12 days on the deluxe dining plan

[diswedwish]

Here's my review of my mom and my thoughts for our 12 night stay:

First, let me say that I've been on all of the old plans, Silver, Gold (when they existed), and Platinum. I was never on the newer regular dining plan. My mom was never on any type of dining plan. I convinced her to try out the deluxe so that we could try the signature restaurants. I missed the included tip, but what can you do? Other than complain of course, but we still wanted to try it out...

Here's how we did it:
Day 1:
Meal voucher included in package at Planet Hollywood - $15
Captain Jacks - $110
1 snack - rice krispie treat for friend at home - around $3
mugs - around $26

Day 2:
Split CS at FQ - $10
Split CS at Kringala - $19
Le Cellier - $106
1 snack - milkshake - around $4

Day 3:
Split CS at FQ - $12
Split CS at Flame Tree - $15
Boma - $55
3 snacks - 2 r. krispie treats to take home, 1 waffle cone - around $10

Day 4:
Split CS at FQ - $12
Liberty Tree Tavern - $63
Narcoosee's - $169
1 snack - water - around $3

Day 5:
Split CS at FQ - $10
Split CS at ABC Commissary - $13
Spoodles - $89
3 snacks - cappuccino, waffle cone, milkshake - around $12

Day 6:
Boatwright's - $35
Split CS at Roaring Forks - $15
Artist Point - $137
1 snack - yet another r. krispie treat for home - around $3

Day 7:
Split CS at FQ - $11
Rose and Crown - $70
Coral Reef - $100

Day 8:
Split CS at FQ - $10
Split CS at Flame Tree - $11
Jiko - $119
4 snacks - 1 coffee, 1 smoothie, 2 more r. krispie treats for home - around $14

Day 9:
Split CS at FQ - $9
Brown Derby - $90
Yachtsman - $141
2 snacks - roasted cashews and soda - around $6

Day 10:
Kona - $35
Split CS at C. Harbour House - $15
CA Grill - $137
1 snack - milkshake - around $4

Day 11:
Split CS at FQ - $10
Cosmic Ray's - $26
Citrico's - $125
2 snacks - 1 hot chocolate, 1 dole whip float - around $7

Day 12:
Split CS at FQ - $11
Yak and Yeti - $85? (they didn't calculate this one correctly, but I think that's what it actually was)
Flying Fish - $136

Day 13:
Boatwright's - $32
Kona - $72
Goofy's candy company - 23 snacks - around $70-80? can't remember
6 snacks - you guessed it! - more rice krispie treats to take home - around $18ish

So we spent about $70/person per night which equals $1680 for the 2 of us for food.
What we "spent" on the plan was $2315. So we did "save" $. Then again, we really didn't because we had to spend more $ in the tip.... But we tried a lot of places we normally wouldn't have tried if we hadn't been on the plan, not to mention the entrees we ordered.

We kept close track of our credits and did have to ask about 2 "missing" credits - the food court had double charged us twice but that was quickly remedied.

Our first Epcot day I tried to get a capp., the CM looked at my card, at the coffee, and said "just take it", because he didn't know how to ring it in the system. I felt kind of bad, but oh well...

The only irritating thing we found was being asked for our card before the meals. I know it was probably because they didn't want to be yelled at by people who ordered things that weren't on their package and were later charged for them, but it was still irritating. After the obligatory card show we would explain that we wanted 2 checks at the end - one for the alcohol (if we ordered any), and one for the regular bill, and explained that we would tip in cash (to stop the no tip included explanation). That worked well.

We enjoyed eating at all the different restaurants, but both of us gained about 5lbs. I will resume my jogging and normal work-outs and see how long it takes me to lose them. Blech. lol!

I will post separate reviews for the TS places later. Hope this review is helpful to those of you considering the deluxe plan. If you have questions, feel free to ask

 

[bumbershoot]

Can't wait to see the $$ breakdown!

29 snack credits left...zoiks!

 

[diswedwish]

Just bumping this up since I added the price breakdown and I can't figure out how to change the title of my post

 

[Merylj]

Thanks for posting - still can`t decide re the DDP and just paying OOP. Its good to see how it worked out for you.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I am looking foward to reading your reviews! I do have two questions though. What did you use all those snack credits on at Goofy's? And, you said you got roasted nuts with a snack credit. Were they the hot glazed ones from the carts at Epcot?

 

[diswedwish]

The roasted nuts might have been the glazed ones - they were from a cart in MGM (er, Hollywood Studios).

Trying to remember... At Goofy's I got stuff for my friends - more rice krispie treats (and I really wish my mom or I liked them ), some princess lollipops (soft kind that is 1 serving size), sour gummi worms, those Goofy paint pot thingys, Mickey cookie box (animal cracker size box), a few candy bars, and a bunch of those Chip and Dale snack size bags - pineapple bites, granola crunch, pretzels, mixed nuts (that's for me for lunches). I really wanted to bring home a make-your-own treat from Goofy's, but thought it might be hard to transport, and certainly couldn't stuff anymore food in at the time!

 

[Disney_Angel]

I have a question.....aren't the mugs included in the Deluxe plan?

 

[diswedwish]

Yes, that's why I included them in the breakdown of the $ part of the plan, as was the Planet Hollywood voucher. Subtract them if you want; I decided to include them...

 

[mickeysgirl17]

Thanks for the breakdown. Can't wait to read the reviews.

 

[Disney_Angel]

Ahhhh yes I see....thank you! *bangs head on wall*

I like the idea of taking a few rice crispie treats home to friends.

 

[momof2disprincesses]

DH and I are going "alone" to WDW in Sept. for my 40th birthday. We're on the free dining plan via the bounceback offer. When we booked, they asked if we wanted to upgrade to deluxe. We said no, but the more I've looked into it, the more I want to see about upgrading now.

Because it will be my BIG birthday trip, I thought it might be nice to splurge.

I am especially interested in your review of Yachtsman as that's where I want to spend my "actual" birthday dinner.

Also, I know we'd have lots of snack credits leftover too, but I figure we can get a bunch of "goodies" for the kids so they won't mind us going without them as much.

Thanks for sharing your input on the deluxe dining plan!!

 

[fightinfire21]

What do mean when you refer to "split" CS? I know CS is counter service but I am not sure I understand the split.

 

[Sysyphus]

What do mean when you refer to "split" CS? I know CS is counter service but I am not sure I understand the split.

You're thinking to hard: simply means they ordered one CS meal and shared it.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

Loved reading this. It was very helpful. I can't wait to read the reviews. I haven't been in 10 years and have never really ate at the table services restaurants.

 

[Tricia1972]

Here's how we did it:
Day 1: 2 Credits
Meal voucher included in package at Planet Hollywood - $15
Captain Jacks - $110
1 snack - rice krispie treat for friend at home - around $3
mugs - around $26

Day 2: 4 Credits
Split CS at FQ - $10
Split CS at Kringala - $19
Le Cellier - $106
1 snack - milkshake - around $4

Day 3: 4 Credits
Split CS at FQ - $12
Split CS at Flame Tree - $15
Boma - $55
3 snacks - 2 r. krispie treats to take home, 1 waffle cone - around $10

Day 4: 7 Credits
Split CS at FQ - $12
Liberty Tree Tavern - $63
Narcoosee's - $169
1 snack - water - around $3

Day 5: 4 Credits
Split CS at FQ - $10
Split CS at ABC Commissary - $13
Spoodles - $89
3 snacks - cappuccino, waffle cone, milkshake - around $12

Day 6: 7 Credits
Boatwright's - $35
Split CS at Roaring Forks - $15
Artist Point - $137
1 snack - yet another r. krispie treat for home - around $3

Day 7: 5 Credits
Split CS at FQ - $11
Rose and Crown - $70
Coral Reef - $100

Day 8: 6 Credits
Split CS at FQ - $10
Split CS at Flame Tree - $11
Jiko - $119
4 snacks - 1 coffee, 1 smoothie, 2 more r. krispie treats for home - around $14

Day 9: 9 Credits
Split CS at FQ - $9
Brown Derby - $90
Yachtsman - $141
2 snacks - roasted cashews and soda - around $6

Day 10: 7 Credits
Kona - $35
Split CS at C. Harbour House - $15
CA Grill - $137
1 snack - milkshake - around $4

Day 11: 7 Credits
Split CS at FQ - $10
Cosmic Ray's - $26
Citrico's - $125
2 snacks - 1 hot chocolate, 1 dole whip float - around $7

Day 12: 7 Credits
Split CS at FQ - $11
Yak and Yeti - $85? (they didn't calculate this one correctly, but I think that's what it actually was)
Flying Fish - $136

Day 13: 4 Credits
Boatwright's - $32
Kona - $72
Goofy's candy company - 23 snacks - around $70-80? can't remember
6 snacks - you guessed it! - more rice krispie treats to take home - around $18ish



Thanks for the detailed breakdown!

Just two quick questions, which meal did you pay OOP for? It looks like you used 73 credits on this plan and I figured you'd have 72 credits to use.

Also with the snacks, do you feel that you would have ordered that many snacks if it weren't for the DxDDP. Were you getting them just because they were paid for or because you wanted them?

How did you like the CS desserts?

 

[diswedwish]

About the credit question - we didn't pay OOP for any meals. Towards the beginning of the plan they made a mistake and subtracted too many meals. We questioned at FQs front desk and they refunded the "missing" credits, but I think they added an extra credit by mistake. I realized that at the end of the trip when we still had an extra credit.

We definitely got the snacks because they were part of the plan, not because we wanted them. It was nice to have them; my boyfriend likes the rice krispie treats and my friends like some of the other treats, so I liked being able to bring those things home. Not to mention some of the other things I could bring home and still enjoy now in my lunches! But I wouldn't have paid OOP for them - at least not as many as we got.

We both really liked the CS desserts

HTH!

 

[frannn]

Did you find that doing more than one TS meal each day took more time than doing some CS? We've been on the reg DP twice (both times free ), and ate 2 CS and 1 TS each day. Seemed like we were always running to a meal, but we still loved it! Did it take longer to do the TS than CS, or vice versa? We've been to WDW a bunch of times now, and I always thought TS takes longer, but I never really timed the CS (between lines, finding & cleaning the table, who knows?).

 

[diswedwish]

I think doing TS definitely takes longer - and it depends on a lot more factors. CS is totally dependent on how long you want it to take once you get your food. But if you've been to Disney a lot of times you might not mind the extra time it takes to eat the TS meals. That's how we felt about it. It usually took us about an hour to 1 hr and 1/2 to eat at the TS places. Happy dining whatever you choose!

 

[Tricia1972]

Another factor for TS is transportation. How are you getting to the restaurants. If you're driving, or eating in the park that you are in at the moment, the time is usually minimal.

If you are taking Disney transportation it can take a long time. We generally did or TS after an afternoon break at our resort. We would go to the bus stop, wait up to 30 minutes for the next bus to a park or DTD. You bus to the park or DTD and eat there if your reservation was there. If it was at another resort then you'd transfer buses to the resort that you were going to for dinner. Waiting for that resort bus could be up to another 20 minutes at that bus stop. So up to 50 minutes of waiting and 15-30 minutes on the bus - to get to dinner.

You could also take a taxi to avoid the bus situation (if you didn't rent a car) and that'll be about $20.

My advice - if doing the DxDDP and using Disney Transportation - VERY carefully plan your TS ADR's in the day to avoid all of that travel time.

 

[2goofycampers]

diswedwish and Tricia ; we tend to fancy ourselves as being folk with the taste for the finer foods at Disney ,,And I must say "Bravo" ,,we really enjoyed your selection of restaurants . We have eat'n at most of them and would like to know how well you both enjoyed each restaurant ?... Mr.