My DDP experience: I came out $159 ahead across 5 nights.

LavishWig

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 12, 2019
It was my first Disney World trip and me and my DH were gifted 5 nights at the Boardwalk (family DVC points) so we decided to go with the DDP. We like to eat quite a bit, we love to try a variety of things and we liked the aspect of paying ahead of time.

I did a lot of reading and planning for our trip and picked restaurants based on our food preferences, most of the time I knew we'd be inclined to order the more expensive dishes because we like steaks and red meat which tend to be up there so I thought we'd probably break even. My cautious planning suggested we would come out a bit ahead, turns out we came out $159 ahead or $121 if you don't include the resort mugs. Prices without tax.

Here's how we came out ahead:

Arrival day - Hollywood Studios
QS Backlot Express: $23.74
Backlot burger and a pint of ale

SC Hollywood Scoops: $6.49
Ice cream sandwich to share (these things are HUGE!!!)

TS 50's Prime Time: $90.75
Pork chop, fried chicken, PBJ milkshake, Electric Lemonade, peanut butter cake, ice cream sundae

Day 2 - Animal Kingdom / Magic Kingdom
SC Creature comforts: $4.79
Venti latte to share

SC Kusafari Bakery: $7.49
Colossal cinnamon roll to share (love these!)

QS Satuli Canteen: $51.98
Chicken and beef bowl x 2, pint of ale x 2

SC Casey's Corner: $6.49
Shared some bacon mac 'n' cheese loaded fries

QS Pecos Bill: $39.96
Fajitas x 2, slushy lemonade, fountain drink

Day 3 - Epcot
SC Snack cart in France: $10
Sugar crepe, soft serve ice cream (these were both very average, probably the worst things we ate all week)

QS Tangierine Cafe: $26.94
Chicken and lamb platter with strawberry daiquiri

TS La Hacienda de San Angel: $106.50
Pork carnitas, Braised short rib, 2 x margaritas, Empanada, Flan (One of my favourite meals of the trip!)

Day 4 - Animal Kingdom
SC Creature comforts: $11.78
One venti frappe, one grande frappe

SC Kusafari Bakery: $7.49
Colossal cinnamon roll to share

QS Flame Tree BBQ: $28.74
Chicken, pulled pork and ribs platter, ale - all to share

SC Mr Kamal's: $5.99
Seasoned fries

TS Sanaa: $100.50
Potjie Inspired (pick 3 dishes from 'The Journey'), South African Braaivleis (like a mixed grill), three chocolate mousse, coconut rice pudding, mojitos x 2

Day 5 - Magic Kingdom / Epcot
QS Be Our Guest: $38
We shared - croque Madame, peach bellini

SC Sunshine Seasons: $4.99
Dole Whip to share (this is nice, but not sure of it's cult following - sorry!)

QS Columbia Harbor House: $19.98
We shared a trio platter and a lemonade slushy

SC Main Street Ice Cream Parlour: $6.79
All American Sundae to share (so good for the parade!)

TS Chefs de France : $112.98
Two steaks with green peppercorn sauce (this was incredible!), two Cabernet Sauvignons I think, two apple tarts (this was our favourite meal)

Day 6 - Hollywood Studios / Epcot
SC Starbucks (I forget the name): $11.78
Two frappes - one grande and one venti

SC Epic Eats: $8.49
Cookies and creme funnel cake

SC Snack cart: $6.59
Mickey pretzel with cheese (I hated the cheese sauce but liked the pretzel!)

QS Katsura Grill: $21
We shared a chicken cutlet curry with an ale

TS Biergarten: $112.50
Two buffets, two Schofferhofer pink grapefruit - 1/2 Litre

Leftover credits
We had four snack credits leftover - we used these to get a breakfast item each for the next day as we were moving two Universal and we also got a caramel apple and a brownie from Karamel Kuche which we ate over the next couple of days and saved us some money while we were there.

Overall thoughts
Would we do it again?
We would! We both really enjoyed the freedom of the plan as we're the type to refrain from ordering a beer at lunch because of the extra cost where as prepaying made us feel much better about this. Where we shared we just paid OOP for another beer. I probably wouldn't do it again if it was for a 8+ day trip, but anything that's a week and under I would.

Was it too much food?
Not for us! We are average eaters I would say, at home we track every calorie we eat and let loose a bit on holiday. We weren't ever forcing ourselves to eat and shared some quick service credits but didn't find them hard to use up.

I hope this helps some people! Feel free to ask any questions!
 
We are fans of the DDP. It works for us. There are a few places on your list we haven’t tried. I’m ready to go back! Thanks for sharing!
 
We are fans of the DDP. It works for us. There are a few places on your list we haven’t tried. I’m ready to go back! Thanks for sharing!

I was a bit nervous after reading quite a lot of negative things about the DDP and how it was so much food but I needn't have been! I really liked everywhere we ate, for different reasons though. Prime Time and Biergarten were great for the atmosphere but the food wasn't as good as Sanaa or La Hacienda for example. Doesn't mean I wouldn't go back though! Enjoy your next trip!
 
You were able to get the strawberry daiquiri with your QS credit at Tangierine Cafe? I wasn’t allowed to add it as my drink in July 2018. I was caught off-guard so I opted for a beer for my husband with my meal credit, and paid OOP for the daiquiri. It was so worth it because it was the strongest drink I had the whole trip! I wonder if you got some pixie dust or if they changed the guidelines. Either way, your post was helpful! We’ve always only ever done the QS dining plans. This time, we’re trying the next level up that includes the table service credits.
 


When we get the DDP we always come out ahead, of course we always make sure to get the most expensive option available. It is certainly not worth it if you are not going to make the most out of it price wise . I
 
We just did the DDP for quick 3 night/3 day stay. We loved it. It felt incredibly freeing to be able to order the entree we wanted without worrying about the cost. My sister did the math and we came out ahead. We did Tusker House, Ohana, & Garden Grill for our TS. We did a combo of Columbia House, SFW at Port Orleans, Casey's Corner, and snacks from Food & Wine.

The convenience and being able to relax was worth some money.
 
This is precisely why it's so important to figure out what you would eat on the plan. That's how you can go, enjoy, and even come out ahead if it turns out that the DDP is a great fit for you. :) Glad you enjoyed it.
 


Yes you can come out ahead with this type of researching, planning ect. Most people will not go to this extent and Disney knows this. Good for you. You did a wonderful job with it.
 
Yes you can come out ahead with this type of researching, planning ect. Most people will not go to this extent and Disney knows this. Good for you. You did a wonderful job with it.
Good points. We're the types not to go to all the planning trouble. It takes too much time for a little bit of reward. We also may not order the most expensive item mainly because it could be something we don't want to eat. We find it far easier to pay out of pocket and not worry about it.
 
You were able to get the strawberry daiquiri with your QS credit at Tangierine Cafe? I wasn’t allowed to add it as my drink in July 2018. I was caught off-guard so I opted for a beer for my husband with my meal credit, and paid OOP for the daiquiri. It was so worth it because it was the strongest drink I had the whole trip! I wonder if you got some pixie dust or if they changed the guidelines. Either way, your post was helpful! We’ve always only ever done the QS dining plans. This time, we’re trying the next level up that includes the table service credits.
Sorry for the late reply! My OH went up to get the meal but he said it wasn’t a problem - I really enjoyed having a sit down meal each day, helped us to take stock and enjoy spending time together rather than racing from ride to ride!

edit: Expedition Everest is SO GOOD! At the 7am rope drop we were able to go on twice in a row :)
 
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Good points. We're the types not to go to all the planning trouble. It takes too much time for a little bit of reward. We also may not order the most expensive item mainly because it could be something we don't want to eat. We find it far easier to pay out of pocket and not worry about it.

Yeah, I’m sure a lot of people don’t want to do all the planning but for me it’s honestly half the fun, it helps extend the holiday and I’m an event planner by trade so I genuinely enjoy all this. I can see why people wouldn’t though, it was quite a bit of effort and if I didn’t enjoy it I definitely wouldn’t have done it (or more likely, I would have tried and then ditched it!).
 
First of all, amazed you kept track of it all. It all sounded great.

I scrapbook all of our trips so I’m now programmed to keep track of it haha! Glad you enjoyed it :) and I realise this thread is making me sound very neurotic now...
 
Sorry for the late reply! My OH went up to get the meal but he said it wasn’t a problem - I really enjoyed having a sit down meal each day, helped us to take stock and enjoy spending time together rather than racing from ride to ride!

edit: Expedition Everest is SO GOOD! At the 7am rope drop we were able to go on twice in a row :)

It is truly my favorite ride in all of WDW! I rode it 6 times in one day before my husband cut me off. :laughing:
 

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