Your experiences, pro & con of DDP vs. DDE..

[DISNEY FIX]

I have not done either the DDP or DDE. Can you give some of your experiences (good or bad) with one or both.
Thanks
Chris

 

[Sammie]

We used the Dining Plan and will be doing it again. There was nothing for us not to like.

We did not spend any money out of pocket on food except for a few beverages.

We used our snacks and desserts from CS for our breakfast. At Artist Pallette you can get danish and such as a dessert, so we saved them for breakfast. We bought fruit and juice with our snacks so we had breakfast in the room covered.

We had one CS and one TS daily and that was plenty and we used 2 credits for a signature meal also.

We had wonderful service and great meals and it was fun to have it paid for each time we went to eat.

 

[DVCconvert]

I/we usually eat breakfasts & lunches (no snacks) in our villa - and generally trend toward the more expense 'signature' places for dinner. Based on that usage, I/we do not find DDP beneficial to us - DDE on the other hand has definitately saved us/me $$$$.

 

[n2mm]

We have used the DDP our last 5 trips (2 times free 05 and 06 and May 06, Oct 06, Feb 07 as DVC members--and getting ready to use it again in 2 days for our upcoming 2 week trip to the BWV). We love it and find it's a great bargain. We never have to think about what the prices are and never have a problem using all of our credits. However, since we are AP holders we also have the DDE card too and use that when paying OOP. We like sit down breakfasts and use the DDE discount for those. Plus we like to dine at a few less expensive places (the Plaza and Trail's End) and use the DDE for those restraurants too and then use our TS credits for a couple of signature meals. Since we average 4-5 trips a year and each trip 1 to 2 weeks, we get our value out of the DDE card too. The DDE card is great when family and/or friends meet us for meals and only some of us are on the DDP, then we use our DDE card for the OOP portion of the meals and drinks. I guess we are a multi dining discount family. However, I'm not sure our method would work for the folks who only visit once or twice a year. But you can't go wrong with either.

 

[Slakk]

I have done both and prefer DDE. We just did the DDP and ate too much, I literally felt compelled to eat. We had planned to do the DDP for our upcoming trip and trying to pick out TS almost made me break out in hives. We will be doing a few TS, a few off site places and some in room food.

We are doing DDP in January with DP and DB and family just because it is easier but plan to do DDE any other time.

 

[beacher]

We've done both too and it just depends on the trip. When its just DH and me, we do the DDE because we like lots of TS meals (ESPN or Plaza for lunch then another TS for dinner) and we like our wine. The DDE discount on a nice bottle of wine is a great perk. In the summer we take a larger family group and we do the DDP - I ran #'s once and I'm not sure we actually save anything since we do alot of the buffet/character dinners with all the kids but it just makes it easier with no checks to calculate. As the #'s person in the family I always have to play banker at dinner and I like the DDP nights personally.

 

[elijahpep]

DDE! Especially since it allows adult Mickey Mouse drinks to be discounted!~

~DW

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have done both, and even both together. When it's just the two of us we don't mind using the dining plan especially when it's a shorter trip. We don't like to do the dining plan for more people. It's difficult to track, and more difficult to plan for. This is especially true when we like to do signatures. When it's just the two of us, we will use the signatures every other day and counter service inbetween. We still like to do breakfast in the villa, so we alsways end up with lots of counter services left. We end up useing counter service for snacks. When we only use the DDE card, we can eat at signatures EVERY night and save 20%. On top of that, we have our breakfast in the villa, and a snack during the day, so we probably don't really spend much differently either way. The big difference is that we feel we have to eat too much food on the DDP, so I would say we prefer the DDE.

 

[mikeandkarla]

We did it for the first time in 2006. I'll admit I was hesitant, but was coaxed by DW. I will always use it in the future. It was a real pleasure to not worry about food money taking away from our souvenier money. The DSs' loved every minute of the character meals. Seeing the joy in their eyes made me look forward to their next meal.

If you are concerned about not having every meal accounted for ( 1cs and 1ts) don't worry, you will have plenty to eat with those 2 meals a day. The morning we left we had 12 snacks to use. We loaded up with water, lemonade, and some other snacks for our drive home. Very convenient.

 

[alldiz]

I love the DDP....

It allows me to plan some nice dinners and not have
DH wondering what the bill will be....

I use the snack credits to buy water....

I never order dessert normally....so on vacation it is nice that
dessert is included....I like to take a few bites....

Of course the DDE really coulda helped the booze bill

One of my favorite things about Disney....incl...DDP....
Is once I'm there I really dont spend any money....
Everything is paid for.....I dont buy souvieners(spellcheck?)

When I get my room bill all you see is Kids club.....
and different bar bills around WDW
Kerri

 

[MinnieFan]

We have used the DDP our last 5 trips (2 times free 05 and 06 and May 06, Oct 06, Feb 07 as DVC members--and getting ready to use it again in 2 days for our upcoming 2 week trip to the BWV). We love it and find it's a great bargain. We never have to think about what the prices are and never have a problem using all of our credits. However, since we are AP holders we also have the DDE card too and use that when paying OOP. We like sit down breakfasts and use the DDE discount for those. Plus we like to dine at a few less expensive places (the Plaza and Trail's End) and use the DDE for those restraurants too and then use our TS credits for a couple of signature meals. Since we average 4-5 trips a year and each trip 1 to 2 weeks, we get our value out of the DDE card too. The DDE card is great when family and/or friends meet us for meals and only some of us are on the DDP, then we use our DDE card for the OOP portion of the meals and drinks. I guess we are a multi dining discount family. However, I'm not sure our method would work for the folks who only visit once or twice a year. But you can't go wrong with either.

We used this approach as well on our February 2007 trip. We used DDE alone in December 2005, and that saved us a lot of money, but the combined savings of both discounts was great. We will be doing this again in Dec. 2007.

 

[jodifla]

We use the DDE. DDP is ruining WDW dining, and therefore 1)I refuse to participate and contribute to the downslide and 2) there's not enough really great places to eat anymore now that the DDP has stripped the unique items of the menus.

So we eat in our villa, and we cherry pick a few meals and use the DDE on it. We don't spend any more than we would on the DDP, ususally quite a bit less, and we've haven't stuffed ourselved to the gills with low quality food on the DDP.

We remember when WDW used to be FANTASTIC!

 

[goofy4tink]

I have used a combination of the two for several trips now. I sat down, with menus and prices, and made a list of all my ADRs. When I added up our food costs, the two plans came out very close in cost. Since we do a TS dinner every day, as well as late morning CS, the DDP works pretty well. Then, I use the DDE card for any oop meals that the DDP didn't cover, and I usually have 1 or 2 of those, as well as any wine/adult beverages.
The DDP may have come out a wee bit more costly but I love not having to worry about payment. Just one less stressor for me.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We use the DDE. DDP is ruining WDW dining, and therefore 1)I refuse to participate and contribute to the downslide and 2) there's not enough really great places to eat anymore now that the DDP has stripped the unique items of the menus.

So we eat in our villa, and we cherry pick a few meals and use the DDE on it. We don't spend any more than we would on the DDP, ususally quite a bit less, and we've haven't stuffed ourselved to the gills with low quality food on the DDP.

We remember when WDW used to be FANTASTIC!

I totally agree with this sentiment. We find the new menus bland and ininteresting, and taste free! Way too standardized for our tastes.

 

[eliza61]

I have not done either the DDP or DDE. Can you give some of your experiences (good or bad) with one or both.
Thanks
Chris

We enjoy the DDE card. Did not think the ddp was bad, it just did not work for us. We ended up with a lot of CS & TS credits left.

1) We eat 2 TS', a big breakfast/brunch and a good dinner. So we really wasted the cs. On a 11 day trip we may hit cs only 3 or 4. Since we eat 2 TS, one still had to paid for out of pockets.

2) We enjoy adult drinks.

3) We eat rather spontenously so it was a pain for us to tour on a strict schedule. My sons noticed that I was stressing out over time.

 

[Inkmahm]

I have not done either the DDP or DDE. Can you give some of your experiences (good or bad) with one or both.
Thanks
Chris

I love the DDE. That's what we have been using and what we will continue to use. We tend to love the higher end restaurants and at each trip, eat at Brown Derby, Jiko's, California Grill, Yachtsmen Steakhouse, etc. Breakfast we eat in our room as we don't eat big breakfasts. Lunch is usually Liberty Tree Tavern, the Living Seas place whose name I can't remember this early in the morning, Brown Derby, Tusker House, Crystal Palace, maybe Chef Mickey's for brunch. We also eat fewer appetizers and desserts than there would be available with the DDP. Don't do many snacks during the day other than water, either, as we are usually full from lunch/dinner.

I've seen people on the DDP ordering their meals and for me, they end up with WAY too much food trying to use all of options. I just can't eat that much.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

We use the DDE. DDP is ruining WDW dining, and therefore 1)I refuse to participate and contribute to the downslide and 2) there's not enough really great places to eat anymore now that the DDP has stripped the unique items of the menus.

So we eat in our villa, and we cherry pick a few meals and use the DDE on it. We don't spend any more than we would on the DDP, ususally quite a bit less, and we've haven't stuffed ourselved to the gills with low quality food on the DDP.

We remember when WDW used to be FANTASTIC!

ITA

We use DDE.

1). I would feel compelled to order/eat everything I was "entitled" to (i.e. paid for)
2). We enjoy our drinks while on vacation as well as sometimes just ordering a variety of appys & desserts
3). DS12 is considered an adult & DS9 has the palette of an adult. I am not about to require him to order from the dreaded kids menu & I am not about to pay approx $80/day for 2 tweens.
4). When I calculate what we spend using DDE vs. what DDP would cost we are pretty even. If you add in what we would have to pay OOP then DDE wins with us & we ate what we wanted, where we wanted without having to keep track of credits & such.
5). If we have to pay OOP for anything I really don't see the point to use DDP.

I think everyone is different & has different habits/wants something different from their trip.

DDP is not for us.

 

[DVC Grammy]

We tried the DDP (DH and I) for the first few days of a split-stay trip. Luckily, we had the whole next week to walk it off!
Way too much food (and that's even with us bringing back the previous night's dessert to have for breakfast).

We also have the DDE and that works better for just the two of us (also, unlike the DDP, adult beverages are included in the DDE ).

When we have some of our family along, I'd suggest it as an option, since all of them are big eaters, but since we always get them individual studios, DH and I won't have to sign up too.

 

[BCV23]

We love DDE and have used it on every trip since it became available to AP holders.

I agree with goofy4tink that the savings are very close whether using DDE or DDP. When I've run our numbers the TS meals are a wash so QS and snack end up being "free" on the DDP.

We've done the DDP on the DVC portion of two of three trips since it became available to members staying on points. My husband loves it. Loves the savings and we still use the DDE for wine, etc as well as OOP meals. My problem with it is that none of us enjoy QS meals as much. I don't want to worry that using a QS for a yogurt parfait is not the best use of a QS. But we just compromised this morning and will add DDP to our next trip as he promised not to fret if we leave some QS credits unused. We'll see how it goes.

And we always use DDE on the nonDVC portion of our trips. Love that DDE!

I do think it is funny that some still blame the DDP for any and all changes in dining at WDW. Does anyone remember when FL residents were up in arms that AP holders were going to be able to buy DDE? We big bad APers were to blame for a perceived downturn in Disney dining and upturn in prices.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We love DDE and have used it on every trip since it became available to AP holders.

I agree with goofy4tink that the savings are very close whether using DDE or DDP. When I've run our numbers the TS meals are a wash so QS and snack end up being "free" on the DDP.

We've done the DDP on the DVC portion of two of three trips since it became available to members staying on points. My husband loves it. Loves the savings and we still use the DDE for wine, etc as well as OOP meals. My problem with it is that none of us enjoy QS meals as much. I don't want to worry that using a QS for a yogurt parfait is not the best use of a QS. But we just compromised this morning and will add DDP to our next trip as he promised not to fret if we leave some QS credits unused. We'll see how it goes.

We also have used both on a split trip, and I totally agree that the TS meals are a wash and the snacks and QS are "free", but the problem for us is that we really don't WANT to use the QS credits, and since the signatures cost two TS credits, it doesn't necessarily make sense for us.

I do think it is funny that some still blame the DDP for any and all changes in dining at WDW. Does anyone remember when FL residents were up in arms that AP holders were going to be able to buy DDE? We big bad APers were to blame for a perceived downturn in Disney dining and upturn in prices.

Actually, I say that because the advent of the Dining Plan is when they started to make all the menu changes. If it isn't caused by the dining Plan, then why did they happen at the same time?