Deluxe Dining Plan

[Disneyhayes]

I'm planning on the deluxe dining plan...is it worth it? I thought it might be since we are doing a meal at CRT and Calif Grill and doing Fantasmic DP. Also planning on doing Crystal Palace at MK and HW & Vine at HS since the kids love PH Disney - soon to be Disney Jr. I also thought about doing Cape May since it's a seafood buffet and I love seafood!


PS. My dad used this board when he used to plan trips for me and my sister and now I'm using it to plan my own family vacations. I just remember how embarrassed I was to see my dad in a really bright lime green shirt and kids play corn hanging from his huge fanny pack. Does that stuff still go on?

 

[nkereina]

Everyone has a different opinion on the dining plan. I think the deluxe plan sounds great and I'm going with it for the first time in September. It's definitely worth it if you plan on eating 3 meals a day (QS or TS) and if you're planning on a lot of TS. CRT and Cali Grill are both 2 TS credits which works fine with the Deluxe. People always say to add up the prices on the menus and determine if the DP saves you money or not. I never did this so financially for me I don't know if it's the best move, but not having to worry about paying for meals while I'm there is worth it!

 

[Disneyhayes]

Everyone has a different opinion on the dining plan. I think the deluxe plan sounds great and I'm going with it for the first time in September. It's definitely worth it if you plan on eating 3 meals a day (QS or TS) and if you're planning on a lot of TS. CRT and Cali Grill are both 2 TS credits which works fine with the Deluxe. People always say to add up the prices on the menus and determine if the DP saves you money or not. I never did this so financially for me I don't know if it's the best move, but not having to worry about paying for meals while I'm there is worth it!

my husband said we should just go for it on our first trip that way we can decide which places are a must when we go back. I used to stay at POR when I went with my sister and dad and loved it!

 

[Priskillet]

I have used it the past 3 years and loved it. I am going in July and doing it again. A meal there is on average lets say $20 with soda etc...for $75 or whatever the price is now for Deluxe Dining its worth it. It is a lot of food. But we used ours on some nights as room service, which counts as 2 dining points. Also used at theme dinners brkfst etc. So if you think iof this as bad...it is a stretch.
The only thing people might see as draw back is-Dont forget that everything you order say at Dinner(which includes appt, dinner, dessert) is added on a bill, it counts towards a dining point BUT you are tipping on the price of what the meal would of cost. TIPPING was something I didnt factor in the first time. Every day eating a meal worth $200 with me, dd, ds, dh= $40 tip plus brkfast, lunch.

Well Enjoy! Just factor in a good $50 a day for tipping...just to b safe. The food is worth it. Also every year we have about 20 snack points left so we go and by souveniers for everyone. Mickey treats etc. works well!

 

[thebwit]

having done the deluxe plan twice I can attest to how to make it worth it. The plan costs like $75/per adult per day. So that's your starting point.

If you plan to use it for QS meals, then you will lose money on it. If you use it for TS meals, then it might be worth it.

I say might be, because its real easy to eat at some of the cheaper restaurants and not meet this quota.

My wife and I's thoughts on using the deluxe plan are the following:
Book one meal per day that is a "2 point" meal. The other meal at a high end 1 point meal. Breakfast can be made up of snacks or desserts from other meals.

Some other things to consider. You will order an appetizer, entree and desert for each person because you can. And because you order all this food, your bill will be more than what you might normally have bought. Remember tips are not included and it is REAL easy to get a bill up to $100 for just two adults when you order all that food at the higher end places.

If you do it right, you will actually save a good deal of money (last trip we saved like 30% and the trip before about 18%)

With that said, on our next trip planned for April we are NOT using it. Not because we don't find it a good value, but because we are forced to purchase it for our children and it is NOT worth it for our kids as they don't eat enough yet. On top of that, we plan to leave the kids with a sitter for dinner and would rather just pay for our food.

I can see us going back to the dining plan when our kids are older and eat enough food to make it worth it. I wish Disney would allow us to purchase dining plans for individuals but alas they don't.

 

[smiley23]

We did this on our trip last spring, it actually was well worth it I thought. I am a fan of buffet style eating with kids!

 

[Disneyhayes]

I go back and forth with this so much it's crazy. We plan on doing a lot of character dining - although I am reading not so great reviews on some of them. So in my mind that would make it worth it since usually the buffets are $40 per adult and $20 for a child. Since one of my kids is under 3 we are taking the kids price and spliting it between the 2 of my DDs since they usually split everything. That makes it worth it. I am going nuts planning this vaca out and my husband thinks that I am going crazy . He says I am over planning but I tell him he has no idea how much seems to go into a Disney trip.

 

[jarrett08]

sounds like fun

 

[sjs314]

We are trying the DxDP for the first time with our September trip, it will be the first time for us using any DP but after looking at menus and estimateing roughly what DH and I might order, plus the fact this vacation we want to try all the places to eat that we have not before plus a few old favorites.

I say go for it, even though you have to pay the tips OOP I think it is well worth the cost, plus with the DxDP you get the App with lunch and dinner. Another plus for you is that one of your DD are under 3 so you do not have to pay for her.
You have to go into it IMHO not looking to come out ahead money wise but the fact of knowing you can order what you want not bothering to look at the prices with the peace of mind knowing it is all pre-paid other than the tips.

 

[Rotti955]

We have done the standard dining plan and the deluxe dining plan and would do either of them again.

We loved the Deluxe plan because we were able to eat at so many great restaurants, we booked lots of character meals, ate at the castle, and did the phantasmic dnner package at DHS. A lot of the week was built around the meals that we had planned. So if you are planning doing a lot of sit down dining, character meals, signature dining, it is a great plan. We did feel that we needed to book sit down meals each day rather than counter service dining in order to get our money worth.

The Standard dining plan was great when we wanted to do a few restaurants and/or character dining during the week and mixed it with counter service meals during the rest of the week. Each day we planned a meal in the room, a table service meal, and a counter service meal at the parks. It was a nice mix and we weren't scheduling our days around meals.

 

[sydneysmom]

We chose to do the Deluxe dining plan when we went last Sept.... we would never do anything else. We LOVED it ! Now, we're not huge eaters....the reason why we chose it first and foremost was convenience. We didn't want to charge our meals to the room or bring a ton of cash. this way, it was all paid for and done. (except tips of course) Also, we knew we were going to do character breakfasts every morning and we wanted to do some 2TS meals. We got to do CRT twice (breakfast and dinner), Flying Fish, Narcoosees, Le Cellier (only 1TS at the time) and all the character meals. It was fantastic not to worry about "what we can and can't order" because of price. It was ALL included. (even the wonderful lobster at Narcoosee's....which was REALLY good!!!)

The other nice thing was the snack credits. We used them for water / drinks / and snacks from the bakery for "light lunches". My DH loved not having to dig in his wallet every time he wanted a diet coke. It was very convenient. it was also nice to have the refillable mugs when we were at the pool. I think if you're planning on doing some 2 TS, it's worth it.

We did our plan this way (we were there 8 days).....one day we'd do a buffet breakfast / lunch / 1 ts dinner (about 7 pm). the next would be a late breakfast and a 2 TS dinner (earlier time) That way we weren't eating 3 meals a day every day. the other key is to not feel like you HAVE to eat everything in order for it to be a bargain. You know? If you want to split an appetizer or dessert , do it. Don't feel obligated to order it. We did that a few times. All in all when it was done, we saved $671 on the dining plan. Well worth it I think .

 

[catra121]

Ah...the deluxe dining plan. I did it last September with my mom and I will never go without it again. And the reason: convenience.

Yes...you get a lot of "value" for the cost of the plan when you add up all you get for the money you pay. Reality...you would probably not have each person order their own appetizer and dessert at every meal if you were paying OOP so while there's "value" there...it's not like you're really "saving" money unless that's how you would order anyway.

What I LOVE about the plan is the ability to just relax and not look at prices or have to bring lots of money with me. I already spent the money on the food so I'm just going to enjoy it. I also find that on the deluze dining plan I do NOT feel guilty if I don't clean my plate because I already paid for it.

Now...I have physical problem which limit my ability to walk around and I've also been to Disney many times so I skip a lot. That makes TS dining perfect for ME. People who like to do "all the rides" and shows and take shorter vacations...deluxe is probably a waste of time because TS would eat up a lot of their "ride" time. But it's perfect for ME. Wouldn't go without it ever again.

 

[Bell30012]

The DxDP rocks! My DD8 and I believe in it wholeheartedly. Two snacks a day plus three TS credits? Oh yes, don't forget the refillable mug.

 

[bouncycat]

We LOVE the DxDDP!!! We're using it again in may with our niece and her family, mostly cause you're not tied down to how to use the credits. We like doing the character breakfasts, and a nice sit down dinner, lunch will be on the fly. It is a lot of food, but it's really worth it!!!! I usually only eat like half my appetizer, and half the dessert, but oooooo it's just soooooooo good!!

 

[Da_Hoser]

I really like the Deluxe plan, but my dining plans might be very different from yours. I like to do a lot of Table service and Character meals while I'm at WDW, and I think the Deluxe plan works very well for those. If you're planning on doing a lot of those types of meals then I completely recommend the DxDP.

 

[thr11love]

I have a question, is there a set amount you have to tip? Like, do you get a bill for the tip or is it up you on what you want to give? We will be going for the first time at the end of May and we got the free dining plan and upgraded to the deluxe plan. So excited!!!

 

[h2oophelia]

I have a question, is there a set amount you have to tip? Like, do you get a bill for the tip or is it up you on what you want to give? We will be going for the first time at the end of May and we got the free dining plan and upgraded to the deluxe plan. So excited!!!

There is an automatic 18% gratuity for parties of 6 or more.

We LOVED the DxDP! We ate at mostly TS so it did take a lot of time, but we got to eat some AMAZING food. Have fun!

 

[Da_Hoser]

I have a question, is there a set amount you have to tip? Like, do you get a bill for the tip or is it up you on what you want to give? We will be going for the first time at the end of May and we got the free dining plan and upgraded to the deluxe plan. So excited!!!

I don't think there is a set tip amount unless you're in a party of 6 and that is automatically added like h2oophelia says. If you look at the receipt you get, they usually print 2 suggested tip amounts on it. I can't remember what the percentages are off the top of my head, but they are usually a good guide for amounts.

For planning purposes, what I do is figure out how much a meal would cost without any dining plan at a restaurant. Then I use 15% as a general tip base to plan the tip for that meal. I do this for all of the restaurants I'm going to eat at and that gives me a tip budget for the vacation. Its a little extra work, but it helps plan out how much a vacation will cost.

 

[thr11love]

Thank you both for the tips. Definately helpful.

 

[mickey50]

Dining plans are great. You just have to want to do the sit downs to get reall use out of it.

Good luck