DxDP vs DDP - specific question

[nimbuscat]

We are going back and forth between the DxDP and regular DDP for our upcoming January trip. We are big eaters, so "getting our money's worth" on the DxDP will not be a problem (plus, we will have a hungry 2 yr old to feed off our plates).

My question is...
If you basically assume that DxDP is twice as much as DDP, then by the time we pay out-of-pocket for the few meals we want to do that exceed our credits (CRT, HDD, Raglan Road), then we are within $300 of what the DxDP would cost us for our stay. Is the $300 worth it? Would you go DxDP or DDP in our situation? There are a couple of other places we could easily cut corners to make it a wash.

My thoughts in favor of DxDP:
1) Literally *every* meal and snack is prepaid.
2) It will be easier to feed our 2-year-old at a TS meal with apps than it would be at a QS venue or when we are making a meal out of snack credits.
3) We'll get to do some signature venues, and will get to hit just about every restaurant we're interested in.

My thoughts in favor of DDP:
1) Cheaper.
2) Nice mix of QS vs TS--not always having to sit down for a big meal.
3) Some great QS venues that we would probably ignore on DxDP since it's not a great use of meal credits.

 

[Quin]

If you can, I'd go with the DxDP. One very practical consideration is that next time you come you'll have to pay for 3 people once the 2 year old turns 3; go now and enjoy the apps and the Signatures before you have to pay for a Dining Plan for a child who wants to eat 3 crackers and some macaroni.

We did DxDP last month and did have several QS meals; still found that financially it was OK because some of the other meals would have cost so much more if we had paid for everything oop.

 

[nimbuscat]

If you can, I'd go with the DxDP. One very practical consideration is that next time you come you'll have to pay for 3 people once the 2 year old turns 3; go now and enjoy the apps and the Signatures before you have to pay for a Dining Plan for a child who wants to eat 3 crackers and some macaroni.

We did DxDP last month and did have several QS meals; still found that financially it was OK because some of the other meals would have cost so much more if we had paid for everything oop.

I think you just sold me! I hadn't thought of it that way--next time, DxDP will be far more expensive and there's no way a 3-4 year old will eat enough to make her portion worth it.

Thanks for that perspective!

 

[mickeynut1]

We are going back and forth between the DxDP and regular DDP for our upcoming January trip. We are big eaters, so "getting our money's worth" on the DxDP will not be a problem (plus, we will have a hungry 2 yr old to feed off our plates).

My question is...
If you basically assume that DxDP is twice as much as DDP, then by the time we pay out-of-pocket for the few meals we want to do that exceed our credits (CRT, HDD, Raglan Road), then we are within $300 of what the DxDP would cost us for our stay. Is the $300 worth it? Would you go DxDP or DDP in our situation? There are a couple of other places we could easily cut corners to make it a wash.

My thoughts in favor of DxDP:
1) Literally *every* meal and snack is prepaid.
2) It will be easier to feed our 2-year-old at a TS meal with apps than it would be at a QS venue or when we are making a meal out of snack credits.
3) We'll get to do some signature venues, and will get to hit just about every restaurant we're interested in.

My thoughts in favor of DDP:
1) Cheaper.
2) Nice mix of QS vs TS--not always having to sit down for a big meal.
3) Some great QS venues that we would probably ignore on DxDP since it's not a great use of meal credits.

I agree with the pp to go with the DlxDDP, especially if you will be doing a lot of signatures. We've done both plans and while we found the DDP to be a good fit for us, we did enjoy the DlxDDP. At first it was a little overwhelming to see just how many credits we would have, but we did quite well using them (and we didn't force feed ourselves to make it worth it, like some people think you need to do). Have a great trip and enjoy .

 

[dhardawa]

Here are my concerns.

1. It may be way more food than you can comfortably eat. Even on the DDP, I find that I'm stuffed all the time. Also, last time we went on the DDP, I gained 9 lbs in 8 days. Just saying! Haha!

2. With a 2 1/2 year old, you're going to be spending a lot of time sitting in restaurants. How will s/he handle that?

3. You're spending more money in tips.

4. You're entire trip is scheduled around eating times and many times you'll be eating because it's time, not because you're hungry.

5. I've eaten DDP and every snack and meal was paid that way too. Most of the time, we did a late breakfast because we were stuffed from the previous meal and then dinner later in the day. I use the snack credits to buy candy to take home. But, if you really need 3 meals a day, use a snack credit for breakfast food or a light lunch. You can get a lot that way.

6. I don't understand this "2) It will be easier to feed our 2-year-old at a TS meal with apps than it would be at a QS venue or when we are making a meal out of snack credits." Why would you be making a meal out of snack credits? For the 2 1/2 year old? Even at QS, I always found there was plenty to share with a 2 1/2 year old and, if not, you can buy him/her a child's meal at QS which is still probably cheaper than trying to fill him/her up on appetizers.

7. As for having to pay for the child at a later date, not really a big deal. The child prices are pretty reasonable. It's the flip from child to adult that really hurts!

 

[pooch]

would be the time it takes for sitdown meals and a 2 year old. We took my GDS last year at about the same age and purposely got the QS plan. Although he will sit pretty well in a Friendly's-type restaurant, I did not want to take the chance at WDW. My experience has been WDW restaurants move pretty slowly and I didn't think he'd hang in for an hour or more.

You know your child best and this may or may not be an issue in your case.

JMHO

 

[nimbuscat]

Here are my concerns.

6. I don't understand this "2) It will be easier to feed our 2-year-old at a TS meal with apps than it would be at a QS venue or when we are making a meal out of snack credits." Why would you be making a meal out of snack credits? For the 2 1/2 year old? Even at QS, I always found there was plenty to share with a 2 1/2 year old and, if not, you can buy him/her a child's meal at QS which is still probably cheaper than trying to fill him/her up on appetizers.

If we go with DDP and have 1 TS, 1 QS and 1 snack credit per day, then we would certainly have to build a meal or two off of snack credits. We are, generally, a 3 meal/day family. But even if we only went with 2 meals a day, we plan to do some signature or 2-credit venues, which leaves us short on credits. (And if the whole point of doing DDP is to save money, then it doesn't make much sense to start paying out of pocket, kwim? Especially when it's already so close in price given where we want to dine.

I've made a tentative game plan for our ADRs and I think I have a nice mix of TS vs QS (so not a ton of restaurant-sitting overall), and a nice gap between meals. For instance, if we do a large breakfast, we would probably do a later QS lunch and then a much later (8pm onwards) dinner. We're fortunate that the kiddo does really well with late nights on vacation as long as we can come back for some nap/downtime mid- to late-afternoon.

Thanks for your input! It is always good to hear different perspectives or things I haven't thought about yet.

 

[julie4423]

If you can, I'd go with the DxDP. One very practical consideration is that next time you come you'll have to pay for 3 people once the 2 year old turns 3; go now and enjoy the apps and the Signatures before you have to pay for a Dining Plan for a child who wants to eat 3 crackers and some macaroni.

We did DxDP last month and did have several QS meals; still found that financially it was OK because some of the other meals would have cost so much more if we had paid for everything oop.

This is a great point that would sway me for sure! Your initial post says your big eaters, so I don't think you'll have any problem with the DxDP. While you see many saying it's too much food, there are just as many saying it isn't. My family would have no problem eating DxDP. I say go for it!