Should I get the Dining Plan???

[nderh2o]

I realize that there are so many facets to this question that it is almost unfair to ask it... But I am racking my brain over whether or not to get the DDP for a trip in Jan 08 to BWV. This will be the 1st trip for Me, DW, DS8, DD6, and DD4 since buying at AKV during our June 07 trip.
We had the DDP (when it included gratuities) in June and found it to be a great value but I was not entirely thrilled over the lack of flexibility once reservations were made - seemed like we were always adjusting our park hopping to our lunch/dinner reservations. In addition, since we plan on going in June 08 as well, I am considering getting annual passes which then puts the Disney Dining Experience into play. I would also imagine that, on most days for this trip in Jan that breakfast will be continental in the room. Finally, the only reservations that I have made for the trip in Jan are for Chef Mickey's and Ohana.
Any thoughts... Advice...
Thanks.

 

[rogerram]

the value is no where close for next year as it is this year. The drawback for you is, you are going to have to make adjustments to your day to be at ts reservations. It is still an o.k. deal, but I don't like the new plan. We won't be using it and I was looking forward to it, but the changes are too exteme so we will dine elsewhere some nights as we have access to a car. The DDE is a good option if you only plan on a few ts meals, though.

 

[global_mom]

We have also gone back and forth on using the "new" DDP. We are going to WDW on Dec. 31 so we will be on the "old" plan for that trip. We have planned to use the "new" plan for our trip in March. For our trip in Feb we are not using the DDP. Since we will be using these different options during the next 3 trips, we will be able to figure out what works best for us. We already know that we will miss the "old" plan when it is gone.

For many people the DDP can create the "tied down" feeling b/c you have to plan your day around your table service reservations. We have now been to WDW so many times that this does not bother our family. We love eating at TS and only have about 5 more to go before we have been to them all. Our children like to experience new restaurants as well so we would not be happy with just CS meals.

I say try the new plan and if you dont like it then you can skip it the next time. We also have annual passes and got the DDE card to supplement our DDP meals. It is great except that we forgot to use it for 3 different TS meals on our trip in Oct! We would have already broken even on the cost of the card if I had not forgotten that I had it. Ooops!!

 

[dismorgh]

As the OP pointed out, it really is family and trip specific. If it were just my DW and I, maybe not. With 2 teenage boys that eat well, the new plan is still worth it for us. Our commando days are over, and we all love a relaxing sit down meal together each day. The boys sometimes go off on their own now, so meals together are important.
We sat down and ran the numbers for the meals we will be eating, and the new 08 still saves us a good chunk of money. Not as much as the old 07 plan did this year, but still enough to make it worthwhile.
YMMV.

 

[TLSnell1981]

We also enjoy sitting down, relaxing and catching up with each other....TS is perfect for that. We stay at BWV or BCV, so we eat late dinners in Epcot. I have gone back and forth trying to figure out what to do about meals.... because of the changes to all the dining plans I couldn't decide. Finally, I sat down, worked up ADRs and then priced each one. I added $2 for each snack credit and adjusted for the resort mugs in the DxDP. We came out ahead about $380 if we used the deluxe plan.

 

[hbg4]

This will be the 1st trip for Me, DW, DS8, DD6, and DD4
Any thoughts... Advice...
Thanks.

I think that with 3 kids under 10yrs old you can't go wrong with the savings on the meal plan.

 

[mackeyapp]

I agree that with kids under 10yrs it's a great deal however once they are over 10 and with the new changes you really have to give it some serious thought. We are using it for the part of our trip (we are staying at two different resorts) and then once we get into January we will forgo it.

 

[bob_bldr]

We used the DDP Feb 07 and will be using it again in 5 weeks. Our group included myself and DW, as well as DS12, DD10 and DS5. We were nervous about DD because she was always a picky eater and had to pay adult price but she did great. She tried many new things and the restaurants were great about putting sauces and toppings on the side.

We paid about $1100 and the cost of the food and snacks that we got was about $1900, and we left a few points on the cards when we left. It's true that we would not have ordered as many appetizers and desserts without the DDP, but I think we easily would have spent more that the DDP cost us.

The best part about DDP for us was that my DW got to enjoy her vacation and didn't have to plan, shop, cook, cleanup, etc. for our meals. We're doing it again without hesitation.

 

[TDC Nala]

since you are a group of 5, you won't be charged the automatic gratuity, either.

I personally will most likely not be using DDP again.

 

[ldo]

We have found DDP not really worth it for a week-long stay in a villa with full kitchen. If we have commando-styled the parks during the day, we tend to do breakfast in room, CS at lunch and then come back, let the kids relax and swim and have dinner in the room--we make spaghetti, grill steaks, chicken, etc. Not only does it save us a tons of $, the kids prefer not to be at a sit-down TS after a day in the parks.
If we are doing a TS (usually character meal), then we tend to spend less time in the parks and make the character meal more of the focus of the day. For shorter trips, we consider DDP. But a week of TS gets to be too much food and planning for us.

 

[bmoncher]

What we have done is "guess" where we would typically eat and figure out the price we would have paid for the meal (thanks to Allears.net) and we decided it does pay for us...
I was told when I spoke to Disney Dining a few weeks ago, MANY places have PLENTY of room for ADRs in Jan still.
I was able to get Cinderellas Table for breakfast at 100 days out at MY selected time and it was available for many other times during the morning...

If you do a spreadsheet (I am such a planner) it might mathematically work better for you in your head...

We figured the dining plan without tips is the still better for us, based on our ADRs the OOP... since we would have to tip OOP anyway... Meaning without tips the dining plan still was a lower cost for the meals we plan to have then paying OOP
Beth

 

[global_mom]

What we have done is "guess" where we would typically eat and figure out the price we would have paid for the meal (thanks to Allears.net) and we decided it does pay for us...
I was told when I spoke to Disney Dining a few weeks ago, MANY places have PLENTY of room for ADRs in Jan still.
I was able to get Cinderellas Table for breakfast at 100 days out at MY selected time and it was available for many other times during the morning...

If you do a spreadsheet (I am such a planner) it might mathematically work better for you in your head...

We figured the dining plan without tips is the still better for us, based on our ADRs the OOP... since we would have to tip OOP anyway... Meaning without tips the dining plan still was a lower cost for the meals we plan to have then paying OOP
Beth

We did this same thing to determine that we would still give it a try in March. It may not end up being what we do in the future but we definately dont see it as creating a "loss".

The only thing that we will really miss is the appetizer at TS. Now before people say "that is so much food, how could you even think of eating all of that" let me say why we will miss it.

We have a DD7 and DD9 who find the kids meals to be "icky" most of the time and they are not picky eaters. We typically orders apps that they like so that the apps supplement their meals. This has worked well in the past. We will most likely continue to order one or 2 apps or we will order an entree for the girls to split. This will add some extra cost but we will still come out a little bit ahead.

 

[chevyAZ]

When evaluating what you'll do, take into account that the DDE will now automatically add a gratuity (I think 18%) regardless of the number in the party and quality of the service.

I usually tip more than that as long as the service is reasonable, however I find that an automatic gratuity usually comes along with lower service standards.

JMHO.

 

[Kurby]

I would also imagine that, on most days for this trip in Jan that breakfast will be continental in the room. Finally, the only reservations that I have made for the trip in Jan are for Chef Mickey's and Ohana.
Thanks.

if this is the case and you think it's worth it then i'd go for the basic dining plan. you're on your own for breakfast have lunch at a counter service place at your own time then just make reservations for dinner. that way dinner is the only time you really have to plan for.

we did it last year with a 7 month old and since we had to make reservations for dinner anyways it worked out for us

our next trip we're considering the deluxe plan because we don't want to bring food down with us (we drive from Toronto) and don't want to even think about making breakfast or dinner while on vacation.

since our daughter will 3 the next time we go we'll have to pay $20 for her for her dining but for us it's worth it because we can have table service for all our meals

 

[Tiger926]

ITA that with kids under 10, it's a no brainer. You can factor in the savings from the kids towards your adult meals if you feel like you aren't saving much, as one character meal alone, will cost more than the entire day's cost for kids, and you then will still have 1 snack and 1 CS credit to use.

We are doing the Deluxe Plan in April as we only eat TS - we tried regular Dining Plan and didn't care for eating CS at all, as we don't normally eat it. We are greatly looking forward to the Deluxe Plan as it suits our eating style better than the regular DP.

Good luck with your decision. Happy eating, Tiger

 

[TDC Nala]

When evaluating what you'll do, take into account that the DDE will now automatically add a gratuity (I think 18%) regardless of the number in the party and quality of the service.

I usually tip more than that as long as the service is reasonable, however I find that an automatic gratuity usually comes along with lower service standards.

JMHO.

This is for DDE, not DDP. Lots of folks get them mixed up! It's certainly a consideration when you try to decide which one to use in 2008.

The lower standards of service thing is a concern I see posted everywhere. I don't really understand it unless you have a party of 6 or more, which would be obvious to a server. DDE members don't identify themselves as such until it's time to pay, so how would a DDE group of 5 or less set off alarms for a server?

Time will have to tell as to whether or not restaurants will start asking for DDE status prior to the time the check is brought. I don't know if they will or if things will stay the way they currently are - you don't present the DDE card until you get the check.

Personally I prefer to give the servers the benefit of a doubt and not assume that when they see the DDE card they will start automatically slacking off on your table.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

I thought the 18% gratuity was for DDP, DDE or OOP. Am I wrong?

 

[TLSnell1981]

I thought the 18% gratuity was for DDP, DDE or OOP. Am I wrong?

18% service charge is for ALL DDE and ALL parties with MORE than 5 guests.

 

[igitur]

I just did some more looking into the 2008 plan (we had intentions of getting it for our Jan. trip) but now, I don't think we will. I'm sorry to see the appetizers go. We're not big dessert eaters and we go more for appetizers and entrees. Also, my DD who's 9, has developed her mom's palette and the choices for the children's meals are nowhere near what she'd prefer to order. She's prefer to split an adult meal with me.

Since we're not getting an AP this time around, guess we'll have to rely on the 10% at some places with the DVC membership.

Two things I'd love to see...more choices, especially for dinners for that 10% discount and the DDE plan open up to all DVC members, not just those who purchase an AP.

Deb

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

What is OOP?
I don't know what all the differences are in these plans you are talking about.
Is there a thread that explains all this?

I had DDP in August while I was there alone. I am a small person, and a small eater, so of course it was more food than I could eat, or ever would order.
But I tried new restaurants I wouldn't have gone to otherwise.
And with regular meals (the structure of the program for one person alone basically requires regular meals), I found I didn't get as frustrated and annoyed with the crowds as usual. I am a "park warrior", and it required me to interrupt that, but to sit down and eat is sometimes a good thing.