Deluxe Dining Plan-Anyone else intrigued?

[Luv2trav]

Here is how I see... First it's A LOT of food... However I find it very appealing. I love the sit down restaurants. I am always torn between using the TS option for dinner or breakfast. With this new plan you can have 3 a day! Sure the price is higher but you have 3 TS a day!

For our family of 4 (2A 2C) it would cost us $1259.72 for 7 days. Which works out to be 59.98 a meal. This doesn't include the snack or refillable mug.

I don't think it's a bad deal if you have the time and appetite for this much food.. It's certainly nice to have all those character meals!

 

[Family Fun Mom]

I'm interested. We are the kind of people who like to sit down and eat three meals a day on vacation. Or at least two, because we want to see the dinner shows and the Backyard BBQ. I have been crunching numbers and it seems like my family might not get much of a savings, but we'd probably break even. I love the prepaid aspect of it.

I am only bothered by the fact that my very-small-for-her-age-and-doesn't-eat-much tween daughter (she'll be 11 when we go next year) would be charged as an adult. In what world does an 11 year old eat $70 worth of food a day? That is the only thing that really turns me off. If we choose not to get the deluxe plan, this would be why.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm more than intrigued - if the official announcement mirrors the rumors, I'm totally sold. It might even convince me to think about going in Jan or May instead of Dec. (Jan sounds good... we'll be there for DD"s birthday this month, and it might be fun to be there for DS's birthday too!).

We wouldn't eat 3 TS per day. We don't even eat 3 meals per day most days, much less 3 restaurant sized meals. But what we would do is a lot of 2TS meals. I already have Artist Point, California Grill, and Cindy's Royal Table scheduled for Dec, but I'd gladly add Narcoosees (in place of Fulton's, which we'll be doing OOP), Flying Fish, and Yachtsman Steakhouse (in place of Shula's, which we'll be doing OOP) if we had more credits. I might think about the luau instead of Ohana. And I'd gladly eat *no* CS for the entire trip!

 

[Tess'smom]

Not the plan for me. We can't even consume the amount of food available on the current plan per day. My DH would be happy with it because he loves TS breakfast everyday!

 

[n2mm]

Not the plan for me. We can't even consume the amount of food available on the current plan per day. My DH would be happy with it because he loves TS breakfast everyday!

I agree, not for us either. We can barely get through the standard plan. Yes, some days we do a sit down breakfast, but we could not do it every day. Plus adding the tip on to 3 TS meals would be about $30 more per day per person, so at $99 a day per person, a little too steep for us. We don't even thing the standard plan will work for us anymore either. With no appetizer or tip, we estimate the plan to cost about $55 per day per person. We allow $100 a day for meals for the 2 of us. Some days are less, some days are more and that always seems to work for us. Plus we are DDE card holders too. I agree, my hubby might be able to handle it, but I could never do it. I can barely eat a whole CS meal.

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

Mike Scopa of WDW Today podcast refers to this plan as the Jabba the Hut option.....​

 

[Nancyg56]

It might work for us. We like a few 2 TS meals as well as some extra character meals, so we end up paying for a few meals OOP anyway. IF the numbers look like we would at least break even after considering what we would normally spend I would consider it so that I would not need to compare prices and try to manage credits if someone wants an extra meal. My DH likes a regular breakfast while on vacation and has not too much patience when I ask him to eat a bran muffin or a bagel .

 

[Cruz Family]

I would not do it because my DS's 9 & 14 would both cost $70 a day. But most of all you still don't get apps. which are my favorite part of a meal.

 

[NMW]

I am completely sold on this plan! This is the plan I have told Disney in surveys, emails, etc. that I want for the last 3 years. I hated the CS aspect of the current DDP. A 3 meal a day plan without all the water rentals, Cirque tickets, childcare centers. A plan with just the food, priced right. 69.99 a day is freaking awesome! Plus, they threw in 2 snacks and a refillable mug!

DH and I talked last night for about 2 hours, discussing this plan. The possibilities are endless with this plan since you can use 2 meals for a signature (according to Deb's blog). Honestly, even without that, it's still great. You could do:

Crystal Palace breakfast
Liberty tree Tavern lunch
'Ohana for dinner

OR:

use 2 snack credits for a pastery & drink for breakfast
Sci-Fi lunch
Yachtsman Steakhouse for dinner

OR:
Chef Mickeys for breakfast
snack credits for lunch-popcorn and soda
California Grill for dinner

What is not to love about this plan?? The only thing you have to pay OOP for is alcohol and tips. I think people are just reacting to the change. Once people consider the value and ease of this plan, more people will love it.

 

[karliebug]

I don't think it would work for us. You would spend most of the day eating rather than enjoying the parks and with 3 girls that eat like birds it wouldn't be worth it cost wise. If it was a trip for just the 2 of us, I might splurge for it. Removing the tip and appetizer has tipped the scale the other way for the regular plan for us,too.

 

[NMW]

I would not do it because my DS's 9 & 14 would both cost $70 a day. But most of all you still don't get apps. which are my favorite part of a meal.

You get apps with the Deluxe plan $69.99, not the basic one. Check Deb's blog, she updated that yesterday.

 

[MomofCKJ]

I'm considering it. I love the prepaid aspect of the dining plan. That is the big seller for me. I'm disappointed in the loss of tip all around. Losing the appy on the regular plan stinks too. I wish they made it your choice of appy or dessert.

So why I would consider this is that it makes it much easier to try some 2TS restauarants. We definately plan on Cali Grill this trip and would like to try and get CRT too. This plan would let us do that without then having us have to pay OOP for other meals.

This plan would also cover everything, CS breakfast at the resort, extra snacks, etc. I need to sit and run the numbers and think about it. The downside for us is that I too have a newly turned 10 year old (she's 10 today!) and paying $70 for her will be painful. She doen't eat that much, though she does have filet mignon taste.

And yes it is a lot of food credits but part of vacation for us is eating out. We enjoy it! And in our real, non vacationing at Disney life, we do order appetizers when we go out, and dessert too. And no I don't look like Jabba the Hut . There are some people out in the world that do enjoy eating and do like an appy and a dessert and are not gluttons for doing so. I am 5'7" and weigh 140 lbs, I'm not a glutton who just wants to consume food all day. I just enjoy a nice dinner with multiple courses!

Allyson

 

[crazykids]

My family would do the deluxe plan in a second! We always prefer to eat at TS restaurants over the CS & we always eat at a few 2TS during our stay. We pay OOP for at least a few meals every trip & now we wouldn't have to w/ the deluxe plan.

 

[CathrynRose]

Mike Scopa of WDW Today podcast refers to this plan as the Jabba the Hut option.....​

And he sure got that right.

I cant imagine wanting to spend THAT much time, sitting and eating - while at Disney. The current plan is a heckuva lotta food....the rumored new one?
Well, it IS Jabba-ized.

 

[Cruz Family]

You get apps with the Deluxe plan $69.99, not the basic one. Check Deb's blog, she updated that yesterday.

Oh thanks for the info, IMO that is a big difference!!!!

 

[clownfish1452]

I would love to do this plan if still included room service. I am doing the premium plan this year. And I will see if I really like all the table service, but I dont think there is going to be a problem. I love the idea of free room service we are going to eat room service for almost every breakfast.

Sarah

 

[Luv2trav]

I would love to do this plan if still included room service. I am doing the premium plan this year. And I will see if I really like all the table service, but I dont think there is going to be a problem. I love the idea of free room service we are going to eat room service for almost every breakfast.

Sarah

I didn't even think about the room service option. That would be VERY nice....

 

[Luv2trav]

I think the only reason it's not too much of a cost for us because our kids are still under 9. If we had to pay adult prices for them I wouldn't even consider it.

Plus I definately wouldn't do 3 sit downs in 1 day. That takes too much time. I would however plan to eat as some of the signature restaurants and shows that I have avoided in the past.

 

[Lewisc]

The question is if room service will be one or two credits and how many of the service fees are covered and how many have to be paid out of pocket.

 

[clownfish1452]

On the premium now room service is only 1ts credit and the fees are covered. If room service was not included I dont think I would go with it.

Sarah