So upset...

[nkereina]

We've done DxDP the last several years and this year are opting to do the regular one instead. IMO, the DxDP is a ton of food and ended up being a waste to us. There's never an instance in "real life" where EACH of us eat our own appetizer, entree, AND dessert so at several meals we would order an app or dessert solely because it was included, and we wouldn't even touch it or just have a bite of it. Also, with the heat of the summer, we rarely wanted big meals and often did not space our meals as well as we though we had, so we'd cancel ADRs last minute leaving us with leftover credits. Disney definitely made out on us whenever we did DxDP.

I'd leave it as is and price out all of your ADRs currently using the menus available online, like at allears.net. Price out what you'd think you'd order including dessert and appetizers, and see how much you'd end up having to pay OOP if you kept all of your ADRs and still ordered as you would on DxDP. We are planning on paying OOP for four meals next trip and have narrowed them down to Plaza lunch, a few breakfasts since breakfasts aren't good value on he plan, and R&C because we don't like the desserts there anyhow.

 

[anna08]

Hop over to the budget board and they will give you great ideas on how to spend much less than the $850 difference! We always pack a bag of mini-bagels and I can make breakfast or lunch from those!

Cancel an ADR - we found they are so burdensome to make at times, you might find having a lot of flexibility in your day is so nice, not having to leave 90 minutes early to get to one can be the difference in a swim at the hotel or not.

Try a cheaper unique experience, like order a pizza from the window at the Boardwalk and sit at one of the tables and watch the street performers.

Frustrating to have a change in your ressie without your knowledge - sorry for that, but you probably will find you have more money in your pocket for other things now.

 

[buzznina]

I would drop the quick service and pay OOP using some of the money you recover and some new out-of-pocket.

The OP has the DDP and not QS.
Sorry about the mix up but my opinion is that this is probably a good thing. We have cut back on TS meals because it just takes to long (1-1/2 to 2 hours) and if you have 3 TS's you are spending half your day at restuarants. That is why none of the dining plans really work for us, we only like to do 2-3 TS during a week stay.

 

[Bob NC]

Well, that stinks! It must be very disappointing to think that everything was set and now it's not.

I will say, as gently as I can, that if having to "come up" with $850 is an issue ("For us, that's a huge amount to pay.") then perhaps you really couldn't afford a Disney vacation with the DxDDP in the first place.

Really??????

Good God this place never ceases to amaze me.

 

[disnut8]

I'm kind of jealous of the OP right now. She gets to go back and replan her trip instead of just sitting around waiting for it to happen.

Always look on the bright side of life.

 

[JennyDrake]

I hope whatever you decide, you are still able to have a wonderful vacation! I know the extra $$$ at this point in the game would be rough. Maybe start with weeding a few TS meals, but balance that with some terrific CS plans. There are some really good CS places! Honestly, I am not sure I could ever do the deluxe dining plan. Too much food and too much time spent getting to the restaurant, eating, and getting back to the fun in the parks! Hang in there!

DITTO!!! I often take WDW trips with only CS dining and it is still a great time!

 

[MinnieTink]

Hi OP! I can certainly understand being upset at this last minute unintended change. I guess you can figure out which ADRs you are willing to pay out of pocket for and which to just drop.

We have never used the deluxe DP but have used the regular DP on several occasions and honestly, sometimes even that one TS a day felt too "scheduled." Many times we had to cut our pool time short to get ready for dinner or at times felt rushed. So this could even be a blessing in disguise

Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[pamkat1820]

I completely understand. I am a planner our entire trip has been planned since way b4 the 180 day mark. Not only our room (family of 4), I planned my mom's and my sisters trip (family of 4 first timers). I would completely freak!

When you have piece of mind that everything is done, to have to start over and rethink I would be mad too.

Good luck with your re planning

 

[goofyintoronto]

I was thinking the same thing!!! I love planning my trip!

I'm kind of jealous of the OP right now. She gets to go back and replan her trip instead of just sitting around waiting for it to happen.

Always look on the bright side of life.

OP, the DxDP is A LOT of food. Honestly, some of the posters here had great advice regarding paying OOP. There are a lot of character meals, esp breakfast, thats decently priced and definitely doable OOP. I'd get prices from allears.net.

 

[Disneylover921]

It seems like you've got it all figured out...people have given tons of suggestions. Still I can only imagine the anxiety attack that you had when you realized you needed to pay an extra 850 for a trip you thought was paid off. I would not handle that well at all.

Where are you planning on eating/what did you decide to do?

 

[Sunnyday3]

Thanks again, everyone! Well, I feel much better (calmer, I should say!) and I'm so appreciative of the responses. I'm currently doing some price checking on the allears site - if we find that we can get a better deal, we are leaving it as it. There are five of us - three kids and two adults - so it's just about crunching the numbers and figuring out what we really want to do. There are definitely some meals that we don't HAVE to do.

My DH said that if it's easier to pay the up-charge, then we will do that. He just wants it to be a magical vacation. Either way, I'm so glad that we are going. It was a bit of a shock, but all of your tips have helped me to plan a bit more. Thanks again!

 

[ashearer]

If your doing Cinderella meal in castle swap for Akershus princess meal might be a way to save 1 TS credit. We loved it and they spent a lot of time with our daughter.we found it hard to eat all the food on the 1TS. 1CS plan as it was.

 

[lauradis]

Thanks again, everyone! Well, I feel much better (calmer, I should say!) and I'm so appreciative of the responses. I'm currently doing some price checking on the allears site - if we find that we can get a better deal, we are leaving it as it. There are five of us - three kids and two adults - so it's just about crunching the numbers and figuring out what we really want to do. There are definitely some meals that we don't HAVE to do.

My DH said that if it's easier to pay the up-charge, then we will do that. He just wants it to be a magical vacation. Either way, I'm so glad that we are going. It was a bit of a shock, but all of your tips have helped me to plan a bit more. Thanks again!

Your DH is a keeper... sounds like mine how much more do I need to make ok

no problem...here yea go

 

[mistysue]

Thanks again, everyone! Well, I feel much better (calmer, I should say!) and I'm so appreciative of the responses. I'm currently doing some price checking on the allears site - if we find that we can get a better deal, we are leaving it as it. There are five of us - three kids and two adults - so it's just about crunching the numbers and figuring out what we really want to do. There are definitely some meals that we don't HAVE to do.

My DH said that if it's easier to pay the up-charge, then we will do that. He just wants it to be a magical vacation. Either way, I'm so glad that we are going. It was a bit of a shock, but all of your tips have helped me to plan a bit more. Thanks again!

Something to consider- the meals you have that are not buffet- consider whether you would really order those drinks, appetizers and desserts paying OOP vs. on the dining pan where usually you might just order them because they are included. The extra tips you pay on those extras can add up when you are talking about $12 apps, $4 soda (over water) and $6 desserts.

 

[juliebug1997]

There aren't a whole lot of reasons to be glad to be a teacher in TX, but our pay thankfully gets divided over 12 months so that I don't have to budget some of you teachers in other places. Hugs to all you that are doing it!

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Something to consider- the meals you have that are not buffet- consider whether you would really order those drinks, appetizers and desserts paying OOP vs. on the dining pan where usually you might just order them because they are included. The extra tips you pay on those extras can add up when you are talking about $12 apps, $4 soda (over water) and $6 desserts.

I was going to say that, as well. Drop the dining plan all together and eat out of pocket.

 

[letsgoreds]

Did you ever run the comparison created by the 'See Ya Reel Soon' bloggers. It is excellent.

http://seeyareelsoon.wix.com/seeyareelsoon

Guessing if you are character heavy with your ADRs, keeping at least the DDP is a good idea...but I agree with the 'radicals' that say look at dropping the DDP all together. Two close friends (all with 3 young kids) say that the biggest mistake they made on their last trip was "way too many ADRs." This was true with the DDP, not even the DxDDP. There are so many free character M&G opportunities in all 4 parks (LOVE Kenny the Pirate for this), that if you drop a character meal or two, you are really just opening up more time for M&Gs (and rides/experiences).

TS meals take 2-4x longer to eat than QS, and that means less time riding rides/exploring the parks. There are some decent QS meal options, if you take the time to research the menus. There is more than just chicken nuggets and hamburgers. With the DxDDP and DDP you are also tieing yourself to having to be at a specific restaurant at a specific time a lot. With young kids especially, having some flexibility built into your touring plan really helps. They are FULL of surprises and interesting ideas about how they want to spend their time...like an hour or two playing in the jumping fountains in Epcot ; )

I'm sorry for the jolt to the plan, after a similar adjustment by CM, I always look at the details in MDE with a fine tooth comb, and then again! I'm sure you will have an excellent time, regardless of if it is ADR rich or poor as you will all be there, exploring together!

 

[sndral]

This is why I never call Disney w/out some serious number crunching beforehand. There are simply so many moving parts in their vacation packages. I always confirm ABC resort X view room X days park hoppers deluxe dinning, etc. Then I check online to verify everything and if I find a mistake I call back (have only had to do this once) and get it corrected right away.
We've used the deluxe dinning plan lately because we love eating at signature restaurants for dinner and 1 TS lunches then snacks for breakfast. However, next trip we may go back to the regular plan as it's so hard to actually use all the credits. BOG lunch rather than dinner is a perfect switch as the experience is the same but lunch is CS v. TS for dinner, so cancel that dinner and that covers HDD for everyone. If there's another TS which is not a must do then cancel that and Cinderella's is covered. Ackershus has great Princess interactions as does 1900 Park faire, but IMO there's nothing as special as having dinner in the Castle especially if you walk out as Wishes is happening. There are great CS options, Wolfgang Puck express in DTD, the food court in the land in Epcot, Captain Cooks in the Poly by the MK is pretty good as is Flame Tree Barbicue in AK. Hurricane Hannah's for burgers @ SAB out the back door of Epcot. Most of the countries in Epcot have great counter service options. Keep your special ADRs and see this as the chance to add in some great CS options. It'll be a blast and you'll free up so much time for the parks (including character meet and greets) and for enjoying that resort you're paying top dollar for.

 

[robinb]

There are five of us - three kids and two adults - so it's just about crunching the numbers and figuring out what we really want to do. There are definitely some meals that we don't HAVE to do.

Are any of your kids 10 and over "Disney Adults"? If so, I have a suggestion for you. People have suggested that you pay OOP for some meals, but I have a twist on that. You use credits for all of YOUR adult meals and your 9 and under kids meals, but pay OOP for some of the older kids meals. My DD enjoyed eating off the kids way more than the adult selections when she was 10-12, so we would pay OOP for her to eat off the kids menu and save her "disney adult" TS credit for a later meal. That way we could stretch our credits and eat more meals.

 

[Sue M]

Like others have said, the DxDDP is really a lot of food. I think the regular DDP is still a lot if food.

I'm nit sure what ADRs you have, but breakfast character breakfasts unless they are in your resort, are difficult to get to, and takes away from park time. The later you get into the parks, the longer the lines will be. So I'd drop breakfast ADRs. They also (IMO) not good value for a TS credit.

One thing we do if we want a 2Ts meal, is to save our TS credit by eatting dinner one night at a CS, and paying oop.

Instead of Spirit if Aloha, maybe go to OHana. The food is great, and they have coconut races and hula dances for the kids.

1900 has a great dinner with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the step mother & sisters.

Glad you're feeling better about it, I'm sure your trip will still be magical!