DDP shock!!!

[Dsnygirl]

So, I don't know... maybe I'm backing off of my previous post.

I went and checked out the pricing of the basic DDP, which would be our kind of dining. For a time period we'd be interested in, at 2010 pricing, it would cost our family (3 adults, 1 child) $138/day for food.

At first, I about fell over - last time, it would have been $126/day.

But -- then I went & priced our meals... where we typically eat, approximately... to see what our daily cost would be.

We usually eat bkfst in the room, a CS lunch and a TS dinner... or a TS bkfst, "bag" lunch and CS dinner.

I did a bunch of variations for each day... even taking out CS meals some days and "bagging" it to decrease the cost.

But, on average (and Disney must have raised their prices on quite a few dishes, etc) I found myself hard-pressed to come up with a day that we would spend less than $138 out of pocket on a CS meal, TS meal & snacks. Now, granted, we don't NEED snacks, but if I go back and think about our trips, we always do get them, whether they be water on hot days, the various mickey bar or brownie... snacks in Norway (yummmm!!) or other places like Aloha Isle... hard to resist that Dole Whip.

So -- now I don't know. I guess it depends on when we go back and how old my youngest is... she turns 9 in June, and I'm not sure we'll be back before she is 10. So -- once that happens, not sure I'll be willing to shell out $170/day for food. But, while she is still at $12/day vs. $42, it might still be cheaper, which surprises me.

Oh well... seeing as we don't even have a trip planned yet, I'll just enjoy the fun of speculating... and you all can come back and tell us if it was worth it or not!!

[elmjimmlm]

I think there is a way to trade-in 2 meals for a table service as well if you want to do that. We kept all of our receipts and figured up we saved quite a bit of money overall!

I didn't know this... This might change everything

But tiered pricing on food??? Seriously, is there any reason my chicken should cost more in June than it does in February?? That's just crazy. Seems I'll be bringing more food with me next trip...

This is the point that I am making... Why do I have to pay more for my trip in June for food? I have used the DDP for years and really thought it was a good savings for us, until now...Last year the dining was free for just about the entire year...Now would be a good time to bring that back...

[jonahbear2006]

It works out, for us, that if we get dining plan that the counter service and snacks end up being free. We did ok on the amount of food, other than the buffets are stuffing. I am very angry that they are doing tiered pricing on the dining plan. That sounds like they are making their peak season guests pay, for the free dining promotional, to me. They obviously cant offer free dining all the time, however, if they were working up to that by offering free food all last year, that's sneaky. I am getting more and more fed up with their business decision every year.

[mudpuppysmom]

For us, the dining plan is too much food, restricts us because we have made ADR's for whatever meal (unless it's breakfast) and when you are across the park and then realize, "oh, we have to go check in for lunch/dinner" you have to cross the park or better yet, get in line and wait to be seated to eat (it's just another queue!).

If you go out at home it usually takes about 1-1 1/2 hours to get thru a dinner meal.....it seems at Disney it takes nearly twice that long! When you walk out of the restaurant at Disney you look at your watch and it seems time raced by while you were standing still!

For US, the DDP is really not a good thing, even if it is free -- it's too much food and too much time -- we spend less if we eat breakfast in the room most days, a quick lunch or pbj's or granola bars (in the backpack) and buy a piece of fruit in the park and pack water in the backpack also then sit down somewhere to eat dinner if we want to or grab a QS meal.

You have to decide what type of eaters you are at home and go from there -- why deviate when you are on vacation from how you eat at home (at least by a far margin anyway).

[disneyboundagain]

I am getting more and more fed up with their business decision every year.

I couldn't agree more. Prices up, quality down. Its the new Disney way! All I can say is that I'm REALLY glad we didn't buy into BLT when it went up for sale. We were as close as signing the final line at the bottom.

[WishingStar2006]

Where do I find the information on the tierd pricing ....I didn't know about that and I booked DDP blindly with my MYW package because it always works out for us.

[Mousefever]

None of the Dining Plan options have made any sense to us since the boy turned 10. There's just no way he eats enough to justify even the QS plan. He and I often share counter service meals and table service meals. Until he starts to get into the voracious appetite of a teenage boy, I won't even bother crunching the numbers.

Amy

[rubato]

I'm not exactly sure why, but I opted FOR the basic DP this year, less than 1 month after my son turns 10. We've never gotten it before. Hubby and I always share a CS meal for lunch, we don't eat dessert, we don't need a drink because we drink water. Then, we usually only eat TS every other night. For the first time, I got a package and when the dining plan part came up, I just said sure! I've now been trying to work my ressies to get the most out of this deal, but it's hard. Only dinner character buffets, Le Cellier and any other overly expensive place I can find. Also, no signature, because it doesn't actually make financial sense to use 2 TS credits for these meals. I know for a fact that I won't be getting this plan again. Next time, we'll go back to OOP and enjoy character breakfasts and signature dining. And, I'm trying to talk hubby into V & As next time because it will be our 20th anniversary!!!!

[Gator]

It's decent for us right now, as our kids are under 10 and cheap on the plan. However, I don't know what we'll do when they cross that age. Maybe get them a job picking fruit to pay for their meals.

[Ian]

I've tracked our food expenses the last couple trips and measured against our cost for the DDP and thus far we've come out ahead.

But for us the food is a big part of why we like to go to WDW. Like Christine, we always eat in the expensive sit-down places at least once a day.

I'll keep measuring its performance and if it ever ends up not panning out we'll re-evaluate, but for now it's definitely the right choice for us. Just having the food pre-paid has a big value for us really.

[Rekenna]

We have always had the dining plan since we started going to WDW on a regular basis. We eat a lot! And as another poster said, I like sitting down and ordering whatever I want knowing that it is already paid for-I'm on vacation, I don't need to do math (I do finance for a living-so I really don't want to think about numbers while spending time with my dudes).

I like having everything paid for before we go. I saw that you were going in June, I don't know if the DDP is price tiered like the rooms-I thought it was a flat rate. One thing we did try on our last trip was the QSDP-we really liked it and will use it from now on when we travel as a family. I have to say I have gotten spoiled with free dining in the fall, we used that once too and it rocked.

We like the dining plan, true they took away the gratuity portion, and then the appetizer (or dessert) portion, but it still works well for us. It helps me to make a budget for our vacation. So we are a "Yes" on the DDP whether the traditional CS and TS a day or the QSDP (which you get 2 snacks and a resort mug with).

Remember-have fun!

[Genie1953]

I like having everything paid for before we go. I saw that you were going in June, I don't know if the DDP is price tiered like the rooms-I thought it was a flat rate. One thing we did try on our last trip was the QSDP-we really liked it and will use it from now on when we travel as a family. I have to say I have gotten spoiled with free dining in the fall, we used that once too and it rocked.

Yep the dining plan is definitely tiered. If you start your vacation during peak season you pay the peak rate for the DP even if part of your vacation falls during regular season....that said....if you start your vacation during regular season you will pay regular rates for the DP even if part of the vacation extends into peak season.

[MissTink]

The DDP has tiered pricing this year.

I've searched but can't find any info about this? Is there somewhere that has the tiers and pricing? Is the QSDP tiered too?

[Hammer]

Tiered pricing seems to be for the basic and deluxe dining plan. Info can be found in here.

[MMFreak]

We have used the dining plan the last several times we have gone and we find that it is a great savings for us. Typically saving 30% to 40% depending on what my teenagers are in the mood for. We normally go to the same restaurants every year saving one day to try something new each year. So after all of these years we typically know what it is going to cost us. Now I know not everyone knows what they are going to be in the mood for 180 from their vacation. But we all are creatures of habit and tend to eat the same sorts of food. My husband and daughter love beef so I look at the menu and see what they may like at each restaurant and jot down the price likewise for my son and me and I get a ballpark figure for each night and then I compare that to the cost of the dining plan for the week. It is a little bit of prep work but if it turns out that I will save even $50 using the dining plan than that is worth it to me. Not to mention since it is prepaid that is less money out of my pocket while there.

We first decided to try the dining plan because my daughter is a diabetic and we do eat a minimum of three meals a day. We thought it might be a good idea to try it one year to get that $ amount out of the way and see how it worked out. I also am also a working mother who 350 days out of the year cooks dinner from scratch. So we are accustomed to eating well. So we figured if we use the dining plan or not, sitting down for meals is the norm for us.

After comparing receipts from year to year we definitely benefit dollar wise. We do the one counter service and one table service with the snacks. We typically do not use the second snack so at the end of our vacation we go to the candy store and use all of our remaining credits there and bring the delicious candies home to share with others that could not join us.

With all of that said. I do wish that the dining plan would go back to the way it was with an appetizer as well as dessert as now we still need to plan ahead for extra cash for the appetizer, or perhaps they could make it appetizer OR dessert. Often times we are interested in appetizers but really do not want the dessert. My son loves dessert my daughter loves appetizers.

But at the end of the day Abe Lincoln said it best with “You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time”

[DNS]

We price this out nearly every trip and it just never adds up to being worth it for us. Not that it's not worth the money for what you get, there just seems to be so much more food than we eat. Either we pay for it through the DP and don't eat it, or we eat too much and are uncomfortable. So we just skip it.

[azcavalier]

Dining is one of the things that our family loves most about WDW as well. Our oldest DD just turned ten and is super excited to go back now that she can order from the adult menu (as we always use the DDP). We have a TS meal every single day we're there...it's a great way to relax and get off your feet after a day of running around.

Now, for the last three or four trips, we've gone during free dining, so of course that's a no-brainer. Saves us between $1200-$1500 to do that. Since we have never gone during a peak time and had to pay for the DDP, I have no idea if it's a better deal or not.

We're actually planning to go again this fall in December. We'll probably make reservations for late September and then wait to see if they announce an extension of the free dining again (like they have done the last two years) into December. If they do, then we'll move our reservations back to early December and still get free dining. Christmas decorations and free dining at WDW! What could be better?

[CaptSmee]

for DH and i it was only worth it when it was free

we usually just bring oatmeal packets for breakfast and make pb&j's for lunch. then we'll do a TS or CS for dinner and that definitely is cheaper than the DDP!

Same with us. I don't understand why it's become so popular. You spend $$$ in advance for food that most people would not normally eat so much of.

[mom2morgan]

Same with us. I don't understand why it's become so popular. You spend $$$ in advance for food that most people would not normally eat so much of.

We used the calculator on this website and found the DDP is actually quite a significant saving for us. I don't think it even requires "a lot" of food - but if you want nice TS meals, it can be a good value. I think a lot of the TS restaurants cost about $19-25 for an average entree - add in a pop for 2 bucks and a dessert for around 6 - that's pretty close to what the DDP costs for the whole day, and you still get lunch and a snack. My only hesitation is that my youngest daughter east practically nothing. Last time we went she cost $11 a day so that was fine..but I can't see paying $39 for her!!