Is DDP still worth it if it is not free?

[eblack0409]

We always get the dining plan.....whether it's free or we pay for it, it's always worth it for us...we end up eating around $900 for food and pay about 1/2 that for the dining plan!

 

[Wendi2000]

For me, the dining plan is well worth the money. I decided to do a comparison and made a little spreadsheet. I chose foods from the All Ears menus and planned on eating really cheap to see if I could get away with spending less that way. Even while trying to eat cheap it was more than the dining plan, and I didn't include tax or tips. I only had a couple of table service restaurants - just the ones that were on my must do list - nothing expensive... just Boma and I can't even remember the other one or two now.

However, if you are staying at a DVC condo, you might find that it is cheaper to buy and cook your own meals - but then again, not everyone wants to do that on vacation. It just depends on your style.

 

[BTown]

Well, it is and it isnt. If you plan to eat a TS meal every day, and would ordinarily get individual apps and desserts with every meal, then it is most certainly worth the money. If you were to eat all the food offered on the dining plan, but pay OOP, you'd be looking at about $82 a day, per person in food. With the DDP at $38 a day, thats a considerable saving. However, the average person doesnt eat like that on vacation. I think the average person usually would eat about 2 CS meals a day, which would come to about $30 a day or less.

But here is the catch. If you are all ready looking to spend around $30 a day on food anyway, why not spend the extra $8 and be able to get all the extras the DDP offers?

But, to me, it is well worth the money in the fact that, with the DDP, I am able to pay for my room, tickets and food before I ever leave home. That way, when I get to Disney, all my major expenses are paid for, and I can sit back, relax and have a good time. Also, as someone mentioned, its great with budgeting, because you know just how much you are spending before you ever leave home.

Just my two cents on the matter.

 

[Clotho]

Parroting the majority, it depends a ton on how you like to eat.

For me and hubby, who relish the wonderful array of table service restaurants and their delicious offerings when we are on vacation, we easily spend the cost of the plan on one meal. We don't necessarily get two appetizers and two desserts, but the joy of this plan is GETTING TO TRY two different appetizers and desserts. For a foodie, getting to try twice as many things for less than you would have paid for one...well worth it. Then add in the fact that we get to have a counter service and snack paid for in that as well. SCORE!

The only thing that will add up for us is drinks--mainly wine in our case. Not covered, but darn tootin' we'll be racking it up on the dinner bill.

I am just praying that they will have the DDP for free next hurricane season! *fingers crossed* But I fear that the popularity generated from the past two years of free DDP will preclude it from being offered a third year.

Oh and PS, for anyone who says "I wouldn't buy a dessert and appetizer normally, so it won't save me money", take a look at the link earlier in this thread where a generous poster outlined the cost of their meals, excluding the cost of those items, and they still saved. So I would say yeah, it's still a great deal for everyone!

For our part, we intend to package some stuff to take back to our room at the end of the night--cheese plates or a pie slice for a latenight snack sounds great to us!

 

[yankeepenny]

we just returned last friday. two adults. the plan was 38.99 a day, CS TS and Snack. Each CS lunch if we paid was 26.00 to 29.00. Each dinner (withought alcohol) was at least 28.00 per person. so, we saved big time. we used snack credits for fruit and danish and let me tell you, we saved several hundred dollars with this plan,and tip is included. two meals, we gave a little cash extra as the service was sooo good.
well worth it to us. all we brought was the room key, never had to use credit card or cash, and it was smooth sailing.

 

[drogerstn]

We save money and have more flexibility without the DDP.

We eat an occasional sit-down meal at lunch time. Being locked into a PS time for every day would be a hassle and we change our "touring plans" depending on how things are going during our visit.

 

[bethbuchall]

When you look at the cost, also remember to factor in any discounts that you may be eligible for on the hotel room. Sometimes people forget that paying rack rate on the room negates the savings of the dining plan.

 

[zima-cheryl]

I've never been sure if we actually save/loose $$ on the DDP, but I love the convenience! By the time you arrive everything is paid for except for breakfast, bottled water during the day and any extra drinks you get with meals.

You can use snack points for water...but I go through 4+ bottles most days, so I still end up buying those. But we just put a little bit of $$ as a credit on our Key to the World so I can just swipe (it gets charged to our room) and go.

When I'm on vacation I'm all about convenience...I'm there to enjoy & relax, not fuss over $$. That alone makes it worth it to us.

 

[dance2874]

We just got back- myself, DH and DD3. I will never go back without it. And we PAID for our plan, we missed the dealdine for the free dining packages.

We came out about $700 ahead by using in the plan. No, we probably would not have ordered the same way if we were paying for it OOP...BUT it allowed us to eat anywhere we wanted, anything we wanted and not have to worry about it. We also did a ton of character meals we would have never paid for. Saving us time in line to meet them and the meals were all great.

The credits are EASY to track and it was not hard at all, unless you want to be anal about maximizing every penny of the plan and ordering only the most expensive stuff. We even had snack credits left to get stuff to take on the plane with us. I am sitting her munching on some Disney Kettle Corn as I type

 

[momimouse27]

I personally like not having to worry about what I am spending on a meal. This way I can just go, have what I want and be done with it.

I can't tell you what a relief having this package is to me. Even though we have stayed at deluxe, moderate and value, we are always watching our pennies when it comes to food. Usually, by the time we arrive, the only thing unpaid for is the food.

I am so excited about not looking at the prices on the menu and getting to order dessert and appetizers and not feeling guilty about it. Yippeee!! I cant wait!

 

[PottersMom]

We are more than 2 but for us DDP made sense for us. It allowed us to have the trip paid in full before we went. Didn't have to worry so much about the extras. So, it paid off for us to be relaxed and able to do the TS we wanted without worrying about the expense.

Kelly

I agree with kelly. We ar ea young couple- no kids yet, but still like to watch what we spend. I know if we paid OOP every meal we would be trying to cut costs- it's the sticker shock of menu prices. So we would end up eating at a lot of counter service restaurants, the vacation would be totally different. With DP we pay ahead, and its still a very reasonable food budget and b/c you've already paid for everything you don't have to worry about which restaurants or how much it will cost. I think its great!

 

[Keyser]

I figured up what I saved (2 adults, 1 child) on a one week trip last January - it came to 32% of what would have been the bill. This was taken from totalling up all the receipts I received, showing what it would have cost, and I don't remember if that included tips or not. If not, we ended up saving more than 32%. We did eat more and at nicer places than we would have otherwise, though.

As others have said, it's a lot of food, and you have to know how you do/would like to eat. However, it's worth noting that while we felt like we were constantly eating on this trip (and always getting the appetizer/dessert/etc.), I don't think any of us gained much if any weight - the walking pretty much balanced out the additional calories...

One other thing to point out, though - we did end up paying for a couple of things out of pocket (our first day there was one of those times). In particular, while my wife and I were more than full from our 1 TS, 1 CS, 1 Snack per day, my 4yo daughter would always eat 3 meals per day (actually, usually never finishing any of them...). So, we'd usually end up buying her breakfast out of pocket. If you're the type who wants 3 small/moderate meals per day, rather than 1 very large and 1 medium/large (plus one snack), then the plan might not work well for you.

 

[daisy58]

As a couple who did not do the dining option May 05, and
honestly do not remember what we spent, BUT I do notice
several of our favs--Sci Fi, Prime Time, Wolfgang Pucks on
the TS venue, let me ask you veterans of the DP a question:
for the TS, as an example, you receive an appetizer, entree,
non-alcoholic drink, and desert...are you allowed to have a
starter salad (instead of a hot appetizer, or whatever),
purchase your beer or wine with dinner, and save your drink
allowance for a coffee with your included dessert???

 

[bicker]

Yes, yes, and yes.

 

[disneygirl725]

I would say yes. I am not a "big eater", I more graze throughout the day. We just got back from WDW and we ate at some amazing places. Even if its not offered the next time we go, we will use it. It was easy knowing that meals were taken care of and I could eat whatever I want.

 

[ntsammy5]

Thanks Bicker. A lot of work went into that. Great job

 

[2giddy4wdw]

For us I like not having to worry about how much we are spending. And not always getting what we really want because of the price. Yes it is a lot of food, but we also like to try different things. We were so happy when they decided to let DVC members buy into the DDP. We have used it before we were members and loved not worrying about prices. Our kids even ate at places that we normally wouldn't eat at (Wolfgang Pucks upstairs dining room) and loved it. We will be using it this November for the first time as DVC members and we can't wait. It all depends on where you like to eat and if you tend to order the cheaper items because of price!

 

[LSchrow]

We won't be on free dining, so is the DDP still worth it if it is not free?

We are just two adults in our 40's staying DVC. I feel like we would break even paying OOP and not have to worry about credits, etc.

similar scenerio:
we are 2 adults, both 50yo, stayed DVC (BWV) & paid for DDP for 7 days/6 nights.

we don't cook on vacation (though we did a grocery run for bottled water, fritos , etc).



pros:
~ EXCELLENT value: $38 per person is less than one dinner at a nice restaurant around here
~ very good selection of restaurants to chose from. we ate at Alfredo's, Chefs De France, Spoodles (2x ~ LOVE the place!), Wolfgang Puck's, Capt'n Jack's.

cons:
~ we started getting tired of eating around the 4th day
~ encountered one, but only one, "attitude": waiter at Alfredo's (leonardo) was snooty once he heard we were on the DDP (checked, double-checked, triple-checked our card: 2A using 2A - pretty easy, right? ). we considered leaving b/c his service & attitude were so poor, but the asst srerver managed to pick up some of leonardo's slack (guess who got a nice extra tip, right in front of Mr Snoot's snout? )


suggestions:
~ book dinners for around 8PM. the restaurants are much quieter (less little ones), and a bit less busy.
~ check out the menus in advance, so you know you will both find something to enjoy
~ use the CS for b'fast (ABC commissary in MGM has a good one, served until 10:30AM).
~ we used a few snack credits for milk (i NEED lotsa coffee throughout the day)


we'll prob do it again (not on trips of more than 7 days tho)

hth

 

[JimMIA]

...encountered one, but only one, "attitude": waiter at Alfredo's (leonardo) was snooty once he heard we were on the DDP (checked, double-checked, triple-checked our card: 2A using 2A - pretty easy, right? ). we considered leaving b/c his service & attitude were so poor...

We don't eat at Alfredo's because the service has been poor every time we've tried it. We've never had any attitude from servers, but just either a very poor system or very unskilled waitstaff. They're always in the weeds, even when the place is not packed.

 

[karinbelle]

Well, you guys convinced me. We're doing the DDP. Eating at Japan, Kona, Donald's Breakfast AK, LeCellier, Sci-Fi, Chef Mickey's, Marrakesh, Ohana Chara Bkft, and maybe Wolfgang Puck DTD.

Not sure about the CS. We'll be there during F&W festival. Less than 3 weeks to go!