Deluxe Dining Plan Worth It

[allie_to_you]

We are planning a trip for next November and are trying to decide on getting the Deluxe Dining or not. We'd be staying for 9 nights. We love the sit-down restaurants and while I know the Deluxe Dining would take quite a bit of time for meals, it would give us a lot of more options for places to eat and try than if we just had the regular dining plan.

My husband is a paraplegic so for him & I, I think we'd enjoy getting to relax with a good meal, plus it would give us an opportunity to try out some of the 2 credit-signature dining locations that we've never been able to afford to try before because they were more expensive or used up extra credits. My only worry is that it will just be waaayyy too much food since on top of 3 meals a day, you also get 2 snacks and we wouldn't want to waste very many of the meals on counter service locations

What are your thoughts (from those who have actually gotten the deluxe plan)? We have had the regular dining plan so we know all about it.

 

[Fielin]

I did thendeluxe plan a few years ago - when the tip was included. It was the definition of pampering ourselves. We did a lot of signature restaurants, and a lot of breakfasts to actually decrease the number of meals we had to enjoy. It was still too much food, and we felt we ate a lot more than we would have without the plan.

Actually, this was the trip that convinced us not to choose any dining plan for the following trips. We enjoyed it a lot, but felt that we were more comfortable managing our meals as we liked. No pressure, we can share a meal, opt for a quick service or a snack if we're not really hungry, and only book one table service every day and a half on average.

Even if'you really want a table service for every meal, I would pay OOP to be able to manage each meal (appetizer, entree and dessert or only entree, or'dessert, share an entree or not...) instead of being bound to a structured meal every time.

 

[hookedonears]

Only as an upgrade from Free Dining and are big eaters.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

It is a lot of food. I mean a lot. Did I mention that it is a lot of food?

That said, we loved it.

Two situations helped us enjoy it.

One, is that I have Celiac. That means that I have to eat gluten free. No cheating, no going off the diet for vacation, I have to eat gluten free. And no one does gluten free like Disney does.

I also have lupus. But we did this before lupus hit. So I was walking around the parks. We would get up early, and have table service breakfast. Get to a park by rope drop, and start walking. Lunch would be another table service. Then more walking. Dinner would be later, but early enough to walk it off before bed time.

We were stuffed most of the time. We ate like kings. And we loved it. And no one gained any weight.

If we ever did it again, we would plan a few 2 credit meals. I use a scooter, so I won't be able to walk off all of that food. And I think that really helped us enjoy it more.

Otherwise, it all depends on how we want to tour. You will spend lots of time centered around restaurants.

 

[AshleyLovesDisney]

We always do the DxDP and love it. It allows us to try a ton of restaurants and take breaks during the day. Plus, to me, dining is part of the experience of going to Disney: I love character meals and the signature restaurants.

My advice is: if you're doing 3 meals a day, you're doing it wrong. You need to incorporate the signatures and shows to make it worthwhile. Some days we (typically DH and I, but we did take my mom and sister last year) did two one-credit meals, other days we used 4 credits on two 2-credit meals (we typically do lunch and dinner).

We also aren't super picky about using the snack credits. If we're thirsty, we stop and get a drink, using a credit. If we're hungry, we grab something. Some people are too obsessive, IMO, about "getting the most for the money!!!!!!" and then end up with a ton of leftover snacks because of it.

I say, if it sounds good to you, go for it. I've never felt like I didn't get my money's worth from it.

 

[rwdavis2]

Why get any dining plan? They are not designed to save money. To do so may have ordering things you may not want. As was said, it is a ton of food. The regular plan was too much for us. Why not just pay out of pocket prdering what you want?

 

[Masonmj84]

Theoretically, it's easier to drive savings (as opposed to paying OOP) from the deluxe plan than from the regular plan (which is almost impossible anymore) but even on the deluxe plan, you'll only save money versus paying OOP if: (1) you have a party of big eaters who can honestly enjoy 3 table service meals per day (with breakfast being a buffet); or (2) you have Disney "children" in your party and plan to do a lot of character dining (and this may soon change if they make all character meals 2 credits).

The style of deluxe dining that we enjoy, however, is two table service meals per day, the first meal being either a table service breakfast or lunch and the second being a two credit table service (e.g., signature) dinner. Three table service meals per day is simply too much food for us (even two meals per day pushes the envelope).

3-4 years ago, when the deluxe plan was signficantly less expensive than it is now, we could still drive a bit of savings from it with that dining style. Since then, however, the prices for the plan have gone up a lot and, in the meantime, our oldest became a DIsney "adult." Now, it's basicaly impossible for us to save money on the deluxe plan eating two table service meals per day (even when the second meal is a signature).

In our case, the only value to the deluxe plan (or any dining plan for that matter) is having everything (except tips) paid for up front. But I don't think it's worth paying extra to get an "all-inclusive" feel when the food is already so expensive.

Put another way, we've reached a point where the dining plans just don't do it for us anymore (they're only potentially a good deal if you get free dining but we usually stay deluxe, in which case room discounts usually provide the bigger savings).

 

[phabric]

I have done the dining plan when the dining plan was 3 meals with an appetizer and tip was included. We had leftover food every meal that we had doggie bags and never were hungry to eat the leftovers.

Dec 2014, we did the regular dining plan with 1 counter, TS and 1 snack. We had the counter meal at lunch and TS for dinner. I found we were not hungry between meals so ended up using our snack credits for candy the last day.

I was thinking of the deluxe plan for my August trip to go to more new TS and character meals but decided it would just too food for us so doing the regular dining plan again.

If I did not have the dining plan, we would have one TS and the rest CS for our stay due to the cost of the meals.

 

[Thing 1]

I think we are going to do it on our next trip. We have done the regular plan, many times and it works for us. Kids are getting older and the oldest has asked to do the DDP Deluxe as his grand school grad gift. My main motivation for doing it is that Im pretty budget minded most of the time and seeing the prices on the menu and being able to look away and order what we want is going to be hard for me. Our plan is a snack credit breakfast item with our mug drinks before we head to the park. We will then do an late last seating breakfast or early fun lunch around 11;00 and then a nice signature credit meals for dinner. One thought that I have is to put the money it cost for the deluxe plan in a separate account and use it for all our meals. Knowing that it is just for food might help me not worry about the prices. Any money left is a bonus. Im sure there will be times we wont want to all get dessert or just be too full for a whole entree. Not sure yet which way we will go.

 

[VisionDisney]

We always do the DxDDP and we always save money. We do not do 3 meals a day but 2 and we eat at a lot of signatures mostly. Signatures is not about quantity but quality and trying new things. The portions are not large and so we do not leave the meal feeling gorged as you would at a buffet, which we do not do either. It is about personal choice and what your priorities are. For us, it is about enjoying our time together while being at Disney and not just about the rides. It is a vacation and we enjoy celebrating with decent food and not having to worry about the cost because it is paid for No buyers remorse for us.

 

[Linleedo]

It is worth it if you want to eat a lot of food. We have done it in previous visits. It allowed us to eat at most of the Signature dining restaurants. It was great to sit down and escape September's heat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at sit down restaurants. At the time, appetizers and desserts were included with the entrees, and a non-alcoholic drink. The extra appetizer and desserts(which isn't our norm) became just a taste, after a couple of meals. We even got the desserts boxed up to return to the resort ( in hopes to eat it later). We never had room. It can be a great value , if you are choosing the more expensive food options. We felt guilty not eating all of the foods and wasting it. If you enjoy eating, go for it! We loved the variety of delicious food that Disney has to offer.

 

[BlondeAppetit]

We upgraded to deluxe dining when we stayed during free dining two years ago. The difference in price from the standard dining plan and the deluxe plan was minimal compared to the gain that we received in additional credits. For example, we were going to pay out of pocket for HDDR before free dining was announced and we just had the standard plan. When free dining was announced and we rebooked for that offer, we ended up paying just a little extra to upgrade - we were able to add Jiko and multiple TS meals and we still came out spending less. It was a great option. Only one day did we have three sit down meals - a pre-park opening Crystal Palace, a late lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern - perfect bc when we got out, the parade was just about to go by and we watched from the porch, and then a 7:45pm California Grill where were stayed to watch Wishes. It was our best day!!!!

 

[Lisa F]

I haven't done it yet but have it planned for my december trip. 4 nights to be used over 5 days, I have a character breakfast every day and then a mix of signatures, CP processional package planned and 1TS dinners. We are eating 2 meals a day, not 3, and then snacks as needed... planning a 9:30-10ish breakfast (depending on day of plans - one day it is 11:15 early lunch at Sci Fi Dine in) and then an earlyish dinner, anywhere from 4-5pm depending on availability and other plans.

I am approaching the DxDDP the same way I approach buffets - the value is about variety and not quantity for me. I don't need to eat until I burst to feel i got my value from a character meal but i love having fruit, eggs, breakfast meat, some kind of potatoes and something a little sweet along with coffee and juice without having to order multiple things from a sit down to get a bite of this and a bite of that. I don't think 2 meals a day are too much, we'd be doing 2 meals either through QS or TS and some QS meals are MASSIVE themselves and are a whole lot more stressful for me finding a table and fighting crowds and balancing trays and drinks as a single mom.... TS is FAR easier for me.

My previous plan was to do regular DDP and add a couple of bad value on the DDP OOP but I was paying the same as for the DxDDP doing that and not excited about the QS meals so I decided to just go for it and do the DxDDP and added a few more TS for the same price. I am paying $580 for about $830 worth of meals, many are AYCTE so the question of whether I'd order an appetizer and dessert doesn't matter. For the ones where it does matter - CA Grill and Narcoossees, I'd be ordering appetizer and dessert (I did in 2014 when I went to CA Grill with my little guy) and the CP package is the CP package regardless. So I'm not ordering stuff I wouldn't be ordering anyway by doing that.

It is a LOT of food, but so is a buffet. Honestly I think if you are approaching it as the ability to try lots of different things rather than a directive to overeat at every meal it's a good way to go.

 

[HolRae]

We have done deluxe the last few trips and we love it. We don't do it to save money. We feel it allows us to try different places then we otherwise would. It can be a lot of food but depends on how you use it.

 

[buzzrelly]

My choice isn't an option in your poll. If money isn't an object, I would choose NEITHER dining plan. I would just eat what I wanted when I wanted and not worry about keeping track of entitlements, snacks, etc. In fact, that's what we do now and it works out great. I don't miss the DP at all.

 

[Momof2Singers]

We are planning a trip for next November and are trying to decide on getting the Deluxe Dining or not. We'd be staying for 9 nights. We love the sit-down restaurants and while I know the Deluxe Dining would take quite a bit of time for meals, it would give us a lot of more options for places to eat and try than if we just had the regular dining plan.

My husband is a paraplegic so for him & I, I think we'd enjoy getting to relax with a good meal, plus it would give us an opportunity to try out some of the 2 credit-signature dining locations that we've never been able to afford to try before because they were more expensive or used up extra credits. My only worry is that it will just be waaayyy too much food since on top of 3 meals a day, you also get 2 snacks and we wouldn't want to waste very many of the meals on counter service locations

What are your thoughts (from those who have actually gotten the deluxe plan)? We have had the regular dining plan so we know all about it.

I would discourage this normally. I also do not like to waste food, however, in your case, making this trip as "magical" for your husband as possible, I would really think of what would work best for him. If you do a lot of 2-credit options, I think it would be be a good option, like others have said, it is a lot of food, but you and your DH have to decide what is most important. Also I would think the time of year would play a role, since you are not going during a time of extreme heat, its not like you will need to sit down often to avoid the heat. We could all comment on what we have experienced, however, unless we are in your situation, we really do not know what would work best for you. Important thing is to have a wonderful trip based on your circumstances.

 

[Momof2Singers]

My choice isn't an option in your poll. If money isn't an object, I would choose NEITHER dining plan. I would just eat what I wanted when I wanted and not worry about keeping track of entitlements, snacks, etc. In fact, that's what we do now and it works out great. I don't miss the DP at all.

I replied before I saw this post and TOTALLY agree. Why do this if you can buy what you want when you want, unless you are going during a free dining period. Some days you may not want a huge meal, or desserts, etc. I would book the ones you want, and if you find it is too much, you have the 24 hour cancellation window.

 

[Tigger's ally]

My choice isn't an option in your poll. If money isn't an object, I would choose NEITHER dining plan. I would just eat what I wanted when I wanted and not worry about keeping track of entitlements, snacks, etc. In fact, that's what we do now and it works out great. I don't miss the DP at all.

I took it as if you could budget ahead of time for either plan, forgetting about the money, which plan would you do. Of course if you are a billionaire, you are not buying a dining plan because the Bull and the bear, Shula's and the exclusive restaurants all over town will be on your to do list. Chances are you are staying exclusive as well. For us, we like the Deluxe plan simply because we like signature restaurants each evening. We are not breakfast eaters other than one day for CP with pooh and Tigger. Other days we eat an early lunch and a big sit down meal at night. Could we pay out of pocket for everything, yes, but I want my family to be able to look at the menu, get the best app, entre, and desert for them and order it regardless of what the $$ is. We have had meals at the Yacht Club and Cali grill that I am glad I did not know what the price was. As it was, we enjoyed it, paid for the alcohol, left a generous tip and left happy. To me, there is just something great about having the food paid for before we ever arrive. No worries. All inclusive. Paid in advance.

 

[Schulyn]

We have done the deluxe plan and my husband loves it. He likes being able to get whatever he wants with no restrictions. We NEVER eat/book more then two meals a day though because if you try to eat/book three you will spend the whole time eating. We have small children so we do character meals and then a few nice meals. We usually do a breakfast and and dinner if we do two meals, and we go back and forth on days between one sit down meal and two. We end up with extra meals but oh well

 

[Schulyn]

Also, if there are people traveling with you in different rooms that DO NOT have deluxe meal plans you can use extra meals for them...like take them to dinner with you so that uses up meals.