Are Canadians still doing the DDP?

[scrappinginontario]

I choose to use the DDP even if I have to pay for it (as opposed to traveling during FD).

I'm not convinced I save money but paying for it ahead of our visit is worth it to me. I watch spending every day of my life and the couple of visits that I went without the DDP I will say the 'stress' I put on myself looking at prices was not worth it. I would love to say that I would just order what I want knowing I will save money but I just don't do it. I'm the person at a QS location ordering what I don't mind because it's $3 less than what I really want. I live like this every day of my life so the DDP allows me to truly be on vacation and pay for it in advance.

I know many will not understand or agree but this is what works for me after visiting Disney both with and without the dining plan. With the plan is far less stressful for me so for me it's worth the price of it.

Going on a surprise trip 4 weeks from today and have the QSDP booked for the first time. It's just a quick 5 day trip so I think this dining plan will be perfect as we're mainly going to water parks and the only time we're in an actual park is for MNSSHP.

 

[ellbell]

I choose to use the DDP even if I have to pay for it (as opposed to traveling during FD).

I'm not convinced I save money but paying for it ahead of our visit is worth it to me. I watch spending every day of my life and the couple of visits that I went without the DDP I will say the 'stress' I put on myself looking at prices was not worth it. I would love to say that I would just order what I want knowing I will save money but I just don't do it. I'm the person at a QS location ordering what I don't mind because it's $3 less than what I really want. I live like this every day of my life so the DDP allows me to truly be on vacation and pay for it in advance.

I know many will not understand or agree but this is what works for me after visiting Disney both with and without the dining plan. With the plan is far less stressful for me so for me it's worth the price of it.

Going on a surprise trip 4 weeks from today and have the QSDP booked for the first time. It's just a quick 5 day trip so I think this dining plan will be perfect as we're mainly going to water parks and the only time we're in an actual park is for MNSSHP.

I'm the same way. I've heard the buy gift cards in advance arguement side of it many times. This also doesn't work for me because I'd still watch prices and stress over cost. If I get the dining plan every time then it's rolled into the cost of the vacation and I don't have to even consider it once I'm there.

 

[AdamsMum]

I watch spending every day of my life and the couple of visits that I went without the DDP I will say the 'stress' I put on myself looking at prices was not worth it. I would love to say that I would just order what I want knowing I will save money but I just don't do it. I'm the person at a QS location ordering what I don't mind because it's $3 less than what I really want. I live like this every day of my life so the DDP allows me to truly be on vacation and pay for it in advance.

I'm with you there, as a single mum whose kids have finally graduated from university, I've been watching money this way for years. I have DVC points which I negotiated in my separation agreement, so there's no free dining for me. I use the quick service dining plan, so I don't have to be worried about what I'm spending. I would order the cheapest acceptable thing on the menu, just to save a couple of dollars. Paying in advance really helps me enjoy my vacation.

 

[Kerrilyn]

We have received "free" QSDP when we have gone in the past. I know technically it isn't actually free... After discussing it with my DH, I think we would probably have paid for it the first time because it just felt like it added to the "magic" of the first trip. We are considering staying at a DVC resort next year and when we look at the actual numbers for the DDP, I think we might be better off getting a prepaid USD cc, loading it up and using that. We have always been more than satisfied with QS but we have also done some character meals which leave us with extra credits. I do find that my DH and kids eat more when we are at Disney. I think it's the combination of the novelty of the place and the fact that they have come to believe that vacation=dessert after lunch and supper, which is something we never do at home... We really have to crunch the numbers before pulling the trigger on the DDP.

 

[KCMA]

The last two trips we have used the dinning plan.. the first time was our first time using it and made the rookie mistake of not using some credits early in our trip for fear of running out.. well the last couple days of our trip we tried our best to use up all of credits and ended up bringing home a lot of candy and Disney PEZ dispensers to use up snack credits.. our second trip we had learned from the first time and used credits all the time and still had a ton of snack credits left... for our upcoming trip in September we have opted to pay out of pocket for the these two main reasons 1. We are driving and it will be easier to bring food/snack and stock up on fresh food before we check in. 2. None of of us are huge eaters and always felt obligated to get bigger /more exspenive meals that we didn’t necessarily want ..some times my wife and I would only want to split a plate of nachos or have a couple apps.. we have done the cost estimates and we seem to think this will be better suited for us.. we have also been stocking up on Disney gift cards anytime we are in the U.S to use for dining

 

[isabellea]

We've done both. When we went in 2015, my youngest was turning 3 yo while at WDW so we had the DDP and did a ton of character meals. That trip, it was really worth it since we were not paying for our 2yo at check-in! We also went multiple times without the dining plan and while it was cheaper, DH had sticker shock every time we got the receipt. IF we go this year at New Year (booked but DH is on the fence because he would prefer we don't go to the USA until November 2020 -- we will take a definite decision in November), I am planning on getting the DDP one last time since my oldest will be 9 yo and we are planning lots of TS meals to take breaks from the very crowded parks. Not planning on saving much money but the trip will be more enjoyable if DH is not grumpy after seeing the receipt after each meal...