Noob looking for DDP/Deluxe DDP opinions

[TeddiBarra]

Hi Disboarders,


I could use your feedback and opinions. Trip deets: First time ever to FL and WDW. We're an experienced DLR family.

What we KNOW we're doing: 5 nights, our family (me, dh & 3 kids) in the Cabins, then switching to 2 BR Villa @ AKL when grandma, my sister&her BF join us for 4 night. If offered we will be doing the regular DDP. If it is an option, I'm debating on whether or not the Deluxe plan would be a good fit for us during the first portion of our stay (5 nights cabins, just my immediate family) Questions in orange, in case I ramble too much.

I'm gonna do this in reverse order, since I know more about what we're doing the last half of the trip when everyone is there. All of us will be on DDP of course.
Day 1-check in ALK- grandma& sister arriving after 5 PMish- probably not DDP use for everyone except a snack.
Day 2- MK park: 2 TS for CRT . (Ressie made and paid for dinner. If we get the DDP I am supposed to call back and change the ressie and then I can have my $ back!) This is a "must do" for grandma and my girls, my sister and BF are a maybe (grrr, make up your minds! I had to pay for you already). That same day: 1 QS meal. ANY SUGGESTIONS on a the best/favorite QS place??? Interested in a late breakfast/early lunch/brunch.

Day 2- AK- Tusker House brunch, 1 TS. Early (for us) Dinner: FTB 1 QS. (I am flexible, I have no made ressies yet, so I guess we could flip that around, I haven't researched last seating times. When time does the FTB serve til on days they close @ 5pm?

Day 3- EPCOT- This is not a hard final decision but a PROBABLY- Askherhaus for brunch. 1TS. Some other place in Epcot for dinner 1QS. Any suggestions on your favorite TS in EPCOT? There are five jillion, it's so hard to decide. What I want: ethnic, a chance to do something new or different!

Day 4- check out day, last of trip. We have until about 2 PMish. We will all have 1 QS meal left. We will be checking out of AKL and doing a half day in a park, PROBABLY EPCOT. More BRUNCH only TS suggestions???

Ok, now onto part two, the first half of our stay. If DDP is offered, we will definitely do it. What we are wondering is if Deluxe DDP may be worth doing if we can.

QUESTION: IF you could set a price point for how much the Deluxe DDP would be "worth it" what would it be? I'm wondering for real dollar values here. What would be your "DEFINITELY WORTH IT @ THIS PRICE" dollar amount for adults/kids? If you think it's a terrible idea, feel free to tell me that too. It's hard to know what we want when we've never had the chance to do it before, you know? Sometimes what you think you'll like you won't!

Why we are interested: We aren't going to try to "do it all" in terms of parks. Initially, I was that mom. But my DH has long disliked coming back from DLR exhausted from his vacation. I don't want to do that to him this time. I have also been having medical issues with my muscles/back and I had a bad trip to DLR just last month and one of my DD's has mild Cerebral Palsy and we've never attempted such a long trip, but we will have her adaptive stroller (used as a wheelchair for her). We are interested in downtime at our resort (esp at the Cabins) and taking it slower. In other words, I don't *THINK* that we will feel our TIME is wasted if we do a lot of sit down meals and more than that, two of us may actually NEED the sitdown/take it easy/off our feet time. LASTLY, we are really just as excited about the food as the parks.

Unknown factors: If the DDP will be available to us for sure and at what cost, if Deluxe will be an upgradable option or not! If not then I guess it won't be something to debate further. I won't know for another 3 months (sometime after Nov- mid December) what is or isn't going to offered and I am going back and forth between wanting to make ressies as soon as I can, but not wanting to pay for a lot of meals out of pocket unnecessarily (pay to book ressie, I mean)!

 

[Singinglizzie]

If you like sit down meals, with appetizer and dessert, then go for the deluxe. As mentioned in many posts, it is a lot of food, so after 5 days, you may not want to eat! I suggest doing a couple of signature meals, so you won't feel you are constantly taking park time to eat! BTW, WDW is much larger than DL, so just come prepared for lots of walking!

Day 1: I recommend Columbia Harbor quick service at MK
Day 2: not sure about FTB - in terms of time it closes.
Day 3; Marrakesh for QS!
Day 4: Outside of Akershaus (which you already have) there really isn't what I consider brunch in Epcot - how about Le Cellier or Coral Reef?

Regarding DDPx and if it's worth it - well, depends on how you eat. It is convenient not having to worry about costs, since it's all paid for. You might want to do a spreadsheet (yeah I know lots of work) to see if you will get your money's worth. Also it;s worth it in 2012, but the prices for 2013 have gone up quite a bit. I'd say go for it in 2012. Hope this helps. BTW, you can check out all the menus on allears.net.

 

[purple figment]

Hi Disboarders,



Day 1-check in ALK- grandma& sister arriving after 5 PMish- probably not DDP use for everyone except a snack.
Day 2- MK park: 2 TS for CRT . (Ressie made and paid for dinner. If we get the DDP I am supposed to call back and change the ressie and then I can have my $ back!) Unless you need/want the money back early, it's usually better to wait until you're at CRT. When you call the dining line, the CMs often refund the money by the simplest method which is to cancel the res, then book a new res. The problem is there's a chance that you'll lose the res because someone else took it in between the time yours was cancelled and the CM tried to make a new res. If you want the refund early, be absolutely clearthat you aren't cancelling the res, just changing the form of payment and make sure the CM knows how to do it. ANY SUGGESTIONS on a the best/favorite QS place??? Interested in a late breakfast/early lunch/brunch. Sleepy Hollow or Cosmic Rays

Day 2- AK- When time does the FTB serve til on days they close @ 5pm? It varies - an hour before closing to park closing. Pick up the Weekly Times Guide when you enter the park and it will tell you the hours.

Day 3- EPCOT- This is not a hard final decision but a PROBABLY- Askherhaus for brunch. 1TS. Some other place in Epcot for dinner 1QS. Sunshine Seasons has the largest selection. Otherwise we like the Patisserie in France, Kringla in Norway. TS in EPCOT? What I want: ethnic, a chance to do something new or different! For ethnic: Marrakesh TS or Tangierine Cafe CS. The newly refurbed Bistro will be open by Jan. with a new menu. For something different from DLR: Les Chefs with a visit from Remy (check his sched.) Biergarten - most kids love the entertainment. Akershus for Princesses. Rose & Crown - patio tables with a view of IllumiNations or the viewing area for R&C diners if your table is inside or doesn't have a view of the lagoon.

Day 4- check out dayPROBABLY EPCOT. More BRUNCH only TS suggestions???None really in Epcot. The closest thing to brunch anywhere in DW is having a late breakfast at one of the buffets and overlapping with the start of lunch. You'll be able to choose from both. House of Blues is the only place with a Sunday brunch but there's one in DTD at DLR as well.

Ok, now onto part two

QUESTION: IF you could set a price point for how much the Deluxe DDP would be "worth it" what would it be? I'm wondering for real dollar values here. What would be your "DEFINITELY WORTH IT @ THIS PRICE" dollar amount for adults/kids? The dining plan is usually worth the price for children if you're doing lots of buffets and fixed price meals. With adults it gets a little harder and it really depends on your eating preferences. The DxDDP will be approx $100 per day per adult in 2013. Figure $8 for the 2 snacks. That leaves $92 for the 3 daily dining credits so each credit is worth about $30. (The extra $2 can go towards the total value of the refillable mug.) So, if you didn't have the dining plan would you usually spend approx that much for food?

The regular DDP is even harder to make up the value of a credit because there's no app. It's approx $56 per day per adult in 2013. Snack is $4 and CS is about $16 so that leaves $36 for each TS credit.

You can look on allears for menus. Other people are happy with the convenience of pre-paying for their meals and aren't concerned about the per credit value.

Another thing to keep in mind is the DxDDP is a lot of food and a lot of time spent eating and getting to and from restaurants. For a first trip this might cut into too much of your park and fun time. When we did the DxDDP we scheduled either a TS breakfast or lunch and a 2 credit Sig in the evening, but even with just 2 meals a day that was so much food and quite a lot of time in restaurants.

I didn't mention resort restaurants, but there are many excellent ones at the monorail resorts near MK and the Epcot resorts that you can go to when you're at the nearby park. Wilderness Lodge is near FW and has the very good Artist Point and Whispering Canyon Cafe which is fun for kids. When you're at AKL Jiko is outstanding and breakfast at Boma is our favorite buffet. Both places have food with African overtones. Sanaa at Kidani would also fit your request for ethnic.

 

[BuzzandWoodyMom]

I am a mother of 4 and we go to WDW at least once or twice per year. We have been getting the dining plan since they introduced it in 2005. I can tell you from experience that the Deluxe plan is a waste of time and money, especially if you are new to touring WDW. The Basic/Plus dining plan is the way to go - 1 Table Service, 1 Counter Service and 1 Snack per person per day. Even if you aren't going commando in the parks, your kids are still going to want to see and do as much as possible and spending 6 hours per day going to and from adrs and eating on the deluxe plan takes A LOT of time out of your park day.

On another personal note, we don't care for the cabins either - way overpriced for what they are and there is only 1 bathroom. I would either do 1 room at Port Orleans Riverside, which is much cheaper and nicer or do 2 connecting rooms at a value resort so you have much more room and 2 bathrooms and cost much less than the cabins.

And I'm not sure what you mean IF the DDP is available to you? Do you mean a free dining discount? Because the DDP is available to anyone at anytime as long as you are booked under a Magic Your Way Package that included room, tickets and dining.

 

[havoc315]

Not sure if I understand what you are asking. You talk about whether the DDP is available or not. Are you talking about *free* dining, or buying the regular dining plan?
Also, as you are doing a split stay, you really can't get the dining plan for the second half of your stay, unless you want to buy a second set of tickets. (which would drive up the cost massively).

Free dining is almost certainly a good deal for your family, if offered.

If free dining is not offered, then a dining plan may be a pretty bad value for your family. As you are mostly doing TS breakfasts, the plan is a very poor value when used for breakfast. Also not a great value for doing CRT. Though it depends when you are going. Is your trip 2012 or 2013? Peak or off peak?

As to deluxe, not sure what you mean when you ask the price point where it is worth it. We already know the 2012 and 2013 pricing of the deluxe plan, as well as the upgrade cost.
The deluxe plan is "worth it" if you plan on doing 3 TS meals per day, or a TS breakfast/or/lunch PLUS a signature dinner, per day. In other words, if you want to use 3 TS credits per day, plus get appetizers with lunch and dinner, plus get desserts with every meal, then the deluxe plan becomes a pretty good value.
If you just want a handful of additional TS meals, and an occasional appetizer, then the deluxe upgrade is not worthwhile.

Editing my post, because I saw the ages of your children and dates of travel. Remember that your 12 year old would pay adult dining plan prices. That especially makes it hard to justify paying for the deluxe dining plan --- Spending $100 per night, for dining for the 12 year old.
The rule of thumb is that -- For children 3-9, the regular dining plan is a pretty good value, if planning on doing a ton of character meals
For older children, who still don't quite eat like adults, all the dining plans are a very bad value.
For adults, it's a bit more controversial... But in most cases, the plan is approximately a break-even proposition for adults. (Some adults save up to 15-20% depending on how they use the plan, other adults may lost 20% by being on the plan).

So it's hard for me to imagine justifying paying for the deluxe plan for a 12-year-old... I also think it's quite questionable whether any paid-for dining plan would be a good value for your family. Any time you have adult meals that cost less than about $35, you are losing money on the plan. I believe Tusker House breakfast is under $30. Akershus breakfast is a good value, but CRT may be a loser at 2-credits as well.

 

[TeddiBarra]

Hi, thanks for suggestions on places to eat.

I am sorry my questions seem confusing. My DH works for a Dis company so we are able to use employee discounts on certain things. There aren't packages for CMs/employees so each thing is done separately. We literally can't book a dining plan at all unless it is offered as a special promo (which is basically like the slowest times of year only). We may not know til mid-Dec if a special promo will exist that will let us do the DDP. If offered, our dates should be good based on past years.

I appreciate the feedback. I am thinking that the Deluxe likely isn't really going to work well for us, even though the options seem nice on paper and I'd love to eat at those places. 6 hours a day is too much, I hadn't thought about it from that perspective. Even 4 daily, is pushing it. Plus if you are basically always stuffed, the food isn't as enjoyable is it?!

I am happy with our choice for cabins. I really want a bedroom with a door that closes so I can have mental space/quiet from the kids and privacy and we are planning two non-park days to do other activities (archery and wagon rides and horses).

 

[Nancyg56]

DD and I looked at the meals we were adding that exceeded out DDP credits and figured that even paying OOP for them and an occasional appetizer for us it was cheaper than adding the deluxe plan.

I think that caffeen has a spreadsheet that wil calculate the value of any plan you choose in relation to teh meals you choose. i would look for that and plug your options into it.