To DDP or not to DDP?

[ThunderMountainAlice]

My husband and I are going with my mom and dad and 6-year old sister on December 4th(through 7th) for her first time ever in Disney World.
My husband and I are frequent Disney goers, but have always committed to much longer trips and done DDP all the way, no questions asked.
My parents and sister have not been to Disney in 15+ years and are SUPER picky eaters, so we now raise the question... for such a short trip (only two days in park), is the DDP worth committing to, or should we just go straight out of pocket?
We are already aware that the particular time we are going does not lend to free dining, and even if it did, we are staying POP century, and the QS dining plan is a waste of money.
We only want to do two TS dinners, one being Bongos in DS.
From those going with a party so large, did you find that you faired better with a DDP, or could eating out of pocket and just making reservations fair better? I don't really know the other side and honestly didn't pay as much attention to prices on the menu as I should have.

 

[supersnoop]

Four adults and a child on the dining plan is really a stretch. Plug in your plans to www.distripplanner.com and see what it says. I'm almost certain you'll come out ahead by paying out of pocket.

 

[ThunderMountainAlice]

Four adults and a child on the dining plan is really a stretch. Plug in your plans to www.distripplanner.com and see what it says. I'm almost certain you'll come out ahead by paying out of pocket.

Thanks so much for that link! Really helps with our dilemma. Super neat.

 

[sharonabe]

Are you staying 3 nights or 4 nights? Would they enjoy something like Hoop De Doo or the Spirit of Aloha? Those are two of the 2TS places that can be worth the money and make the plan work for you. Also, the Candlelight Processional will be going on at that time. Depending on the narrators, a CP dinner package might be needed to see it, and they also take 2DDP credits.

 

[goofy friend]

I think you would be better off paying out of pocket.

 

[karibritt01]

Awesome link! Thanks for posting it. I've been trying to decide if DDP was worth it for my family, especially since 2 of my "adults" mostly eat mac and cheese! Found out that I come out $400 better OOP even with them counted as adults. Definitely going to skip DDP this time around!