DxDP. Our meals and dining...Looking for feedback

[Tonberry]

We have the Deluxe Dining Plan so I'm looking to see what everybody thinks of my ADRs.
It will be 4 of us: me and my wife, DD 8 and DS 4. We are going Nov. 29th to Dec. 5th and staying at the Poly.
We're pretty big eaters (especially me) We've done the DxDP before and the kids loved all the breaks, especially from the heat. However, this time of year, the heat won't be so bad.

We will have 18 points to spend on TS for our trip per person. Anyway, see what you think.

Sunday - Arrive approx. 10:45 am. Visit MK or do Downtown Disney.
Breakfast - N/A
Lunch - 12:00 - grab a QS somewhere. (OOP)
Dinner - 6:30 - BOG (1 point)

Monday - Holywood Studios / Osborn Lights
Breakfast - 8:00 - H&V w/ Disney Junior Characters (1 point)
Lunch - 12:45 - 50's Prime Time (1 Point)
Dinner - 7:00 - Mama Melrose (1 point)

Tuesday - Magic Kingdom
Breakfast - 8:30 Crystal Palace (1 point)
Lunch - 1:30 Liberty Tree Tavern (1 point)
Dinner - 8:30 Hoop-Dee-Doo (2 points)

Wednesday - Epcot, Candlelight Processional (adults only)
Breakfast - 8:00 - Chef Mickey's (1 point)
Lunch - 1:00 - Coral Reef (1 point)
*at 4:00, kids will go to Club Disney for Mommy and Daddy time*
Dinner - 6:00 - Chefs de France for 8:15 CP show (1 point)

Thursday - Downtown Disney and Resort Day. MVMCP.
Breakfast - 7:45 - O'hana (1 point)
Lunch - 12:30 - T-Rex (1 point)
Dinner - MVMCP - 6:00 - CRT (2 points)

Friday - Animal Kingdom
Breakfast - 8:00 - Tusker House (1 point)
Lunch - 1:00 - Rainforest Cafe (1 point)
Dinner - 7:30 - 1900 Park Fare (1 Point)

Saturday - Leaving om afternoon. 9:30 pm flight.
Breakfast - 7:30 - QS somewhere (OOP)
Lunch - 1:00 - Beaches & Cream (OOP for me & wife and use the 2 remaining kids TS points for them)
Dinner - N/A

Let me know what you think, suggestions, etc.
Thanks!

 

[JZCubed]

If you have Deluxe Dining Plan - points/credits do not matter. Essentially, you get 6 per day, and includes room service too.

Feedback: the math for DxDP works in your favor if you do costly Character Meals for breakfast and Signatures for dinner. Otherwise, you are most likely wasting a large sum of money. You have listed expensive breakfast, but not enough Signatures for dinner.

You are planning to eat at CRT and also paying extra for MVMCP?

 

[Nancyg56]

I think you are spending too much time dining and not enough time dining in SIgnature restaurants. I owuld book two meals a day, either breakfast and then a nice signature dinner, or lunch and a signature dinner. I aso would change CRT for a time that you will not be going to the party. You will not be out of there until 7:30 or 8PM. Also, this will be a long day if you are eating that early for breakfast. The party goes til Midnight.

I also would change your DHS day to H&V for breakfast and Hollywood Brown Derby for dinner. Cancel Prime TIme.

MK Day: cancel Liberty Tree.

I also would try to figure my meals so I am not paying for anything OOP. The DXDDP is expensive.

Honestly, looking at your choices, and I think you are spending too much time in restaurants, I would purchace teh regular DDP, and cancel some of your ADR's.

 

[DISNEY1975]

My first time with the Deluxe plan, I did exactly what you are planning (different restuarants though). By dinner of day 2, I called and cancelled our lunches for the remainder of our 10 days stay. It was impossible to eat that much (and I had 2 older teen boys and a big eater hubby with me). We were spending close to 6 hours per day in the restaurants too. I still get the deluxe plan, but now go to breakfast and signature/dinner shows in the evening. It is much better for us.

 

[Hopefully]

I agree with the others. I would not do 3 TS a day. You need to plan on at least 60 - 90 minutes per meal.
I agree the best use of DcDDP is to have an expensive character breakfast - early, and a nice Signature dinner.
Regardless, I think you have way too much planned on your party day and are wasting a huge amount of party time eating. I would never go to DTD that day, but rather rest at the hotel for the party. I would eat early and be ready for the party when it starts.

 

[aaarcher86]

Skip the lunches. Do QS in between if you're hungry.

 

[OhThePain]

Since you have said you have used DxDP before and it's worked for you, I won't get into how you have used your credits. It's not your first visit or your first time using it. If it didn't work for you, you wouldn't be using it again. It's not the way I would use the DxDP, but to each their own.

The first thing that jumps out at me is your RC ADR on your AK day. Do you plan on heading back to your resort after lunch? The worst thing about RC at AK is that since it is all the way at the front entrance of the park, it can be hard to get yourself back into the main park area because of all the walking. We've tried it before, ended up walking around The Oasis a bit and decided to call it a day because we just didn't want to walk all the way back towards the rest of the park.

Something else that jumps out is your CRT on your MVMCP day. For a hard ticket party, I wouldn't make an ADR for any later than 5 (for MNSSHP days we have had a 4:15 at The Plaza and a 2:15 late lunch at BOG, both worked out well). This is especially true if one of your party musts is going to draw long lines (like Sandy Klaws), in which case you are going to want to be on line long before the party starts so you aren't losing a ton of party time waiting in line.

The other thing I would reconsider is your Les Chefs for mommy and daddy time. I would choose a quieter and more romantic dinner for the 2 of you. I would go with either Monsieur Paul or one of the EC resort area restaurants (Shula's, bluezoo, FF, YS).

 

[sharonabe]

Are you doing Chefs as a CP Package?? If so, that is 2 credits per person.

 

[Tonberry]

Thanks for everyone's input so far. This is why I posted here. Great information and tips! Keep them coming!

Are you doing Chefs as a CP Package?? If so, that is 2 credits per person.

Really? I could have sworn it was only 1 point.

he other thing I would reconsider is your Les Chefs for mommy and daddy time. I would choose a quieter and more romantic dinner for the 2 of you. I would go with either Monsieur Paul or one of the EC resort area restaurants (Shula's, bluezoo, FF, YS).

Ah. I didn't realize Chefs was a loud place. We've never eaten there before. I originally wanted to eat at Le Cellier, but that's not on the CP package. Unfortunately, neither are the other places you suggested.

 

[sharonabe]

CP Package is 2 credits at ALL the restaurants offering it for ALL meals. Sorry, but it looks like you'll have to do some more planning.

 

[Tonberry]

CP Package is 2 credits at ALL the restaurants offering it for ALL meals. Sorry, but it looks like you'll have to do some more planning.

I guess so.
Well, better to find out here then be surprised there! Thanks!

 

[GillianP1301]

I love your plan and we are also in the camp of enjoying the breaks of having multiple TS meals a day, so totally get it. The only thing that I can comment on is having both Rainforest & T-Rex because they are a pretty similar experience, especially food wise. Not sure if you'd want to mix it up a bit and maybe replace one of them. Yak & Yeti on your AK day would be a good option. We really enjoyed our meal there on our last trip.

 

[jenjersnap]

I am a DxDDP fan but I do fall into the late breakfast or lunch plus signature line of thinking. We enjoy our restaurant breaks very much. If you have experience with DxDDP and you think that schedule works for your family, then you know best.

We like Chefs and likely would choose it for the CPDP too, even if it isn't the most romantic atmosphere. If seeking that or a quieter environment, it seems like San Angel Inn or, perhaps, Tokyo Dining would be your better bets. But you have to have interest in the cuisine too.

Something that sticks out for me: my kids couldn't hang on your MVMCP day. A 7:45 am breakfast followed by a day out and about then staying out late at the party would be disastrous, lol. CRT at 6 is too late, IMO, and wastes excellent touring time. Also a prepark opening breakfast the morning after MVMCP is risky too. I would make a late breakfast ADR at Tusker House and drop Rainforest Cafe entirely that day.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Skip the lunches. Do QS in between if you're hungry.

Exactly, or even your snack credits to get an ice cream or giant cupcake in between meals! Evan with the only 2 meals per day, we ended with almost all of our snack credits. My kids used them to buy Mickey candy bars to bring back to their friends as souvenirs.

This one was the day (for us, day 2) that made me cancel the lunches for the remainder of the week.

Friday - Animal Kingdom
Breakfast - 8:00 - Tusker House (1 point)
Lunch - 1:00 - Rainforest Cafe (1 point)
Dinner - 7:30 - 1900 Park Fare (1 Point)

We had Tusker House at 8:05am. We left TH close to 10..stuffed (buffet) and had about 2.5 hour of walking around before we had to head back for our 1:00pm Yak and Yeti. We picked at our app/entree/dessert and left around 2:30. We walked around another 2 hours, then had to leave at 4:30pm to get back to our resort, shower, change clothes and head over to Epcot for our Le Cellier dinner at 7. I want to throw up just thinking about it!

Just waiting for EE was a 2 hour wait. Basically, we did nothing at AK except eat, go on EE and watch the Lion King Show. Complete waste of day and we felt stuffed all day.

 

[cjsquared]

Tried the 3 meals a day thing once before and it didn't work. IMO, to maximize the benefit of the DxDP, a character breakfast in the morning and a signature meal for dinner. You can throw in a few other table service meals but 3 meals/2 snacks a day is a lot ...and we're big eaters too.

 

[rwdavis2]

I can't imagine eating on the DDxP. The regular plan was too much food for us the one time we got it essentially for free. I felt stuffed from QS lunch to dinner.

 

[Tonberry]

Something that sticks out for me: my kids couldn't hang on your MVMCP day. A 7:45 am breakfast followed by a day out and about then staying out late at the party would be disastrous, lol. CRT at 6 is too late

Maybe we should sleep-in and do an 10:00 breakfast. Cancel T-Rex and move CRT to 5:00. I'd like to fit T-Rex in somewhere. We tried hard to get in on our last trip and it was always full (daughter was very disappointed).

Just waiting for EE was a 2 hour wait. Basically, we did nothing at AK except eat, go on EE and watch the Lion King Show. Complete waste of day and we felt stuffed all day.

It might work if I get rid of Rainforest Cafe and bump 1900 Park Fare up to 6:00 and grap a QS if we are hungry.

Problem now is I can't find a place to fit either T-rex or Rainforest. I'd like to do one of them, but.....

I may have to completely re-shuffle this list!

 

[aaarcher86]

Is really just get rid of some and save them for another visit.

You'll just never happily for it all into one visit.

 

[DISNEY1975]

It might work if I get rid of Rainforest Cafe and bump 1900 Park Fare up to 6:00 and grap a QS if we are hungry.

I re-read your original post. I now see youve done the deluxe plan before and it worked for you. If you like all the dining experiences, then keep what you have. Like I said previously, by dinner of day 2, I cancelled the remainder of my lunches. Why dont you give yours a try and cancel while youre there if needed.

Have a great trip

 

[nkereina]

Agree with the others. My best advice is to space your meals further apart than you think you'd need to, and don't do anymore than two TS meals per day. If you have lunch at 12pm, book dinner for 8pm. On our first trip with dxdp, we did 6pm dinner and I had to cancel a few on the fly because we weren't hungry. We had credits leftover because of it. Now with the cancellation fee in place, you don't even really have that option.