We went to Disney World this past August and were also first time AP holders. I had read about the card and was excited to purchase it since it sounded like such a good deal (which it is)!
We just had a few problems getting our card. We waited to get our AP's until our first day there so we couldn't get our DDE card until we were there. When we checked into our hotel (Beach Club Villas) we asked the CM where we could purchase the DDE card and they said at any guest realtions counter at the front of the parks. So after checking into our hotel we got onto the first bus that pulled up (AK) and decided to buy our AP's at guest relations and get our DDE card. When we got to AK guest realtions, we got our AP's but they said we couldn't get the DDE card there. They gave us a number to call to get info on the card, but they didn't have any more info on what we had to do to get it.
We made it back to the hotel to get ready for our dinner reservations that evening at Ohana. My husband and I REALLY wanted to get the card because we were with my whole family (8 people) and we were paying for dinner that evening. We called the number at about 4:00 PM and we were told that we could get the card ONLY from EPCOT guest relations (front of the park). They said you only had until 5:00 PM in the evening to purcahse it and it wouldn't be ready until the next day (which made no sense since they don't actually give you the card, they just give you a temporary letter saying that you have purchased the card). We told them our situation and that we had been trying all day to get the card and that we were sent ALL over looking for this card and that we had dinner reservations at 5:15 PM that evening and every CM we spoke to (about 4 different CM's just at that location) said there was nothing they could do for us. We even left the rest of the family to rush up to EPCOT guest relations to see if someone could give us SOMETHING to prove that we had actually bought the DDE card for that evening and we were told that there was nothing they could do (they specifically told us that they no longer faxed to the restaurant and they would NOT fax something to Ohana for us).
This story does have a happy ending though. We went to Ohana and were exhausted and disappointed that we had wasted the day chasing down this card (which we now owned, but couldn't use because we didn't have a letter that said we had it and we had to rush tomorrow morning back to EPCOT guest relations to pick up this letter which will say that it was effective for this day). Anyway, at the end of our meal, my husband politely told our waitress the story and asked if there was anything we could do (we were willing to pay the full bill that night and bring the letter back tomorrow and maybe have them refund the discount). She got the Manager at Ohana and he told us not to worry about it. He believed us and just took the 20% off our bill. The only thing he did say was that the rules had changed and they were no longer to take faxes or make calls if someone didn't have their card or letter. Needless to say, that CM went above and beyond what we had expected.
In warning, I would suggest getting the DDE card before you arrive, or getting the info about times and rules before you leave. They have made the rules very different from what I had read on line and there were MANY CM's that didn't know the new rules, had misinformation, or had no idea about the DDE card in the first place. To get the most out of your card, my suggestion would be to call the day before you leave to order it, and then pick it up at EPCOT guest relations your first day at the park.
In addition, the card has proven to be well worth the money, and once we had it, we have had no problems using it. We have actually saved a lot of money and still have two more trips this year in which we plan to save even more.
