Review FOR DDP - $PENT AND $AVED

[dolphinmickey9170]

Well, here is a review for the DDP. Three Adults for 12 nights was 36 credits of TS, CS and Snacks. Snacks now qualify for an item costing 4 dollars. If it was 3.99 plus tax, it still qualified. So buy your water and soda for $2 a bottle, but use snack credits for Dole whip floats and smoothies, or chili cheese fries at Pecos Bills, or wherever you choose. We decided that the 2 credit meals were not worth using on the plan. As you read on, you will see why they are a waste of the one nights credits you could use on something else.

I will list the place we ate, the amount it cost, and how many credit used. Then I will show you totals at the end. We used each TS credit to the fullest, appetizer, entree, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverage.

But my reasoning for the wasted 2 TS credits is the bill for one place was only 5 dollars more than a 1TS credit use. See, we used two TS credits per person, that cost only used 5 dollars. Doesn't make sense to use the 2TS. Next time, we will pay for the 2 TS credit meal and use the 2TS credits for other meals. Maybe a big breakfast and a big supper. If I lost you, read on...


Ohana dinner (3TS) -- $93.78
Mama Melrose's Fantasmic dinner (3TS) -- $126.92
Crystal Palace breakfast (3TS) -- $60.68
Aloha Luau (6TS) -- $164.95
LeCellier dinner (3TS) -- $157.22 -- see the amounts of the last two dinners and the use of TS credits? Now you see why I feel the 2 credits should be used elsewhere.
Whispering Canyon dinner (3TS) -- $121.66
Rose and Crown dinner (3TS) -- $135.08
Plaza Restaurant lunch (2TS) -- $44.87
Cinderella's Royal Table (6TS) -- $144.50 -- again, see the amount spent for 2TS credits per person, big waste.
Sci-Fi Dine in theater dinner (1TS) -- $40.67
Turf Club dinner (3TS) -- $132.95
Tony's Town Square (3TS) -- $132.32

Now, if you noticed, we have more than 36 TS credits that we should have had. Here is why. When you check in to your resort, you have to pick up your luau tickets. Well, they charged me for four adults using 8 TS credits. Our party was 3 adults and one infant. When I noticed the error a few days later, (I watched my receipt each time for the count down of credits) I went to the desk to let them know they had over charged me. Our dinner was for that same night I noticed the mistake. Anyway....they fixed it and gave me 3 extra credits somehow. Not sure why and no explanation...Someone goofed.

Our snacks we used mostly on soda and water only because we didn't have room for more food. So if you purchased the 4 dollar items, we would have saved even more.

The total spent for TS was $1355.60
The total spent for CS was $ 433.31
The total spent for Snacks $ 94.30
With a grand total of $1883.21
DDP Cost for 3 Adults - $1403.64
This is a savings of $ 479.57

My only beef with the entire plan is this.....A gratuity is already figured into this plan at 18%, but we encountered a few "Goof offs" that didn't deserve the 18%. I don't know if they feel that they can goof off just because their tip for DDP customers is a given or what. I just wish there was some way to adjust the tip accordingly to let them know their service was not up to par, so to speak.

[disney100%]

Thanks for posting all this! My family and I are trying to figure out if the dining plan is worth it for us. It is nice to see it all laid out how it was actually used.

I see your point on the gratuity. I consider myself a pretty good tipper when the service is good, but it drives me crazy when a gratuity is already included for someone who does not deserve it.

[ISLE39]

i noticed last year for free dining that alot of my ts wait staff was not even close to being up to par. what i dont like is that they ask at the beginning of the meal if u are on the ddp. i wonder if you say no would you get better service and then present at the end. i had only one waiter that i tipped after the ddp bc he gave me 2 appetizers at le cellier the soup and the 10$ beef on stick with no charge so i tipped him additionally.

[SBETigg]

Great review, thanks. If you want to further explore the effectiveness of the TS credits, you can see that the lunch and breakfasts were not the best use of credits, either. Plus, there are two TS credit meals that do make good use of the credits. Not all 2 TS meals are created equal. Narcoossee's or California Grill, for instance, may have allowed you to make better use for the cost.

But for us, the trip is not all about the value. It's also about making choices that make us happy. In that case, you can still choose a 2 TS meal or a breakfast now and then, save money, and have a great time. Good to know.

[Sharon1026]

Great Post.

We are going for a week in June.

We've got all of our dinner ADR's as 1 credit TS, and lunch will be the CS. No breakfasts planned, as we'll just eat a bagel or whatever in the room (the joy of being in DVC and having a kitchen - I like to sit in peace first thing in the morning). Anyway, I will post our ddp vs. actual cost when we are thru.

Thanks again!
:stitch2:

[TexasPrincessAurora]

Has anyone else noticed that the portion sizes have shrunk since the introduction of the dining plan? DH and I have especially noticed this at the 50's Prime Time...the entrees are about 1/2 the size as in the past (if that) and the shrimp cocktail I had last month had 4 shrimp on a plate with a plastic cup of sauce!?!

[septembergirl]

Thanks for posting this. Good info about the snack items, too. I can't wait to see for myself.

[tinksmom02]

Great info, thanks for posting! One question, though...how did you get all the total costs? When we used the DDP, our receipts were all zeroes. Thanks!

[TexasPrincessAurora]

The initial receipt they bring you at the end of the meal, before you actually give them your Key to the World Card to run through, has all the totals on it, just as it would if you were paying cash. We typically will write down that amount somewhere just to keep and compare.

[Crow]

thanks.
im using the dining plan for the first time in 9 days and want to keep track.
i have planned CA Grill using 2 credits.
and i will probably use snacks for DOle Whip, schoolbread...
i am doing more dinners than i would otherwise. usually i eat bigger meal at lunch to save $$ so will see how it works out this way.

[Mickey91]

My only beef with the entire plan is this.....A gratuity is already figured into this plan at 18%, but we encountered a few "Goof offs" that didn't deserve the 18%. I don't know if they feel that they can goof off just because their tip for DDP customers is a given or what. I just wish there was some way to adjust the tip accordingly to let them know their service was not up to par, so to speak.
We feel the same way. Until the staff got used to the DDP and their automatic tip, we received great service from all the restaurants. In Dec., we noticed that in two of the more upscale TS places we ate, the services was subpar at best. We decided that because we were on the dining plan, they were getting their tip and didn't need to earn it! It would be nice if they had a rating system on your ticket that you could fill out with certain aspects of your meal questioned. Such as, 1. Did the server meet your needs throughout the meal? 2. Was your server courteous and helpful? etc. Their rating would decide the % of tip they would receive. This would help keep the quality of service at the high standards you expect at Disney.:mickey:

[Shoebee99]

Is the amount of the tip also included in the amount you would have spent if you were not on the DDP? If not that would make the savings much larger.

[Natazu]

My only beef with the entire plan is this.....A gratuity is already figured into this plan at 18%, but we encountered a few "Goof offs" that didn't deserve the 18%. I don't know if they feel that they can goof off just because their tip for DDP customers is a given or what. I just wish there was some way to adjust the tip accordingly to let them know their service was not up to par, so to speak.
The only way to deal with poor servers getting automatic gratuities is to weed out the poor servers. This can be facilitated by discussing poor service with managers. It would be extraordinary poor business to continue to employ a server who people complain about, even if it's just dining plan customers.

[mook3y]

Just my :twocents: on 2 credit meals. as stated above, not all 2 credit TS meals are created the same.

Last year, my DW and I ate at Narcoossee's on the DDP. Our ticket including gratuities was over $270.

Personally, we will never use 2 credits for in-room dining or dinner shows. Falls into my feeling that using 1 credit for breakfast or lunch is a waste of a good credit!.

Ok so maybe that was :twocents: :twocents: :D

[Wells]

To us, the dining plan is more about convenience than value.
Not having to be concerned with the pricing side of the menu, and just selecting what you want to eat is great!
We used the dining plan on our last visit, with a 1TS ADR for each day of our stay. Along with the CS credits, this is way more food than anyone needs! :sick: (Not to mention the snack credits, which we used mostly for water and Mickey bars!) We ended the trip with 3CS credits each left over for a seven day stay.
If we use the dining plan again, we will make a couple of 2TS ADR’s and just use CS for a couple of days, because also we found that having to be somewhere for an ADR every day was kind of a pain and caused us to have to skip a few of the attractions that we would have otherwise visited.
So in the end, what is more important, not having to worry about dining expenses and (hopefully) breaking even, or trying to squeeze the maximum amount of food out of the dining plan.
I'll see your :twocents: and raise you :twocents: :D

[mook3y]

So in the end, what is more important, not having to worry about dining expenses and (hopefully) breaking even, or trying to squeeze the maximum amount of food out of the dining plan.
I'll see your :twocents: and raise you :twocents: :D


:funny:

I call! :cool:

[Tinkerfreak]

To us, the dining plan is more about convenience than value.
Not having to be concerned with the pricing side of the menu, and just selecting what you want to eat is great!
We used the dining plan on our last visit, with a 1TS ADR for each day of our stay. Along with the CS credits, this is way more food than anyone needs! :sick: (Not to mention the snack credits, which we used mostly for water and Mickey bars!) We ended the trip with 3CS credits each left over for a seven day stay.
If we use the dining plan again, we will make a couple of 2TS ADR’s and just use CS for a couple of days, because also we found that having to be somewhere for an ADR every day was kind of a pain and caused us to have to skip a few of the attractions that we would have otherwise visited.
So in the end, what is more important, not having to worry about dining expenses and (hopefully) breaking even, or trying to squeeze the maximum amount of food out of the dining plan.
I'll see your :twocents: and raise you :twocents: :D

We feel the same way about this. We hate having to be at a certain place for an adr at a certain time but we know that is just the way it is now. We also think it is too much food. We always leave saying next time we won't do the dining plan but even if we don't always get an app. and dessert we still love not having to worry about what we order and how much it is. We always decide to keep doing the dining plan. We too always seem to have a few cs meals left over. We just try not to look at it like we are trying to get as much value out of it as we can.

[dolphinmickey9170]

Great info, thanks for posting! One question, though...how did you get all the total costs? When we used the DDP, our receipts were all zeroes. Thanks!
Hi Christi, when we did a TS meal, the receipt that you signed and gave back had the dollar figure on it, I just wrote it on the "zero" receipt to keep track. With the CS, I just wrote it down before they kept the receipt.

As another note, we found that we weren't very hungry if we used our CS for lunch and then had dinner before 8 or so. The days we used our CS at Artists Palette for brkfst, we were more hungry and ready to eat dinner at night. Give that some thought as well.

[dolphinmickey9170]

Is the amount of the tip also included in the amount you would have spent if you were not on the DDP? If not that would make the savings much larger.
If you are on the DDP, they figure the 18% tip automatically. If you are not on the plan, you can figure your own tip.

[tinksmom02]

Hi Christi, when we did a TS meal, the receipt that you signed and gave back had the dollar figure on it, I just wrote it on the "zero" receipt to keep track. With the CS, I just wrote it down before they kept the receipt.



Will have to remember that, thank you!

[Bruegge]

But for us, the trip is not all about the value. It's also about making choices that make us happy. In that case, you can still choose a 2 TS meal or a breakfast now and then, save money, and have a great time. Good to know.

Bravo,

While it's nice to see people "save money" or at least "break even" it's not a game or war to "Save the most" at the expense of a good time.

I saw a post where the person said they "order the most expensive meal ...Like it or not."

That sort of behavior is going to do nothing but "cheapen" the whole dining experience for everyone.

Can you imagine having Six Flags or
Seaworld quality dining choices at Disney ...Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Scott

[tinksmom02]

Bravo,

While it's nice to see people "save money" or at least "break even" it's not a game or war to "Save the most" at the expense of a good time.

I saw a post where the person said they "order the most expensive meal ...Like it or not."

That sort of behavior is going to do nothing but "cheapen" the whole dining experience for everyone.

Can you imagine having Six Flags or
Seaworld quality dining choices at Disney ...Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Scott

I agree with you, we enjoy eating out, but prior to the DDP, it was just too expensive to de every single day. Now we can pick and choose and explore great dining, and places we normally wouldn't venture to. And I have to be honest, we'll use a TS for breakfast (gasp LOL) because that's where we like to eat. And hey, we're going during Free Dining, so it really doesn't get better than that.

I like the idea of keeping receipts, though. I would just like to be able to keep track of what it would cost us if we were paying OOP, just for my own curiousity.

[psychotekkie]

I would consider keeping receipts, except for one thing.

We go to restaurants all the time and almost never order appetizers or dessert. So if we were paying out of our pockets, we would not necessarily spend the same amount as what our dining plan buys for us.

However, as other posters have said, we really love the convenience and the carefree ordering that goes with the dining plan. We can eat whatever makes us happy.

My only complaint (and it's partially my own fault), is the WEIGHT GAIN. I easily pick up a pound every 2 days on the dining plan. On a 10 day trip, gained exactly 5 pounds, but it took a stinkin 10 months to get the weight back off!:sick:

[Natazu]

I'll see your :twocents: and raise you :twocents: :DAll in.

[Wells]

We go to restaurants all the time and almost never order appetizers or dessert. So if we were paying out of our pockets, we would not necessarily spend the same amount as what our dining plan buys for us.

My only complaint (and it's partially my own fault), is the WEIGHT GAIN. I easily pick up a pound every 2 days on the dining plan. On a 10 day trip, gained exactly 5 pounds, but it took a stinkin 10 months to get the weight back off!:sick:

You know...everybody doesn't have to order an appetizer and desert. Last time we used the DDP, we might share one or two appetizers between the three of us and everybody didn't always order desert. When they say it's free, they don't mean calorie free (I asked):D

[vamaggie]

Thanks for the post. We are trying to the DP this Nov (3Adults & 1 child). Not too afraid about having too much food (planning on using left over desserts for breakfast/late night snacks) but was concerned about what the savings would be. DS(10) will be one of the adults and it will be nice to allow him to order as he wishes and not worry that his "filet mignon tastes" will break the bank for our "chopped meat" budget!As for the sub par service, I would definately talk with a manager if I thought a server was not taking care of us (ie doing his/her job). What the manager would do--I'm not sure but at least I would feel better by talking with somone.

[pwdebbie]

On the DDP, do they allow you to leave with leftovers? I'm thinking -- taking the desert with me and call it breakfast the next morning.

Deb
first trip coming up -- Oct. '07, POFQ

[rbl291]

Yes, DW usually picks out a nice dessert she can enjoy later in the evening (or for breakfast!) that packs and carries well. Have never had any of the restaurants say she couldn't take it with her.

We make ADR's and take the time to really enjoy the meals. Just part of our planning for the day. If we did not use DDP we probably would be eating a lot more CS meals at Pecos Bills or El Pirates doing the multiple trips to the "fixins bar" and buying that extra bun for $1.09 to make 2 burgers out of a Dbl Cheeseburger to stretch the meals! (Ok we still do buy the extra bun and get one more CS out of the DDP that way !...Shhh don't tell anyone or else they will raise the price of the extra buns !!:mickey:

[MickeyandTink]

As another note, we found that we weren't very hungry if we used our CS for lunch and then had dinner before 8 or so. The days we used our CS at Artists Palette for brkfst, we were more hungry and ready to eat dinner at night. Give that some thought as well.

That's a great idea. We're normally late night dinner eaters (8 or 9 o'clock), but most of our ADR's are set for around 6 or so b/c my in-laws, who are joining us for most of the trip, are very early eaters (5 or 6 o'clock).

Does anyone have any suggestions for the best CS places for a late breakfast/brunch or early lunch in the parks (between 9 and 11)?