Dxddp or Ddp

[Steph9072]

Is the Dxddp worth the extra.

Any suggestions on how to tell which one would fit our family better.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Colleen27]

It really comes down to how many meals you would eat and what type of meals you prefer. The financial breakeven point for the deluxe plan is roughly 2/3 of the credits used for table service.

We like the deluxe plan because we think CS isn't worth the hassle and because we love being able to try the signature restaurants without thinking about prices.

 

[Faldred]

It's very subjective -- we'd have to know a lot more about your family to give specific advice.

General advice goes as follows... each "yes" is a vote for DxDP over DDP

* Do you want to eat "sit down" meals at least twice a day?
* Do you think you'd want to do multiple signature-style dining and/or dinner shows?
* Do you not mind taking time out of the day (and away from the park activities) to eat?
* Do you prefer to eat at fairly specific times?
* Is your family used to "eating out" on a semi-regular basis?
* Do you have a particular dislike for "fast food"?

 

[Cruz Family]

We usually go for free dining and stick with the regular plan. This year for our August trip we decided to pay the extra and upgrade to the deluxe plan. There are a few reasons for this....first of all we always get refillable mugs, and they are included so there is a bit of a savings. Appetizer are our favorite part of the meal so we always get them and pay OOP, another savings. We are love the signature meals (Jiko, Yachtsman, Brown Derby, HDDR) the deluxe plan will allow us do do many of those including CRT that I would never pay OOP for. Though there is no way we could ever use up 2 snack credits per person per day.....things like mickey rice crispy treats and giant lollipops make great things to take home for little gifts for family and friends. I think the biggest benefit for us is that we can do things like character meals (even if its not our favorite food), try new restaurants (and not worry we will not like it), and really go all out without worrying about cost. Its surely not for everyone I for us I think it is going to be great!

 

[Tam1067]

I've run the numbers--

As Colleen said, if you use at least 2/3 of your credits on TS meals (that means either regular 1 credit places or signatures/dinner shows, you will get your money's worth on the deluxe. If you will not eat at use at least two credits per day on TS meals, the deluxe will not be worth it.

 

[rentayenta]

We found 10 days on the DDP to be too much food for our family. I cannot even imagine doing the DxDDP unless we planned to do a majority of 2TS restaurants.

 

[ancestry]

I agree. You really need to look at how your family eats. We chose the DxDP because that is what my husband and I prefer. We like the multiple sit down meals each day when we are on vacation. Eating together at a table is family discussion and bonding time for us. Other people don't like giving up so much time sitting around a table when they are vacation -- where we are the exact opposite.

Plus we like the mental freedom of being able to order whatever we want at each meal without having to stress of the total of the check at each and every meal.

And perhaps the most imporant thing, when we priced everything out it looks at though the DxDP will save our family close to $500.

 

[GC&S]

We did dxddp last year during free dining and while we loved the many new places we went, it just felt like we were always eating. We did very few CS, mainly TS and signatures. We were always traveling to eat. I see you have a 4 year old - if you do a lot of TS, that's a lot of time sitting and less time in the parks. We have always done one TS a day (our time to unwind, cool off and regroup) but our dd (5 last yea) had a hard time with the many TS we did each day. If it were just DH and myself, we would probably do the dxddp again, but with dd, we'll just stick to the ddp (wow, that's a lot of d's ).

 

[gigi1313]

we did Dx last fall... mostly loved it... loved trying new places and new foods... only one word of caution, keep in mind that all those TSs, gratuities add up quickly! esp if you go for the included appys and desserts... whatever you decide, ENJOY!

 

[abc999]

We have DD5 and DS3, they were 4 and 2 when we did the DxDP last year. We do not go back to the resort of a mid-day break, because they would fall asleep on the way back and not sleep or rest at the resort. With the DxDP, we take the time in the middle of the day, eat a nice meal. The kids get to take a small break and so do we. We love the appetizers with the meals. Two appetizers a day and the extra snack should break you even on the price difference if not bring you ahead.

We have always taken our kids out for meals, so we have no issues with them behaving (most of the time).

This also gives us the opportunity to try new restaurants and the kids a chance to try new foods. I really can't see us forcing my kids to eat chicken nuggets and mac and cheese everyday for a week.

 

[ilandrazdsw]

We decided to go with the DxDDP for our first trip with the kids (3 & 5) over Christmas. It was great! We did mainly character and fun meals. During vacation we like to have breakfasts and then saw lunch as a scheduled break. Dinner was a nice time to sit and take a rest after a long day at the parks. The character meals allowed us to see them without standing in the long lines at the parks and entertained the kids so we didn't have to rush. The buffets let us have a choice of trying several foods. We used about 1/2 of our snack credits and brought home a lot of Disney snacks.
It can be a lot of food, so it just depends on your style.

 

[Steph9072]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think since we want to do HDDR, Narcoose and Brown Derby we will be doing the Dxddp.