To DDP or Not to DDP that is the question

[stitchaholic]

going on a last minute march break trip with dd13 and ds11 , a 5 day getaway to our favorite place !

we have always DDP'd in the past , but we were trying to keep ourselves at a budget , so I thought we would go down and just et when hungry . Problem is , when i see the cost of some of the meals , I started to thing that the CSDDP would be a better option for savings ..... , then I saw the DDP is only 15.00 mre per person ..... what to do , Help !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TDC Nala]

If you travel after March 9, it's peak season for DDP. so the difference between QS and TS is $18.55 per adult on the regular dining plan. Unless you're DVC, then it's $16.55 per adult.

have you checked to see what ADRs you can get?

 

[stitchaholic]

nope , we are sneaking in before spring break , march 4th to the 8th

 

[pumpkinmomma]

The only way you can really figure it out, imo, is to compare menu prices of where you may plan to eat vs the ddp cost. I spent a couple of hrs on this Saturday, and found that for our eating style, ddp was not worth it. We don't drink much soda at wdw, don't eat many desserts, don't do a bunch of character meals.

Both of your kids will pay adult prices on the ddp, do they eat adult meals/ portions? Are you planning any character buffets? Check what adr's you can get for your dates, that may help you decide as well.

Personally I don't think the qsdp is a value at all. You may save 10% or so, you may break even. If not on the dp, would you normally order dessert and soda at a cs place? If the answer to that is no, then the value for the qsdp is not there.

We prefer to go oop for a variety of reasons, and I like that I don't have to think about " is this a good value on the Dp" when dining.

 

[chartle]

I'm sorry but you are just going to have to do the math.

Add up what you would eat and compare it to what the DDP costs.

 

[chartle]

We prefer to go oop for a variety of reasons, and I like that I don't have to think about " is this a good value on the Dp" when dining.

Bingo we have a winner. I wonder how many people do this? I has looking at the QSDP and if we every stayed on site again, would also probably not be a good value. We almost never get a QS dessert and I sometimes just drink the water we bring in.

 

[stitchaholic]

I wish I had the time to do the calculations , unfortunatly i'm run ragged ....

I can tell you all that we do enjoy a diet drink with our meals on holiday and dessert is a must , almost more important than the main

 

[mulvey3]

DDP gives you the freedom to eat what you want without constantly questioning the price. If you don't have time to do the math, be assured that if you use all the dining points, and eat most of what you buy, you will probably break even. And it is always awesome to order a desert, even if you're stuffed and won't be able to finish it.

 

[pumpkinmomma]

DDP gives you the freedom to eat what you want without constantly questioning the price. If you don't have time to do the math, be assured that if you use all the dining points, and eat most of what you buy, you will probably break even. And it is always awesome to order a desert, even if you're stuffed and won't be able to finish it.

I think this depends though. For me, if I am paying $50+ per day for the ddp, I feel like I have to order and eat $50+ each day to get my money's worth. So if I feel like getting, say, a sandwich at the plaza for one of my ts meals, and a salad at columbia harbor house for my cs, even with drinks and desserts my total might run $45 tops. And one snack couldn't make that up. then a I will totally feel like I am not getting my money's worth out of the ddp. And since I am likely to skip dessert at chh, that makes it even less value.

 

[Windsor Princesses]

I know for us my meal, drink, and dessert at a table service usually costs more than my DDP cost for the whole day. Then the QS and Snack are both just extras. It`s nice to not have to worry about carrying money around, or constantly questioning getting something because it costs a little more than other options. It always depends on what you get and how you use your credits to get the most for your money, but we have never had a trip where we haven`t saved money on the DDP.

 

[teetee830]

I have found that I like not having to think about the budget once I'm there. Plus, although you don't get a 3rd meal you can use your snack credits for a breakfast pastry in most cases and that is taken care of too. I totally see the value in it. I would say go witht he QDP if you can't get the ADR's this soon. THere is no sense in spending even an extra $10-$15 if your not going to be able to use them.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

I have found that I like not having to think about the budget once I'm there. Plus, although you don't get a 3rd meal you can use your snack credits for a breakfast pastry in most cases and that is taken care of too. I totally see the value in it. I would say go witht he QDP if you can't get the ADR's this soon. THere is no sense in spending even an extra $10-$15 if your not going to be able to use them.

This has never made sense to me. If you are going to spend less OOP than you would on the DDP why not just leave the cash in your bank account and pay as you go? The DDP can be a reasonable option and can save you money, but not if you are going to eat TS meals at the Plaza or Beaches and Cream. We are using it this coming trip because we are eating at Boma, Cape May, and 'Ohana among other places and I expect it will save us money, but if that wasn't the case I'd just pay OOP.

 

[Atchley]

Sometimes piece of mind is worth it. We get the DDP so we don't have to constantly keep in mind our budget for food. We did that one trip. Subtracting the money after every bill. Making sure that we weren't going to go over budget before the end of the trip.
I know others will argue to just pay it out of your account, but when our meals are already paid for the entire trip, I relax a little knowing that no matter what else happens, we will eat and have our park tickets.
If we lost our cards or something happened to our account, I wouldn't know what to do.
I may pay a little extra than what I would if we paid OOP, but not having the stress that I would feel paying OOP makes the difference worth it.
DDP is not for everyone, but it works for us.

 

[sharonabe]

I wish I had the time to do the calculations , unfortunatly i'm run ragged ....

I can tell you all that we do enjoy a diet drink with our meals on holiday and dessert is a must , almost more important than the main

While I agree that dessert at most TS is a must, is this also true for your QS meals? The desserts at QS are mostly pre-packaged stuff and it's pretty much the same thing at all of them. ALL of you need to get a dessert at EVERY meal for the QSDP to save any money, and your snacks will need to be in the $4 range as well.

If you can get ADRs for the TS you want, and you feel better with a DP, then I'd go with the regular DDP. It's just too easy to end up losing money on the QSDP.

 

[stitchaholic]

I flip back and forth about wanting that sit down meal , or just having a funnel cake or pretzel for supper ( yes , that would make me happy sometimes).
My son is already talking about hitting up Cape May or 1900 park fare , so looks like we just may DDP ....
We will be there this Sunday , before the spring break crowds , I guess being from Quebec makes us lucky to have such an early spring break , it seems the crowds are low that week , so I am not worried too much about ADR's , if we can't get one place we want , there are plenty more in the world , may be a good opportunity to knoch out some untried places , in the name of research of course

 

[KNovacovschi]

Sometimes piece of mind is worth it. We get the DDP so we don't have to constantly keep in mind our budget for food. We did that one trip. Subtracting the money after every bill. Making sure that we weren't going to go over budget before the end of the trip.
I know others will argue to just pay it out of your account, but when our meals are already paid for the entire trip, I relax a little knowing that no matter what else happens, we will eat and have our park tickets.
If we lost our cards or something happened to our account, I wouldn't know what to do.
I may pay a little extra than what I would if we paid OOP, but not having the stress that I would feel paying OOP makes the difference worth it.
DDP is not for everyone, but it works for us.

I agree 100% with you Atchley. I don't want to have to worry about not having enough money or losing my cards. We tend to have bad luck so if we have to worry about paying OOP and losing cards or running out of $$$ it will make our trip extremly stressful. The DDP just eases that stress.

 

[wallawallakids]

I spent a lot of time debating this. As a family of 6, I didn't see anyway it would save us money after doing the math. For one, we don't eat two deserts a day and none of us drink soda. Sometimes when we are out for dinner my husband might get a beer...but that wouldn't be covered anyway. Also, when I looked at the menus and what I would normally order it would cost more for me to get the plan than to just order what I want on the menu. Lastly, having one 10 year old who would get charged as an adult for the plan but eats like a 6 year old...it is better for me to just be able to order off the menu for her too. I think there is no way to answer this question for someone. I think you need to do the math. I always care about the bottom line dollar amount so "convenience" never really wins me over. 400 bucks more in my pocket is 400 bucks I could spend on knickknacks to take home, or an extra treat in the park, or just money I can take home and save for another trip. But that is just me. Good luck on your decision.

 

[wallawallakids]

PS: Don't forget tip! Even though that desert and drink are "free" on the DDP you still need to tip on it. So if you were to go out to CG and order just one thing off the menu and your cost is say 100 OOP, yes you would tip on that amount. But remember, if you are on the DDP and you get that "free drink or desert" and that makes the total cost of your dinner more like 130 well than you would be giving a tip on that amount. The DDP does not include tip. So it has you ordering extras which seems like a really great deal, but you are also tipping extra. Now if you normally eat two deserts a day and two sodas than this will be a wash for you. I just wanted to point out that if the deserts are a splurge and not something you would always want, then you may save more by paying OOP.

 

[summermac]

PS: Don't forget tip! Even though that desert and drink are "free" on the DDP you still need to tip on it. So if you were to go out to CG and order just one thing off the menu and your cost is say 100 OOP, yes you would tip on that amount. But remember, if you are on the DDP and you get that "free drink or desert" and that makes the total cost of your dinner more like 130 well than you would be giving a tip on that amount. The DDP does not include tip. So it has you ordering extras which seems like a really great deal, but you are also tipping extra. Now if you normally eat two deserts a day and two sodas than this will be a wash for you. I just wanted to point out that if the deserts are a splurge and not something you would always want, then you may save more by paying OOP.

This is especially important to note if you're a party of 6 or more and subject to the automatic gratuity of 18%

 

[North of Mouse]

Never have, never will get the DDP. We don't drink sodas, nor do we like desserts with our meals - like them later We like the freedom of eating when and where, what time, etc. We always eat how we want, save our receipts and never, ever get near the cost of the dining plan. So, it depends on the individual family and eating habits. You also have to remember the tips add up very fast when you just order to "get your money's worth"!! We sometimes just want CS all day depending on our mood, so it's not for us.