Deluxe Dining Plan - The DIS Discussion Forums

constancefamily · 12-12-2012, 02:39 PM

If money was no issue, would you do the deluxe dining plan? Why or why not? How would you use your credits?

Missyrose · 12-12-2012, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by constancefamily

If money was no issue, would you do the deluxe dining plan? Why or why not? How would you use your credits?

We did the DxDP last year and enjoyed it. We tend to like TS rather than QS and we like appetizers more than desserts, so both lent themselves to the DxDP.

That being said, it's a lot of food (be prepared to feel wasteful at some point when you can't finish everything). And you spend a lot of time in restaurants.

We mainly did breakfasts and signature dinners, and never did three TS meals in one day.

We enjoyed the plan, but we now use the Tables in Wonderland card because it's a little more flexible and it covers alcohol too.

MHSweb79 · 12-12-2012, 03:05 PM

We find the regular DP too much food, so I can't imagine doing the DxDP unless we did signature meals every day, like the PP suggests.

Also, TS meals can eat up 60-90 minutes each and we don't want to spend upwards of 3-4 hours A DAY inside restaurants. None of Disney's food is that good!

And finally, when the weather is hot and our appetites are dulled, we often share a CS meal on days when we are going to eat a buffet dinner. This would mean wasted credits on those days, which my frugal side just could not tolerate.

meredith1 · 12-12-2012, 03:16 PM

We do the deluxe dining plan every visit. We have young children that love the character meals and my H and I like TS for dinner.

We typically to an early morning pre park opening breakfast (characters) for the kids, use snack credits for midday and a nice TS for dinner. So we are eating a good breakfast at 7:30/8:00 and then, eating another good meal around 6:30/7:00 in the evening. It's perfect for us!

We always end up with lots of snack credits in the end. We just use those on snacks we can bring back home with us...they always get eaten.

minnie mum · 12-12-2012, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by constancefamily

If money was no issue, would you do the deluxe dining plan? Why or why not? How would you use your credits?

If money was no issue, then why would you bother with any dining plan? Why wouldn't you just charge all of your meals to your KTTW card and eat and drink whatever you wanted?

TheRustyScupper · 12-12-2012, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minnie mum

If money was no issue, then why would you bother with any dining plan? Why wouldn't you just charge all of your meals to your KTTW card and eat and drink whatever you wanted?

ErinsMommy · 12-12-2012, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minnie mum

If money was no issue, then why would you bother with any dining plan? Why wouldn't you just charge all of your meals to your KTTW card and eat and drink whatever you wanted?

I totally agree with this.

JZCubed · 12-12-2012, 05:27 PM

You have to eat a good amount of food to 'break-even' with Dining Plans.

For the Deluxe Dining, you have to eat a good amount of food to 'break-even' and probably have at least 2 reservations per day as Table Service places to have ordered enough food.

Assuming everybody in your party wants to sit down twice each day with the ability to overeat, and assuming that nobody in your party misses a meal, or skips an appetizer and/or dessert, and has zero [0] snacks remaining in their account - you get an OK discount (10%'ish). You can maximize your return beyond 10% with Dining Plan if you are diligent about re-filling your mugs.

But the question - if money were no object....I would be comfortable prepaying and not having to worry about reconciling any bills at the end of my stay. Regardless, for the way my family dines, we shouldn't feel compelled to order too much food or outside our comfort zone to simply 'break-even'.

If you're enamored by Signature Restaurants and/or Character Meals, and if you plan to spend more than $500 (the break-even from $100 fee) at Table Service restaurants - Tables in Wonderland Card (TiW) may be able to offer a better dining discount. TiW 20% discount seemingly works best, relative to Dining Plan, if your meals include some alcohol.

JimmyV · 12-12-2012, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minnie mum

If money was no issue, then why would you bother with any dining plan? Why wouldn't you just charge all of your meals to your KTTW card and eat and drink whatever you wanted?

You took the words right out of my keyboard. If money was no object, I would eat wherever I wanted, which would include the Swan and Dolphin restaurants as well as V&A, and never look back. If I were on the DxDP, I would be skipping these places.

Peter Fan · 12-12-2012, 06:05 PM

There is no way we would get the deluxe. We always get the regular and are always full. I know we would enjoy the restaurants more if we were actually hungry!

North of Mouse · 12-12-2012, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minnie mum

If money was no issue, then why would you bother with any dining plan? Why wouldn't you just charge all of your meals to your KTTW card and eat and drink whatever you wanted?

This! I have read way too many trip reports of people on the DxDP that told of being sick of food, just barely tasting some meals, and a bite out of desserts just to taste it, etc. I can't stand waste to this extent. We don't do any DP's and we eat what we want for far less than the cost of the plan.

chocovrdmicears · 12-12-2012, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by minnie mum

If money was no issue, then why would you bother with any dining plan? Why wouldn't you just charge all of your meals to your KTTW card and eat and drink whatever you wanted?

LIKE

Cinderella1122 · 12-12-2012, 07:12 PM

I have done DXDP several times. We purchased it again for next week. We are all adults with no children and prefer signiture dining. We have an early lunch and a late dinner booked for every day of our stay. It is a lot of food. We often get an app to split, our entree, and dessert. We find that we still save money even though all of us aren't getting an app.

BearcatsFan · 12-12-2012, 07:32 PM

No way. It's too much food, too many reservations to keep track of, too much time spent inside of restaurants.

As PPs have said, if money were no object, I'd eat exactly as I wanted and not even bother with the dining plan. In fact, I'm considering not bothering with the dining plan on our next trip. Then I won't have to worry about maxing out every single meal, getting desserts I couldn't eat or didn't want, and wasting a ton of food.

Pakey · 12-12-2012, 08:06 PM

When Disney's signatures reach the same quality as the Swan/Dolphin restaurants, I might consider it. No, not even then. Too rigid for my style.

12-12-2012, 02:39 PM	#1
constancefamily Earning My Ears Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 62	Deluxe Dining Plan If money was no issue, would you do the deluxe dining plan? Why or why not? How would you use your credits?

12-12-2012, 03:16 PM	#4
meredith1 DIS Veteran Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 606	We do the deluxe dining plan every visit. We have young children that love the character meals and my H and I like TS for dinner. We typically to an early morning pre park opening breakfast (characters) for the kids, use snack credits for midday and a nice TS for dinner. So we are eating a good breakfast at 7:30/8:00 and then, eating another good meal around 6:30/7:00 in the evening. It's perfect for us! We always end up with lots of snack credits in the end. We just use those on snacks we can bring back home with us...they always get eaten. __________________ DD 5 yrs twin DD & DS 2.5 yrs. Dec, 2011-Contemorary Resort/MK View Dec, 2013-BLT/MK view

12-12-2012, 05:27 PM	#8
JZCubed DIS Veteran Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 566	You have to eat a good amount of food to 'break-even' with Dining Plans. For the Deluxe Dining, you have to eat a good amount of food to 'break-even' and probably have at least 2 reservations per day as Table Service places to have ordered enough food. Assuming everybody in your party wants to sit down twice each day with the ability to overeat, and assuming that nobody in your party misses a meal, or skips an appetizer and/or dessert, and has zero [0] snacks remaining in their account - you get an OK discount (10%'ish). You can maximize your return beyond 10% with Dining Plan if you are diligent about re-filling your mugs. But the question - if money were no object....I would be comfortable prepaying and not having to worry about reconciling any bills at the end of my stay. Regardless, for the way my family dines, we shouldn't feel compelled to order too much food or outside our comfort zone to simply 'break-even'. If you're enamored by Signature Restaurants and/or Character Meals, and if you plan to spend more than $500 (the break-even from $100 fee) at Table Service restaurants - Tables in Wonderland Card (TiW) may be able to offer a better dining discount. TiW 20% discount seemingly works best, relative to Dining Plan, if your meals include some alcohol. __________________ WDW Off Site - 1975, 76, 78 Contemporary - 1988 Boardwalk Villas - 1999, 2011, 2013 Bay Lake Towers - 2010, 2012, 2013 Dolphin - 2011, 2012 Swan - 2013 Beach Club/Animal Kingdom - 2014?? blueZoo, Bongo's, California Grill, Cape May Cafe, Captain's Grille, Chef Mickey's, Cinderella's Royal Table, Citrico's, Coral Reef, Crystal Palace, 50's Prime Time Cafe, Flying Fish, Garden Grill, Grand Floridian Cafe, Hollywood Brown Derby, Il Mulino, Kouzinna, Le Cellier, Les Chefs de France, Narcoossee's, Rainforest Cafe, Rose & Crown, Sci-Fi Theatre, Shula's Steakhouse, Sleepy Hollow, Victoria & Albert, Wave, Yak & Yeti On my 'to dine' list: Artist Point, Monsieur Paul (formerly Bistro de Paris), Jiko & Sanaa, Ohana, Yachtman's Steakhouse, Fulton's.

12-12-2012, 07:12 PM	#13
Cinderella1122 DVC member since 2008 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Pa and AKV Posts: 1,002	I have done DXDP several times. We purchased it again for next week. We are all adults with no children and prefer signiture dining. We have an early lunch and a late dinner booked for every day of our stay. It is a lot of food. We often get an app to split, our entree, and dessert. We find that we still save money even though all of us aren't getting an app. __________________

12-12-2012, 07:32 PM	#14
BearcatsFan we finally had a minute to breathe yesterday and sat down Soak up the Sun Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: The Queen City Posts: 7,306	No way. It's too much food, too many reservations to keep track of, too much time spent inside of restaurants. As PPs have said, if money were no object, I'd eat exactly as I wanted and not even bother with the dining plan. In fact, I'm considering not bothering with the dining plan on our next trip. Then I won't have to worry about maxing out every single meal, getting desserts I couldn't eat or didn't want, and wasting a ton of food. __________________ Loving all things Disney since 1976.

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12-12-2012, 03:05 PM	#3
MHSweb79 DIS Veteran Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Providence, RI Posts: 3,691	We find the regular DP too much food, so I can't imagine doing the DxDP unless we did signature meals every day, like the PP suggests. Also, TS meals can eat up 60-90 minutes each and we don't want to spend upwards of 3-4 hours A DAY inside restaurants. None of Disney's food is that good! And finally, when the weather is hot and our appetites are dulled, we often share a CS meal on days when we are going to eat a buffet dinner. This would mean wasted credits on those days, which my frugal side just could not tolerate.

12-12-2012, 06:05 PM	#10
Peter Fan Peter Fan Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 269	There is no way we would get the deluxe. We always get the regular and are always full. I know we would enjoy the restaurants more if we were actually hungry!

12-12-2012, 08:06 PM	#15
Pakey Lobster A Boo Boo Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Central California Posts: 18,926	When Disney's signatures reach the same quality as the Swan/Dolphin restaurants, I might consider it. No, not even then. Too rigid for my style.

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