To DDP or not to DDP?

[Colleen27]

There's a question I never thought I'd be asking, but it is exactly what I'm trying to decide, and my husband is no help! He thinks (quite rightly, I'm afraid!) that I'm overthinking this.

Here's the scoop: We loved the dining plan on our last trip. We love to eat, and we plan a TS dinner every day whenever we travel. But right now, I'm questioning how much value the DDP really has for us, because of the new non-smoking policy and an AAA rate that makes the Dolphin $100+/night cheaper than either of our top choice Disney resorts (Poly GV & WL CV bunkbeds). Over an 11 night trip, that's quite a savings!

The other "strikes" against the DDP for this trip are the need to upgrade DS to adult so that he can order what he likes and the fact that it isn't as inclusive as it was on past trips because of changes in our meal plans (no more preschoolers = more signature dinners). He doesn't like most kids' meal foods and I don't mind paying for him to order off the adult menu, but on the DDP, we have to pay the upcharge for an adult ticket as well, which detracts from the overall value of the plan. And since we're eating 3 signature dinners and one dinner off the plan, we will still have OOP meal expenses anyway.

So the perks of not doing the dining plan are a cheaper room rate and a smoking room, with the added benefit of not havng to stick to restaurants that accept the plan (this only really comes into play for one dinner). The main cons I see are convenience based, in the loss of the all on one card charging & meals, and in having to put a bit more thought into budgeting since less will be prepaid. I've done the math and there is no question that the Dolphin and no dining plan are the better option moneywise, even with the fact that we'd skip Planet Hollywood in favor of Fulton's and add some evening snacks at Kimonos. But I feel like there has got to be something I'm not thinking of. The DDP seemed like such a no-brainer on previous trips that I've just sort of assumed it would be the same for this one, but for the life of me I'm not seeing it!

What am I missing? Is there some perk I've overlooked, or could we really just have "outgrown" the DDP?

 

[mrsltg]

Sounds like the DDP won't work for you on this trip - don't worry, it happens!

 

[marivaid]

I think you're getting such a great deal on your resort that the DDP doesn't really work for you this time. You'll spend less, and you'll be able to go wherever you want, if you don't get the plan. Plus you can cancel some TS if you don't feel like going without worrying that you wasted credits.

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

Well, one of my friends has been to Disney many times and never did the DDP. She's never had a problem getting into any restaurants without reservations, and always has a blast. She is going again in August with her son and I was urging her to make ADR's and DDP, but she just laughed at me.

 

[jcriket]

For us, we can't eat all that they give you on a DDP, so maybe we share an appetizer and skip dessert, so our bill might not be as much as DDP, and we would be saving money.

 

[iluvvacay]

I agree, since your getting such a great deal on the hotel pass on the dining plan this time. Besides, could you really eat all that food for 11 days? We went for 8 days on ddp and By the 5th day we were ready to explode. On a trip that long you probably would not get appetizer and dessert every night so it probably doesn't make sense. Have a great time. I'm sure with the savings on the hotel factored in it will still be less expensive even if you eat as much as you want. Let's face it ddp saves you alot but I don't think we saved 100 dollars a day.