Would you do the DP again?

[mkymouse4ever]

Wondering if the time and hassel or not, is worth it vs. a ap or aaa discount on the room? So would you specificially want to repeat this experience?

 

[Dizneydaz]

Definitely-and we are! This will be our third time. Jan. 2005 we paid for it. Sept. 05 for free (it's what brought us back!) and now Sept. 06 (also what brought us back) We were just there in Jan. 06 and DDP wasn't available since we were using CM discount.

 

[robinb]

Yes! In a heartbeat! We enjoyed the FREE dining last year and we're going again this year during free dining. We eat at a table service restaurant once a day or every other day. I would have no problem paying for the dining plan since it is such a bargain for us and we are very happy that it is now offered with DVC .

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I voted only if it's free. The DDP doesn't work for us as we like to do 2 TS meals a day and many of them would require 2 TS vouchers each. I think it's a good value for people who do all CS meals or one CS meal and a TS meal per day anyway. If it was free I'm sure we'd do it and just pay OOP for some of the TS meals.

 

[bluejasmine]

This will be our second time with the free dining..We really enjoyed it sometimes we couldnt eat all the food but we woud just bring it back with us and enjoy it later.. We are really excited that the snack options have been improved too..Since my DH and DS are big meat and potato eatters and enjoy their sit down meals its great for my family..We get to try several restaurants we normally wouldnt get to try without the DDP..

 

[WAHMto5]

I don't think we will ever go again without it It was GREAT for our family, did not find one bad things about it!

 

[justplaingoofy]

Are you trying to decide between getting the free dining plan or using your AAA discount.....????

If so, see how much off per night the AAA discount is and you know that the dining plan runs about $38 per adult, $11 per child? per night. You could figure out which would be best to get the lower rate and pay o.o.p for meals, etc.

 

[GretchGraham]

We paid for it in December and loved it. My husband specifically requested that we do it again this year. We ate at places we would not have if we were not on the plan and ordered more than we would have if we were paying OOP. But, that is part of the fun of being on vacation for us. We can't wait to try out some new places on this trip.

 

[heather360]

I did the dinning plan this past December and loved it. We've agreed that we'd rather downgrade our resort and purchase the dinning plan than stay at a nicer resort with no plan. During the year we don't eat out much and it was a real treat to go to nice restaurants and not worry about the bill. Sort of like staying at an all inclusive resort. It worked perfectly with how we eat. We would skip breakfast, eat a CS lunch at 11:00am, then a TS dinner at 6:00pm.

I'm a real planner so I didn't do any more planning than I would have normally done. To me it's part of the fun. If you're going to hate planning every meal than I wouldn't recommend it for you.

 

[munchkin bunchkin]

We did the DP in January and it worked well for us(2 adults& 2 kids)!We 're going back in August(free dining) and would still be going even if it wasn't. It doesn't seem to "hurt" as much when you pay in advance, as it does when you have to pay right then and there!

 

[Fionasmommy]

is worth it vs. a ap or aaa discount on the room?

You can get it with the AAA discount, you just have to book the package through an AAA agent. That's what we did, and it was fantastic.

We got POFQ for $131.75 with the AAA discount, so saved about $23/night there. At the time, AP rate was only about $10 cheaper than AAA, and we would've had to buy the DDE card for $60 to save anything on food.

The DDP worked out to around $90/day for 2 adults and 1 child. Saved about $70 a day on the plan - our TS meals alone were usually more than $90 so the CS and snacks were "free".

I can't wait to do it again in the fall, and this time for free!!!

 

[kcashner]

We are DVC, so the room discount issue doesn't apply to us. Of course, we can't get the free dining either--everything has a trade off!

It didn't save a ton of $--we probably broke even but got a lot more food. However, the convenience was great as was the idea that DD (teen) could order whatever she wanted and I didn't cringe.

 

[indigoxtreme]

Yes and we will not go back without it anymore. This Sept/Oct will be our 3rd time using it.

 

[heatherlynn444]

I'm undecided. We like to eat 2 TS meals a day and a lot of them require 2 TS points to eat there. if it was changed back to how it used to be with 2 wishes a day, then in a heartbeat! but right now I am undecided...

 

[Gillian]

We did the AAA discount + paid for dining plan. We stayed in our camper at Fort Wilderness, and you can't get the free dining there when it is offered.

We enjoyed it, although at times it was too much food. We had 2 adults, 1 child and a 2 year old not on the plan. I don't think we really paid for anything OOP for her.

Now that she is 3 I still think we'd do the dining plan. She eats a lot, and DS has started to eat like a boy so he'll need all the food we can get him!

The main issue I see (and that we had some problems with) is getting reservations at the times/places we want to eat. I think they're going to have to expand Le Cellier, LOL!

 

[shondad]

OHHHH YESSSSS!!!

We had our first ever Disney vacation last year and with the free dining no less. While I've wanted to go to disney for a long time, and almost did, and would have too.

Was all paid up and ready to board the plane for Orlando in 3 days, on a Friday, but it was not be that time, for my last day at work, before our trip was that fateful day of September 11, 2001. Almost didn't go last year either as we were slated to fly out of New Orleans on Sept 1, 2005, but Katrina made landfall on that weekend before.

With that said, I am glad we finally made it to disney. The free dining was the deciding factor for us to take that trip at that time. My husband and I spoke so highly of the plan and the trip that several older, but not old, family members want to go and we intend to go next year and purchase the plan without hesitation.

 

[bblanch]

Undecided right now, but leaning toward not. This was our first time using it and we are glad to have tried it, but it doesn't fit our style too much.

A few reasons why we may not opt for it next time...
-my daughter turns 10 soon and eats like a bird.
-way too much food for us, we are not use to eating all those portions
-time consuming

 

[MelanieC]

It doesn't work for us because we usually get the Shades of Green overflow rate and use the DDE card. We usually eat two sit down meals per day and just eat breakfast in the room (Pop tarts, etc.).

 

[disneyfour01]

Without a doubt we would do the dining plan again! Sure, it's a lot of food, but we found ourselves eating dessert and elminating the afternoon or evening snack. We loved the chance to eat at restaurants we may not normally choose. For our boys, the dining was just as much of an experience as the parks. With or without the dining plan, we always plan at least one TS meal per day. During our May trip we still came out ahead with the DP and we found it very easy and convenient.

 

[disneyjunkie]

We used the dining plan in April 2005. We're looking forward to using it again.

I agree that it includes a lot of food, but we don't mind skipping items. (No dessert and/or no appetizers)

We were done with most table service meals 1-1 ½ hours after we were seated. The only meal that took longer was Rose and Crown since were seated on the patio.