Is the deluxe dining plan worth it for 2 people?

[dogruledhouse]

I think we need more than the 1 counter service and 1 table service meal per day, but I am afraid we will be wasting money with 3 table service meals per day for 2 people. Anyone have any suggestions?:cool1:

[morgy827]

My husband and I are going with the Dxdp for the first time this year. I think it'll be worth it because we love eating at TS and this way we get to try out a lot of them. When I figured what we would be paying our of pocket each day on the reg DP (considering paying for a CS BF each day and a drink in the parks plus an appetizer now and then) the difference between the reg plan and the deluxe was between 50-75$ per person ( for 10 days). Worth it in my opinion for the experience.

Here's how I figured it out...
Each day OOP costs would be:
+ $10 for Breakfast
+$2 for extra drink in parks
+ $7 for appetizer with dinner (not included in basic but included in deluxe)
+1.50/day for refillable mug (not included in basic, included in deluxe)
+1 extra OOP dinner (because we are doing CIndy's Royal Breakfast) $30/person divided by 10 day trip= +$3/day
+1 OOP lunch at Sci fi diner= $20 per person divided by 10 day trip= $2

= $25.50+ basic Dining plan of $39.99= 65.49/day

Deluxe Dining Plan= $71.99/day

A difference of $6.50/person/day

An extra $13 a day seems well worth it for all the extras that we will be getting. It may not have been $13 that we were planning on spending but I also was not planning on eating at 5 signature restaurants so that experience will be worth the extra $ alone!!


I would try and figure out what you would pay OOP on the basic plan to determine if the deluxe is worth it to you.

[cmesq61]

Well, I guess it depends on how and what you like to eat, but to answer your question...YES! Basically, with breakfast and supper, we've paid for the plan and so lunch and snacks are "free". I know, you've paid for it, so it's not free, but you get my point. I like not worrying about the cost everytime I go, not having to decide whether I want to spend the money on dessert, etc. I also like that I can do almost any restaraunt and try new places that I otherwise would not try, and it's convenient. We like a sit down for breakfast and supper and w/o the kids on our next trip, we'll use some lunch credits to do signature dining. And, we are not people who would be in the parks every minute of every day so we like taking the time out to sit and relax over a meal. I think the deluxe plan really is not such a great choice if you are not big eaters and/or don't want to miss a moment of park fun. We like a more leisurely approach, even at WDW, and did I say we like to eat, so for us, it's great and makes financial sense.

[NMW]

Do some signature meals-California Grill, Yachtsman, Jiko, etc. They are all 2 credits. You could do a breakfast, grab a snack for lunch, and have a nice signature dinner.

[Faldred]

We're basically planning on 2 TS and 1 CS per day (for the most part) -- at that, I think we'll likely break even or come out slightly ahead on the DxDP. That's with only two 2 credit meals -- I think a more optimal use of plan is pretty easy, but the main reason we want to do it isn't cost savings, it's the convenience of being able to do pretty much anything at any time (subject to availability) without planning much more than just the ADRs themselves.

[MollyMcDaniel]

I love your screen name....dogruledhouse. I always say our pets own the house and they let us live here!:flower3:

We are trying the DxDP for the first time this year. We have used the DDP several times and really enjoyed it, but felt limited because some days we would like to have 2 TS meals. We have 2 signature dining booked for March, so that is 4 credits per person right there. It is also great for DD, since she is just shy of 5 and loves the character meals. We have 3 breakfast CM's and one dinner CM. I really am not a fan of CS, so all but 2 of our credits are for TS. I also love my appetizers and desserts, so I think it is a great value.

Try some restaurants you wouldn't normally try, order items that you would normally pass on because of cost. Enjoy your vacation!

[dogruledhouse]

Thanks for all of your responses. I will do some figuring, but it sounds like it would be easier to do the dining plan and in my book convenience is worth a lot of money.:banana: