To Deluxe DDP or standard DDP.. that is the question!!!

[katiec]

After a conversation with a lovely lady at Complete Orlando, she suggested that most people find the DxDDP too much food and to serioiusly consider the standard DDP.

What do you guys think?

The reason we were thinking about DxDDP was that we hoped to go to some of 2 credit restaurants... we LOVED the California Grill last year and were planning to use some of our lunch credits towards the evening meals.We love our food, and would happily swap some meals for Signature dining and just have a snack at lunchtime.

As an aside i'm quite impressed that she tried to dissuade me from spending money!!!

 

[2Tiggies]

If you are planning on several 2-credit restaurants it is worth considering. I could never eat that amount of food. To make it worth the extra money you really need to use at least 2TS credits per day. You would also need to order a minimum of 1 appetizer to share at each TS meal. What you need to weight up is whether you will utilise enough of the components in the DxDDP to justify the extra expense, or whether it would be more cost effective to take the regular DDP and pay OOP for the additional (cheaper) meals. An appetizer, dessert and entree every day is more than many can manage. A lot depends on what other restaurants you want to go to. You will have 3 meal credits per person per night of stay so you could do a signature each night and also another single credit TS meal earlier in the day (nice breakfast or early lunch). If you feel you could use the credits, then go for it.

I am also impressed that the person at CO suggested you consider your options - it is currently being reported that the Disney CMs are doing the hard sell on the DDP, at least in the US and people are adding it under pressure and then realising what they have done and questioning it! Brownie points for CO!

 

[irongirlof12]

we have done ddp and the amount of food is amazing - we both put on 10lbs! in 2 weeks- you do not go without- we went to 2-3 signature restaurants and had lovely meals- the problems can be is that your whole holiday revolves around food rather than the attractions. i think the deluxe would just add to that and we would come home 20lbs heavier!

check out my food report to see the sort of things you can expect to eat- if you use it wisely you will eat at some great places on counter service alone eg wolfgang puck at dtd.

 

[Elise79]

We like the signature restaurants too but we would never do the DxDDP though.

We would rather eat offsite a couple of times to make up the credits. Also I would want to have to have 2 ADRs to keep to. I have no problem with an evening ADR as I am happy to plan them but the day times we like to go where we fancy and if we had other ADRs to keep that would have to stop. Also the extra time spent in restaurants would be a factor for us - we can have a CS meal in 1/2 hr you are looking at around 1 1/2 for TS if you factor in the waiting time etc.

Also there are not even signatures for a 2 week trip so some days you would need have 3 meals

On top of that you get 2 snacks. We stuggled to use our 2 snacks per day on the QSDP and that was without the extra meals

we find the normal DDP perfect but if what I have said isn't an issue for you then go for it.

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

We are on the regular DDP, but we're still trying a couple of signature meals (hopefully - we get to make our ADR's Wednesday!!). We like to eat a couple of meals off site (Tony Romas and Cheesecake Factory) so that counteracts the extra credits.

I can eat a heck of a lot, but no way would I get the most out of DDDP - I would feel I was missing out of I didn't have at least two table service meals a day, but that does take a lot of time out of your park-time!

 

[Danauk]

We love eating at the signature restaurants too, but would still find the deluxe plan too much. What we usually do though is the days we spend off site (shopping, going to universal, Busch Gardens, Kennedy etc) we have a counter service dinner (as we would have paid to eat lunch off site), then that evenings table sevice meal we save the credit for a signature restaurant another night.

 

[katiec]

I knew you guys would come through!!

the problems can be is that your whole holiday revolves around food rather than the attractions.

check out my food report to see the sort of things you can expect to eat- if you use it wisely you will eat at some great places on counter service alone eg wolfgang puck at dtd.

Last time our hols revolved around our horrible hotel and how i never wanted to go back each night!!!

Also the extra time spent in restaurants would be a factor for us - we can have a CS meal in 1/2 hr you are looking at around 1 1/2 for TS if you factor in the waiting time etc.

This is something I hadnt really considered.... its a great point! We are happy with evening ADRs, but like you say being tied to 2 reservations a day would be a nightmare - DH has just said - oh no - cant do 2 sit down meals a day!!!

We will be having days offsite - DC/shopping etc so will accrue sufficient credits for signature dining from those days out.

Also we loved eating at the Ale House so couldn't do Orlando without at least 1 trip there. Missed cheesecake factory last time - weren't hungry at the time we were there - so its on the list for next time.

Cheers you lot!
Saved me a few £££

 

[Summer-Caitlin]

We are doing the DDDP this time so let me put another spin on it.

I have all my ADRs now booked for our upcoming September trip. The last trip we had was in 2007 when the DDP included an appetiser. Every night, for 14 nights we had a TS meal and always had a CS lunch. We didn't always have breakfast as we had to pay OOP for it.

This time we are going for 16 nights and wanted to do more signature restaurants (we have booked them all) plus we loved having TS breakfasts (Kona, Chef Mickeys etc). I have booked a TS breakfast most days and every night we have either a 1TS meal booked or a 2TS meal booked. We do at times have TS lunches booked but some will be CS or snacks. I have spaced out my bookings so being hungry shouldn't be a problem. Breakfast is around 9am, lunch is around 1pm and dinner about 8pm. I know we will not order apps for lunch (unless they have good reviews) and don't see that we have to order dessert, will just take it as it comes.

In 2007 we spent 3 weeks in Orlando (did a Disney Cruise too) and when I came home had only put on 3 pounds for the entire three weeks. We always ordered apps, entree and dessert, had drinks, CS lunches and snacks. All that walking in the parks was more than enough to keep the weight away

It really does depend on how you view the deluxe plan. If you go into it with the intentions of making sure you do 3 TS (including all courses) per day, then you probably won't enjoy it, but if it allows you to book signature restaurants and generally give you more choice, then I see it as being worth it.

I loved being able to try all the different restaurants and I find the current DDP doesn't fill my needs. Hubby and I both loved having three courses in the evening and to have to forgo this, miss out on signature restaurants and another few chances at that Tonga Toast, well it was a no brainer for me. I don't want to have to pay OOP for anything this time so I now know that all my meals are covered wherever I choose to eat.

 

[darthtatty]

think about how many meals youre going to have, start off with the table service meals and signature meals.
think how many meals are you eating offsite eg seaworld/universal.
i know we spend 3 days off site so that would be 9 Disney meals we'd miss (if we had the deluxe plan)
on the DDp you could get away with sharing a counter service meal each for lunch and breakfast, you could use the snacks for extra food if you get hungry.
On the Deluxe plan you could use the snack credits for extra drinks-im sure you wouldnt be hungry for extra food.

I agree with Caitlin, id probably book a TS breakfast and a signature dinner and then just have counter service lunches. i couldnt do 3 TS a day,as others said the TS meals take much longer.

good luck with whatever you decide to do.xx

 

[UK Princess]

We did the regular plan last year and after that I think the only way I would consider deluxe would be for a very short trip. We did 11 days and by the end never wanted to see sugar again! The cumulative effect of so many TS meals was felt for about a week after we got home!

We did 3 sig restaurants and loved it but we still had more than enough credits for our needs. Many of the snack items are more than enough for breakfast or lunch for us when having big meals for dinner. We were also there during the F&W festival and used our snack credits there - yum! Lots of CS meals are easily split between 2 to make them go a bit further and we saved lots of desert items for breakfasts.

It's always going to be a matter of opinion and personal taste but for us the DDP is plenty!

 

[torsie24]

I've not done any of the DDPs, but would only ever go for regular if we were to include one on a trip.

The way I look at it is you get soooo many credits that you really would be fine, even if you wanted to eat at like 4 signatures.

For example on our last trip we had a couple of lunch ADRs, Sci-Fi, WCC and those evenings we still weren't that hungry so we just shared a CS meal and then some popcorn or something, which on DDP would only have been 1 of our 2 daily CS credits.

I also think I'd start worrying that I wasn't getting my money's worth if I was using DxDP credits in CS places, and I never want to feel guilty for an Earl of Sandwich!

 

[team harris]

Regular for us too!

We stil do signature ressies and or dinner shows, which enables us to eat off site when visiting Universal or KSC.

Really don't think we could cope with the deluxe package - way too much food.

 

[AlexJB]

This is really interesting to read; I am currently weighing up the options of which plan to choose - does anyone know if there is a list available of which restaurants are classic as signature, and so on?

Also, I understand that it is possible to save up credits for a signature meal (not sure if that is the right terminology!) - how exactly does this work? Are all credits provided at the beginning of your stay and you can use them as you wish, or do you get given more each day (based on the standard dining plan, for example)?

Any advice really appreciated!

 

[PaulaSB12]

I am doing the deluxe dining plan on my trip. My sister is going to be there for 10 days doing the dining plan. I am going to Jiko, Flying Fish, Yachtman Steakhouse and Citrios, but I am doing 3 meals a day for most of the trip apart from 3 days one of which will include a solo meal at the Queen Victoria room at V&A!!!!!!