Generally Negative Opinion of DDP?

[Julie521]

I completely see both sides of it. When DH and I went for our honeymoon last year, we got the free DP. I enjoyed the convenience of having everything paid for up front and not looking at menu prices. However, for our trip next year, we are not going with the dining plan, whether offered for free or not. We realized we had a quick service meal left over from last trip, on top of the way our eating habits are, it just makes sense not to use it. I enjoy getting a water and an adult drink while DH usually does soda. Neither one of us would normally order dessert, and prefer an appetizer to share or a salad as a starter. The drinks/apps would be paid OOP anyways if we had the free dining. Plus, I enjoy salads! I almost felt bad last trip ordering a salad for $12.99 when I could get a steak for $39.99 at the same meal with no "cost". I say, do what works for YOU. Families obviously make out great, but when it is just DH and I, I can't see using the Dining plan again in the future

 

[btk2333]

we used to be a dining plan fan but it just doesn't work for the way we eat and we've done the math and it does not save us money. Room discounts always save us more than free dining would. We price it every time and it's really not very close

We would not order dessert with every meal and often want wine or beer instead of pop to drink. We like ordering appetizers. We rarely eat QS.

We go Tables in Wonderland because we honestly can eat whatever we want (app/entree/dessert/ wine etc) and we save 20% regardless. We can have two TS meals a day if we want. It is great. Even when we don't have APs/TiW we pay out of pocket and we always have paid less on dining than we would have on the dining plan.

That being said that's just us- there are situations that the dining plan works- I just encourage everyone to actually do the math

 

[kcwiak]

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that a majority of people on the boards seem to think that the DDP is just not worth the money. This interests me because (though we've been the the World many times) my family did the dinning plan for the first time on our last trip and we definitely felt like we saved money! We loved paying for everything in advance and having the freedom of eating what we wanted wherever we wanted without worrying about a budgeted amount per person.

We will always do the DDP in the future!

Just interested I other people always think they save money and those who don't like it, why?

We love the DDP! The first time we did it we had FD. We kept every receipt and figured out what it would have cost us and what the DDP would have cost. We would have saved over $500. Since then, whether it is free or not, we get it. I like not having to worry about what I am picking off the menu to save money. I don't always get the cheapest and I don't always get the most expensive thing on the menu. I get what I feel like. We would never go without it. in fact, we just decided to do 3 days at Disney at the end of Dec (will be there for Christmas and my sister will keep the kids - YAY) and we still got the DDP!

 

[ericstac]

we've always had free dining so I've never had to worry about it but I could see where you could go to Disney and eat cheap and the dining plan not be worth it.

would we ever do that? no. We love food and food is a big part of Disney to us so I'm sure DDP will always be for us, but if we ever had to purchase it I would sit down and budget and see if we need it or not. We did that this time with the upgrade to deluxe and found it was less expensive to not upgrade and just pay OOP for additional dining and apps.

 

[kcwiak]

I have been getting a few unnerving comments as well about me choosing g the deluxe dining plan for my family 5 which includes myself my husband 14 y/o 6 y/o and 2y/o. I chose the plan because of the ability to choose multiple dinner shows, character meals and signature dining meals. Ever since I made the post a couple days ago it's put a damper in my excitement...I mean who wants to be told that they are wasting lots of money. I was lucky enough to find a Disney dining calculator at see ya reel soon website...and according to that I would save almost $350. So I'm not sure where the waste comes in at. Another thing I get a lot is that we will spend a lot of time getting to meals and won't enjoy the parks....don't understand that as well. But if I'm in the park that I will be eating at (we don't do park hopper....we would rather spend 2 days at MK 2 days at EPCOT and 1 day ea at the other parks excluding water parks.). I've been to Disney several times and it has never taken me more than 30 min. to get to a reservation I had in the park. And I've also been lucky enough not to have to wait long once I've arrived at my reservation. I've heard the horror stories about wait times and ask myself "what did YOU do wrong". Maybe we've just been lucky enough to go during moderate to low crowd times because other children are still in school..I don't know. That's just my venting for the day lmao

We have never done the Deluxe because of our children but I can see the worth if it were just DH and I. We love to try new places and foods so it would be nice. I did not realize that The Cellier (SP?) is now 2 TS, as I wanted to go there for our no kids short trip. But on just the DDP I won't waste both TS credits on the one meal.

 

[DbleTheFun]

We are DVC so no free dining for us... but we still opt to buy the DDP every trip. I have done the math a zillion times, thinking maybe JUST maybe it's not worth it anymore... I've tried comparing it against TIW discount, and just regular OOP... and for us- its a no brainer.

We enjoy eating at TS at least one restaurants every day... its our way of slowing down and resting our feet or sharing moments from the day before passing out in exhaustion. And with two kids still considered "children" in the eyes of WDW, the savings on their meals alone is worth it.

Plus there is something to be said (For us at least) to allow the 13 year old to order steak for dinner every night if he chooses (Or even lunch!)... since it's paid for- he might as well feel special and order the most expensive thing on the menu! The savings may not be as great as they were 5 years ago... but it's still the right choice for our family

 

[preemiemama]

I agree with the people who are saying to do the math for your own situation. For US, it is also a no-brainer. We eat desserts at QS. We use snacks for breakfast items. We use the refillable mugs for morning coffee and pool break or evening drinks. We are more dessert people than appetizer people. We rarely have alcoholic drinks at a meal. We enjoy a TS meal every day. We save money on the DDP and won't go without it. But we also have friends who only eat QS and no desserts or appetizers. They rarely have snacks- or will do so in place of a meal. For them, DDP is not a good deal.
Bottom line, OP, do what makes sense for you and your family.

 

[worm761]

Our next trip we are going without the dining plan for the first time in a while. I did the math and it is cheaper for us to get the TIW card and pay OOP. We eat 3 meals a day. We don't get desserts at CS. We sometimes like adult beverages with our meals. And when we go out at home we tend to get an appetizer or two for the table and end up skipping dessert. I base my budget on the most expensive thing on the menu that each person might order.

 

[TennesseeGirl]

We just got back and had free dining. I am glad we did it once but it doesn't fit my family's vacation style at all. I don't enjoy eating that much food every day and feeling like I have to do it or I'm not getting my money's worth - and this was free dining. When we are on vacation we might eat one actual meal per day and snack the rest of the day. I think I would prefer maybe two table service meals in disney at the most. I also really, really didn't like having to plan around a reservation. And then there is the food quality that many people are bringing up. I am in no way a food snob but I can't really think of one restaurant that I went to where the food wowed me. In the normal world these $30 plus meals would be in the under $20 range. You are paying in most cases for the experience and not the food.

 

[smiths02]

I have been getting a few unnerving comments as well about me choosing g the deluxe dining plan for my family 5 which includes myself my husband 14 y/o 6 y/o and 2y/o. I chose the plan because of the ability to choose multiple dinner shows, character meals and signature dining meals. Ever since I made the post a couple days ago it's put a damper in my excitement...I mean who wants to be told that they are wasting lots of money. I was lucky enough to find a Disney dining calculator at see ya reel soon website...and according to that I would save almost $350. So I'm not sure where the waste comes in at. Another thing I get a lot is that we will spend a lot of time getting to meals and won't enjoy the parks....don't understand that as well. But if I'm in the park that I will be eating at (we don't do park hopper....we would rather spend 2 days at MK 2 days at EPCOT and 1 day ea at the other parks excluding water parks.). I've been to Disney several times and it has never taken me more than 30 min. to get to a reservation I had in the park. And I've also been lucky enough not to have to wait long once I've arrived at my reservation. I've heard the horror stories about wait times and ask myself "what did YOU do wrong". Maybe we've just been lucky enough to go during moderate to low crowd times because other children are still in school..I don't know. That's just my venting for the day lmao

People just have a different idea about "wasting time." Some people will sleep late because it is vacation...well, that "wastes time." Standing in line at a character meet and greet "wastes time."

I'd rather waste my Disney time doing something like eating with Mickey than lining up to see fireworks.

 

[lovin'fl]

We have a trip coming up. We are 5 adults (3 are teens). We initially bought the DP and have since canceled. We are DVC with PAPs. I bought the $100 TIW card instead and here's my math:

We are there for 5 nights and DP was @ $1400. We booked 6 TS ADRs and 1 of which is a signature...so 7 TS credits used and we figured we'd pay OOP for the signature (AP) and we'd get a 10% DVC discount there (we had 50s PT booked that afternoon for lunch and figure we'd not eat huge meals at AP so it wouldn't be crazy expensive). I used the 'See Ya Reel Soon' dining calculator and put in average for meal choices (could put low, average or high for cost of meals typically chosen...there are other questions that help price out your meals)...I put in all the TS meals and possible CS meals we'd do. It came out to a cost (with tips and the extra signature meal) of @ $1800.

I then did the TIW estimate and added 2 more TS meals instead of CS meals. I had to take out Ohana for 12/24 as that's a blackout date and then figured the full cost of Ohana and added it in. Included in the TIW total cost was the $100 cost of the card, added some % of apps and desserts, tips and 2 drinks/snacks per person/day. That total cost came to $1800. So, we get more TS meals (with apps) for basically the same cost of the DP. Plus, we will be helping inlaws save 20% on some meals as well (so even more savings with our TIW card).

Link to calculator: http://seeyareelsoon.wix.com/seeyareelsoon#!dining-plan-calculator/cxc0