Not sure if I should buy the DDP?

[act1980]

Hi everyone! I'm a DVC member and will be staying at the Poly for 2 weeks next September. I'm not sure if buying the DDP for both of us would be worthwhile. We plan to just eat on site for our entire stay but I hear of people having loads of snack credits left over at the end of their stay. Is the DDP discounted or does it work out the same if you were to pay as you go? If we paid per meal I don't really want a big bill upon check out but at the same time would prefer to just bill to our room for ease.

I would appreciate peoples thoughts and advice.

Thanks!

 

[m3owbox]

It isn't discounted for DVC but we really like using the dining plan. If you plan right, you won't have many extra snack credits to use, for example, if you are coffee drinkers and like Starbucks you can use a snack there for grande, tall, and venti coffees! Also new for 2018, you can get an alcoholic beverage in place of a soft drink for meals during dinner and lunch.

 

[eeyoresmom]

Hi everyone! I'm a DVC member and will be staying at the Poly for 2 weeks next September. I'm not sure if buying the DDP for both of us would be worthwhile. We plan to just eat on site for our entire stay but I hear of people having loads of snack credits left over at the end of their stay. Is the DDP discounted or does it work out the same if you were to pay as you go? If we paid per meal I don't really want a big bill upon check out but at the same time would prefer to just bill to our room for ease.

I would appreciate peoples thoughts and advice.

Thanks!

If you don't want the bill at the end of the vacation some people buy Disney gift cards in the amount of what the dining plan would cost. If you have funds left over you can save them for next trip. You would have to go to the front desk and pay down your bill before the charges hit your cc the night before check out but its really easy peasy and no downer of a big bill at the end.

 

[act1980]

It isn't discounted for DVC but we really like using the dining plan. If you plan right, you won't have many extra snack credits to use, for example, if you are coffee drinkers and like Starbucks you can use a snack there for grande, tall, and venti coffees! Also new for 2018, you can get an alcoholic beverage in place of a soft drink for meals during dinner and lunch.

The alcoholic beverages confuse me. Do you get 2 per day or only one with a TS meal?

 

[Fleuristic]

Unless everyone is buying the most expensive item at most of the eateries it’s not worth the expense or restriction to choice in my opinion. That and the load of snack credits. It’s just too much food. It felt like every few hours I needed to eat somewhere just to keep pace and not wind up with a huge credit bank at the end of the trip. Painful.

 

[eeyoresmom]

The alcoholic beverages confuse me. Do you get 2 per day or only one with a TS meal?

You get one per meal, both qs and ts. They have to be purchased with the meal however, they are not a separate entitlement like the snack credits.

 

[act1980]

You get one per meal, both qs and ts. They have to be purchased with the meal however, they are not a separate entitlement like the snack credits.

Great, thank you!

Not sure how that would work in an alcohol free MK though

 

[Capang]

We only use it when my mother joins us on a trip because she insists on paying for everything up front. I find it limits us in choices. Sometimes we only want an appetizer or a salad, but the dining plan doesn’t really allow for that nor does it make good sense to use it that way if a cm lets you. Dining plan is ok if you plan on ordering the most expensive thing at each restaurant or if you plan on spending all your QS meals at BOG. For us, the math never works in our favor. We just collect gift cards to use solely for dining.

Also, some restaurants gave a DVC discount this year for direct members. If you bought direct check to see if that was extended.

 

[Capang]

Great, thank you!

Not sure how that would work in an alcohol free MK though

I thought they added locations outside of BOG that sell alcohol at MK this year because of the new Dining plan?

 

[eeyoresmom]

Great, thank you!

Not sure how that would work in an alcohol free MK though

Yes, I think there's going to be a bit of frustration with this. Most guests don't research menus . Some will undoubtedly think that if alcohol is included that it would be an option.

 

[eeyoresmom]

I thought they added locations outside of BOG that sell alcohol at MK this year because of the new Dining plan?

Skipper Canteens sells alcohol. I don't know of any qs location that does. They may plan on adding it or have since I was last there in early Dec.

 

[Capang]

Tony’s, LTT, CRT, BOG, and Skippers do sell alcohol. My *guess* is that a few QS will add it. I’m sure I read something about that but I can’t remember which site.

 

[act1980]

I hope this will be the case!

 

[Pumbaa_]

Either you pay a big bill when you purchase the plan or at checkout. Either way you are paying

With DVC, it is easy to make bfast in your unit. Reheat leftovers, have snacks etc

Have you considered getting a tiw card?20% off including alcohol

You can also check Ryder as you choose. I don't like dessert but do like appetizers. I don't want to have a meal dictate what or when I eat

You really need to determine how you want to dine. What do you like to order, will you use the refillable mug, snacks etc

That should help make the decision what is a better way to plan

 

[act1980]

Either you pay a big bill when you purchase the plan or at checkout. Either way you are paying

With DVC, it is easy to make bfast in your unit. Reheat leftovers, have snacks etc

Have you considered getting a tiw card?20% off including alcohol

You can also check Ryder as you choose. I don't like dessert but do like appetizers. I don't want to have a meal dictate what or when I eat

You really need to determine how you want to dine. What do you like to order, will you use the refillable mug, snacks etc

That should help make the decision what is a better way to plan

I did look at that card but don't you get restaurant discounts if you're DVC anyway?

 

[ThistleMae]

If you are concerned about expense, I would pay out of pocket. I went with a friend two years ago and we spent way less than purchasing the dining plan and we ate exactly what we wanted. But...if you don't want to nickel and dime things or get a less expensive meal because of price, purchase the DDP.

 

[act1980]

Is it worth getting the DDP if you plan to do character dining?

 

[sharonabe]

Is it worth getting the DDP if you plan to do character dining?

Totally depends on how many you want to do, whether they are breakfast or lunch/dinner, and whether you have kids or just adults in your party. You really need to go look at the restaurants and dining experiences and decide what and where you want to eat AND THEN determine if DDP fits you or not. There are just too many variables. Our own personal experience: We had 5 nights on property, ate when and where we wanted, had only 3 TS meals (including one character breakfast), never said "no" to any snack my big boys wanted (including snacks not covered on DDP), and we spent right at $40 per day per person. There is no dining plan that cheap or that would cover all that we ate. Disclaimer: we only drink water with meals, so the alcohol, specialty drink, and even soda hurts us.

I did look at that card but don't you get restaurant discounts if you're DVC anyway?

You need to look at this again. There are a FEW DVC discounts, but the TiW card gives you much more.

 

[act1980]

Totally depends on how many you want to do, whether they are breakfast or lunch/dinner, and whether you have kids or just adults in your party. You really need to go look at the restaurants and dining experiences and decide what and where you want to eat AND THEN determine if DDP fits you or not. There are just too many variables. Our own personal experience: We had 5 nights on property, ate when and where we wanted, had only 3 TS meals (including one character breakfast), never said "no" to any snack my big boys wanted (including snacks not covered on DDP), and we spent right at $40 per day per person. There is no dining plan that cheap or that would cover all that we ate. Disclaimer: we only drink water with meals, so the alcohol, specialty drink, and even soda hurts us.



You need to look at this again. There are a FEW DVC discounts, but the TiW card gives you much more.

Thank you! It sounds like the DP is not worth the $$'s!

 

[sharonabe]

Thank you! It sounds like the DP is not worth the $$'s!

It CAN be worth it, but it totally depends on how you want to eat and where you want to eat. It's not worth it for my family because we drink water and only two of us really like desserts. We also don't do a TS every day and prefer to eat QS when we're hungry. AND we don't have any Disney kids (9 and under) to offset the cost of the adults.