DDP credit ?

[DisneyBabies]

I have read a lot of posts saying a DDP credit isn't worth using on a buffet, it isn't worth using for breakfast and it isn't worth using on a dinner show. Where is it good to use your credits?

DH and I used the basic DDP in 2007 and even without the 18% gratuity added, we still managed to save almost $200 dollars vs what we would have paid OOP. We had breakfast buffets, dinner buffets and two signature dining experiences.

How do you determine whether a dining option is worth using a credit or not?

[mom2morgan]

I think you have to weigh each experience against what you would otherwise pay for it. For instance, Cindy's table requires TWO TS credits. Each day is about $35, and that allows about $3.00 for a snack and $10.00 for lunch, so $22.00 for supper. If you use TWO TS credits, you've just spent about $44.00 for supper. Is the dinner at Cindy's Table worth $44.00? Probably not. I'd rather pay cash there, and then get a real bang for my buck by buying the most expensive thing on the menu at a one TS place. For instance, I had a great meal at Rose and Crown - the steak and fish which was $24, plus a couple dollars for a drink and about $6.00 for dessert - more than a $30.00 value for my $22.00 ...make sense? For the breakfast or the buffet the argument would be that they are already cheaper, so you're only breaking even on them - but use the same credits for an expensive sit-down meal and you get more value. Personally, I'd rather be getting steak and ribs than bacon and eggs for that kind of money ;-)

[DisneyGlutton]

I agree with the previous response. For instance, my Dad used a dining credit for breakfast and out of pocket (oop) it would've been less than $15. Since we were on the Deluxe had a couple credits more than we needed, that was okay. But imagine if we hadn't had extra credits...say if we went to Tutto Italia (where his meal cost about $50) and he had to pay oop; in a way, he would've wasted $35. So really, unless you have more credits than you can use, breakfast (and counter service for that matter, at least on the Deluxe) is a waste.

I'm not sure if I agree with not using credits on buffets and dinner shows. Maybe they're not getting the maximum value for your credit, but if you want to eat at Boma or go to Hoopwhatever, I wouldn't let that fact stop you. It just takes planning ahead about where you want to eat and have ADRs versus how many credits you'll have available on your plan.

[stitchaholic]

unless you are a really big eater,even on the regular dining plan you will be fine without paying for meals out of pocket,maybe a small breakfast here and there.
it is all about planning and what you intend on doing,if i buy the dining plan,it is not because i plan on buying tons of other meals out of pocket because then you will be left with a bunch of dining credits not used,plan where you want to eat and where you are able to get your ressies and go from there.
we plan 1 table service per day with the exception of one because we always do 1 show(2 credits,but very worth it),if you eat at one of the buffets you will be too full to eat for a longggg time. but if you have to eat 3 square meals a day i would suggest also using breakfast out of pocket(unless doing a character meal) and putting the rest of the day on the dining plan.

[DisneyBabies]

So, you guys guage value based on what each credit costs for the dining plan, not the total cost of the DDP vs what you would pay for the same thing OOP. We base value on the overall dining plan, not each credit on the DDP. So if you do it our way, everything evens out in the end and can be a good value.

[mom2morgan]

Well, I actually found that it wasn't such a "deal". Yes, it saved us money over what the SAME meals would have cost otherwise. But it really encouraged us to eat MORE - more food, and more expensive food - than we really needed. If we'd gone without the DDP, like last time, we would have mainly eaten in the food courts with just a couple of sit down meals, and that would have cost quite a bit less than what we paid for the DDP. We were happy enough with that - got enough decent food to eat. This time we sure spent more money, and more time in restaurants, but I did like the experience of trying out some places I was curious about. I must say I would likely NOT have eaten at California Grill othewise, since $200 for a basic meal for 4 gives me a panic attack.

[mouseketeer mom]

Using the plan, we just eat where we would normally choose. I don't find the plan saves us money, we just like having our meals prepaid in advance.

[andreallybadeggs]

Yeah, it is a little of an apples to oranges deal depending on your perspective. Our family sort of takes the hybrid approach when opting for/against the DDP each trip we take. We like the convenience and really enjoy the more elaborate meals but don't consider it a money saver since whenever we don't have DDP we do fewer table service meals, bring our own healthy snacks, etc... Once we've decided to do the DDP for a trip, however, we do try to get the most bang for our buck. So-- we'll do a few menu item price comparisons and try to arrange our ADR's accordingly. But we don't take it to the point of letting our meals drive the entire schedule for the trip. If we want to use 2 credits for a dinner show or signature dining TS we'll do that even though it may turn out that the cost is less than 2 regular table service meals.
Shorter response would be-- if it's a value from your perspective then it is a value. Enjoy!

[Goes4FastPass]

I think a DINNER buffet is a fine use of a single DDP TS credit.

A breakfast buffet - especially a WDW breakfast buffet is not.