POLL: Disney Dining Plan

[Mickey28]

How do you feel about the DDP?

Sorry, I wanted this question to be with the poll.

 

[Jubilee]

I love it but I wish it was more flexible. Basically, I love the freedom of ordering the most expensive thing on the menu and not feeling guilty (AKA not looking at prices.) I love that I can order apps and dessert for my TS meals, but by options, I do wish meals could be split up in different ways. I also understand it's not convenient for everyone, particularly locals who have to make resos months in advance.

 

[hmillerbarilla]

The DDP rocks. How can you not love it? We've had such a blast planning meals & enjoying the freedom of not worrying about cost.

 

[bicker]

I voted "other". It is what it is. Maybe I will use it again, maybe I won't. Depends on the circumstances. It's not "great"; it's not "terrible"; it isn't the devil incarnate.

 

[Pixiedust34]

I voted "other". It is what it is. Maybe I will use it again, maybe I won't. Depends on the circumstances. It's not "great"; it's not "terrible"; it isn't the devil incarnate.

I agree with this.

I'll take the dining plan if I can get it for free, but I'm probably not going to be paying for it any time soon.

 

[CamColt]

When I got it for free, I loved it, mainly because it was a great deal and saved us a ton of money.

On the other hand, I wouldnt pay for it because it doesn't fit our way our eating and we would probably end up losing money.

Since it isn't free often, my overall impression is I don't like it, but thats because of the menu changes that are coming about due to it.

 

[bicker]

I think the menu changes are really pretty minor, as compared to the menu changes that are coming about due to guests-in-general pushing for more affordable dining choices. The most guests-in-general focus on the price instead of the quality, the lower the quality will go. I hope that this is just a phase guests-in-general are going through, and someday (hopefully soon!) it changes.

 

[mommyof2princesses]

We are going again because of the Free DDP! We loved it last year...except le cellier...didn't care for the food except dessert. It was nice not having to worry about the price.

 

[mla973]

We already had ressies last Sept when they announced free dining, so of course we took advantage of it and went with the free DDP package. We don't typically each much TS, so it was nice to try new places. I also like the fact that you can pay for the food up front. (I like being paid before I go - then I can spend more on souvies!) We are considering the DDP for our next trip - there are a few places we have not tried yet.

 

[suzimar57]

we love it - especially the part about paying for it ahead of arriving - i like to go wdw with everything paid beforehand - and the DDP is the way we eat anyway - a CS, a sit-down and a snack (or two or three...)

 

[disgram]

I love having everything paid for before we arrive, also. I like the idea of not having to watch the money and telling everyone to be careful what they order beacuse of the price. Yes, there is alot of food, but we take "doggie bags" back to our rooms and have it for snacks later. All except the Buffets!
I also like the idea that we are not eating counter foods constantly and they can have healthy meals, even on vacation. Although, now, there are healthy choices on the counter menus!

 

[Disney Ron]

I voted "other". It is what it is. Maybe I will use it again, maybe I won't. Depends on the circumstances. It's not "great"; it's not "terrible"; it isn't the devil incarnate.

I agree with this.

I'll take the dining plan if I can get it for free, but I'm probably not going to be paying for it any time soon.

Another vote for other. I will take the DDP if it is for free. We paid for it once but it was just to much food. We are going in Sept. for free dining. We prefer the DDE which we used in March and will be using again in December.

Mrs. Disney Ron

 

[Colleen27]

How do you feel about the DDP?

Sorry, I wanted this question to be with the poll.

We love it. We tried it for the first time during free dining '05, and wuldn't go without it now. I adore the all-inclusive travel concept, cause it saves me budgeting meals and thinking about cost when I order. And planning all our meals is one of my favorite parts of planning our Disney trips.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I voted other because I do like it and will use it again, just not every trip. As we all know it definitely saves you money if you eat ts every day but there are some trips when not doing the DDP can save me between $600-1000 depending on what I order and pay for OOP. If we eat strictly cs, my family of four can eat for around $60 a day. If we do some sitdowns, maybe three or four and at some of those we share meals we can eat for around $100 day. For our ten day trip in October the DDP will run me $1600. Just not sure I want to eat that much, be that rigid with my planning and have my two adult paying kids waste that much food again. Although a good source (Bicker who else ) has informed me that the portions have shrunk a bit. So that makes me feel a bit better. We wasted or did not order about half of the food we paid for in December. As my kids get older, the DDP will probably be better for us. As it is now, I can go either way.

 

[ch1103]

I love it when it's free. We get to enjoy a variety of foods that we're normally too cheap to pay for OOP. If we had to pay for it, we'd probably choose to not do it because my family of 5 *can* eat much cheaper. We wouldn't eat some many TS meals and my 11 year old would eat kids meals. When it's free, it totally rocks!

 

[ToyStory]

We love it since we would not be eating at all the places that we are. We treat is like us going on a cruise. Normally we wouldn't eat all the food a cruise provides but we do anyway since we are on vacation.

We think $40.00 a day is reasonable to spend when you are on vacation. Just like on Food network, Rachel Ray's show, $40.00 a Day.

 

[lustergirl]

My family LOVES the dining plan, whether it is free or not. We have enjoyed past 2 septembers and now mark us down for a third september for the free dining promo. I love the added convenience of knowing that my food is paid for because truthfully that is a person's major expense of your disney vacation, that is where they get you, lol. I have had no problems getting dinner ressies at any of the places that I chose to eat. This year we are trying some new things:

Mickey's Backyard BBQ
Coral Reef Restaurant
Boma at AKL- want to check out this resort anyways, perhaps for future visits

My younger son and I took a short 4 day trip this past december but I didn't include the dining plan because it was only the 2 of us, we ate counter services meal for the duration of our trip. I think if you travel with a smaller group of people it may not be worth especially if you are only going for a few days. My reservations this september are for 3 people- myself, hubby, and younger son and we are staying for 7 nights total so yes we are doing the free dining in september.

 

[missmun52]

I love eating at a TS every night and the dining plan makes it more affordable. I was not going to purchase it for this sept. becuase I was trying to cut costs and decided on eating a few TS during the trip, getting the least expensive thing and I planed on sharing alot. When I calculated the cost it only saved me around $100. For $100 more my DH and I would be able to eat what we wanted without having to share and I would be able to eat a TS everynight.

I am sure it wont fit everyone but I love it. I added it to my ressie and low and behold a few months later it came out for free!