To DDP or not to DDP....

[MaggieS79]

Planning a trip for 8 days, just me and my husband. Planning on spending at least one day not at disney eek: , I know), and maybe a half day or so shopping offsite (double ). I qualify for a discount at the Swan so I could get a cheap room (I'm decided it's between the Swan and the BC, so the Swan would be cheaper). We also plan to eat at some places not included in the plan (Fulton's, maybe Rainforest Cafe), and I think I'll be more worried about using up all the credits (likely overeating) than not having enough?

For example, I have a hard time understanding how I could eat one TS meal, a CS meal, have a snack AND order the Kitchen Sink? (DH LOVES his ice cream). How do you fit in 'extra' snacks?

I'd be the person in the park with my nose buried in the brochure, looking for where we can eat - I know there are lots of options on the DDP, but will I feel confined to them?

Can I trade down - ie. a CS credit for 2 snacks? (I know, why would you want to trade a burger fries drink and cake for 2 waters, but if i just ate the kitchen sink I might want to!)

If Toluca Turkey legs counts as a Cs, what do they give for dessert? chips?

I see the value of the plan, and for us, we like to have a sit down dinner in the evening, so $39/ea would cover that. But if we weren't on the plan, chances are we would likely not order so much (share an appy, or dessert). Or like I said, if we snack all day, mabe we'd just split a pizza.

(I should add that I don't see us doing any character meals or anything that eats up two TS)

Sorry for all the questions, am I making any sense? If I'm more of an 'eat when you're hungry person', will I really see the whole value?

Opinions and advice welcome.

ps. If I'm mistaken about anything, my bad. I'm new at this disney planning adventure.

 

[thunderbird1]

If you plan on being offsite (and wanting to eat while offsite) a couple of days, plus want to eat a couple of restaurants that aren't on the plan, and want to eat a few "treats" that aren't included (kitchen sink), the DDP probably would not be the best choice for you. I think you'd find yourself struggling to use up all those credits after consuming all the "extras."

The fact that you don't want any 2 TS meals is actually a good argument in favor of the DDP, since 2 TS credits for one meal is generally not the best use of the plan. But just because you don't want any 2 TS meals doesn't mean you should get the plan.

If you do decide to go with the DDP, don't worry about having trouble trying to find places to use up the credits--they're everywhere. Just check out the sticky with the list of confirmed snacks! And virtually every CS place takes the plan, except for a few in Epcot WS (and maybe DTD?). But the DDP does require a certain level of planning, so if you's rather eat when you're hungry (realizing this probably means CS meals and snacks, not TS restaurants), you might feel tied down by having ADR's booked every day. Really, the DDP is best for people who want to eat one TS meal per day at the plan restaurants. For those who prefer CS's, non-plan restaurants and going offsite, it's just not very practical.

HTH, and have fun with your trip planning!