with the plan. We have looked over all the menus and made ADR choices based on our food preferences. We love the signature rest. and this plan will allow us to visit all of our favorite signatures in addition to several we have not had the chance to try.
Since we are going during free dining, we realize, to utilize the DxDDP we will pretty much have to stay on schedule. But...DH and I love the dining options at WDW...it is definantly a big part of the entertainment for us.
I can understand why a 9 yr. old with adult tastes may not like the children's menu at many of the 1TS restaurants.Since we no longer travel with children, I have not recently checked out the child's menus here at the Dis or at Allears...tho I do know they are readily available for viewing. I can also understand why WDW has to have rules concerning their dining plans, Just like they have rules on park tickets...one day park verses parkhoppers.Possibly the reg DP would have been a better choice. If we did not want to visit so many of the 2TS restaurants....the DxDDP may not be a good fit for us either.
I am sure you will have a great vacation in Europe, but hope your expeirence this year does not sour your opinion of WDW forever.

 

[inkedupmomma]

mrsltg, you may have been able to get a burger on the way back to the room. But, I was on the Deluxe plan. Grabbing a burger and paying for it using a TS dining credit that includes appetizer, drink, entree and dessert is not fair trade, IMO. See my point? If you break down the dining plan, that was a $20 burger you just bought. Was it THAT good?

I paid for a Deluxe Dining Plan and left meals uneaten - because we were restricted on how we could use them. Counter service is a different issue.

Deluxe is twice the cost of Regular dining plan.

Why buy the Deluxe and then find that the only way to really use it is for CS meals, unless you follow the strict guidelines for TS.

It may be that the DXDDP is only going to be a decent value for people who can plan, plan, plan for each meal....and eat according to a predefined schedule. Both of those scenarios defy my idea of "vacation". I needed a certified six sigma project planner, a secretary, a handler and a Blackberry to keep track of my Disney meal schedule. Sheesh.

Honestly, eating was a nightmare. I was so stressed out over eating that I broke down in tears in the Puck Cafe. The manager, who was just the nicest and most professional person ever, was so considerate to us. I tried not to let anyone see me crying - but the waitress came over to take an order as my eyes were leaking. It just wan't good - to waste so much money that we don't have to waste.

Condorman, we have eaten at Jiko in times past and LOVED it. I've wanted to try Raglan, but have not yet made it. As an epicurean from a restaurant city, Philadelphia, I can tell you that Jiko is worth 2TS. Not many Disney Signature places are, but Jiko is - IMO. A

And, Condorman, to answer your question, according to what I was told, you will not be able to do what you have planned. You will have one, and only one, meal for dinner period. If dinner begins at 5, you will not be able to consume another meal that night. Interestingly, Disney seems to ignore this rule if you want a quick service item. You are welcome to grab a CS item - but not another TS meal.

I'd wanted to do a nice dining review of good places, which is something I do on every vacation around the world......which is why we went with DXDDP on this visit. But, we didn't get to try many of the places on the list due to restrictions on how to dine. In the end, Puck Cafe is STILL my favorite...as I have said in trip reports past. I suggest DTD for dining - above all else.

I have not read all the replies, but aren't you not able to have two dinners because you are not allowed to reserve two dinners because it is unfair to those who want to make adr's? at least that is what i was told.

also, i'm not being snarky, but i dont understand why you were so surprised? the rules are outlined very clearly as to what you can and cant do. the dxdp doesnt mean that all 3 meals need to be ts. yes it makes it a better value, but it will also take away from park time to do so. You have been on these boards a while, so again I am wondering why you are so surprised? you were never able to give an adult ts to a child, not with the old dp and not with dxdp (well maybe in 2005 when it was the best you could have). anywho, anyone on here knows if you are going to wdw make your adr's!! you especially should have known/thought about that if you were doing the dxdp. It just seems that your blaming the dxdp on your poor planning ;/ also, you knew ahead of time what the children's menu consisted of and many menus are made available. i dont see what the big shock was again. if you knew your daughter wanted better food, it owuld have made more sense to poop to begin with.

 

[Lehuaann]

Well, I am with the OP on the fact that I also did NOT know **even after receiving the DLXDP brochure in the mail, thoroughly reading it, and even following up the DLXDP info on these boards** it was a DP rule that we were not allowed to use 2 separate TS dinner sittings within one meal period. I know they frown upon double ADR bookings (2 dinners in meal period) but I didnt know they can actually restrict it when the time comes to use your KTTWC on DP. Disney must be cracking the whip on sharing/multiple ADR abuse. This could be somewhat of a problem for me; I have one day where I eat dinner at 3:30 pm (yes BD/Fantasmic package has "dinner" that early for me one day) and want to add another possible TS dinner at 9:30/10 pm. I guess I am restricted to CS for my later meal. No complaints, but I know this particular day I will not maximize the savings of the DLXDP.

Also about sharing or swapping adults/kids meals, absolute no-no right? Well, sort of. It is not allowed at sit down TS but does not apply to TS buffets and some CS. Our kid's ate what we did at CP TS breakfast buffet and I was surprised last year when the CS CM told us that our kid's could order the adult CS meals when there was no kid's menu available (Casey's and Wolfgang Puck Cafe come to mind) so my kiddo's got $12 and $13 pizzas on CS....they were in heaven!

OP, we all learn as we go; what works and what doesnt. I personally find many contradicting suggestions, rules, opinions on these boards. As far as the real-in-the-know on these boards I usually have to go with the Moderators (and a few other non-mods I find reputable)...their advice and knowledge is well spoken and gives many a soft place to land when others take it to outer space. Anyways, I found the DP works for us. I will maximize it the best I know how and we will enjoy using it~

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

Well, I am with the OP on the fact that I also did NOT know **even after receiving the DLXDP brochure in the mail, thoroughly reading it, and even following up the DLXDP info on these boards** it was a DP rule that we were not allowed to use 2 separate TS dinner sittings within one meal period. I know they frown upon double ADR bookings (2 dinners in meal period) but I didnt know they can actually restrict it when the time comes to use your KTTWC on DP. Disney must be cracking the whip on sharing/multiple ADR abuse. This could be somewhat of a problem for me; I have one day where I eat dinner at 3:30 pm (yes BD/Fantasmic package has "dinner" that early for me one day) and want to add another possible TS dinner at 9:30/10 pm. I guess I am restricted to CS for my later meal. No complaints, but I know this particular day I will not maximize the savings of the DLXDP.

Also about sharing or swapping adults/kids meals, absolute no-no right? Well, sort of. It is not allowed at sit down TS but does not apply to TS buffets and some CS. Our kid's ate what we did at CP TS breakfast buffet and I was surprised last year when the CS CM told us that our kid's could order the adult CS meals when there was no kid's menu available (Casey's and Wolfgang Puck Cafe come to mind) so my kiddo's got $12 and $13 pizzas on CS....they were in heaven!

OP, we all learn as we go; what works and what doesnt. I personally find many contradicting suggestions, rules, opinions on these boards. As far as the real-in-the-know on these boards I usually have to go with the Moderators (and a few other non-mods I find reputable)...their advice and knowledge is well spoken and gives many a soft place to land when others take it to outer space. Anyways, I found the DP works for us. I will maximize it the best I know how and we will enjoy using it~

But, you can do a 3:30 early dinner (otherwise known as a late lunch) and a 9:30pm dinner on the same day. The OP tried to order 2 adult meals at one YS seating, that was the problem. If you call dining I would be surprised if you could not do your ADRs this way. OP did not have a later ADR, so she was upset she could not use her TS.

 

[pilferk]

We were behind in the meals and looking like we'd leave up to 6 meals on the table. I asked a manager if I could use one of my Adult plan meals to buy her an adult meal - I was told no.

I was told that you cannot use your DXDDP to buy more than one meal in one meal period - that means one plan breakfast, one lunch and one dinner - never two meals in the same period. If you get dinner at 5 and are hungry again at 10:30 and want to use another of your credits, too bad.

The CM was either flat out wrong (which is likely, IMHO) or you misunderstood.

You get a certain number of "adult" credits and a certain number of "kids" credits. They go into a pool...there is no restriction on how many can be used within a certain time frame. You could eat at 7 different breakfast places, all on the first day, and burn through 7 adult and 7 child credits. There's no rule against it.

The ONLY restriction is that you can't spend more adult credits or child credits than are listed on the plan in any one seating. In other words, if you sit down at a restaurant, with one adult and one child on the plan, you can NOT spend 2 adult credits (unless at a Signature Restaurant). Basically, you can't spend more credits than it would take to "feed" the number of people on the plan, at that restaurant, in one seating.

We've run into this before, kind of, though not with TS...with CS. He have a kid under 3, who can't participate in the DDP. What we typically have done with the "regular" DDP is "skip" a CS meal one day (either eating in our room or paying OOP) and using those "saved" credits to feed the baby. When they made the change, we found the way around it is simply to have my wife make one trip up to the CS counter while I stay with the kids (she gets her meal, and the 2 younger kids meals) and then I go up (and get my meal and the baby's meal....2 days she gets a kids meal, 2 days she gets an adult meal, using up our allotted credits). We've never, ever had an issue with that, and the two transactions probably happen within 10 minutes of each other.

Edit: I want to also add that we've been split up, before, on the DDP. 1/2 our party at a TS dinner in one place, the other half at a TS dinner in another. Again, NO problems, and the ADR's were withing 30 minutes of each other. All Disney knew was that we were using 1 Adult and 1 Child TS at each, not who, specifically, was using them.

We're doing the DxDDP this December. It'll work for us because this is not a "theme park commando" trip...it's a trip to enjoy the holiday festivities. This plan works very well for that type of trip, when we're able to sort of schedule all our activities AND make a bunch of ADR's, pretty far in advance. The slower pace is OK with us, too. In addition, with TWO adults, and TWO kids on the plan...and one off it (too young)...we share a LOT. The adult appies get shared, for sure. But so do the adult and kids meals (with each other, and with the wee one). We find there's PLENTY of food that way, and it offers the kids a lot of variety, too. For us, the appies, and the adult portion sizes mean, even sharing, nobody ever leaves the table hungry...that's for sure.

 

[pilferk]

I don't understand why they wouldn't let you use 2 of your adult credits if you wanted to and then you could use the child credits for the burgers...etc. Odd, but maybe I'm being naive to some sort of way people can get one over on the system or something?

I still think that it's not right that you couldn't use 2 adults meals off the plan....they are your credits!!!

It was a "cheat" found early on in the plan.

You could "save" Child credits (by paying OOP for child's meals) but USE them for adult meals.

Disney, as you would expect, wasn't too keen on credits included in a sub-$20 per person meal plan (the kids price) paying for $30+ (and potentially VERY ++++...remember, when this was going on the plan included appie, entree, desert, and tip) meal. So they took steps to stop the practice....one of those being what we've been talking about.

 

[Lehuaann]

But, you can do a 3:30 early dinner (otherwise known as a late lunch) and a 9:30pm dinner on the same day. The OP tried to order 2 adult meals at one YS seating, that was the problem. If you call dining I would be surprised if you could not do your ADRs this way. OP did not have a later ADR, so she was upset she could not use her TS.

Yes, I understood the OP's situation...she was indeed not allowed to use the DP to order 2 adult TS meals at one seating to share with daughter. However, the OP also was told they were not allowed to use the DP to order 2 adult TS dinners at separate restaurants/same meal period/same day. Apparently who ever told her that was greatly mis-informed or this is a new rule. I will call DD today to verify.

mrsltg, you may have been able to get a burger on the way back to the room. But, I was on the Deluxe plan. Grabbing a burger and paying for it using a TS dining credit that includes appetizer, drink, entree and dessert is not fair trade, IMO. See my point? If you break down the dining plan, that was a $20 burger you just bought. Was it THAT good?

I paid for a Deluxe Dining Plan and left meals uneaten - because we were restricted on how we could use them. Counter service is a different issue.

Deluxe is twice the cost of Regular dining plan.

Why buy the Deluxe and then find that the only way to really use it is for CS meals, unless you follow the strict guidelines for TS.

It may be that the DXDDP is only going to be a decent value for people who can plan, plan, plan for each meal....and eat according to a predefined schedule. Both of those scenarios defy my idea of "vacation". I needed a certified six sigma project planner, a secretary, a handler and a Blackberry to keep track of my Disney meal schedule. Sheesh.

Honestly, eating was a nightmare. I was so stressed out over eating that I broke down in tears in the Puck Cafe. The manager, who was just the nicest and most professional person ever, was so considerate to us. I tried not to let anyone see me crying - but the waitress came over to take an order as my eyes were leaking. It just wan't good - to waste so much money that we don't have to waste.

Condorman, we have eaten at Jiko in times past and LOVED it. I've wanted to try Raglan, but have not yet made it. As an epicurean from a restaurant city, Philadelphia, I can tell you that Jiko is worth 2TS. Not many Disney Signature places are, but Jiko is - IMO. A

And, Condorman, to answer your question, according to what I was told, you will not be able to do what you have planned. You will have one, and only one, meal for dinner period. If dinner begins at 5, you will not be able to consume another meal that night. Interestingly, Disney seems to ignore this rule if you want a quick service item. You are welcome to grab a CS item - but not another TS meal.

I'd wanted to do a nice dining review of good places, which is something I do on every vacation around the world......which is why we went with DXDDP on this visit. But, we didn't get to try many of the places on the list due to restrictions on how to dine. In the end, Puck Cafe is STILL my favorite...as I have said in trip reports past. I suggest DTD for dining - above all else.

 

[pilferk]

Septbaby -thank you. Your advice about the buffets was very sage.

Yes, if we had done buffets, my DD would have been able to eat from the adult menu without question. This is a fair option for kids of this age.

If I was forced into a WDW trip with DXDDP in the future, I would certainly book a dining itinerary full of buffets. It wouldn't be my choice for dining, but would satisfy my DD.

Overall, I think my choice would be to book a room with a kitchenette and be able to warm up anything at any time...without a dining plan ir ADRs. For this mom and daughter, flexibility is key. It is not about cost, it is about choice and flexibility.

Besides sharing, we do quite a bit of that, too: Alternate "regular" sit down places with buffets/family style places. It breaks up the monotony of the childrens meals (and, I agree.....there's only so many chicken nuggets one kid can eat and not get burned out).

There's another thing I agree with you on...something you mentioned earlier in the thread:

I agree that the DXDDP might not be for the "average" traveller to WDW.

But then, I'm not sure it was meant to be. The "average" guest has the regular DDP, which IMHO fits what looks to be the "average" touring style (ie: commando) much better. I think the DXDDP was added to cater to those that might be looking for something different. I think the "non-average" guest, though, is a sizeable enough population that Disney decided to cater to them, too.

I certainly wouldn't do the DXDDP every trip. It's a "once in a while" option for a more targeted, specific KIND of trip, for us.

 

[NMW]

I used the word "restricive"...

The plan is restrictive. I stand by that word. It is.

If I had read the "fine print" (wherever it *might* be printed), I would have known - but that doesn't change the results, nor does it change my feedback. It is too restricitve for me. When I booked it, nobody read any rules, nor did anyone direct me to a policy guideline.

It's just an opinion.

There are people who will like it - and people who will hate it. That's how *everything" at Disney works, right?

It's new! I tried it to see what I thought of it and to give feedback. I don't think the average person will enjoy it or be able to enjoy it. I believe, based on my years of exeprience, that most people will waste money on it.

From those of you who are defending the DXDDP plan, I'd like to hear how YOU used the DXDDP plan...for adults and children. Really, would value your feedback.

As for the exaqmple using Character buffets, my DD doesn't like Character buffets. It isn't worth the extra money to me.

What I'd planned to do was use 2 TS meals per day. We cannot eat 3TS meals per day - nor can we eat 2 TS and 1 CS meals per day, with snacks.

We checked in at 8am and had a departing flight at 8:25 pm. This gave us a full arrival day and a full departure day. Even with that, we still weren't able to use all of the meals due to the restrictions.

"Restrictions" is the operative word.

As far as buffets are concerend, I try not to eat at too many of those. We did eat at Cape May, OOP, and enjoyed it.

Well, I can tell you how our "real" family used the Deluxe plan in May 08. We were 4 adults and 1 child on the plan. Our oldest was 11, our middle child was 9, and our youngest 6. We "aged" our middle son 1 year to make him 10, so we could purchase the adult plan for him. (We also had to buy him an adult ticket-no biggie). We had used the regular dining plan pre-deluxe and our middle child was unhappy with the kids offerings.

Normally, with or without a meal plan, we eat a TS/character breakfast every morning. We eat a TS meal every night and a couple TS lunches here and ther. That is how we like to eat and I consider us "normal people."

The basic dining plan was not a good fit for our family. We hate CS meals and ended up paying for all our TS breakfasts and some TS lunches our of pocket. When the deluxe was announced we were completely thrilled. FINALLY a plan for the way our family eats. We had done a premium plan prior to this but have no interest in all the "extras" other than food (babysitting, mini golf, etc.)

I can not say enough great things about this plan. WE LOVED IT!

We ate breakfasts at: Crytal Palace, 'Ohana, Cape May cafe (2X's), Donalds Breakfast, Yacht Club Galley (or what ever its called now), Norway Princess

WE ate lunch at: Yak and Yeti, Le Celliar, 50's Primetime, Le Chefs de France, (ESPN, Pinnochio Village and Brown Derby we ate lunch at, but paid Cash for)

For dinner we did: Raglan Road, California Grill, Narccoosse's, Citricos, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Rose and Crown, Cape May Cafe

We mostly used snack credits for water and soda and a couple popcorns. We are not big "get the most from your snack credits people." I think we also used them for Figaro Fries at Pinnochio Village.

My husband and I, as well as our sons ordered appetizers, entrees, desserts from the adult plan everywhere and our daughter ordered off the kids menu. As we knew we'd have to. I'm a little confused with what you thought was restrictive about the plan. Did you think your child could order off the adult menu? Did you think that you could order an adult meal for her with your plan? I still don't understand what you think was restrictive about it.

All I can say is that our family felt this plan was perfect for us and have reccomended it to many families we know. We plan to do it again in 2009 and probably every trip as long as they keep offereing it.

 

[pilferk]

She picked France - wants to celebrate turning 10 in Paris. That's our plan. And, no, they have no Dining plan for me to worry about planning- thank Goodness! But,we will have ADRs at Taillevent !!

By the time you're done dealing with the cruddy dollar to Euro rate, you might wish there were!!

I went over a month or so back, for business.....Ouch. I'm just glad I could expense it all!

 

[danielle.st]

I can see why you're frustrated. If we restricted ourselves to regular TS only with no CS or buffets, we'd have been frustrated as well. The majority of the kids menus are boring at best and suck at worst, IMO. Luckily, my family completely loves buffets and when I did some calculations, if we have a couple of CS meals in there, we are still coming out ahead with the deluxe plan (my family also absolutely needs 3 meals a day), especially compared to just not using the credits at all.
I think your story does illustrate that no dinging plan is one size fits all and that you really need to do some research when you are spending gobs of money on a product.
Thanks for sharing!

 

[danielle.st]

Yes, I understood the OP's situation...she was indeed not allowed to use the DP to order 2 adult TS meals at one seating to share with daughter. However, the OP also was told they were not allowed to use the DP to order 2 adult TS dinners at separate restaurants/same meal period/same day. Apparently who ever told her that was greatly mis-informed or this is a new rule. I will call DD today to verify.

I would hazard a guess that the CM told her that because she first wanted to use an extra adult credit to order her child a meal there. When told no, she asked/said she'd go to another TS restaurant and use an adult credit to get her dd a meal. It's going to be obvious to this CM that she is giving the adult credit to her dd. That is the part that is not allowed and against WDW rules, I think.

 

[mefordis]

I did the dxddp last time and I feel like we wasted our money as well. My dd (4) likes calamari and things like that as well. But the waste lies in all that food you've purchased and if you find yourself not to be hungry enough to devour it all -- it's already paid for! We wasted a lot of food and some credits ($$$) before we left, for sure.

I will take my $900 or so dollars next time, stick it in an envelope, and pay for food from that. I'll probably have at least $200 left at the end of it all.

Just returned and was on the DXDDP.

Here is what I learned....

I was on adult. My DD was on child. She likes some children's choices, but got tired of it. She wanted some more adult-like choices. Some of the kids choices were too "kiddie" for her. There's a huge difference between what a 3yr old will eat and what a 9 yr old would eat, in some cases.

My DD is a traveler. She ate my escargot at CDF (yes, she knows what it is), she orders calamari, salads, etc...

After a few meals, she told me never to put her on the kids plan again! Doesn't matter - she's now going to be too old anyway -and I am not happy after this trip so we may not return.

We were behind in the meals and looking like we'd leave up to 6 meals on the table. I asked a manager if I could use one of my Adult plan meals to buy her an adult meal - I was told no.

I was told that you cannot use your DXDDP to buy more than one meal in one meal period - that means one plan breakfast, one lunch and one dinner - never two meals in the same period. If you get dinner at 5 and are hungry again at 10:30 and want to use another of your credits, too bad.

We wound up using our DXDDP meals to buy muffins and sandwiches becuase the plan was so restrictive (read: designed to take your money and waste it!).

I would never do the DXDDP again. I would also probably not do any DDP again - unless it's free. I would dine off-site and in my room...with some meals being Disney restaurants. The food just isn't good enough to justify the expense and aggravation - and all of the rules that determine how you can eat the meals you've purchased.

If I buy a plan that gives me so many meals, who is Disney to tell me what hours I can consume my meals and that I can only get 1 meal in each meal period? Basically, Disney has designed a plan so that you pay for more than what you get. I was not giving my meals to strangers, I wanted my 9 yr old to have a meal that she would enjoy, by using MY plan credit and leaving one of her credits on the table.

Anyway, I bought her meal out of pocket - more than once.

Don't do it - unless you are sure you can eat that much and have time to sit down for 3 meals a day and can plan all of your meals in advance via ADRs.

To me, that's not a vacation - that's a jail sentence. ....and just a waste of money...which, in today's economy, is unacceptable.

 

[mefordis]

I think maybe she could have if she had tried somewhere else? I know we had 2 adult, 1 child in one room, then 1 adult in the other room. We often just put 3 adults and 1 child on the same card and no one questioned it. They were like, "Sure!"

I don't understand why they wouldn't let you use 2 of your adult credits if you wanted to and then you could use the child credits for the burgers...etc. Odd, but maybe I'm being naive to some sort of way people can get one over on the system or something?

I still think that it's not right that you couldn't use 2 adults meals off the plan....they are your credits!!!