For my upcoming 5-night trip I have 9 Table-Service meals planned. I estimate the cost at $1108 including tax & tip for each (for 2 people).
The DDP would cost $97.79/person/day or $977.90 for 2 people for 5 nights. Plus you have to add tips on top which brings the total cost to $1047. Which is a smidge cheaper than the total cost for the non-DDP amount above ($1108). But using the DDP we’d only get 5 table-service meals, not 9. Plus, we’d actually have to use 2 of the credits for Hoop Dee Doo, which is part of our 9 meals, so really we’d only be able to use the DDP for 4 table-service meals that we planned. If we went with the DDP we’d have to replace 5 of our planned table-service meals with quick-service to fit into the allotment. Which really proves that the value is not there with the DDP!
Sure, we’ll have to pay separately for a few snacks, but when you factor in the fact that most of our planned meals are table-service, we’ll probably not need many snacks anyway.
One of my previous trips I kept track of every single food, beverage and tip we spent money on. When I got home I totaled that all up and it was still less than the DDP would have cost, and we didn’t have to worry about any restrictions. We just got whatever we wanted, whenever and where ever we wanted.
I often hear people saying the DDP was too much food for them, or they wind up coming home with a bunch of snacks that they wouldn’t have otherwise purchased just to take advantage of all the credits. So that seems like a waste of money.
Some people say they like not having to worry about paying for each meal separately. But either way you’re given them your magic band/card to pay or use DDP credits.
I just don’t see how DDP is ever worth it! Even when they run the “free” dining plan promo, you have to pay full rack-rate for your room. So it isn’t really “free”.
Can someone convince me that the plan is ever worth it?
My theory is… if it saved the guest money then Disney wouldn’t offer it, because “The Mouse always wins.”
This is what has driven us to purchase it in the past.
Not for value, necessarily (and I’m sure we left money on the table) but to have it all paid for in advance and never have to think about money again while on vacation. I did really like that, honestly. A lot.
Ok, but the DDP doesn’t even include 3 meals a day. So you likely still had to worry about paying for a 3rd meal at least some of the days, right?
And you also had to make sure all your eats fit into the plan, which seems like just one more thing to worry about instead of just doing whatever you want whenever you want to.
And you still had to leave a tip at the meals that were included with the DDP.
Back in 2016, even before the alcoholic drinks were included, we had 4 back to back split stays.
Something like Dec 23rd-26th, 26th-30th, Dec 30th-Jan 2nd , 2nd-5th.
Having worked out where we wanted to eat we had BOG breakfast, Crystal Palace dinner, H&V dinner, Ohana breakfast etc. By booking them over Christmas it was worth while. We did end up with around 8 tubs of the Hagen Dazs ice cream as we used up all the snack credits.
However over Nrw Year, the maths it didn’t work, despite a similar line up. Possibly because we had Hoop de Doo which was 2 credits.
We are people who are more than satisfied by a single large meal in a day, perhaps supplemented with some snacks.
A typical day for us usually included a snack credit for breakfast (bagel, yogurt, that kind of thing), a single large TS meal, often late morning or early afternoon, and a QS meal on the opposite end of the day from our large TS meal
Almost everything fits into the plan by one credit or another and we never felt limited (or, alternatively, pressured) to order specific things
We did tip at TS, yes. Never QS though. But we would have done that if we paid OOP.
And again - for us it had nothing at all to do with value (we often left a bunch of snacks “on the table” in fact), and everything to do with convenience and peace of mind. It’s not for everyone - heck, it isn’t for us now (we outgrew it when our oldest became 10yo and we had to pay adult prices for a bird’s appetite). But it works well for some people in whatever way it does.
Back in the 90s we traveled to WDW with a couple of adult kids and their families every few years. We did 3 sit down meals a day - and not feel too full, afternoon activities and still did all the park attractions. I guess there were fewer attractions then.
Anyway, the DDP, at that time, did save us money and prompted us to have a snack when we might not have realized we needed one. We did realize that the DDP worked if a person was apt to order steak, seafood or prime rib more than chicken.
On our 2001 family trip the DDP was not offered which saddened our family members. I did some math, gave each family a dollar amount which they gave me. At the Yacht Club I wrote a check for the full amount - which was in the neighborhood of $3000 which YC then put on our account. On our check out day we had $100 in that account, which was given to me in cash. We went to Boma for breakfast which, with tip, came to $98. I sometimes wish all my estimates came out so well.
The 1998 trip was about the last time the DDP worked. When it came back it never benefited and we quit trying to make it work, even with 2 credit meals.
And Disney quit accepting personal checks to put money on one’s account. I get it tho over the years it seems that the customer is doing a lot more giving and less receiving. And yet we’re still happy to be in the bubble.
While I agree with you whole-heartedly for how WE eat at WDW, I think the question fundamentally comes down to how you are going to define “worth”.
I like to calculate everything ahead of time, and I define “value” in whether or not I spend more or less for the same thing. The DDP forces us to plan meals in a way that doesn’t fit our style. So, no. It isn’t ideal. And we save lots of money by NOT getting the plan.
But others are going to define “worth it” by a different measuring stick. As @OBNurseNH pointed out, some see just the “experiential” aspect of not having to think about money while on vacation “worth it”.
So, it CAN be worth it, for sure. But by the standard by which you are defining “worth it”, I would say it isn’t worth it. For us, it definitely is not even close to worth it.
In the end, yes, Disney offers this because it makes them MORE money this way than by NOT offering it. They wouldn’t, otherwise. They aren’t in the business of saving you money!
I was just yesterday talking to a person about worth and Disney buffets. I’m never going to eat enough food to equal $60 if I bought it. Eating at buffets is worth it to me because I can put foods on my plate that I will eat. So many times a restaurant’s menu selection has an item that I know I’ll not eat tho I’ll eat other things in that selection. And sometimes the staff will substitute. The other thing is that I don’t eat a lot; the food on my buffet plate is usually all gone cuz I put sensible portions to begin with. My restaurant plate likely has at least half the serving still on the plate. Which troubles me and makes the buffet more worth it.
I like that my quirkiness can be accommodated at some places
When the DDP was available with 2TS credits per day plus alcohol and our party was all adult, it was “worth” it. Last trip when it was just 2 of us and DDP wasn’t available with 2TS credits per day it lost its “worth” and we did pay-as-you-go. On our next trip for the extended family I’ll be purchasing DDP again. Why? Because its an easy way to provide everyone a dining budget regardless of whether we eat as a single group or individually, so it becomes “worth” it again
With the “free dining” plan that just dropped for this summer, I ended up switching my original reservation of saving 25% off my value resort (All Stars Sports was 25% instead of 20% like the other values for the deal they had going earlier this year) to the Free Dining plan. Because I was at a value, it only gave me a “free” QS plan, which I upgraded to the QS/TS plan for about $500 more.
I ended up coming a little more than $50.00 LESS in my original budget by doing this. This is even calculating tips for TS meals.
The reason it worked out for me is because a lot of my planned meals were character dining or Table Service with an alcoholic drink anyway. So for once, the free dining plans works for us.
More importantly, I really enjoy the peace of mind of not having to stress about money during my trip. I like having to pay in advance and then just GO and immerse myself. So even if this came out a $50.00 MORE, I would have done it.
But really, we never get the dining plan because it usually amounts to more food than we typical eat and usually include a dessert that we won’t normaly get. We like the flexibilty of skipping a meal or going all quick serve if the mood strikes or all table serve. Plus I thought you also loose any other discounts if you do free dining and pay room rack rate.
I get it that people like having everything paid and accounted for prior to their trip but for the way we do Disney, I personally don’t see the value in it.
But I think the real question is why “The Sausage King of Chicago” is budgeting meals? I’d have thought it would be V&A and Takumi-Tei every night?
I literally just went down this rabbit hole this week for a last minute Dad/Daughter trip 4/6-4/10 that I just booked yesterday. For a 4 Night, 4 Day Table Service Dining Plan and 4 Day Park Hopper staying AoA Little Mermaid the total was $3515.28. I ended up booking a room only at AoALM and purchasing discounted tickets separately. The difference was $1095.56. We normally calculate $100 per person per day and since we’re arriving in the afternoon on 4/6 the math didn’t math for the DP. I’m taking it as a challenge to do it a lot cheaper. Even if I have to buy a resort mug I’ll only use a few times there but will be a coffee cup for years to come at home LOL.
They lost me with the 1 less snack credits and appetizer.
I think SOME people can still get value out of it- people with children and 1 credit character dining, people that order alcoholic beverages and deserts with a meal, people who generally only eat 2 meals a day…
If it were somewhat close I would pay for the all-inclusive feel. (Was gratuity always excluded? Can’t recall) But it’s waaaay off for us now. I’ll always price it out for longer trips though, lol.
There was a reason to watch the movie back in the day…it gave an explanation for a few sound effects folks would making seemingly randomly, such as, “Chick…chickachacawwwww.”
Other than that, a rather stupid movie, I thought. But I think I was horrified at the “glorification” of skipping school. (Yes…just call me Sheldon Cooper.)
