We just came back from 10 days on the DDP and wanted to give my overall impression of the plan.
We ate dinners in Konas Café, Wolfgang Pucks, Germany, Whispering Canyons, Canada, Crystal Palace, Concourse Steakhouse Yachtsman Steakhouse (X-Mas Eve), and Yachtsman Galley. Christmas Day we ate off site at local relatives. We enjoyed all the meals, my favorite was probably Canada. Ive read online about situations where because the staff is guaranteed their tip, the service is sometimes bad, hard to get drink refills, menu selection cutback, etc. We really didnt see any of that. The only meal we had any problems with at the Yachtsman Steakhouse on Christmas Eve. But often when you go out on holidays the experiences isnt as good as other nights. The waitress we had was not the best, though we probably didnt help matters as we asked for three checks on the table as there were others with us not on the DDP. But they also a much more limited menu. Again not certain if this was because of holiday or in general theyve cut back?? Considering this is even a double point location was rather disappointing as the single point places were all better.
We did have one problem with credits on the next to last day. We should have had 4 table credits left and we looked at our bill and it showed none. This was the morning after the Yachtsman, so we just assumed with all the problems we had there, they were at fault. But after going to front desk of hotel and getting a print out, staff was able to figure out that problem actually occurred night prior at Concourse. The bill we were given that night when we left showed correct credits, but then afterwards they rang it through twice, debiting out extra meals. So the moral is check your bill every night. We had got a bit lazy as there were no problems at all up till then, so didnt look as close as we were earlier in trip.
Often there is debate regarding whether the DDP is worth the money. We spend way more money on food than it cost us. Our dinner bill at Canada, just for the appetizer, entrée, soft drink, and dessert; with tax and tip was close to $240 for the four of us. If we were paying on our own, would we all have got an appetizer and dessert, probably not. But even the entrée alone with tip and tax was close to the $38 total. At Germany, which has one of the less expensive buffets, we had an extra person, and her bill with a soft drink, tax and tip, was $31. Throw in a counter service for either breakfast or lunch, you easily are over $38. While we ate much more food than we normally would, it certainly was well worth the value.
Who isnt the plan good for? If you prefer eating counter service meals all the time and/or dont enjoy table service restaurants, then you might not enjoy the plan. Or if youre on a limited time frame, taking time out for table service meals can limit the time you have for the parks. Though if thats a concern, you could always eat most of your table service meals in the actual park that youre visiting that day. We were there for 10 days. That s almost too long for the plan as its hard to keep eating that much each day. Maybe four or five days would be ideal to visit enough places, but not get sick of it. We tended to use most of our counter meals for breakfasts, skip lunch, then have a TS dinner. It is hard to change reservations, but this is true even if not using the plan as places are so much more booked. But that's true whether on the plan or not.
If I came again would I use it, probably not. But mainly becasue we have relatives in the area and there's need to spend time/meals with them, so being tied down to Dinsey for dining made it a bit of a hassle. Plus to be honest with all the trips we've made in the past, we're kind of Disney'ed out. But none of those things are the fault of the plan. The plan was great, and I'd certainly reccommend it to others.
Hope this information helps others.
We ate dinners in Konas Café, Wolfgang Pucks, Germany, Whispering Canyons, Canada, Crystal Palace, Concourse Steakhouse Yachtsman Steakhouse (X-Mas Eve), and Yachtsman Galley. Christmas Day we ate off site at local relatives. We enjoyed all the meals, my favorite was probably Canada. Ive read online about situations where because the staff is guaranteed their tip, the service is sometimes bad, hard to get drink refills, menu selection cutback, etc. We really didnt see any of that. The only meal we had any problems with at the Yachtsman Steakhouse on Christmas Eve. But often when you go out on holidays the experiences isnt as good as other nights. The waitress we had was not the best, though we probably didnt help matters as we asked for three checks on the table as there were others with us not on the DDP. But they also a much more limited menu. Again not certain if this was because of holiday or in general theyve cut back?? Considering this is even a double point location was rather disappointing as the single point places were all better.
We did have one problem with credits on the next to last day. We should have had 4 table credits left and we looked at our bill and it showed none. This was the morning after the Yachtsman, so we just assumed with all the problems we had there, they were at fault. But after going to front desk of hotel and getting a print out, staff was able to figure out that problem actually occurred night prior at Concourse. The bill we were given that night when we left showed correct credits, but then afterwards they rang it through twice, debiting out extra meals. So the moral is check your bill every night. We had got a bit lazy as there were no problems at all up till then, so didnt look as close as we were earlier in trip.
Often there is debate regarding whether the DDP is worth the money. We spend way more money on food than it cost us. Our dinner bill at Canada, just for the appetizer, entrée, soft drink, and dessert; with tax and tip was close to $240 for the four of us. If we were paying on our own, would we all have got an appetizer and dessert, probably not. But even the entrée alone with tip and tax was close to the $38 total. At Germany, which has one of the less expensive buffets, we had an extra person, and her bill with a soft drink, tax and tip, was $31. Throw in a counter service for either breakfast or lunch, you easily are over $38. While we ate much more food than we normally would, it certainly was well worth the value.
Who isnt the plan good for? If you prefer eating counter service meals all the time and/or dont enjoy table service restaurants, then you might not enjoy the plan. Or if youre on a limited time frame, taking time out for table service meals can limit the time you have for the parks. Though if thats a concern, you could always eat most of your table service meals in the actual park that youre visiting that day. We were there for 10 days. That s almost too long for the plan as its hard to keep eating that much each day. Maybe four or five days would be ideal to visit enough places, but not get sick of it. We tended to use most of our counter meals for breakfasts, skip lunch, then have a TS dinner. It is hard to change reservations, but this is true even if not using the plan as places are so much more booked. But that's true whether on the plan or not.
If I came again would I use it, probably not. But mainly becasue we have relatives in the area and there's need to spend time/meals with them, so being tied down to Dinsey for dining made it a bit of a hassle. Plus to be honest with all the trips we've made in the past, we're kind of Disney'ed out. But none of those things are the fault of the plan. The plan was great, and I'd certainly reccommend it to others.
Hope this information helps others.
