Better Dining Plan

[janinecleary]

I am planning a trip for our family and it is our first trip to Disney. We would like to do Character breakfast and things like that and I was wondering if it is better to go with the Deluxe or the other option with is the one quick serve and one table meal? Any input is super appreciated!!

 

[Jeanieblue114]

Anytime someone asks which plan they should have (or if they should go without a plan) I say to ask yourself these things:

1. Will we be doing a lot of signature 2 credit meals or dinner shows?
If yes, then get the deluxe, it will probably help you out the best.
(If you will be doing a lot of signature 2 credit meals but wouldn't want the appetizers and desserts, then it's probably best to just go and pay out of pocket.)

If no, then decide if the basic plan is good.

For the basic plan,
2. Do we have at least 2 kids in our group?
If yes, then the basic (1 table-service meal) may be good for you because the value you receive for the kid's meals vs. the cost of the dining plan can be a big savings especially if you are doing character meals.

3. Do we have big eaters in our family who like to have full entrees and desserts at most meals?
If yes, then the basic plan is probably good for you.
If you like sharing meals, then you might want to just go out of pocket.

If you would like to use most of your Table credits for character meals and you have kids, then the basic meal plan will probably because the cost of the kid's character meals is pretty high out of pocket and will give you good value for the dining plan.

Last question,
Is free dining offered? If yes, then TAKE IT AND RUN!...lol

 

[janinecleary]

We will be going Jan 2 to the 7th and do have 2 children. I know my husband and I would like to do a signature restaurant at least one night and I am taking my daughter to the Cinderella meal with is 2ts (I think) one day. I really didn't want to think about paying for food out of pocket and thought this would work best. Also would we be able to have dinner in our room one night?? I am confused with all of this....yikes!!

 

[CathieArms]

We're going next June and have decided upon the DxDP for a variety of reasons.

1. We prefer table a couple of table service meals/day because they provide a great opportunity to relax in a cool place, enjoy a meal, and regroup before going back out.

2. It offers the flexibility of CS versus TS meals. If we have an ADR for a restaurant and change or minds that morning that we'd rather eat a CS meal at lunch, then we can make those changes without messing up other plans.

3. While I can't for the life of me imagine eating an appetizer and dessert at every meal, I like the idea of trying different things that I'd never try otherwise. I can't imagine truly being hungry enough for all that food, so I plan to order a few appetizers that are dispensable if we hate them...calimari and escargot...those kinds of things. I'd like my kids to try them just to say they have without having to pay a bunch of money OOP. I've already decided that I, personally, am not going to be able to eat a full dessert at every meal and that my 6 year old will be disappointed at his limited dessert offerings, so I'll just order whatever he wants for dessert, take a few bites, and then let him have the rest of it. Maybe I'll even just switch desserts with him.

There are a few other reasons, but I can't think of them right off...

 

[catne]

We will be going Jan 2 to the 7th and do have 2 children. I know my husband and I would like to do a signature restaurant at least one night and I am taking my daughter to the Cinderella meal with is 2ts (I think) one day. I really didn't want to think about paying for food out of pocket and thought this would work best. Also would we be able to have dinner in our room one night?? I am confused with all of this....yikes!!

Don't think they've offered any Free Dining in January, but usually are some room discounts released in the Fall for January dates. Signature places do take 2 TS credits per person, and as you say CRT is 2TS per person also; if you also plan more character meals, then dining plan may be the way to go...add up how many restaurant credits you'll need to see if the deluxe would be the way to go.

As for dining in your room, if you mean room service that will depend on where you're staying: it's only available at Deluxe resorts. And I believe it's 2 TS per person to get room service meals. You can get pizza delivery at the moderate resorts, but it's 2 TS for just one pizza. If you go order it at the counter service window, for 2 TS you get the pizza, 2 drinks & 2 desserts. You can get it to go & take it back to your room. For that matter, a lot of people just get food on a tray at the resort counter service and carry it back to their room.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Also do remember that tips are not included, so if y ouare doing the DxDP and getting appitizers and deserts for each person yo uhave to tip on it. If y ouwant it anyway, that is one thing, but if y ouare ordering just cause yo ucan remember those tips can add up. We haven't done DxDP, but just on the resualr DDP it added up very fast.

Have fun deciding. I always played a game with the family to see if it was worth it to do the DDP. We would pick all the places we wanted to go to and then acted as though we were there adn waht we'd order and I'd total it up to get an idea of if it was worth it. I'd say order whatever yo uwant but don't base it on price. If the fillet sounded good, order it, if a burger did, order that. That was we knew if it was looking to be the way to go for us. 2 trips it was, this trip they didn't want it so we are doing QSDP. AllEars.net has all the menus and pretty up to date prices to help you out! Have fun, the planning is half the fun!

 

[Faldred]

Also do remember that tips are not included

Gratuities are included at CRT, at dinner shows, and for room service/pizza delivery, however.

 

[janinecleary]

I wasn't sure what rooms did the room service. We were going to stay at the Polynesian but have decided instead to stay at Port Orleans. I would rather get food as you said and take it back to the room than use 2ts for one pizza, that seems a bit ridiculous

 

[janinecleary]

Thanks for all the advice! I know we plan to do a few character breakfasts and the meal at Cinderella's castle as well as a really nice dinner for my husband and I so I think the deluxe dining option sounds the best. In the end I would rather have the option to choose an app and dessert etc. if I want to and know I don't have to pay oop. Also, if there happen to be left over credits at the end of the trip do I lose them?

 

[jagafen]

For the basic plan,
2. Do we have at least 2 kids in our group?
If yes, then the basic (1 table-service meal) may be good for you because the value you receive for the kid's meals vs. the cost of the dining plan can be a big savings especially if you are doing character meals.QUOTE]

Having a hard time understanding the logic on this one...why would the # of kids be the deciding factor if the DDP is "worth it"? If it's "worth it" for 2, then it's certainly "worth it" if you only have 1 child, or 8 children....why is 2 the magic number?

OP. The only way to really figure it out is to go to allearsnet.com and crunch the numbers from the menues (unless FD is being offered). It takes a bit of leg work, but if you're staying/eating on property, and spending more on food than the cost of a dining plan for your family for a day, then it's "worth it". FWIW, I like the convienence of pre-paying (in effect) for our meals...one less thing to worry about!!

 

[Faldred]

Children are a very good deal on any of the dining plans from a value standpoint. The cost per day is generally much lower than what you'd pay OOP for the same meals. It takes a little more work to save the same amount (percentage wise) for adults.

Therefore, more children = bigger savings.

 

[Faldred]

I would rather get food as you said and take it back to the room than use 2ts for one pizza, that seems a bit ridiculous

Oh, from a "value" view, it doesn't make much sense. But note that 1 pizza is supposed to feed two people, hence the 2 credits. It also includes the delivery charge, gratuity, 2 drinks, 2 desserts. and for from what I understand, DxDP users also get a salad.

Also, if there happen to be left over credits at the end of the trip do I lose them?

Yes, it's "use it or lose it". You have until midnight of the day you check out to use your credits, so try to find a way to use them, or get them converted to extra snacks that you can take home (folks report that you can exchange a CS credit [or a DxDP credit] for 3 snacks at many of the resorts).

 

[janinecleary]

if I can convert any left over to snacks and take them with me for the plane and wait to get on the plane that would be great!

 

[Jeanieblue114]

Children are a very good deal on any of the dining plans from a value standpoint. The cost per day is generally much lower than what you'd pay OOP for the same meals. It takes a little more work to save the same amount (percentage wise) for adults.

Therefore, more children = bigger savings.

That's exactly what I meant by having 2 children or more making it worth it rather than paying OOP.

When we did the basic plan as 4 adults we pretty much broke even and we ordered way more food than we wanted.
If we had one child, it still wouldn't have made it really any savings for us based on what the adults order (we rarely order steaks).

If we had 2 children or more, the value of the plan would be worth it because the plan cost for a child is very low and the character meal prices/buffets for a child are pretty darn high.

So, the cost would be well worth it than vs. us paying OOP.


Most people don't do the math or understand it. Disney counts on that.