Is DDP still worth it ?

[profolly]

Hi All
My DD and I visited last October and used the DDP and were able to eat in some lovely places Jiko,Boma etc. now I know the rules have changed ie tipping etc and also ith different levels depending on your hotel grade.


My question is is it still worth it I would love peoples opinion

Viv x

 

[Jets fan]

Hi

Have a look at the Disney Restaurants section as right at the top there's a link to another section all about DDP. I have to saythat we are going in April and using DDP but probably for the last time as:

We like starters and never usually have desserts as I am diabetic and find I consume less suger this way. On the new DDP you have to pay for starters but desserts are free.

The tipping is also a problem as we never usually carry much cash and it was so much easier when the tip was included. We always left something extra for our server depending on the service we received. I know we can pay back card or charge back to the room but it's all more hassle.

Amm still very much looking forward to my hols though

 

[Shooby doo]

As the poster above said,I like the occasional dessert but in most cases would have a starter.We managed to get free DDP for Sept & to be honest that made it worthwhile paying the supplement to stay on-site but if I had to pay then I don't thinks so,don't get me wrong I think £20 a day is reasonable but on top of the on-site supplement the math doesn't add up. One thing I would complain about,in the past I normally do a plan & meals come & go as we please but all this ADR planning is driving me nuts!
SD

 

[KayleeUK]

We did it on our last trip, but now with the change we won't do it again. It doesn't work out such a good deal with the amendment's.

 

[ScottishDisMam]

I agree, we did it last time, but it was more straight forward last year, and will not bother this time because it was a pain having to be so organised way ahead of time - you lose all your spontanaiety - and gain about 2 inches of extra fat round your belly which hasn't budged since October
It's okay to say you don't bother with desserts, but when your there and you've paid for them you lose all your resolve and tell yourself you'll just have a wee taste.......

Lisa

 

[rsbuxt]

Hi.

Not sure it was ever worth it, but defo. not now...many restaurants are 2 dinner credits now, no starters included, and the 18% tip that was included has been taken off....

Rich

 

[stephensmum]

I don't think it's worth it now, espically if you have a 10+ child as you not only have to pay for adult plan but also tip adult rate.

 

[paulh]

have paid for it and had it free in the past,and to me it`s not worth it anymore.As outhers have said the removal of the app and tip is a big bobo by disney.lots of reports of anger about it so far
i contacted disney about it last sept was told then it wont change unless they get a lot of feedback.(think there hearing it now)
So if you thought it was a bad idea what they have done to it,contact disney like i did
Paulh

 

[AlanUK]

I did a lot of calculations before we took our last trip and signed up for the DDP and at the time it was just about worth it. Having done that though I did feel we lost some of the enjoyment of eating during the trip as most of the time I was either so full I felt unable to move or I was feeling guilty for sending so much food back to the kitchen. Some of the time it would have been nice to say of an evening that we were not that hungry and to just have a light snack, but then you get into the whole thiung about needing to shift around your TS and CS credits and how many of each you have. It starts to take over your vacation in the end and you end up just moving between meals!

However having seen the changes to the dining plan I am somewhat thankful to Disney as for us it's really a no brainer now - it's simply not worth it.

 

[crabbie1]

I am alittle worried now After reading all these negatives.I have added up the total cost of our planned sit down meals and averaging out the combi's and snacks and it comes to way more than £48 a day which is what it will cost for the 3 of us.Am I missing something.I know we have to pay the tip and loose the appetiser but most of the meals we are going to book are buffet(boma chef mickeys crystal palace).Whats this about hotel grade??How does this affect the plan?We are at POP for 3 nights and then DVC.Perhaps I will have to reconsider

 

[paulh]

Whats this about hotel grade??How does this affect the plan?We are at POP for 3 nights and then DVC.Perhaps I will have to reconsider

No hotel grades afect the dinning plans.you can get it from the values,mods and deluxes.All for the same price
As alan says it can domanate your holiday and ties you to disney for your stay.As you are plannig on doing a split stay ,if you want it for the pop stay you will have to buy at least one days baseMYW ticket.on the DVC stay you dont have to buy any park tickets to get it
If it works for you get it.good place to check prices is www.allearsnet.com for working out tips and app prices
on the tip frount the amount given to you is only a surgestion you can tip less if bad service
would avise if on plan to write in tip line "paying in cash"asthis will avoid confusion with the sever
Paulh

 

[cazzie]

We had the free DDP last year but would never do it again, we both felt that the holiday lost all spontanaiety and we would find ourselves having to rush over to a particular park to be at a restuarant. It was excellent value for money but it seemed that all we did was eat and then sleep it off. I still think it could be good value even with the changes but it's not something I would do again. We would still leave a tip even though the gratuity was included so it wouldn't bother me that it is now not included although I could see that it would make a difference.

 

[chip&dale]

Hi All
My DD and I visited last October and used the DDP and were able to eat in some lovely places Jiko,Boma etc. now I know the rules have changed ie tipping etc and also ith different levels depending on your hotel grade.


My question is is it still worth it I would love peoples opinion

Viv x

I um'd and arr'd for ages before we went on our last trip about the DDP,we stay on site and eat practically every meal somewhere in the 'world'.In the end I decided not to because 1.DD was now 11 and we would have to pay full adult price for her. 2. My DH didn't want to be tide to a ADR every night.3.My DS eats when he's wants to and too tight a shedual would result in wasted food.
I( rather sadly) saved each and every receipt for food and drinks that we had while we were there.When we got home I added up the receipts .It came to just short of £700 .We were there 14 nights.We ate well ,we did TS at least every other day ,we did C.meals ,we ate breakfast in the food court every day.We tip well.
It wouldn't have been worth it in october under the old scheme.It's definately not worth it now.

 

[Shooby doo]

Viv we normally spend about £60-£80 per day for the 3 of us- DS has been eating off the adult menus for a while-These prices are eating at places like :Bennigan's,Kobe,Uno's,Tony Roma's,Outback,Olive Garden... but we have always stayed off-site,because we are on-site this time & have DDP we will eat in WDW,we plan on eating occasionally off-site to save credits for Sig restaurants.If you plan on staying on-site & eating on-site nearly everyday then I think that it could be worth it,according to our reservation the plan is worth £1200 & we would spend more than that normally.
What I would say as I've said earlier is the holiday is losing some of it's spontaniety by having to make ADR's-if you could just do "walk ups" it would be great!
SD