QSDP or DDP?

[Maui_Moana]

Hi
I am currently planning our trip for next year and am working on the assumption that free dining will be offered. I am looking to book a moderate resort which will come with SDP and can't decide whether to upgrade to DDP. I think the price difference of the 3 of us is around £500. As this is our first trip we will definitely want too do some character meals, should we stick with QS and pay oop for character meals? Also do people do signature dining with small children or should we avoid these with a 4 year old?
Thanks

[MrsCupcake]

I'll be interested to see the replies as I'm in the same situation. At the moment I'm planning on upgrading mostly because of character meals etc. I hate paying oop so i prefer it paid for in advance. I don't £500 would go that far if doing a couple of character meals...

[Ivegottadream]

We've only been once and upgraded to the DDP. We were 2 adults, 1 teen, 1 child. I think for a first trip is definitely worth it. Character meets are so much easier and more relaxed this way. Cinderella's castle was amazing 😍
That said, we wouldn't do it again. I found it a lot of food in the heat and being tied down to reservations didn't allow much flexibility in plans. We are hoping for QSDP next time.

[Gbnomore]

We didn’t upgrade last year - we had a few reservations for TS inc. character meals and when I added up the likely cost it didn’t seem cost effective. We had loads of credits left over at the end of our stay too. Next time around we’re hoping for free QSDP again but will pay to upgrade as I’d like to have a few more sit down meals to take a break and also some respite from the heat.

I’d recommend working out what TS meals you want to do and comparing likely cost. With a 4 year old the flexibility of QS might be preferable.

[sha9]

I think the best thing to do is work out how many table service meals you’d want to do and roughly calculate how much that would cost.

[disney332]

Given your situation I would TS for sure. The locations, themeing and character interaction are an essential part of your first Disney trip.

Would i signature with a 4 yr old... no

Disney332

[jim jehosofat]

The difference will be closer to £600 once you've factored in tips.

[RachelE]

We did TS for our first visit and I'm so glad we did, as we got to eat at so many brilliant places, particularly for character meals.

All that said, we are doing QSDP this time and paying out of pocket for a couple of TS meals - this is to save money and also because, as much as we enjoyed all the brilliant experiences last time, I did find all of the reservations a bit of a tie - felt like we were often rushing around to get to a reservation on time.

When you do your calculations about whether it is worth upgrading or not, make sure you factor in the cost of the tips on the TS plan.