Deluxe Plan = Insane! :)

[MadamMim]

:goodvibes Before anybody thinks I'm being negative, I'm not. Honestly. I just happened to have some time to waste (I should be writing a paper, but procrastination is the academic way of life right? :confused3 :) ) so I thought to myself 'self, let's see what would happen if you had 10 nights in Disney with the Deluxe Dining Plan and could go anywhere you wanted.' Well holy crap! :scared1: I did every dining location I've ever really wanted to go, mostly table service with a few beloved counter services thrown in, and I still had 7 credits left for each person in the party, not to mention ALL the snack credits. How can anybody eat that much food?? :scared: I'm no shrinking violet, I'm a 6' tall woman who's built like a linebacker for the Pats... but still. :eek: After I finished listing dinners and lunches I couldn't even contemplate breakfasts (except Kona, because come on, Tonga Toast :love: ). So really... is the Deluxe Dining Plan crazy or is it just me?

P.S. Feel free to say it's me. I won't disagree with you. :rotfl:

[lynninpa]

In our opinion, one of the biggest perks to any of the DDPs is that it is paid for in advance. It just makes it all the more of a vacation not having to budget money day by day. Is the Deluxe Dining Plan too much food for most folks? Probably. Yet I would just remind myself that there is no law that says you must eat eveything offered. Just our humble opinions. :upsidedow

[asmit4]

Sounds crazy but if you go to at least 1 2-credit place each day you won't have trouble.

You could for example do a TS in the morning for breakfast, have 2 snacks during the day and do a 2-credit place for dinner. That uses your 3 credits a day and snacks without too much craziness in the quantity of food.

[kimsuenew]

On our September 10 day trip we couldn't even use all of our credits... we found it to be waaaaaaaaaay to much eating! I cannot even imagine even more! And you are right, I cant find that many places either! I would have to duplicate several places to even attempt to use my credits!

[frannn]

Would it be worth it then? I haven't had time to put ours on paper yet, but there are a lot of places we've never tried, and places we'd love to go back to. I was not a big fan of Mama Melrose with the FDP, and we've done H&V a handful of times...is BD worth the 2 credits if we get the deluxe pkg?

[Geekerbell]

DH and I are sooo looking forward to the Deluxe Dining when we go in January. We did it instead of regular dining, because we will be going to all table service and we are staying three nights, but will actually be there more like four full days (get there before lunch on Thursday and leave Sunday night.) So it's like three days spread out over four.
Yumm-o! Looking forward to some good food!
:mickeybar

[kathie859]

IMHO, it's way too much food and too much of precious vacation time spent sitting in restaurants. Don't get me wrong, I like food and am an adventurous eater, but I don't want to spend so much time tied to eating.:confused3

There's certainly a few restaurants that provide good food and interesting atmospheres at WDW but I don't intend to spend time getting there, waiting for table, getting served, and eventually eating for every meal. I couldn't do the food justice if I ate more than one sit down meal a day (and to the OP--I'm no flyweight either--I have a hearty appetite--so I agree with you:hippie: )

But like everything else, to each their own:wizard:

[ljhmom]

I agree, I couldn't imagine eating that much food there, in August we had the dp and somtimes felt like we needed to be rolled out of the restaraunt after all that food, and we still had 7 snack credits left on our last day.

[mickeysgirl17]

I'm really looking forward to deluxe dining. If this is your first trip to WDW, then I would highly recommend just doing the regular dining plan because deluxe dining will probably take up quite a bit of time away from the parks but if you've gone at least once before and have done all 4 parks, then I think it could be a good idea.

I know for a fact that my family couldn't possibly eat at 3 sit down meals per day, so I plan to do quite a few signature restaurants so that we will only eat 2 meals per day and I plan to put them apart. If I do breakfast and dinner, breakfast will be at 9am or so, then do 2 snacks for lunch and then a signature meal for dinner around 7 or 8pm. If I do lunch, it will most likely be a counter service and it will be light.

To me, the hardest part of planning a trip is picking the restaurants because there are so many to choose from and you want to try a variety, so I love the idea of having so many meal credits to use. My family of 3 will have 72 credits between us for a 9 day trip and I'm still having trouble deciding which places to eat at.

[MadamMim]

So I guess the consensus so far is that the Deluxe Plan IS insane... but we love it! :cheer2: :cool1: :banana: :hippie:

I am by no means saying that the plan is bad, just that I was shocked to see what it really entails once you get into the nitty gritty of it all. Now my problem is trying to find the time and money to take that imaginary trip!

[Tiger926]

This always confuses me, because I wonder if people think eating 3 meals per day is insane, how do you normally eat at home? We eat the same at home, as we do while on vacation due to blood sugar issues, allergies, etc. We eat healthy food - no pop, fast food, hardly any sweets, etc. My 4 year old daughter is a grilled chicken, rice and water kind of gal, so we are so looking forward to the Deluxe Plan as it allows us to eat the same way that we normally do - we have great self discipline and portion control, so we only order what we can eat. If we aren't able to eat desert, we don't order it, plain and simple.

A lot of people on here seem to forget that one doesn't have to order everything that is offered, as well as the fact that one needs not gorge at every meal that one sits at.

Tiger

[Colleen27]

Its just you ;)

We're really looking forward to deluxe dining in January. We have reservations at all but 3 of the signature restaurants, and if we were staying longer, we'd try those too! We'll be there for 11 nights on the deluxe plan, and there are several places I'd like to try that just don't fit in with our plans. We aren't planning on 3 meals per day, though - we will have breakfast or lunch and then a signature dinner most days.

[wdwdancerwannabe]

Would it be worth it then? I haven't had time to put ours on paper yet, but there are a lot of places we've never tried, and places we'd love to go back to. I was not a big fan of Mama Melrose with the FDP, and we've done H&V a handful of times...is BD worth the 2 credits if we get the deluxe pkg?

This is what I would do if we went Deluxe....we would go to the Backyard BBQ, and other Signatures.... with the regular DDP we don't do any of the 2 credit meals...

[wdwdancerwannabe]

Would it be worth it then? I haven't had time to put ours on paper yet, but there are a lot of places we've never tried, and places we'd love to go back to. I was not a big fan of Mama Melrose with the FDP, and we've done H&V a handful of times...is BD worth the 2 credits if we get the deluxe pkg?

This is what I would do if we went Deluxe....we would go to the Backyard BBQ, and other Signatures.... with the regular DDP we don't do any of the 2 credit meals...

[MadamMim]

This always confuses me, because I wonder if people think eating 3 meals per day is insane, how do you normally eat at home? We eat the same at home, as we do while on vacation due to blood sugar issues, allergies, etc. We eat healthy food - no pop, fast food, hardly any sweets, etc. My 4 year old daughter is a grilled chicken, rice and water kind of gal, so we are so looking forward to the Deluxe Plan as it allows us to eat the same way that we normally do - we have great self discipline and portion control, so we only order what we can eat. If we aren't able to eat desert, we don't order it, plain and simple.

A lot of people on here seem to forget that one doesn't have to order everything that is offered, as well as the fact that one needs not gorge at every meal that one sits at.

Tiger

I think you hit the nail on the head Tiger. :thumbsup2 I'm not a three meals a day sort of girl. I eat once, maybe twice if I'm really hungry or if I've been up really early or something. So I was basing things on two meals (often at the Signature Dining places I wouldn't normally be able to afford :cloud9: ) a day and only on the amount of food I think I can handle. Again, I'd like to stress that I'm super excited about the Deluxe Plan because it would allow for those fancy Signature meals, but I was shocked to see just how many options I'd have. I wasn't trying to insinuate that it was a bad idea or that the people who take it are wrong to do so. :hug: Just amazed and overly excited. :woohoo: Note to self: post only once you have calmed down to avoid offending any lovely DISers you like so well. :flower3:

[libinatorsmom]

we are doing the dulx dining plan for our family it makes total sense finacially for where we want to eat... to each there own some people are happy eating CS - we are not - though we are planing on a few CS at Blizzard Beach and Animal Kingdom... we have to give the food a try we will be at disney for 8 days and will enjoy every resturant we were hoping (including several signature resturants and character meals) with the use of this plan.. and cant be more exicted... personally I think its a great plan... its giving us the chance to try everything... and just because you have a three course meal doesnt mean you need to eat every scrap of food on your plate.. its giving us the chance to try new things... my husband for example doesnt care for desearts at all.. and says he doesnt want to order any... well i told him I want him to soo I can try more things... even if tht means two bites of each... I can try it... :) and I cant be more excited... :)

I think each family/person needs to make the decsion for themselves... we are not eating three meals a day due to using severl 2 credit signature meals... as for snacks i am sure we will eat them up... for treats, pop, etc

[seashoreCM]

>>> don't have to eat every scrap of food on your plate.

Then, whatever the Deluxe plan does not have in terms of insanity, it makes up for with wastefulness.

Reminds me of the Disney packages of 10, 15 years ago where you have to choose what would be the most expensive items (fanciest restaurants, fanciest golf courses, etc.) to come out ahead financially compared with ordering and buying each item separately. Of course Disney hopes that some guests will choose less expensive items like tee shirts or mouse ears or 5x7 photos.

And whatever time people spend sitting in restaurants, that is time not spent on the crowded rides.

Disney hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

[pilferk]

For us, it's about using the "right" package with the right "type" of vacation you're looking for.

For our January trip, we're sticking with the "Classic" DDP. It's a nice balance between "enough" food for our brood of 5 (one infant) vs the time we want to spend in a restaurant. For that trip, we're planning on doing more parks/rides, and less other "stuff".

For our early December '08 trip, it looks like the DX DDP is going to work best for us. THAT trip is going to be more about doing the "X-mas" stuff, touring the resorts to see the decorations, etc...in general, less of a "theme park commando" trip. We're also going to do the Hoop De Do, an early dinner at Jiko's (with kids, their first "fine dining" experience), hopefully breakfast at CRT...some stuff that will use up 2 credits per person on specific days. On others, we'll do 2 TS and ONE CS (which seems to be at least the "Break even" if not a bit better use of the plan). For THAT trip, it makes sense.

And I think, ultimately, that's what it comes down to: the DX ddp isn't going to make sense or be useful to EVERYONE or in EVERY situation. But it CAN be put to good use. I wouldn't say it's "insane" in so much as it's situational by family, vacation "type", etc. I'd certainly agree that MOST of the time, for MOST families, it might not be the best fit....it's more of a niche product.

[itchin2go]

We are doing the deluxe plan in January. We're doing mostly TS breakfasts before the parks open, along with several 2TS dinners. We're only doing one or two TS lunches. We may use one or two credits for CS or just have snacks at lunchtime, depending on how we feel at the time. I LOVE leaving the middle of the day open to play by ear. If, for whatever reason, we don't feel like doing the TS breakfast or dinner we have booked, we can cancel the ADR and do something else. We are not members of the "clean plate club", either.

Because of all that, for us:
(1) No, it's not too much food.
(2) No, it doesn't take up too much time.
(3) No, it doesn't kill all spontaneity.

We did the regular DDP this past January. We ended up paying for lots of stuff OOP because of all the TS we ate, plus we had tons of CS credits leftover. We ate at CRT, Cali Grill, Artist Point & Jiko, so the 2TS places ate up our TS credits like crazy. For this reason, I was considering going premium next year, but I couldn't justify the cost given that we're not going to do tours, water sports, Cirque, etc. I was DELIGHTED when Disney introduced this plan. It's perfect for us. We can eat the way we like to, without having a big extra bill waiting for us at the close of our vacation.

We love restaurants - they're a big part of any vacation experience for us. Not everyone feels this way. If you don't (and lots of people don't!), I would guess that the DxDDP is not for you. As has been said before, Disney offers so many different experiences so that there's something for everyone. Folks who want to eat lightly at the parks, or outside WDW can do that. Folks who want to prepare meals in their room, villa, etc., can do that. Folks who like the DDP can do that. I'm just glad that the DxDDP is an option because it's perfect for us.

[mickeysgirl17]

I love to be able to sit down and relax for an hour or so in the middle of the parks and I agree with you itchin2go. We love restaurants too and with Disney, most are themed or have some sort of entertainment so its just as fun as the parks and attractions.

If we do a park from open to close, it will be heaven to be able to sit down 2 or 3 times a day in between to rest.

[Donald&Tinkerbell]

We are 2 adults who eat 2 TS a day, no CS, and usually one of the TS is a 2 credit place. The Deluxe plan will cost $140 a day, that's our average bill at Flying Fish, so that's getting another TS free. We do Slimfast for breakfast and get to the parks when they open. Eat lunch when the TS opens, and eat dinner between 6-7. We seldom use CS but will use the snacks. So it's a bargain for us.

[Merylj]

We`ll go for the DDP next year, TS breakfast and a 2 TS meal per night will work great for us :thumbsup2
The snack credits - they equal a square of fudge to bring home - kept me going for weeks last time ;)
Love the name Madam Mim - that has been my daughters nick name for the last 20 years ( I can be lovely, beautiful and fair.........)

[Colleen27]

I think each family/person needs to make the decsion for themselves... we are not eating three meals a day due to using severl 2 credit signature meals... as for snacks i am sure we will eat them up... for treats, pop, etc

We're doing a lot of signature dining too. And as far as snacks go, we're the "who cares about the value?" type - probably half our snacks will be used for bottled water. But snacks, IMO, are the easiest to use up, because there are so many good snack options that travel well enough to take home. My kids loved passing out Mickey rice crispy treats and sharing character-shaped pretzels and cookies with all their friends when we came home from our last couple trips.

[Guzzi]

:surfweb: Your master's degrees are really cool!, I am attorney, and an avid history buff. If you dont mind my asking, and its ok if you do :banana: :confused3 what will you do with your degrees, teach, work with national parks, im very interested. :woohoo:

[Colleen27]

>>> don't have to eat every scrap of food on your plate.

Then, whatever the Deluxe plan does not have in terms of insanity, it makes up for with wastefulness.

Reminds me of the Disney packages of 10, 15 years ago where you have to choose what would be the most expensive items (fanciest restaurants, fanciest golf courses, etc.) to come out ahead financially compared with ordering and buying each item separately. Of course Disney hopes that some guests will choose less expensive items like tee shirts or mouse ears or 5x7 photos.

And whatever time people spend sitting in restaurants, that is time not spent on the crowded rides.


Well, the best way to avoid waste is to order what you'll eat. The portions at some restaurants are smaller than at others, especially at the signature restaurants, and just because you're entitled to an appetizer, entree and dessert doesn't mean you're obligated to order all three. For us, the portions work out well, because we've got a 9yo who will finish his kids' meal and then help me with my food and a 6yo who is a light but adventurous eater who likes to try a bite or two from our plates but still have the mac & cheese or plain grilled fish/chicken as her main meal. But we still sometimes skip dessert or order one to share.

When it comes to getting your money's worth on the deluxe plan, you don't necessarily have to make the most expensive choices for it to be a good choice. You just have to want to eat 2 or 3 TS meals a day. I did our financial evaluation of the DxDDP with 9 unplanned adult credits, 12 unplanned child credits, and no value assigned to the snacks or mugs, and came up with a savings of roughly 18%.

As far as time goes - We hate counter service, so that's a big part of why we like the deluxe plan. We don't want to eat at odd times to avoid the crowds, so our Disney counter service experiences have been largely negative. Long lines, slow service, interminable hunt for a table... We don't find TS lunches to take significantly longer than CS lunches, assuming we eat at a normal lunch time. Lunch at Pecos Bills on our first trip took over an hour; on our second trip, Pinocchio Village Haus took about 45 minutes. I'd much rather spend that time in a TS restaurant, with someone else bringing the food and drinks! And since we're going to be there for 12 days, I'm not concerned with squeezing the most into every minute anyway.

[Cindy's Mom]

Nothing new to add here - we will be doing the DDDP, which to use translates into TS b-fast in the park (for early entry) and more shows and 2TS. DH and I will do "date night" at yachtman steakhouse and leave the kids at the Sandcastle club, we'll do Mickey's BBQ.

Last summer we used all our credits for CRT, HDDR and Yachtman's, and boy were we hungry for more that 1/2 of our trip. It was like either we we're stuffed or starving because we ran out of credits. :confused3






ITS A JOKE PEOPLE:goodvibes

[girli565]

My family and I are soooooo looking forward to the Deluxe DDP!! We are massive foodies and being able to hit up almost all of the Signature restaurants is going to be so exciting! We've already done Cali grill and CRT is not for us, but everything else is fair game.

We aren't really 3 meals a day people either but two meals a day is more than enough!!

[MadamMim]

We`ll go for the DDP next year, TS breakfast and a 2 TS meal per night will work great for us :thumbsup2
The snack credits - they equal a square of fudge to bring home - kept me going for weeks last time ;)
Love the name Madam Mim - that has been my daughters nick name for the last 20 years ( I can be lovely, beautiful and fair.........)

A couple other people have brought up taking fudge/cookies home with them. I never even thought of that! How great! :thumbsup2 Maybe I could use up all those snack credits... :idea:

Sword in the Stone was always my favorite movie growing up and I loved Madam Mim. (I was never the 'princess' type. I was more interested in Tiger Lily than Wendy or Tink, both of whom my four year-old self found annoying. :laughing: ) Tell the other Madam I said hello. :wave:


:surfweb: Your master's degrees are really cool!, I am attorney, and an avid history buff. If you dont mind my asking, and its ok if you do :banana: :confused3 what will you do with your degrees, teach, work with national parks, im very interested. :woohoo:

Well, the plan is to start a PhD next fall and eventually become a professor and author. I'm doing battlefield archaeology because it's a new field and it's the newest generation of academics that are trying to mend the rift between historians and archaeologists. So to up my 'street cred' as it were with the archaeologists I'll later be working with professionally, I decided it would be a good idea to get an advanced degree in their subject as well. Also, I'm primarily interested in naval history, and the link between maritime archaeology and terrestrial warfare has never, thus far, been developed. So that's something that interests me as well. ... :rolleyes1 I may be rambling, so I'll stop now. :o



Oh, and I never knew that my overly excited word choice would spark so much debate. I didn't mean for 'insane' to have a negative connotation and I thought I'd established the playful nature of my post. If I didn't, I do apologize. I never meant to offend anybody or make them feel like they had to justify themselves to me. I'll be better next time I promise! :flower3:

[Cindy's Mom]

:woohoo: A couple other people have brought up taking fudge/cookies home with them. I never even thought of that! How great! :thumbsup2 Maybe I could use up all those snack credits... :idea:


We take home rice krispie treats. We also spend a week after WDW in South Florida relaxing at the beach. So on our last day, I go and buy the full size bags of chips, those gummy Goofy candies, chips and salsa, and anything else from the gift shop that is a snack credit and not perishable and voila, I have all our snacks for the second half of our trip.

[itchin2go]

Oh, and I never knew that my overly excited word choice would spark so much debate. I didn't mean for 'insane' to have a negative connotation and I thought I'd established the playful nature of my post. If I didn't, I do apologize. I never meant to offend anybody or make them feel like they had to justify themselves to me. I'll be better next time I promise! :flower3:

:flower3: Just to clear up, my response was not to you, but to others who have chimed in on this (and other) threads saying things like (to paraphrase), "Well, I could NEVER eat all that food" (hmmm, what does that imply?) or "We would NEVER waste all of our valuable park time spending 3 hours in restaurants" or the like. For some reason it just grates on me when I read things like that. I guess there's a fine line between informative and judgmental (which I know is not what you were being). Something like, "We've found that on the DDP, we spent more time in restaurants than we liked" is just straightforward informative, which might be helpful to someone deciding whether to book DDP or not. Some of the other comments seem kind of judgmental. I LIKE reading differing opinions on things. For instance, I've been lamenting that I'm booked at BW instead of BC, because I KNOW my daughter would love SAB. But then, I've read that some people dislike SAB because it's so large and hard to keep track of your little ones. That's good information for me. No one gets judgmental about that, though. Just straight up informative. I understand that some people dislike the DDP or the changes to the DDP or whatever. And that's fine. And informative. It's just that some of the comments come off more like slamming the people who do book DDP or DxDDP or whatever. And I totally don't get that. I'll step off my soabox now.

MadamMim - I'm really glad you started this thread, because it's been interesting to read about the different ways people plan to utilize the DxDDP. It just goes to show you that no two WDW vacations are alike!

[fey_spirit]

Actually this makes for fewer credits then I had the first time I went and I was fine with the number - eve had to pay for one or two meals out of pocket.

The first time we went we were on the premium pkg - that's 3 ts a day with even signature restaurants counting as only one credit. This time around on the normal plan, I'm paying OOP for at least 4 of our meals at TS...
I for one can't wait for the Deluxe Plan.


:goodvibes Before anybody thinks I'm being negative, I'm not. Honestly. I just happened to have some time to waste (I should be writing a paper, but procrastination is the academic way of life right? :confused3 :) ) so I thought to myself 'self, let's see what would happen if you had 10 nights in Disney with the Deluxe Dining Plan and could go anywhere you wanted.' Well holy crap! :scared1: I did every dining location I've ever really wanted to go, mostly table service with a few beloved counter services thrown in, and I still had 7 credits left for each person in the party, not to mention ALL the snack credits. How can anybody eat that much food?? :scared: I'm no shrinking violet, I'm a 6' tall woman who's built like a linebacker for the Pats... but still. :eek: After I finished listing dinners and lunches I couldn't even contemplate breakfasts (except Kona, because come on, Tonga Toast :love: ). So really... is the Deluxe Dining Plan crazy or is it just me?

P.S. Feel free to say it's me. I won't disagree with you. :rotfl:

[asmit4]

MadamMim.....

I agree that 3 TS meals can be "a lot" of food but I have a different perspective.

First off, on vacation- everyone I know tends to eat more, more crap, more junk, more slushies, more snacks :)

Secondly, while on the basic DDP I think that most of us, at least those I know, tend to maximize credits. We use our snacks for larger items, not hot teas and coffees. On the 2007 plan, I order the calamari for appetizer instead of the 6.00 salad. I order the steak and lobster at Narcoossee's instead of the chicken choice. The difference in cost is over $20 more for the steak/lobster option. I also order dessert.

If I were on the Deluxe DDP I would not be able to stuff myself with french toast a juice and ham/eggs, then a mickey bar for snack, then lunch - a TS burger/fries, chocolate cake, then another mickey bar, then Calamari, steak/lobster/potatoes and make your own smore's for dessert :)

That doesn't mean the DDDP has no value to me though. If I did the DDDP I would probably eat like this:

2 pieces French toast for breakfast (skipping the ham/eggs, extra french toast slices or whatever else)

Snack credit = hot tea to drink in the park in the morning

Lunch = chicken salad at a TS place with an ice tea and I'd take the brownie dessert "to go" to eat along with my snack credit of soda below.

Snack credit = a diet coke in the park for the afternoon heat.

Dinner = a larger dinner along with eating the dessert at a TS.

I don't think the above plan sounds like "a lot" of food. Of course, some would say I'm not getting the full value of the DDDP but it's all about perspective. The DDDP allows for enormous choice in food selection and to me that in itself has value. I don't have to worry about where to eat, I can eat anywhere, I don't have to save credits for another meal, I can eat 3 meals a day.

Plus I'd space my meals out eating at 9, 12 and 5 is a lot different then eating at 8, 1 and 7.

[fey_spirit]

There is a difference between maximizing a plan for the sake of maximization, and using it to the best of your ability to get what you really want.

I really believe that people should be encouraged to try new foods - even if that means that they only take one or two bites of something (even if they know going in they are only going to be able to eat that one or two bites, at least they tried something new that they may not get a chance to try again in their lifetime.)

You better believe that I intend to order all three courses this December, just so I have a chance to try different things (I like picking stuff I have never eaten, and will probably never have the chance to - like the ono at Kona, and I've been told that their crab cakes are now to die for, so have to try those... then there's the kona cone - my all time fav Disney dessert ever - have to do that... will I end up eating every bite? Probably not, but I don't see it as wasted because it all went to a purpose.)

That said I never, ever order something just to maximize my DP...
And before anyone asks, would I eat like this OOP? Actually I would, and have budgeted to do so on those meals I have to pay oop for this trip.

All of that said, if the food I didn't eat was going to a good cause, I would think twice about my eating style, but the fact is this food isn't going anywhere charitable - whether I eat it or not. It's not like they at the end of the night Disney is going to say "Gee we have 10 pieces of cheesecake left over, let's send it over to the homeless shelter" - no all of that food nobody ordered because they didn't want to waste it is going to end up right where it would have if you or I had only eaten a bite or two to try it.
Which makes for a complete waste because it ended up serving no purpose at all... not even the purpose of brining a little culinary joy.


>>> don't have to eat every scrap of food on your plate.

Then, whatever the Deluxe plan does not have in terms of insanity, it makes up for with wastefulness.

Reminds me of the Disney packages of 10, 15 years ago where you have to choose what would be the most expensive items (fanciest restaurants, fanciest golf courses, etc.) to come out ahead financially compared with ordering and buying each item separately. Of course Disney hopes that some guests will choose less expensive items like tee shirts or mouse ears or 5x7 photos.

And whatever time people spend sitting in restaurants, that is time not spent on the crowded rides.

Disney hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

[RACHELSMOM1]

So I guess the consensus so far is that the Deluxe Plan IS insane... but we love it! :cheer2: :cool1: :banana: :hippie:

I am by no means saying that the plan is bad, just that I was shocked to see what it really entails once you get into the nitty gritty of it all. Now my problem is trying to find the time and money to take that imaginary trip!

What consensus are you referring to? I have seen just as many posters who (like me) are looking forward to breakfast sit down meals and 2 credit meals for dinner. What is insane about that? I always hated having to figure out how to use up the CS meals with DP. Now, we won't have to fool with that, and we can go to all the 2 credit ressies we want to.

[Cindy's Mom]

What consensus are you referring to? I have seen just as many posters who (like me) are looking forward to breakfast sit down meals and 2 credit meals for dinner. What is insane about that? I always hated having to figure out how to use up the CS meals with DP. Now, we won't have to fool with that, and we can go to all the 2 credit ressies we want to.

I think the OP was using "INSANE" as in cool, hip, awesome. I believe somewhere within the thread she clarified that.

[mickeysgirl17]

For those of you saying that its too much time away from the parks, I disagree especially if you go off season. Last year, DH, DD and I were at Disney for 8 nights and we had more than enough time to do everything and rest in between. Unless its your first trip, I recommend trying the deluxe plan.

We were able to sleep in some days or just relax at the pop and go into the parks late. We did everything we wanted and had so much time left over that we did some things twice in each park. In fact, most days I wasn't even tired and could have kept going but I thought DD might need a nap.

Therefore, we plan to do the deluxe plan and since it will obviously take some time to travel to and from the restaurants and eat, we just won't take as many breaks this time. We'll pretty much be relaxing anyway by sitting down at the TS meals 2 or 3 times a day.

Like I mentioned in a previous post, if this was my first trip, I would not get the deluxe plan because I'd rather be in the parks every minute especially in peak season, but if you've gone before, why not try the plan and get to experience all those wonderful restaurants?

[MarieA]

For us neither dining plan is worth it. After crunching the numbers for the Deluxe Dining Plan (going through menus on Allears) and figuring out what we would likely order, even if we do a TS breakfast each day and a 2TS meal each night, it would be cheaper for us to pay OOP with the DDE. I figured that we would order appetizers, entree, dessert and coffee in the 2TS restaurants.

[SereneOne]

I wish they had several dinning plan packages to chose from.

I would love one with 2 CS, 2 snack and one TS...

We could use 1 CS for breakfast, we eat as soon as they open to get to the parks early.

One CS for lunch in the middle of the day and use our two snacks for a drink and a food snack later in the afternoon..

Then a TS meal for a late dinner.

I know we could do this on the deluxe...but to pay for three TS meals and use two CS meals might not make it financially smart....would have to crunch the numbers.:confused3

[Colleen27]

For us neither dining plan is worth it. After crunching the numbers for the Deluxe Dining Plan (going through menus on Allears) and figuring out what we would likely order, even if we do a TS breakfast each day and a 2TS meal each night, it would be cheaper for us to pay OOP with the DDE. I figured that we would order appetizers, entree, dessert and coffee in the 2TS restaurants.

I would think that the DDE is usually the best way to go for those who can get it. We're looking at about a 20% savings with the deluxe plan, so we're getting about the same deal as we would with the DDE but without the added expense of an annual pass.

[soonerlpn]

Am taking my DS5 for the first time in July...am truly thinking hard about deluxe due to the fact that we want to do the Poly show and HDD..also want to do some signature dining, possibly fantasmic. I think it would work out great for us!! :cool1:

[Scornelius]

All of that said, if the food I didn't eat was going to a good cause, I would think twice about my eating style, but the fact is this food isn't going anywhere charitable - whether I eat it or not. It's not like they at the end of the night Disney is going to say "Gee we have 10 pieces of cheesecake left over, let's send it over to the homeless shelter" - no all of that food nobody ordered because they didn't want to waste it is going to end up right where it would have if you or I had only eaten a bite or two to try it.
Which makes for a complete waste because it ended up serving no purpose at all... not even the purpose of brining a little culinary joy.

Wow, I never thought of it like that! Awsome, now I have no guilt! :thumbsup2

We've used the DDP for our last 2 trips, and this time we're going for the Deluxe plan.:banana: We're so excited! I'm thrilled to find other like-minded diners. So far all I'd heard was how excessive it is! popcorn::
I've spent the last few weeks working on a chart to fit in all the credits. We're going to try a bunch of signature restaurants, so on most days we'll only be having 2 meals. I know a lot of people can't fathom how to plan that many meals, so here's what we've got scheduled, just to give you an idea:

Sunday: lunch at Mama Melrose, dinner at Yachtman's
Monday: lunch at coral reef, dinner at le cellier
Tuesday: breakfast at donald's breakfastosaurus, lunch at sci-fi, dinner at mama melrose's. (We LOVE mama melrose's!)
Wednsday: lunch with an imagineer (brown derby), late dinner at Jiko
Thursday: breakfast at 1900 park faire, lunch at earl of sandwich, dinner at planet hollywood
Friday: lunch at wolfgang puck cafe, dinner at california Grill
Saturday: breakfast at maya grill.

We're going in the middle of september, so taking time away from the parks is not a big deal. Last year we were able to go to each park at least twice, and do everything we wanted to do each time. We never waited more than 10 minutes!

ETA:I went through the menus on allears, and if we order what we really want from all the restaurants (not just the most expensive things) we'll get about $1100 worth of food, and the plan costs about $850, I think. If they offer free dining again, we'll probably have to pay about $380. Combine a bit of savings with the knowlege that you can eat absolutely whatever you want, and I'm quite happy!!

[caroline1851]

I can see it working for a shorter trip and if you use 2ts credits for nice dinner places. Or..if you simply eat 3 meals/day without gorging yourself and overeating everywhere. I eat 3 meals a day now, so i could obviously do it on vacation. But...i dont' eat like a pig on my 3 meals w/ desserts, etc. I can't imagine 10 days, but problay only because i don't like to go on vacation for that long.

[MarieA]

I would think that the DDE is usually the best way to go for those who can get it. We're looking at about a 20% savings with the deluxe plan, so we're getting about the same deal as we would with the DDE but without the added expense of an annual pass.

You're right. With the DDE it actually comes out to be about $60 cheaper for us ($460.00 vs. $517. for the DDP for 3 nights). We will probably spend even less then the $460 since I figured in appys, entrees and desserts for every 2TS meal and most times my DH doesn't order dessert. I eat 3 meals a day at home but I don't have a big breakfast (usually just half a bagel and tea), for lunch I have salad or something light and then I have a regular dinner. We've done 3 meals a day at WDW many times (deluxe dining many years ago) and for us it's too much food. Plus now you have to make ADRs 180 days out. I don't want to have to make 3 ADRs every day and plan each and every minute of our trip 6 months in advance.

We purchase the AP because we are DVC owners and usually get 3 trips out of the APs and DDE. If we were to buy park passes for every trip it would cost us $780 vs. the $370 for the AP, so for us the AP and DDE saves $$$.

[3dog2kidmom]

Our family of 4 (3 "adults" and 1 child) is doing deluxe dining in January for 4 nights/5 days and I can't wait! Here is how we decided to use our credits:

Monday: Dinner at 'Ohana (1)
Tuesday: Lunch at Coral Reef (2); Dinner at Le Cellier (3)
Wednesday: Breakfast at 'Ohana (4); Dinner at Spirit of Aloha (5-6)
Thursday: Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern (7); Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table (8-9)
Friday: Breakfast at Kona Cafe (10); Lunch at Mama Melrose's (11)

and we have 1 credit left which we'll either use at Downtown Disney on Monday or a CS dinner "to go" from Captain Cook's on Friday since we have a late flight. Or we may share meals and do both.

We really don't care to eat CS, so the deluxe plan is going to work great for our family! :banana:

[Cindy's Mom]

Our family of 4 (3 "adults" and 1 child) is doing deluxe dining in January for 4 nights/5 days and I can't wait! Here is how we decided to use our credits:

Monday: Dinner at 'Ohana (1)
Tuesday: Lunch at Coral Reef (2); Dinner at Le Cellier (3)
Wednesday: Breakfast at 'Ohana (4); Dinner at Spirit of Aloha (5-6)
Thursday: Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern (7); Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table (8-9)
Friday: Breakfast at Kona Cafe (10); Lunch at Mama Melrose's (11)

and we have 1 credit left which we'll either use at Downtown Disney on Monday or a CS dinner "to go" from Captain Cook's on Friday since we have a late flight. Or we may share meals and do both.

We really don't care to eat CS, so the deluxe plan is going to work great for our family! :banana:


It adds up fast, doesn't it? :goodvibes While I was planning our meals, I couldn't believe that I "ate" throught all the credits so quickly :lmao:

The snacks are really gonna kill me. We'll probably have more than our share of Mickey Bars :thumbsup2

[Colleen27]

You're right. With the DDE it actually comes out to be about $60 cheaper for us ($460.00 vs. $517. for the DDP for 3 nights). We will probably spend even less then the $460 since I figured in appys, entrees and desserts for every 2TS meal and most times my DH doesn't order dessert. I eat 3 meals a day at home but I don't have a big breakfast (usually just half a bagel and tea), for lunch I have salad or something light and then I have a regular dinner. We've done 3 meals a day at WDW many times (deluxe dining many years ago) and for us it's too much food and now because you have to make ADRs 180 days out too much planning. I don't want to have to make 3 ADRs every day and plan each and every minute of our trip 6 months in advance.

We purchase the AP because we are DVC owners and we usually get 3 trips out of the APs and DDE. If we were to buy park passes for every trip it would cost us $780 vs. the $370 for the AP, so for us the AP and DDE saves $$$ for 3 trips.


We'd save about $100 on meals with the DDE over the DxDDP plus maybe $50 on alcohol, but just buying one AP would be about $200 more (standard AP & paying OOP for waterparks/DisneyQuest vs 10 day MYW with hopper & water parks, no discounts) plus the cost of the DDE card. Since I don't know if we'll be going back within the year, it doesn't make sense to spend $265 to save $150, but for those who would get APs anyway the DDE would easily be the better deal.

[momto2girls]

Wow! How did I miss this? I'm so excited about the prospect of this plan. We just had free dining (for the second time) and I obviously love getting something for free, but we were talking about how much we hate eating at the CS places. We enjoy sitting down and eating TS much more. I was telling my husband that I wouldn't pay for the dining plan because of the CS. In fact, I told him that I wished that Disney would come out with a TS only plan and now I find out that they did! :goodvibes

We're thinking about making another trip in January/February. Where can I find the cost of the DDP?

[Colleen27]

We're thinking about making another trip in January/February. Where can I find the cost of the DDP?

The deluxe plan is $69.99/night for adults and 19.99/night for kids, and includes 3 meals, which can be used for either table or counter service, and 2 snacks per night, plus a refillable mug for each person in the party.

[momto2girls]

The deluxe plan is $69.99/night for adults and 19.99/night for kids, and includes 3 meals, which can be used for either table or counter service, and 2 snacks per night, plus a refillable mug for each person in the party.

Thanks! :thumbsup2

[Tricia1972]

Our family of 4 (3 "adults" and 1 child) is doing deluxe dining in January for 4 nights/5 days and I can't wait! Here is how we decided to use our credits:

Monday: Dinner at 'Ohana (1)
Tuesday: Lunch at Coral Reef (2); Dinner at Le Cellier (3)
Wednesday: Breakfast at 'Ohana (4); Dinner at Spirit of Aloha (5-6)
Thursday: Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern (7); Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table (8-9)
Friday: Breakfast at Kona Cafe (10); Lunch at Mama Melrose's (11)

and we have 1 credit left which we'll either use at Downtown Disney on Monday or a CS dinner "to go" from Captain Cook's on Friday since we have a late flight. Or we may share meals and do both.

We really don't care to eat CS, so the deluxe plan is going to work great for our family! :banana:

I've been reading about the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan with interest, trying to see if it's more of a money savings vs not.

I don't have any real numbers of my own, so used your dining plans as an example. I hope you don't mind. :goodvibes

Eating at your choices, and ordering the most expensive items on the menu (Save Kona, where I'd figure at least two adults would order Tonga Toast)

OOP Cost for Menu Items (most expensive items in all cases except as Noted) Not including ANY snacks or mugs - $944.42
Deluxe Dinsey Dining Plan cost is $919.84 for 4 nights

For us we wouldn't experience as much savings as this, as we don't always order the most expensive items. Thanks for letting me use you as an example to help figure out what would (and would not) work for us. :hippie:

[Cindy's Mom]

I've been reading about the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan with interest, trying to see if it's more of a money savings vs not.

I don't have any real numbers of my own, so used your dining plans as an example. I hope you don't mind. :goodvibes

Eating at your choices, and ordering the most expensive items on the menu (Save Kona, where I'd figure at least two adults would order Tonga Toast)

OOP Cost for Menu Items (most expensive items in all cases except as Noted) Not including ANY snacks or mugs - $944.42
Deluxe Dinsey Dining Plan cost is $919.84 for 4 nights

For us we wouldn't experience as much savings as this, as we don't always order the most expensive items. Thanks for letting me use you as an example to help figure out what would (and would not) work for us. :hippie:

BUT snack and the mugs are a considerable savings too. The refillable mug to use is priceless as we are really resort people vs. the comando park hoppers. So I would be that I refill my mug, 3 coffees a day and COUNTLESS ice tea, DH probably gets 5-6 Cokes a day, and the kids, who know. We will let them go get their own refills this year as we will be at SAB so right there we are realizing a savings.

The snacks are plentiful you figure $4 a snack time 2 - so $8 a day per person for the snack.

In the past DDP has worked perfectly for us. This will be the 1st time using DDDP, so I'm unsure how it will work, - we just really enjoy making our trip as "all inclusive" as possible. This way, all the money we bring to WDW is strickly for souveniers. :goodvibes

[Tricia1972]

BUT snack and the mugs are a considerable savings too. The refillable mug to use is priceless as we are really resort people vs. the comando park hoppers. So I would be that I refill my mug, 3 coffees a day and COUNTLESS ice tea, DH probably gets 5-6 Cokes a day, and the kids, who know. We will let them go get their own refills this year as we will be at SAB so right there we are realizing a savings.

The snacks are plentiful you figure $4 a snack time 2 - so $8 a day per person for the snack.

In the past DDP has worked perfectly for us. This will be the 1st time using DDDP, so I'm unsure how it will work, - we just really enjoy making our trip as "all inclusive" as possible. This way, all the money we bring to WDW is strickly for souveniers. :goodvibes

I can definitely see where it would work for quite a few people. That's a pretty substantial savings.

For us we tend to graze more to begin with, so we'd be using quite a few CS's. The example I quoted used only TS and I used only the most expensive items on the menu, so I don't think it'll work for us. I am just grateful to have a real example to calculate on (without having to think of it all on my own).

Have a fantastic trip! :goodvibes

[MissMichelle]

I look at it as "all inclusive" though you DEFINITELY pay for it. The price may be pretty high and that is a lot of food, but I'll do it for the simple fact that I can eat at many places I wouldn't have without it, and also not worry about spending ANY extra $$ on food where the regular DDP I paid OOP for breakfast daily and at least a bottled water etc...MUCH less stress on the Deluxe Plan. Though I'd NEVER eat all that food---I'd probably waste creditss

[ddstratton]

For us, the Deluxe Dining sounds like a perfect plan. As far as money -- I did a check using the menus at All-Ears. It is a fairly close thing, with the DDDP coming out savings us a few bucks. However, I love the fact that it will be paid for -- no budgeting our money for meals each day. And it kind of forces us to slow down and rest several times a day. Since we will have our nine-year-old daughter and my seventy-five-year-old MIL with us, resting during the day is very important.

I really just like not having to worry about $$ for food/meals once we are there. The deluxe plan covers all three meals a day -- and we are 3-meal-a-day people. I doubt we'll order everything we're "entitled" to (appetizers/deserts at each meal). But if we WANTED to, we could without worrying about the cost. I think that will make this vacation just that much more magical :goodvibes

[Sammie]

This always confuses me, because I wonder if people think eating 3 meals per day is insane, how do you normally eat at home? We eat the same at home, as we do while on vacation due to blood sugar issues, allergies, etc. We eat healthy food - no pop, fast food, hardly any sweets, etc. My 4 year old daughter is a grilled chicken, rice and water kind of gal, so we are so looking forward to the Deluxe Plan as it allows us to eat the same way that we normally do - we have great self discipline and portion control, so we only order what we can eat. If we aren't able to eat desert, we don't order it, plain and simple.

A lot of people on here seem to forget that one doesn't have to order everything that is offered, as well as the fact that one needs not gorge at every meal that one sits at.

Tiger


Very well said. I never understand the "too much food" comments. I mean people on these forums love the buffets, but surely they don't eat everything. :confused3 Just because a meal is plated you don't have to stuff yourself.

[Motomiker]

Hi there, this isn't a reply to your question but a hardy hope to see you there! We will be staying at the Poly for our honeymoon at what seems to be the same time you are in the World. We will also be eating at the Kona, so if you see a couple having breakfast and wonder... It might be us!

[3dog2kidmom]

Hi there, this isn't a reply to your question but a hardy hope to see you there! We will be staying at the Poly for our honeymoon at what seems to be the same time you are in the World. We will also be eating at the Kona, so if you see a couple having breakfast and wonder... It might be us!

Congrats to you, Motomiker! I would have loved to spend my honemoon at the Poly.. what a fabulous place it is!!! We're looking forward to breakfast at Kona -- we didnt' get to eat there last time we went.

OOP Cost for Menu Items (most expensive items in all cases except as Noted) Not including ANY snacks or mugs - $944.42
Deluxe Dinsey Dining Plan cost is $919.84 for 4 nights


Tricia, that was pretty much what I did to see if it would be a good deal for us and while the savings were minimal I liked the convenience. We admittedly will spend more than if we would just order OOP and really try to economize and share a few meals, but we just don't eat that way on vacation. This way there won't be any surprises. I have to budget VERY carefully to be able to stay at the Poly, and knowing months ahead what our dining bill will be and saving up for it makes it easier for me to stick to that budget.

[OKW Mom]

of our rooms and the DDP for the other room.

DVC members have to buy for the length of the reservation, so when we have the Studio for 4 nights and the 1BR for 7 nights we can mix it up and really enjoy the places we tried in May and Sept. on my birthday blowout in March.

Narcoosie's was great-and I'll be able to enjoy the cheese plate as a dessert. I could spend between now and March to plan a ritual of gastronomic delights.

Of course I'll carry my own defribrillator and wheelbarrel to carry my gut. Truthfully, we ate pretty wisely in May and Sept. We did miss some meals because of doing the 2cr. restaurants a couple of nights.

I just hope they will begin to individualize the dining now the price is up. It would be nice to drive business to specific locations for signature dishes.
popcorn:: :wave2: :cake: :drinking1