# Deluxe DDP question



## twinmommy19 (Aug 31, 2016)

I have a question for Disney owners.  All the blog sites seem to indicate that you can now use dining credits to pay for some else's meal at a restaurant.  Am I missing something because I find it shocking (if this is true and there aren't massive limitations) that all the blog experts glossed over this supposed 2015 change.  That is huge for the deluxe plan isn't it?

It's not a big perk on the standard plan. Doesn't save money really.  However, for a family with toddlers under 3 like ours traveling with grandparents who take a separate room, for example, taking the deluxe plan on only one of the 2 rooms would figure to be a bargain considering those meals include appetizers.  Dinner alone for the 4 adults at most table service restaurants would cover the daily cost of the plan and that would leave 2 credit to roll to the next day to go to a signature restaurant.  Not to mention the snacks.  What restrictions am I missing?  I know there must be something.


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## DisneyDenis (Aug 31, 2016)

twinmommy19 said:


> I have a question for Disney owners.  All the blog sites seem to indicate that you can now use dining credits to pay for some else's meal at a restaurant.  Am I missing something because I find it shocking (if this is true and there aren't massive limitations) that all the blog experts glossed over this supposed 2015 change.  That is huge for the deluxe plan isn't it?
> 
> It's not a big perk on the standard plan. Doesn't save money really.  However, for a family with toddlers under 3 like ours traveling with grandparents who take a separate room, for example, taking the deluxe plan on only one of the 2 rooms would figure to be a bargain considering those meals include appetizers.  Dinner alone for the 4 adults at most table service restaurants would cover the daily cost of the plan and that would leave 2 credit to roll to the next day to go to a signature restaurant.  Not to mention the snacks.  What restrictions am I missing?  I know there must be something.


Don't think there were any changes about coverage of others not in your room. If you have 2 reservations for 2 rooms, then doing only one reservation on DDP would work as you described. Best to use for only Table Serve meals and Best to not use for Breakfast. 

If your children are under 3, then you don't have to pay for them. 

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## bendadin (Aug 31, 2016)

I don't think that you actually get anything for kids under 3 and they are more of a eat off a parent's plate sort of thing. 

I bought one day of QS just to test the waters. We had one child in our group and all credits were lumped together($188.) I think that I came out ahead because it was only one day. From the start I had planned to convert our QS to snack since you get 3 snack for every QS. That would have given us 35 snack credits to share. We ended up having lunch at BOG so we used 4 QS for that.  The OOP price on that lunch would have been over $100. My refillable mug price was $95. In addition to that, the kids had: 7 chocolate croissants, 3 Dole Whips, 8 ice creams at Amble Hills Creamery, 1 cupcake, and 3 desserts from Starring Rolls.

For us, THAT was a lot of food and the DDP would even be more food.


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## DisneyDenis (Aug 31, 2016)

Continuing... Normally Signature Restaurants are not a good use of DDP dining credits. However, you will have 6 meal credits a day for 2, but actually 4 seating at meals. I would do 8 credits a day...skipping breakfast, just doing lunch and dinner. Skip Signatures unless paying out of pocket. Prices there are never twice a regular restaurant. You might run out of credits before you leave, but you will not waste any credits. One of the biggest problems with DDP is that people can't eat all that you will get. I did the DDP once and was constantly throwing out fabulous leftovers day after day.


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## twinmommy19 (Sep 1, 2016)

Thanks!  

I'm not sure we'd want to sit down more than once a day too often.  We have 2 year old twins.  Maybe we will do a character brunch but that would be it. 

I agree with you that the signature restaurants are often not a great deal, but they seem to be less of a bad deal on the deluxe plan because you get the appetizer too.   Since we will use only 4 of 6 credits most days, We'll have some left over.

My dilemma is not knowing which Disney springs restaurants will be on the plan in 2017. If we stay at Saratoga and STK is on there again I'd be happy to use 2 credits pp to go there one night.  

In any case - would only have to spend $52 pp per day to break even on the plan.   When you get an appetizer at the sit down meals that's almost automatic for a dinner meal in Disney isn't it for app, main and dessert?


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## paxsarah (Sep 1, 2016)

twinmommy19 said:


> In any case - would only have to spend $52 pp per day to break even on the plan.   When you get an appetizer at the sit down meals that's almost automatic for a dinner meal in Disney isn't it for app, main and dessert?



I guess this is my view on any dining plan. Could you get at least $52 per adult of food per day under this scenario? For sure. If the meal plan weren't in the picture, would each adult naturally choose meals that add up to at least $52? That's going to be a different answer for each family, and then the added question of whether you care is another question/answer.

For instance, I could easily go to the Wave and order $52 in app, entree, and dessert, but if I weren't on the dining plan I might order an $8.50 salad and $14.50 crabcake app and call it dinner, because that's what my appetite wants that day. Some people are glad just to have their meals paid for in advance to save themselves some hassle, and don't care whether their meal choices add up to the amount they spent on the plan. Me, if I know I only feel like eating $25 of food but it would take $52 to "get my money's worth," that would be an episode of cognitive dissonance that I don't want to experience while on vacation. So in that sense, it really comes down to your family's eating habits and whether you care to eke every dollar of value out of your dining plan purchase.


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## elaine (Sep 1, 2016)

If paying OOP, I would get water to drink, split an app or salad with DH, each get an entrée and no dessert. DDP is rarely worth it for us for a whole week. But, in OP's case, 3 meals a day on the DX DP, which can be pooled for other adults might be worth it. Even 1 entree @ $25, plus app, plus a $12 counter service just about nets out, and most of your entrees are likely to be over $25. 
But, if you didn't get the DP, would you eat out every night with 2 yr olds? I know I wouldn't. When we stay in a 1BR+, we make simple meals a few nights, or just eat counter service in the parks.
We are in the opposite boat, with kids over 9 who count as adults. Regular DP for 4 adults is over $250 a day--definitely no worth it, IMHO.


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## rfc0001 (Sep 1, 2016)

I'm not sure if it's official now, but I have done this with DDP Deluxe before about 4-5 years now.  Servers only see the number of credits remaining, so don't know or care how you use them as long as you have enough.


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## bendadin (Sep 4, 2016)

We just went to BOG for dinner with TIW. They allow you much more flexibility when you are OOP. We bought apps for 3, 1 adult entree and 4 filet mignon kids' meals, and 3 desserts for $118 including the 18% tip.


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## twinmommy19 (Nov 30, 2016)

Late continuation on this chain - yes, we like to go out to a restaurant for dinner every night with our toddlers when on vacation.  It's a matter of preference I guess - for us, we find it much more enjoyable to go to kid friendly places that will serve and clean up after us rather than cooking / cleaning up our unit after eating dinner in.  We don't like to eat fast food so counter type meals don't work well for us either. Of course, my parents are coming along so having a 4 to 2 adult to child ratio definitely helps!   So we spent the $1,442 and purchased this plan for 2.

The reservations we have set so far are as follows:

1) Dinner at Turf Club Grill or T-REX (Arrival Night - we are staying at SSR)
2) Dinner at Chef Mickeys
3) Dinner at Teppan Edo
4) Fantasmic Seasonal Character Dinner Package - Hollywood & Vine
5) Dinner at California Grill (to watch fireworks) 
6) Dinner at Portobello Italian (Disney Springs) 
7) Dinner at either Boathouse or STK (Disney Springs - we are staying at SSR)

We'll still have 6 dining credits to use for lunches.   We'll probably sit down for lunch a couple times using 1-2 credits each time at places like Rain Forest Café where I can get the kids Smoothies with the beverage credits.  2 appetizers and 2 mains will be more than enough food for lunch.  For our situation, I can't see any way we wouldn't come out ahead of what we would have spent on meals even is someone chooses to order the cheapest options on the menu a couple times (well okay, if my dad decides he wants a hamburger at Boathouse, then I admit, we'll pay out of pocket for that for sure!)  But we certainly won't be following the blog spot advice on maximizing DP by roaming the parks looking for some Dole ice float or the most expensive snacks on premise just to break even.   I'd never take the plan if that's what I needed to do to eat my money's worth.  We'll use the snacks on Cappucinos at Star Bucks and whatever the kids want.  That was the point I was making - if your family is taking more than one room, the DDP can actually save money for real yet there are no blogs about this - but a zillion of them about ordering those Doles floats to maximize value on the other plans.  I find it surprising.


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## sui (Dec 6, 2016)

I just came back from Disney last Saturday. We stayed at Lakeshore Reserve, so we were not able to purchase the DP. From my experience this time, We will stay on site and purchase the DP for sure for all my future visits.

Here are some of the restaurants that we went to (tips not included)

Akershus, $100+ for 1 adult + 1 kid credit
Crystal Palace, $80 for 1 adult + 1 kid credit
Cinderella's royal table, $100+ for 2 adult + 2 kid credits ( this is my daughter's favorite, we dined here twice, strongly recommend for little girls).
Hollywood Derbyn $100+ for 4 adult + 2 kid credits ( Quality is good, but quantity is limited, I had to order 2 entrees to feel full).
Le celluer $100 + for 2 adult + 2 kid credits

My daughter got multiple ice creams + popcorn + cotton candy each day, which could be covered with the DP (I'm paying everything OOP, so I could be wrong. But that's my understanding from Disney website).

Also, we paid for many dessert parties, the fireworks cruise is worth it. The Christmas parade and fireworks party is soso because you would miss the shows in front of the castle. The afternoon ferryboat parade party is a big no, I wouldn't go even if they pay me. You view the parade on the boat from a distance with blocked views ( b/c of trees), and you have to stand there all the time. With the time spent for check in and waiting in boat, you could easily save yourself a spot on the curb with much better views.

So the next time we'll get the DP, and if the credits could be shared, we'll do exactly as the OP planed if my parents decide to join us.  
Please keep us updated regarding the sharing of credits after your visit.


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## icydog (Jan 23, 2017)

bendadin said:


> I don't think that you actually get anything for kids under 3 and they are more of a eat off a parent's plate sort of thing.
> 
> I bought one day of QS just to test the waters. We had one child in our group and all credits were lumped together($188.) I think that I came out ahead because it was only one day. From the start I had planned to convert our QS to snack since you get 3 snack for every QS. That would have given us 35 snack credits to share. We ended up having lunch at BOG so we used 4 QS for that.  The OOP price on that lunch would have been over $100. My refillable mug price was $95. In addition to that, the kids had: 7 chocolate croissants, 3 Dole Whips, 8 ice creams at Amble Hills Creamery, 1 cupcake, and 3 desserts from Starring Rolls.
> 
> For us, THAT was a lot of food and the DDP would even be more food.



I learned something today. That must be a new thing or I never checked.  I didn't know you can trade 3 snacks for one quick service meal! That's quite a coup!  It looks like your kids, and you of course, had a blast eating all those fun things.  However, I am sure you wouldn't do this if you were there for a week!


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## bendadin (Jan 23, 2017)

icydog said:


> I learned something today. That must be a new thing or I never checked.  I didn't know you can trade 3 snacks for one quick service meal! That's quite a coup!  It looks like your kids, and you of course, had a blast eating all those fun things.  However, I am sure you wouldn't do this if you were there for a week!



No, we just tried it the one day. I do have a free dining promotion booked for September. I have no idea how to plan meals for 11 nights. That is A LOT of food. But seeing that the room cost $220/night and the meal plan they gave us is worth at least $330, we'll give it a try. I'm definitely nervouse about POR. One room for 5 people and no washer. Yikes!


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## icydog (Jan 23, 2017)

bendadin said:


> No, we just tried it the one day. I do have a free dining promotion booked for September. I have no idea how to plan meals for 11 nights. That is A LOT of food. But seeing that the room cost $220/night and the meal plan they gave us is worth at least $330, we'll give it a try. I'm definitely nervouse about POR. One room for 5 people and no washer. Yikes!




I couldn't do it.  More power to you for trying it.


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## elaine (Jan 23, 2017)

we are also doing free DDP with 4 (or maybe 5) at POR. Like PP, too good to pass up. Room with tax is $260, with 5 persons free dining everyday. We usually take in sandwiches and "ration" to one special dinner for the family for a week-long visit, with quick service or eating in the condo for other meals. This trip will be every night at a special restaurant for the whole family.
icydog, it's trade 1 QS for 3 snacks but not the other way. Also, at many places, you can trade the table service dessert for a soup or salad.


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## MelissaI (Jan 24, 2017)

Also, if you have your refillable mug with you while eating at the QS at the resort, you can trade the drink you are entitled to with the meal for a snack item.  We would do this and get an item, like a muffin, to have for breakfast the next day.


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## bendadin (Jan 24, 2017)

MelissaI said:


> Also, if you have your refillable mug with you while eating at the QS at the resort, you can trade the drink you are entitled to with the meal for a snack item.  We would do this and get an item, like a muffin, to have for breakfast the next day.



So we don't ever order anything except ice water, so we can exchange the drink for a snack item? Wow!


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## MelissaI (Jan 24, 2017)

bendadin said:


> So we don't ever order anything except ice water, so we can exchange the drink for a snack item? Wow!



Yup. We had tons of food and we only did the QS dining plan.  I wouldn't do it again.  It was so much food, and we couldn't eat it all.


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## twinmommy19 (Mar 6, 2017)

Hi everyone -

I wanted to follow up on with a report now that we've returned from our amazing trip.  Let me start by saying that I cannot imagine the Deluxe Dining Plan not offering great value to anyone in the following situation:  1) you are confirming more than one room (a party reserving 3 rooms that takes this plan on one room only would get even better value than we did) at a Disney Resort AND 2) you do not plan to / want to rent a car AND 3) you do not plan to go out of your way to return to your room to cook or order pizza for most of your meals.  

If you are in this situation, this plan offers great value - period.  And yes, we bought the AP so I say this even with the anniversary discounts (more on this later).  Note that in terms of maximizing monetary value - we didn't attempt to do this and, in fact, did the extreme opposite (as it turned out we had no desire to sit down twice a day for meals with my little ones.)   So what I'm saying is that we did the exact opposite of what all those blogs say to do to make "best use of the DDP" and still saved a lot of money. Our party was 4 adults and 2 children under 3 - staying in 2 one bedroom units at SSR.  We took the plan for 1 room with 2 adults which gave us 42 meal credits.  On average, our bills came out to around $300 per night after the AP discounts were applied (so total of $2,100.)  We did not go out of our way to "maximize" the snack credits either (should be noted though that at Flower and Garden Festival there are many good "real food" choices on the plan that cost $7-$8 at Epcot - we did that once because we happened to be there.)  We used most of the snack credits at Star Bucks and $6 Mickey Pretzels with cheese.   I'll round down and say each of our 28 snack credits were worth an average of $5 for a total of $150.   Combined that's $2,250 (we used the refillable mugs several times by the pool and for coffee in the morning but I'll render those worthless for the purpose of this post) - we paid $1,442 for the plan.  Here's where we ate - all dinners:

1) Yachtsman Steakhouse - If I could do it again, I would not return here.  This was our worst meal - service very slow and a pain to walk there from Epcot on our first night.  The shrimp cocktail apps were the best thing we had there.  We're not big dessert eaters - this restaurant allowed us to substitute our desserts for any soup, side or salad we wanted which was a nice perk, I suppose.  Our bill here came out to close to $400 dollars so not terrible "value" for the 2 credits.  But the steak and lobster were just average though and none of the sides were great in our opinion.  I would pretty much choose any restaurant in Disney Springs over this place if staying at Saratoga.

2) Chef Mickeys - Sadly, my kids weren't as in to the characters this trip.  You don't go to buffets like this for the food.  For a buffet - it was okay.  We canceled our Hollywood and Vine reservation in favor of another meal at Disney Springs after this. 

3) Boathouse - We ended up eating here twice.  The first time was amazing - second time was still good but wouldn't go twice again. On the deluxe plan, you can order any appetizer here that you want including the raw bar and specials.  The dessert could be substituted for lobster bisque soup which most of us did.  Bill here was similar to the bill at Yachtsman the first time we went (mainly because most of us ordered the lobster.)  There are a lot of really good choices here though that are inexpensive - (the lobster roll sandwich looked fantastic and so was the burger.)  We went here our last night with 6 credits left over - paid for the burger out of pocket.  The AP discount here was excellent value.  I'm not sure if it was an accident but both times the discount was taken on both the wine and the gratuity. 

4) California Grill - Best meal by far.  This place is awesome - a must do on the deluxe if you like sushi.  All the sushi appetizers are $26-$28 and well worth it.  Steak was fabulous.  Here the alternative to dessert was Caesar salad which was also terrific.  Another bill close to $400.

5) Paradiso 37 - I can't say enough about the convenience of eating at Disney Springs when staying at SSR.  After this meal we rearranged the rest of our plans to eat at Disney Springs the rest of our nights including a return to Boathouse.  We stayed in the Grandstand section which was about a 7 minute walk to the House of Blues end of the Springs with a double stroller.  We loved everything about Disney Springs.   The Surf and Turf was very good at this restaurant.  It's the only steak option that doesn't require a $7 surcharge on the meal plan - skirt steak and shrimp.  The appetizers here were good - guacamole excellent, shrimp ceviche very good too.  Quesadillas were expensive, but just okay.  This restaurant did not have a substitute option for dessert, but we actually loved the desserts here.  The mini ice-cream cones were great for the kids - 4 regular cones with one scoop of different flavors.  Churros were amazing (and normally I don't like dessert but this was a treat.)  Bill here was $280 I think - we ordered 2 $7 kids meals though.  Good value overall for 1 credit meal.

6) Portobello - We are New Yorkers.  Hated Mama Melrose last trip.  Went in with low expectations on Italian food but this place delivered.  Loved it.  Excellent bread and olive oil dipping.  Dessert can be substituted for any soup or salad.  The salad with chopped salami and cheese was fantastic.  Appetizers very good.  Steak was very good and pasta dish with shrimp was decent.  Pizza was the only disappointment.  Ordered one for the kids out of pocket since you couldn't use an appetizer credit for it.  Meal was $275 (including the $12 pizza and glass of wine) after the AP discount.

7) Boathouse - Return trip - worst monetary value since we only got 3 of 4 meals included this time using our last 6 credits.  Canceled our T-Rex reservation as we could only get 4:15 and decided this was too early to eat on our last day.  Probably should have gone to House of Blues instead - it smelled delicious.  Could have used the last 2 credits at a counter service place in Epcot instead for similar "value".

Some final notes:

1) SSR is a vastly underrated resort with little kids (particularly staying in the Grandstand section - first bus stop so guaranteed a seat in the morning.)  Outside the monorail choices, this would easily be my first choice of the Disney properties with young children.  Toddlers don't last all day in the parks.  Ability to walk to Disney Springs for dinner is a massive perk - the Boats require you to pack up a stroller. 

2) At SSR, loved being in the 8600 building - right near the bus stop (first on and off) - and the closest location to the lobby (even most of the Springs buildings require crossing a main road.)  Also a few feet from a nice pool area with a splash play are.  The other pools were more elaborate with slides, etc. but for toddlers in particular the Grandstand pool is perfect.  Didn't need to bring the diaper bag or stroller down that's how close it was to our room.

3) Disney Springs is fantastic and the walk over there is so easy and beautiful from SSR.   So much to do for the kids too - Train, Merry Go Round, Bowling, Movies, T-Rex Sand Digging area, Build a Dino, live DJ dance areas for the kids at night.  Great stores.  Toy Store with make your own themed Mr. Potato (Buzz, Star Wars, etc.)  Tons of kid friendly restaurants all on the meal plan. 

4) Previously we've stayed at Marriott resorts in Disney.  While the space is better, the bus drop off at the MK is much more convenient than taking a car there and taking a tram to a monorail to get into the park.  The buses were easy as long as it wasn't late at night when it was crowded.   After the first time, we opted for a $14 Uber from the Contemporary after dinner there. Walking to Disney Springs at night made this trip extremely convenient for us along with not having to retrieve luggage.  Would do this again for sure.

Hope this commentary is helpful!


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## twinmommy19 (Mar 6, 2017)

Final note - we're not super into specialty drinks (I prefer Club Soda) but most of the Disney Springs restaurants had these available on the DDP.  Portobello had a bunch of choices.  We tried one - honey lemonade - was pretty good since my mom only wanted water.  Since we ordered dessert at Paradiso 37 - ordered a few Cappuccinos there.  These were probably the only things we wouldn't have ordered if we hadn't been on the plan.


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## bnoble (Mar 6, 2017)

The key to making this work: 



twinmommy19 said:


> you are confirming more than one room



You are essentially buying a partial meal plan for your party. If you don't have to have it for every member of the party and for every day, you can use it only on the most expensive places, and then it is a lot easier to make this work.


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## elaine (Mar 6, 2017)

Oops


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## elaine (Mar 6, 2017)

multiple posts


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## elaine (Mar 6, 2017)

We are doing this in dec with regular ddp for 4 to cover 6 persons. Will be $300 more than I would  have spent, but we will get 32 snacks, 10 additional counter service and 2 sit down meals. No packing pbj and teens can get what they want for the week with 32 snacks!


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