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Post by mcd on May 15, 2023 12:20:45 GMT -5
So I was thinking about this topic as we have seen the return of DDP announced. I have used DDP 2-3 times on trips and stopped a few years ago as I felt like we weren't really seeing the value as a family of 6 based on our trip and dining habits. So to help me and any other number crunching nerds  with their analysis of DDP value, I was hoping to get some opinions and experience from others on what you think the best bang for you buck table service is and what you think are the best dining experiences regardless of price on property and available with the DDP (making it a great reservation to make under the DDP). BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK: As I just posted on BWV Dreamin's thread, I think Via Napoli is a great option for table service at a low price. That is assuming everybody in your group like's pizza. The larger the group, the better the pricing per person. This is my wife's favorite table service restaurant. I feel like we get out of there for less than $25 per person with dessert after our DVC discount. BEST DINING EXPERIENCE REGARDLESS (and ideal for DDP utilization): I am a terrible source for this one as I have 4 kids, and we don't usually eat at expensive table service locales. For a family with young kids, I would put Chef Mickey's and Cinderella's Royal Table on this list. Not because the food is outstanding, but because of the overall experience for a family with younger kids. Chef Mickey's is so overpriced for the food offered, so I might feel more inclined to book a meal there if I had DDP. I know the kids would be happy. Looking forward to hearing what dining experiences top these categories for you! |
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Post by FessParker1 on May 15, 2023 15:34:34 GMT -5
Tusker House or Crystal Palace @ one table service credit on the dining plan.
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Post by brp on May 15, 2023 18:45:16 GMT -5
For us, DDP is simply too much food, so "best bang for the buck" is irrelevant to us there.
Overall, the happy hour at STK is probably our best bang for the buck. Also well-priced,but the value per dollar is high.
Cheers.
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Post by ncstatetigger on May 15, 2023 20:37:42 GMT -5
I don’t think any TS that requires 2 credits is a good “bang for your buck”—-example CRT.
Pricing for plans and which restaurants are 1 credit vs 2 credits ( I can see this being many ) will determine if we try the. DDP in the future.
When granddaughters were younger we would use the plan for character meals.
Now that they are older, princesses and characters aren’t as important as being able to eat what they like.
Grandsons are younger and will probably enjoy an occasional character meal, but are much more excited about dinosaurs so T-Rex is their request. Is that included in DDP?
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Post by mcd on May 16, 2023 0:54:00 GMT -5
I don’t think any TS that requires 2 credits is a good “bang for your buck”—-example CRT. Pricing for plans and which restaurants are 1 credit vs 2 credits ( I can see this being many ) will determine if we try the. DDP in the future. When granddaughters were younger we would use the plan for character meals. Now that they are older, princesses and characters aren’t as important as being able to eat what they like. Grandsons are younger and will probably enjoy an occasional character meal, but are much more excited about dinosaurs so T-Rex is their request. Is that included in DDP? It has been around 10 years since we went to CRT with a dining plan, so I completely forgot it was 2 credits. You are right about it not being a value at all. |
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Post by tomandrobin on May 16, 2023 7:32:08 GMT -5
For us, DDP is simply too much food, so "best bang for the buck" is irrelevant to us there. Overall, the happy hour at STK is probably our best bang for the buck. Also well-priced,but the value per dollar is high. Cheers. Have you tried Wine Bar George for Happy Hour? |
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Post by tomandrobin on May 16, 2023 7:45:06 GMT -5
One of our best bang for the buck meals is Tusker House, which has been previously mentioned. But to really make it count is book your ADR 30 minutes or less to the end of breakfast. When breakfast ends, they roll right into lunch.....this allows you to get the best of both buffets for the price of breakfast. It becomes a hardy "brunch" meal!
Our grandsons love California Grill, or at least how it use to be. Since they changed the pricing, we have not taken them.
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Post by runner1219 on May 16, 2023 8:10:55 GMT -5
We used to always get the DDP plan when we went and we seemed to save money on it. My son was still considered a child and has always been a big eater so he always finished whatever QS meal he got. For dinner we usually did a character meal/buffet (Chef Mickey, Crystal Palace, Garden Grill, Hollywood and Vine). For all of them the out of pocket price for just dinner was usually more than the cost of the child meal plan for the day. Now that he would be considered an adult I would really have to crunch the numbers based on where we would eat to see if it would still make sense.
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Post by brp on May 16, 2023 10:17:26 GMT -5
For us, DDP is simply too much food, so "best bang for the buck" is irrelevant to us there. Overall, the happy hour at STK is probably our best bang for the buck. Also well-priced,but the value per dollar is high. Cheers. Have you tried Wine Bar George for Happy Hour? We haven't as yet. We've wandered by a couple of times, but the menu always seemed particularly unimpressive. Looking now, I only see the "bites and boards" menu, which is what I think I looked at, and can't actually find a happy hour menu. If this is it, looks very standard. Is there some other menu I've not been able to find?
Cheers.
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Post by FessParker1 on May 16, 2023 18:04:11 GMT -5
One of our best bang for the buck meals is Tusker House, which has been previously mentioned. But to really make it count is book your ADR 30 minutes or less to the end of breakfast. When breakfast ends, they roll right into lunch.....this allows you to get the best of both buffets for the price of breakfast. It becomes a hardy "brunch" meal! Our grandsons love California Grill, or at least how it use to be. Since they changed the pricing, we have not taken them. We have done the late breakfast/lunch and that's a great deal. |
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Post by helenabear on May 16, 2023 18:25:07 GMT -5
We don't do the DDP in part because I don't eat a ton as an adult, I do not eat seafood or red meat by choice, and I have a weirdo allergy that makes some places hard to eat for me. I tend to skip buffets for that reason too.
I like places that serve breakfast for lunch most for the same reason. Often super safe food for me. I really do enjoy places like Grand Floridian Cafe. Doesn't matter the meal they've been great there for me. My guys love WCC. I really like Geyser Point. They loved SH71 but that one was harder for me again to eat. Sanaa has been a long standing favorite too.
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Post by bakerworld on May 17, 2023 9:20:34 GMT -5
When we vacationed with young children they always wanted to eat at Cinderella's Castle. It was our son's 12y birthday meal request and our youngest's 16y birthday request meal. Once we started going on our own we made it a goal to start visiting a variety of restaurants. So after a gap of like 15 years we found ourselves back at Cinderella's last July 4. I really wanted to go before they brought back the visiting characters so the price was 30% discount. The meal did not disappoint. It was a 3 course gourmet (to us) meal that included drinks and 18% gratuity which left us eating for $69/pp. We thought that was pretty good for that caliber of food and sitting in the castle watching fireworks outside. We did add $10 to the gratuity. We walked out feeling like we experienced something special without being too full.
And that's it for us. We can tell you about bars but not food - LOL.
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Post by Lamima on May 17, 2023 10:52:07 GMT -5
I agree with Tusker House dinner. Very very good and to just use 1 TS is a great use.
O'Hana dinner too. One of our faves to eat with the extended family and great use of 1 TS..
Best overall...for us is hard to say. We like things for way different reasons now. We like lounges. I am not a fan of buffets, typically. We have no need for characters (yet that Tusker House was soooo good I agree that it's a great use of DP credit). We like Rainforest because we can walk up and sit at bar and get salads or apps...and cheaper beer. Cheaper than in the park. We like place Mediterranean Asian Indian food so we like those places like Sanaa and we like Splitsville and City Works for ease of walk up and get beer and food...love the sushi at Splitsville and wings at City Works. So we really don't have a best overall. We have fave items we like to get at certain times we feel in the mood.
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Post by jedimom3 on May 17, 2023 11:18:24 GMT -5
We used to do the dining plan when the kids were younger (younger than 9.) We found the best value at our favorite buffets: Akershus, Tusker House, Boma, Cape May, and also O'hana. We rarely used the TS on non buffet restaurants, but I remember Mama Melrose being a pretty good value.
QS-best values were the places that had rib platters, they were always pricier than the other menu items.
We'd considered the DP, before it disappeared, on split stays, but never did it. Just way too expensive for all 4 of us. If they'd just not require everyone in the room to have it, that would be great. Doubtful we'll take advantage when it comes back, but we'll compare prices and see. We are mostly there during festivals, and get food from booths as much as possible.
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Post by Eli's Nana on Oct 11, 2023 19:33:45 GMT -5
For us, DDP is simply too much food, so "best bang for the buck" is irrelevant to us there. Overall, the happy hour at STK is probably our best bang for the buck. Also well-priced,but the value per dollar is high. Cheers. We are finally going to try the happy hour at STK to kick off our next trip (thanks brp for the suggestion). We get in the day before the rest of the family and I thought I would take DH over to try it out. From the photos, it appears to have some nice outdoor seating upstairs? Is this part of the bar and open seating? Do you need to get there early to get a seat? Thanks! |
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with their analysis of DDP value, I was hoping to get some opinions and experience from others on what you think the best bang for you buck table service is and what you think are the best dining experiences regardless of price on property and available with the DDP (making it a great reservation to make under the DDP).
