Deluxe Dining Still a deal with CS daily

[lilasmom]

We are a family of 4, 2A, 1C and 1I. Last year we used the DDDP and it was too much sitting and too much of a schedule, especially for a first timer. Now this year looking at the Basic plan I don't feel it's enough for us. I wish there was a plan in between the Basic and the Deluxe, but since there's not I'm looking at the Deluxe to see if we can make it work for us.

I've used a dining speadsheet I found here and if we eat a buffet for breakfast (gets everyone up and into the park before they open ) and a CS for lunch whereever and whenever we feel and a TS for dinner (around 7 pm and no signature restaurants) we still save about $223.00.

Am I making a mistake somewhere, everything I've read says if you substitute a TS for a CS meal you start losing money on the DDDP. What do you guys think ?:confused3

[JDUCKY]

I haven't done the math on it but some CS meals can run $15 so it's not like you're totally wasting a meal. Esp. if you make up for it at some place like Le Cellier or The Wave or something.

We're doing DlxDDP in a couple of weeks but doing 2 signature dining meals (Spirit of Aloha and Narcoossee's) so I've a feeling it will pay for itself. :)

[TDC Nala]

It's been posted that you start breaking even on the deluxe plan if you use 2/3 of your credits for table service meals. Never done the math myself.

[snugglepeas]

My husband and I have been pricing the Deluxe plan out and we are going for 8 nights and have figures out that after 17 meals that we have planned(mostly buffets for breakfast and 1 sig. dining and the rest reg. sit down) we are already at the break even point and that's before snacks, mugs and 7 other meal credits each. So for us it is will worth the plan, yes we will be ordering things that if we were not on the plan we would not normally order BUT we are on vacation and like to try new things.

[gigi1313]

I've used a dining speadsheet I found here and if we eat a buffet for breakfast (gets everyone up and into the park before they open ) and a CS for lunch whereever and whenever we feel and a TS for dinner (around 7 pm and no signature restaurants) we still save about $223.00.



i agree with your math... i've done a mock day of meals and came to the same conclusion... because of the snacks and mug you come out even further ahead, because we would go oop for drinks throughout the day and w/DxDDP we don't have to!

it does, however, get a little trickier when you start doing 2TS meals... unless you do the dinner shows where gratuity is included, you might just break-even...

last but not least thought on it... it's also good when you arrive early your first day needing lunch/dinner and leave late your last day needing b'fast/lunch... by hanging on to a few credits these days can be covered too!

[MagicPrincess]

I was just jotting down the restaurants we want to eat at, and I don't think the regular plan is enough for us, either! We thought about staying CL, but I'm not so sure I want to do that, I think I would rather just do the Deluxe dining!
Ugh! decisions!!!!

[SteffM]

We wrote down where we wanted to go, kind of guessed at what we would be ordered for a meal (no apps, no desserts) and DxDP was cheaper and we would be able to order desserts and apps on it. We are a family of 6 and my older three can eat.

[drmommy]

We've done the Deluxe DP on all our trips, and we always think it's a deal. We love the fact that we can prepay it...then it doesn't seem like such an expense when you're there. It's almost worry-free dining. You can get what you want and not have to necessarily look at the price. Then with appetizers and dessert included, you really feel like you're on vacation!

[Donaldswife]

We've done the Deluxe DP on all our trips, and we always think it's a deal. We love the fact that we can prepay it...then it doesn't seem like such an expense when you're there. It's almost worry-free dining. You can get what you want and not have to necessarily look at the price. Then with appetizers and dessert included, you really feel like you're on vacation!


I agree, we do Deluxe, and we do a CS about every day or every other day. One dinner at Tutto Italia was MORE than what we paid for the whole day on the Deluxe Dining plan last year! :thumbsup2 We definitlely came out ahead, and not worrying when you are on vacation about the price is priceless.

[mistysue]

I agree with your math. We did DxDDP last year- 2A, 1C one infant and did about half of our meals CS- we saved money. It is such a good deal when you have more kids and like TS meals too because just one buffet and one CS and they have spent more than they cost you! Now you have the 3rd meal, 2 snacks and mug for free!

I keep seeing people saying you get the best value by using the 2 credit meals, but seeing as how those meals cost less than two separate meals that actually is a less effective way to spend the credits. (with few exceptions)

I don't know if this would help you- but we booked a TS lunch almost every day and our kids used that as the afternoon break. We skipped going back to the resort because DD(6) would be tired and relax at the table, DS (6months) would nap and we all got out from lunch totally refreshed.
We then had total freedom to design the rest of our day as we went along from mid afternoon until bedtime. We made sure all of our sit down breakfasts and dinners had something special (generally a character meal) to keep their attention better.

[Faldred]

Just think of it like this, if we say that we'll just treat the snack credits and resort mugs as a "bonus", each meal DxDP credit works out to cost you $24 ($72 divided by 3), including all taxes. (If you place a value on the mugs and/or snacks, then prorate the $24/credit cost accordingly.)

So, technically, almost any CS meal will below that cost (you might get to that $24 mark at WPE), and, looked at isolation, is a "bad deal" under DxDP. But that ignores the fact that your TS meals are going to average well over $24 each.

It's a rule of thumb, and not hard math, that 2/3 TS and 1/3 CS is at least break-even on DxDP. A lot depends on what you order and where you go.

The other way to look at it is that you're buying 1 extra TS credit per night, 1 extra snack credit per night and the resort mug for $30 per night ($24/night during peak) over basic DDP. Plus you get appetizers with the TS meals.

I don't know if this would help you- but we booked a TS lunch almost every day and our kids used that as the afternoon break. We skipped going back to the resort because DD(6) would be tired and relax at the table, DS (6months) would nap and we all got out from lunch totally refreshed.
We then had total freedom to design the rest of our day as we went along from mid afternoon until bedtime. We made sure all of our sit down breakfasts and dinners had something special (generally a character meal) to keep their attention better.

I agree. With little ones, I found dealing with CS lunches to be far too stressful. Much better to have a lunch ADR and take the extra time (and frankly, not that much extra time) to relax, which helped the kids out too (the twins would nap after lunch in the stroller, and out 4yo had the energy to go for the afternoon).

[seadd67]

We where going to do the DxDDP and decided to go with the DDP because It gave us more flexablity. We wanted to eat at some of the places that Is not offered on the Dinning plan In genreal.So we will pay out of Pocket for those places and still come out about the same.

[Superspectral]

We are a family of 4, 2A, 1C and 1I. Last year we used the DDDP and it was too much sitting and too much of a schedule, especially for a first timer. Now this year looking at the Basic plan I don't feel it's enough for us. I wish there was a plan in between the Basic and the Deluxe, but since there's not I'm looking at the Deluxe to see if we can make it work for us.

I've used a dining speadsheet I found here and if we eat a buffet for breakfast (gets everyone up and into the park before they open ) and a CS for lunch whereever and whenever we feel and a TS for dinner (around 7 pm and no signature restaurants) we still save about $223.00.

Am I making a mistake somewhere, everything I've read says if you substitute a TS for a CS meal you start losing money on the DDDP. What do you guys think ?:confused3

You do not have to do 3TS a day on the DxDDP to break even. That is a myth.

I have used the DxDDP twice with a family of 4, (once 2AD, 1CH and 1I, the other 2AD, 2CH) following the same plan, 2TS 1CS and actually saved closer to $500 each time (as compared to ordering the same things OOP).

With the 2010 price increases in the DDP, the math would suggest it is a lot harder to break-even on the original DDP plan, and mistakes can be made that make it a wash or a loss. Using DDP TS credits on buffets or signature restaurants is likely a loss now. Whereas using DxDDP credits on buffets and signature restaurants better than break even. The DxDDP still has a clearer to understand break-even point that as long as you spend slightly less than 1/2 your credits on CS you will break-even (in my analysis). Any fewer CS than that and you are even more ahead.

Its too bad the original DDP plan has lost so much of its value. I'm sure for many people the DxDDP may be too much food and/or money. My family's dining plans (love character meals and like a few sit downs) tends to towards planning slightly more than 1 TS meal a day (or equiv, particularly counting the "extra" day of departure) so the DxDDP works well for us. If I planned 1 or fewer TS per day I think I would skip the DDP and pay OOP.

[brendaziz]

We are doing deluxe on our trip this summer for the first time.
I just finished doing all the math for us and went thru every menu of where we'd be going and did a conservative estimate of what we would get (didn't pick everyone getting steak)
We will have spent 1050 on the dxdp and at the end the total spent was around 1350 w/ conservative snacks and not even including the cost of mugs.

i made choices based on what we wanted and NOT on what was most cost effective.
In my plan there are a few counter service meals and even a room service breakfast that woudl only cost $80 for 5 of us to buy but will be 2 credits each!
I know- that one is prob a little bit of a waste of money, but i KNOW it's what we will want to do that day. Also, those include tip at least so that's one less extra out of pocket expense.

We've done the basic plan twice for free dining and it has NEVER been even CLOSE to enough for us. We've always had to end up spending several hundred out of pocket on just meals.
I have a feeling after going deluxe once i will never go back :)