How popular is the DDP when it is NOT free?

[laceemouse]

Okay, regarding the other thread about the DDP hurting regular diners.....YES, I can see that if you went during free dining all of the restaurants would be packed and service would suffer. However, you would most likely be on free dining too so that is just the breaks if you know what I mean. My question is, when DDP is NOT free, does almost every on-site guest BUY it??? This surprises me a LOT as it is pretty pricey!!! I mean, if you are the kinda a person who budgets carefully and eats some meals in the room or off-site to save $$$, would you just automatically sign up for the dining plan which would be mega bucks/day for most families?? I understand that some folks will always buy "the works" paying top $$$ to get the best of everything Disney has to offer, but does the average family just buy the plan without researching the options? I have pretty much decided that the 201$/day the plan would cost us is not worth it, and we do eat TS at least once per day on every trip!! We have been to WDW many times and never had any real problems getting the ADR's we want...

 

[JimMIA]

Is the plan popular during the 90% of the time when you have to pay $37.99 adult/$10.99 child? Yep, sure is.

Even during FREE dining unless you stay in Values, it's often less expensive to rent a reservation from a DVC owner and PAY for the dining plan than it is to get it for "free."

The cost-effectiveness of the dining plan depends on several things: the composition of your family, the length of your stay, your normal eating patterns at WDW, etc. Everybody has to run the numbers for themselves, and everybody's answer is going to be different. It's great for some, not worth it for others.

When you are comparing the numbers, I think it is important to compare to what you really would spend if you paid for everything OOP -- not the menu prices vs. the Dining Plan daily cost. Very few of us order appetizer, entree and desert with every sit-down meal in real life, and pretending we do really distorts the comparisons.

The other thing you have to consider if you have kids 9 or younger is the prospect of doing character meals you would not ordinarily do. That's a big benefit to us.

 

[wright1baby]

We have bought and paid for the DDP in the past and wouldn't go to Disney without it! We love it and it works perfect for our family!

 

[wdwlver]

We buy it, love it and save lots of money using it!!

 

[Brygida]

Even during FREE dining unless you stay in Values, it's often less expensive to rent a reservation from a DVC owner and PAY for the dining plan than it is to get it for "free."

I tend to stay in moderates, but occasionally deluxe. Do you have actual numbers you've worked out to show it's less expensive?

Plus, I think some people are uncomfortable with the risk in renting from an owner... Isn't this all done on trust? or is WDW involved?

 

[laceemouse]

Is the plan popular during the 90% of the time when you have to pay $37.99 adult/$10.99 child? Yep, sure is.

Even during FREE dining unless you stay in Values, it's often less expensive to rent a reservation from a DVC owner and PAY for the dining plan than it is to get it for "free."

The cost-effectiveness of the dining plan depends on several things: the composition of your family, the length of your stay, your normal eating patterns at WDW, etc. Everybody has to run the numbers for themselves, and everybody's answer is going to be different. It's great for some, not worth it for others.

When you are comparing the numbers, I think it is important to compare to what you really would spend if you paid for everything OOP -- not the menu prices vs. the Dining Plan daily cost. Very few of us order appetizer, entree and desert with every sit-down meal in real life, and pretending we do really distorts the comparisons.

The other thing you have to consider if you have kids 9 or younger is the prospect of doing character meals you would not ordinarily do. That's a big benefit to us.

Thanks. you bring up some interesting points. My dh says we have never spent more than 1000$ during a week at WDW for all the food and snacks, and like I said we do eat TS quite often. The plan would be 1400$ for us for a week. As far as the character meal, our youngest is 8 and I would say we are pretty much over that. We do like buffets though......I can see if you don't have any kids who are "adults" it would be much more cost effective.

 

[JimMIA]

Thanks. you bring up some interesting points. My dh says we have never spent more than 1000$ during a week at WDW for all the food and snacks, and like I said we do eat TS quite often. The plan would be 1400$ for us for a week. As far as the character meal, our youngest is 8 and I would say we are pretty much over that. We do like buffets though......I can see if you don't have any kids who are "adults" it would be much more cost effective.

I think the math gets much tougher when the kids turn 10. IMHO, it's pretty difficult for a 12 y/o to get $38 value each day in food at WDW. Even most teenagers won't want the type of food where they would get full value.

 

[babynurse1]

I don't think the DDP works for us because we go to Universal, Sea World, Kennedy Space Ctr. etc. and would still have to pay to eat at Disney everyday. Also with an 11 and 13 year old, I dont think we'd get our moneys worth. If we were only going to do Disney everyday, I would probably get it, but we're not so it's a no go for us.

 

[laceemouse]

I think the math gets much tougher when the kids turn 10. IMHO, it's pretty difficult for a 12 y/o to get $38 value each day in food at WDW. Even most teenagers won't want the type of food where they would get full value.

Yep! Dd15 is a tiny little vegetarian and Ds11 is a good eater who sometimes PREFERS what is on the kids menu!!

 

[The Sweetness]

No matter how many times I re-think the numbers, I feel that the DDp is right for my fam's next trip. We will be 3**adults** (one of whom 15) and a tot(2)

The way I see it, I plan on doing 5 buffet/ fam style dinners (my fam enjoys the character interaction)Once you figure the tax & tip for these, Its a good $30pp already, and I know my snack and CS will be more than that.

In the other 3 TS for my fam, I plan to pay OOP for myself, and use 2 DDp credits, therefore having 2 aps and desserts instead of 3.

That will save me 3TS credits, for a special breakfast on our last day

 

[drogerstn]

...My question is, when DDP is NOT free, does almost every on-site guest BUY it??? .....
...We have been to WDW many times and never had any real problems getting the ADR's we want...

Check out this thread with the dining plan poll . I don't know how the respondents compare to the population of WDW resort visitors. Looks like almost half of the respondents would buy the plan and a few more might... When we visited in June, we could not make new ADR's to fit our needs; we already had some booked a couple of months ahead of time with no problem, but our touring plans changed. I don't know if the DDP affected this, but I suspect that it did.

We did not purchase the DDP and I'm glad we didn't. We would have had difficulty sticking to the plan and we spend much less than $38 per day on food.

 

[n2mm]

We were there in late April and used the DDP. It was not free and seems most folks were using it also. If you did not have an ADR at most TS places, you did not get in. We watched at many restraurants as folks were turned away. With DVC members now allowed to purchase it, the volume has increased even more. I imagine during free dining, hardly anyone will not be using it. we were there during last free dining and it worked well. That is why we paid for it for 12 nights in April/May.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I have a small family, son 14 and myself.

Our first trip(August 2001) was a super budget trip. We ate several meals in the room and shared many counter service meals. On our last day I had enough
money left for us to have breakfast at Ohana. The trip was fun but the food got boring very quickly.

For out second trip(April 2004) I was able to purchase passes that included a free character meal. That time around we didn't eat any meals in the room. We were able to do two character breakfasts and one free lunch at Rainforest Café.

Our last trip (April 2005) I booked the dining plan.
I don't plan to ever return to WDW without a meal plan. It was so nice to sit down and order what we wanted without worrying about the cost of each item.

We were able to visit restaurants we would have never tried without the plan.

At $37.99 per person per night, I believe the DDP is cheap. Without the plan, we'd only do one MAYBE two TS meals.

Oh, our last trip was during spring break. Many TS restaurants were not able to accept guests without ADRs.

One Monday afternoon while we were waiting to be seated at Tappenyaki, a family walked up and asked if there were any openings. The CM told the next opening was for 9:00 Wednesday night.

The DDP is a great deal and many families are willing to book it.

 

[patsal]

When the kids were small I could budget $100 per day for food that would include snacks, a CS (kids sharing one meal DH and I sharing a meal and getting tap water to round out the beverages)and a TS (when they were little character meals were very popular with them). Now for $152 per day I can get the snack, a CS for each person including dessert and a TS buffet or full service TS for only $52 more per day than I spent when the kids were little. Win win for me. I dont' have to monitor what they order, everyone is happy and the kids can do their own thing and meet up with us later and still access their CS and snacks. I have never been able to go during free dining, but have no problem paying for the meal plan! At $27.99 per adult (which we are all considered for pricing in my family) plus tax and tip ($129.36 for the family) just to have dinner OOP at CP the DDP makes eating at WDW affordable.
Spending $152 and getting the dinner, plus snack and CS is a good deal for us.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

we get the dining plan even when it isnt free

 

[the Fidge]

What a relief for me the DDP, I live on a very tight budget and found it a great source of ease. I did not have to budget in any of our meals, hodl my breath and pray DH doesn't order appetizer , coffee and a dessert, oh my!

By using the DDP I was able to sit back and not count my pennies with the great anxiety of such thoughts in my head as "NO NOT THE FLIET MIGNON" is the man crazy?? He works hard for his $ so to allow him to order away made me feel great and not wonder where is the nearest frying pan to clock him with and me order a glass of water !!!!

 

[tabrizia]

Honestly it really depends on people's needs. The dining plan at the moment fits hubby and my needs. With just the two of us it allows us to eat at a lot more restaraunts then we were originally planning for the same price (or did when we weren't going during free dining, now it is free!).

However, this doesn't mean that when we go back either in December 2007 or December 2008 (hubby is talking about moving our December trip up a year) that it will still fit our needs. It probably will, but at that time we will have to re-evaluate it. Once we have kids we'll also have to re-evaluate it to see if it fits our and their dining habits. It really depends on the people going and how they feel it meets their needs.

I think for a lot of people $38 for adults and $11 for two kids under 9 (for instance) is a deal that can't be beaten. Plus there are people who will just pay and figure with everything paid they don't have to worry about it. Every family has to evaluate their own needs and see if it works for them.

 

[Bibbidi]

What a relief for me the DDP, I live on a very tight budget and found it a great source of ease. I did not have to budget in any of our meals, hodl my breath and pray DH doesn't order appetizer , coffee and a dessert, oh my!

By using the DDP I was able to sit back and not count my pennies with the great anxiety of such thoughts in my head as "NO NOT THE FLIET MIGNON" is the man crazy?? He works hard for his $ so to allow him to order away made me feel great and not wonder where is the nearest frying pan to clock him with and me order a glass of water !!!!

You sound just like me! When we go on vacation DH never wants to spend too much, before we get to WDW, but then once there he orders a coffee after dinner or that filet that you mention and I'm sitting there crunching numbers in my head going, oh great another granola bar for breakfast with tap water! Glad to know I'm not the only one out there like that. Next May we are trying the DP for the first time and I can't wait. We're not big eaters, but I just want to sit back and relax and order what we want without any stress!!!

 

[laceemouse]

We were there in late April and used the DDP. It was not free and seems most folks were using it also. If you did not have an ADR at most TS places, you did not get in. We watched at many restraurants as folks were turned away. With DVC members now allowed to purchase it, the volume has increased even more. I imagine during free dining, hardly anyone will not be using it. we were there during last free dining and it worked well. That is why we paid for it for 12 nights in April/May.

Certainly, we would NOT go to WDW without ADR's and expect to be served whenever and where ever we wanted to eat!

 

[laceemouse]

We were there in late April and used the DDP. It was not free and seems most folks were using it also. If you did not have an ADR at most TS places, you did not get in. We watched at many restraurants as folks were turned away. With DVC members now allowed to purchase it, the volume has increased even more. I imagine during free dining, hardly anyone will not be using it. we were there during last free dining and it worked well. That is why we paid for it for 12 nights in April/May.

Certainly, we would NOT go to WDW without ADR's and expect to be served whenever and where ever we wanted to eat! Also, I suspect that Disney is banking on hooking A LOT of people like yourselves by giving them the free dining plan on one trip and then getting them to pay for it on the next trip! Great marketing!!