should we do the DDP or not

[c&k]

hi i just wanted to get some opions, we will be staying in a studio on the boardwalk, my question is should we get the DDP or not. we will eat breakfast in the studio everyday and eat lunch and inner out. we like to have a nice relaxing sit down dinner. i am not sure if we should do the DDP or not, would it be less expensive if we did. also if we did do the DDP do we have to purchase that before we make advance reservations. thanks for all the help

 

[disneymagicgirl]

here is what i did...b/c i couldn't decide...
make your adr's and tell them yes you have ddp when they ask.
if you end up not getting it, then you'll just pay oop when you get there.

if you have children under 9 i think it is worth it...IF you like to eat only 1 TS per day.

we decided not to do it this time b/c we don't care for much CS. there are some TS meals that we can eat for the same price as CS and would like the flexibility to do that, w/o worrying about credits, etc.


check out the menus on DIS and see what you would choose. then add it all up and see which will come out better for you.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

If you like a sit down dinner every night I say yes do it.

The last time we stayed off site and the amount we payed on food was . We are definitely going to save money with the DDP.

Plus I like having the ease and feel of an "all inclusive" vacation. Plus when I run the package price by DH and say "everything is included" it goes over much better.

 

[Tina G]

It only makes sense to get the DDP if it will be a value for your family. The only way to know that is to have an idea of what meals you will be eating and about what they will cost to see if you will save money on the DDP.

If you are planning to eat a quick-service lunch and a table-service dinner every day then there is a good chance the DDP will be a value for you. You also need to think about your eating styles. Do you generally order more expensive items on the menu, do you generally eat dessert with your meals, do you eat at a lot of buffets or mainly menu restaurants?

In order for the DDP to be a value for $39.99 per day, you need to spend at least $25 on a sit-down meal, $12 for a quick-service meal, and $3 for a snack. If your family are light eaters you may not spend this. If you eat at a couple of the more inexpensive breakfast buffets, you may not spend this.

The plan is definitely more of a value for kids ages 9 and under so if you have children that age it might work out better. If you have kids in the 10-12 age range you will have to pay the adult price for them so it may not be as good of a value.

So overall you need to try to estimate how much you will spend on your meals to determine if the DDP will be a value for you or not. For many families it is, but for some it is not.

 

[mdelano4]

I have gone over the numbers several times (the OCD in me) and can tell you this:
- DDP makes sense if you plan on eating TS, non-buffet dinners. By the time you add up dinner and dessert, it pretty much covers most of the $39.99 daily rate.
- CS lunch gives you more food than you can probably eat (i.e. burger, fries, soda and dessert), not cheap of you pay as you go.
- if you go with DDP, avoid buffet breakfasts on plan, they are relatively inexpensive.
- snacks can work out pretty well. We load up on items from Main St. bakery and eat them for breakfast.

We love the DDP and will do it again this year.

 

[photobob]

It is a question honestly only you can answer and a question that needs careful study. My advice is to go to allearsnet and look through the menus and prices for places that you like to eat.

I have never done the DDP before and I seriously considered doing so this past year, but changed my mind in the end. The DDP would have been very good pricewise if we went to nice restaurants and ordered whatever we wanted regardless of price and all had desserts. If we looked solely at those numbers it was a great deal. We would have eaten at more expensive restaurants and had alot of great food for a very good price.

I then checked what we would normally eat and where we would normally eat and did some math and included tips.. The amount we would normally spend was less than the DDP, but not so much to deter us from doing it until I added in the gratuities which is no longer included. That knocked the numbers far enough out of whack that we decided against it.

The numbers I came up with showed the DDP with gratuities for five people to cost us about $400 more for the five nights versus our normal eating patterns. We normally do not eat dessert, nor do we usually order the highest priced entrees. We do occasionally buy a dessert or two and share.

If however you'd really like to eat at more expensive restaurants and eat higher end entrees and have dessert with every meal, the DDP is a really good value. If you choose to do the DDP to really get the best value, find the really nice TS restaurants and make sure you get ADR's which will require more planning and remember it is a lot of food! If you really like to plan and eat at nice restaurants the DDP is for you!

My wife left it up to me on the last trip and I wavered back and forth. We decided against in the end and my DW said she was glad we didn't do it, because she didn't want to gain 10 pounds on or trip.

Hope this helps.