The DDP - Should I or Shouldn't I???

[meredithR]

I am going round and round about whether to get the DDP and I would love some advice.

Here is the situation. My family consiting of myself, DH, DD age 6, and DS age 4 are taking our first trip to Disney in July. We will be staying at the Yachtclub for 8 nights. Here is my basic plan for eating:

Sit down breakfast or Character Buffet Breakfast
Lunch at a TS Restaurant (This would not be a full meal, but just a cup of soup, a salad or an appetizer)
Dinner at a Signature Restaurant (5 ADRs) or TS restaurant.

You will notice a lack of CS meals. I was not planning on getting the DDP because grabbing a quick bite is not usually our style. We generally prefer to take a break mid-day to relax and enjoy some good food at an interesting restaurant. This is the way we usually eat on vacations and my kids really enjoy it. I have had several people tell me that I am crazy, and that by Day 2 I will be willing to just grab a hot dog and go. I am more than willing to accept that as a possiblity, and I know if I switch to CS meals the DDP is a great deal.

BUT my question is: If I stick to my plan and don't use more than one or two CS meals, AND eat multiple 2TS credit meals, is the Dining Plan still worth it?

I know that I will still have to pay for a lot OOP. My husband and I have budgeted a ridiculous amount of money for food for this trip. I am not trying to cover my whole trip with the DDP. I am just trying to figure out if it is better to use the DDP to cover some of the costs or pay for everything OOP.

Does anyone else eat like this? Or is it just me? Any input would be great!
Thanks in advance,
Meredith

 

[SandraVB79]

Just open an Excel-sheet and look at the numbers. At allears.net you can find the prices for the character breakfasts and the other restaurants. Make up a "dummy-order" for each day, see how much it will cost you, and see if the DP is a good deal.

You say you want to do 2TS-dinners, will you order appetizers and desserts or just entrees? Will you split or not?

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Based on not using any counter service meals and using all of your ts credits for either character or 2 credit restaurants, the ddp may not be a good value for you.

Have you considered getting an annual pass and a DDE card? If you plan on eating nothing but table service (including lots of expensive - i.e. 2 credit meals) this may be a huge money saver for you since it is 20% off your bill.

There is also a possibility of an AP discount on your room (but at this point there is no guarantee).

 

[thunderbird1]

Does anyone else eat like this? Or is it just me? Any input would be great!
Thanks in advance,
Meredith

Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't know how you'll have any time to see any of the parks! TS meals generally take 1.5-2 hours, and then there's travel time, waiting to be seated time, waiting to pay the bill time, etc.

But, if you really do want 3 TS meals per day, the DDP is probably not the best choice for your family, because you'd end up with the vast majority of CS meals and snacks going to waste. The DDE is a good suggestion, but also, have you looked into the premium plan? I've heard it's pretty expensive, so I don't know if it would ultimately result in any kind of discount, but it does include 3 meals a day at any TS restaurants, including signature dining and room service. It also includes a lot of extras that you may not be interested in, such as recreation, behind the scenes tours, cirque du soleil, but I'm sure you could make use of some of them, such as preferred viewing for the fireworks and admission to the kids' activity centers. Here's a link if you're interested:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/tickets/packageDetail?id=PackageDetailMYWPrem07Page