Meals at Disney. Does anyone actually get the DDE

[kimberh]

We do use the card. This past Dec. Teppan Edo did not except the DDE card. The one time I tried to use it for the whole trip! I will check out Epcot restaurants for availability, before I buy it again. I figure it covers the tip. When we take our large family trip, it usually pays for itself, this Dec was our family trip. We did have the DDP, but we had $65.00 of extras on the bill. I am not buying the DDP this May, so I plan on using the same DDE again.

 

[Eventer98]

I think I am the outsider here....we still use the DDP. We usually eat 1 CS and 1 TS meal a day. Sometimes we will add an extra breakfast TS on and just eat somewhere that has a DVC or AP discount. I actually went through and tried to figure out our best savings with either DDP or DDE for our upcoming trips. DDP won each time although it was close. It's only me and DH so that might be the difference. Plus, we don't drink so the alcohol savings with DDE isn't important. It was a pain to estimate the cost of each meal but it does give you an idea of what you can or can't save.

 

[Smitty844]

My DF usually will obtain accomodations in a 1 bedroom unit and cook for breakfast. We then use the DDP for the other two meals of the day. I works for us and I believe that it is a great value over what we would pay eating on cash every meal.

When we arrive, we always rent a car for conveinence and once we are settled, I will head to either Wal-Mart (Wally World) or Target (Tarjee) on Route 192 to purchase breakfast food items and snacks for the room.

Again this has always worked for us and we can usually get moving a lot more quickly in the morning (DW needs her breakfast or can't function).

Smitty

 

[Peepster]

We use the DDE card and have come out ahead every time. We used it at Vic and Al's (sorry, Victoria & Albert's) and saved $100 in one sitting.

Of course, we're the odd ducks who refuse to use the DDP. It's our ridiculous way of protesting the standardization of the Disney restaurants. As a former restaurant owner, I do understand how the bulk buying works and why Disney does it, but I miss the creativity of the Chefs at individual restaurants. And we are amused at the change in the DDP this year. If you calculate just having to produce a tip for each meal, it seems to me that users are losing money! Of course, my math stinks, so pay little attention to the middle-aged women behind the computer screen.

And with the change to the DDE (addition of the 18% tip), the card should work even better because we formerly tipped 20%. Seems we can save another 2% in addition to the 20%.

Not accepting the card at Yak & Yeti I understand as it's a Landry restaurant, but does anyone know why Teppan Edo doesn't accept it?

 

[nboicepardee]

We bought the DDE last week and it was only $60! I was pleasantly surprised, because I had read that it was $65. Hope it wasn't a mistake. We are a family of 4, but my youngest is only 2, so she was often free. We ate a table service meal each day (we stayed 8), some character meals, Boma a couple of times, Raglan Road, San Angel Inn, Coral Reef, CRT. About half of the meals were dinner and half were lunch. My husband got a glass of wine each day. I only got a drink once. We also ate at 2 different counter service restaurants in AK and the DDE was accepted. We more than recouped the cost. It payed for itself with about 1/2 the meals. My husband and I will be going again in the fall for 3 or 4 nights, and I hope to eat dinner in a signature restaurant at least a couple of times. We hope to take the girls again next January, so we will be saving a great deal, especially because the youngest will be 3. We also save with the tip, because I generally leave at least 20% (sometimes more). The DDE is accepted almost everywhere. I just did my research before we left, and made our ADRs where it was accepted.

We hadn't been in 3 years, so we bought an annual pass to make the most out of this year and we will go in early January next time to get another trip out of it, then we will skip another year. I love eating TS meals, and the DDE makes it a little more affordable.

 

[Eventer98]

What is the tip situation with DDE that everyone is referring to? I just assumed you left whatever tip you felt the server deserved??

 

[starbox]

We're a family of four and we used the DDP last year and still saved $$ with the DDE!

We used it for a few meals/drinks at VB - but it paid for itself just with Valet parking and character breakfast @ Ohana and a dinner at the CG. I'm going to use it exclusively on my Spring Break trip - so we'll come out way ahead of the 65$ cost of the card.

I really like the DDE - and the inclusion of the tip does not impact our use of the card at all. We did not ever view tips as an "optional charge" and would not dream of tipping less than 20% - so we always looked at it as a way to save that 20%.

 

[CarolA]

What is the tip situation with DDE that everyone is referring to? I just assumed you left whatever tip you felt the server deserved??

If you use the DDE an automatick 18% tip is added. This probably occured because some folks were NOT leaving what the server deserved or were basing it on the discounted price. (In other words if the meal would have cost $100 and you tip 20% your tip should have been $20, but DDE folks were paying $80 and tipping $16 or probably more like $12 )

If your service is not acceptable you can ask for a manager and get it reduced. (I have done this at business meals at other resturants where they do the automatic for large groups)

 

[ChelleinNC]

We got our DDE card in June on a 10 day trip and recouped our money after the first few days. On our December trip we got the DDP because of the holiday surcharges added to the buffets/all you can eat restaurants. Since DS10 wasn't going to eat "adult" food, we paid OOP for him, and used the DDE for his meals Then used his adult TS credits for extra meals for us Unless they change the DDP, we probably won't ever use it again, but we'll use our DDE card on our March trip and possibly a June trip before it expires.

 

[Eventer98]

Thanks! That's kinda what I thought everyone was referring to

 

[Nadine&Scott]

We used the DDE for the first time on our last trip Jan. 20-29. Picked it up at Guest Services at DTD upon our arrival and was pleasantly surprised to be charged $60 instead of the $65 I was anticipating.

On the trip were Me, DW, DFIL, and DMIL. We ate a TS meal ever day and the card paid for itself after just a few meals, and it is valid until Feb. 28, 2009.

When the bill came I checked the total and then presented the DDE card. When the discounted bill was returned the total with the 18% gratuity added it was a few dollars less than the pre discount bill. Only the Liberty Tree Tavern "forgot" to add the gratuity to the bill. Glad I noticed that or we would have "stiffed" our server, gave him a 20% tip for his service. Did not feel the need to add an additional tip to the other bill. Service was for the most part good but not exceptional.

Consider this former DDP user, a DDE convert.

Scott