Why is eating so stressful???

[klitteral2009]

So I decided to add on the Basic DDP to our trip in January. (1TS, 1QS, and 1 SN per day). I've been skulking around on the boards and now I'm afraid that its going to cost me MORE than what I'm paying for the DDP. Are there only certain things available to you at resturants? Do you have to pay attention to price? I was under the impression (out of ignorance I suppose) that when you purchased the DDP it entitled you to whatever you wanted to eat as far as a meal goes. I know the TS doesnt include an app (we arent' real big on those anyway) but the way some posts are written, it seems like pricing is an issue. Can anyone help me?? Man, being a newbie is hard

 

[Cafeen]

So I decided to add on the Basic DDP to our trip in January. (1TS, 1QS, and 1 SN per day). I've been skulking around on the boards and now I'm afraid that its going to cost me MORE than what I'm paying for the DDP. Are there only certain things available to you at resturants? Do you have to pay attention to price? I was under the impression (out of ignorance I suppose) that when you purchased the DDP it entitled you to whatever you wanted to eat as far as a meal goes. I know the TS doesnt include an app (we arent' real big on those anyway) but the way some posts are written, it seems like pricing is an issue. Can anyone help me?? Man, being a newbie is hard

The menus are (generally) open when on the DDP and are the same menus offered via other payment options (TiW, OOP, whatever). There may be a limitation here or there (thinking Marrakesh feasts that have a surcharge, or the prix fixe menus that offer no substitutions), but by and large, everything is fair game.

The pricing scenario comes into play when looking to get the maximum value for the plan. In some cases, people will aim to order the most expensive items just so they can claim the most savings (or justify the plan's savings based the inflated checks.) There's also some credence given to those who worry about gratuity and stuff (the higher your preDDP check, the higher the tip, so it does play a bit of a role.)

When it comes down to it though, take a quick look to make sure that it makes sense for you. When you get there, throw caution to the wind (since you already know it'll most likely work ) and enjoy yourselves.

 

[klitteral2009]

The menus are (generally) open when on the DDP and are the same menus offered via other payment options (TiW, OOP, whatever). There may be a limitation here or there (thinking Marrakesh feasts that have a surcharge, or the prix fixe menus that offer no substitutions), but by and large, everything is fair game.

The pricing scenario comes into play when looking to get the maximum value for the plan. In some cases, people will aim to order the most expensive items just so they can claim the most savings (or justify the plan's savings based the inflated checks.) There's also some credence given to those who worry about gratuity and stuff (the higher your preDDP check, the higher the tip, so it does play a bit of a role.)

When it comes down to it though, take a quick look to make sure that it makes sense for you. When you get there, throw caution to the wind (since you already know it'll most likely work ) and enjoy yourselves.

Thanks a ton! I'd hoped that was the case but wanted to be sure so I could plan accordingly

 

[bluejasmine]

Since 2005 we have used DDP on every single trip and have come out ahead. Even a trip in June 2011 where we only had 1 day! We were going to Chef Mickeys and I did the math for 2 adults and 1 child it was SAVING us money!

Ive done FD seveal times but I have also purchaed DDP all the others!! Im a firm believer in DDP!

 

[bdklein]

Since 2005 we have used DDP on every single trip and have come out ahead. Even a trip in June 2011 where we only had 1 day! We were going to Chef Mickeys and I did the math for 2 adults and 1 child it was SAVING us money!

Ive done FD seveal times but I have also purchaed DDP all the others!! Im a firm believer in DDP!

And you ordered exactly the same way and ate at the same restaurants as if you were paying out of pocket??? Ordered appetizers if u wanted them??? Didn't eat dessert if you didn't want it? You wanted a refillable mug and more than just water with your emails?? Or did you make sure you followed the plan and ordered things you did not want to justify the expense???

 

[OThopeful35]

And you ordered exactly the same way and ate at the same restaurants as if you were paying out of pocket??? Ordered appetizers if u wanted them??? Didn't eat dessert if you didn't want it? You wanted a refillable mug and more than just water with your emails?? Or did you make sure you followed the plan and ordered things you did not want to justify the expense???

This is the best advice!! I went to allears.net and added up how we would eat at disney. DS, who will be 10 at the time of our trip, is not going to eat $55 worth of food. I even let him go over some of the menus and asked him what would he choose to eat. Well, it did not come close to $55 unless it was a character or buffet. I added up 1 TS,1 CS and a snack and still did not amount to the price of the DDP. Some places DS can eat a kids meal, especially if it's a burger because he likes his plain. I even added a few adult beverages,appetizers and a signature meal and it still was less than the DDP for DS and I. So we will be skipping the DDP on our trip next August.

The extra money we save by not getting the DDP can be used to reserve a bounceback offer for our next trip.

 

[THEJOEL]

I think as whole we DISers are overplanners or else we wouldn't be members.
What I LIKE about the DDP isn't the value it's the freedom it gives me. To me the DDP gives you the feel of an all inclusive vacation smililar to a cruise since you pay OOP for adult beverages.
To me the DDP takes stress OUT of my WDW vacation that allows us to enjoy our meals more. Honestly I don't think I would go to CRT and Akershus in the same trip if it wasn't for the DDP but we are. If my DD6 wants a bag of popcorn or funnel cake; we get it. So that saves the arguement of that costs $5 so no you can't have it.
If you want to do the math do the math and find out what works best for you and your family. To me I would rather have my food and snacks paid for BEFORE I check in, we save and pay cash for our trip, that way I don't worry about it any more.
Remember, it's a vacation AT WDW THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!), if you worry about all the tiny details you'll miss out on the big picture. The best pixie dust moments come along when you relax and slow down. Your kids will only be this age at WDW once try to enjoy it.

 

[amomma23]

I think as whole we DISers are overplanners or else we wouldn't be members.
What I LIKE about the DDP isn't the value it's the freedom it gives me. To me the DDP gives you the feel of an all inclusive vacation smililar to a cruise since you pay OOP for adult beverages.
To me the DDP takes stress OUT of my WDW vacation that allows us to enjoy our meals more. Honestly I don't think I would go to CRT and Akershus in the same trip if it wasn't for the DDP but we are. If my DD6 wants a bag of popcorn or funnel cake; we get it. So that saves the arguement of that costs $5 so no you can't have it.
If you want to do the math do the math and find out what works best for you and your family. To me I would rather have my food and snacks paid for BEFORE I check in, we save and pay cash for our trip, that way I don't worry about it any more.
Remember, it's a vacation AT WDW THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!), if you worry about all the tiny details you'll miss out on the big picture. The best pixie dust moments come along when you relax and slow down. Your kids will only be this age at WDW once try to enjoy it.

This is EXACTLY why we do the dining plan. My husband and I would not eat the way we wanted to without it. We would be the ones sharing a quick service meal or just getting a side dish for lunch to save money. The prices are high, which is true of any amusement park. It is so nice to just choose what we want to eat and not worry about cost.
With 3 kids, we also love that we don't have to worry about making them share snacks and drinks. If someone wants something we can say OK and move on.
We generally go with FD, but even paying for it, we come out ahead. Nothing beats having everything paid for so we can just relax and have what we want.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Since 2005 we have used DDP on every single trip and have come out ahead. Even a trip in June 2011 where we only had 1 day! We were going to Chef Mickeys and I did the math for 2 adults and 1 child it was SAVING us money!

Ive done FD seveal times but I have also purchaed DDP all the others!! Im a firm believer in DDP!

TOTALLY AGREE! This is us too! We always come out ahead. We love the DP. Every trip we have a room only for a couple of nights before our trip officially starts, and I always spend A FORTUNE on food (because we're paying OOP). DP definitely saves us money. Plus i love the fact that everything is prepaid, so to speak, that way i dont have to worry much about money.

And you ordered exactly the same way and ate at the same restaurants as if you were paying out of pocket??? Ordered appetizers if u wanted them??? Didn't eat dessert if you didn't want it? You wanted a refillable mug and more than just water with your emails?? Or did you make sure you followed the plan and ordered things you did not want to justify the expense???

Judging by your line of questioning, im guessing your "anti-dining plan"??? I guess youre a bit surprised that the DP can actually work for some families?

 

[goofyintoronto]

This is EXACTLY why we do the dining plan. My husband and I would not eat the way we wanted to without it. We would be the ones sharing a quick service meal or just getting a side dish for lunch to save money. The prices are high, which is true of any amusement park. It is so nice to just choose what we want to eat and not worry about cost.
With 3 kids, we also love that we don't have to worry about making them share snacks and drinks. If someone wants something we can say OK and move on. We generally go with FD, but even paying for it, we come out ahead. Nothing beats having everything paid for so we can just relax and have what we want.

YES us too!!! completely agree!

 

[Spunky946]

I think as whole we DISers are overplanners or else we wouldn't be members.
What I LIKE about the DDP isn't the value it's the freedom it gives me. To me the DDP gives you the feel of an all inclusive vacation smililar to a cruise since you pay OOP for adult beverages.
To me the DDP takes stress OUT of my WDW vacation that allows us to enjoy our meals more. Honestly I don't think I would go to CRT and Akershus in the same trip if it wasn't for the DDP but we are. If my DD6 wants a bag of popcorn or funnel cake; we get it. So that saves the arguement of that costs $5 so no you can't have it.
If you want to do the math do the math and find out what works best for you and your family. To me I would rather have my food and snacks paid for BEFORE I check in, we save and pay cash for our trip, that way I don't worry about it any more.
Remember, it's a vacation AT WDW THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!), if you worry about all the tiny details you'll miss out on the big picture. The best pixie dust moments come along when you relax and slow down. Your kids will only be this age at WDW once try to enjoy it.

This is exactly why we decided to spend the extra money on the DXDP. We have been twice before staying off property and because of this we watched what we spent and ate a lot off property.
This time we are staying on property at AKV and got the 35% room discount. Because of that we decided to go for the deluxe plan. I know it's a lot of food, but we want to do 2 dinner shows plus several signature restaurants. Will we eat the difference between what we would do on the ddp plus a few OOP or the deluxe? We will probably come close, but I love the snacks and the feeling like it's all inclusive. Dh really likes staying off property, so this might be our only time on. That being said, we decided to take advantage.

 

[JimmyV]

I think as whole we DISers are overplanners or else we wouldn't be members.
What I LIKE about the DDP isn't the value it's the freedom it gives me. ...
To me the DDP takes stress OUT of my WDW vacation that allows us to enjoy our meals more.

And this is exactly why we do NOT use it. (And neither one of us is wrong. We're just different.)

Some people find "freedom" in pre-paying. I find "freedom" in being handed a menu and knowing that everyone in our party can order whatever they want. What could be "free-er" than that? No having to say: "Sorry, kiddo. You can't order the fried calamari appetizer, because appetizers are extra." No having to say: "Do you really have to have that Caesar Salad to start? It isn't included in the Plan." To me, freedom is saying: "order whatever you want." But I certainly can appreciate the benefit that some folks put on transforming their vacation into a pre-paid "all inclusive", (even if appetizers aren't included). At the end of the meal, I get handed a $100 check. People on the plan get handed a $20 check. I get that. But they also paid more than I did before arriving on property. Monetarily, it comes very, very close to evening out. Do you really think that Disney would continue the Plan if it was losing money on the whole thing? So don't let money sway you. Instead, decide if you prefer "freedom" in the form or pre-paying, or in the form of holding a menu where you can design your meal to best suit your needs. Neither approach is "wrong".

 

[kdog_1981]

We got the DP last time we went and really enjoyed not worrying about shelling out tons of money. I really crunched the numbers by averaging what we would spend and almost opted out. But paying up front just seemed less stressful for us. I have 3 kids and only one will be charged the kid dp. The others will share and with the buffets we will make out for sure. You just need to do a cost analysis for YOUR family.

I plan on having cash ready to go for tips and such to ease the stress of money ahead of time.

 

[goofyintoronto]

And this is exactly why we do NOT use it. (And neither one of us is wrong. We're just different.)

Some people find "freedom" in pre-paying. I find "freedom" in being handed a menu and knowing that everyone in our party can order whatever they want. What could be "free-er" than that? No having to say: "Sorry, kiddo. You can't order the fried calamari appetizer, because appetizers are extra." No having to say: "Do you really have to have that Caesar Salad to start? It isn't included in the Plan." To me, freedom is saying: "order whatever you want." But I certainly can appreciate the benefit that some folks put on transforming their vacation into a pre-paid "all inclusive", (even if appetizers aren't included). At the end of the meal, I get handed a $100 check. People on the plan get handed a $20 check. I get that. But they also paid more than I did before arriving on property. Monetarily, it comes very, very close to evening out. Do you really think that Disney would continue the Plan if it was losing money on the whole thing? So don't let money sway you. Instead, decide if you prefer "freedom" in the form or pre-paying, or in the form of holding a menu where you can design your meal to best suit your needs. Neither approach is "wrong".

Totally true, neither is wrong. its what works for your family.

we dont do appetizers. we like dessert. So the DP is perfect for us. I know myself, if i paid OOP id be penny pinching to stretch out my money more. While on the DP if my son wants the most expensive entree, i won't stress about it. If he wants an app, i dont stress about it either, i will gladly pay extra for it. But we rarely get apps unless we're absolutely STARVING. Paying OOP just doesnt work for us. To each their own.

That's the beauty of Disney, you have the CHOICE to pick whats works for you.

Sent from my Galaxy SII using DISBoards App

 

[merina888]

My family likes DDP. I like paying up front and not having to watch what I spend so closely. Plus honestly, when we eat out, we do eat similarly. We like nice restaurants and we like expensive food. We also like variety. Now I can't do that in my everyday life because we would go broke, but on vacation, we can. Yes, even though appetizers aren't included on DDP, sometimes we order those too and pay OOP. I can't say that I would eat dessert at every meal, but it's nice to have the option. Plus most places, you can wrap it up to go to eat later. Our biggest problem is adjusting our meal times to how we actually eat. Even with 2 young children under 5, we tend to eat late at home. We have trouble remembering that at Disney so we schedule things too closely together. Oh well, next time...

 

[rznhal]

OP-We've been three times since DDP, and all three times the first thing every server asked us is "are you on the Dining Plan?". I'm confident your servers will help with any little "exceptions" that could trip you up on the DDP, and if they don't offer, I'm sure you could ask them to explain it! Unless they are brand new, my guess is all servers are very knowledgable on the DDP!!!

Have fun!!!!!!

 

[Mcert01]

Funny, I just got done doing the math for our trip next fall. First, I selected the restaurants we want, then I selected the most likely meals we would eat. The choices were not based on price (high or low) but on what everyone enjoys. For instance, I selected the Wild Mushroom Lasagna at Artist Point ($28) versus the Buffalo Strip Steak ($43), because I love mushroom lasagna.

As part of the analysis I did not include appetizers (i.e., the bread service at Sanaa which we will get) since they are out of pocket regardless. I also didn't include alcohol for the same reason. Another item I didn't include was dessert because we rarely order dessert, so adding it in would bias the number in favor of the dining plan. I did include estimated costs for counter service and snacks as well, based on an average price per item. Gratuities and taxes were also included on both sides of the ledger as well.

The net result - the Dining Plan saves me over $120.

When the savings are added to all the other benefits, like not worrying about ordering the Buffalo Steak at $43 if I change my mind, and having everything pre-paid before arriving, it is still a good deal.

I freely acknowledge that this calculation is for our situation. Everyone is different. That said, I think the plan is a good value.

 

[smiths02]

I think as whole we DISers are overplanners or else we wouldn't be members.
What I LIKE about the DDP isn't the value it's the freedom it gives me. To me the DDP gives you the feel of an all inclusive vacation smililar to a cruise since you pay OOP for adult beverages.
To me the DDP takes stress OUT of my WDW vacation that allows us to enjoy our meals more. Honestly I don't think I would go to CRT and Akershus in the same trip if it wasn't for the DDP but we are. If my DD6 wants a bag of popcorn or funnel cake; we get it. So that saves the arguement of that costs $5 so no you can't have it.
If you want to do the math do the math and find out what works best for you and your family. To me I would rather have my food and snacks paid for BEFORE I check in, we save and pay cash for our trip, that way I don't worry about it any more.
Remember, it's a vacation AT WDW THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!), if you worry about all the tiny details you'll miss out on the big picture. The best pixie dust moments come along when you relax and slow down. Your kids will only be this age at WDW once try to enjoy it.

Unless I get free dining...I feel the opposite. I feel pressure to maximize what I paid ahead of time. So then my son can't get the funnel cake with strawberry topping b/c that is not included or we can't just cancel an ADR b/c then we have wasted credits.

 

[gogirl]

I think the plan is good for some and each family should evaluate it individually. I tried the dining plan once when it was first introduced. At that time meals included appetizers, entree and dessert. I felt like I had too much food (worried I wasn't getting full value if I didn't order all allowed). I am a planner so I have to work hard at not being too structured in the parks and to keep some spontaneity and flexibility in my day. The plan really made me feel like it added a bit too much structure. I was worried that we were not using all our snack credits, etc. The next time I traveled, no plan, and loved the meal flexibility; for example, we snacked all day and skipped dinner because full..had ice cream before bed. I compared our food expenditures and
i didn't spend anymore than purchasing plan.

 

[cannmom]

We like the dining plan. It's paid for up-front and we don't worry over it. If my steak loving ds wants steak every night; he gets it. I know that it's a good value for us. We don't have a problem eating within the parameters of the plan. We hardly ever order appetizers and we like dessert. I know if we were paying OOP we would eat differently and try to be more cost-concious and I like the option of not worrying over price. We generally have had "free" dining; but I would get the dining plan anyway. Our next trip will probably be in January 2013 and free dining is the best option for us. It was cheaper than the pincode for 35% off RO and the Stay, Play and Dine package.

We have vacationed with a family that it didn't work for them.They wanted more appetizers and had a child that was a " Disney adult"; but wanted to order off the kids menu. They decided to pay OOP on their next trip. Everyone is different.