DXDDP - Just back and NOT worth it.

[mefordis]

I just got back from a May 4 - 10 trip. For us, DXDDP was NOT worth it. We came home with 6 TS and 1 snack unused. And feeling very full.

The food is sooo heavy that you just cannot eat that much. And having already paid the $$ for the plan, you are reluctant to just go to the food court and get a snack and keep missing meals because once you miss one or two you just cannot catch up.

If we go to WDW again, we would pay oop. It's really the best. That way you can share meals, order what you want, etc. and not have a big huge table of food in front of you that you are not going to eat.

Here is an example:

Yesterday we were not hungry for breakfast because we went to dinner late. So we didn't eat until lunch. Had lunch at WCC around noon. HEAVY meal. We were not hungry again until later that night. Split a hot dog early evening from Casey's. They told us we had to get fries and a cookie in order to use the plan. Okay. Then we ate at Kona cafe later for dinner. After wings appetizer and bread, was full and ended up tossing almost my entire Filet dinner with mashed potatoes and asparagus.

Don't know how much $$ we lost, but I'm sure we lost probably about $200 compared to if we ordered and paid oop.

The FL heat just doesn't allow those heavy meals, and so much food, in my opinion.

Hope this helps someone in making their decision.

Now, if someone wants to have a breakfast for 1 credit, and a 2 credit sig dinner, that would probably work for some people. For us we'd be too full from dinner for a big breakfast, and would rather have the lunch instead of a sig dinner, esp since we have a 4 year old.

 

[momof3poohlovers]

Thanks for the insight. We are really going back and forth on whether to use the basic or deluxe dining plan for our July trip. We have planned either a late breakfast or early lunch(11am)and then dinner at a signature restaurant for dinner between 6 and 8pm(depending on whether we are doing breakfast or lunch that day). I am really starting to 2nd guess myself and wondering if even eating only 2 big meals a day is too much.

 

[patsal]

Thanks for your input. This is precisely teh reason we are just paying OOP as we go along. At this point neither DDP or DXDDP is right for us.

 

[DreaminDisney]

Thanks for your input. I'm kind of on the fence about doing deluxe or not. It does seem like so much. I agree it would work it we did sig every night but I'm not sure we want to be tied down feeling like we have to do something every single night of vac to get our moneys worth.

 

[srdipert]

We are doing the deluxe but we are arriving very early on arrival day and leaving very late on departure day. I think that is allowing us to spread out our meals more. We are also doing some 2TS places. I am eager to see if we think it is too much food. We are also sharing with DS who will be 2 months shy of his 3rd b-day and eat as much as my 7 year old.


Sorry you guys had too much food...hope you still had a great time!

 

[mefordis]

Thanks for your input. I'm kind of on the fence about doing deluxe or not. It does seem like so much. I agree it would work it we did sig every night but I'm not sure we want to be tied down feeling like we have to do something every single night of vac to get our moneys worth.

Here's what I WISH we would have done. I wish we would have taken that $1200 we paid for the dxddp and put it in an envelope and paid for our food with it. I'll bet I'd have several hundred dollars in that envelope left.

 

[triplefigs]

We had 15 meals and 24 snacks left the final day... Went to the Marketplace at the BC and got a dessert and bottled drink for each meal credit and snacks to bring home in the car. We used more of the credits at the beginning of our 9 day trip, but by the end we just weren't hungry and didn't want all that food. I'm sure we lost a lot of $$ not using them. And we ate 3 Signarure places (Narcoossee's, Brown Derby, CRT), and still couldn't use them all. Next time it's OOP for us too.

 

[VMK_Mouse]

That is very good information. Works with the poll I posted in another thread. Thanks for this.

 

[mefordis]

We had 15 meals and 24 snacks left the final day... Went to the Marketplace at the BC and got a dessert and bottled drink for each meal credit and snacks to bring home in the car. We used more of the credits at the beginning of our 9 day trip, but by the end we just weren't hungry and didn't want all that food. I'm sure we lost a lot of $$ not using them. And we ate 3 Signarure places (Narcoossee's, Brown Derby, CRT), and still couldn't use them all. Next time it's OOP for us too.

Oh yeah. Just to blow an extra credit we got a salad from Earl of the Sandwich to eat with our sandwiches. Totally unnecessary but that is what you resort to if you think you are losing $$$!!~!!!!

 

[Tiger926]

We are here now - have been here for 10 days, with 5 more to go, and we are on the Deluxe Dining Plan. We eat 3 meals a day as we have low blood sugar, and only order what we are able to consume at that time. We frequently share and don't order dessert or appetizers - it's horrible to us that people feel the need to order a steak in order to maximize the plan, and then throw that steak out.

It always baffles my mind when people make broad sweeping statements that the Deluxe Plan is too much food when no one is forcing you to order an appetizer, entree, dessert or beverage. You know how much potential food you are able to order before purchasing the plan, so if it sounds like too much, then not sure why you would spend the money on the Deluxe Plan?

Deluxe is perfect for us as we eat 2-3 TS meals per day - did it before the DP as we used our DDE card. We are all underweight, very fit and only eat well - no counter service, fast food, pop or candy for us, so the Deluxe is great as it allows us to get Evian water for our drink, salads/soups for appetizers, and fruits for entree. There are a lot of snack credits, so we have been using these for bottled water, fruit, a few ice cream treats, for instance.

I guess I'm confused how eating a big dinner fills you up for breakfast? After not eating for 8-10 hours, we need to eat due to very low blood sugar levels, but even if we didn't have low blood sugar problems, eating the night before at 6:30 would have no bearing for us on breakfast. Maybe you should have better planned or spaced out your meals in order to maximize the plan better? Orlando is experiencing record heat this week, but again, this has nothing to do with us needing to eat, so we are doing just great - lots of bottled water for us at our meals and for snack credits.

Based on the way you ate, you didn't maximize your plan, and you have no one to blame but yourself. I must imagine that you did research here on the DIS and knew exactly what kind of meals were available to you, so what happened? For you the plan was not worth it, but for so many of us, it is worth it, and we are saving lots of money too!

Happy eating to all, Tiger

 

[mefordis]

We are here now - have been here for 10 days, with 5 more to go, and we are on the Deluxe Dining Plan. We eat 3 meals a day as we have low blood sugar, and only order what we are able to consume at that time. We frequently share and don't order dessert or appetizers - it's horrible to us that people feel the need to order a steak in order to maximize the plan, and then throw that steak out.

It always baffles my mind when people make broad sweeping statements that the Deluxe Plan is too much food when no one is forcing you to order an appetizer, entree, dessert or beverage. You know how much potential food you are able to order before purchasing the plan, so if it sounds like too much, then not sure why you would spend the money on the Deluxe Plan?

Deluxe is perfect for us as we eat 2-3 TS meals per day - did it before the DP as we used our DDE card. We are all underweight, very fit and only eat well - no counter service, fast food, pop or candy for us, so the Deluxe is great as it allows us to get Evian water for our drink, salads/soups for appetizers, and fruits for entree. There are a lot of snack credits, so we have been using these for bottled water, fruit, a few ice cream treats, for instance.

I guess I'm confused how eating a big dinner fills you up for breakfast? After not eating for 8-10 hours, we need to eat due to very low blood sugar levels, but even if we didn't have low blood sugar problems, eating the night before at 6:30 would have no bearing for us on breakfast. Maybe you should have better planned or spaced out your meals in order to maximize the plan better? Orlando is experiencing record heat this week, but again, this has nothing to do with us needing to eat, so we are doing just great - lots of bottled water for us at our meals and for snack credits.

Based on the way you ate, you didn't maximize your plan, and you have no one to blame but yourself. I must imagine that you did research here on the DIS and knew exactly what kind of meals were available to you, so what happened? For you the plan was not worth it, but for so many of us, it is worth it, and we are saving lots of money too!

Happy eating to all, Tiger

If you are eating 3 light meals a day, you should do some calculations to make sure that you are at least coming up even with your dxddp. I don't see how it would be worth it if you are sharing meals and not taking the appetizer. I'm just saying it isn't for us. If you are happy with it -- great. No reason to get defensive.

By the way, even the waiter at Kona agreed that is was way too much food -- and if you aren't eating the food why get it? I don't get that one.

 

[triplefigs]

For us, we just couldn't keep up the pace of 3 TS or even 2 TS and 1 CS. We just weren't that hungry. We skipped dessert and appetizers many places. We ended up cancelling some ADRs for breakfast as my DS who has been very ill just couldn't do a commando schedule. So, for us, it wasnt' the right fit. For our family a Dining Plan with 2 TS and 1 snack per day would be PERFECT!

 

[james'mommy]

I always make sure that I have every single table service credit scheduled for an ADR before we even leave for vaca. We like to do 2 credit restaurants and we tend to avoid buffets. (Narccossee's is pretty much a must do for my DH) He whined a little when I told him we were going to Jiko instead this time. We usually share CS meals so that we can stretch them over lunches and breaksfasts. We also make sure to hit DTD and Goofy's Candy Co for lots of snacks for the road. DH loves the rice krispie treat that are like the size of your head. I also buy bagged candy and cheese crackers to use up the rest of our snack credits. I have never ever left Disney with any credits for anything remaining.

 

[DreaminDisney]

Here's what I WISH we would have done. I wish we would have taken that $1200 we paid for the dxddp and put it in an envelope and paid for our food with it. I'll bet I'd have several hundred dollars in that envelope left.

Our last trip was 10 nights and reg ddp worked out great for us. We did a couple sig places and had cs on days we didn't do a TS meal.

I think we're not going with deluxe. I did like reg dining plan but not even sure we're doing that upcoming trip.

The reason I considered deluxe was kids loved HDDR. I want to go back to CG. There are a few other sigs I'd like to try but like I said before I'm not sure I want to have to have an adr every single night of vac to make it pan out for us.

Thanks again for your input. Triplefigs thanks for posting your experience with deluxe also.

 

[VMK_Mouse]

We are here now - have been here for 10 days, with 5 more to go, and we are on the Deluxe Dining Plan. We eat 3 meals a day as we have low blood sugar, and only order what we are able to consume at that time. We frequently share and don't order dessert or appetizers - it's horrible to us that people feel the need to order a steak in order to maximize the plan, and then throw that steak out.

It always baffles my mind when people make broad sweeping statements that the Deluxe Plan is too much food when no one is forcing you to order an appetizer, entree, dessert or beverage. You know how much potential food you are able to order before purchasing the plan, so if it sounds like too much, then not sure why you would spend the money on the Deluxe Plan?

Deluxe is perfect for us as we eat 2-3 TS meals per day - did it before the DP as we used our DDE card. We are all underweight, very fit and only eat well - no counter service, fast food, pop or candy for us, so the Deluxe is great as it allows us to get Evian water for our drink, salads/soups for appetizers, and fruits for entree. There are a lot of snack credits, so we have been using these for bottled water, fruit, a few ice cream treats, for instance.

I guess I'm confused how eating a big dinner fills you up for breakfast? After not eating for 8-10 hours, we need to eat due to very low blood sugar levels, but even if we didn't have low blood sugar problems, eating the night before at 6:30 would have no bearing for us on breakfast. Maybe you should have better planned or spaced out your meals in order to maximize the plan better? Orlando is experiencing record heat this week, but again, this has nothing to do with us needing to eat, so we are doing just great - lots of bottled water for us at our meals and for snack credits.

Based on the way you ate, you didn't maximize your plan, and you have no one to blame but yourself. I must imagine that you did research here on the DIS and knew exactly what kind of meals were available to you, so what happened? For you the plan was not worth it, but for so many of us, it is worth it, and we are saving lots of money too!

Happy eating to all, Tiger

I think the real point the OP was making was simply that it was not for their family. It was merely an opinion to be shared with others who might have some of the same concerns. Perhaps you eat a lot more than the OP so it works better for you and your family.

Since it seemed to be the center of your comments and defensiveness, it is fair to remember that not everybody has your medical problems/history. It is also fair to remember that we are all different. Just because somebody has a different opinion or experience does not open the door to attack them.

I for one am thankful for the feeback. I have seen more feedback like this and it is helping us to plan for our next trip.

 

[srdipert]

Here's what I WISH we would have done. I wish we would have taken that $1200 we paid for the dxddp and put it in an envelope and paid for our food with it. I'll bet I'd have several hundred dollars in that envelope left.

I have been with out any dining plan before and it cost about 150 dollars a day for food and that when there was 3 of us. Also that was justing eating what we needed and with me not ordering what I really wanted because of the sticker shock! We have done the ddp the last two trips and it was so much more enjoyable because I didn't look at the price just what I wanted to order. The reason I got he deluxe plan this time is because we are doing the free dining so we are not paying full price if we were not sure if I would do it but last time we did the regular dining plan we still spent about 400 oop on extra meals. I don't anticipate paying for any food oop this time and for our trip to upgrade to the deluxe was only 400 and we get away more food than the few things I paid 400 for the last time.


Also not sure if you have kids...I think maybe that makes it a better deals since the cost of their plan is a lot less but character buffets can start to add up for them.

 

[mefordis]

I think the real point the OP was making was simply that it was not for their family. It was merely an opinion to be shared with others who might have some of the same concerns. Perhaps you eat a lot more than the OP so it works better for you and your family.

Since it seemed to be the center of your comments and defensiveness, it is fair to remember that not everybody has your medical problems/history. It is also fair to remember that we are all different. Just because somebody has a different opinion or experience does not open the door to attack them.

I for one am thankful for the feeback. I have seen more feedback like this and it is helping us to plan for our next trip.

Thank you! That's exactly right. I was just trying to warn other families who are trying to figure out whether or not to get the dxddp. I really think the only way it would save anyone $$ would be to

1. Use every credit
2. Take the app and dessert

Otherwise, I'd pay oop. Also, I think it's easy to forget that you can go to any restaurant, 3 ts a day, without any plan at all. You can also order apps. and Dessert. But if you don't order them, at least you haven't already paid for them.

 

[Disney Debbie]

We're doing it in September and I think it will be well worth it. We're only paying the difference between the regular and deluxe since we'll be there during free dining. We always go and say we're going to eat a big lunch and a lighter supper - but then we end up eating a big supper too! We will definitely get our money's worth out of it - just eating CS costs enough to make the regular plan worth it.

This will be just my DH and I though - I don't think it would have been worth it back when DS was little - she hardly ate a thing!

 

[mickey2000]

I would love to do deluxe

I would like the Convenience of it, and wouldn't mind paying for extra meals that I probably won't eat or need Its only money and I have lots to get rid of. I really don't need to save with this plan

Its only money

 

[danielle.st]

I'm just curious as to whether most of the people who agree it's "too much food" tend to eat 2 or 3 meals a day when they are home?
I'm just getting why 3 meals a day is too much because I always thought that was actually normal.