Mr. Mouse

[Mr. & Mrs. Mouse]

I don't know if this has been discussed here before, but we are considering purchasing the Disney Dining Experience. As AP holders, I understand one of us can buy it for $50. We will be there for a week in June. My concerns are, we have ofter pulled out our DVC cards, and we were politely told, not here. Any one else ever use the DDE? Is it worth the extra expense, not to mention one more thing to think about before paying the bill....
Thanks for any comments....

 

[garydeb]

Hi,

We used the DDE card in Jan. It was great!!! We had no problems with it and we just had the confirmation letter at the time. If you are going to be eating in the parks I think it's a great deal. You just need to make sure the places you are eating are on the list. A list comes with your card or check it on the allears website.

Good luck,
garydeb

 

[lenshanem]

Our last trip we broke even and then saved some. It was worth it! We'll still get several trips off it. It was taken at EVERY place we at ate, except the counters... (But several AK quick service are included!)

 

[liznboys]

We just used the DDE card on our Feb trip. We bought it because we ate at several of the places on the list: http://www.allearsnet.com./din/dde.htm We didn't have the actual cards before our trip, so we had to use a copy of the confirmation email. We never had trouble using it. All the CM's seemed to know all about it...they would glance at the letter and hand it right back to me. At the sit-down places, we just gave it either before they brought the bill, or if they were too quick for us, along with the bill and they would adjust it. They never asked to see our AP or ID or anything. Easy as pie! It definitely saved us money.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Mouse]

Thank you all for helping me make up my mind. I will order it today....
Mr. Mouse

 

[OneMoreTry]

I didn't realize this was such a great deal. It can almost pay for an AP if you eat out enough, which we do. And most of the restaurants we like are on it. 20% off!

Even Flying Fish!

 

[lllovell]

I am VERY excited about using it.

One word of advice though, don't order it until a week or so before your trip. They will gladly send you an email you can use (without any problems) and if you take more than one trip in a year, the exp. date on the card will matter. It is dated 12 months from the month in which they expect you to receive your card. (so if you call now, it will probably expire at the end of March, but if you called during the middle of the month, it would probably be April 30th.) I never got my card and had to call and get another email for our next trip. I am stoked about this program!!!!

 

[pumpkinboy]

I ordered and used my new DDE in January. During our January trip, I simply used the paper they sent me via email as proof and had no problem. Then last week our new DDE cards arrived in our mailbox. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they expire in March of 2006, so I will be getting 14 months use out of them! I was psyched since we have been planning a February 2006 Grand Gathering, so those 2 extra months should be very nice!

So maybe ordering a couple of months before you plan to go next isn't such a bad idea after all, since apparently we're getting 14 months out of the cards.

 

[lenshanem]

pumpkinboy, ours also had a longer expiration date than I was told when I ordered it!

 

[DizneyNutz]

Not to seem stupid here, but what exactly is the DDE Card? We eat inside fairly often and could use any insight into discounts---it gets expensive eating inside for four people....we have found that we actually come out better leaving the parks, and going somewhere close by, example Golden Coral or Olive Garden---Last time we were there we stayed at Double Tree Suites, it was nice, but not like staying inside, we ate 99.9% of our meals offsite---still expensive but not like paying $50 bucks for four people to eat hotdogs at a counter....Thanks!

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Not to seem stupid here, but what exactly is the DDE Card? We eat inside fairly often and could use any insight into discounts---it gets expensive eating inside for four people....we have found that we actually come out better leaving the parks, and going somewhere close by, example Golden Coral or Olive Garden---Last time we were there we stayed at Double Tree Suites, it was nice, but not like staying inside, we ate 99.9% of our meals offsite---still expensive but not like paying $50 bucks for four people to eat hotdogs at a counter....Thanks!

It is a card that used to be reserved for Florida residents. Now it is available for $50.00 to AP holders, many of whom are DVC members. It gets you 20% off food and beverage (alcohol too) at most Disney restaurants. If you spend $250.00 over the course of the year, you will break even on the expense of the card. If you spend more than that, it is money in your pocket.

Check out the link to AllearsNet listed above.

HBC

 

[jennz]

llovell - thanks for the tip about the expiration date. I was wondering about that and thinking about ordering now for a June trip - now I know I'll wait.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

One word of advice though, don't order it until a week or so before your trip. They will gladly send you an email you can use (without any problems) and if you take more than one trip in a year, the exp. date on the card will matter. It is dated 12 months from the month in which they expect you to receive your card.

I phoned DDE yesterday and was told it would be possible to order one on arrival, and that they would fax a confirmation letter to my hotel's front desk.

I am trying to fit annual two trips onto one AP, so every day counts!

Andrew

 

[Mickmse2002]

I phoned DDE yesterday and was told it would be possible to order one on arrival, and that they would fax a confirmation letter to my hotel's front desk.

I am trying to fit annual two trips onto one AP, so every day counts!

Andrew

That's good to know as we will also be getting two trips out of one AP so every day can make a difference.