Deluxe Dining is it too much?

[bluejasmine]

So we have done deluxe for a one day trip in 2012 but any other trip we always used the regular DDP
We rented DVC points for a 3 way split trip this Sept coming. We added deluxe dining.

We take daily afternoon breaks by the pool (its just hubby and I altho meeting family at WDW) and thats pretty important to us we adore the parks and our pool and down time, we both have rush, stressful jobs.

We arent park hopping and I always book my dining at the park/resort we are at or right outside of it to cut down on travel time and to preserve the park and rest time. We do have a car so we may drive sometimes to conserve time.

Hubby tends to like to get appetizers with his meals and I like desserts, my husband can also be a big eater. In fact he use to always eat 3 meals a day before he started his current job in Aug now he eats once a day normally during his work week, maybe twice when he is off, but has lost weight and really coudlnt afford to loose it.

Critique my plans if you dont mind?

2 nights at the Dolphin arriving late the first night.

The next day Sat is not on DDP everything that day will be OOP

Sat Breakfast at Picubu @ Dolphin, drive to Disney Springs lunch at Homecoming, back to Dolphin to relax and swim at Grotto Pool, in the early evening take boat to Epcot, dinner at Via Napoli
Start of Dining Plan for first 3 days (18 credit)
Sun Check into VGF, hop monorail over to CR for CG Brunch, back to VGF for pool time until 3 to shower and get ready, 4pm MNSSHP, early dinner at TT

MON Epcot Day, lunch Biergarten afternoon break, dinner at Spice Table hope to see Illuminations from restaurant

Tues Hollywood Studios The Wave breakfast, lunch at Sci Fi Diner, afternoon break, dinner at Cape May hope to go back to HS and see the Star Wars nighttime show

Start of new DDP for 4 days (24 credits)
Wed Check into the PVB, breakast at Kona, drive to AK, lunch at Satuli Canteen, afternoon break, dinner at Yak & Yeti, hope to catch ROL and see Pandora at night for first time.

Thurs Our wedding Anniversary no parks today. Sleep in, drive to Boma for breakfast, spend rest of day relaxing at Poly Pool, may go back to Disney Springs to shop, drinks at Trader Sams around 4, dinner at Ohana, fireworks on the Poly Beach

Fri MK BOG for breakfast, Skipper Canteen for lunch, park closes early for MNSSHP so no afternoon break probably, then WCC for dinner after park closing and will relax the rest of the evening at resort.

Sat Epcot Bon Voyage Breakfast, park time in Epcot, lunch at Chefs De France, afternoon break, Rose & Crown dinner.

Sun sleep in, make sure all is packed up, one last walk around Poly, then head over to Fort Wilderness for brunch at Trails End.

This doesnt even plan the snacks we wanted to try like Cheshire Cat Tail, Pineapple lumpia, pulled pork fries, I have no idea how to add those in, not to mention F & W..lol

So if I did my math right that is one left over credit correct? Did I plan everything well enough to maximize time?

 

[CraigInPA]

While your husband is a "big eater", I doubt that he'd feel like having a 3 meal day ever again after eating breakfast at the Wave, lunch at Sci-Fi, and dinner at Cape May Cafe.

My wife and I are "big eaters". The first time we went with the deluxe dining plan, we had 3 meal days. After the first 2 days, we changed every other day to lunch and dinner, or breakfast and dinner, only. After that experience, we refined future trips with deluxe dining to breakfast -or- lunch, and a signature dinner. A typical week for us has us having meals at Grand Floridian Cafe, Kona, the Wave, San Angel Inn, Rose and Crown, Liberty Tree Tavern, Yak and Yeti, and Ale and Compass, with dinners at Narcoosee's, Citrico, Jiko, California Grille, Yachtsman, etc...

 

[Rich M]

I think you have a pretty good plan. We did the Deluxe in December so we could have apps but we shared our credits with my son and his girlfriend who were on another reservation. It was a really good plan for us. In regards to your plan I would skip BOG if your worried about getting the most out of it because the breakfast at BOG is a quick service and in my opinion I would say it is terrible. I would however recommend breakfast at Whispering if your looking for breakfast. There eggs benedict was great.

I see you have dinner at Rose & Crown which is great. If you happened to get a reservation late in the evening ask to wait for a table to watch Illuminations. Let your waiter/waitress know you would like to time everything to the show and they will do a great job spreading out everything. We ordered our apps and took our time eating them and then our entrees came out and we slowly enjoyed them. She then had our desserts to us as the show was starting. One of the greatest meals we have had and we enjoyed everything about it.

I know the debate for most people is there is too much food but for us we loved the deluxe and the opportunity to try apps that we normally wouldn't have ordered. Enjoy your amazing trip.

 

[mrcase77]

How long do sit down meals like that typically take? I was listening to a podcast where a lady commented that it was taking 2 hours. (In which case that’d be 6 hours a day) If so, is there a risk you’re going to spend too much time waiting in restaurants? Granted the lady had a young child, so maybe that was part of it? I only have experience with the buffets.

Granted, if you’re going for a super relaxed vacation, maybe that’s not a problem. I’d be worried about losing that much park time personally if it really does take that long.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

How long do sit down meals like that typically take? I was listening to a podcast where a lady commented that it was taking 2 hours. (In which case that’d be 6 hours a day) If so, is there a risk you’re going to spend too much time waiting in restaurants? Granted the lady had a young child, so maybe that was part of it? I only have experience with the buffets.

It depends. At a place like Chef Mickey's or CRT, you can be in and out in an hour. At say California Grill, it can take much much longer. It took us 3 hours counting the time going, eating, the break for fireworks, and coming back down to the car. Some restaurants have a slower pace. Most of the signature places we've been to do. But You can request to have things done more quickly though if that is what you want. Some people think it's bad service because they're used to the typical bum's rush they get at their local chain. But it's not that they're forgetting you or the kitchen is in the weeds. The pace is just slower.

 

[mrcase77]

It depends. At a place like Chef Mickey's or CRT, you can be in and out in an hour. At say California Grill, it can take much much longer. It took us 3 hours including the break for the fireworks. It's not that they're forgetting you, it's that that is the norm for that type of meal. You can request to have things done more quickly though if that is what you want.

Yeah, I personally would only want to do that once a day time-wise, but different people have different interests and priorities on a vacation. It seems like you’d run a risk of spending your entire vacation either at restaurants or making your way to the next restaurant reservation. But I’m no expert.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Yeah, I personally would only want to do that once a day time-wise, but different have different interests and priorities on a vacation.

We've done the one sit down, one counter, one snack plan. That was certainly sufficient amount of food. We found that by the time dinner rolls around, our tired legs could use a couple of hours. But I don't think I'd do that three times a day or be able to eat all the food.

I certainly wouldn't want to have a big breakfast take away from prime touring time.

 

[mrcase77]

We've done the one sit down, one counter, one snack plan. That was certainly sufficient amount of food. We found that by the time dinner rolls around, our tired legs could use a couple of hours. But I don't think I'd do that three times a day or be able to eat all the food.

I certainly wouldn't want to have a big breakfast take away from prime touring time.

When I went in 2015, we aimed for 11 or one for a sit down meal. It gave our feet a break and the park was crazy busy by that time anyway. Then we did quick dinner and breakfast before rope drop. It worked well. Similar strategy sounds like.

But, we were trying to cram as much riding time and shows as we could possibly get in since we only had 2 days at Disney parks.

 

[rwdavis2]

Yes. I think it's too much food. We only pay out of pocket and order what we want.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

This is you, but me personally too much time sitting/eating. You are hitting a great many of my favorite restaurants. We do the deluxe dining plan only when staying just a couple of days and we're not doing the ride/park thing. And then, it's either a late breakfast or an early lunch and then a really late dinner at the better restaurants.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

When I went in 2015, we aimed for 11 or one for a sit down meal. It gave our feet a break and the park was crazy busy by that time anyway. Then we did quick dinner and breakfast before rope drop. It worked well. Similar strategy sounds like.

But, we were trying to cram as much riding time and shows as we could possibly get in since we only had 2 days at Disney parks.

We grabbed a banana or apple for breakfast on our way and then we were ready for the counter before the lunch rush hit. You can waste an hour in line for lunch as quickly as you can for a ride. Then by dinner we were ready to take a load off. After dinner we'd usually just set up for the evening shows and call it a day. Now they have the app which gets you around much of the line but doesn't get you around the over crowded table areas. And again we've found we only really need the two meals.

 

[4DisneyWVUfans]

We love the DXDP! We usually do 1 TS and then 1 Signature restaurant a day. Sometimes the 1 TS credit is breakfast. We try to at least separate the two meals by at least 6 hours. We really enjoy getting a break from the heat and trying different foods everyday. Yes, it takes you away from ride time, but we don't spend time in line for food or looking for a seat. I love talking to the servers. The DxDp is a great way to treat yourself!

 

[brertoad]

Honestly, you could probably get by on the regular dining plan, as half of your stuff is buffets or breakfast - i.e. you will get NO benefit for the whole Appetizer course (and possibly the dessert course) that comes with DxDP.

Kona Breakfast - no appetizer or dessert right?
Satu'li Canteen - this is a quick service, not even worth 1 credit on DxDP in my opinion, wouldn't waste a Table Service credit on this.

BOG Breakfast - this is considered a QS for breakfast right? not worth a DxDP credit, only worth QS credit to me - wouldn't even consider using a Deluxe TS on this
Skipper's Canteen - ok
WCC - ok, unless you are getting AYCE, then you wouldn't be getting the appetizer right?

Bon Voyage Breakfast - again, no appetizer course or dessert right?
Chefs de France - ok
Rose and Crown - ok

Trail's End Brunch - again, not sure if this comes with an appetizer course or dessert...

So out of 9 places, you may be actually using 3 maybe 4 of your credits towards real table service meals that would include an appetizer and dessert course.

You wouldn't even be ordering appetizers at more than half of these places, and two of them are QS. Not really an ideal way to allocate points, but it is your vacation, some people just like to not have to "worry" about it.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I don't think the deluxe dining plan is a bad idea if you utilise it to your benefit. Wonderful time to check out signature restaurants that you might be apt to bypass either oop or on the regular dining plan. Live a little for your anniversary at least and eat a 2 credit meal. You said your husband is now used to eating two meals a day at most so if you prefer 3 meals but he wants his now normal one or two maybe ease him into the new schedule gradually.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I always get confused when I think of my lodging reservation as days and always make sure I think of it at nights.

We did the dining plan several years ago when it was about $35 per adult (regular plan) and it included appetizer, entrée, dessert and tip for the TS credit. We thought it was just too much eating. Add in the QS credit and the snack credit, it was really too much. We left a few credits unused.

But with two adults who are just relaxing and dining with a bit of park time, the deluxe plan might just work. Enjoy your trip.

 

[Kelli Pooh]

When we did DXDP we loved it but there was one big difference in timing for us, it was not during the F&WF! I think that there is so much to experience at the festival on top of meals that it is not the time of year to go deluxe. I say do regular and allow yourself time to experience the festival. Unless you do not care about it that much.

 

[JerseyJanice]

The one time I did Deluxe, we did 2 meals per day—breakfast or lunch and then a 2 credit dinner. Having done 3 trips with the regular plan, it was great fun to try new restaurants that were 2 credit meals.

I don’t see any signature restaurants in your plans so for me, it would not be worth going Deluxe.

 

[plainoldt]

We like doing signature dining for dinner so that often ate up (ha ha) the extra meal credits.

 

[rentayenta]

We are also staying DVC, eating at 4 four 2 TS restaurants, and still couldn't get the math to support the Deluxe DDP. Maybe its because we like to share and have more than one drink/glass of wine with our meals?

I do think 3 TS a day will be time consuming.

 

[bluejasmine]

The one time I did Deluxe, we did 2 meals per day—breakfast or lunch and then a 2 credit dinner. Having done 3 trips with the regular plan, it was great fun to try new restaurants that were 2 credit meals.

I don’t see any signature restaurants in your plans so for me, it would not be worth going Deluxe.

The CG Brunch is 2 but yea I see what your saying