Which is better DDP or DDE card?

[Rambler5678]

Which is better the DDP (basic) or the DDE card? Can you buy a DDE card if your a annual pass holder? If so how much does it cost?

Thanks

 

[SqueakyMouse]

I guess it would depend on the quantity of food you devour, when and where re you purchase your meals (CS vs TS & regular meals vs snacks), how often you go to WDW, and at what resort(s) you stay. For us, it's a no-brainer. We are a family of 5 and go to WDW several times a year. During the warmer months, we tend to stay at Values and eat fewer TS meals (tend to be park-commandos with the kids and just don't feel like eating in the heat). Thus, we save on breakfasts and late night meals/snacks at our resort. During the cooler months, we tend to stay at the Deluxes and have far more TS meals. Thus, an AP rate on our room is usually far, far less than rack rate, which we would have had to pay for DDP (in the past). Even so, we don't eat all that much food in a day. We would never, ever get the full value out of a dining plan. The 20% off offered by the DDE when combined with other AP perks is a much better deal for us.

BTW, DDE is $60.

 

[dacky041208]

I agree with squeaky, it depends on many factors for you. I considered the DDE for a 2 week trip this year, but the DDP seemed much more sensible. There are plenty of people complaining about it, but I like the fact that once we arrive, most of our food bill (not big drinkers) is paid off. We'll just cover the tips and maybe an occasional snack/meal off the plan.

 

[Disney Ron]

DDE works best for us.

Mrs. Disney Ron

 

[dacky041208]

Just checking to see that the OP knows you need to have an AP or be a florida resident to get a DDE card. If you meet either one of those categories, than chances are you go (or might go) to WDW enough to make the DDE card the better choice. Me, living in PA, a 2 week trip almost made the AP and DDE card worth it over a AAA package discount with DDP, but we couldn't be sure we'd use the AP again before they expired, so we went with the basic package.

 

[breezy1077]

Can I just buy one DDE, or do I have to purchase for all 4 of us?

 

[jsmla]

You only have to buy one. We've done both and prefer DDE but we're two adults and drink more and eat less than a party made up of growing kids! We like a bottle of wine at dinner and DDE gives you a discount on that.

Jennifer

 

[Tricia1972]

For us the DDE is a much better deal. We are saving hundreds over the DDP using the DDE card. However, this doesn't work for everyone.

Our eating habits are, breakfast in the room, CS lunch, TS Dinner with one appetizer to share among the family, everyone gets their own entree and nobody orders desserts (at TS or CS) we get snacks later on in the park that we usually share among a few (or all) of us.

Appetizers aren't included in the DDP anymore, but even with the inclusion of appetizers we didn't need one appetizer for each member in our party. We feel the same about desserts, one or two for a table would be more than enough and many times while choosing desserts nothing appealed to us, we just ordered because it was included and paid for.

When I looked at the menus, determined what we wanted to eat and then ran the numbers on my spreadsheet, it works better for us to use the DDE. With the DDP we're paying for food that we won't eat or don't want.

If we want to pre-pay then we'll get a prepaid credit card and use that for our room charging privileges.

Can I just buy one DDE, or do I have to purchase for all 4 of us?

You can buy one DDE card, so long as the cardholder is present, the discount will apply for the entire family. If your DH and two kids were going to eat without you one night, then he'd need an additional card in his name. Additional cards cost $25.

 

[PlutoLuvr]

DDE works best for us. We like a TS once a day, but we need a break from WDW food, too, especially with all the menus becoming so consolidated. With the DDP, we feel required to stay on property to get our money's worth. The DDE gives us a bit more flexibility and also makes more sense for us if we decide to stay off site.

It pays for itself very quickly. Now, we do like a bottle of wine with our dinners, but we saved $100 over a quick weekend trip eating dinners at Jiko and Bistro de Paris and lunches at '50s PTC and Biergarten. We'll probably do similar weekend trips in May and December and spend a week in an off site timeshare in September with a large group. I'm anticipating a savings of $800 to $1,000 over the course of a year. Maybe more with last-minute day trips, although I'm not counting on being able to get into TS on a walk-in basis.

$60 for APH