Some interesting responses. Just based on the few responses, I am a little surprised to not see a lot of "LOVE" for the DDP. I have used the plan several times and found it convenient. Part of the fun was doing all the pre-planning prior to the trip and the DDP creates another fun thing to take into account. This response by Jiminycr caught my eye:
DDP buyers get to make all ADR's for their entire length of trip on 65th day. Gives them slight advantage for bookings & Refillable mugs, able to be used anywhere.
I like both of these ideas. I hope to see the plan return but with some additional fun features.
As has been discussed here quite a bit the DDP is terrible for a number of reasons:
1) Few people save money on it and it forces people to eat way more than they probably want to.
2) It has made table service restaurants impossible to get into unless you know what you want for dinner six months in advance.
3) It has driven up menu prices across the board, as a way to make DDP people feel like they are getting a decent deal.
4) DDP buyers are locked into getting the most expensive entree. If they just want a salad or to skip a meal, they lose money.
5) It has allowed Disney to homogenize menus, ingredients, sourcing and all other elements of various restaurant experiences to maximize their profit.
6) Similar with #5, they are not incentivized to put high-quality or interesting items on the menus, as people are pre-paying a fixed price and have to take what they are offered.
tl;dr Those of us paying cash are left with an inferior meal because 70% of the people at the restaurant wanted the "convenience" of pre-paying, when in reality they are just getting (in most cases) mass-produced banquet food at a high-markup to make people them think they are getting a good deal.
