Disney Dining Plan Opinions

[byeo]

This year on our trip to florida we got the DDP free with TCD, we loved it and knew evan before we went that we would be saving lots of money.

If you have used the DDP, would you travel again evan without the plan ?

My opinion is, because i saved so much with the food that i wouldnt be able to go unless we had the DDP.I never knew what we were missing untill we used it for the first time, we were able to go to resturants that we would never have been able to afford and would def use it again.

[JudyC]

We've got free DDP for the first time next year, can't wait :)

I just hope the list of participating restaurants gets updated soon, and that it includes the CSR where we are staying.

[debs2028]

I would travel again without it but stay offsite and just book my fav Disney restaurants :)

[Sue]

I WOULD go again without the DDP as I think it can be restricting as to where you are park wise and what to do at mealtimes.
Having said that we are getting it for free next trip and bearing in mind what I have just said, I am planning a few x 2 TS meals and a couple of breakfasts so that we have more evenings free to do other things than Disney (or things within Disney like Cirque)

We paid for it at Christmas and it was definitely worth it

[TandCmum]

if i got it for free i would use it but we have chosen not to buy it for next May as now it doesn't include the appetiser and tips i would be too worried about getting the value out of it. I also think it is too restricting

[Cinders Mum]

I've had free DDP and travelled without it, and for what I would have to give up to get the dining plan, I am better (for our family's needs) to pay cash for the meals we want, and free our time up for other things.

It was pleasant enough to have it, but nothing great for us.

[SMAX]

We've got free DDP for the first time next year, can't wait :)

I just hope the list of participating restaurants gets updated soon, and that it includes the CSR where we are staying.

You will be in CSR at the same time as us. I even rang CSR up because the hotel is not on the list for DDP 2008. They seem to think it is an oversight but you never know. I cannot believe they are offering DDP at CSR if you cannot use it there. It doesnt make sense.

We had free DDP last year at CSR and found it great. We have to go during August anyway so DDP is just a bonus. Last time we still had a lot of credits left over. And felt like we had stuffed our faces all holiday :)

This time we will just book what we fancy and skip the higher priced resturants as our fussy kids wont eat anything thats remotely different from burger and chips :)

[BarryandCaron]

The free DDP we got this year and having next year is a huge bonus to us as we usually eat at a lot of TS restaurants in Disney anyway. I wouldn't pay for it as we had a lot of CS credits left last year.

We are planning a trip at a different time of year for 2009 and we won't be having the DDP then but will purchase a DDE card for the 20% discount.

Caron

[nbodyhome]

It's a lot of food, and I had problems on the free DDP getting to my restaurant times. I missed a lot of them! I had so much food credits left over, I took a lot to go (I am only 30 miles from the parks).

Denise

[Vabeth]

We paid for the DDP last year and had it for free this year, but we won't be having it again! This time round we found it to be very restricting and by the end of our 3 week stay we were all fed up with having to plan our days around adrs! Also with the new changes i don't feel it's such good value for money anymore! :wave:

[Disneybunny]

We've been with and without the DDP if it was free we'd do it again. I wouldn't pay for it as the panned changes stop it being value for our family.

[BevS97]

We paid for the DDP this year - for 6 days out of 14. If we could travel at the free times, then I would definitely grab it and do it again, but if I had to pay for it, then I'm not so sure.

We did definitely save money compared to what we ate, and probably compared to what we would have spent if we hadn't had it. But, I did find it restrictive and the counter service choices at Wilderness Lodge were so bad that we didn't want to eat there so we were having to make sure we were out somewhere else at tea time (I booked most of our TS for mid-day as my kids eat & behave better at lunchtime sit-downs than they do in the evening)

I also realised that we hadn't eaten at a lot of favorite off-site places, like Red Lobster, IHOP, Perkins etc.

So, I'm really not sure if I would pay for it again - and I definitely wouldn't pay for it for the full 2 weeks.

But for free - absolutely, even if we only used 1/2 the credits it wouldn't matter, as it was free.

[antietam]

Well i am really looking forward to using the DDP which i have paid for.
I have not used it before
We are planning our days around the parks and will fit in the DDP around that.

I think its rubbish that you have to plan your meals around your days and that it is restrictive.
We are going to eat off site for at least 4 days of our 14 as we will use CS at Breakfast and TS at lunch on some days and use 2 TS at some restaurants.
I am not bothered that gratuity is not included as i would tip anyway if i felt it warranted it.
The DDP will suit us better than others purely because we are staying on site for 14 days and we have 2 toddlers.

We will not be doing Universal as we dont rate it for very young children so the coast and seaworld it will be

[nbodyhome]

The tip bothers me because it was all-inclusive. If you had a meal this year that was $100.00 for a table, an $18.00 gratuity was included for the server. (except at non-Disney owned restaurants). Next year, that $18 is going to be out of pocket. So if I got a free dining plan, I'm still having to pay a tip, I'm not sure if it will be worth doing that.

[byeo]

So if I got a free dining plan, I'm still having to pay a tip, I'm not sure if it will be worth doing that.

I understand what you are saying but you can still get a great meal worth over $100 for the price of a tip. To say its not worth it is a little OTT in my opinion,If you didnt take the DDP then you would still have to pay tip PLUS the price of the meal itself.

Im not trying to defend the DDP, i just want a good debate on what peoples opinions are on it.

[BevS97]

If you are getting the FREE dining plan, then you can hardly say it's not worth taking it because you have to pay the tip.

if you are paying for the DDP then you may have a more valid argument

I think its rubbish that you have to plan your meals around your days and that it is restrictive.
We did find this, and I didn't think we would before we travelled. I had mostly lunches booked, and it did work for the most part, but it meant we were looking for counter services at night and the options back at our hotel were limited.

It also meant that on the day we didn't feel like going to the park, we had to try and arrange a different meal at short notice and there was very little availablity to choose from.

I wouldn't say it was a disaster or anything drastic like that, but it does definitely affect the flow of your holiday - more than I thought it would.

[Cinders Mum]

thing is you have to balance up what you have to forego to get the DDP. You would have to give up any room discounts available so even when it is free plan, it is not always worth taking. Because of what it is costing you.

Some people last year were getting 40% room discount rates, so it didn't pay them to take the free dining. For me the TA discounts far far outweigh the savings of the dining plan.

[Holly-Millie]

I totally agreee we had it last tine we went and went to places we could never afford!!!

[ceri]

We had free ddp last trip and it was absolutely brilliant esp as we were classed as a party of 6 adults! Having said that it was restrictive and tbh was abit of a pain by the end. As FW has no counter service we ended up with 29 left and bought loads of meals for other people. When we go this time we are seriously considering delux ddp but only for maybe 5 days. It works for us now that my kids are 16 and 14 with hollow legs lol but when they were younger I think we would have struggled.
Ceri x