Benefits of Deluxe DDP? and is it worth the $$

[kristen2276]

What are the benefits as opposed to the regular DDP- and what does this mean during free dining? do you pay the difference between the regular and the deluxe or do you pay full cost if you want to upgrade during free dining? is it worth it?
This is our first time using free dining and the only other time we used the DDP was when it included tip and appetizer-
So can anyone help me? that is a silly question I know you all can!
But will you? LOL!
Kristen

[Faldred]

Basic:

Per person, per night:

* 1 TS credit (valid for 1 buffet/ayce or entree + dessert + beverage)
* 1 CS credit (valid for 1 entree or combo meal + dessert (juice at breakfast) + beverage)
* 1 snack credit

Deluxe:

Per person, per night:

* 3 "meal credits"
* Each can be used for CS or TS
* At "menu service' TS, also includes an appetizer
* CS, buffets, and "all you care to eat" are the same entitlements as on basic
* 2 snack credits

Per person (one per stay):
* 1 refillable resort mug

During "free dining", you would pay the difference between the plans to upgrade (that's $32 pp/night for adults, and $10 pp/night for children).

Now, as to whether or not it's "worth it", it's completely subjective based on how you want to spend your vacation.

[MelanieC]

For us - I can't ever imagine that the Deluxe would be worth it for us. We don't eat that much food.

[cmesq61]

It really depends on your likes and dislikes. When it is just us adults, we like a big, leisurely breakfast, and I prefer not a buffet. He likes a buffet so we do some of both. We then skip lunch and just snack, and do dinners primarily at 2 TS places.

When we have the kids, we do buffets breakfasts to fill the hollow-legged teenagers, lunch (often a salad for me) and then buffets for dinner--again, to fill up the teens.

If I had small kids, we would not do DxDP.

Also, we like trying new places and new foods, which the DxDP lets us do. In addition, I like the pre-paid aspect, and the I-don't-need-to-think-about-anything-food-related-while-on-vacation aspect of the plan (other than what to order).

Do we eat more than we normally would--you bethcha! It is vacation, after all!

[Faldred]

If I had small kids, we would not do DxDP.

Actually, we found that DxDP worked great with small kids (almost 4, and 2-year-old twins). We usually did three meals a day, and it allowed us to keep the kids on a pretty normal schedule (they are very schedule-driven kids). The day was basically bracketed by a character breakfast and a nice quiet dinner -- by the time dinner was over and we got back to the resort, the kids were ready for bed -- with lunch being a nice mid-day break, and often our lightest meal. By having a solid touring plan, we still got in pretty much everything we wanted to do (at least for the kids), and never had to really worry too much about standing in line, finding high chairs or booster seats, etc.

[gilsan]

We have a 3yo and have decided to upgrade to DxDP. I like that we won't have to fight for a seat at CS and that we can eat in air conditioned restaurants. It will be a nice break from the heat.

We also will be able to try a number of the signature dining restaurants and attend the character breakfasts.

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

My DH and I tried the DDDP last Oct. (9 nights/10 days). We found it to be well worth the money especially if you plan on dining at some of the signature restaurants. To give you an idea of what we would have spent here are a few of our bills.

Narcoossee's - $190
Yak & Yeti (lunch) - $94
Tutto Italia - $138
Le Cellier (lunch) - $98

We also did 6 buffets/family style like Biergarten, LTT, Crystal Palace, etc.

Once we got home I added everything up and found that between the 2 of us spent $493.22 more than what we paid for the DDDP. Hope this helps! Good luck deciding.

Oh and we're are upgrading this Sept to the DDDP since we like it so much last year.

[MelanieC]

My DH and I tried the DDDP last Oct. (9 nights/10 days). We found it to be well worth the money especially if you plan on dining at some of the signature restaurants. To give you an idea of what we would have spent here are a few of our bills.

Narcoossee's - $190
Yak & Yeti (lunch) - $94
Tutto Italia - $138
Le Cellier (lunch) - $98

We also did 6 buffets/family style like Biergarten, LTT, Crystal Palace, etc.

Once we got home I added everything up and found that between the 2 of us spent $493.22 more than what we paid for the DDDP. Hope this helps! Good luck deciding.

Oh and we're are upgrading this Sept to the DDDP since we like it so much last year.


But the question is - would you have spent the $493.22 more if you didn't have the dining plan. It depends on if you eat that much food normally when you go. We would never eat appetizers, desserts and 3 credits a day - unless we did at least 1 -2 credit place per day.

[Colleen27]

Actually, we found that DxDP worked great with small kids (almost 4, and 2-year-old twins). We usually did three meals a day, and it allowed us to keep the kids on a pretty normal schedule (they are very schedule-driven kids). The day was basically bracketed by a character breakfast and a nice quiet dinner -- by the time dinner was over and we got back to the resort, the kids were ready for bed -- with lunch being a nice mid-day break, and often our lightest meal. By having a solid touring plan, we still got in pretty much everything we wanted to do (at least for the kids), and never had to really worry too much about standing in line, finding high chairs or booster seats, etc.

We like the DxDDP with kids too, because we find the entire counter service experience a major hassle! I wouldn't mind grabbing a quick bite if it was just me & DH, but with the kids the whole stand in line to order, wait for the food, stand in another line to load up your own condiments/utensils/napkins, find a table, hunt down a high chair... It is just a headache. We much prefer our meals to be a break from standing in line! We do two meals per day most days, because my kids are well accustomed to "restaurant manners" and enjoy signature dining with us. We grab a snack for breakfast, have a TS lunch as a break from the heat, noise, and crowds of the parks, and then end the night with a nice, quiet signature dinner.

To the OP - if you want to crunch the numbers, I have a deluxe plan spreadsheet in my sig. Just plug in your trip length, party size, and some likely meal choices and it will do the math to help you decide if the upgrade is worthwhile.

[chocolateMinnie]

We have been to WDW three times and NOT taken the dining plan. Basically because we are a huge breakfast and huge dinner and not a lot in between other than water kind of people. So with the standard dining plan it just wouldn't work for two table service meals per day. Also the price comparisons inevitably include food that we wouldn't eat (for e.g. when paying oop we never eat starter and dessert just entree and either appetizer or pudding.)

However, we have booked the dxdp next year for three reasons
1) Now our children are older they want to do the disney shows and 2ts meals - the only one we did in the past was CRT.
2) The exchange rate here is a nightmare and by booking with our tour operator now we know that whatever the rate in October may be we will be paying the amount being quoted in the UK in pounds now not increased (or decreased LOL ) price.
3) We booked for 'free dining period' for next year, then realised we were only entitled to quick service dining plan which is no use to us at all, tried to upgrade but were only able to upgrade to DDP which is no use either so decided to bite the bullet and pay for DXDP - why? Just impulse.

[frannn]

We tried it last year during free dining, and it gave us a lot of benefits. We loved not having to pack snacks, make a grocery stop, budget OOP for breakfast, go offsite for meals, waste time debating over where to eat, check menu prices, say no to snacks. It was like a forced break, which DH and DD6 loved. I am the Type A Commando of the family, so break is a dirty word to me, LOL! It was great to be able to eat everywhere we wanted to. The only drawbacks (other than the extra $), were the large chunks of time spent running to ADRs and eating, and sometimes eating before we were really hungry. We consider eating at WDW part of our vacation experience, so its nice to have it all planned out & paid for in advance.

[cmesq61]

We have a 3yo and have decided to upgrade to DxDP. I like that we won't have to fight for a seat at CS and that we can eat in air conditioned restaurants. It will be a nice break from the heat.

We also will be able to try a number of the signature dining restaurants and attend the character breakfasts.

You are so right. Even though my kids are older, it was nice to sit in the cool air and check in to see how everyone was doing, should we change the plan for the next few hours, did the kids want to go off on their own, etc.

[stitchfan18]

So the 3 meal credits a day can all be used at ts restaurants? I'm thinking about doing the DxDP for our anniversary since DH loves the 2 ts credit restaurants, but we also like a lot of 1 credit restaurants as well. Could we eat breakfast, Lunch and Dinner all at TS restaurants?

[Faldred]

So the 3 meal credits a day can all be used at ts restaurants? I'm thinking about doing the DxDP for our anniversary since DH loves the 2 ts credit restaurants, but we also like a lot of 1 credit restaurants as well. Could we eat breakfast, Lunch and Dinner all at TS restaurants?

Yup. The meal credits can be used at any participating DDP restaurant, CS or TS.

I think we did 4 out of 7 days with 3 TS meals. The days we did a CS lunch, I regretted it.

[kristen2276]

Thank you very much for the information!
I will have to do some # crunching now to see if it is worth it-

[stitchfan18]

It sounds like a great deal to us, we love the signature dining places, and the bills for us there are usually around $100 and that doesn't include an appetizer. I think we'll definitely be doing this for our anniversary trip!

[bmw2001]

We did DxDP in December with my Dh, DM and DD3 and absolutely loved it. It was convenient, easy and worth the money. We did a lot of 2 credit places like HDD, Mickey's Backyard BBQ and CRT and it worked out even better given I was sick and incapacitated from day 3 of our vacation as a result of a nasty sinus infection complete with fever and a dislocated knee. This meant the TS breaks were much needed and much appreciated by me as well as by my mom who had to push DD in her pram and by my DH who had to push me in my wheelchair. We made all our ADRs beforehand and cancelled what we didn't use. As a result of my illness we ate at Everything Pop a few times and loved it - and we still thought it was value for money. Emily, our DD, got to try some things we probably wouldn't have gotten her if we had been paying OOP, like a Cinderella cupcake and a Mickey ice-cream and we all got to experience some lovely, but expensive restaurants like Tutto Italia and Teppan Edo. We all agree we would do DxDP again. Moneywise, I haven't worked out if it did save us anything, but it was wonderful to know that it was paid for and only have to worry about the tips rather than stressing about the budget all the time.

HTH,

Bianca

[Crystal_27]

I don't necessarily think that any of the dining plans are cost saving plans anymore; they seem to have become more prepayment plans. That said, we have done the DDP with great success, and we are going to try the DxDDP for our trip in June, 2010. I think that the decision about which (if any) plan to try really depends on what type of "pace" you want for your vacation. We've found that the dining plans make us add in breaks, which are actually quite welcome. For some, however, the thought of sitting down for a meal and taking time away from park touring is something they prefer not to do. Either way, good luck with your decision!

[LoveTheWDWMagic]

This will be our third time on the dining plan, and second using the deluxe. I have two boys ages 16 and 9 and believe me, they (especially the 16) eat their money's worth on the plan. With us going in August, it is nice to have a 1TS lunch and eat in a nice a/c restaurant. We don't have to wait in line to order the food or look forever to find a table. We use 2TS for dinner and eat breakfast in our room. Last year, we saved about $800.00 with the plan!!

[Debbie Jean]

It sounds like a great deal to us, we love the signature dining places, and the bills for us there are usually around $100 and that doesn't include an appetizer. I think we'll definitely be doing this for our anniversary trip!

This is the second year that DD (22) and I are going during free dining and upgraded to Deluxe. Our plan this year is the same as last year... use snack credits for breakfast, 1 credit TS for lunch and a 2 credit signature restaurant in the evening.

If signature dining is something you want, then this is definitely the way to go! :thumbsup2

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

But the question is - would you have spent the $493.22 more if you didn't have the dining plan. It depends on if you eat that much food normally when you go. We would never eat appetizers, desserts and 3 credits a day - unless we did at least 1 -2 credit place per day.

No because we would have ordered the cheaper items on the menu so we could afford to eat at those restaurants. Instead of ordering the $40 entree I want.... I'd order the $25 one I could afford.

Also we don't eat 3 full meals a day. We stay an extra day so it's less than 3 credits a day and we try several restaurants that are 2 credits. So we never eat more than 2 meals a day and I sometime save the dessert for a snack later in the day (which my DH usually eats). My DH can eat the app, entree and dessert....however I'm 5'2 110 so there is no way I can finish everything.

The way I see it by being on DxDDP I can order whatever appetizer, entree and dessert I like. I don't have to worry about the price.

[MichaelColey]

We're a family of four with big appetites. We have used the basic (free!) DDP the last couple years. It was more than enough food for us, and we were absolutely stuffed most days. I've toyed with the idea of doing the DxDP because I would love to do more 2 credit and table service places, but I struggle with the cost. We stay for 14 days, so that's an additional $1200 to upgrade. I just can't see us eating THAT much extra food to be worthwhile.

[n2mm]

We are doing the delux ddp in July for our anniversary. We plan to eat a signature restraurants for dinner and an early TS lunch. We'll use the snack credits for some breakfast items, but we do have a studio, and generally do breakfast in the room. We booked Narcoossees, Citricos, YSH, Cali Grill, just to name a few. We thought it might be fun trying some new places to eat. However, we don't look forward to the tip bill :eek:

[Golf4food]

Would we spend the same amount out of pocket if we weren't on a DDP plan? No. Our first trip when we were freshly married and DW was still in school we split the double cheeseburgers and paid the $0.40 for an extra bun and a separate drink and shared things and only paid for one sit down buffet. We spent less than $20 per day total for the two of us on average for the entire trip. It can be done. Is that the most fun way? Of course not. We love the DDP because it allows us to splurge a little. It's vacation. It's suppose to be fun!

So this year since we'll be down for free dining we're upgrading to the DxDP and going to go all out with it. The upgrade price is cheaper than paying OOP for the basic DDP (if you aren't getting it for free) so while we would never pay OOP for the DxDP on any other trip we can justify it since we're already getting the basic DDP for free and just once want to enjoy some places we've never eaten. We live close, we go every year (or multiple times per year) and this trip will be our third in the last 12 months (seasonal passes this year) so we've done the rides and shows and seen the sights - this time we're going to eat at more TS places and enjoy the food and have a leisurely stay that isn't so worried about rides and shows. We'll still have plenty of time to see and do our favorites, but in the meantime we'll also have the chance to enjoy a lot of restaurants and foods we don't normally get to enjoy at home, or else would cost us more money to get something similar. We only live once, best to enjoy it while we can! :)

[kristen2276]

we have decided to give it a whirl, since our son is under 3 he does not get a meal- so with the appetizer course we can easily share with him and not have to spend any money OOP. Plus, we get to eat at more signiture places-
So, hopefully on Monday I will get all the ADRs we want!

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

We absolutely love the Deluxe dining! We thought it was well worth it! :goodvibes