Ddp

[amykissangel]

When it's not "Free" DDP time, how does anyone save any money going with the regular DDP?

Our experience with it (free, two weeks ago) was iffy. Everyone on the boards raved about how nice it was to just hand over your card and everything was taken care of.

That is not how it worked on our trip. We had two rooms - therefore, we had 2 cards (well, 6 cards, as there were 3 adults per room), but nobody at Disney seemed to be on the same thought process. Half our restaurants said, "Just give me one card and I'll take it all off of that room - it's easier." Which it decidedly is. Then the other half needed both cards, came out with two bills, had to have two transactions (the bills were paid by my Dad - who didn't WANT two transactions) and the whole process was DUMB.

Who sends out a regular bill, then takes your credit card, then comes back with the bill, now having removed the "free" DDP items, leaving only the alcohol and appetizers, makes you do another room card transaction for your tip, then you sit and wait there for 15 minutes for them to come back...

Goodness gracious, that's how it was EVERY TIME WE USED THE DARN PLAN. It became more of an irritant to us than a help.

AND we still paid money for appetizers, alcohol and gratuity, which couldn't be pre-paid anyhow. AND we paid extra gratuity for desserts we really didn't want but were semi-forced on us.

Ok. There's my rant on the DDP. Please let me know what value it is to you and tell me our experience was rare...because it was irritating.

 

[Mukta]

I am sorry to hear that you had so many issues.

I have no experience with the deluxe DP, but I usually get the standard dining plan. I definitely save money doing this because all of the items that I eat would have cost more without the DP.

I only get one room, so I am not familiar with your 2 rooms issues.
I don't get appetizers or drinks.

I go to a TS restaurant. I order a non-alcoholic beverage, an entree and a dessert. They bring my bill and I put my KTTW card down. They bring it back and I write the tip amount in.

It has been very convenient for me.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

When it's not "Free" DDP time, how does anyone save any money going with the regular DDP?

Our experience with it (free, two weeks ago) was iffy. Everyone on the boards raved about how nice it was to just hand over your card and everything was taken care of.

That is not how it worked on our trip. We had two rooms - therefore, we had 2 cards (well, 6 cards, as there were 3 adults per room), but nobody at Disney seemed to be on the same thought process. Half our restaurants said, "Just give me one card and I'll take it all off of that room - it's easier." Which it decidedly is. Then the other half needed both cards, came out with two bills, had to have two transactions (the bills were paid by my Dad - who didn't WANT two transactions) and the whole process was DUMB.

Who sends out a regular bill, then takes your credit card, then comes back with the bill, now having removed the "free" DDP items, leaving only the alcohol and appetizers, makes you do another room card transaction for your tip, then you sit and wait there for 15 minutes for them to come back...

Goodness gracious, that's how it was EVERY TIME WE USED THE DARN PLAN. It became more of an irritant to us than a help.

AND we still paid money for appetizers, alcohol and gratuity, which couldn't be pre-paid anyhow. AND we paid extra gratuity for desserts we really didn't want but were semi-forced on us.

Ok. There's my rant on the DDP. Please let me know what value it is to you and tell me our experience was rare...because it was irritating.

To be honest, with the continuing price increase and reduction of items the plan isn't the value it once was. I understand your issues when you were dealing with the two rooms, and there really should have been one logical way to handle it at each place. I believe that it would have been fine for them to just put everything together and then swipe one card for each room to take off the meals. If your dad was charging the extras to the room, that should have been taken care of then as well. In my previous experiences with the plan, I was asked if I wanted to charge my extras to my resort. When I would say yes, the meal plan was taken care of as well as the charge. Then all I had to do was add my gratuity, sign, and be on my way.

 

[mickeysshoes]

We get the Deluxe plan and also have 2 rooms. Its very hard for me to understand why they can not combine the 2 rooms on one reservation there fore making all the meal credits on all the cards. Its a real pain to have to explain that i need 2 meals on this card and 2 on this card. Some of them understand and some did not. We still find value in the plan...we only had to pay the upgrade. We could never eat all the food and by the middle of the trip we just skip the dessert and only order 2 or 3 apps as to not run up the bill we have to tip on.

 

[JohnLocke]

When it's not "Free" DDP time, how does anyone save any money going with the regular DDP?

Our experience with it (free, two weeks ago) was iffy. Everyone on the boards raved about how nice it was to just hand over your card and everything was taken care of.

That is not how it worked on our trip. We had two rooms - therefore, we had 2 cards (well, 6 cards, as there were 3 adults per room), but nobody at Disney seemed to be on the same thought process. Half our restaurants said, "Just give me one card and I'll take it all off of that room - it's easier." Which it decidedly is. Then the other half needed both cards, came out with two bills, had to have two transactions (the bills were paid by my Dad - who didn't WANT two transactions) and the whole process was DUMB.

Who sends out a regular bill, then takes your credit card, then comes back with the bill, now having removed the "free" DDP items, leaving only the alcohol and appetizers, makes you do another room card transaction for your tip, then you sit and wait there for 15 minutes for them to come back...

Goodness gracious, that's how it was EVERY TIME WE USED THE DARN PLAN. It became more of an irritant to us than a help.

AND we still paid money for appetizers, alcohol and gratuity, which couldn't be pre-paid anyhow. AND we paid extra gratuity for desserts we really didn't want but were semi-forced on us.

Ok. There's my rant on the DDP. Please let me know what value it is to you and tell me our experience was rare...because it was irritating.

The plan's probably not as big a value as it once was, but I still find it to be really convenient and think it saves at least a little money. As someone who doesn't really like Credit or Debit cards and would rather use tangible money that I can have a better idea of how much I'm spending, the cards are great because almost everything is paid for upfront and we're generally only responsible for the tip at the end of the meal, which at around $20, isn't really a bad thing to have to worry about.

My family are also generally non-drinkers, only one of us is an occasional drinker and ordering a beer in a restaurant is not something that they do all the time and I don't think they've ever done so at Disney but if they have it's an even bigger rarity, so we don't have to worry about an extra charge for that. We also avoid the appetizers, except for an occasional one like the Cheddar Cheese Soup at Le Cellier, so we generally don't have any kind of problem with that either. With neither of those being much of a problem, it's nice to just lay down your card and pay the tip and not have to worry about anything else.

 

[Eyorefan]

Yeah, we do the DDP when my mom travels with us because she likes it (and we do eat at TS places a lot), but it drives me nuts.

Like you said, some places are better than others. We get drinks and apps that aren't on the plan and always pay cash for those because its easier. I just put the case in with the dinning card and wait for our change.

But like DisneyInsider said, with the price increase I don't think you save enough for it to be worth the hassle (unless its free of course).

 

[Master Yoda]

When it's not "Free" DDP time, how does anyone save any money going with the regular DDP?

Our experience with it (free, two weeks ago) was iffy. Everyone on the boards raved about how nice it was to just hand over your card and everything was taken care of.

That is not how it worked on our trip. We had two rooms - therefore, we had 2 cards (well, 6 cards, as there were 3 adults per room), but nobody at Disney seemed to be on the same thought process. Half our restaurants said, "Just give me one card and I'll take it all off of that room - it's easier." Which it decidedly is. Then the other half needed both cards, came out with two bills, had to have two transactions (the bills were paid by my Dad - who didn't WANT two transactions) and the whole process was DUMB.

Who sends out a regular bill, then takes your credit card, then comes back with the bill, now having removed the "free" DDP items, leaving only the alcohol and appetizers, makes you do another room card transaction for your tip, then you sit and wait there for 15 minutes for them to come back...

Goodness gracious, that's how it was EVERY TIME WE USED THE DARN PLAN. It became more of an irritant to us than a help.

AND we still paid money for appetizers, alcohol and gratuity, which couldn't be pre-paid anyhow. AND we paid extra gratuity for desserts we really didn't want but were semi-forced on us.

Ok. There's my rant on the DDP. Please let me know what value it is to you and tell me our experience was rare...because it was irritating.

You have just experienced the reality of the DDP vs. the Fantasy of the DDP. If all you do is compare food to dollars (the fantasy) the DDP works out great. As you can attest to the reality is much different. Deserts are all but forced on you and substitutions are not allowed. You are getting X, Y, and Z if you want it or not and paying a tip on it to boot. If you want something other than X, Y, and Z then you will be paying for that as well. When most people compare the price of the DDP to what they would actually order if they were paying, cash frequently wins out.

 

[amykissangel]

Phew!! Glad I'm not the only one - thanks for sharing your woes! With the plan being free, I KNOW we saved quite a bit, and it was of course a luxury for my brother to order a New York Strip at EVERY MEAL. (There one moment, gone the next...ah to be a 6'4, 24-year-old male garbage disposal...) We had upgraded from the free counter service plan to the regular plan for around $16 per person, per day. THAT makes sense.

But alas, I was disillusioned - love how MasterYoda put it - into thinking the "Fantasy" DDP was going to be THE BEST THING EVER! But if I want the cheddar cheese soup at Le Cellier and a glass of white zin, with no desire to have a dessert...it just got a little old.

And the waiting and waiting and waiting to get our dining cards back because of how confused the CMs were on how to use 2 room cards...OI!!! :lookaroun

 

[nolatron]

You have just experienced the reality of the DDP vs. the Fantasy of the DDP. If all you do is compare food to dollars (the fantasy) the DDP works out great. As you can attest to the reality is much different. Deserts are all but forced on you and substitutions are not allowed. You are getting X, Y, and Z if you want it or not and paying a tip on it to boot. If you want something other than X, Y, and Z then you will be paying for that as well. When most people compare the price of the DDP to what they would actually order if they were paying, cash frequently wins out.

I had the (paid for) DDP on my reservation because when I did my cost comparison, the DDP looked to save us about $150 or so cause of our nightly TS meals. Initially, this was great. Money saving = good... right?

Well, then I looked at the "reality" of it... that we would be ordering a lot more food than we typically do while on vacation. For example, we almost never order dessert and rarely an appetizer.

So after considering that fact I decided to remove the DDP from my reservation today and just pay out of pocket for our meals. This way we'll be able to order just what we want and exactly what we want. Plus, I won't have to hear the DW complain about all the food she's eating (or wasting) while on her never-ending diet.

 

[blackthidot]

I can't really see getting mad about something that was free, and that you KNEW you would get an entree and a dessert with your meal.

If you PAID for the DDP I could see it, and I can really see how it is not of value to a lot of people.

When it is free I eat $30-$35 steaks for free. I have no problems with that.

The whole room splitting thing IS annoying though. I will give you that.

 

[Master Yoda]

Phew!! Glad I'm not the only one - thanks for sharing your woes! With the plan being free, I KNOW we saved quite a bit, and it was of course a luxury for my brother to order a New York Strip at EVERY MEAL. (There one moment, gone the next...ah to be a 6'4, 24-year-old male garbage disposal...) We had upgraded from the free counter service plan to the regular plan for around $16 per person, per day. THAT makes sense.

But alas, I was disillusioned - love how MasterYoda put it - into thinking the "Fantasy" DDP was going to be THE BEST THING EVER! But if I want the cheddar cheese soup at Le Cellier and a glass of white zin, with no desire to have a dessert...it just got a little old.

And the waiting and waiting and waiting to get our dining cards back because of how confused the CMs were on how to use 2 room cards...OI!!! :lookaroun

The last time we had it we had three families total and we did not have too much of a problem but we had the CM separate the bill from the start. However, had we just let them do whatever they wanted it would have been a nightmare.

 

[Korfar]

I have never purchased the DP. I have had it free a few times and will again in a couple weeks. I don't think I would ever buy it. I will take it when it is free since there is a great savings then. When I do the math I would rather just eat mostly quick service if I am paying. The table service places are good and all and I enjoy them but they are not worth the prices they charge if I am paying out of pocket.

 

[Tomi-Rocket]

We've been very fortunate to get the free DP each time we visited. After the first visit I knew we'd never go without the DP. Last year we paid the difference to upgrade to the DDP. It was a lot of food. But for us our vacations are a chance to "live it up". When we normally go out to eat at home we rarely get apps or dessert so it's a chance to be a bit extravagant. Granted we spent quite a bit on tips last year and we learned for our next trip to eat at more CS and make our reservations farther apart. But I couldn't imagine having to also save money to eat on top of paying for the trip. It works for us because then the only money we have to worry about bringing is tip and souvenier money. I don't think I'd really want to do an entire trip of CS, that would get old probably by the second day.

 

[blackthidot]

Totally off subject - but when you started a post with the tittle "DDP"? I sort of expected horses to whiney in fright Think "Frau Bleuker"

I thought of Diamond Dallas Page...

Daaaaaaammmmmnnn pretty sweeeeeet autographs...

 

[Phonedave]

It is different for everyone.

I am another person it does not work for. Very often I am not, as MasterYoda put it, an X, Y, Z eater. Some days I am hungry, some I am not.

On top of that, it really does not work for me, because I for one do enjoy a drink with dinner, especially if it is dinner in a nice place. I also have an AP. So that means I have a TIW card.

The TIW card, combined with the 40% discount I get off the rack rate at the WL, make forgoing the 'free' dining this last August a no-brainer for me.

However, as I said, if it fits your EXISTING dining patterns, then it can be a good deal (PIA moments aside)

-dave

 

[blackthidot]

It is different for everyone.

I am another person it does not work for. Very often I am not, as MasterYoda put it, an X, Y, Z eater. Some days I am hungry, some I am not.

On top of that, it really does not work for me, because I for one do enjoy a drink with dinner, especially if it is dinner in a nice place. I also have an AP. So that means I have a TIW card.

The TIW card, combined with the 40% discount I get off the rack rate at the WL, make forgoing the 'free' dining this last August a no-brainer for me.

However, as I said, if it fits your EXISTING dining patterns, then it can be a good deal (PIA moments aside)

-dave

I agree...different strokes for different folks. I will "eat it up" all day when it is free. Paying for it is a different story. I would really have to sit down and do the math.

While we DO like the pricier 1 credit meals like Le Celier (Which is changing), Coral Reef, and Tutto Italia...We also love cheaper places like Sci-Fi, and 50's...so it would not seem worth it to buy it for us...Like I said when it is free I can't get mad at anything they do. If I pay for it then I would expect some sort of organization as far as being able to combine with another room and splitting checks at lunch/dinner.

If you buy it and don't eat at every place in WDW that has a $34 steak and $10 desserts then it's not worth it. It may be convenient to not have to worry about paying for your meals at the time but it will also make you order stuff JUST because it's more expensive so you feel you're getting all the bang out of your buck. Heck, it's free and I almost do that at most places we go. If they brought back the appetizer, and or just gratuity then it would hold some more value. Or even if they lowered it by $10.

That is my stroke.

 

[me_stitch]

what does two rooms have to do with anything, i thought each person had their own card and the meals were taken off for each person?

 

[blackthidot]

what does two rooms have to do with anything, i thought each person had their own card and the meals were taken off for each person?

Nope the meal credits are put on the rooms tab. Although each card does have access to "buy" meals, and snacks.

So if its you and and 2 kids and you split up from your kids and they go wild and buy all kinds of snacks and such it pulls from the room.

It makes sense why the do it this way. Think of how maddening it would be to be a server and have to take 4-8 different cards PER DINNER every day?