Your advice - DDP or not??

[Dream'nDisney]

Asking advice on whether or not to purchase DDP. We eat most of our breakfasts in our room with food we bring from home. However, we do eat a couple breakfasts out. Lunch is usually just wherever we happen to be in the parks. The only planned meal is supper, where we usually like to splurge, i.e. Yachtsman Steakhouse, LeCellier, Coral Reef. So, based on that, would you just pay out of pocket, or buy the plan? Thanks in advance for for suggestions. :mickey:

[Tbelle1976]

What helped me decide was to sit down and figure out just where we wanted to dine. As we got further along we realized it was worth it for us to to actually do the DxDDP. This was going to be one time for us that we would not hold back, I've gotten all our ADR's made and we are very excited about all of them.

Take a look at menu prices, consider how you eat...will you enjoy the appetizers or desserts?

[henry.james.s]

You should review the various DDP's and what comes with them and how they work. Take into account how many in your group, their ages and eating habits. Look at menus too.
That will help you make an informed decision and avoid disapointment.
Planning is the key..It can be a good value if you work it right..do some homework on it.
From what you say in your post I can't really advise you either way.

[rmsongs]

We just returned from WDW and used the DP. We also used it in '06 and loved it. This time, however, appetizers and the gratuity were not included (they used to be). Last trip, we came out ahead, but, this time, when we added in the tips that we had to pay OOP, we actually lost money. Also, we were traveling with another family and each family was double-charged for one tip: We each paid cash directly to our server and then, when we checked out, it showed up as a charge to our room. This happened at 2 different restaurants even though we ate all our meals together. I won't use the DP again.

[Polynesian Dweller]

You have to be honest with yourself about how you normally dine and how much food you want. Then look at the menus and plan it out to see if it works.

We have at times used the DDP and this year not. The way we prefer to dine the DDP does not work for us and we were actually happier this year about our dining this year OOP.

But that's us and how we work. For others, it works well. The point is, ultimately the only one who can know is you by doing your homework and figuring it out. Just remember to be honest about what you would actually normally eat without the DDP, not what you'd have to eat to make the plan work out.:mickey:

[Figment!]

In addition to the above, you can also use the Disney Dining Plan Estimator Spreadsheet (http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/dining/diningplan/estimator.asp) to aid in your decision.

[iheartdisney]

I'm more of the deal hunter in our family and every time we've used the dining plan we've come out ahead. Our eating habits are as follows....light breakfast in the room, counter service at lunch, a snack or bottled water, a sit down meal at night. My husband likes the convenience of it and laughs at me while I hoard receipts and do tallys with the calculator on the way home. He likes it that the entire trip is paid for (food, tickets and lodging) before we go. (He doesn't do souveniers.) So for my husband the Dining Plan is pure convenience. But for me? We've saved every time...even when the "included tip" was eliminated.

[bkfree]

We use the DDP and we come out ahead moneywise by several hundred dollars.
We are 2 adults and 2 kids(7 and 9).
We eat no meals in our room.
We eat very lite breakfast and pay OOP or use the SC..
We eat a good CS.
We have a Dinner ADR each night.
We use our snack credits either in the afternoon or late night depending on our dinner time.
We usually have a breakfast at CP or CM that we also pay OOP.

Even if we came out even, we like having it all paid for in advance.
Even with the tip and the occasional shared OOP appetizer, we are still ahead moneywise.

[Bri]

i would suggest using the ddp esp if you are goin to eat at more expensive restaurants. i think the ddp costs around $38 per person per day. that's for 1 snack, 1 counter service and 1 table service (not including tip or appetizer anymore) per person. i think it's really easy to spend more than $38 per day especially if you want to do nice sit down meals. try to figure out how much you would spend each day if you didn't have the dining plan but ate like you did. i always look at the menus and pick something i would like and do the math. and it's also nice to have everything already paid for, even if you do break even.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

It works for us, we usually save money but definitely never lose any....I would suggest using the Intercot estimator...you can get approximate meal costs under menus in the info central section....look at what you would most likely order and use those costs on the estimater.

[skram79]

Based on your dinner selections, I would get the DDP. We had the last time we went and loved it. We were overfeed by Disney, I can not say enough good things about this program.

[jonahbear2006]

Well, to us, it depents on what we are gonna be doing. If it is a park pounding trip, then no dining plan because we usually eat at resorts and they have the best food. If it is a more relaxing trip and we are just taking our time and resting at the resort then we get dining plan because then we have time to spend eating. When you are in the parks all day, eating that much food won't keep you going, it will drag you down.

[HoosierDisneyFan]

Most debated topic on INTERCOT Boards!

I am a big fan of the DDP. I love the pre-paid dinner plan so I am not worried about the cost during my vacation (it's already paid for!!). Also I would not have eaten at many of the TS resturants if it were not for the DDP. I would have just stopped at the nearest CS.

The down side for some is the required planning it takes (making TS reservations every day so far in advance). Also if you are a family that "shares" 1 meal instead of ordering 2 meals, you may find that you are getting (and paying for) more food than you need. Finally if you do not plan to eat a TS meal every day, it would not be worth the money.

Just don't take a calculator with you on your trip to figure out savings. If you select the DDP, just enjoy... your on vacation.

[cer]

Most debated topic on INTERCOT Boards!

I am a big fan of the DDP. I love the pre-paid dinner plan so I am not worried about the cost during my vacation (it's already paid for!!). Also I would not have eaten at many of the TS resturants if it were not for the DDP. I would have just stopped at the nearest CS.


I agree with this completely. For our family, we would have walked right past the table-service restaurants were it not for the dining plan. Now experiencing these places is part of the vacation. For us it works.

Also, I can order what I want, not stress when the bill comes and think, maybe I should have not had the dessert...We like it.

Do your research, compare the plan to your habits, do what is best for your family and don't look back....:thumbsup:

[HeyMoe]

We have always purchased the Dining Plan whenever we've visited WDW in the past and have always made out when you compare what you paid to what it would have cost you out of pocket. The problem is we would never order that way if we went out to dinner outside of WDW. Not because we're being cost conscious, but because we don't need that much food. Normally when we go to a restaurant outside of WDW we might order 1, maybe 2, deserts (family of 4) and that is plenty for us. At WDW we're getting four. It used to be even crazier when everyone also received appetizers too.

Another point is that we always found that we'd order something more expensive instead of what we really wanted to maximize the value of the DDP. Maybe you're in the mood for $10 salad for dinner but to maximize your benefit you decide to go with a $30 steak. I'm not saying everyone does this but I'm guessing we're not the only ones.

Lastly I would say the age of your kids could impact your choice. I have a 9 year old. the next time we go he'll be 10 and considered an adult in the eyes of Disney. At 10 years old he'll still be interested in the kid's meals and it won't be worth it to pay the almost $40 a day for the DDP for him.

With all that said, we've decided not to get the DDP when we go in April. Instead we're going to try the Tables in Wonderland (Disney Dining Experience) to see if this works out better for us.

[henry.james.s]

We have always purchased the Dining Plan whenever we've visited WDW in the past and have always made out when you compare what you paid to what it would have cost you out of pocket. The problem is we would never order that way if we went out to dinner outside of WDW. Not because we're being cost conscious, but because we don't need that much food. Normally when we go to a restaurant outside of WDW we might order 1, maybe 2, deserts (family of 4) and that is plenty for us. At WDW we're getting four. It used to be even crazier when everyone also received appetizers too.

Another point is that we always found that we'd order something more expensive instead of what we really wanted to maximize the value of the DDP. Maybe you're in the mood for $10 salad for dinner but to maximize your benefit you decide to go with a $30 steak. I'm not saying everyone does this but I'm guessing we're not the only ones.

Lastly I would say the age of your kids could impact your choice. I have a 9 year old. the next time we go he'll be 10 and considered an adult in the eyes of Disney. At 10 years old he'll still be interested in the kid's meals and it won't be worth it to pay the almost $40 a day for the DDP for him.

With all that said, we've decided not to get the DDP when we go in April. Instead we're going to try the Tables in Wonderland (Disney Dining Experience) to see if this works out better for us.

Perfect example of taking everything about the plan and family habits into account then making an informed decision.
Well done!! :thumbsup:

[Tinkerbella16]

Did the DDP last year when appetizer and tip was included and it was good because there was 7 of us. I won't do it again after they change it the way they do. I just got back on saturday from a week at the world and me and my mom were not on the dining plan, but still had 2 sit-down dinners and 1 sit-down breakfast, and payed out of pocket. We ate at Raglan Road, Whispering Canyon, and Kona Cafe and it wasn't much at all. Once or twice on the trip is great because you don't feel so rushed to get to this restaurant or that restaurant all the time. We eat a light breakfast, have a small lunch and have dinner and it still is less than what the DDP costs.

Now I would consider the Counter service Dining Plan in the future...it is much easier than making all kinds of ressies and planning our trip just around eating.

[mouseketeer mom]

I can tell you that I would never consider doing the deluxe dining plan again. The trip was entirely food focused. Eating the price of the plan. The only plan I would consider in the future is the basic dining plan since we always have an ADR for dinner and at least one counter service each day. Sounds like the basic plan would work for you as well.

[henry.james.s]

I can tell you that I would never consider doing the deluxe dining plan again. The trip was entirely food focused. Eating the price of the plan. The only plan I would consider in the future is the basic dining plan since we always have an ADR for dinner and at least one counter service each day. Sounds like the basic plan would work for you as well.

To take the focus off food on DDDP....
With 3TS credits a day w/Deluxe Dining..this method works great. You avoid eating too much and still get your money's worth.

I do breakfast or lunch at a TS location..(1 credit) then dinner at a Signature Dining location or the HDDR or SOA dinner shows (2 credit) locations. This isn't to say you couldn't eat 3 meals on a couple of days too.

In my case on my trip next month I figure I'll come out $260 +/- for my stay.

This is the cost formula I use:
The Deluxe DDP is just shy of $70 per adult. Snack credits are roughly valued @ $4ea and you get 2/day.
So if you take the $8 off the $70/day cost you get $62 that makes the cost per TS credit aprox $20.66 ( @ 3TS credits/day) per adult.
At least that how I figure it.

So as a example B'fast @ Boma $20 then Dinner @ FF or CGrill aprox $68 thats $88 total for $62 putting me $26 to the good each day and that covers the gratuities easily.

Doing it like this frees up alot of time during the day for activities and lets you eat high on the hog and not over eat.

This may not work for you if you're not really into the Signature type dining like I am but if you are this plan has served me well for several visits. :thumbsup:

[Belster]

My family is much like your family. I did find the DDP effective for us. First reason is because I do not like to limit myself or the kids as to what they can choose to eat. I may have been more apt to have the kids share but this past trip meal time was stress free. It was wonderful being able to choose anything from the menu. Second, I like my meals paid for. Third for lunches I made a tabbed notebook I made one section recommended counter service. In this section I put any CS places by park that people on Intercot said that they enjoyed. I was not dissapointed at all with any of the selections.
Based on looking at your dining choices in my po I would select the DDP.

Hope this helps.

[mouseketeer mom]

To take the focus off food on DDDP....
With 3TS credits a day w/Deluxe Dining..this method works great. You avoid eating too much and still get your money's worth.

I do breakfast or lunch at a TS location..(1 credit) then dinner at a Signature Dining location or the HDDR or SOA dinner shows (2 credit) locations. This isn't to say you couldn't eat 3 meals on a couple of days too.

In my case on my trip next month I figure I'll come out $260 +/- for my stay.

This is the cost formula I use:
The Deluxe DDP is just shy of $70 per adult. Snack credits are roughly valued @ $4ea and you get 2/day.
So if you take the $8 off the $70/day cost you get $62 that makes the cost per TS credit aprox $20.66 ( @ 3TS credits/day) per adult.
At least that how I figure it.

So as a example B'fast @ Boma $20 then Dinner @ FF or CGrill aprox $68 thats $88 total for $62 putting me $26 to the good each day and that covers the gratuities easily.

Doing it like this frees up alot of time during the day for activities and lets you eat high on the hog and not over eat.

This may not work for you if you're not really into the Signature type dining like I am but if you are this plan has served me well for several visits. :thumbsup:

Very nice! Never considered doing it this way, but that would be a terrific way to work it out. We do enjoy signature dining, and the dinner shows. Thanks for the insight! Something to reconsider!

[DisneyFr33k]

If you all are big eaters, go for it! For us, it was double the amount of food we normally eat and we found ourselves so full and in pain. If your kids are older than 9, which one of mine was, they have to order from the adult menu, which is a serious waste of food. They don't allow sharing.

So really it is up to you. In years past, we've saved hundreds. But this last trip, minus appetizers being offered and having to pay tips, we didn't even save $100.

Next time we will probably share meals and buy out of pocket - saving us more in the long run.

[DisneyFr33k]

We just returned from WDW and used the DP. We also used it in '06 and loved it. This time, however, appetizers and the gratuity were not included (they used to be). Last trip, we came out ahead, but, this time, when we added in the tips that we had to pay OOP, we actually lost money. I won't use the DP again.



:ditto: