Anyone Else Looking Forward to a Trip w/o the DDP?

[Mammabruski]

The past couple trips we've had the DDP (Thanks Mom!), but our upcoming trip in June will be (mostly) without the DDP. We will have the deluxe plan for just one night since we're staying at BLT for the first night of an 8 night trip. We found that the cost for one night of the DxDP was worth it since we have ADR's for Chef Mickey's the night we arrive and CRT for our second night. Doing the math the DxDP costs $89.52 for one night and CRT is $58.76 and CM is $44.46, totaling just over $103, so we really save some money there and get a great souvenir cup, too! The rest of the time we'll be paying OOP and my DM will have a TiW card.

Anyways, I've only made two more ADR's: One at La Hacendia for Illuminations and one at Chefs de France for lunch (and Remy). To be honest, those are flexible too. I think with the Mobile Magic App, I'd be happy to just see what's available for where we are if we feel like taking a break and having a "relaxing" dinner (if you can do that with a 5 year old and almost 3 year old).

Anyways, is anyone else looking forward to less structured eating without the DDP? What are your plans? Will you make as many ADR's? How about desserts vs. appetizers?

[BrerGnat]

Ha ha. I only did ONE trip with the DDP. That was years ago. Since then, I've done no DDP and a minimal number of ADRs. We just took a family trip with two special needs boys (5 and 7) and we had ONE ADR. The rest we just did "on the fly" using the DIsney Dining mobile site. It worked great, and this was the week before Christmas. You can do very well with this feature.

[Scar]

Yup. Unless Mom and Pop pay for it, I'll never use the DDP again. In fact, I know they won't pay for it because if we ever do a Grand Gathering again, it will be Tables in Wonderland.

[Melanie]

TiW for the win!

Enjoy your trip and the fun spontaneity you're giving yourselves.

[goofyfan4466]

can somebody tell me what the tiw card is ? thank you

[buzznwoodysmom]

Yep. After our most recent trip with the dining plan I am so ready for a trip without it. We want less TS meals in gerneral. We love eating in WDW, but with the dining plan, and all the ADRs we had, we felt like we were always eating. I felt stuffed and uncomfortable for most of the trip. Its just way too much food.

A few trips back, June 2010 we went with just a few ADRs. As we were hungry we'd find something available and we either shared meals or orderd apps and dessert and we felt so much better than when we have huge meals each day. We saved a lot of money too by sharing meals. I'm pretty sure our next trip will be like that June trip. I'll only make our "must do" ADRs, we'll wing it, and we'll opt out of the dining plan.

[tinksmom02]

In general I am a big fan of the DDP. We don't qualify for the TiW card, which I realize would probably be a bigger savings. For me, the planning is half the fun, and knowing it's all (or mostly) taken care of before we arrive is one less thing I have to worry about.

However, I am dreaming about a quick trip this August (both WDW and Universal), and if it happens, it will be no DDP. DD is now 10, so even the quick service plan would costs us around $70 a day, and the 2 of us won't eat that much food in August. Figure we'll plan for one meal ('Ohana, hopefully), to pay for OOP, and eat whenever we want the rest of the time. She may be considered an adult, but still eats like a child--should take advantage of that while I can!

To be honest, the idea of not having to be somewhere to meet an ADR is strangely appealing to me, too.

[Scar]

can somebody tell me what the tiw card is ? thank you

TiW card gives the cardholder and up to 9 other guests a 20% discount at most TS restaurants and some CS on the entire bill, including alcohol. An 18% tip is automatically included. It is available to Florida residents and Annual Passholders (and possibly DVC owners.)

[tinksmom02]

can somebody tell me what the tiw card is ? thank you

Tables in Wonderland. It's a discount card you can purchase if you're an annual pass holder (or Florida resident?). It's good for food & drinks at a bunch of places. We've never had one so I don't know all the particulars. Hopefully someone can provide more info!

[CanadianWDWFan]

We did the DP plan just once and found that we really didn't save anything. Plus we found that we were being tied down to our meals. Not going on the dining plan and with a few choice ADR's gives us the freedom enjoy wherever are and not worrying about using up all of our credits.

Another thing, since we visit at least once per year getting AP's was a no brainer. We looked into the TiW card with with our first trip on the AP and decided it was the perfect fit for us. We haven't looked back since.

[DizneyRox]

Never done the dining plans, never will.

[spoonful of sugar]

Never done the dining plans, never will.

absolutely agree!!

[MouseHouser]

I see your point. Spontaneity has its value.

But we're in the other camp. I really enjoy setting up fun meals, and for us Disney dining is fantastic.

For example, a Rose and Crown meal timed for Illuninations, or Crystal Palace so that you finish and walk out to enjoy Wishes,... to me, magic.

Getting that Chefs du France or 'Ohanas ressie in the 7pm block, when all the world seems to be at Disney the week before Christmas... this is great fun.

[Basket Mommy]

I have weighed the benefits of having the DDP vs. not having it for our upcoming trip this month. With 4 adults (me, hubby and 2 kids ages 13 and 11) and 2 kids (ages 9 and 7) it could get expensive eating at Disney. I went ahead and made 1 TS ADR per day of our trip. Then I looked at the menus of each place, took the highest priced entrees on the adult menu and multiplied them x 4. Did the same for the kids' menus and multiplied x 2. Factored in the cost of drinks (no desserts) table service meals and 6 snacks each day (the highest priced ones I could find for the parks we'll be in.)

What I discovered is that the DDP would cost $600 more than what I would normally spend OOP for this trip and would make us eat more than we would if we were paying as we go. We're not big dessert eaters, but b/c it's covered on DDP, we always get it. We do the same with the snack credits, getting ice cream we wouldn't normally purchase just to use up the credits. A couple of cereal bars and refillable water bottles has always been enough for us before we started using the DDP. With the DDP we get ice cream and soda and extra calories.

We will keep our ADRs. We have mostly buffets/family style places on our agenda (Boma, Ohana, Crystal Palace, Liberty Tree, Garden Grill) so we will make that our main meal each day and eat light for the other 2 meals. Our 2 boys alone can put away some food, so buffets are perfect for them. Plus, drinks and desserts (for those who want them) are included in the price. Buffets are a little more expensive than sit down meals, but I justify it by telling myself I'm paying a little extra for interaction with the characters. ; )

But we're in the other camp. I really enjoy setting up fun meals, and for us Disney dining is fantastic.

I love planning our ADRs, too. But you can still do that... just pay OOP. I bet if you did the math you'd see that the DDP makes you spend and eat more than you would if you didn't have it.

[wickedgin]

Yep. After our most recent trip with the dining plan I am so ready for a trip without it.

The DDP was great for us when we were doing a lot of character buffets. Now that we're not as eager to visit the character buffets, there's no savings in the DDP. At non-buffets, we tend to split meals so we're far better off paying OOP.

[kakn7294]

As much as I love the idea that meals are pre-paid and I don't have DH worrying that we ordered the most expensive things on the menu, I love the flexibility of not having the dining plan. We do debate the merits of the dining plan every trip but we haven't opted for it in several years now. We don't like to be tied to that many ADRs, we almost never order dessert at QS meals and often don't at TS meals either, we never purchase and use the mugs, and we would rather have the option for our picky eater 12 yo to have the option to order from the kids menu if she so chooses. We also like the flexibility of being able to cancel an ADR if we decide that we don't want to be bothered without risking losing credits. We almost always had QS credits left at the end of the trip and struggled to use them. We use Tables in Wonderland and Annual Pass discounts where we can instead.

[mom2morgan]

I used the DDP calculator spreadsheet on this site, and it says I would save 30% on the dining plan. That's a lot!

[Basket Mommy]

I used the DDP calculator spreadsheet on this site, and it says I would save 30% on the dining plan. That's a lot!

I just used that, too. Thanks for pointing that out; I didn't know Intercot had such a tool. I marked all the TS restaurants for which we have ADRs, plus 3-4 CS restaurants that I know we'll be eating at according to the parks we'll be in on those days. It calculated out at $1273.58. DDP for the 4 adults and 2 kids in my family would be $1653.40. We save almost $400 NOT using the DDP. Groceries for the week will cost us less than $200.

[TheVBs]

We've done trips with and without and we've come to the conclusion that we're just not interested in a sit down meal every day. This last trip we did get the QS DDP free and that worked out great for us! We replaced desserts with bottled water or sometimes a fruit cup which worked out beautifully. We do really like having the flexibility and the ability to be more spontaneous on our trips.

[BrerGnat]

I used the DDP calculator spreadsheet on this site, and it says I would save 30% on the dining plan. That's a lot!

Just FYI, use that tool with a grain of salt. Of course, you will save money if you buy the plan vs. if you would have purchased ALL the same food out of pocket. This is how Disney markets the plan also. The savings is based on comparable food items purchased. However, most people don't order dessert per person at every CS or TS meal. Many people don't order a soda with every meal. Sometimes, people share entrees, or order an appetizer and entree to split. Most of the time, kids come out way ahead, because the price of kids meals is fixed. However, it's a different story when adults are involved, particularly if you aren't just eating at buffets, and you aren't big eaters in general.

The dining plan, for us, would be a HUGE waste of money. I did it one time when it was free, and even then, we split food a lot, and ended up going to a couple signature restaurants JUST to "use up" credits. This was back when the plan included all gratuities, as well as an appetizer AND dessert at each TS meal. If we had had to pay the gratuities on those signature meals, we probably wouldn't have gone to them, as we were on a budget trip. With the way the plan is now, it's hardly a value unless you want a character meal EVERY single day.