Looking for some opinions on DDP ?

[mrmcgiv]

We are debating when to go and what Promo to use. Me, Dh, DD (9) and DS (6)Options listed below:

1) Go 8/14-8/21 and use gift card promo, stay 5 days at AKL then transfer to a Value for 2 days split stay. We will get $750 Gift Card and use that toward dining. We do not spend much on souveneirs and other items so that $750 would go almost entirely to dining/snacks (must have mickey ice cream). I think our package was approx $2400 by my rough calc and we get the GC

2) Hope for free dining and go in Sept and stay at a moderate for the full stay (CBR probably), I think my rough estimates came out to about $2100-$2200

3) Use pin code and go in summer and get free QSDP.

I loved having the DDP. We have gone twice and it was nice to have the freedom to go anyplace and not worry about what you order, have soft drinks/deserts incuded etc However on the 2nd trip, our TS meals began to feel like a chore. We felt like slaves to our ADRs. Part of the problem was it was christmas time and I made our ADRs in a lot of resorts, so that was a lot of travel time. I would not do that again. Also, we felt like we ate way too much. Everytime we turned around it was time to eat AGAIN and we paid for the DDP and wanted to use it!

I love the idea of staying at AKL (though the move to a value at the end will be tough) but having had the DDP both previous trip I am afraid I will miss it???

Also, how far will $750 go? I would like to do a few sit down meals. We never hit CRT so I thought we would do that for Breakfast, maybe WCC for lunch one day (YUM!), Crystal Palace for late lunch one day and either 50 prime time or Sci-fi or maybe both for lunch or dinner. CRT and CP will cost $200 together. The other sitdown will be about $60 each. That will give us a few character dinings and some fun dining. We will not be getting desserts and more each meal but that is fine. Then we will probably do 7 CS in the park. I will not feel a need to book the most value for our $$ on DDP. We will have a car so we can get snacks, Bfast food and even eat out of the park if we want to, so we may do less that 7 CS in the park. Oh and I budget $75 for snacks ... mickey ice cream etc

Or do I hope for free dining and go in Sept?

I am torn!

Also, Any other charecter dining that is inexpensive that I am missing? I think lunch at CP will be our best option to do one more Charcter meal in addition to CRT. I do not want to go to Breakfast!

And my DD will be 9 and Ds will be 6. I wish we did CRT before but did not, Will it be a huge waste to spend $110 of the gift card on breakfast. We did go to akershus in 2007 at least.

Anyone else feel like their ADRs tie them down w/ DDP?? And that they feel they should book the best places to make most use out of their $$?

[Wishmaker]

DD and I are doing the Gift Card Promo. I have in the past just like you have stated, felt like a slave to the DDP. We are attempting our fist trip without the plan. I think it will work out fine. We are huge POP fans but love a good Deluxe. Any option you choose will be fabulous. However, my vote for you is to do the Deluxe. Anytime I can afford to stay at a Deluxe I will hop on it.
Happy vacation :mickey:

[DizneyRox]

Just a little hint, the packages are all pretty much the same "value". They are designed to make it look like a deal when it reality, it's the going rate.

We don't bother with the DDP. I've found that we come out ahead by going with an AP and the TiW card for our dining. We actually don't usually pay for rooms (DVC) but when we go, we've found the AP rate (if available) along with paying for food OOP is the best deal for us.

Remember, the "free" dining plan isn't really free. You're most likely overpaying for the room to make up for it. Plan of staying value if you want a chance of coming out ahead with a "free" dining promo code.

[Strmchsr]

I :ditto: everything DisneyRox said. I would also suggest you get in contact with Magical Journeys as they can easily crunch the numbers for you and show you in black and white which one (if any) will save you the most money.

[Tygger7]

I :ditto: everything DisneyRox said. I would also suggest you get in contact with Magical Journeys as they can easily crunch the numbers for you and show you in black and white which one (if any) will save you the most money.

To echo the above posts, DEFINITELY contact Magical Journeys and have them crunch the numbers...they can easily tell you what the best deal is, and change it if something better comes along. Believe it or not, some of the discounts are actually better than free dining, but the wonderful staff at MJ can get you the best possible deal, with no hassle.

[SBETigg]

I agree with the Magical Journeys comments. They will get you the best deal. We thought that the gift card sounded good, but there was another deal at the time that actually saved us more money (and we have a dining plan). Plus, if you book with Magical Journeys and a better deal becomes available, they will switch you to the better deal. So you get the best possible deal for your travel needs/preferences, and it spares you the hassle of crunching everything yourself and trying to keep up with the changing deals being offered. They don't charge for their services. It's a win/win.

[mrmcgiv]

Thanks! I do work with an MJ Agent and she has given me the qoutes on some of the scenarios already and I will definitely book with her. I actually have a spread sheet set up with tax rates, # days etc so I can calc the numbers on my own since we are considering so many different time frames/Promos etc. I could drive someone nuts so i do it myself:)

My preference in to try the Deluxe and use the GC promo in Aug. I have two hesitations. 1) Not having the DDP 2) The heat!!!!!!

My plan: Drive and arrive on 8/14 which entitles us (I think) to the gift card on the tail end of the promo. That way we miss some of the peak crowds by a week, some kids are back in school etc We stay at AKL for 5 nights to get the GC and get a chance to try to deluxe :) Plus checking in on 8/14 will get us value rates for the deluxe ($250 pernight). After our 5 days at the deluxe we will stay at a Value which is $82 per night vs $250...$342 plus tax saved by switching. AND it will give us a chance to try a value. My husband always wants to avoid the value resorts and I am happy to try them. This will help us decide for future trips. We will buy 7 or 8 day park tix with our original package that will last the whole trip and we can use our GC the whole trip for dining too. And we will have a vehicle this time too to get snacks, water etc But we will miss the fridge in the deluxe when we move, oh well.

I actually am coming up with about $2590 for this scenario for 4 of us for 7 nights (no hopper or waterpark).

I am just conflicted about not having the DDP when being used to it, but at the same time felt in the last that I was tied down by the reservations!

[Strmchsr]

My preference in to try the Deluxe and use the GC promo in Aug. I have two hesitations. 1) Not having the DDP 2) The heat!!!!!!...I am just conflicted about not having the DDP when being used to it, but at the same time felt in the last that I was tied down by the reservations!

Let me say right off, the heat is a very serious consideration. If you're not used to it, and don't know how to manage it, August heat in Orlando can make for a miserable vacation. However, if you manage it right you can go and do just fine.

As for the DDP...I know it's convenient. That's what Disney counts on. But, I crunched the numbers and saved almost nothing using the DDP. Under the original DDP where tips were included, as was appetizers, it was a fantastic deal. Disney used that to hook people and has slowly scaled it back now that folks automatically add it without doing the math. I actually saved money doing OOP. We ate less (so we felt better) and were less tied down. I think August has the upcharge for the DDP, too, which makes it even less of a deal. You also asked about the "free" DDP...if you're staying at a deluxe, rule that out. The "free" DDP is not a good deal at all at the deluxe level. You actually lose money with that "discount." You're much better off with a package discount or room only and purchase tickets separately.

[SBETigg]

Chris makes a good point. The August heat can affect your regular eating habits. We still found that we welcomed having some TS meals to get out of the heat and relax a bit, though we did tend toward lighter fare and avoiding feeling too full. You might be better off OOP. It depends.

[DizneyRox]

The heat... GAH!

Yeah, the summer will drain you in Florida. We tend to drink more than eat in the summer, but do usually manage a TS every day, sometimes every other. It's usually a lunch to get out of the heat (lunch is cheaper too). If you're going to do mostly lunches, that further dwindles the value of the DDP as like I said, the cost is cheaper, but it's still a TS credit.

You can easily eat up all your snack credits on water in the heat.

When AK had the meal vouchers, we could easily survive on that alone (plus a couple extra waters). If I recall, it was a CS meal, a drink and a snack. Started off at $10.99 as well, which was fantastic.

For me to pay $40+ for what I used to be able to survive on for $11 just doesn't compute!

[megustamex]

We've done free dining 2x now in September. After the first time, we thought we'd NEVER pay for DDP because, like you, we hate being tied down to the ADRs. However, last time we took our time and enjoyed the meals and just had a more laid-back mindset.

So this time, we are actually paying for the DDP because of that enjoyable experience and because we normally spend $100 a day for food. The DDP will cost us $110 plus tip for 2 adults, 2 kids. So for about $130 a day, we can eat like kings on the DDP or we can spend $100 and eat TS 2 nights and bring peanut butter sandwiches for lunch a few days. We figured out that for us it's worth the extra $20 a day to have a nice TS meal every day, along with the CS lunches vs. bringing our own sandwiches.

It's easy to figure out what you're going to pay for your average daily rate if you've been to Disney enough - we look at the menus online and figure out our typical CS breakfast and lunch items (and dinner for the nights that we're not going to do TS). Then we add in our TS meals and divide it out for the week.

[Jennifer_and_Chris]

We have never done the DDP (1TS, 1CS and 1 Snack). My parents did do it and felt like they were just eating all the time. As soon as they were done eating, they would have to make their way to the next place to eat.

With that said, we have done the QSDP. Did it on our last trip in October. We loved the fact that our meals were already paid in full. We did have 3 TS ressies that we paid OOP for. We got our use out of the refillable mugs and were not tied down everyday by our reservations. Also, the F&WF helped us use f our snacks (great value for us)!! :thumbsup:

However, my mom and my sister came down with stomach flu mid vacation. So, for the remainder of the trip, they did not use their meals. We tried to eat our way through them but, couldn't. On our last day, we had 9 meals left and 23 snacks. So, we went to Earl of Sandwich and got sandwiches for our drive home. (also 9 drinks and 9 desserts!) With our 23 snack credits, we got more drinks and rice krispy treats for my DDs daycare friends and a few for us.

We are still debating whether we will do the QSDP this October. We plan on 3 TS meals and the rest CS and breakfast in the room.

I think the plan worked for us last October because my youngest was under 3. So, we only had to pay for 3 meal plans. My 4 year old and 2 year old could share a meal. Next trip, DDs will be 5 and 3 so, while they eat just about the same (could still share a meal) we'd have to now pay for 4 plans.

Looks like I just typed my way out of the dining plan. :D

[azcavalier]

There is no right answer on this. Some of us swear by the dining plan, others swear it's a rip-off, and just don't see how anyone could justify it.

Now, granted it's not as much of a value as it used to be when appetizers and tips were included. I'm actually fine with not having an appetizer, as that just would make me feel like more of a glutton.

The key to whether or not you should or should not use the dining plan is simply knowing what are your eating habits. For us, the dining at WDW is a huge part of the vacation. We never feel like we're rushing from one meal to the other, but that's probably because of the way we eat. We are at the parks when they open, so we eat breakfast early, and almost always in the rooms. We use the QS for lunches (again, a little earlier than most) around 11am, and then head back to the room to relax/swim/do laundry/nap/whatever. Then we head back out to the parks/restaurants for dinner, and just mess around in the parks until closing time.

Anyway, we're going twice this year. In May, it's just the DW and I celebrating 15 yrs of marriage. We thought about not getting the DDP, but looked at the restaurants we wanted to hit, as well as what we would likely order at those restuarants, and crunched some numbers. We are going to two different signature restaurants, and we wouldn't have enough credits on the DDP to do that and cover both. So what it actually came out to was that it was still cheaper to get the DDP AND pay OOP for lunch at the Brown Derby than it was to pay OOP for everything. So, we are getting the DDP.

In the fall, we're going with the DW's entire family, and so we're counting on Disney offering the free DDP. Otherwise, I don't think we could afford the food for all those people. So that obviously would save us money.