Yes, one does tend to save money when they get something for free.
I feel like we need to start putting a disclaimer on all DDP discussions that when some of us argue that the DDP is rarely "worth it," the "it" isn't time or effort or some other intangible thing. We're simply saying it's not "worth"
the price for those who are actually paying for it, compared with what they'd otherwise pay for their food out of pocket
. While your point about character meals is well taken as a 1-credit character meal is the "best" use of a TS credit (although it also inflates gratuity amounts and thus raises out of pocket expenses), the regular DDP wouldn't actually cover the 2-per-day you mention.