DDP - not sure - and some questions

[MindyMouse76]

Hello!

I am not sure if the DPP is worth it for us. I wanted someone elses opinion. It will be me, my husband, and our 4 yr. old daughter. We will be staying at one of the moderate resorts (not sure which one yet). I was thinking of doing room-only when I book. The reason is - I can get a 12% discount on the park tickets though my work (Siemens). However, if I do the DDP - then I have to get the park tickets through Disney and will loose the 12% park ticket discount. We are going the second week in November and want a 7 day park ticket.

Does anyone know or guess if there will be any discounts then? Thinking of arriving on November 10th. Of course - if they offer free Dining - I would take it!!

I wish I could book the DDP without the admission tickets!
Thanks,
Mindy

[krose78]

You only need to buy a one day ticket with the package so you can do that and then buy a 6 day ticket through work. I would think that would still save money.

[Strmchsr]

There will probably be some kind of discount in November. There usually is, though it's never guaranteed. Personally, I don't think the DDP is really worth it anymore, but I think your best bet would be to check with the wonderful ladies at Magical Journeys . They're the experts and can tell you what would be the best discount for you. Plus, you can book now and any discounts that come available will be automatically added to your reservation without any doing on your part.

[thrillme]

We did the DDP for the first time because it was offered "free" with the room of course we lost our "room" discount all in all I think we paid $300 for the dining for 3 "adults" for 5 days.

There was really too much food on the DDP. We ate when we were hungry just to use credits. We probably should have done some signature dining but there wasn't enough time.

[iheartdisney]

With the changes on the dining plan it may not be "financially" worth it to you - especially depending on your eating habits. I'm a habitual deal hunter and when the dining plan was first established it saved us money every time. Since the changes I'm not so sure. But when I suggested to my husband that we skip the dining plan on our next trip he shouted "No!" He loves the convenience of a pre-paid vacation where he doesn't have to worry about how much the next meal is going to cost. When I told him I suspected that maybe we'd only break even or possibly pay more for more food than we would normally eat he said he didn't care. The fact that he knows exactly how much our vacation will cost, he can choose anything on the menu without looking at the dollar sign attached to it and snacks for our teen are covered (she's the only one who really uses them all) is all worth it to him. You could sit down and crunch numbers to figure out the financial benefits but don't forget to figure in the ease and "peace of mind" benefits as well.

[nicjohn3]

Plan it out--first!!-We have done it both ways--Make your ADR's before adding it to your reservation so that you can be sure that you will get the table services that you would want. I reviewed this site and the menus off all the restaurants along with their prices (some are out of date, but it will give you a starting point.) . When we went this past November for 2 adults and 2 children we would have spent about $1100 out pocket w/o the dp. Now granted we would not have purchased the desserts every time or went to the pricey restaurants that we did. The trip before we spent about $900 if we did not have dp. I think it is worth it because of the child price. You will have it paid for and you dont have to worry about the prices and how much you are spending every time you sit down to RELAX and eat.

A character buffet which your 4 yr old will enjoy--will run around $15 for a child. That pays for it in itself. I like to do these character meals because I dont have to spend my time waiting in line for autographs. They come to every table and you have a chance to take your own picture and get the autograph. Usually the ones that we have been to usually take an hour to make a full rotation. They are buffets, but have lots to choose from.

Use your snack credits for your breakfast--get a pastry or fruit from your resort food court. Use counter service and table services for an early lunch and dinner (they cost more).

It sounds like you have some time--plan, research, and discuss with others on this site. I have learned alot and got much needed info from this site. Do the math first--for us it was a tremendous saving, however, when my kids get to be 10 and I have to pay adult prices, not sure if I would do so.

Have fun!!

[cindchan]

On my last trip there, I got it for free (part of the package I got then). I didn't really think it was worth it. I had a devil of a time trying to get a table for the sit-down portion. I even had a hard time getting a seat for Sci-Fi cafe! For 1 person! I never had that problem before! And that was for lunch! I thought it was just ridiculous. I didn't get it this time. I'm perfectly fine with the counter service places for meals. And for sit-down places, I'll stay with Merrikesh and Rose and Crown. They're less snobby then some of the other places, and I could get right in, regardless of time. And Merrikesh has entertainment, if you get there at the right time.

So my opinion would be to go without it. You can probably do well with just making smart dining choices.

[tinksmom02]

We're fans of the DDP (especially because we tend to go in Sept when it's been offered for free). I tried to save our receipts from our trips: in 2007 we ate around $750 worth of food (2 adults, 1 5 year old). Last Sept I think we were at about $600, maybe more.

Like others have said, it's nice to have that aspect of the trip prepaid for in advance, all you need to worry about is and tips.

I'd thought that we would miss the appetizer that used to be included, but really the only places we ordered apps were Le Cellier and Tutto Italia, and we just paid OOP for those...maybe $10 max.

I agree with what another poster said, you could buy the 1 day park pass and the DDP, and get 6 days of tickets from your work.

[laward32]

If it is free I would take it, but I don't think it is worth it anymore. Now that the appetizer and tip are not included. I sat down with the menus and picked what we would most likely eat at the places we planned to go and the CS places and factored in an amount for snacks. I came out cheaper than the dp because once I added the tip and the appetizers at a couple of places to the dp, oop was cheaper.
I say don't get it unless it's free and get your discount on the tickets. The tickets are not cheap. Get what you can off.

[megustamex]

I would never do the dining plan again (and I got it for free). It was so stressful to try and plan all our TS meals out ahead of time to "get our money's worth". And with the kids, it was terrible - it is impossible to keep them on a TS schedule for meals every night. Especially at 4 years old. Way easier to just eat fast food when they are cranky or everyone is running late. Your whole trip becomes about eating, not about visiting the parks.