Why I Hate the DDP

[Dreamfinder2]

OK, as fresh and as unvarnished as I can make it, because we just got back last night from a week with the Mouse...

We were on the DDP - DW, DD20, DD's sorority sister, also 20, and moi. We used the HECK outta the DDP, and paid for a couple of meals OOP. I really, really, REALLY tried to be objective:

Chefs de France - DDP - Patrick was our server. His English was a little rough (but, in fairness, he probably had trouble with our Southern accents). But he was right there, very attentive, not "hovering," and gracious to a fault.

'Ohana - DDP - two servers, Kathy and what's his name. Again, no glass went unfilled, all plates replenished and taken away promptly. I asked Kathy up front - "are you just a little frazzled tonight?", because she looked like she was meeting herself going and coming. She seemed delighted that I even asked - "No, I'm fine, thanks!" Just really good service. Hard to fault. (I will say that the sausage wasn't too good to me, but the other grilled meats were darn good - the steak being medium rare for all of us.) We showed up a half-hour before our reservations and were seated within 15 minutes.

50's Prime Time - DDP - Our server Kevin (?) was an absolute hoot - it wasn't so much that he was in character, but he had this extraordinary dry wit. Our girls just hooted and cackled the whole time. I struggled with the "Yankee green beans" (not cooked enough for my tastes), but I knew it came with the turf.

Liberty Tree Tavern - DDP - Can't remember our servers' name, but the girls called him Guy Smiley. Again, all our plates and glasses stayed full, and we never had to "hunt him down." But he was VERY cheerful, if you know what I mean. On a whim, we showed up at 7 for a 7:45 ressie, and didn't even wait 10 minutes. How about that?

Turf Club - DDP - a great first time meal for us at Saratoga Springs. Again, I missed our servers' name, but she was splendid, picking out favorites from the menu. VERY quiet, almost coolly elegant spot. We'll go back.

Chef Mickey's - OOP - having breakfast amidst chaos, our server Meredith just cruised through the uproar, and kept me satisfied with what ended up being about a gallon of fresh orange juice.

Kona Cafe - OOP - this was a great lunch break. I missed our servers' name (early onset dementia ... sorry), but she said "you'll break my heart if you don't try one of my desserts." I fell for that, and was glad I did.

Here's my point, and I'm not trying to be an apologist or anything: I just flat couldn't tell any difference in service from one restaurant to the next. I tried to go in each place anticipating good service (hoping for a self-fulfilling prophecy), and, by golly, there were no disappointments.

The weather was terrific and the waits were minimal. It was a great week. Charming British accents everywhere. Loved it.

 

[5boyz]

Neverenough.....as many times as you have bragged that you have been to Disney lots, it obviously is not enough as you have nothing postive to say, except about yourself!!! That is very nice that you and your other can stay at a deluxe and have $400. a night meals. But maybe Disney is trying to help other people who can't do that get a chance too! BTW if you think about it your are the one that looks like a fool paying all that money when the rest of us can get almost what you do for a fraction of the price!!!

 

[KevGuy]

LOL...What a silly thread this is!!

We went to Disney for the first time ever last month, used the DDP too. We had a fabulous time an dthe food as well as service was excellent EVERYWHERE we went. Here is just a few of the places we ate; Donalds/AK, HoopdeDoo/FW, LeCellier/EP, Chef Mickey's/CR, Tony's/MK, H&V/MGM. Also ate at the All Star Movies foodcourt a bunch too and surprisingly that was excellent as well. Our favorite was LeCellier, by far the best food we had. But my kids would vote for Chef Mickey's. Of all the places we only gave an extra tip to Neil at Donalds Breakfast, he was just simply amazing and the best server person I have ever met in my life, seriously. We are not cheap but at Disney prices we figure that 18% is plenty for a tip, but Neil was the exception and we willingly dropped an extra $10 to him for the great time he gave us and our kids. I would say the plan is fabulous overall. It will save you money if that is what your interested in, and it will allow others who are not so cost concious to free wheel and go to many different resturants, so I think it is basically what you want to make of it. I will say regarding the reservations needing to be made 6 months in advance is different, but you know when in Rome you have to do as the Romans do lol. We mad ours in jan. before our April trip so it was only about 2 1/2 months out. We enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who goes to Disney!!

 

[lustergirl]

kill it already!!!!!

 

[tndisneyfan]

* scaled back menus -- Disney restaurants have cut some of their signature dishes or substituted less expensive ingredients for some of their menu offerings, and have standardized/homogenized menus across the board to some degree, and have evidently also decreased some portion sizes. This was not caused by the DDP. Disney did this as part of their overall plan to increase profitability, and it's part of an industry-wide trend.


The Dining Plan is part of the overall changes Disney has implemented to make more money. There have been some unfavorable changes to Disney Dining, but they were not caused by the Dining Plan, that's only one piece of the total picture. Just like putting ducky wallpaper up in my spare room will not make me pregnant

I think dining changes are happening all over, not just Disney. It seems in the last year or two no matter where I go, the portions seem a little smaller, more costly items taken off the menu, and more standardized/homogenized menus. I guess my whole point of this is it seems all restaurants are cutting back.

 

[Katiebell]

kill it already!!!!!

Why, if there is still productive, courteous conversation on the topic? I keep seeing new points being brought up. If anyone is tired of this conversation, then they could just unsubscribe from the thread The length of this thread and the number of people posting seems to indicate that there is still a great deal of interest in this subject.

I think dining changes are happening all over, not just Disney. It seems in the last year or two no matter where I go, the portions seem a little smaller, more costly items taken off the menu, and more standardized/homogenized menus. I guess my whole point of this is it seems all restaurants are cutting back.

I have seen this too. We used to enjoy occasionally going to local chains like Applebee's or Chili's (better than fast food for dinner). But I've seen the quality slipping there dramatically, and we're now more likely to go to smaller, mom and pop or ethnic places that still take pride in what they are serving.

 

[Hair o' The Dog]

Sorry to come in late here, but what is DDP?

 

[Disney4Drew]

Sorry to come in late here, but what is DDP?

Awwwwwww Hair. Nice try at stirring the proverbial pot!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Sorry to come in late here, but what is DDP?

The DDP is the short way of saying that it's the Disney Dinning Plan.

 

[marivaid]

Neverenough.....as many times as you have bragged that you have been to Disney lots, it obviously is not enough as you have nothing postive to say, except about yourself!!! That is very nice that you and your other can stay at a deluxe and have $400. a night meals. But maybe Disney is trying to help other people who can't do that get a chance too! BTW if you think about it your are the one that looks like a fool paying all that money when the rest of us can get almost what you do for a fraction of the price!!!

This thread is still open because no one has posted personal attacks. I'd like to keep it that way.

I disagree with many of NeverEnoughWDW's opinions on this subject however he has been helpful to me on several other threads.

The way he choses to spend his money is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS.

 

[The Sweetness]

Thats something I think we can all agree on universally

 

[marivaid]

Katiebell.. WOW!! I've been trying to say the same things for days but couldn't find the right words. You sure did.

keeping quiet, I know you can't tell us which restaurant you work at but that's a shame.

On the double-booking ADR issue, why are we assuming that the majority of doublebookers are on the DDP ? I agree with apostolic4life, requiring either a resort confirmation # or a CC would fix that problem.

 

[arachal]

A better idea would be to just have lower prices in general. That way everyone wins.

I'm going to be doing some serious calculations if/when AP discounts for December are announced to determine if I should forgo the AP room discount and get the DDP, or get the DDE card for the discounts, or do something else...it's a pain!

I could not agree more! Your suggestion was the best of all! Lowering the prices....I'm all for that.

By the way....I read earlier in this post something about paying "out-of-pocket", but the $900 we paid for the DDP was "out of pocket" to me. I'm not trying to be mean, but some people make the DDP participants sound like beggars looking for a handout. Not the case at all.

Can't we all just get along?

 

[Katiebell]

I could not agree more! Your suggestion was the best of all! Lowering the prices....I'm all for that.

By the way....I read earlier in this post something about paying "out-of-pocket", but the $900 we paid for the DDP was "out of pocket" to me. I'm not trying to be mean, but some people make the DDP participants sound like beggars looking for a handout. Not the case at all.

Can't we all just get along?

Ummmmmmm....who wouldn't want lower prices?!? Kind of a given, since Disney vacation prices are so expensive...but not likely to happen, ya know?

Yep, we paid almost $80/day for the DDP for DH and me. It was good, nice to try lots of places (it was our first visit). We liked the convenience, and it was definitely a savings over what we would have paid OOP -- IF we had ordered all that food, and didn't care how much the menu items cost. We could definitely have paid less than $80/day OOP, sharing desserts and/or appetizers, not ordering desserts at CS, being more price conscious for TS entrees, etc. There were times when both the chicken and the steak looked good, and the chicken was $18 and the steak was $25 -- on the DDP I ordered the steak, but if I was paying OOP on the spot, I might have been more likely to order the chicken. But it wouldn't have been as easy, or as much fun, especially for our first visit

 

[5boyz]

That is what I am looking forward to doing Katiebell ordering what I want without checking the prices. I have 6 kids so have always been money consious (spelling).

 

[squidward]

Apologies if this is the wrong place to put this, but I got back last weekend from my first WDW trip. We had DDP. What I didn't care for was the feeling that we paid for all of those meals and snacks, and doggone it, we needed to use every single one of them. What I loved was not caring what the menu price was for anything, and knowing that the meals were *paid for* (all sticker shock occurred 45 days out).

 

[TinkRBel_In_Training]

To me, I don't see how people are "saving" money on the DDP. Call me crazy, but how many families would actually eat all 3 meals plus several snacks all at WDW without the introduction of such a plan? It seems to me that people are led to believe that they are "saving" hundreds of dollars on the plan....but in actuality, they are actually spending more money than they would if they only ate a few meals and snacks on property and the rest off. JMHO, and I'm sure many people here would disagree with me. But to me, it only appears to be a value in the sense that you are not spending as much money as you would by paying for ALL of that food for each person in your party out of pocket....this is true, its like buying in bulk. But how many WDW vacationers would really eat that much food, 3 times, every single day of their vacation? Not us, thats for sure. And pre-DDP, I'm guessing very few. But of course, thats just our personal family opinion. We save so much money eating off property/at our villa (and back in the day, our hotel room) than what we would "save" with the DDP. Truth be told, even if we got the DDP, we would actually be spending more money than if we ate the majority of our meals OP. I'm by no means trying to speak for every family out there, but my personal opinion is that there really is no value in the DDP; Disney is just leading everyone to believe that they are "saving" hundreds of dollars on food. Again, its JMO and I am not really against all the people out there who do use the DDP. More power to ya.

 

[marivaid]

To me, I don't see how people are "saving" money on the DDP. Call me crazy, but how many families would actually eat all 3 meals plus several snacks all at WDW without the introduction of such a plan? It seems to me that people are led to believe that they are "saving" hundreds of dollars on the plan....but in actuality, they are actually spending more money than they would if they only ate a few meals and snacks on property and the rest off.

It's not 3 meals it's 2. 1 CS + TS per person per day,plus a snack.

A few members here have made charts & calculated that you would still save money on the plan even if you didn't order appy+dessert at any meals. We saved about $100 even though we wasted 2 TS credits and only ordered dessert twice at TS, once at CS.
If you do a buffet on property, for example Chef Mickey's dinner, the price with tax & tip is about $72 for 2 persons. The DDP costs $78 a day for 2 persons, so $6 more gets you 2 CS and 2 snacks. So basically your CS are free.

Eating off site is not an option for the many guests who use Magical Express to get to Disney and therefore don't have a car. Well, I guess you could do it if you wanted to spend $40 on a cab.

 

[Eeyore2003]

Gee, I never knew what the price was for the DDP, that's interesting. I do agree with the previous poster. I think it's a great deal for those that definitely eat the 3 meals a day plus snacks, but we usually eat 2 sit downs a day, plus a little snack. We also have the DDE card, so we basically save "our tip" I guess, but except for when we eat at Artist Point, one of our favorites, we would probably come out even, and probably much less in a general day.

We do go about 3 times a year for 5-9 days each, so the DDE card does pay for itself also many times over. I don't think it would pay for us and I just don't think we'd eat that much and I would prefer the choices of eating where I want all the time not worrying about that point system. Great thing about Disney, something for everyone. Interesting!!!

 

[Eeyore2003]

OH, I see Marivaid. I guess the other thing I did know and didn't care for was the daily counter service vs. the 2 TS we enjoy. We have too many favorite TS restaurants, we wouldn't get them all in!!! Like I said something for everyone, we're grateful for the DDE card, but again, we have AP's, so I feel for us I'm happy with the discounts we get on everything all put together.

I would definitely rethink if we only went once in a while I guess.