To DxDDP or not?

[NoraG]

My family and I currently have FD and are considering an upgrade to DxDDP. The cost is $1224 for 6 adults for 6 nights. Please bear with me while I explain...

We are concerned about the monotony of QS options: fries, burgers, sandwiches....especially because our must-do restaurants we prefer for lunch, which means that dinners would be mostly QS (a problem of our own making, I know).

The biggest dilemma comes from the fact that we have 3 real adults, a 15 year old boy, and 13 and 10 year old girls. The teenagers need a lot to eat, so I think DxDDP would certainly fill them up. No one will ever be hungry on DxDDP. We don't want to take too much time out of our touring, but we're only visiting two parks, so we have multiple days at each. I do want to be sure everyone gets enough to eat and enough variety and nutrition. I know they won't wake up early enough to eat before we get to the parks and I want to be sure they eat something before lunch as well as be able to get a snack or drink when they want in the afternoon.

So, for those that have used DxDDP with teenagers or children, what was your opinion? I'm not so concerned that everyone eats an app or dessert at every meal; I know we can break even or come out ahead even if we skip a few. This will also allow up to do a few 2 credit meals, which would be a fun luxury.

 

[scanne]

I think with the age range you're talking about, DX would be a good option IF you plan to do a few signatures or dinner shows. We did DxDP two years in a row then this year we just did the DDP.

I kept saying on this trip, "How did we ever do the Dx plan?"


But when I look back, I realized that we did a signature meal almost every day for dinner. My kids are much younger than yours, and my DS is particularly picky. With the Dx plan, don't forget you'll also have 2 snacks per person per night - so if you're staying 6 nights, that's 12 snacks a night. Multiply that by 6 people and you have a TON of snacks.

If you plan to do a QS lunch and a signature dinner, you will have a TON of food. If you try to do three meals a day, you might end up feeling like all you're doing is eating.

I liked Dx because I didn't really have to think about using snack credits. I used them for everything. Popcorn, ice cream, muffins, drinks....etc. When I only had one snack a day, I was a little more particular - I wouldn't use a snack for a bottled drink.

If you think you'd spend the same or close to the same amount of $$$ OOP that you would for the cost of the DX plan, then go for the upgrade.

Look at the menus on line and see what suits your family and make reservations.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your decision and have fun planning!

 

[djblu883]

We do DXDDP so we don't have to eat just QS and we can eat dinner at the better healthier restaurants!

My family and I currently have FD and are considering an upgrade to DxDDP. The cost is $1224 for 6 adults for 6 nights. Please bear with me while I explain...

We are concerned about the monotony of QS options: fries, burgers, sandwiches....especially because our must-do restaurants we prefer for lunch, which means that dinners would be mostly QS (a problem of our own making, I know).

The biggest dilemma comes from the fact that we have 3 real adults, a 15 year old boy, and 13 and 10 year old girls. The teenagers need a lot to eat, so I think DxDDP would certainly fill them up. No one will ever be hungry on DxDDP. We don't want to take too much time out of our touring, but we're only visiting two parks, so we have multiple days at each. I do want to be sure everyone gets enough to eat and enough variety and nutrition. I know they won't wake up early enough to eat before we get to the parks and I want to be sure they eat something before lunch as well as be able to get a snack or drink when they want in the afternoon.

So, for those that have used DxDDP with teenagers or children, what was your opinion? I'm not so concerned that everyone eats an app or dessert at every meal; I know we can break even or come out ahead even if we skip a few. This will also allow up to do a few 2 credit meals, which would be a fun luxury.

 

[cmesq61]

We always do DxDP, starting when my kids were 14 & 15. We love it. Good variety. No one is hungry except DS & there is never enough food for him unless you have a grocery store in your kitchen! We dolts of signatures, which my kids like too. I think you'll be happy you have it.

 

[mickeynut1]

We always got the DDP and tried the DlxDDP last year and loved it . We didn't do a signature restaurant every night, but we still came out ahead. I was a little leary and thought it would be too much food, but it worked out great for us .

 

[NoraG]

Our goal is more variety, healthier options, and a forced break. The kids will just keep going and never stop to eat. Then, the get tired and cranky. So, an ADR will force us to stop, sit down together, actually listen to one another, and plan the rest of the day, oh, and eat too!

The ten year old loves salad, but I really want to be sure she gets a protein too. I know she'll never eat all her food. But, she will get to try new things and if she doesn't like something, they'll be plenty of other food. The 15 year old never stops eating and will probably order the most expensive entree everywhere-and it will be fun to let him do that. The 13 year old is almost always willing to compromise, but needs a lot of food too. They're used to salad with every dinner, so apps will allow them to get one.

Now, I know we won't/shouldn't eat all those desserts, but eating the rest of the food makes up for that. I'm sure by the end of the week we'll be ready to start splitting, so if we have extra credits, we'll get sandwiches/snacks for the car ride home.

While 12 snacks per person seems like a lot, if they use one to get a muffin and one to get a frozen lemonade or ice cream bar per day, they'll get used up. Plus, we'll have to stop at the caramel store in Germany and a piece of candy won't be that filling. So, we might use them all, but if not we'll get snacks to take home!

 

[Mikey'swife]

We like deluxe for character meals and shows. I think it depends a lot more on where you want to eat versus quantity. If you plan to eat cs often I would go with the regular plan use ts credits at buffets eat at places like wpe that have large cs meals. Use the savings for breakfast at the resort. Breakfast is the cheapest meal oop and cs meals with desserts are big. You always buy an extra kids meal for 5 bucks for the kids to share.

 

[TDluvsDaisy]

The deluxe plan is our favorite way to eat at Disney. It is not too much food for us. We even upgrade our 8 year old DS to adult so he can have more options. Upgrading from free dining is the best way to try out deluxe IMO.

We do not like many counter services at all so it is a no brainer for us.

 

[bangzoom6877]

If you do decide to stick with the regular DDP, just be aware that you will not be stuck with burgers and fries at every CS meal. In fact, you can avoid them altogether if you so choose. Here are some examples of CS meals (with locations) that do not consist of burgers and fries:

Epcot: Most of the countries (except American Adventure of course, where you could get standard fast food fare); Sunshine Seasons does not fry anything so no french fries there

MK: Cosmic Ray's has burgers, but also has chicken & ribs, wrap sandwiches, salads, etc.; Columbia Harbor House has a lot of variety; Main Street Bakery has some nice sandwiches; there is also a place that has tacos and such (forgot the name...it was changed fairly recently, used to be El Pirata y el Perico I think)

DHS: To me this park has the weakest CS...but the Epcot area resorts are a short boat ride away...Boardwalk Bakery has good sandwiches and GREAT desserts; there is also a CS at Beach Club/Yacht Club; but DHS does have Pizza Planet, and I think the Backlot has some options that are not the typical burgers and fries.

AK: The Flame Tree BBQ has pulled pork (delicious), ribs; there is also a pizza place, Pizzafari

There are, of course, other WDW resorts that have CS places with more options. Since you had said in your original post that you are concerned because your TS would be lunch and CS would be dinner, maybe it would be nice to take a break at a resort and then head back to the theme park. The Value resorts all have nice food courts, with a big selection of food. In fact, certain foods were only available at dinnertime at POP. Captain Cook's at the Poly seems to have a decent menu, and you can get a Dole Whip as your dessert if you like them! And, AKL had Mara...they have the *famous* zebra domes for dessert there...and other foods besides burgers and fries!

We only went to WDW once with the DDP. It didn't fit into our ADRs last time. But, the time we had the regular DDP, we ate a CS lunch everyday (4 at the parks, 1 at POP), and I only ate 1 burger (at Cosmic Ray's) and that was by choice, and not because it was the only thing available.

No matter what you decide to do, have a wonderful time!

 

[Colleen27]

We like the deluxe plan because we enjoy signature dining and use TS meals in lieu of going back to the resort to rest. The way we use it, it really isn't more food than the basic plan because we're still eating two meals a day - it is just a TS lunch instead of QS, and a signature dinner instead of one-credit TS. So really the appetizers and extra snack are the only place where quantity increases; the rest is just an increase in quality of food/experience. And two snacks per day for us works out about right because that gives one to use for a drink and one for an actual snack, so we don't feel compelled to carry bottled waters in with us the way we did on the basic DDP.

 

[NoraG]

Ah Decisions, decisions. Thank you for all your imput. It has been most helpful. While, we'd certainly come out ahead when planning signature meals on the DxDDP, we don't necessarily want to spend all that time in restaurants or getting to resort retaurants from the park. We're going in Jan, when parks close early, so leaving at 6 to get to a 7PM ressie, really cuts our day short, because there'd be no going back to the parks after dinner.

Plus, I think too much signature food would really throw the kids off. They just don't want all the fancy sauce and stuff on their food. While they could order it plain, why do I want to pay for the "fanciness" if they're not going to eat it? In addition, several of the meals we have planned are buffets or are preplated, so the apps that come with DxDDP are "wasted" in a way. Also, the youngest may choose to order from the children's menu if permitted by the restaurant. We'll bank the credits to use for some OOP meals.

Thus, here is our new plan. 6 DDP TS meals: Kona (L), LTT (L), CP (D), Sanaa (L), Les Chefs (L), and Akershus(D). 3 OOP TS with TIW: CRT (B), Flying Fish (D), and Cape May (B). We'll use our QS wisely, trying to make good choices. When I priced this out, I added an extra snack per person per day, plus an appetizer at each non-preplated/buffet meal. We'll come out $425 ahead this way. We traded 3 TS for QS vs. DxDDP, but I think this will allow us more flexibility and the ability to not worry about getting the best value on DxDDP. I know we won't each always want an app, entree, and dessert, so we'll probably save even more. It's tempting for the adults, but it won't work for the kids who pay as adults (but don't necessarily eat like them).

 

[hannahdrewmom]

Ah Decisions, decisions. Thank you for all your imput. It has been most helpful. While, we'd certainly come out ahead when planning signature meals on the DxDDP, we don't necessarily want to spend all that time in restaurants or getting to resort retaurants from the park. We're going in Jan, when parks close early, so leaving at 6 to get to a 7PM ressie, really cuts our day short, because there'd be no going back to the parks after dinner.

Plus, I think too much signature food would really throw the kids off. They just don't want all the fancy sauce and stuff on their food. While they could order it plain, why do I want to pay for the "fanciness" if they're not going to eat it? In addition, several of the meals we have planned are buffets or are preplated, so the apps that come with DxDDP are "wasted" in a way. Also, the youngest may choose to order from the children's menu if permitted by the restaurant. We'll bank the credits to use for some OOP meals.

Thus, here is our new plan. 6 DDP TS meals: Kona (L), LTT (L), CP (D), Sanaa (L), Les Chefs (L), and Akershus(D). 3 OOP TS with TIW: CRT (B), Flying Fish (D), and Cape May (B). We'll use our QS wisely, trying to make good choices. When I priced this out, I added an extra snack per person per day, plus an appetizer at each non-preplated/buffet meal. We'll come out $425 ahead this way. We traded 3 TS for QS vs. DxDDP, but I think this will allow us more flexibility and the ability to not worry about getting the best value on DxDDP. I know we won't each always want an app, entree, and dessert, so we'll probably save even more. It's tempting for the adults, but it won't work for the kids who pay as adults (but don't necessarily eat like them).

Watch what people are ordering at each restaurant as well. For example sometimes you come out ahead if you know not everyone wants dessert at a meal to pay oop for the person that doesn't want the dessert. Keep in mind that you can pay using credits for some people and oop for others. This might save you money at places like LTT and Kona vs. paying oop for CMC or FF.

 

[Mikey'swife]

Remember you can also mix credits and oop. So if at flying fish you know you want the most expensive entree and a dessert then you could use 2 credits there and if the pay oop for a kids meal for the younger ones at Kona or Sanna since everyone in your group is an adult. We never had problems mixing oop and credits at a meal and can save you even more.