NEW!!!! 2008 DDP Poll and comments About This Page:

[scottjs]

We have been to WDW once and did not use the plan. I don't really understand the plan to tell everybody the truth. When we go next time--should we use it?? I don't know. I eat a lot of small meals. Big breakfast and big dinner. We will most likely eat breakfast in our motel room(Breakfast bars and that sort of thing). So I want to see what people here think of the plan.

[obsessedwiththemouse]

One of my favorite things about DDP is that you are able to eat at places you normally wouldn't. It allows for more character meals and nicer dinners than I would usually plan for. I definitely think it is worth the money!

[Sue M.]

Loved the old plan I luckily didn't have a problem, I found the service to be good.
I would have liked to be given a choice of appy or desert on the new plan & liked the tip incl in the old plan.
We didn't bother last trip with getting the new ddp as it was a short trip we mostly ate cs except for one dinner at WL Wispering Canyon.
But I'd prob. try the new plan for a longer stay again. Used wisely it saved us lots of $

[Tig&Poo]

I have used the old plan for several trips and will be trying the new plan this May. For our family it works ad we have always saved several hundred dollars. We plan our table service as part of our tme to rest and after dinner we take advantage of leisurly strolls around the parks or enjoy some of the lower key attractions. We have also found ourselves with a few counter services left over on the last day. We have a tradition of finding a young family who is about to pay for their meal and using our counter service to bless them. We still ahead of the game even if a few are left over.

[auntlatoya]

We have only used the DDP once and it was free dining in 2005. It was wonderful. Like many have said, we ate at places we normally wouldn't have paid the money for. At the end of our 5 day trip, our family of 3(DH, DS-5yrs, and I) had eaten over $800 in food. I would have never budgeted that amt for food otherwise. We are going back in Sept and are praying for free dining, but since we did get the 40% off code, the free dining will only save us approx $100. Either way, we are getting the DDP. My husband (who is not a planner and thought I was crazy last time for making all the ADRS) says it's the only way to do Disney.

[april_d]

DD and I didn't do the DDP on our first trip in February and boy do I wish we had! We spent so much $$$ on TS dinners.

We are big eaters, especially on vacation, and we didn't get to try some of the places we really wanted to later in our trip because of our budget. Next time we will be on the Deluxe DDP and have everything paid for!

I know it's a lot of food and I know it takes time out of the parks, but if you plan carefully enough I think it's still possible to get in everything you want to do.

BTW, can anyone tell me what the cost of the Deluxe plan is per adult? I've searched every where I can think of and can't find it. Is the $69.99/day I saw earlier in this thread correct??

[Jennifer_W]

We have never used the DDP because it is just too much money!

$38 for my 11 year old to eat is ridiculous. The kid eats one good meal every 3 days--he's a camel, I swear! We have 3 children, ages 13, 11 & an infant, plus DH & me, and we simply do not eat $152 worth of Disney food each day. We DO, however, stop for groceries on our way from the airport or have them delivered and bring bagels and sandwiches in. We also bring snacks and water bottles. When each person's bottle is empty, they just refill it from the park water fountains. We eat a few meals at our favorite Disney restaurants, but to us, we just don't like eating the fast food (counter service) food that often, and the sit-downs are too confining (be here at this time) and too spendy.

We thought after 9/11 with the increased security checks that we might have a problem with bringing food in, but the security guards actually say "wow, that looks good...what time are you going to eat & can I come?". Even when we didn't have a baby (just the 2 older boys), still no problem. They do go through your bags thoroughly, but outside food has not been a problem.

Jennifer W.

[TheGoof]

Originally Posted by april_d

DD and I didn't do the DDP on our first trip in February and boy do I wish we had! We spent so much $$$ on TS dinners.

We are big eaters, especially on vacation, and we didn't get to try some of the places we really wanted to later in our trip because of our budget. Next time we will be on the Deluxe DDP and have everything paid for!

I know it's a lot of food and I know it takes time out of the parks, but if you plan carefully enough I think it's still possible to get in everything you want to do.

BTW, can anyone tell me what the cost of the Deluxe plan is per adult? I've searched every where I can think of and can't find it. Is the $69.99/day I saw earlier in this thread correct??

Yes that is the correct price. We are going on the Deluxe plan in 3 weeks, can't wait!

[obsessedwiththemouse]

As far as the value of the plans goes, which do you feel is better? Is it worth paying the extra for the deluxe?

[RobDVC]

We use the DDE card.

[CAT]

I purchased the Deluxe dining plan for our may trip, but do feel that it will be way too much food. We mostly got the deluxe so that we could do lots of character meals.
Arrival day - 1900 park fare
1st day no breakfast
lunch @ Garden Grill
Supper @ Coral Reef
2nd day Breakfast @ Askershus RBH
Lunch @ Cinderella's Royal Table
Dinner @ Tony's
3rd day Breakfast @ O'hana's
lunch @ hotel pool
Supper Hoop Dee Doo
4th day Breakfast Donald's @ Tusker house
Lunch @ Yak N Yeti
Supper @ Maya Grill
5th day Breakfast @ Crystal Palace
Lunch @ Liberty Tree Tavern
Supper @ Concourse Steak house
6th day Breakfast @ Hollywood N Vine
Lunch @ Mama Melrose
Supper @ Le Cellier
7th day no food....leave early for airport

[WDWfan]

Originally Posted by obsessedwiththemouse

As far as the value of the plans goes, which do you feel is better? Is it worth paying the extra for the deluxe?

Heather - That really depends on your eating style. If you you do 2-3 TS or character meals a day, like Signature restaurants, don't share food, and eat an appetizer, entree and dessert at most meals then the deulxe plan is perfect for you. If you do 1 TS/character meal a day then the basic plan is better. You really need to evaluate how you eat to make an informed decision.

[april_d]

Originally Posted by obsessedwiththemouse

One of my favorite things about DDP is that you are able to eat at places you normally wouldn't. It allows for more character meals and nicer dinners than I would usually plan for. I definitely think it is worth the money!

Totally off topic, but the steps in your siggy pic is where DD and I sat to watch Illuminations while we were at Epcot.

[mickeyfreak1226]

When we were at WDW in Nov.2007 my father paid our trip and got the basic dining plan. I don't know that it was worth it for my girls and myself. It was a pain to take the time to go to the table service meals. We did not use all of our snack credit either at least during our stay. I ended up stocking up on crispy rice treats and took home with us. We did one special meal and that was the cinderella meal. The girls and I are going back in mid 09 and I am having a hard time deciding what to do about the dining plan (get-it, don't get-it) I have thought about getting groceries and eating breakfast in room and taking snacks with us to parks. If we want a special meal then we do it. DECISIONS, DECISIONS

[TheGoof]

Originally Posted by obsessedwiththemouse

As far as the value of the plans goes, which do you feel is better? Is it worth paying the extra for the deluxe?

As others have said it depends on a lot of things.

The plans really are designed for specific types of vacationers. We have gone with the deluxe plan because we like to eat at Table Service meals. We don't like Counter Service. In fact after having used the equivalent of the basic plan free a couple of years ago, we hated the basic plan, and only did it because it was free. We despised having to eat at too many counter service meals. While some find it a pain to stop and go to their planned meal, we need that break for my DW. So we tend to eat two TS meals a day, and thus the deluxe plan is perfect for us.

Based on our current plans (which have updated some since my last post on this) we are now estimating saving just under $500 on what we would pay for the same meals off of the plan. But that is based on how we intend to eat, and basically want to eat.

I suggest looking at the menus and the restaraunts at allears, and getting an idea of where you think you want to eat, and what you would spend. If you do that you should have a pretty good idea as to which plan makes sense to you.