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Old 12-13-2007, 10:53 AM   #1
cmhand30
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town car vs DME

DH wants to use town car service and stop at a grocery store for flowers, beer, and snacks. Me I want to do DME for the expierence and have Disney florist deliver an arrangement. (remember, I have a bum shoulder, not responsible for typing.)
Staying YC-C. I am at home for the next 13 days recovering from surgery so I have losts of time to ponder things.

Help I don't know what to do. We leave in 35 days. Still not sure if should do the new DDP, doesn't seem to be worth it, compared to last year.
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Old 12-13-2007, 12:47 PM   #2
debe
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We have used both the DME & Towncar service & have to go thumbs up with the towncar service. (The past several trips we have used Quick Silver & they have been both very professional & friendly which adds to the Disney Magic) When using DME, you are riding with many others from different resorts (you don't get that little extra TLC a towncar service provides) and depending on how they schedule their arrival to the different resorts, it could take you many stops before your resort is reached.

Never used the DDP so can't add anything on that

dust for a speedy recovery
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Old 12-13-2007, 02:09 PM   #3
jimmymac
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Treat yourself. Take a town car. It's a great way to start a WDW vacation. Sure beats the bus
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Old 12-13-2007, 03:13 PM   #4
FanofFlorida
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Another vote for the town car. You may even request something special for the ride to help make it more 'Disney'?
Also, you will be thankful for the time you save on your return.
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Old 12-14-2007, 09:44 AM   #5
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Every person is different and for us, spending $70 or so on a one way car service seems silly.....I can get ALOT of pressed pennies (or other souvineers) for that money!! I enjoy the bus and most of them only stop at 2 resorts. Obviously the All Star bus stops at 3.

As for DDP.....you aren't saving quite as much money...but you're also wasting less food. When the plan included appet, entree, and dessert, I found myself only eating half of each course to make sure I had room, or if I ate all of my appetizer (like the yummy spinach artichoke dip at Sci-Fi), I was stuffed midway through my entree. I still ordered dessert, but only ate a few bites. But besides all that, I think the ease of everything being paid in full ahead of time is worth it (even with having to pay tip OOP) and the plan does still save you money. I've done mock itineraries and compared the costs of paying OOP and paying for DDP.
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Old 12-14-2007, 11:00 AM   #6
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We really enjoy DME. We have found it to be efficient. Yes, it stops at more than one resort, but the resorts are in the same area. I think it is more exciting, especially for the kids, to share the experience with others also about to arrive at the best place in the World!

Enjoy - can't go wrong either way.
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Old 12-14-2007, 11:19 AM   #7
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I have not used ME yet...so I can not comment on the pros and cons...but I can tell you why we choose to use a town-car service. We have made 6 trips to WDW in the last 3 years. Three of the trips were with DS's 15 & 11...and three trips were just the two of us. We travel from Idaho...so it takes a long day of flying just to get to Orlando. The last thing we want to do is deal with mass transportation! We use Sunray Transportation...and with an $8 discount from the Mouseforless site...it costs only $82 round trip. Bob & Roger are fabulous...and are always waiting for us at the bottom of the escalators near our baggage claim. We have yet to make a grocery stop...as I am on vacation too...and that means no work for the Mommy...LOL. (It also means that we pay resort prices for beer...OUCH...but DH says that I deserve a vacation too!)

As for the DDP 2008...here is what I did to figure out if it was worth it to us or not. I sat down and priced what we would spend on food for a day with a buffet and a day with an order off the menu restaurant. I know that we will do one sit down meal...and one counter service meal each day...dinning plan or not...with breakfast bars in the room that I brought with us. So when I made my plan...I did not count what we would get on the dinning plan...but rather what we would order without the dinning plan. I didn't bother to add any snacks to this...as we tend to use our snack credits for ice-cream bars and water...so I know it will only total $5 or less. I added 6% tax to the total for the two meals...and then compared that number to the cost of the dinning plan for the day. If it turns out that we are going to benefit financially by using the plan...we will do the dinning plan. We get a bit more food using the dinning plan...so if it is a wash on cash...I am guessing that we will still come out ahead when all is said and done. If I am going to spend more on the dining plan then I would without...we skip it. I hope that all makes sense...and helps you with your decision. Just so you know we have used the dinning plan for the past 6 trips...I am still not sure what we will do for our trip in Apr-May 2008...LOL.

Stephanie in Idaho
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