Purchase the DDP or Cook

[DisneyQueen1320]

Me and DH really want to save more money this year, so we are trying to cut back. We have a 12 day trip plan for VB, SSR, and AKV for June. But we are torn if we should buy the DDP or cook in our room. It's just me, dh, ds (6), ds (2), we know the baby doesn't have to pay, but not sure if the DDP is worth it anymore. In the past we did the DDP when tips was included, which was nice. I love tipping people, but we feel to pay $800 to $900 to eat and still pay for tips is a bit high. So I need your help, for those of you who cook in your room, do you enjoy it? What do you make and do you miss eating out to all of those great places? My dh is worried about having to go back to cook and having it cut into our park time, so please share some tips with me regarding that. We are new members and this is our first trip as DVC members so we want this vacation to be great Oh and one more question, if we decide to cook should we order the items or go shopping at WalMart? Which one did you like best?


Thanks so much

 

[JW9DVC]

I would not by the DDP, I have purchased it before. It was great. My wife and I now have a toddler. I cant think of taking him and making him behave that long every night for dinner. It just seems easier to go and buy the groceries at Wal Mart or another grocery store. BBQ some steaks, hot dogs, those items and then on another night you could do pasta. Sandwiches always work well.

Im still on the fence about buying mine. I think they only reason I would buy it, is for the ease of knowing I don't need to pay for anything else. I feel that we will get better service now, without the tips on the DDP.

It seemed that service sometimes was not as great when we were on DDP, because the eatery that we used only gets a negotiated amount. So if you order a meal, they only get like $20 per person from Disney. It turn, the server would only get a percentage of that money.

They need to work for the tip as well. It should not be expected. If I receive poor service, they receive a poor tip or no tip at all. If you have a large party and they automatically add the percentage. Tell them that you feel they dont deserve it. They get an hourly wage. If they want a bonus, they need to work for it.

Hope this helps. Going in Feb myself. JW

 

[tggrbuny]

Hi.

The big attraction with DVC was the kitchen. Frankly I can't eatout as much as the DDP requires and besides it is to much "fancy" and not enough everyday foods often upset my stomach.

We always make trip to grocery store on the first day. We do splurge a bit and buy nicer than at home but it still normal food. Others will disagree but it doesn't feel like work to cook on vacation for me. We tend to buy some prepared stuff and this makes for faster meals.

Overall we save a ton of money and we still eat a few meals in the park. We carry snack food in our bag and avoid the call of sugary treats.

My advise it to try to try it an one of the resorts that you are staying at...just to see if it will work for your family.

 

[Alexander]

Cook? That's like a four-letter word!

We usually get the DDP and eat whatever we want. I'm not a cooker at home, so on vacation, there is no way it's going to happen!

 

[5forDiz]

Me and DH really want to save more money this year, so we are trying to cut back. We have a 12 day trip plan for VB, SSR, and AKV for June. But we are torn if we should buy the DDP or cook in our room. It's just me, dh, ds (6), ds (2), we know the baby doesn't have to pay, but not sure if the DDP is worth it anymore. In the past we did the DDP when tips was included, which was nice. I love tipping people, but we feel to pay $800 to $900 to eat and still pay for tips is a bit high. So I need your help, for those of you who cook in your room, do you enjoy it? What do you make and do you miss eating out to all of those great places? My dh is worried about having to go back to cook and having it cut into our park time, so please share some tips with me regarding that. We are new members and this is our first trip as DVC members so we want this vacation to be great Oh and one more question, if we decide to cook should we order the items or go shopping at WalMart? Which one did you like best?


Thanks so much

If you have your trip booked at SSR and AKV you can take DDP for just the SSR days or AKV days. So you can experience both dining out and cooking/eating meals at your resort if you don't want to commit to DDP for your entire WDW stay. Just keep in mind that your dining plan credits expire by midnight on the check-out date of the particular resort reservation that they are attached to - - so for example if you set up DDP with SSR reservation and are at SSR on Sunday Monday & Tuesday nights then your dining credits would expire by midnight on Wednesday (the check-out day).

Also in 2009 (don't know if this is case this year) I think there are 3 different dining plans you can pick.

 

[debbiepump]

We've actually gotten tired of basing our days aound reservations and have come to enjoy getting what ressies we can on the day of, snacking or cooking. Usually it's a combination of all. If there is somewhere we truly want to eat at, we'll make ADR's, otherwise, just go with the flow. I think with today's economy, more and more folks will be feeling the way you are.

 

[dburg30]

One of THE main reasons we've bought DVC was the kitchens. While there are some foods in the parks I LOVE (cinn rolls at main street bakery ) We could pay for a good amount of our annual dues if we just eat in the room instead of at the parks. That's our thoughts at least, and I know our family will LOVE the idea of being able to make 'real' meals at the room..

 

[theostwalts]

We've actually gotten tired of basing our days aound reservations and have come to enjoy getting what ressies we can on the day of, snacking or cooking. Usually it's a combination of all. If there is somewhere we truly want to eat at, we'll make ADR's, otherwise, just go with the flow. I think with today's economy, more and more folks will be feeling the way you are.

That's close to another post where I was asking about ADR's and cooking. Do you find it hard to make ADR's on the same day you choose not to cook? We have always used the DDP on our trips and have lived by the "you must make ADR's early" rule. Is it really that hard to make ADR's from your room?

 

[wdw1972]

If you want to save money (and not eat more than anybody should), skip the ddp and just eat where you want when you want. You & hubby should be able to be satisfied sharing a meal, and the 2 little kids should be fine sharing a kid's meal. You can't do this at buffets of course, but you can at any place where you order off the menu.

Cooking isn't something I'd do on vacation, no matter how poor I was! I can eat cheap without resorting to that.

 

[ShellyLynn3630]

Cook? That's like a four-letter word!

We usually get the DDP and eat whatever we want. I'm not a cooker at home, so on vacation, there is no way it's going to happen!

I hear ya!!!

 

[brandylouwho]

We never buy the dining plan anymore. We did use it prior to staying DVC. We get some easy to make (think heat and serve) type foods for our villa and have breakfast + at least one meal in daily (usually lunch out at a counter service and dinner in the villa).

It not only saves us a ton of money, but it so much easier for us with 2 little ones (ages 19 mo & 5 yrs this next trip). The 19 mo old is at a bad age to be eating out. Her window of good behavior is done right about the time we are finally being served our food.

But I am not into slaving away in the kitchen on vacation, so we buy sandwich fixings, salad ingredients, pizza, chicken nuggets, canned spaghetti sauce, stuff like that so it is quick & easy to "cook."

We pay for a few Table Service out of pocket. I think we have 3 planned for our 11 night trip next month. We'll probably end up with 1 or 2 more TS once we get there.

But I can see how your family members ages, willingness to cook and touring plan can really affect the decision. For us, we are almost always back in the room for some portion of the day, so cooking in is not a big deal. For others who stay out all day & evening, having to come back would be a pain. And like I already mentioned, the toddler in the restaurant for an hour + doesn't work for us.

 

[Coach81]

We are getting the dp this coming trip. Wife checked the ddp vs. cooking and with the few meals that we paid out of pocket, and we either broke even or paid more than we would have paid for the ddp.

 

[allshookup]

I know a lot of people say they save money on the DDP, but it's important to compare what you would normally eat in one day compared to the plan, not what you actually get. If you normally sit down to 2 big meals a day with dessert, then the DDP works. However, I've sat down & compared the DDP to a normal eating days for us, which includes a light breakfast in the villa, one light meal (i.e. sandwich, hot dog, etc.) & one sit down meal per day (sometimes with dessert & sometimes not) & with the TIW (Tables in Wonderland) card, we definitely save money by NOT buying the plan. What is even more important to me is we're not tied to making reservations for everyday of our vacation & constantly sitting down to eat to make sure we got the most from the plan.

I prefer not to cook on vacation, but I can see with two small children it might be more relaxing to just head back to the villa, but it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Why don't you plan a few easy meals for when you are heading back early & plan to share a couple of CS meals if you are staying in the parks? I know when my kids were little, they spent a lot of time sleeping in the stroller anyway so it might be convenient to just stay put. I think if you play it by ear, that in the end you might be surprised by how much more relaxed you were & how much money you actually saved.

 

[tamclan]

I know a lot of people say they save money on the DDP, but it's important to compare what you would normally eat in one day compared to the plan, not what you actually get. If you normally sit down to 2 big meals a day with dessert, then the DDP works. However, I've sat down & compared the DDP to a normal eating days for us, which includes a light breakfast in the villa, one light meal (i.e. sandwich, hot dog, etc.) & one sit down meal per day (sometimes with dessert & sometimes not) & with the TIW (Tables in Wonderland) card, we definitely save money by NOT buying the plan. What is even more important to me is we're not tied to making reservations for everyday of our vacation & constantly sitting down to eat to make sure we got the most from the plan.

I so agree with this. I believe too many people feel they save when they order everything allowed and the most expensive on the menus. This past year I got tired of Steak and I really don't have a sweet tooth for desert. So yes because I ordered these it appeared as if I saved, but in reality it didn't really save me money, all I did was prepay.

Secondly, for DPP you need to plan all in advance and then interrupt middle of your day to get to the restaurant.

I am looking forward to doing whatever I want and is available this coming year.

 

[drummer1616]

We've actually gotten tired of basing our days aound reservations and have come to enjoy getting what ressies we can on the day of, snacking or cooking. Usually it's a combination of all. If there is somewhere we truly want to eat at, we'll make ADR's, otherwise, just go with the flow. I think with today's economy, more and more folks will be feeling the way you are.

We did one trip where we ate out every meal(except breakfast),too much time lost bouncing around to various places and our schedule was dictated by ADR`s,we now eat out for dinner about 2 times for a treat,but since we are back in the villa for afternoon down times it makes more sense for me to start the evening meal while family comes out of their coma.We eat and head out for the night.The idea of full kitchens was a major factor to buy.

 

[wrighter]

Count me in the "No DDP" Club.

We love having "normal" breakfast in the mornings - cereal, toast, fruit, whatever. I can't even imagine going on rides with a heavy meal in my stomach! Lookout!

We eat lunches at the parks - usually counter service, because we don't like to feel like we're "locked in" to our meal time and place. Afternoon snacks/treats are also usually at the parks.

Evenings we eat in the room most nights. (There are definite dinners out, but not many.) There are so many things you can get if you want to avoid feeling like you're slaving away in the kitchen. My DH actually enjoys cooking, and doesn't get to do it much at home, so he is the chef on vacation. Again, the kids get to eat "regular" food - usually the easy stuff: pizza, mac-n-cheese, grilled cheese, etc.

One of the biggest draws for us is that we eat much more healthfully when we eat in the room than if we ate at the parks for every meal. (We are NOT health nuts by any stretch of the imagination, but we try to make good choices when we can.) Having fresh produce is awesome!!! And we do get goodies, too - cookie dough to bake cookies, ice cream bars, etc. Stuff that we don't get every day, is still a treat, but doesn't break the bank.

We have used Gardengrocer and have had good experiences both times. (We don't rent a car.) We will continue to use them, as well.

I like the pp's idea of doing half of your trip on the plan and half off - it would give you a better idea of what YOU like and what works best for your family. Everyone does it their own way, you know?

Good luck! Happy eating!

 

[Brancaneve]

After eating food on the DC ship for a whole week, we went grocery shopping in order to eat breakfast and lunch in the room. I have to say that the first sandwhich I made tasted better than all the food I ate on the DCL. Not because the food was bad on the ship, but just because we were all tired of eating complicated food!

Also, my children get tired of eating chicken nugget after chicken nugget. I find it better to put together basic breakfasts and lunches and just eat at a restuarant for dinner. It also gives us an opportunity to come back to the room and just relax for a few hours before we head to the park. Plus, our grocery bill for a week was about $100(including a big case of water). Best way to go!

 

[jblrn2b]

Cook? That's like a four-letter word!

We usually get the DDP and eat whatever we want. I'm not a cooker at home, so on vacation, there is no way it's going to happen!

Ditto

 

[manning]

Cook? That's like a four-letter word!

We usually get the DDP and eat whatever we want. I'm not a cooker at home, so on vacation, there is no way it's going to happen!

Take a look at your post..... it IS a four letter word!!!

 

[manning]

After eating food on the DC ship for a whole week, we went grocery shopping in order to eat breakfast and lunch in the room. I have to say that the first sandwhich I made tasted better than all the food I ate on the DCL. Not because the food was bad on the ship, but just because we were all tired of eating complicated food!

Also, my children get tired of eating chicken nugget after chicken nugget. I find it better to put together basic breakfasts and lunches and just eat at a restuarant for dinner. It also gives us an opportunity to come back to the room and just relax for a few hours before we head to the park. Plus, our grocery bill for a week was about $100(including a big case of water). Best way to go!

Worked with a person who cruised every year. He said after the 3rd day the best meal was an old fashion hamburger.