Hakuna Matata- a different view of free DDP

[kcrew]

I agree with all of the above! Another point that I believe causes alot of stress is that people expect the DDP to be all inclusive no matter what their dining desires are. It is not all inclusive: it is 1 snack, 1 CS, and 1TS per day. I think it would be really liberating for alot of people if they just dined however they wanted to, used what was available with the DDP, and then just paid for the rest...don't worry, be happy.

Also, despite the constant posts I DO NOT BELIEVE that so many people REALLY are such light eaters that all this debate about sharing is necessary. I think it's really about streeeeeeeetching credits. Surely no DISers are overweight from what I read here--noone can finish a meal!

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I am excited about the plan because we get to try 6 new restaurants!! Not one of them is a signature restaurant, so I didn't pick them on how expensive they were. I just have always wanted to try places like Alfredo's or Rose and Crown, but they never got worked into my plan because we could only choose a few TS meals per trip.

This trip, I get to have 10 TS's.........if that isn't Hakuna-Matata, I don't know what is!!

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

oh, and I forgot to mention.........I don't need to cook this trip or do dishes!!!! HELLO???? Hakuna-Matata 10 TIMES OVER!!!!!

 

[Deebo]

OP here again.
WOW! It was GREAT to see posts from so many people (including neighbors right here in TN ) who share the Hakuna Matata philosophy about the dining plan! Being able to go to the Happiest Place on Earth with the people I love most is wonderful. The dining plan was just the icing on that cake for me, not a cause of stress!

And here's another thing that brightened my day -- this is a thread about the Dining Plan with no bickering!

Again, have a great trip, and enjoy. Hakuna Matata.

 

[Crazy4Disney72]

Bravo, Deebo, this is exactly the approach DH and I are taking to the dining plan when we go in September! Hakuna Matata!

 

[mmiller711]

We are going in Aug. with the free dinning and we did NOT pick expensive resturants. We are doing what we want and didn't even think of prices. We have 6 kids, 4 of which are too young to be on dinning, so some of the better resturants didn't even appeal to us. I love the way you look at the dinning plan. I stressed so much in the beginning that we had picked "cheap" places to eat free! Then I decided why would I want to go somewhere just because it is expensive and not what I wanted. How silly would that be?

 

[!@#$%]

Heres the deal...
We do WDW about 3-4 times a year. Now, we do it on such a budget that it would amaze most folks. We usually bring all of our own food in, eat Pop Tarts, Tuna kits, Deviled Ham, Canned ham, Even chili from a box (not bad actually... quite tasty!) We are EXTREME tightwads... otherwise we'd only be able to go once a year!!!
I started my own business 6 years ago. Its been VERY tight financially, but it gets better each year.
Imagine all those trips, never able to afford to eat like everyone else. Sure; we did a FEW good meals at the world, but not every day. Usually 2-3 meals a week tops in a Disney restaurant.
SOOOO Last year we did EXACTLY what the OP is talking about. We ordered the most expensive item on the menu, kept all our totals tallied, and planned to see how much we could "take WDW for". It was more like a fun challenge to us.
In 7 days, we ate $960.00 in food!!!
HOWEVER...
We gained around 10 pounds each...
Felt STUFFED to the point of feeling bad....
spent too much time in bathrooms when we could have been on rides... (enough said)

NOW, it was the single best trip we ever took.... EVERYTHING else went PERFECT!
BUT I will NOT do it again like that.
I was raised poor. I HATE to waste food.
BUT even so, I will NOT do that again.
Next trip we plan to eat healthier (even if its a LOT less)
We plan to stop when our bodies say stop REGUARDLESS of how good it is!
if we are stuffed, and theres still a dessert, we will split ONE dessert so we can all get a tiny taste, rather than ordering one each to expand our waist.

This is a GOOD thread, and it needs to be said.
eating in excess is NOT healthy, and you wont be as active, as fast, or have as much fun. you'll also feel more tired when your full. Ever noticed after that Thanksgiving meal that everyone wants to sleep? thats not just the turkey. Big meals make you tired. WDW is NOT the place to be tired.

 

[Cookie Princess]

I couldn't agree more with this thread. Last year was our first experience with the DDP (we paid for it). All I kept reading on these boards was that you must "maximize the plan". It is almost an obsession. There were some meals where we weren't even hungry because we just pigged out at the last meal. Let me tell you, that caused more stress and discomfort than it was worth, and can put a damper on the "fun factor". Imagine my trying to ride Test Track while carrying all of our "to go" desserts. After the first couple of days of the vacation, I realized we just needed to eat what we wanted, where we wanted, when we wanted. Then it was a blast. If we couldn't eat dessert, we didn't order it. If we didn't want the add-on shrimp, no biggie.

This year the DDP is free for us. My only stressor now...too many great restaurants to choose from and not enough vacation time. If you are still trying to decide where to eat and what to order to "maximize the plan", you may find yourself lying on a table belly down with an apple shoved in your mouth! BE CAREFUL!

 

[musicmama]

Thanks for this thread!!! We bought the DDP last Christmas because I wanted to not worry about what we were spending at the time, and to have the chance to eat at places we'd never tried/been willing to pay OOP for. It was wonderful to just eat. We left a few CSs because we just couldn't use them all up. Guess that puts us in the target zone too.

DD and I are getting free dining this time and picked some new/some old places, based on the menus. If we skip an appy and have the dessert, that's OK. (We're more dessert people anyway )

 

[Muushka]

I feel so much better!

Hakuna Matata to all!

 

[BCV23]

I totally agree with you, Deebo. Have a magical trip....I'm sure you will.

Diane, I'd be very surprised if you don't end up ahead of using the DDP over DDE. In your calculations did you remember tax and tip are included in the DDP? We used the DDP in May and 12 out of 15 TS were at lunch. Our TS savings pretty much matched what they would have if we did DDE so CS and snacks were "free." We did just as Deebo intends....just enjoyed the plan.

 

[lisaross]

i did get the free dining - but i could of had a discount room if i did not BUt i figure it will be atleast even - i'm sure we'll probably wind up saving $ BUT i am actually just doing what works best for my family. Most of our TS meals are booked for lunch - but i think it will be a much needed break for us in the heat -- the evening my kids might get too tied and we just won't enjoy it as much. We did not pick the most expensive restaurants just ones that seemed conventient. Yes we will be throwing in an extra Character meal for the kids and i won't worry about what the kids are eating not - i won't think about them sharing because they are going to not finish - everyone gets there own dessert - it will be so enjoyable

lisa

 

[goofy4tink]

I totally agree with you, Deebo. Have a magical trip....I'm sure you will.

Diane, I'd be very surprised if you don't end up ahead of using the DDP over DDE. In your calculations did you remember tax and tip are included in the DDP? We used the DDP in May and 12 out of 15 TS were at lunch. Our TS savings pretty much matched what they would have if we did DDE so CS and snacks were "free." We did just as Deebo intends....just enjoyed the plan.

Yep, I remembered. When I sat and figured it all out, I realized that if we had just been doing the DDE card, we most likely would have not ordered the exact same thing. But, we will be using the DDP for the majority of meals...I have a TS for every day, in fact..one too many. I actually have 6 planned. Have to pay OOP for the Cape May breakfast. Also OOP for GF Cafe lunch, as well as a few Spoodles breakfasts. But, I'm not complaining. I love the ease of it all. I'm just glad that DVC people can get the DDP...the other mom that I am traveling with has much higher standards than I do when it comes to eating. So, it works out quite well in that we can eat at really nice spots rather than 'making do' with a lot of counter meals. Now, I just have to remember to order my new DDE card soon!! Or else it will be a moot point.

 

[Tjaleks]

I don't care what I eat, as long as I am not stressing about how to pay the bill when it comes! Hakuna Matata!!!!

This is how we felt when we paid for the DP last Dec. We really liked the feeling our food was already paid for. Honestly, with all the food we got we only spent and extra $3.72 the whole time we were there.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

I love the dining plan! We had this last year and tried all sorts of restaurants, regardless of the 'maximize factor.' My only concern was that the plan offered a lot of food at once (the TS credit) and very little food (snack credit) at anoother time. It took a few days for us to balance this out by either taking dessert to go at night (Hello, breakfast the next morning!) or taking pieces of whole fruit at the dinner buffet to eat in the morning along with using a snack credit.

It's also easier to use the DDP at a resort with a large food court (like Pop) rather than a small CS (like Roaring Forks) because your snack and CS options are so much greater.

Enjoy, all!

 

[Mousema]

I agree . I read all of the other posts and I wonder if I'm not up to being a DISer or what? I opted to go during free dining because otherwise I probably wouldn't stay on-site. (would stay off site and do fast food) Thank you Disney for letting me stay at the World!