Huge increase for 2009 DDP? Just read it.

[Tricia1972]

 

[Tricia1972]

I"m sorry.

I thought anyone could pickuip this card. I didn't realize an AP was required. That would certainly eliminate the benefits of the card except, perhaps, for a large group.

So sorry.

No reason to be sorry.

As the PP stated, DDE works best if you're going more than 10 nights in a year.

We worked it last year with AP's and a 3 night trip in April 2007, 12 night trip in October 2007, and a 7 night trip in March 2008. We got our Disney fix in and will go again beginning in 2010. We'll work the passes again so we go two to three times between 2010 and 2011 - to maximize our AP's.

Because we were working our AP's - we got the DDE.

 

[patsal]

We too work our PAP's, we find that we can go at least 2x for 14+ days and usually one or two small 3-5 day trips somewhere in between. For that reason the DDE works well for us. So for 2008 we are buying 4 PAP's then in 2009 we won't need anything. 2010 we may skip all together then go into 2011 and 2012 the same as '08-'09.

 

[Tricia1972]

We too work our PAP's, we find that we can go at least 2x for 14+ days and usually one or two small 3-5 day trips somewhere in between. For that reason the DDE works well for us. So for 2008 we are buying 4 PAP's then in 2009 we won't need anything. 2010 we may skip all together then go into 2011 and 2012 the same as '08-'09.

I always enjoy your posts, so often we're on the same exact page.

 

[paulh]

i wouldent worry about the price disney will chaharge you in the USA,as we in the UK are always charged more like more for room more for tickets and more for DDP.would check out his years prices forus in the uk,and there about the same as next year,
You all seam to be getting sickker shock convirting the UK prices,if i was you lot just wait till aug/sept,then you can all carlm down
Paulh

 

[raidermatt]

Perhaps this would make sense to some families who were planning on going for 7 nights. Maybe 1 person getting an AP would be worth it. Let's do some math...

A 7 day pass is 281 (hopper/4 parks)
An annual pass is 477.
The cost for the DDE is an additional 60 bucks.

SO....in order to break even you'd have to save 256 on your 7 night trip. (477-281+60)

That 256 per the DDE would end up being 20% of your bill. So that would mean that you would have to eat $1280 worth of food at covered DDE restaurants during the 7 night trip to break even.

1280/7 = 182. I would think that you would hit that with 2adults and 2 children-provided you ate 1 TS, 1CS and 1 snack per day per person just like on the DDP only you paid OOP.

I think if you had a group of say 6 people? This would be an even better deal though. I doubt I would waste the time/energy/$$$, to just 'break even'...I'd want to save at least 100 bucks before I'd bother.

So...in short- if you have a large group going OR are going to DW for a long time- say 10 nights...the DDE would be worth it. I'd buy 1 AP and get the DDE card to save $$.

For those of us that only go with 1 or 2 other people, for a week or less? Probably not worth it.

In general I agree, but remember that you can also get room discounts at certain times of the year with an AP. (There are some other discounts here and there)

Also, the 20% discount applies to alcohol at the covered restaurants, something many people don't realize, and the discount is good for up to 10 people.

Another benefit to the DDE is flexibility. You don't have to manage a certain number of credits. Many people think they are getting a deal with the dining plan but then don't use all of their credits, or scramble to use them on things they wouldn't have otherwise bought. With the DDE, if you don't want table service sometimes, you don't have to figure out how to use those credits.

True, for 1 or 2 people only going for 7 days over the course of the year it still might not make sense. But I think there are a lot of people who purchase the dining plan that could save a lot of money and frustration by using the AP/DDE combo instead.

 

[karrit2000]

Unfortunately the DDE card is not valid for most CS locations. It is great if you eat mostly do TS. I for one will be very happy if they do really come out with the CS meal plan. Most of my meals are CS. I've done the free dining but I can't justify paying for it for most of my trips as there is no way I would enjoy making use of all the TS credits especially with the appetizer & tip no longer included. Granted I don't normally order appetizers and rarely do I order dessert but that was the appeal of the original DDP because I ate out in a way that I normally wouldn't if I was paying a la carte, so it was a treat and a great bargain.

 

[Elise79]

i wouldent worry about the price disney will chaharge you in the USA,as we in the UK are always charged more like more for room more for tickets and more for DDP.would check out his years prices forus in the uk,and there about the same as next year,
You all seam to be getting sickker shock convirting the UK prices,if i was you lot just wait till aug/sept,then you can all carlm down
Paulh

You are right Paul - most of the UK tour operators add on a fair % but Disney UK prices last year were not that fair off - £19.99 ~ $40.00 compared to $37.99 so only $2 per day more. Quite comparable depending on which way the exchange rate went.

I think even the pricing on the Disney UK might be a red herring at the moment as the flight incluive holidays are actually booked using a Virgin Holidays company so will probably take their pricing.

On this basis I do think the new quick service plan will be available across the board.

Elise

 

[TheLittleRoo]

I stumbled on this rumor yesterday and it's changed my thinking about cancelling our trip this year during Free Dining. Why? Because I believe this CS Dining plan that's being offered in the UK will be the "Free Dining" option offered next September. That makes 2008 the "last hurrah" for my family to get what was the best package deal for us, a family of five (2A, 1A -13 y/o, and 2C) It was effectively a $137 discount with a $149 room rate at the POR.

I can imagine you can pay to upgrade to the Basic Dining Plan with TS, or the Deluxe, but who knows what that amount will be? The CS plan doesn't interest me at all. With young kids, we do lots of character buffets.

As an aside, I find it interesting that some PP's are suggesting the quality of servers has gone down since the tips came out of the Dining Plan. I remember a couple of years ago reading on these boards that the servers were ticked off that their tips were not paid in cash to them at the end of the night (back when it was included in the Free Dining plan) but 2-4 weeks later in their paycheck, and taxed at that! I would think the opposite is true, that the really good servers are getting tipped as well as they ever did now that Disney Inc. is out of their wallets. If anything, it has "normalized" the tipping process at Disney to the mainstream restaurants. Maybe I'm missing something?

Bottom line, I'm glad we booked free dining this year. The only upside of the downsizing of the dining plans in 2009 is that I can justify the Poly more now that a 30% room-only discount (or 40%!!) would rival the value of free dining! And I'd be free to buy tickets from Undercover Tourist for some savings...Evil grin!

 

[asmit4]

YUP! The MINUTE I read about the CS meal deal, I KNEW that free dining was over- at least the free DDP we all know and love.

With the CS deal being roughly 28, and the basic DDP being roughly 50...the cost to upgrade is gonna be 22, which is over 1/2 the current DDP cost. I had such high hopes of booking bounceback for next fall but doubt that will happen as I don't really see paying rack rate for rooms just to save 15 bucks a day pp worth it.

 

[ShellyLynn3630]

I agree too! This will probably be the last year for the free dining program as we know it. O well, I am glad we were blessed to be able to get it for two years.