am I insane to consider switching to DxDP?? 2 young kids...

[dawnmommy]

We currently have reserved the regular DDP for our December visit. We are staying at the Grand Floridian. Our two kiddos are ages 3 and 6.

DH and I love good food and always get appetizers. We love the appeal of the Signature restaurants, and our kiddos do well at them (about half of our meals are character meals for the kids, the other half are yummy meals that mommy and daddy picked).

I'm sort of thinking about changing to DxDP for a few reasons:

The GF has two signatures right there. We would also like to go to the California Grill twice, and try Jiko

DS has multiple food allergies, and I think the TS restaurants (even the buffets!) will handle it the best. There is only so many times he can handle those allergy-free chicken fingers. He gets so upset about feeling "different" but at TS places they'll talk to him and make him what he wants. He was so excited to hear they can do egg-free mickey waffles! I want him to feel special instead of sad for once one vacation (this is lately a very very sensitive issue for him, he gets embarrassed at restaurants and feels so different from his 8 cousins, we all vacation together).

So part of me is charmed by what Disney does at TS restaurants and I want to give that to my son.

I'd like to add CRT

I honestly love the thought that with DxDP I don't have to worry about shipping snacks for breakfast, etc. We'd totally have enough (maybe too much, though, food)

dh really loves the thought of pre-paying for everything. He knows we will still have tips of course, and charges for wine

A small part of me thinks that it would be cheaper to keep the current DDP and pay OOP when we want. But I'm kind of tired of the analysis and just want to pay it and stop thinking about it.

An upgrade to Deluxe Dining IS in our budget if we want it. I just don't want to do it if we'll be miserable running from one restaurant to the next.

Our signature meals would be CRT, 2 times at California Grill, Narcoosees and Jiko. We are doing 2 breakfast buffets now, I'd like to add Crystal Palace.

We'd probably use the snack credits for drinks like slushies, plus a few sweets.

thoughts????? Even though it is approx $550 to upgrade us, I suspect the true cost is closer to $700 -ish due to extra tips.

 

[sydneysmom]

we chose to do the deluxe dining for many of the same reasons as you. The biggest reason for my DH was that everything was paid for in advance (minus tips) so that he's not having to be in his wallet every 5 minutes. His point was, even if we break even, it's still paid for. The way we figured it, we're going to save about $ 650.00 on the DP.

Also, we're doing some days w/ 3 meals and the other days w/ 2 meals. We wanted some kind of "routine" since our DD is only 4. She's on a schedule at home and I don't want to go all commando....we want to take the break during the day, sit down in air conditioning and take a break. We also knew we wanted 2 things....character meals every morning, CRT for a breakfast and a dinner and two signature meals. So for us, it was a no-brainer. The DxDpl was the WAY better option.

Plus, for snack credits....we'll use them on water, soda, sometimes some sweets...so I'm not worried. I also like that we all get a refillable mug. (it's that and snacks that add up like crazy !)

Most of all, it makes us feel more like it's a "vacation" having everything all included. We also agree that it's nice to expose your kids to nicer restaurants. I did CS once at Disney and never again. It's not bad for every now and then, but IMO (and I KNOW people will disagree) it's a hassle. It's loud, crowded, and I don't feel like we're eating as healthy as we could at a TS. (it's all in WHAT you choose to order at a TS. It's only "too much" if you overeat or over order) And honestly, I DON'T want to be at Narcoosee's and be thinking " do I really want to pay $ 59 for lobster". Well, I really DO!!! No fighting with myself this way !!

I would definately say it is worth it for what you are saying your needs are.

 

[goodferry]

We just got back from 8 days in Disney with our four kids and one friend with a gluten allergy. We did a split stay, 5 days at BLT on the DXDP and 3 at the WLV on the regular DP. We loved the DXDP, I loved letting the kids order what they want, I loved having everything paid for, and there is NO WAY we spent more for the plan then we would have OOP, but we like sit down meals, and really don't care for the CS meals, so it makes sense for us.
I will say that even the CS restaurants were EXTREMELY helpful when it came to helping our friend with the gluten allergy, the manager met with her, helped her order and brought her meal out special for her, we were very impressed. Of course all of the TS restaurants were extremely helpful when it came to the allergy, I was just shocked at that level of service at the CS places.
On a side note, the one downside of the dining plans is that the kids meals are kind of limited, and pretty similar from establishment to establishment.

 

[squirrel]

In your case it may be the best plan. Since you like appetizers and would order them oop anyway and you want to do a bunch of signature dining.

I'd consider HDDR, it's a great show and it includes the gratuities and beer/sangria. The chef will still come to the table even though everyone gets the same food. I can't remember exactly what he brought out to my lactose intollerant niece.

One of our favorite breakfasts is Donald's Safari breakfast at Tusker House. We also like Crystal Palace before the park opens.

 

[ljcrochet]

We did deluxe dining last summer when my girls were 4. We did HDDR which was a highlight of my girls trip. We like doing a TS breakfast and a sit down dinner so it made sense for us. With that said, DH felt like we overdid the disney food. Plus it was alot of running from one resturant to another. I would do the deluxe over the regular though.

 

[jlhill4444]

We did the regular plan in May and are doing the deluxe in December. We have planned for a character breakfast and either a dinner show or signature dinner each night for dinner. This way we are only eating two meals a day and using our snack credits for something around lunch time. For us we really enjoy the signature food and relaxing to eat. I don't think we will be running from place to place because of only eating 2 meals per day. On the regular plan we eat two meals a day also, so this won't take much longer out of our day.

I say go for it if it is in the budget and you have places you really want to go. It is great having it prepaid, so you can order whatever you want and not worry about the bill. What we do for the tips is just pick up gift cards at the grocery store here and there so we have our tips prepaid also. It is nice to go all inclusive. That is why we love cruising, and this vacation feels like an all inclusive resort!

 

[padawans]

We just did the dxdp with a 5 and 7 year old. We ate at signatures 7/9 nights. For dessert the signatures have white chocolate Mickey puzzles that come with edible paint to decorate them. My kids loved them and It kept them busy for a good 20-30 minutes. Is so nice not to have to worry about the cost of what you order. We are not park commandos we like to spend time relaxing at the pool and eating at good restaurants. The dxdp is perfect for us if you like to spend all your time at the parks then all the sit down meals might be too time consuming. I recommend getting to the parks for rope drop you can get alot done the first two hours with no lines. Then you can enjoy some good food.

 

[Coconuts]

If you can afford the DxDP, I would definetly do it. Just the ease of having everything taken care of beforehand (except tips of course) will make your vacation more relaxed. I say go for it.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We have kids that are 9 and very soon to be 7 and we upgraded to the DxDDP. We too are doing to a lot of character meals and meals that mom and dad want to go to (it is balanced quite nicely ). As for my girls, they always can find something on the kids menu so we don't have to worry about that. Both of them can be very picky but for my youngest DD she will always fall back on the kids mac and cheese and for my oldest, if a kids steak is offered she will eat that (she likes more of the grown up foods then the kids foods). I think you are definitely not insane for upgrading, especially for the reasons that you give. This is the first year that we are doing any sort of DDP and since we decided to downgrade from a Deluxe resort to a moderate during FD, we thought mind as well upgrade to the DxDDP and eat what we want, plus all of those TS meals will be a godsend during the hot September heat. Have a great time

 

[bytheblood]

I would think that is an excess of money for kids that young....but I would also say that it is your vacation and you should do it how you want.

 

[dawnmommy]

I would think that is an excess of money for kids that young....but I would also say that it is your vacation and you should do it how you want.

I think there are a lot of pros and cons, but I actually don't think that $21 per day to feed a child at a Theme Park is actually all that high? I mean, pretty much every single buffet (a good way for me to get fruits and veggies into my kids rather than hotdogs and hamburgers) tend to be between $12-$15 per child, and that is just one meal.

But we have food allergies and always have to seek out a lot of "whole foods" anyway. So I probably have zero concept of what other families can manage.

 

[AKL LOVER]

I had no idea that they can make egg free mickey waffles--thank you, thank you, thank you!! This past year in Disney my DS was under 3 and since we weren't paying for a meal for him I didn't bother asking about egg free options at most places. We know what does and doesn't have egg in it and would ask if we needed. Not having Mickey waffles was DS's biggest disapointment (now that he is old enough to realize it). You have absolutely made his vacation now for next May!! It was so much easier when he was too young to really notice or care that he couldn't have certain things. I feel so sad for him sometimes now.

Because of his allergies we also eat a lot of whole foods (and avoid CS meals). Eating whole foods vs processed foods is always more expensive (even at home on a daily basis!), so we usually do the DxDP. When we go in May my DS will be offically 3, so we will definitely be speaking to the chef's/managers at each restaurant since he will be ordering his own meals. We have also booked several character meals as well as several signature meals for DH and I. Even though having TS meals booked uses a lot of time, we enjoy the time to cool down and rest and take a break from the parks.

On a side note, the HDDR is a fantastic show! My kids LOVED it for the entertainment. DH and I loved it because the gratuity is included as is beer and sangria...You can't beat that. Dinner, tasty adult beverages, gratuity and a show!!

I see that you will be at Disney shortly--hope you have a tasty vacation!

 

[bijoli666]

We did the deluxe plan with our three kids in June (7,3,2) and we're doing deluxe again on our trip (in 10 days). Kids are now all one year older, and we LOVED deluxe DP. DH didn't even want to imagine standing in the CS lines during peak times in June, and we used the meals to sit down and enjoy some AC! The meals are also a great opportunity to meet characters without standing in lots of lines

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

We are doing DxDDp with a 5 yr old b/c we have done regular dinning plan and we paid alot out of pocket for a couple of TS and room service. We had 6CS credits left b/c my son doesn't eat alot of the CS choices. We like to have sit down meals and our son can sit still for meals. We don't like to go commando at parks and dinning for us is part of Disney especially for our son he loves characters meals so we have one everyday for breakfast, lunch at CP and dinner at GC. And we have signature meals. If we have extra snacks, I'll use it for snack to buy for his classmates.

 

[daraddg]

I am going with my 7 & 10 yr olds in aug,We are also doing the dx ddp it gives us more options for where to eat, shows etc and when I estimate what I would pay OOP for the places we want to goto it works out cheaper to do it that way,I know we will waste some food, my 10 yr old wont have room for appitizers but makes it more fun and more of an inclusive type package so I dont have to worry about budgeting in meals etc etc

 

[NMW]

We always do the deluxe plan for a lot of the reasons you mention. We love appetizers and would order them, plan or no plan. We like the idea that everything is pre-paid except for tips and alcohol. We love signature restaurants and would eat in them plan or no plan. The deluxe dining plan is perfect for the way our family likes to eat and vacation. Also, I hate the whole CS thing...waiting in line for your food, looking for a table, all the while you are in the heat...yuck. I like sitting in an air conditioned restaurant having someone bring me a drink while I look over the menu.

 

[2forMe]

Personally, I think you will be spending to much time in a restaurant, especially with kids that young. For me I would prefer to spend time in the parks etc. Also it is late, as you are going in December. Have you looked to see if there are enough reservations available to be able to use all your credits? Lastly, I think the cost to upgrade is a lot of$$$$, plus remember you will have to tip at all these restaurants, so add that cost in as well.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

We did the DxDDP last January with DD6 and loved it. We prefer to eat TS. This January we are doing the DxDDP for 11 nights. We are eating early TS breakfast so we can make rope drop and then a signature dinner on most days. We can't wait I think you should try it

 

[tinacaplan]

Did the DxDP for just myself and my husband last year and thought it was great. My husband also really likes to have most everything paid for in advance. I have to admit, I think its pretty great, too. We also enjoy appetizers. We enjoy going to good restaurants regardless of where we are and are exposing our three year old son to them, as well, so we will be doing the DxDDP with him this coming February. Between the character meals and the signatures I wanted to eat at, it just made the most sense. Will we save money? I don't know. Will we at least break even? Sure.

I have mostly scheduled either breakfast or lunch and then dinner. I tried to space them out pretty well, too. We are not park commandoes at all and feel like part of the magic is going to TS restaurants.

 

[Brooklyn]

We just finished DDxDP and will be coming back in a month to do it again.

We have 2 DD's 5 & 9. The loved the dining plan and the options that they got to chose from.

When we come back for 5 nights we are doing 5 signature restaurants and 5 1 TS credit meals. That way we are not wasting any credits and only sitting down 2 times each day.