Just back from 5 days of DDP

[jamounger]

We just got back last night and found the DDP worth the money(we were staying on points so paid for 5 adults) but felt like we were a slave to the meals. The service was great, the food was wonderful, all of our table service meals added up to more than we paid so the counter sevice and the snacks were icing on the cake. We were travelling with a 2 year old so all our meals were from 5p to 6p, by the time we got to a park, rode a few rides and then got to lunch it would be at least 2p and then we had a huge dinner coming in another 3 hours! We hit all the big name restaurants since I got my reservations in early. I am going again for free dining on a long weekend in Sept with just my husband and after that I think I will think long and hard booking the dining plan again. We got huge amounts of food and saved a lot of money but missed a lot of disney magic rushing to get to the meals. A table service every day takes a big chunk of time. Of all the restaurants we went to the only ones my family asked to return to was teppanyaki and cape may buffet. Next time we will just eat there and do counter service for the rest and probably spend less than buying the plan cost and have more time to enjoy the parks.

 

[Destination Disney]

We are going in Sept. and Dec. and using the DDP. I am curious, do you feel you are getting the same equal amount of service and attention from your server when you mention that you are on the ddp or do you feel like the ddp is a big inconvenience to them being that the gratuity will automatically calculate into the bill, therefore they do not need to give that extra attention? Just curious, I've heard mixed reviews! Some service was great while others had issues when ddp was mentioned.

 

[jamounger]

I didn't feel I was recieving any less service with the dining plan but EVERYBODY was on the plan in the restaurants. I don't recall seing a single person around me pay for there meals. I did spend a lot of time standing in line behind somone at counter services while the cast member tried to explain to confused people what was on the plan and why all those extra drinks they ordered had to be charged as snacks and weren't included with the meals. I also noted that the restaurants were not always full in spite of being told when I tried to change some reservations that restaurants were fully booked. One example was Spoodles, when I made the reservation they had to split my group between 2 tables. I got up every day and went to the concierge to see if he could get us all at one table and each time was told it was sold out. When we checked in to the restaurant they told us no problem, half of the tables sat empty the entire meal.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I try space our meals out when using the dining plan.

We'll have lunch at 11:00 then dinner at between 5:00 & 7:30.

 

[HaleyB]

The first time we did the DDP we also felt a bit like a slave to it, and did find it cut into our time for other things. I learned my lesson and now book it so that we have several days with no TS meal.

We eat a TS on our arrival and departure days & we eat at one or two signature places. We also do not try to maximize value at all, we use TS credits for breakfast buffets and for lunch. The lunch meals seem to be much easier to work our touring around.

 

[Dizneydaz]

We did DDP for the first time in Jan. 05 and my mom also felt that planning all those meals took alot of time and she wasn't sure if she wanted to do DDP again. However, when it was offered for free last Sept. we went, and now that it's free again we are going next month too! We like to go in Sept. anyway and the free DDP is just an added bonus. My DD6 is out of school in Sept. (year round school) so it works out well for us.

 

[S.Poppins]

Our family really enjoyed the DDP last year. It was fun to eat at all the great restaurants. We are looking forward to it in January. When my DH and I remember going as kids (which was only once for me) we packed lunches and split CS meals - forget about a nice TS. So it is a treat to take our family to all the wonderful places - it is part of the magic.

 

[lovehoney]

I didn't feel I was recieving any less service with the dining plan but EVERYBODY was on the plan in the restaurants. I don't recall seing a single person around me pay for there meals. I did spend a lot of time standing in line behind somone at counter services while the cast member tried to explain to confused people what was on the plan and why all those extra drinks they ordered had to be charged as snacks and weren't included with the meals. I also noted that the restaurants were not always full in spite of being told when I tried to change some reservations that restaurants were fully booked. One example was Spoodles, when I made the reservation they had to split my group between 2 tables. I got up every day and went to the concierge to see if he could get us all at one table and each time was told it was sold out. When we checked in to the restaurant they told us no problem, half of the tables sat empty the entire meal.

Doesn't counter service come with a drink?

 

[S.Poppins]

Yes, you get one drink with CS. So they must of ordered extra drinks.

 

[patsal]

I try space our meals out when using the dining plan.

We'll have lunch at 11:00 then dinner at between 5:00 & 7:30.

We do the same, and if you add a signature meal in there you can take the "edge" off of having to eat a large meal each day and double up on CS another day, as we tended to use three CS rather than four for the four of us. By not eating when everyone else does you easily lose the lines. I'd be doubtful anyone is really paying for food over the next few weeks with the exception of dayguests not staying on property.

 

[wdwobsessed]

We are going in Sept. and Dec. and using the DDP. I am curious, do you feel you are getting the same equal amount of service and attention from your server when you mention that you are on the ddp or do you feel like the ddp is a big inconvenience to them being that the gratuity will automatically calculate into the bill, therefore they do not need to give that extra attention? Just curious, I've heard mixed reviews! Some service was great while others had issues when ddp was mentioned.

Back in December we did not feel that we got any worse service than we would have if not on the DDP. I do think overall the service level has gone down a tad however. But by no means did we ever have "bad" service.

We are going with the "free" dining plan in 10 days. I hope that we are still treated as full paying guests because at $462.00 a night w/tax for our CR MK Tower room ... we are MORE than paying for it!

WDWO

 

[Praying Colonel]

We were travelling with a 2 year old so all our meals were from 5p to 6p, by the time we got to a park, rode a few rides and then got to lunch it would be at least 2p and then we had a huge dinner coming in another 3 hours!

Like others, we tried to avoid this by spacing out our meals. We ate a light breakfast and then ate lunch around 11:30. This allowed us to beat the lunch crowds and get out and back to touring by 12 or 12:15, and also gave us more time between big meals.

The 1 time we ate a late lunch was also the day we had our most disappointing TS meal. I don't think we would've been happy with the quality of the food at our TS restaurant under any circumstances, but it certainly didn't help that we were still kinda full from having eaten just a relatively short time before.

We'll use DDP in the future because we usually have a snack, CS and TS each day, anyway, and DDP costs us less money than we'd spend otherwise, but we'll stick pretty religiously to a schedule of an earlier lunch and a later dinner.

 

[alien]

Just returned from 8/15-8/20. Our first TS meal, at Alfredo's, was our worst meal on the free DDP. We've always loved Alfredo's but this time was lousy. We felt very rushed and the waitress was rude. My fettucine was dry on the top, as if it had been sitting on the counter for a while. The waitress told me to just stir it around. I should have sent it back but I was hungry. The person who gave us silverware and refilled water and sodas did a better job. We tipped him separately. My DH did give the waitress an extra $10 tip and boy was she apologetic after that - said she was sorry. Service at all of our other meals (Ohana, Le Cellier, SciFi, and Chef Mickey's) was good.

 

[jamounger]

Update on my DDP experience. I was there Tuesday when the system crashed. We got lunch at Wolfgang Pucks Express, The manager at the Boardwalk told us to put the meal on the charge card registered at the resort as the room charges were not working either. We were told to bring the reciepts to the desk which I did. The girl at the desk took a while to work on it and told us to come back later, when I eturned she cheerfully told me it was all fixed. Well guess what just came through on my bank statement, A 74 dollar charge for Wolfgang Pucks Express. This has certainly turned out to be my least magical stay ever(we had room issues at the Boardwalk too).

 

[AllthingsPiglet]

I had a few thoughts on the question that was raised about whether or not a server will give you the same attention if you are on the dining plan.
I have absolutley no experience working at Disney obviously. But this summer I have been a server in a very very very busy restaurant that is the most popular in the tourist district in Niagara Falls. We do fast paced high volume service. ( we can seat 480 people in our establishment)
In my experience.. my job is much more pleasant if i extend the same courtesy and friendliness to all my patrons. Of course I am working for tips (we make less than minimum wage).. but in order to not want to cry or fall apart on my busiest shifts the thing that keeps most of us going is the customer interaction.. sharing stories.. laughing.. being friendly.
If the tip is rolled in.. well great.. but i will probably have 30 other tables that night where it is not guaranteed and in order to do my job well and stand out i am going to put on a smile at the start of the night.. and extend it to everyone who comes in the door.
My basic philosophy is this... "These people have saved and saved to bring their family on vacation. They worked hard all year just like I do to be able to take their family somewhere special. They are just like me.. and they deserve my best."
I know that not every server will be that way... but i just wanted to let you know that there are alot of us who really want to make your trip special regardless of a tip. And I imagine it is the same at Disney.
Here's hoping you get a courteous and kind server!

 

[jess20k]

I also see mixed review on how people feel they are treated differently if they are on the DDP, I guess it could vary. I mean I would think that they should be happy that they are guaranteed at least an 18% tip including another 18% tip on any separate alcohol bill. But, you never know, maybe the CM that do seem like they are treating people on the DDP differently are like that anyway? Unless they change their mood all of a sudden when they are told that you would be on the DDP???

We were lucky and all of the CM that we dealt with during our meals with the DDP were terrific, especially our waitresss at Narcoosee's, she was awesome! The only one CM that we didn't care for was the one at Ohana. Even though we absolutely love Ohana, she was flat out miserable, but every other time we have ever dined there (which was w/o the DDP) we encountered wonderful service.