Is DDP worth it?

[ErinInCT]

If we grocery shop the first day and get cereal, fruit, milk for breakfasts and come back for lunches does it make sense to buy DDP? Part of the reason we have the villa is for the kitchen. We don't mind coming back mid afternoon to eat, swim, shower and go back to the park in the evening. We'll plan one breakfast at Norway for the princesses, but the rest would be TS for dinner only. Do you recommend we get DDP or not? Would it be more to buy the groceries for breakfast and lunch? Looking for other DVCer recommendations! Thanks!

 

[walkdmc]

With your current plans, I don't think it seems like it'd be worth the cost. You have to ask yourself if you'll be spending more than 31.99 (is that the current price?)/day/adult and whatever the fee is for the kids. If you do one counter service, doesn't seem that way.

I've done the DxDP twice now and won't do it again. However, the best part of the DxDP, was the 2 snacks/person/night. In the heat of the Summer, those snacks were fantastic. But what do snacks really cost? Like ...2.50-4.00/each? So, if you did one snack OOP (the DDP gives 1 snack/night), plus one CS meal (about $10.00)/day, I don't think the DDP would be worth it.

 

[adminjedi]

It used to be a better money saver when it included tax.
We found that we couldn't eat the way we like to eat.
Example, I prefer to eat appetizers rather than desserts. I would rather pay cash and eat what I choose instead of what is included.
Maybe just me.

 

[ErinInCT]

My DD is now 10 so I'd be forced to pay the higher price. I'm thinking perhaps if we pay OOP she can buy off the children's menu since she is not a big eater. So the TS price would be lower.

 

[robinb]

If we grocery shop the first day and get cereal, fruit, milk for breakfasts and come back for lunches does it make sense to buy DDP? Part of the reason we have the villa is for the kitchen. We don't mind coming back mid afternoon to eat, swim, shower and go back to the park in the evening. We'll plan one breakfast at Norway for the princesses, but the rest would be TS for dinner only. Do you recommend we get DDP or not? Would it be more to buy the groceries for breakfast and lunch? Looking for other DVCer recommendations! Thanks!

Nope. If you eat lunch back at your resort the DDP is not worth it at all. Do you have an AP? You might want to consider the TiW card instead if you plan on 2 or more trips in the next year.

 

[dianeschlicht]

DDP is not worth it to us. We did 3 trips where we tracked food costs with reciepts etc. Then we did DDP one trip. We spent almost $200 more using the DDP than we did when we ate what we wanted and where we wanted and combined it with breakfasts in the villa as well as a few suppers. We also were very uncomfortable with the dining plan, since they didn't let us do appetizers, but we could do desserts. We NEVER do desserts, and love appetizers. I should add that when we did not have the DDP, we used the TIW discount card.

 

[Pirate4Ever]

FWIW we have thoroughly enjoyed using the dining plan in the past and will do so again in September (even paying for it during the free dining promotion). If you don't mind going back to cook, then no, its probably not worth it. But for us, we have no desire to make meals when someone else could be doing it for us!

I do, however, miss the "old" dining plan where tip was included- paying 15-20% on the ticket plus the cost of the dining plan is making it a lesser and lesser value. We are going to add up the cost at the end of our trip and see if its worth it for us to continue or, like others have said, use the TiWL discount instead.

 

[Tara]

It totally depends on your eating style. We've found DDP isn't worth it for us. However, there are occasions where DxDP works just as well as TIW for us, like last month when DS8 and I stayed at a moderate - no villa means no kitchen, and that means no meals in room. I don't try to "maximize" credits by ordering the most expensive thing, but I found we had enjoyable meals where I didn't overeat, I ordered exactly what I wanted (like that dessert I was craving the taste of, but only wanted 1/4 of it...no guilt involved), and we saved money over what using the TIW card would have cost us. We're doing DxDP again next month - MIL is coming along and DH kept adding restaurants - "Oh, we should take her here! Oh, she'd really enjoy this!"

I find that a buffet breakfast and a dinner at a 2TS credit restaurant work well for us - we can have a light lunch in room or no lunch at all usually. We don't do counter service (one reason DDP doesn't work for us) and we tend to eat at signature restaurants (another reason DDP doesn't work for us). DxDP lets us enjoy those signatures and have a breakfast DS is guaranteed to eat (and eat well - I swear he eats more eggs at WDW than he does the entire rest of the year!). I prefer appetizers to dessert anyway, so that's another reason DxDP (or TIW when we're eating out fewer times in a trip) works for us. Sometimes I want a taste of something sweet, too, so the fact that dessert is included makes me feel better about ordering and then eating just a few bites.

When DS ages out of being a kid for dining purposes, though, it won't be worth it at all. No matter how you slice it, there's no way eating grilled cheese and buffet breakfasts is worth $72 per day.

 

[Sandisw]

We like the ease of the dining plans and feel they are a good value. However, we are not interested in using our villa to eat, either, other than for snacks and drinks.

In your case, I would say you would have to look at what the DDP gets you beyond the TS meal (which you are doing anyway), and whether or not you plan on using those pieces.

If you plan on eating every lunch in your room and doing no CS meals, then it really doesn't make sense to go with the DDP. However, if it is only going to cost you a little bit more than what you would pay for your TS meal anyway, and you end up with a CS meal and a snack for everyone, then it might be.

For example, we are going to Le Cellier and I plan on getting the Chef's Favorite. This, plus a soda, with tax will cost me $42.00. That is the price of the plan. Basically, that day, my CS lunch and snack are free. For my family, what we would eat at the restaurants if not on the plan provides enough value to make it worth it for us.

What you may want to do is look at some of the menus of the places you plan to eat and price out what you would eat if not on the plan. So, if you won't order dessert if paying OOP, don't count that in your figure. If you would order an app paying out of pocket, then add that cost to the price of the DDP as those are not covered. Don't worry about tip as you are going to pay that anyway since you already know you are doing 1 TS meal a day.

See where you come out. The fact that you have a child who may choose to eat off the kids menu but you have to pay adult price, may be enough, to negate any value there is.

Good luck!

 

[Hopefully]

As others have said, it depends on how and what you plan to eat.
The DDP works well for my family. I have kept receipts and we have saved each time we use it - not a lot, but a savings none the less. We normally eat a TS meal in the evening and we enjoy the CS for lunch. We do a light breakfast in the Villa. Our snack credits we have been able to use at the F & W Booths the last few years and that was a bonus for us.
The Unofficial Guide estimates that the average adult saved about $7/day on the basic DDP.
Have a Great Trip

 

[Gowahoowa]

Sure does depend on your dining habits, but we love the DDP. I have done the spreadsheet, kept all receipts, etc. and we sure come out ahead of the game. We save money. We don't cook in our villa but have snacks and some light breakfast foods there. The ease of use means a lot to us. Sure you have to pay the tip but you have to do that anyway. Not having an app is OK. If we really want one, we just get it. It is vacation. We are more dessert eaters than app eaters so it works for us. Most days, like a previous poster said, the DDP pays for the TS and the snack and counter are "free". I would recommend the DDP.

 

[ErinInCT]

What is TIW? I do not have an AP - I do not live in FL. Do you have to have an AP to get TIW?

 

[Tara]

What is TIW? I do not have an AP - I do not live in FL. Do you have to have an AP to get TIW?

TIW=Tables in Wonderland
It's a discount card you can purchase for $100 if you are a FL resident or $75 if you are an AP holder. It gives you 20% off most table service dining and a few counter service dining locations at WDW. The discount is taken off the total check and can be used for a party of up to 10. It can be used on alcoholic beverages as well.

 

[CaptHomer]

What is TIW? I do not have an AP - I do not live in FL. Do you have to have an AP to get TIW?

TIW requires that you have an AP ($75) or FL ($100).

 

[JWG]

Specific to your original question:

If you will be eating in your villa for both breakfast and lunch, I can't see how DDP will be worth it. The plan is $41.99 per adult. Your essentially spending $42 a day on a snack and dinner plus whatever you spend on your other meals.

We found that eating breakfasts in the villa (cereal and/or toast), eating a QS lunch and doing a combination of TS dinners and off property (Chevy's, Olive Garden and pizza on our last trip) that we save about $100 total on our family of 3. Not significant over 7 days - but we also didn't have the headache of having to find a TS everyday given the difficulty it produces.

 

[TDC Nala]

It used to be a better money saver when it included tax.

Price of the DDP does include tax. It is the TS tips that are not included.

I don't like it either. I don't like to order the way one is obligated to order on DDP. And some of the restaurants I like best don't accept it.