Deluxe Dining plan-Who is trying it?

[Colleen27]

Did anyone notice that most of the signature places require a dress code of business casual too? Ugghh, we definitely travel light when we vacation and we all have matching shirts and shorts on usually. Not really business casual...I guess that would limit our choices too if we did the deluxe plan.

Business casual at Disney isn't business casual in the rest of the world.

From Allears: "Effective July 1, 2007, Disney modified its Business Casual Dress Code at its premier restaurants to include t-shirts. The guidelines, which originally went into effect July 2005, still prohibit hats, swim suits, swim suit coveralls, tank tops, torn clothing or flip-flops. Suggested attire includes dress shorts, pants, jean pants, collared shirts, blouses, sweaters."

 

[dwherewecome]

Did anyone notice that most of the signature places require a dress code of business casual too? Ugghh, we definitely travel light when we vacation and we all have matching shirts and shorts on usually. Not really business casual...I guess that would limit our choices too if we did the deluxe plan.

I think by business casual they just mean no tank tops or raggedy jeans/shorts. I believe you would be fine dressed in "nice" shorts or jeans and shirts with sleeves, (except at Victoria and Albert's, which I think is a bit more dressy.) Am I wrong, you guys?

 

[gabbyrosebud]

We're trying the deluxe package for our Dec. 2008 trip. We like the idea of having all our meals paid for in advance. We love our character meals and we're planning on going to CRT for breakfast and lunch this time. Heck, we may even try dinner too!

 

[NMW]

We have it booked for our May 08 Beach Club trip!

 

[wasabi girl]

We're trying it for our trip next Sept. We got it disocunted with the bounceback promotion. It sounds like a great deal to us. Our first trip was with the premium plan, mostly because we really like nice, sit down restaurants and DH lives for golf...when he doesn't go with us to Disney, it didn't make sense to do the premium plan for just the dining since the rest of us don't use much of the recreation options...the deluxe dining plan seems like perfect solution for us.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

We are going in January and seriously thinking about getting this plan. Not because we want all the food but more for entertainment side of things. My children LOVE LOVE Character meals. This trip we are going to take things slow. We just joined DVC so we don't have the need to see and do everything. It's more to just get away from Ohio winters. We have a 1 bedroom reserved at BW and I love the idea of room service etc...

So anyone else going to try it?

The entertainment/2 TS restaurant factor is the only reason I can see someone using this plan (other than ignorance--say for example a family new to WDW doesn't know they have other options or realize how much food it is). I mean, THAT'S A LOT OF FOOD!!!! I honestly don't know anyone who could eat that much food. We can really pack it away if we want to (I suspect my dh has a hollow leg!) and we were stuffed to the gills with just 1 TS and 1 CS per day. But I would go a step further and say that it's not even worth it if you like character meals yet don't plan to do anything like Hoop-De-Doo, CRT, Hollywood Brown Derby, or Spirit of Aloha. We just got back from 10 days with the regular (free) dining plan and barely used all our credits, but had 4 character meals. I would only ever pay for the deluxe plan if it were a very special trip, we wanted to do all the normally exorbitant dinner shows, and we didn't plan to get much else done in the parks. Even 1 TS and 1 CS per day, with a quick cereal or snack credit breakfast in our room most mornings, slowed us down quite a bit with our touring. Constantly having to stop what you're doing and haul your behinds across a park or to a resort for a scheduled meal gets old after a while. And did I mention IT'S SO MUCH FOOD?!?!? I am going to be amazed if people say they can eat everything offered on the deluxe plan--honestly!

 

[Colleen27]

The entertainment/2 TS restaurant factor is the only reason I can see someone using this plan (other than ignorance--say for example a family new to WDW doesn't know they have other options or realize how much food it is). I mean, THAT'S A LOT OF FOOD!!!! I honestly don't know anyone who could eat that much food. We can really pack it away if we want to (I suspect my dh has a hollow leg!) and we were stuffed to the gills with just 1 TS and 1 CS per day. But I would go a step further and say that it's not even worth it if you like character meals yet don't plan to do anything like Hoop-De-Doo, CRT, Hollywood Brown Derby, or Spirit of Aloha. We just got back from 10 days with the regular (free) dining plan and barely used all our credits, but had 4 character meals. I would only ever pay for the deluxe plan if it were a very special trip, we wanted to do all the normally exorbitant dinner shows, and we didn't plan to get much else done in the parks. Even 1 TS and 1 CS per day, with a quick cereal or snack credit breakfast in our room most mornings, slowed us down quite a bit with our touring. Constantly having to stop what you're doing and haul your behinds across a park or to a resort for a scheduled meal gets old after a while. And did I mention IT'S SO MUCH FOOD?!?!? I am going to be amazed if people say they can eat everything offered on the deluxe plan--honestly!

As has been pointed out in earlier conversations about the plan, it really depends on how you use it. We're using it mainly for the ability to try the signature restaurants, which take 2 meal credits. We're also looking forward to doing more character meals, which we didn't do on the dining plan because we like a nice dinner and because it just didn't make sense to use our TS credit for the day on breakfast for a family of non-breakfast eaters. And while we never had enough TS credits to cover everything we'd like to try, we always had too many CS credits. We just don't care for most of the CS options, aside from a few standouts like Main Street Bakery. On the deluxe plan, without any distinction between CS & TS, we have 2 TS meals planned per day (breakfast/lunch and a 2 credit dinner most days) and I don't expect we'll eat more than 2 or 3 CS meals over the 12 day trip.

 

[Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo]

We're trying it for the first time, Nov 9-17. We are a family of 4 with 2 boys, 16 and 20, who cannot seem to get filled up! A nice meal out for us usually costs $80-100, so we will save money with the plan, we feel. Plus, the boys can get their own appetizer (instead of sharing) and dessert. I am looking forward to trying some restaurants we've never tried before, as well as trying some desserts that I never seem to be hungry enough for. I just have to remember to school myself to not feel like I have to eat everything on my plate! No character meals this time for us, and we are doing one 2 credit table service meal. We are looking forward to it, and I will be keeping track of expenses for comparison.

OOPS- just realized you were talking Deluxe plan- we are doing regular. (I didn't know how to delete my entire reply).

 

[pluto's fan]

We will also be trying this plan. I wish that I could get it for this trip. My DD 14 eats ALOT and this is plan is perfect for her. (Not to mention DH who seems to want to stop and eat every chance he gets)

 

[dmurphy42]

We will be trying the Deluxe Plan for our January trip. It is for our Anniversary and will be just the two of us. Also, we are DVCers and have split reservations and therefore able to try the plan for most of the first part of the trip before we commit to it for the second part.

 

[global_mom]

We are trying the Deluxe plan for our March 08 trip but I am a little concerned about the added cost of the gratuities.

The tip is included with the dinner shows but not at any other TS restaurants. Like many others, we plan to do a late breakfast (character mostly) and then do a 2TS for dinners. There are 5 of us so the retail cost of Jikko etc is easily $225-$250 which adds about $50 per day of tip plus the tip from the breakfast. Gratuities for our 5 night trip will be about $320ish on top of the $1250 cost of the plan. That works out to roughly $315 per day but you do get a lot of food plus the snacks (we can never eat all of those and take bagged items home with us) and the mug.

Has anyone else been worried about this added cost?

 

[wasabi girl]

Yes,
I liked the gratuity included with the dining and premium & platinum plans, it made everything so easy. Now with gratuity not being included it is not only an extra hassle but an extra expense. As it isnt included with any of the plan types, I figured there was nothing to be done. It really does lessen the value of the plans though especially for those who do not do counter service meals.

 

[global_mom]

Yes,
I liked the gratuity included with the dining and premium & platinum plans, it made everything so easy. Now with gratuity not being included it is not only an extra hassle but an extra expense. As it isnt included with any of the plan types, I figured there was nothing to be done. It really does lessen the value of the plans though especially for those who do not do counter service meals.

I keep wondering if we would come out better using the DDE card that we have gotten. Seems like it will all be pretty close in price. Of course we could cook in our villa.....nah, Disney Dining is half the fun for us!

 

[Colleen27]

We are trying the Deluxe plan for our March 08 trip but I am a little concerned about the added cost of the gratuities.

The tip is included with the dinner shows but not at any other TS restaurants. Like many others, we plan to do a late breakfast (character mostly) and then do a 2TS for dinners. There are 5 of us so the retail cost of Jikko etc is easily $225-$250 which adds about $50 per day of tip plus the tip from the breakfast. Gratuities for our 5 night trip will be about $320ish on top of the $1250 cost of the plan. That works out to roughly $315 per day but you do get a lot of food plus the snacks (we can never eat all of those and take bagged items home with us) and the mug.

Has anyone else been worried about this added cost?

I figured out the estimated tips for the length of our stay, and didn't find it to be an overwhelming number at all. Using the 18% number and keeping in mind that I haven't planned all of our meal credits and might even use some for counter service, I came up with about $400 in tips. I'm budgeting more than that because we do tip better than 18% for good service, but when I did the math I just used the same figure that was used when the tip was included in the dining plan.

My inital financial analysis of the plan is in the last link in my signature if you want to see how the numbers work out. I haven't updated it to follow the many changes I've made since the plan was first announced, but it is still a good snapshot of the potential value of the plan.

 

[global_mom]

I figured out the estimated tips for the length of our stay, and didn't find it to be an overwhelming number at all. Using the 18% number and keeping in mind that I haven't planned all of our meal credits and might even use some for counter service, I came up with about $400 in tips. I'm budgeting more than that because we do tip better than 18% for good service, but when I did the math I just used the same figure that was used when the tip was included in the dining plan.

My inital financial analysis of the plan is in the last link in my signature if you want to see how the numbers work out. I haven't updated it to follow the many changes I've made since the plan was first announced, but it is still a good snapshot of the potential value of the plan.

Thanks Colleen! It seems that the numbers will be close. I am going to keep Deluxe on our ressie for now. It doesn't hurt to give it a try and see how it really compares to OOP.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

We'll be trying it in December 2008. I must say the toughest part of planning last year's trip was trying to figure out which restaurants we wanted to eat at. There were so many amazing choices, I kept changing my ADR's!!!

It seems like a ton of food and a lot of traveling, but we are on vacation right?

We loved the regular DP and unfortunately, I am not happy with the changes especially the no appetizer and that we must now pay tips so I can't wait to try the deluxe plan. If only they included tips!!!

 

[DisneyLover75]

Hi.. sorry if someone has mentioned this already, but I'm just in need of a little clarification.

On the 2008 regular dining plan, you get the one TS, one CS and a snack. But the change is that on the TS, you get no appetizer and the gratuity is not included.

On the Deluxe plan, do you get the appetizer at the TS or not?

(I plan to use the Deluxe next year too.)

 

[honeymo78]

with deluxe DDP you still get an appetizer at a TS lunches and dinners.

 

[libinatorsmom]

We are going in May 08 and decided on the Dulx plan and we are really excited about it and what it offers... we are now going to be able to eat EVERYWHERE we wanted!!!! i think its a great plan!!!

 

[Tiger926]

The entertainment/2 TS restaurant factor is the only reason I can see someone using this plan (other than ignorance--say for example a family new to WDW doesn't know they have other options or realize how much food it is). I mean, THAT'S A LOT OF FOOD!!!! I honestly don't know anyone who could eat that much food. We can really pack it away if we want to (I suspect my dh has a hollow leg!) and we were stuffed to the gills with just 1 TS and 1 CS per day. But I would go a step further and say that it's not even worth it if you like character meals yet don't plan to do anything like Hoop-De-Doo, CRT, Hollywood Brown Derby, or Spirit of Aloha. We just got back from 10 days with the regular (free) dining plan and barely used all our credits, but had 4 character meals. I would only ever pay for the deluxe plan if it were a very special trip, we wanted to do all the normally exorbitant dinner shows, and we didn't plan to get much else done in the parks. Even 1 TS and 1 CS per day, with a quick cereal or snack credit breakfast in our room most mornings, slowed us down quite a bit with our touring. Constantly having to stop what you're doing and haul your behinds across a park or to a resort for a scheduled meal gets old after a while. And did I mention IT'S SO MUCH FOOD?!?!? I am going to be amazed if people say they can eat everything offered on the deluxe plan--honestly!

Why do people constantly feel the need to insult others? You did just that by using the term "ignorance". Disney provides many different eating options, and these should be respected by all, as a family's choice of one over the other is their choice and no one else's.

We have been to WDW countless times as DVC members and have eaten at practically every restaurant on property multiple times (still working on Signature restaurants and dinner shows as we have young kids) and so for us, we are looking forward to the Deluxe Plan for the convenience of it. We have low blood sugar as well as allergies/food sensitivities, so for us, table service is best as it allows us to speak to the chef about our dietary restrictions, keeps our levels in check and allows us to rest and enjoy our meals. We don't care for CS (we only enjoy: Cosmic Ray's, Tangierine Cafe & Earl of Sandwich), so regular DP was not to our liking, but we are greatly looking forward to this plan as this is how we normally eat when using our DDE. We love to sit down and relax, so this "doesn't get old after awhile." This may not be to your liking, but this is the way we like to vacation and so we are glad that Disney allows us to do just that.

The biggest problem I have with your analogy is that people need to eat everything that is available to them on the DP - this is why North Americans are so obese. It totally depends upon how you eat. We only order what we can eat - we don't always get desert, and may only share a small plate of fruit amongst the 3 of us. We drink water with our meals, don't snack all day on junk food (use our snack credits for water or fruit mostly), don't eat fast food at all and don't drink pop. We are very healthy people who eat 3 balanced meals per day (sometimes I have to eat smaller meals when my sugar is wacky) - we love fresh vegetables & fruit, soups and grilled chicken. Just because "all of that food" is available to us, doesn't mean we eat it. For us, we exercise self control, and this means that we don't come home gaining weight (usually are down in our weight due to all of the walking) even though we've eaten 2-3 TS meals per day.

We are very much looking forward to using the Deluxe Plan in April as it suits our dietary needs and adds a great level of convenience to our WDW vacations. As an added bonus, it is going to save us money too!

Tiger