DDP Tips Needed

[Roy Disney]

This will be our first time using the DDP when we go in January.

I'm looking for any tips I can use with the DDP.
For example, when I added the DDP today, the Cast member told me for a TS meal if you ask the waiter or waitress most of the time they will let you swap dessert for an appetizer.

Another one is getting 3 snacks for a QS.

Anyone have any others ?

 

[supersnoop]

For example, when I added the DDP today, the Cast member told me for a TS meal if you ask the waiter or waitress most of the time they will let you swap dessert for an appetizer.

They lied. You might be able to swap the dessert for a soup or side-salad, but you'll never get an appetizer. Never.

 

[MrInfinity]

Tips? Hm. Split meals. Many QS meals make a comfortable bite for 2. Or buying 2 feeds 3 type of thing. Over the course of a trip, this can get an entire extra meal. Look for the expensive restaurants and character meals and enjoy places you wouldn't normally eat. Have a blast, don't hesitate to order the steak, lamb, or other expensive entree. If you do want to order something cheap because that's what you're in the mood for, just pay cash for it and save your "point" for somewhere that you want something more expensive. In other words, don't spend a point if you order a salad. If one of you orders the steak a lot and one of you orders a salad, then pay cash for the salad and use a point for the steak. Then, share the soda and dessert that you get w the point-meal and you won't be overloaded having got 2 sodas and 2 desserts that you won't want. This will stretch your points to 2x the meals while paying cash for less expensive entrees. Pay cash for your breakfasts which tend to be cheaper, pay with points for dinners or character meals that are expensive. Hit up the dinner show-type events that cost more, like Akershus or the Biergarten. Anything with entertainment costs more out of pocket and therefore is a better use of a point. There are tons of tips out there... Just read up!

 

[DisBuckMan]

For example, when I added the DDP today, the Cast member told me for a TS meal if you ask the waiter or waitress most of the time they will let you swap dessert for an appetizer.

Agree with supersnoop above. It's a very, very rare occurrence that a TS restaurant will allow you to swap a dessert for an appetizer...just hardly ever happens. Like with anything, there are RARE exceptions, and I'm sure someone will be along shortly to respond how they were able to do it at X restaurant, but it just doesn't happen often at all.

As I've said numerous times on this board....Phone cast members are some of the worst sources for correct information. Most are at a call center somewhere other than Orlando, and many have probably never even been to WDW.

 

[sharonabe]

I added the DDP today

Please make sure you have ADRs to cover all the meals you're entitled to. You don't want to have credits left over at the end of your stay as that would be throwing money away.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If your use of the DDP is contingent on swapping desserts out, it will be a bad fit.

 

[Nancyg56]

This will be our first time using the DDP when we go in January.

I'm looking for any tips I can use with the DDP.
For example, when I added the DDP today, the Cast member told me for a TS meal if you ask the waiter or waitress most of the time they will let you swap dessert for an appetizer.

Another one is getting 3 snacks for a QS.

Anyone have any others ?

I like the DDP and use it frequently. I think that if you are already planning ahead to use extra credits for snacks, and are hoping to swap the dessert for an appetizer, this plan is probably not for you. Using the plan as a convenience is fine IMO, we do this as well. However, we know going in about what our meals will add up to because I have already made ADR's and know my family ordering preference and dining style.

For instance, we like dessert with dinner, and we always order some sort of soft beverage at some point during the meal. We include water, but some of us have coffee with dessert, and others have a soft beverage with the meal.

We also choose our CS restaurants ahead, for the most part, and will often share a meal. It stretches them, but we just do not want to finish the entire portion at lunch or breakfast, so this works for us.

It sounds to me like you were on the fence about the value of the plan, and the CM sold you on it. I suggest looking at your meals booked, cost out what you believe your family would order. Then look at how you dine in regards to CS meals. If you are not going to want all of the components on the plan, you may want to rethink the value. I think the reason so many people who have purchased any dining plan are opposed to them now is because instead of having the plan work in conjunction with the family dining habits and preferences, they felt forced to make their preferences work to fit the plan. That may be okay for a day or so, but that gets old very fast.

 

[Roy Disney]

Not at all on fence about plan. It's only $60 per person per day. It would cost us more not to be on the plan.
We are doing a lot of character buffets.
We already have all our ADR's booked.

I think we're going to have some extra QS meals because 3 of the days we have ADR's for BF and Dinner at TS restaurants.
Just planning on how to use the extra meals.

 

[supersnoop]

Not at all on fence about plan. It's only $60 per person per day. It would cost us more not to be on the plan.
We are doing a lot of character buffets.
We already have all our ADR's booked.

I think we're going to have some extra QS meals because 3 of the days we have ADR's for BF and Dinner at TS restaurants.
Just planning on how to use the extra meals.

It's exceeding unlikely that you'd spent more without the plan, especially if you expect to have some QS credits left over. It sounds like you'll be paying out of pocket for meals that won't be covered by the plan.

www.distripplanner.com is a great resource to estimate your plan costs.

The plan provides value when you have children and eat the way the plan dictates. It doesn't sound like either apply to you.

 

[sharonabe]

It's only $60 per person per day.

The actual cost is $67.33 per adult per NIGHT of your stay. Make sure you know how many credits you actually have.

 

[Roy Disney]

The actual cost is $67.33 per adult per NIGHT of your stay. Make sure you know how many credits you actually have.

The cost is $60. Im going during slow period when discounts are offered.

 

[Nancyg56]

The cost is $60. Im going during slow period when discounts are offered.

I don't doubt you, but when are you going?

 

[Roy Disney]

January 2017
Play, stay and Dine package

 

[Nancyg56]

Not at all on fence about plan. It's only $60 per person per day. It would cost us more not to be on the plan.
We are doing a lot of character buffets.
We already have all our ADR's booked.

I think we're going to have some extra QS meals because 3 of the days we have ADR's for BF and Dinner at TS restaurants.
Just planning on how to use the extra meals.

Okay, the plan covers each night, not each day. As was pointed out earlier, just be sure you know how many credits you have.

You would get one CS per night, so if you did not use it, you can sometimes swap for snacks. There is a thread someplace here that discusses it. I do nto think you can get the snacks individually. They must be swapped all at once.

 

[Roy Disney]

Okay, the plan covers each night, not each day. As was pointed out earlier, just be sure you know how many credits you have.

You would get one CS per night, so if you did not use it, you can sometimes swap for snacks. There is a thread someplace here that discusses it. I do nto think you can get the snacks individually. They must be swapped all at once.

We get 1 QS, 1 TS and 2 snacks per person per day. So, for 7 nights we get 28 Qs, 28 TS and 56 snacks.
I plan on swapping a few QS for snacks. Supposedly you get 3 snacks for 1 QS.

Thanks.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The snacks must be swapped in a single transaction.

 

[supersnoop]

We get 1 QS, 1 TS and 2 snacks per person per day. So, for 7 nights we get 28 Qs, 28 TS and 56 snacks.
I plan on swapping a few QS for snacks. Supposedly you get 3 snacks for 1 QS.

Thanks.

There's some doubt that you'll get three snacks per QS in 2017. They removed the dessert and added a snack credit, so the QS might only be worth 2 snacks.

 

[sharonabe]

The cost is $60. Im going during slow period when discounts are offered.

Play, stay and Dine package

You did get a discount; regular price for 2017 is what I quoted above for anyone seeing this thread at a later date.

 

[Nancyg56]

We get 1 QS, 1 TS and 2 snacks per person per day. So, for 7 nights we get 28 Qs, 28 TS and 56 snacks.
I plan on swapping a few QS for snacks. Supposedly you get 3 snacks for 1 QS.

Thanks.

We have done this, but just be advised that this is not an option everywhere. It does happen, and it is nice if you cannot use the credit for a meal, but you should plan ahead to be sure you can swap where you want.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

It's exceeding unlikely that you'd spent more without the plan, especially if you expect to have some QS credits left over. It sounds like you'll be paying out of pocket for meals that won't be covered by the plan.

www.distripplanner.com is a great resource to estimate your plan costs.

The plan provides value when you have children and eat the way the plan dictates. It doesn't sound like either apply to you.

Actually, that is a terrible source to estimate plan costs. I've used it quite a few times, after calculating it out on paper. I never save money with the plan, on that site.
But if I look at my numbers on paper, I can save.

I don't know if the site hasn't been updated with current prices or if it uses the cheapest meal at each restaurant or if the site simply is designed to show that the dining plan doesn't save money. Whatever it is, I have found that calculating the actual cost of meals vs. the actual cost of the plan is the best way to see if it saves money or not.