What are the WORST values on the DDP?

[loveswdw]

Trail's End buffet is only 7.99 for breakfast, 12.99 for lunch and 17.99 for dinner. If I were going there I'd probably pay OOP.

allearsnet says $11.99 for breakfast for adults, $7.99 for kids.
$11.99 is still a pretty good value for a breakfast buffet in WDW though. We did Trail's End for dinner a couple of trips ago when it was $15.99 and thought it was probably the BEST VALUE of our entire trip. But definitely would pay OOP for it. We are still contemplating paying OOP for our 'Ohana Breakfast with Stitch since its only $18.99/adult. Seems like we could do a TS dinner for better value.

 

[magicmouse2]

I would NOT pay 2 ts for CRT. definate rip off. I would also refuse to pay TS credits for the Plaza restaurant MK. I wouldnt use my TS on Sci Fi due to mediocre food reports but I would use cash there if I wanted to dine there. Dinners tend to be far better value at TS restaurants than lunch. Lunch usually equals smaller portions and less fancier meals. If that suits you then great go for it

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

How sad would it be if you paid OP for meals and then found yourself with extra credits left on the DP? I say use them where you want and then pay OP toward the end if need be.

Of course our stays are lengthly and we have far more of a chance of having a day when we do not feel like eating or something than someone who is only staying a couple of days.

Slightly Goofy

 

[Tat2ddisneymom]

Last time we were there we did a dinner at the ESPN Club and used our table service credits for it. There wasn't much on the menu that my family of picky eaters liked, so we pretty much just wasted the TS credits here. I ended up with an appetizer as my meal. I plan on coming here during out next trip, just because my son likes it, but it really isn't that expensive, so we'll just pay OOP. We'll definitely be using the TS for more expensive meals.

 

[ChipNDale]

I always find myself trying to make sure I exceed the 38.99 I paid each day for the DDP.

Even though we got the DDP free this year I have paid for it before and have always tried to have a Dinner TS that gets everyone in the party a value equal to or above the cost of the dinning plan 38.99 so that lunch cs and snacks are all Saved $$$.

 

[Microcell]

How sad would it be if you paid OP for meals and then found yourself with extra credits left on the DP? I say use them where you want and then pay OP toward the end if need be.

Of course our stays are lengthly and we have far more of a chance of having a day when we do not feel like eating or something than someone who is only staying a couple of days.

Slightly Goofy

See, our eyes get bigger than our stomachs and we book too many ADR's for TS, but once there we usually want to eat at all of them, so I research ahead and pay OOP for the cheapest ones that we are short a credit for. We are never sad!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Microcell, as long as you are not sad it is just fine by me. If you are on Free Dining it is not nearly as wasteful. I ended up with all sorts of leftover credits last time. The ones I really regret is not getting an iced tea for a snack credit when I wanted it. I had way too many lollipops although my students did not think so.

ChipNDale, I have few rules on vacation but the one big one is 'NO MATH"!! If it were not 'free' I would count though. Guess that is why I do not buy the DP.

Slightly Goofy

 

[ChipNDale]

Microcell, as long as you are not sad it is just fine by me. If you are on Free Dining it is not nearly as wasteful. I ended up with all sorts of leftover credits last time. The ones I really regret is not getting an iced tea for a snack credit when I wanted it. I had way too many lollipops although my students did not think so.

ChipNDale, I have few rules on vacation but the one big one is 'NO MATH"!! If it were not 'free' I would count though. Guess that is why I do not buy the DP.

Slightly Goofy

No Math on Vacation, i do Math before durning the planning, In the End it is a vacation and we get what we want when we want it, I do how ever write down our total bill to look at latter after the vacation to see how much we saved, and see what we would do if their was not a dinning plan any more.
And your right its FREE

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

ChipNDale, I am with you. I do all the work at home. Can you hear my sigh of relief as I drive out of the driveway and know that I am on my way and no more thinking is necessary. Yes, my car DOES know the way to DW.

Actually the FREE dining is costing me a $30 room discount but between hubby and I we will still get our moneys worth and not having to count every penny and enjoy taking risks at restaurants that sometimes get a bad rap make it well worth it.

It is not that the food at DW is calorie free but the fact that they have so many fun things to see and do and they are sooooo far away from each other that causes the lack of weight gain. If only real life were as interesting I would be skinny and happy.

Slightly Goofy

 

[ChipNDale]

ChipNDale, I am with you. I do all the work at home. Can you hear my sigh of relief as I drive out of the driveway and know that I am on my way and no more thinking is necessary. Yes, my car DOES know the way to DW.

Actually the FREE dining is costing me a $30 room discount but between hubby and I we will still get our moneys worth and not having to count every penny and enjoy taking risks at restaurants that sometimes get a bad rap make it well worth it.

It is not that the food at DW is calorie free but the fact that they have so many fun things to see and do and they are sooooo far away from each other that causes the lack of weight gain. If only real life were as interesting I would be skinny and happy.

Slightly Goofy

Did the Car thing once, 25 hours stright down, My Car now knows the way to the airport and the plans take me to Orlando and Magic Express me right to the resort door.

It's good to have a plan. and know that you don't have to worry about it.

The Walking at disney world WOW, I would never walk that much in any normal day or on any vacation, but its disney, and so much to do. But back to the Food....


Yum Yum Yum!


I think the Worst Values on the DDP are almost any 2 Credit TS, and like others have said breakfast TS. So if i were doing a total DDP free trip I would do late Breakfast TS and that would be like a lunch too, and then do a nice CS for dinner, Turkey legs, Chicken Strips, Burger,...

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

ChipNDale, I am too old and my car too new to risk driving 25 hours in a stretch. The only way I mange what I do is books on tape. Makes the miles so much faster and keeps my husband occupied so he is not asking "Are we there yet" or is as likely to change the gears on the car or something while I am driving.

We have one 2 pt meal scheduled but it is the very last day just in case we want to change our minds. If we have more days that we are not very hungry we might slip in one or two other 2 pt meals. Not likely to eat there on my dime, for sure!

The turkey leg is not so good a bargain but I say to go for it if that is what you want. We did that one time last trip cause that is what dh felt like eating. Overall it turns out just fine and what is the point if you cannot have what you want??

We are going to do the Boma breakfast buffet (late seating) just to try it out. I would not want to do an ordinary breakfast buffet though.

I walk several miles a day, often in circles, in order to get nearly my 10,000 steps in but at DW it is far more fun. Maybe if you could get Harrison Ford to stand at the end of the street I might walk a bit more often though.

I have found that the further I walk from my kitchen the more weight I lose. I am awfully close to the 100# mark. Not my weight, but my loss, so far. I am a slow learner.

Slightly Goofy

 

[ChipNDale]

ChipNDale, I am too old and my car too new to risk driving 25 hours in a stretch. The only way I mange what I do is books on tape. Makes the miles so much faster and keeps my husband occupied so he is not asking "Are we there yet" or is as likely to change the gears on the car or something while I am driving.

We have one 2 pt meal scheduled but it is the very last day just in case we want to change our minds. If we have more days that we are not very hungry we might slip in one or two other 2 pt meals. Not likely to eat there on my dime, for sure!

The turkey leg is not so good a bargain but I say to go for it if that is what you want. We did that one time last trip cause that is what dh felt like eating. Overall it turns out just fine and what is the point if you cannot have what you want??

We are going to do the Boma breakfast buffet (late seating) just to try it out. I would not want to do an ordinary breakfast buffet though.

I walk several miles a day, often in circles, in order to get nearly my 10,000 steps in but at DW it is far more fun. Maybe if you could get Harrison Ford to stand at the end of the street I might walk a bit more often though.

I have found that the further I walk from my kitchen the more weight I lose. I am awfully close to the 100# mark. Not my weight, but my loss, so far. I am a slow learner.

Slightly Goofy

Well I must give you congratulations for almost 100# loss, WOW

That is something I WISH i could do, Hey maybe if i put my kitchen in the next county over that would help.


And yes if you or DH wants a Turkey leg, get em' cause they are so good!

One quick question is your circle the world showcase, and how many time would you have to walk around the world showcase (and or your circle) to get to 10,000 steps. Thats what about 6 miles, is 10,000 steps everyday?

 

[jcemom]

Mickey's Backyard BBQ isn't a good DDP value, at 2 credits per person.

We're doing it anyway, LOL. Although free DDP isn't entirely free -- gave up a $40/night room discount and must purchase one day tickets we don't need right now -- it's still the best deal for our party of three. If I figure in the cost of the tickets averaged out over our 10 night stay, plus the room discount I gave up, DDP is 'costing' us $60/night total for two adults and one child. So I just tried to keep our meal choices above that number, which couldn't have been easier. I don't think there's anywhere we could eat TS, CS and snack for under $60 for three. It made the places that wouldn't normally be considered a good value -- like Mickey's BBQ and Crystal Palace breakfast -- seem like not such bad choices after all, especially since those are places we WANT to go.

 

[ChipNDale]

Mickey's Backyard BBQ isn't a good DDP value, at 2 credits per person.

We're doing it anyway, LOL. Although free DDP isn't entirely free -- gave up a $40/night room discount and must purchase one day tickets we don't need right now -- it's still the best deal for our party of three. If I figure in the cost of the tickets averaged out over our 10 night stay, plus the room discount I gave up, DDP is 'costing' us $60/night total for two adults and one child. So I just tried to keep our meal choices above that number, which couldn't have been easier. I don't think there's anywhere we could eat TS, CS and snack for under $60 for three. It made the places that wouldn't normally be considered a good value -- like Mickey's BBQ and Crystal Palace breakfast -- seem like not such bad choices after all, especially since those are places we WANT to go.

Well a little math and it looks like your still saving $30 a night with the free dinning plan, and the other question to as is if you did not have the dinning plan would you spend more then $60 a night to eat!

I am glad your going to eat where your WANT to go and the is the big thing with the DDP is to remember eat what you like/want and where not wheres you save the most $$$. The fun of a character TS can be worth more the the $$$ you did not save by eating someplace more expensive!

 

[jcemom]

Yes, we're still saving money. We have a DDE card and wouldn't normally do TS every night, so we can do just fine for less than the normal cost of the DDP. However, we would still spend more than we are now, and even if we wouldn't it's only because we wouldn't be doing as much TS. By my calculations we could skip several of our TS meals, just letting those credits go to waste, and still break even with what it would have cost us to do it all a'la carte with the room discount we had originally.

Even with getting the great deal I feel we're getting I was still very tempted to make the most of those darn credits though. It's nearly an irresistable urge to get the most value from the DDP credits, isn't it? LOL

Luckily for me, I think, I did resist. Not all of our meals are the best DDP value cost-wise, but they're the meals we want and the ones I think we'll enjoy the most!

Now I have to resist the urge to get doggy bags for all the food I can't finish when I'm there, LOL. The last time we did DDP we had a pyramid of desserts on the table in our room. Every time we couldn't eat it we took it to go. The problem was that we were almost never hungry enough to eat it later either.

 

[ChipNDale]

Yes, we're still saving money. We have a DDE card and wouldn't normally do TS every night, so we can do just fine for less than the normal cost of the DDP. However, we would still spend more than we are now, and even if we wouldn't it's only because we wouldn't be doing as much TS. By my calculations we could skip several of our TS meals, just letting those credits go to waste, and still break even with what it would have cost us to do it all a'la carte with the room discount we had originally.

Even with getting the great deal I feel we're getting I was still very tempted to make the most of those darn credits though. It's nearly an irresistable urge to get the most value from the DDP credits, isn't it? LOL

Luckily for me, I think, I did resist. Not all of our meals are the best DDP value cost-wise, but they're the meals we want and the ones I think we'll enjoy the most!

Now I have to resist the urge to get doggy bags for all the food I can't finish when I'm there, LOL. The last time we did DDP we had a pyramid of desserts on the table in our room. Every time we couldn't eat it we took it to go. The problem was that we were almost never hungry enough to eat it later either.

I too find it hard to resist getting the best DDP value, but always look at the menu to see what i would order and pick the places that have the best combo of app, meal and dessert!

I always enjoy when we get a bill that tops $300 for dinner and to know hey that was Free and Great! that give alittle extra magic and the end of the meal, and the sting out of haveing to getup and get out! Moving walkways anyone? we are always FULL!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

ChipNDale, I am a very competitive person and so I wear a pedometer. I went from a very efficient person who walked the least steps possible a day to one who will walk a quarter mile out of the way now. I park at the back of parking lots. Since I live near the town square I will take off and walk around the block a few times a day and I start most days off by walking round the CC gym across the street for two or three miles. I had to start out by walking WM with a shopping cart and work my way up to this in the past three years. I want to see what my grandkids turn out to be and that is my incentive. That and the fact that I have no one to take care of me should I falter. Something about walking round and round in circles I find very relaxing as opposed to walking large distances.

I believe that two tours of the WS is about 6 miles but I imagine others know more. It is all according to if you walk directly around or go in and out of the shops and attractions though.

One of the other benefits of the DP is the fact that you are not having to go off site to eat. We often do this when paying OP. $5 Golden Corral meal before going to the parks is the best bargain I can think of.

I am blessed in that I am able (now) to just eat a bite or two of things and leave the rest lie, or my junkyard dog (aka dh) eats my leftovers.

Having been an avid coupon queen years ago and having had free groceries for about 20 of those years (that is how I got in this awful shape to begin with) I can relate to the thrill of something for nothing. But there is truly no such thing as a FREE lunch. You pay one way or another.

SG/Linda

 

[ChipNDale]

Wow Thank you SG for all that information, I too was an efficient in my walking, fastest route, least steps. Good idea about walking around WM to get started i might just have to try that.

Well i think your junkyard dog DH must get a work out too!

3 miles around WS wow, I can see that number higher in and out of shops rides, shows, ...

Just a funny question how often do you kill your pedometer, i mean just walk it to death!

No Free Lunch, is true, in that way and I find my self spend much more on gifts, and toys then i would be if i were paying for food! and Longer Trips Too!

Well I might as well enjoy this last free dinning trip if all the rumors about how the plan is changing next year, it may no longer be as great of a value as it is today!

 

[jcemom]

Well I might as well enjoy this last free dinning trip if all the rumors about how the plan is changing next year, it may no longer be as great of a value as it is today!

That is exactly what I've been thinking today!

I'm going with a few friends in December, staying DVC, and we're getting the DDP also. I'll be sure to enjoy it.

For someone who usually does not get DDP here I am getting it twice in one year, once free and once paid. Sheesh, I'll hit the new year 20 pounds heavier.

 

[ChipNDale]

That is exactly what I've been thinking today!

I'm going with a few friends in December, staying DVC, and we're getting the DDP also. I'll be sure to enjoy it.

For someone who usually does not get DDP here I am getting it twice in one year, once free and once paid. Sheesh, I'll hit the new year 20 pounds heavier.

Time to do a few laps around the WS! then!
I doubt it will be 20, 2 tops, you use a lot more energy at Disney! At least i know i do!