My first DDP experience....

[nonzerosum]

We just came back from 12 glorious days in WDW. We have never done the DDP, but since free dining was available during our stay, we opted to go for it. We are a family of 4 (DS6, DD8) who are adventurous, but light eaters. We love to snack and usually have 1 TS meal/day instead of only CS.

I tallied up what we would have spent on our food had it not been free and the total came to $1900 for 12 days. Had we bought the DDP plan we would have paid ~$1700.

Overall, I was not impressed with the kids selections at CS and some TS. We did some buffets and family style meals and my kids were happier there. My kids don't eat PB&J or chicken nuggets, which often left a burger as the only other choice. My daughter especially loved Ohana's and Boma. They were able to order steak at Narcoosee's and Le Cellier, but the veggies were really lacking....5 floppy green beans. I was pretty sick of seeing those little packets of carrots by the end of the trip. A few CS locations have steamed broccoli, so we did order that as an extra a few times just for some greens. BTW, I loved the broccoli. I think Disney must steam it in veggie broth....very good. In the past we have ordered one adult meal for our kids to split, and that seemed to be better received by them. I would do this again in the future (obviously can't do this on the DDP).

The desserts (adult) were sometimes a complete waste of time. The ones that were good were very good (like Liberty Tree Tavern), but mostly there were very limited selections. In many CS locations it looked like they had to put something on the menu for a dessert so they just added the cheapest option they could (dry carrot cake, chocolate mousse).

The portions were often too big for us as adults. Whenever we visit the US we find American portions to be huge. On the other hand, the kids meals were skimpy and often left them feeling unfulfilled.

I think the DDP is awesome for certain families with specific touring styles and food preferences, but I don't think we'll opt for it again for a long trip. Just too many days of sub-par kids food. Perhaps I'd think differently if we were only at WDW for 5 days, but 12 days seemed too long to be locked into kids menus. For those whose kids like typical kid food, you'll probably be happy.

The thing we loved most about the DDP was that we each got to pick a snack of our choosing each and everyday. Although we usually get a daily snack, we often share or make compromises. This trip we all felt snack indulged.

 

[brymolmom]

Thanks for the review of the DDP. Good to hear others' experiences.

My kids like typical kids meals - but they do not really like WDW kids choices (uncrustables, their kids nuggets are gross, etc.). However, I can totally see why the kids choices are so limited. The kids plan is so cheap that even going to Chef Mickey's covers its whole cost so the CS meal is really 'free' - so obviously they can't make it too elaborate. I have found that with careful planning we can avoid the nuggets and even too many burgers on our trips. Hitting up places like Main St Bakery and Starring Rolls and splitting adult meals (maybe with using a snack credit or two for an extra side or asking to replace the typical cookie dessert for a piece of fruit or other to help share it) and using kids meal credits at places like the food courts where they have pretty good variety IMO. Another trick I use is to let my picky dd(8) use a couple snack credits for her lunch here and there (a bagel and a smoothie, for example).

For TS, we do some buffets when we're on the dining plan. I usually choose 1 'adult' meals (where I don't really care what the kids choices are and they'll find something they'll eat) - but then the rest I will choose places with the best kids options - like pasta, tacos. And we almost always choose 1 or 2 two credit options (sounds like you did this too with Narcoosee's - we LOVE it there) - which generally provides very good to excellent kids options. We do this for the better food quality and options but we also do it because we don't like having sit-down meals every single day of our trip - and by having a couple 2 credit meals - it cuts down on eating that huge quantity of food every day of the trip (since we don't pay for anything OOP when we're on DDP). On our days with no sit-downs - we'll split a few CS meals and/or use the large pizza for 2 CS credits at our resort (so feed our whole family of 4 with 2 CS credits).

If you ever decide to try the DDP again, I will tell you that you 'learn' more tricks each time you go that work best for your family and end up making it a better value. It improves with each use I have found.

 

[MaryPoppins1964]

We go every year for our DD's birthday which is the last week of September, and usually means free dining plan (yippee). Our daughter also got tired of the same foods all the time and I would end up switching with her so that she could have some variety.

Three years ago, I had a CM at reservations suggest that I put her down as a 10 yo, so that she could get adult meals. The only catch was that I had to purchase the Adult park pass for her, but it was only about 40 extra dollars for the week, which to us was worth it for her to get a wider selection of food.

We love the DDP, if for no other reason than we can pay for our food before we ever get there!

 

[Dizneydaz]

Thanks for the review.

Once my DD turned 10 (which she did during our trip in 2009) it got much easier for her to get what she wanted. Even then, there were a few meals (TS) where she opted for the kid's meal (or the junior meal) instead. Before that she was okay with the kid's meal choices-though sometimes we would share 2 adult meals between the 3 of us.