Deluxe dining: Is 3 TS meals a day really that crazy?

[cavepig]

Last November on deluxe we did 3 TS 1 day - it was Hollywood & Vine Bfast, Sci-fi lunch and Hoop-dee-doo. I didn't like it, not because of the amount of food, but the time spent getting to the ADR, waiting, eating, waiting for each course, etc. The sitting break is nice, but the average TS took an hour and some a little longer and you add in travel & wait time - you lose ride time.

Now if you like long meals than I say go for it.

 

[EmALee]

We're doing the DxDP and we've booked a few signature meals and we have a meal the day we arrive and the day we leave (we land at the airport at 5:52 and are using Magical Express so I booked dinner for after 8pm, we takeoff at 5:05 so I booked an early lunch our last day).

One of our sigs is Narcoossee's, good steak and lobster are hard to get where I live..so my $69 entree eek will make using 2 entitlements totally worth it!! Our other is for CG during Wishes on our last night, I always cry during these fireworks so I'm a little nervous about that but oh well...it's our Disneymoon and I want to do something special.

We are using our snack credits to eat breakfast a few of the mornings - most cinnamon rolls or bagels and fruit are considered snacks. I think if you space out your reservations and really plan then it's okay. Like Monday we'll be at Magic Kingdom so we're doing Kona Cafe for breakfast an hour before the park opens, that way we're not doing a lot of running around and won't have to deal with a lot of travel time.

Have fun on your trip!

 

[elaine amj]

If your family can eat that much, DxDDP would be a great fit for you. Why not give it a try, if it's in the budget?
Another note, in our experience, the serving sizes in the dining room on cruises are much smaller than a typical serving size at WDW. They're closer to the serving size at the signature restaurants. I doubt most people could eat 3 large meals a day + snacks for multiple days in a row. I have a sister who can, so DxDDP would be great for her. Unfortunately for her, no one she visits WDW with can eat that much. She loved the cruise we went on though.

Good point about serving sizes on a cruise vs at WDW. I was actually completely shocked at what pigs we were on the cruise. We travelled with another family and all of us pigged out. Mind you, none of us eat like that IRL. In WDW, my family usually splits 2-3 adult CS credits for a meal and we regularly share meals when we eat out. We're all athletic folks who typically watch our portion sizes.

I just need to be able to justify Deluxe Dining to my wallet! Hmm...it's still MUCH cheaper than cruising.....

 

[Smileybug]

We are doing the DDP for the first time this trip. And I am very happy with the exta credits and what it is allowing us to do.

 

[mommyof3princess27]

We are doing the DDP for the first time this trip. And I am very happy with the exta credits and what it is allowing us to do.

Oh Smileybug...nice to meet you! Too much DIsney planning today. I am very happy with the extra credits too...Now I can do meals we would never normally do!

 

[gemologygal]

When we go without kids we love to enjoy 3 TS meals a day. Thats my idea of vacation

I agree! We travel without children and my DH and I love dining TS so for us, it's worth the experience to go on the DDP.

 

[TDC Nala]

ON the deluxe, you do not have to have 3 TS meals a day. Book some 2 credit restaurants, use a few credits for counter service, you will not be having three TS meals a day.

You also have to remember that you're entitled to appetizer, entree and dessert at all TS lunches and dinners (or full buffet/family style meal). You don't HAVE to order all that, although it is what you are prepaying for.

 

[Smileybug]

Oh Smileybug...nice to meet you! Too much DIsney planning today. I am very happy with the extra credits too...Now I can do meals we would never normally do!

Haven't you seen enough of me for one day?

ON the deluxe, you do not have to have 3 TS meals a day. Book some 2 credit restaurants, use a few credits for counter service, you will not be having three TS meals a day.

You also have to remember that you're entitled to appetizer, entree and dessert at all TS lunches and dinners (or full buffet/family style meal). You don't HAVE to order all that, although it is what you are prepaying for.

This is great advice. As mommyof3 can tell you .....I was not a fan of the DDP. It just seemed like to much food. But the more I looked at it and then started pricing out the 2 credit meals. It seemed like a good option for us. And over 7 full days we will be using everyone of those credits.

 

[vinotinto]

We've had a few days w/ 3 meals w/ the DxDP in our previous 3 trips. Usually a character breakfast, some type of lunch in the park, and a dinner near our resort. We have kids who do eat three times per day. What we will do is eat much less at each meal than what we would normally eat. So, at the character breakfast, one plate (not more) of food. At lunch, order an entree for each adult, but share an app and a dessert.

In our next trip, we do not have 3 TS meals on any days. All 8 days, we have either a TS breakfast or a TS lunch and then a TS dinner (usually Signature) and we'll use credits for something quick at a CS or snack credits for the other breakfast or lunch. This is our 4th time purchasing the DxDP, so I feel confident I have it down.

I think it can be done to do 3 'real' meals, and still have time to see other things, and I rather eat a smaller portion than let a credit go to waste. However, I would not recommend doing this more than once or twice during a week-long trip. I find that this approach is much more successful with kids. They have small stomachs, the kids' portions are very small, and they can only eat a little at a time and benefit from following the B-L-D structure from home. You pretty much have to feed them every 3-6 hours. It's less successful if you have adults because portions are much larger and we can hold much more in our stomachs. We don't necessarily need to eat as frequently as kids.

 

[EmALee]

I've been wondering a bit about Deluxe dining and the number of people who have been saying it's too much food. It sounds just about what we'd eat when cruising - and I know we're not really out of the norm when it comes to eating on a cruise.

Our last 5 day cruise, each day we had: a full buffet or a sit down breakfast, a buffet or sit down lunch, and a sit down dinner promptly at 6pm. At each meal, we ate, and ate, and ate. Definitely at the very least it was an app, an entree, and a dessert at each meal. At dinner, each night we had 2 apps, 1.5 entrees (We would order extras and share) and a dessert. Later that night, there would always be a bedtime snack (cookies, bards, even whole sandwiches!) It was crazy, it was tons of food....but I can't say it was ever TOO much food as we managed to pack it all away somehow LOL!

I would love to do Deluxe dining - just gasp whenever I see the extra $1000 it would cost the 4 of us for our 10-12 day trips and can't bite the bullet.

We don't have a problem with the deluxe being too much food. What we usually do is a breakfast and a signature restaurant. Or...we'll have breakfast be a snack credit, an early lunch and supper at a normal hour or a late lunch and a really late dinner. One of the nights on our next trip we're doing 8 am at The Wave at the Contemporary, 3:50 pm at Tusker House and 9:15 pm at Narcoossee's. This is the only day where we have 3 meals, but we really space them out so we're not still full at the next meal. Most of our other days are either an 8 am breakfast and a later dinner or an early lunch and a later dinner. I think the key is to take advantage of EMH and really plan out your meals to get the most of your money.

 

[sweeteypie1118]

Your vacation will absolutely revolve around dining reservations. For me that would be awesome!!!! I live low car except at Disney where I eat everything I can get my hands on!!!!

we could be twins

 

[sweeteypie1118]

We are going for 9 nights on the deluxe plan. I have one day that we have 3 sit downs planned(Thanksgiving) We are doing Tusker House breakfast pre park opening, Yak & Yeti lunch and Jiko dinner. The rest of our days will be breakfast and signature, or early lunch and late signature. While my favorite part of a Disney trip is eating, I get full fast and don't want to feel sick all day because I stuffed myself. Plus I need room to use up those snack credits!!!