Advice on Dining Plans

[IrisSphere]

Hi All,

I have booked the Free DP option for August 2012, and keep going back between the regular and the deluxe version.

We are two adults in our late 20s, appreciate good food experiences, and really likely to try different things when we travel. This will be our first trip to Disney (and not sure how soon we'd be able to come back, if ever).

We are going for 5 nights, and staying at POR. Here is my dilemma:
- To upgrade to the DxDDP for 5 nights would cost us approximately $400 (including additional costs for tipping, etc.)
- OR to just bite the bullet, and pay OOP for those restaurants that we really want to visit, but dont have enough credits for.

If we do signature dining, and sit down lunches and a few sit down breakfasts we would more than cover this cost (plus the awesome flexibility of eating the best food without worrying about the prices). But then would we feel like we are eating "Just because"? And of course, I am not even mentioning the extra time that we won't be doing "park" stuff.

If anyone went through this debate, I'd love to hear your though process!

Thanks!

 

[geckodani]

The massive time sink that eating 3 table service meals a day entails is what really keeps me from considering the DxDP. We found it frustrating last year making sure to have and keep ADRs for ONE sit down meal a day. I can't imagine three! Just something to keep in mind. If you have a signature that you really want to to try, you might consider paying for it OOP. I'd say just crunch the numbers and go from there.

ETA: DH and I are in our late 20s, and while we enjoy a good meal I wouldn't call us foodies, so my opinion is colored by that as well.

 

[Cafeen]

While I prefer the DxDDP to other plans due to the ability to do bunches of Signatures and the fact that I don't particularly enjoy the QS meals, I wouldn't recommend it in your case.

Reasons:

• First Timers - Even 2 TS meals per day takes a lot of time out of touring. For seasoned vets, this isn't such a big deal. We've done it before and chances are that we'll be back pretty soon to do it again. First timers don't have this (especially first timers that don't know when they'll be back). I'd hate for you to miss out on stuff because you had to bounce to another dining reservation
• Shorter Trip - tied into the first point, a shorter trip means that you have to squeeze even more touring time out of each day. The meals don't get any shorter because you're going for 5 days instead of 10, but the relative amount of your time taken up by dining (and traveling to meals) will be much higher (percentages here).

I was thinking there were more than 2 points, but I guess those are it

I would recommend choosing 1 signature that you'd like to do and planning for that. I have no clue what to recommend since I don't know what you guys like, but they are pretty much all very good. Choose one near the park you'd be at that day to minimize travel time (e.g. California Grill, Citrico's, Narcoossee's for an MK day, Yachtsman or Flying Fish on a DHS/Epcot day, Jiko on an AK day).

 

[robinb]

Hi All,

I have booked the Free DP option for August 2012, and keep going back between the regular and the deluxe version.

We are two adults in our late 20s, appreciate good food experiences, and really likely to try different things when we travel. This will be our first trip to Disney (and not sure how soon we'd be able to come back, if ever).

We are going for 5 nights, and staying at POR. Here is my dilemma:
- To upgrade to the DxDDP for 5 nights would cost us approximately $400 (including additional costs for tipping, etc.)
- OR to just bite the bullet, and pay OOP for those restaurants that we really want to visit, but dont have enough credits for.

If we do signature dining, and sit down lunches and a few sit down breakfasts we would more than cover this cost (plus the awesome flexibility of eating the best food without worrying about the prices). But then would we feel like we are eating "Just because"? And of course, I am not even mentioning the extra time that we won't be doing "park" stuff.

If anyone went through this debate, I'd love to hear your though process!

Thanks!

Hmmm ... this is a tough one. I usually don't recommend the DxDDP because there is so much food and it takes so much time out of your day. Is the extra $400 a budget buster? It's just $80 more per day for an extra TS meal and there are very few places where you can eat anywhere at WDW for $80 for 2 including tax and tip (that's $64 pre tax & tip).

If I were you, I would come up with a plan of where you want to eat and use the menus over at All Ears to calculate how much they would be and compare your OOP costs with how much extra you would have to pay for the DxDDP.

 

[IrisSphere]

Thanks everyone for all the valid points - I think you are all right regarding the time sink and the fact that we can probably satisfy our food cravings by paying out of pocket for cheaper meals.

It's just reading all the dining reviews is flaring my appetite my eyes tend to be bigger than my stomach sometimes!

 

[disneychic2]

Also to consider is, that's a ton of food. It takes me a while to digest a big meal and I'm certainly not ready for another big one in a few hours.

But I totally agree that the time is the biggest point in your case. It's hard to get the concept of how huge the parks are and how much there is to do at each one. I think having one TS meal a day is a nice way to get off your feet and enjoy some time to unwind a bit. Any more than that, you're missing a lot of the attractions.

Have fun planning your trip and enjoy every minute of it.

And, by the way, after experiencing it once, you may find your way back more quickly than you planned.