How popular is the DDP when it is NOT free?

[Wish I lived in Fl]

Another way I think the plan works is for folks who don't currently eat a lot of expensive Disney meals, but who would enjoy some nice dinners and character meals. For many, the DDP is not so much about saving money, but about broadening their horizons and enjoying some restaurants they have never tried. That's a good rationale for using DDP, IMHO, even if it does cost you a little more.

And the final way is the convenience of the DDP. I wouldn't pay a lot extra for the convenience, but it IS way less stressful than biting my lip every time Girlie wants an ice cream, or wondering if I really need the twin lobster tails at Capn Jacks. It does take some pressure off, no doubt about that...and I can see that being an important plus for many.

WE had the DDP for our May trip and we ate at places never dreamed of before and the dining was great. Princess breakfast,lunch,dinner,Ohana,Luau,Hoop de doo,Spoodles, Flying Fish,Cape May breakfast.

But i won't get it for this January. I don't want to do all the fancy,time consuming meals. I don't want to worry what is or is not covered. That trip was my most stressful in getting people where we were supposed to be at the right time, keeping track of TS,CS and snack credits.
(Least stressful for DH however-everything was already paid for so he wasn't second guessing any of the reservations or menu choices.)

For January thinking of 1900 park Fare as only Table service meal on property ,maybe Shulas, definitely Macaroni GRill,maybe Gardenview Tea.

 

[mnasf]

Right, and any other discounts you may qualify for...

Yes, that is a great point. The DDE experience card, DVC card, or even AP can save money. And if not on the DDP, we usually choose lunch over dinner at table service because it's cheaper.

 

[ntsammy5]

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!

Haven't really decided if it's worth it yet. Will make up my mind in September, but can I ask you a quesstion? What's the MLP club?

 

[toocooltobeMom]

Are you kidding me!! We would take the DDP whether it's free or not. Year after year, we would normally spent at least $50.00 per person for food each day. $50.00/pp/pd was just for CS's, snacks and drinks. Maybe one sit down dinner once. This year we got the FREE DDP accidentally, because it felt on the dates when DDP is free for a limited time. We enjoy eating a whole lot. Now with the newly found DDP (FREE OR NOT), We are never going without one.

 

[zookeeper]

Just the fact that you don't have to think about how much anything costs when you're on vacation is enough to make it worth it for me! When we went on vacations when I was growing up I remember always being very aware of how much everything cost and never ordering something I thought was too much. I still have those tendencies as an adult and I don't want to feel like that when I'm on vacation. Plus, we did meals with our kids that we would never have done otherwise. Yea, it's way too much food if you eat every bite at every restaurant, but for us it was the experience and ease of the plan that would make it worth it for us to pay for it if we had to. We were lucky to get Free Dining last year and we're returning again for it this year. It's the Free Dining that brought us back again so soon so I'd say the marketing is working!!

 

[DiszyDeanette]

We paid for it last year, and would have paid for it again this year, without hesitation. The fact that moving our trip back a month gave it to us free was just icing on the cake! (plus, we added two days to our stay, and still saved $1000!)

 

[PrincessTrisha]

I've used the ddp twice (paid) and am paying for it again at the end of October.

The first trip we used it I brought my 10 year old god daughter. Despite having to pay the adult price for her, I was very glad to have it. I think she would have cried if she had to order off of the kid's menu the entire week. Basically the kid lived on steak and dessert (yes, she has expensive tastes). My dad loves steak and I prefer seafood. My mom is always the dissenting vote because although she likes fish and shrimp, she mostly orders chicken. Was it cost effective? Oh yeah!

The second trip was just my mom and I. It came out to a wash cost wise whether to use the ddp or not. I rented DVC points and after studying the menus, I realized that it would cost about the same if I paid cash or if we got the ddp. So I paid for it and honestly, I was glad. Some of our favourite dishes would not have been purchased if I was paying cash simply because they were expensive or we were unsure if we would like them (yes I "like" mussels, but the ones at Le Cellier were out of this world, but without the dining plan I would not have ordered them because I didn't think I would like them as much as I did). It was also very hot, so lots of breaks in air conditioning were in order. It was nice that our restaurant reservations could be those breaks versus looking for a bench inside or heading back to the hotel.

 

[JerseyGirl1972]

I also think the key to the price is that tax and tip are included, and that alone for a family of 5 makes it worth it, plus my 2 year old would be able to eat from any of our plates, whether it be the appetizer or part of the entree. I really think its a great deal.

 

[hansel1]

We paid for it on our last trip and plan to pay for it on our next.

 

[toocooltobeMom]

I won't take the DDP whether it is free or not! I don't want to have to wonder what is covered and what isn't. I would rather pay OOP and have an enjoyable vacation. I do stay onsite and would love if they never offered the DDP free again. It makes it difficult for us paying guests!

Just got back!! Love the plan free or not. If I were you, don't stay on-site. So you won't have to see US eating for free

 

[dznymom1]

Just got back!! Love the plan free or not. If I were you, don't stay on-site. So you won't have to see US eating for free

LOL I see both sides of this discussion. I am DVC and taking a trip next month. My first thought was NO WAY for the Dining Plan since the restaurants were going to be full of people eating for free. But then my common sense took hold, and I realized they are not eating for free since they are paying higher room rates. That's not to say they aren't getting a great deal, because in most cases they are! Anyway, since we are 2 adults and we want to eat at least a few TS meals, I decided to go ahead and pay for the plan and enjoy it to the fullest! I think I am still getting a bargain, and I plan to enjoy it fully!

As far as the OP's question, during the rest of the year there is a much smaller percentage of peope on the plan.

 

[toocooltobeMom]

LOL I see both sides of this discussion. I am DVC and taking a trip next month. My first thought was NO WAY for the Dining Plan since the restaurants were going to be full of people eating for free. But then my common sense took hold, and I realized they are not eating for free since they are paying higher room rates. That's not to say they aren't getting a great deal, because in most cases they are! Anyway, since we are 2 adults and we want to eat at least a few TS meals, I decided to go ahead and pay for the plan and enjoy it to the fullest! I think I am still getting a bargain, and I plan to enjoy it fully!

As far as the OP's question, during the rest of the year there is a much smaller percentage of peope on the plan.

Please recheck and recheck the room rate. I didn't pay a rack rate for my room. As a matter of fact, I pay only $84 including the room tax for my CHEAP VALUE resort. I stayed at the ASR for more than 12 times. The room rate is always between $79 to 109 depending the time of your stay. We often stay during peak season of July 4 weeks. We didn't pay more this time neither. Maybe one just has to admit that other people are getting a great deal and not being a sour grape. If one books a package which happens to include Free DDP, will you tell Disney to go ahead charge you the DDP because you want to be known that I PAID.OOP

 

[BlindTyldak]

We paid for the DDP the first time (when they were Wishes) and saved a fortune. We jumped on being able to pay for it this time as well. since the plan is a little bit different now and the menu has changed at many places, we know that we won't save as much as last time, but we will save a minimum of about $15 a day per person, some days much more. We checked the menus at our ADR's and I did a little math based on what we were likely to order.

 

[dznymom1]

Please recheck and recheck the room rate. I didn't pay a rack rate for my room. As a matter of fact, I pay only $84 including the room tax for my CHEAP VALUE resort. I stayed at the ASR for more than 12 times. The room rate is always between $79 to 109 depending the time of your stay. We often stay during peak season of July 4 weeks. We didn't pay more this time neither. Maybe one just has to admit that other people are getting a great deal and not being a sour grape. If one books a package which happens to include Free DDP, will you tell Disney to go ahead charge you the DDP because you want to be known that I PAID.OOP

Um, if you read my post you will see that I stated most people were getting a great deal. No sour grapes here! But I have stayed at the Values using codes or AP rates for significantly less than $84 in the past, but I doubt those rates are available during the free dining.

 

[DumboDash2006]

We went 8/9 through 8/14 and thus it wasn't free for us. But as soon as I started researching this trip and before I knew getting it free was an option at certain times, I knew I wanted to do it. Being able to eat pretty much wherever we wanted and whatever we wanted and knowing up front how much it would cost? Yup, I'm all over that versus, guesstimating how much meals will cost us and worrying over everything we order. I'm also not one to cook on my vacation or be happy eating poptarts for breakfast and pb&j sandwiches made in our room etc. I'm on vacation darn it and I don't want the same things we can eat any other day in our normal lives.

Yup, I love the dining plan, did it and will do it again. It's perfect for us.

 

[toocooltobeMom]

Let see if the number will add up or not.
OOP/DDP - adult = $38.+/- per day X 4 (4pp/room) = $ 152.00 (is this already over the room price?
Need I say more!

 

[Santa]

My only fear is that all the TS menu's will be the same everywhere. It has already started. This means that most of the restraunts I do TS at are no longer an option. To me this would be the same as choosing between McD's or __________ (insert drive thru of choice here). The same stuff just processed different.

 

[JenniferC0025]

For us, (first timers staying on site) the dining plan seems cost efficient. We don't want the hassle of renting a car, so we are staying onsite, since we will be having most of our meals in the parks, we thought this would be a great time to try different restaurants that we are usually to cheap to go to.
We are also doing character meals. For our family 3 'adults' and one 2 year old. Adults are $27.99 + tx + tip , Plan is $37.99, So for the extra $10.00 you get a drink/snack (how much is a soda $3.00?) And a table service meal which if eating in park is what maybe $15.00? + tax and tip
So we plan on doing late breakfast and Dinner using the plan maybe small snack midday that we may have to pay for
I don't understand the premium dining plan that is VERY overpriced. - IMO

 

[pachelbel9]

We are going to WDW next month. We decided against doing the free dining plan and instead are renting points from a DVCer. We needed 3 separate sleeping areas, so the cost of renting points for a 2br villa at BWC + paying for DDP was cheaper than doing the free dining package and booking 3 different rooms at a deluxe resort.

 

[Lewisc]

The "free dining plan" is offered during a time period in which Disney traditionally offers discounts. A few years ago they had the pay for 5 play for 7 deal. Sometimes the offer "public" codes offering up to a 40-45% discount.

The value of "free dining", particularly for the value resorts, exceeds discounts that would probably otherwise be offered. The value for "free dining", for two adults, is probably a little less than the value of whatever discount would otherwise be offered if the guests are staying at a deluxe resorts.

For a family of four, staying in a value resort, free dining is a phenomenal deal The value of dining can even exceed the cost of the room.

Please recheck and recheck the room rate. I didn't pay a rack rate for my room. As a matter of fact, I pay only $84 including the room tax for my CHEAP VALUE resort. I stayed at the ASR for more than 12 times. The room rate is always between $79 to 109 depending the time of your stay. We often stay during peak season of July 4 weeks. We didn't pay more this time neither. Maybe one just has to admit that other people are getting a great deal and not being a sour grape. If one books a package which happens to include Free DDP, will you tell Disney to go ahead charge you the DDP because you want to be known that I PAID.OOP