DDE Card!

[princess jackson]

Yep,
Just rearranged our september holiday, we are now going to WDW ASM in December, we are considering purchasing the AP, I know this gets activated when you get to the gates.

If we purchased the DDE card, as far as i am aware this is active straight away, so can we purchase this at the gates when we activate the AP.

We are going in June 2006 and would like to keep both cards going for the year to get two trips out of them.

Your opinions please, is the DDE worth it.

We did the MYW dining plan in April, which we could use the counter service. I have read the DDE is only good for table service meals. IS THIS TRUE?

How long does the AP, DDE paperwork take to arrive in the UK.

 

[loadsapixiedust]

You cannot purchase the DDE at WDW, you must order it by phone, although technically you could order from your hotel when you arrive. You must have either an AP or AP exchange voucher when you order as they will ask for the numbers on it.
They say to allow up to 6 weeks for cards to arrive, but I was told they will issue a temporary card if you order later.If that hasn't arrived by the time you leave for your trip you can call and have a letter faxed to collect from Guest Relations at Epcot which will allow the discounts for your stay.
It seems they have been a bit overwhelmed by response from AP holders for this offer and I also read that it may soon be withdrawn.
I believe they are giving 13 months validity on the cards to allow for any delay in shipping them.
To answer your other question you can either order an AP to collect when you arrive at WDW or have a voucher shipped. My voucher took only 3 days to arrive by DHL for $3 shipping.

 

[gilld]

It seems they have been a bit overwhelmed by response from AP holders for this offer and I also read that it may soon be withdrawn.

QUOTE]

Because of this, I ordered mine this week, for my September trip. It means I will have the card and not havee to use the temporary letter that they're sending anyway! I shall only be able to use it for one trip but at $50 it hardly breaks the bank does it?

 

[pumpkinboy]

If we purchased the DDE card, as far as i am aware this is active straight away, so can we purchase this at the gates when we activate the AP.

I do not believe you can buy DDE cards at the gate.

We are going in June 2006 and would like to keep both cards going for the year to get two trips out of them.

If you order them naw, you should get two trips out of them. (see below)

Your opinions please, is the DDE worth it.

The DDE card has definately been worth it for us. We broke even on the $50 cost in the first two days (3 table service meals for 5 people)!

We did the MYW dining plan in April, which we could use the counter service. I have read the DDE is only good for table service meals. IS THIS TRUE?

In most spots this is true, that DDE only works at Table service restaurants. The exception is places with no table service restaurants, like Animal Kingdom; at AK we have used our DDE at Flame Tree BBQ and at Tusker House, and they are also usable at Pizzafari.

How long does the AP, DDE paperwork take to arrive in the UK?

You are able to do everything over the telephone, so no paperwork to do really. If you are getting close to your flight date (and you are not at all close right now) then you can have DDE send you a letter which notes that you and your spouse/ partner are DDE members and entitled to the discounts. This worked fine for us on our first trip with the DDE.

A few more notes about DDE:
It gets you a 20% discount at all table service restaurants in the parks and resorts. You will get a full list of restaurants when your cards arrive. Note that this includes alcoholic beverages, which the add-on dining and other discounts do not cover. At a nice dinner (say at Jiko at AKL, our favourite) we generally order a bottle of wine costing $30-$50; so 20% off that ($6-$10) in addition to the food is a really good deal.

Since getting the DDE card, we eat better food at more table service restaurants in the parks and at the Boardwalk, and less junk food at food court or counter service type places. From our last trip using the DDE card, it turns out that we spent less per day on dining than our previous trips, where we ate at "cheaper" places like stands and counter service places. A larger group (we had 7) also pays off. I believe we drank more wine on this trip than previously, which always makes for a good trip

As for getting multiple trips out of the DDE card, I ordered our cards in early January, since we were stopping in WDW for a couple of days that month. We did not have the cards in January, but instead used the letter they sent me via e-mail (they wil also send a fax if needed). We used it again for our 9 day trip in April with grandparents and my niece (7 total) and will use it again in October on a 5 day trip with friends flying in from Dublin (8 people). And even though I bought it in January, when the actual cards arrived in March, they had a March 2006 expiration date on them, so een though our APs expire in November, we will be able to use our DDEs through our February 2006 trip with our neighbours (party of 8).
Yeah. I think we're getting our money's worth!
If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me here.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

It seems they have been a bit overwhelmed by response from AP holders for this offer and I also read that it may soon be withdrawn.

Where did you read that the DDE card offer for AP holders may soon be withdrawn?

I have an AP voucher which I will exchange for my AP when I arrive later in the year. I don't want a DDE card yet, and I want it to coincide with my AP year. I would hate for the DDE offer to be withdrawn before I arrive.

Andrew

 

[loadsapixiedust]

I read this on another forum, a member had been given this information by a CM at their resort.
I'm not surprised, given that they seem to have completely underestimated the response from AP holders they must be losing a lot of $$$ as it is a great discount.

 

[Miffy2003]

I'm not sure you can say they are losing revenue? It's entirely possible that the DDE in fact increases revenue; for example I know this trip we have made a conscious decision to eat more at WDW because we have a DDE than we would otherwise have done

 

[loadsapixiedust]

Fair point, but I think AP holders (since the reason they have APs is to visit more often) would eat more at WDW anyway. However the discount does probably encourage people to choose table service over counter service. It's still a great discount. Why else would there be talk of it being discontinued?

 

[Miffy2003]

I totally agree and am looking forward to lots of nice meals this August myself! I worked out how much I would save (but then tried not to think about how much I was spending to save that much )

 

[Miffy2003]

Sorry - meant to add I would not place too much credence in one CM saying something. I'm not saying it's not so, but that I would prefer it to be a little more substantiated first

 

[princess jackson]

Thanks for the info.

We are going to order our AP through vacation club this weekend.

Then will order our DDE card, we are going in December as well, so waiting until middle of june to order this then will get two trips worth.!!!!

 

[pumpkinboy]

snip...I have an AP voucher which I will exchange for my AP when I arrive later in the year. I don't want a DDE card yet, and I want it to coincide with my AP year. I would hate for the DDE offer to be withdrawn before I arrive.
Andrew

I agree with the other posters here: I would not expect it to be withdrawn before the end of this calendar year. My reasoning is that the DDE offer i slisted in the AP sleeve you get when the live AP is issued. Now they might withdraw it next year, but this year, they are stuck with it. Of course, we are eating in Disney restaurants more often with the DDE, and we're bringing our friends. So though we are spending less per person perhaps (I am not at all sure this is true though) we are getting our friends and family to dine with us; so perhaps this is increasing revenue overall. Notably, the continuation of the DDE option will be a determinant in whether we buy APs again next year.

As for when to order it, we are getting 14 months of membership and these cards do take a quite a while to arrive. So, Andrew, I would recommend you leave at least two months between when you order your DDE and your departure date (of course, you will still be able to use the paper proof of membership, but the card itself is more convenient). Good luck and Bon Appétit!

Oh, and Princess Jackson, remember that DVC Member Services are not open over the weekend, so you may want to try evening hours, which will put you into the afternoon Florida time.

 

[jns]

we were there for 16s last month
DDC card paid for it self on the first day
got in to the habit of asking everytime I paid for food
most places took it we most have saved $$$$$$$$$$$$$
famiy of ten using it

plus we ate at more of the nicer places instead of the fass food outlets

 

[mark@saratoga]

Do you have the number so I can order a card?

I have just ordered my AP for our trip in Aug/Sep, do I need my AP details or would my confirmation number be good enough in order to purchase the DDE card?

 

[gilld]

They are now coming very quickly - got mine two weeks after ordering.

 

[DisCharmed]

I have bought (but not activated) PAPs for our August trip and emailed to ask how I could buy DDE without having my pass activated and this was the response from disney.

Unfortunately, the Disney Dining Experience team needs to have your
actual passholder ID number before they can honor the discounted
membership rate. The pass number is not assigned until your pass is
activated, in person, at any Walt Disney World theme park Guest
Relations location.

Upon arrival at Guest Relations, please have your Annual/Seasonal Pass
activated and advise the Cast Member that you are interested in joining
the DDE. He/She will contact the DDE Membership Services team (407)
566-5858 (option 3) and you will be able to join over the phone. They
will take all the necessary information, including your Passholder ID
number and credit card information, and have your membership processed
immediately. A temporary membership card will then be faxed to the
specific Guest Relations location you are at, which you can use during
the current visit. A permanent membership will arrive in the mail within
2-3 weeks for future trips​

HTH
Charmed .

 

[mark&sue]

I recently phoned WDW up to ask how a DVC member with a discounted AP could do the DDE and the CM explained how I could get a temporary one. She asked me when I was going and I said it was not until next year and she said that she thought I should not worry about it as it may no longer be in existence by then.

Do these CMs know something?



Susan

 

[gilld]

I have bought (but not activated) PAPs for our August trip and emailed to ask how I could buy DDE without having my pass activated and this was the response from disney.

Unfortunately, the Disney Dining Experience team needs to have your
actual passholder ID number before they can honor the discounted
membership rate. The pass number is not assigned until your pass is
activated, in person, at any Walt Disney World theme park Guest
Relations location.

Upon arrival at Guest Relations, please have your Annual/Seasonal Pass
activated and advise the Cast Member that you are interested in joining
the DDE. He/She will contact the DDE Membership Services team (407)
566-5858 (option 3) and you will be able to join over the phone. They
will take all the necessary information, including your Passholder ID
number and credit card information, and have your membership processed
immediately. A temporary membership card will then be faxed to the
specific Guest Relations location you are at, which you can use during
the current visit. A permanent membership will arrive in the mail within
2-3 weeks for future trips​

HTH
Charmed .

This simply isn't true. I have a PAP voucher-not an activated pass-and I ordered and received my DDE card this month. I simply read out the number on the back of the voucher and they accepted that without any problem. Try again.

 

[DisCharmed]

I don't have a voucher - just a confirmation number

 

[StephenKay]

This simply isn't true. I have a PAP voucher-not an activated pass-and I ordered and received my DDE card this month. I simply read out the number on the back of the voucher and they accepted that without any problem. Try again.

I agree, we were able to book DDE cards although we only had the voucher/card, the lady on the phone asked us the number on the back and we had a card on the way within minutes.

Regards,

Stevie K