Anyone actualy likes deluxe dining plan?

[lynypixie]

All I hear around is complains about how much food is DxDP. Everyone seems to hate it.

My husband absolutly wants to be on the deluxe disney plan, because he does not want to worry about meals, and he absolutly hates counter service food, especialy park ones. That's one thing he remembers from our last visit.

So, I'm looking for people who actualy likes DxDP.
Oh, and we are going in february.

 

[gtpoohbear]

I always feel like the lone-DxDDP crusader, lol!

We've done it twice, and wouldn't go to WDW any other way. We always eat three meals a day at home, we could not possibly get by with less on vacation. Everyone would be hungry and grumpy. And we don't eat fast food (aka CS). So the DxDDP makes perfect sense for us.

We eat a TS breakfast very early so that we still make RD, and don't lose any morning park time. By noon, we are ready for a break and look forward to a relaxing TS lunch. Then we head back to the resort for naps and swimming. The evenings are mostly for dinner and fireworks/parades, etc. Maybe a couple of rides if time.

We've always been able to do every ride and see every show that we wanted too, and never felt like the ADRs tied us down at all. With careful planning, it can work wonderfully. The meals themselves are things we look forward to, and even my now-9yo DD gets just as excited about where we are going to eat as what rides we will do.

I don't really see how people can get by on the regular dining plan. A muffin for breakfast, fast-food hamburger for lunch... my family would be famished long before dinner. I guess if that's how you eat at home then it's okay. But we sit down and eat a meal three times a day at home, and that's what we do at Disney.

 

[aaarcher86]

We do the DXDP too

We have younger kids, so doing an early character breakfast and later character dinner each day cuts back on park time waiting in line for the same characters we see during the meals. Plus, the kids are engaged with eating in between characters versus standing in line being bored and needing occupied.

We grab a QS lunch if we need to, or a snack depending upon appetites of the day. We always have extra credits that we use to grab a bunch of things to take home with us - mickey head treats, fruit cups, drinks, etc (we drive to and from Ohio!).

We use a few 2 TS meals as well - CRT, Luau, Fantasmic dinner pkg... so the extra credits fit in well for us.

We probably break even on the cost vs paying OOP, but the convenience is awesome and I enjoy the fact that everyone gets their own appetizer/dessert. I get to try new desserts I wouldn't normally try, and DH and I aren't bickering over which app to get. The kids love the desserts.

I can't wait to get back - we're also going in February so maybe we'll see you there munching on a dole whip!

 

[canopynut66]

we eat a lot but not to much counter service as in hamburgers and hot dogs but we found is a lot of other places to eat counter and have good meal. but we get the one TS and one counter meal as the DXDP was just to much for us unless were going to do dinner shows or castle then we will go ahead that year and take or if want to go back to so me signature places then also is good for that.

 

[Colleen27]

We liked it for a long time. We were among the first to use it in Jan '08 - it debuted on 1/1 and we checked in on 1/16 - and liked it so well that until this year we used it every trip. Right now it isn't a good fit for us, only because our pickiest eater with the smallest appetite aged up to adult and our one remaining child doesn't like most "kid foods" so we really have to hunt for good kids' menus for her.

In terms of number and type of meals the DxDDP best fits the way we like to eat - we have a sitdown lunch (or very occasionally breakfast) and a signature dinner on most of our days at Disney World. We like appetizers but sometimes skip or share desserts. And we don't care for counter service, especially at our normal meal times. Sharing a CS meal for an afternoon snack is great, but I don't want to deal with the lines or the table-hunting at a regular meal time. And we loved the flexibility of the plan; you can change plans at the last minute, have TS instead of CS or vice versa, and eat how/where you want rather than in a strict 1 CS, 1 TS model.

I'll miss it on our trips next year I'm sure, but with the girls' credits all but wasted and the price increase making the savings margin narrower it just isn't a good buy for us any more. Especially since I'll have an AP this year and be eligible for TiW. If not for that we might have ended up back on the DxDDP for at least a couple of our 2013 trips.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

I did a lot of reserarch on it before deciding it wasn't right, for my group on our next trip. But, if it works for you, who cares what others think? I can see it working if: you don't want to have to think about prices, you like sit-down meals on vacation, you're big and/or adventurous eaters,or you do a lot of signature dining. If you fall into none of those categories, yeah, it's probably not the best plan for you.

When my MIL was treating the entire gang, she found it most expedient to put everyone on the premium plan. I thought it was a huge waste of money and food, but it was her nickel, and I do understand her reasoning. I'm cheap, she likes to spoil her grandkids. I don't think either of us is wrong--she appreciates my cheap side, I understand her wanting to treat her grandkids to something special.

So, if it works for you, go for it, and don't worry about anyone else!

 

[sabcook]

We love the deluxe plan and are going back with it for 9 days next month. We typically have a sit down breakfast (many of them character), snack at lunch and have a signature meal at dinner. We are not fans of counter service meals, don't stress over time taken to eat and we love the freedom of ordering what we want and never looking at the prices. It is a lot of food but we don't feel compelled to be members of the clean plate club and love to be able to try different things wherever we go.

Lots of people do the math and it doesn't work - we have done it twice and so far always come out ahead. Add that to the convenience and flexibility and we are sold.

 

[Cafeen]

As with all the plans, it works best when you're already planning on dining in that fashion. I also try and temper expectations all around and make sure that people know what they're getting into (time commitment, amount of food, and associated costs being the big three). Many people don't prefer to dine as it's designed, and that's absolutely fine. I, personally, do.

I've used it for the past 3 trips and enjoyed it every time. I, too, prefer the TS options to the CS meals. I'll eat CS if I have to (and, I gotta say, I loved the meatballs at POFQ's food court this time around. They weren't pretty, but they were tasty), but I generally prefer a nice sit-down. I also enjoy both the apps and desserts, and often use them to try things I normally wouldn't (e.g. Scallops at Maya Grill, Wild Boar at Jiko, Creme Brulee at...well...everywhere (last year was the first through tenth or so time I had it )). I also have realized that it's typically more food that I need, and as such, will leave portions uneaten. I know, I know, the starving kids in Africa, but it's not my fault there's only one size option (I'd be a big proponent of knocking most serving sizes down by about 33% and knocking 25% off the prices).

Now, with all that said, will I be using it next trip? Probably not. The changes in pricing may have made it not so worth it for me. As it was, my savings was relatively lower than others (especially since I travel solo) and adding another ~$15 per night is likely to wipe out said savings. Plus, next trip may be offsite (I know, I know), so that precludes me from the plan anyway.

In the end, it's about finding the plan that fits you right. If DxDDP works for you, then great, if not, there's other options (TiW (potentially), other plans, OOP, PB&J).

 

[sheilanne]

We love the deluxe plan and are going back with it for 9 days next month. We typically have a sit down breakfast (many of them character), snack at lunch and have a signature meal at dinner. We are not fans of counter service meals, don't stress over time taken to eat and we love the freedom of ordering what we want and never looking at the prices. It is a lot of food but we don't feel compelled to be members of the clean plate club and love to be able to try different things wherever we go.

Lots of people do the math and it doesn't work - we have done it twice and so far always come out ahead. Add that to the convenience and flexibility and we are sold.

How many days before your actual trip can you add the dining plan to your package? We will arrive 11-27 and staying @BLT. The DXDP works for my family because we also do character bkfsts and signature for dinner. We are not in the habit of eating fast food at home, in fact DGD 6 doesn't eat nuggets, hot dogs, fries, and burgers. She doesn't want anything to drink except water and has been extremely healthy her entire life. CS meals are fine for some families but we appreciate better food and look forward to the Signature restaurants.

 

[sjs314]

We used the DxDP in March and loved the convience it afforded us to eat where and what we wanted never looking at prices as in years past. I might add this was the first time we ever used any DP always paying OOP on previous trips.

We did not save substantial amounts of money in fact we just about broke even give or take a few bucks, I did not keep track of our snack credits since we mainly used them for soda and water in the parks with the occasional snack thrown in, a dole whip, a treat at Karmel Kletch(sp) plus we opted to skip a few of our table serve meals instead eating a CS if the mood struck us to do so, love that you have "meal credits" on the DxDP that can be used how you want . We skipped LTT for CHH for example.

It is a lot of food and no we did not clean our plates but we enjoyed ourselves and people always bring up about the Tipping factor, really? We tipped between 18-20% each meal and over the span of 5 days Tips ran us less than $250

We were going to try the regular DP for our trip in Nov but after making ADRs for where we want to eat it was going to cost us approximately $179 pp OOP (entrees and Beverage only) and to upgrade to DxDP only $169.50 pp...No brainer since with the DXDP we would be getting Apps & desserts not to mention 2 snack credits a day instead of 1.

I think we are a fan of the DxDP !

 

[CraigInPA]

I've done DxDP 3 times. Like your husband, I hate counter service. We tend to do a table service breakfast or lunch, with a signature dinner. Disney claims saving 20% or 25% on food using the plans, and I found my savings were actually 25-35%, depending upon the trip.

 

[wdwloverz]

At the $85 pp per night I think it is a good value. I looked into booking it as a treat for a portion of our trip in Jan(2 nights that we have at AKV), and it is going to be $99 pp per night. EH, I think that is getting a little steep and now I am on the fence..

 

[Avery&Todd]

we LOVE the DxDP and I dont think I could convince my DH to go with anything less than that!

We enjoy having a nice sit down breakfast each morning - a relaxing start to our day and chat about what the game plan is..

since we go in June, and it can be quite hot, a mid-day lunch in the air conditioning with LOTS of drink brought to us is PERFECT!!

this last trip we did try a few of the fancier, 2 credit dinners and to "pay" for those we did have a couple of OOP lunches/breakfasts and we'll do that again next time.

My boys are 13 and 10 and are pretty good eaters and I love having the DxDP and letting them order whatever they want for dinner. It IS a lot of food - I mean, for any lunch/dinner we're going to get 4 appetizers, 4 entrees and 4 desserts, but we all order what we like and we can share - and if someone orders something new and doesnt like it, then there is still plenty to go around. My boys tried mussels for the first time this past summer at WDW and LOVED THEM!!

also with having "older" kids, we usually take a break mid-day, go back to the hotel and swim and then head back to a park at/around dinner time since my kids dont have to be in bed by a certain time..

BUT, with that said, and you'll hear a lot on this board, what works for my family wont necessarily work for yours!!

 

[CJ1010]

My DH also does not like fast food and doesn't want to eat CS every day, so we've done the DxDP 2x - in '08 & '10. It worked very well for us. As others have said, the kids are occupied at character meals (saves us time from waiting in line to see them), we can try things we otherwise maybe wouldn't, we love taking a break mid-day at a TS, and it's convenient! We do at least 3 signature meals during the week and my kids have always done well there - CRT, Narcoossee, Flying Fish, & Brown Derby. Don't be afraid to try it. With planning, it's a great option.

That being said, we're on the fence if we'll do it next trip or pay OOP - the price hike - yikes! Either way, we'll still be eating primarily TS, as we have the past 2 trips.

 

[aaarcher86]

How many days before your actual trip can you add the dining plan to your package? We will arrive 11-27 and staying @BLT. The DXDP works for my family because we also do character bkfsts and signature for dinner. We are not in the habit of eating fast food at home, in fact DGD 6 doesn't eat nuggets, hot dogs, fries, and burgers. She doesn't want anything to drink except water and has been extremely healthy her entire life. CS meals are fine for some families but we appreciate better food and look forward to the Signature restaurants.

I always advise 14 days out just to be safe, but I believe it is more like 5 days. But I'd do it as soon as possible. You won't have a change fee for adding the DP

 

[reking96]

We love the DxDDP. Like many others have said, we wouldn;t go without it. Now it is just 2 adults in our party so we view our vacation a little differently then those with kids. We eat breakfast no later then 7:30 each day so by lunch we are ready for another meal. We prefer the TS meals because we just like the break and time to relax in the AC!! ha-ha. Then we may head back to the hotel fro the afternoon then ususally do a 2 credit meal for dinner. Again, without kids, we eat a little later dinner then most. But like I said before, we won't go to Disney without it. =)

 

[mickeynut1]

How many days before your actual trip can you add the dining plan to your package? We will arrive 11-27 and staying @BLT.

Dining must be added at least 72 hours (3 days) prior to arrival. I think DVC members staying on points can add it 48 hours (2 days) prior, but for regular packages, it's at least 3 days .

We tried the DlxDDP in 2010 and loved it. We didn't feel it was too much food or that it took too much time away from other things. We always do a sit down for dinner as well as a few TS breakfasts during our trips, so we thought the deluxe plan was great for us since we usually ended up paying for a few meals OOP when we've gotten the regular DDP .

 

[bedogged]

I've done DxDP 3 times. Like your husband, I hate counter service. We tend to do a table service breakfast or lunch, with a signature dinner. Disney claims saving 20% or 25% on food using the plans, and I found my savings were actually 25-35%, depending upon the trip.

I agree with this. We always do DXDP and love it. We do two meals a day including a Signature at night. We use our snack credits for breakfast or lunch depending upon which we do TS at. I think , at least for this year, it is a much better value than the regular dining.

 

[vinotinto]

I do. I do! Have done the last 4 Disney vacations with the DxDP. Having said that, with the price increase for 2013, I don't think we'll do it again (more on that later).

I think the people that don't like it are trying to eat regularly 3 meals per day. We will do a breakfast or lunch and then dinner (usually a Signature). We also arrive early enough on our arrival day to have lunch + dinner and leave late enough on our last day to have breakfast + lunch. We will leave 7 hours between lunch and dinner (so light breakfast at 7:30 am, full lunch at 11:30 am, light snack at around 3:30 and full dinner at 6:30 pm). We are not large people (I'm 110 pounds!), so you don't need to be a huge eater to enjoy the DxDP. I do often leave some food on the plate, so if that's an issue (I was brought up Catholic) then DxDP may also strike out.

I also think DxDP needs to match how your family eats at home. I'm fairly particular about what I eat (not "picky", I eat everything, just very mindful of eating high-quality food). At Disney, we may have 1 meal at a quick service, the rest are at table service restaurants. The food is so much better and I personally prefer to sit down, order and be served. This matches how we eat at home. At home, we eat dinner out 3 times per week and it's never fast food - it's real restaurants. Our kids think artisan cheese plates are a feature of *all* restaurants, since they have been pretty much eating that way since they were toddlers. So, we don't change our eating style by going DxDP at Disney.

I also think DxDP saves families with kids under 10 the most. The cost of DxDP is not that much more than one character buffet and you get 2 snacks and 2 other credits to use for a great signature meal, daily. So, every vacation, we eat at like 4 or 5 character meals. This time, we ate at Cape May, Akershus, Tusker House, and CRT. But, we have done almost all the character meals (only missing Garden Grill, but cannot bring ourselves to eat that sad, sad menu when there are such good dining options at Epcot or nearby!).

In the last 4 trips we have eaten at all the signatures (except Artist Point), including 4 times in a row at Cali Grill.

Going forward, I will probably do a little bit of calculations to see if DxDP will continue to save us. For a family with 2 adults and 2 kids, you may be better off paying out-of-pocket, especially if you know that you will be sharing or if you won't be ordering both an appetizer and a dessert each.

 

[ldnoggle]

We also like the Deluxe Dining Plan. We'll be leaving in a week for our 2nd trip using it. Although we eat out pretty frequently, it is rare that we each order our own appetizer, entree, and dessert here at home. But, that's part of the fun and indulgence of being on vacation for us! We use our credits by having either a table service breakfast or lunch each day, and do a Signature dinner each night. Since we go during Food & Wine, using our snack credits there helps get the most value out of the plan.