Deluxe dining thread

[Colleen27]

For some reason I thought it was only $69.99/day. Either way, it is an awesome deal! And I totally agree, it will beat the CS food and waits!

It is 69.99/night for adults and 19.99/night per child.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

I'm gonna try it Dec. 2008. We're staying for 10 nights so we'll have 30 credits each! I can't wait to try all those restaurants.

I'm also so excited to hear how people liked or disliked the deluxe plan!

 

[Native NYer]

Ooops my mistake! I think I need sleep.

 

[overburnzz]

quick question i forgot to ask my AAA rep and she wont be in till Tues
is the deluxe dining linked to our resort stay or park tickets

we are going to be there from oct 16th-24th but we only purchased 7 day park hopper passes
just wondering if we need to extend our tickets or we are fine to have food the whole time we are there

sorry if this is answered somewhere else in the forums

 

[letthewookiewin]

We have a 10 day trip planned for December 18 - 27, 2008. I know that the parks are going to be more crowded than any other time we've been. (We've been for Spring Break, July 4th weekend, and October.) The thought that I don't have to wait in a line with one DS to get a burger and fries, while my DH takes the other DS to try and find the all elusive table, then trying to find them while carrying the food and not drop it, now that is pure . Also, we are going to get to eat at every TS that we've been wanting to, and still get to eat at the Biergarten twice.

 

[Native NYer]

The thought that I don't have to wait in a line with one DS to get a burger and fries, while my DH takes the other DS to try and find the all elusive table, then trying to find them while carrying the food and not drop it, now that is pure . Also, we are going to get to eat at every TS that we've been wanting to, and still get to eat at the Biergarten twice.

I completely agree! Not having to fight the lines and find a table at a CS place, especially during the busiest times of the year, is well worth the $$$. Yes, it takes extra planning ahead of time to make all of the ADRs, but when you get there you don't have to worry about being turned away because of no availability or waiting on long lines to get hot dogs, burgers , and fries.

While I am reading some interesting reviews of the 2008 dining plan, I can't help but think it's so much easier to just prepay meals and snacks and not have to worry about that expense during the trip.

 

[Simbee3]

Though we aren't going until August I am very glad to have found this thread. I was a little worried about the whole 3 table service meals a day thing, but after reading this thread so far my worries are no more. I too hate the counter service in WDW with the exception of Wolfgang Puck Express and Columbia Harbor House. And I figure that I can add a dinner show or two. My hubby is Disneyed out so if I can keep him fed, and not have him looking for characters throughout the park because the kids will be able to see them during meals, I think we can keep him very happy with the vacation choice this year.

Can't wait to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions on the plan. And I would also love to hear where everyone is planning to eat, I could really use some help with all of those extra credits.

One more thing for anyone that has recently used the plan or is going to use it in the near future. I know that in the past at the Main Street Bakery you were able to go there in the morning and pick up a counter service that consisted of one hot item one cold item and two beverages. Is this still the case? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[patsal]

quick question i forgot to ask my AAA rep and she wont be in till Tues
is the deluxe dining linked to our resort stay or park tickets

we are going to be there from oct 16th-24th but we only purchased 7 day park hopper passes
just wondering if we need to extend our tickets or we are fine to have food the whole time we are there

sorry if this is answered somewhere else in the forums

The DDP is connected to your resort stay not your theme park ticket days. Though the room key will be your theme park ticket, your Dining credits and if you choose charge card each is coded separately. When you get the package you get the dining for the number of nights in the package, not the number of theme park days you chose. You won't need to adjust anything unless you want to add additional theme park days.

 

[libinatorsmom]

Oh I think the DDP is a super deal... It has given us the opportunity to eat at every resturant in the world that we have dreamed of... we are eating at a lot of signature meals... and character meals... if you look at the prices of a signature meal with an app and desert and drink... that is your 69.99 right there... so you still have another credit to use and if you use it for a buffet character breakfast you are looking at a $20 or so value... PLUS you still get 2 snacks... which you could be a $8 to $10 value... PLUS you still get the use of the refillable mug... lets say you only fill it up once a day so thats about a $5 value... you you are looking at saving at least $33 to $35 per adult per day... and it could be more depending on your meal at the signature resturant.. and you 2nd table service credit... we are staying for 8 nights so $35 a day X 8 = $280 savings per adult (we have 2) = $560 savings (AT LEAST)for our stay... Plus as we look at the kids menus the $19.99 is going to give us a savings... of at least $10 to $15 per day... so there is another $80 to $100 savins for the trip... AT LEAST... so we are looking at saving in excess of $650 in food savings...

We had decided to go to disney before the DDP was announced and now we are even more excited.... and we just cant wait!!! and are super excited about the ddp... and we know they will get the kinks out by may...

 

[alldiz]

Yes the deluxe DDP seems like more of a deal....
I am excited to try it.....

Of course only Disney could have me happily spending more money....
I normally would not be so extravagent
Kerri

 

[mandymommy4]

My family will be doing the deluxe DDP in March. We are doing character buffets every morning (except the last) and Signature restaurants every night for dinner! We think it's going to be a good deal, and we don't mind giving up a credit to eat at a really nice place. I made our morning ADRs a little later so its more like brunch and early dinner ADRS. For us the deluxe is a no brainer, but at first I thought we had to eat at TS restaurants for every meal to make it worth it and thought "we are going to be eating all day instead of riding ride and seeing shows." We are very happy with our plan just the right balance of restful meals and time to spend in the parks! We can't wait!

 

[blondinkaya]

I originally planned to go in March with the regular DDP, but as our schedule changed, I just called this morning to postpone our trip to May and added DxDP. I'm totally into making things as prepaid as possible (although I know we'll have to do our tips there; at least dh won't choke over the actual cost of some of our meals , and I really like the idea of having three meals (or two meals w/one being a two-credit one) and two snacks, especially having read about them whittling them down. I really don't want to have to pay oop. Add to that the mug (thank goodness I won't have to use SC for coffee and soda at the resort!), and I think it will be well worth it.

Now I just have to figure out where to eat ...

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

DS and I are doing the Deluxe Plan when we go in August. DH is the one that talked me into spending the extra money for it. Even though DS will be 12, he loves the character meals as much as I do and we are both foodies that really don't care for counter service. I have only planned a couple of signature restaurants (Jiko, his choice and California Grille, mine). We aren't huge breakfast people and won't eat much at breakfast but still be able to enjoy the character interaction without waiting in lines at the parks. Then we can have lunch and a later dinner. With the parks being open later and the evening EMH, we will be spreading the 3 meals over 12-15 hours so it will work for us.

 

[pickles]

bump

 

[Native NYer]

It's great to read some positive feelings about the deluxe diining plan. We're trying it out for the first time next week and again in August. The convenience of prepaying as much as possible is what sold us. It's a great value!

 

[amy1007]

We are going in June and have purchased the dining plan, but have been considering upgrading to the deluxe plan. I am trying to do some number crunching. We plan to buy the refillable mug at our resort. Does anyone know how much per day this cost?

We would also like to do the Hoop de Doo. Do I understand correctly that if you use the dining plan for this, you are seated in the rear and in the balcony? Does being on the deluxe dining plan help with this?

Finally, if one books the Fantasmic dining package to get the reserved seat at Fantasmic, can this meal be used with the dining plan?

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Native NYer]

We are going in June and have purchased the dining plan, but have been considering upgrading to the deluxe plan. I am trying to do some number crunching. We plan to buy the refillable mug at our resort. Does anyone know how much per day this cost?

We would also like to do the Hoop de Doo. Do I understand correctly that if you use the dining plan for this, you are seated in the rear and in the balcony? Does being on the deluxe dining plan help with this?

Finally, if one books the Fantasmic dining package to get the reserved seat at Fantasmic, can this meal be used with the dining plan?

Thank you so much for your help!

I've read that the refillable mugs cost $12.95.

Not sure about the Hoop De Doo.

As far as I know, you can book the Fantasmic dining package. The Hollywood Brown Derby counts as 2 credits, where as Hollywood and Vine and Mama Melroses count as 1.

 

[coffman6]

We just got back last night and used the Deluxe dining Plan. 4 children and 2 adults. Three of our children are 10 and over so they charged us as 5 adults and 1 child. We changed resorts during the stay so for the 2 nights we were at Saratoga Springs we did the plan. We had fun with it we did Cinderella's Royal table for dinner ( 2 credits) and our 10 year old ordered chicken fingers . The next day we ate breakfast at Chef Mickey's (1 credit) and dinner at Hoop de Doo Revue (2 credits) a great show!! The next day we ate at Crystal Palace. yes it is a lot of food but for the 6 of us to do these meals would have been A LOT more money!! we ended up with 9 snack credits at 11 p.m. at night at EPCOT and we went to France and we bought a box full of to-go pastries and ate them for breakfast in the A.M. They let us choose anything under $4 so we had some excellent pastries!! It was fun to do. We got our mugs too! They do charge the 18% for parties over 6, not at the castle or the dinner shows though.

 

[TLSnell1981]

We just got back last night and used the Deluxe dining Plan. 4 children and 2 adults. Three of our children are 10 and over so they charged us as 5 adults and 1 child. We changed resorts during the stay so for the 2 nights we were at Saratoga Springs we did the plan. We had fun with it we did Cinderella's Royal table for dinner ( 2 credits) and our 10 year old ordered chicken fingers . The next day we ate breakfast at Chef Mickey's (1 credit) and dinner at Hoop de Doo Revue (2 credits) a great show!! The next day we ate at Crystal Palace. yes it is a lot of food but for the 6 of us to do these meals would have been A LOT more money!! we ended up with 9 snack credits at 11 p.m. at night at EPCOT and we went to France and we bought a box full of to-go pastries and ate them for breakfast in the A.M. They let us choose anything under $4 so we had some excellent pastries!! It was fun to do. We got our mugs too! They do charge the 18% for parties over 6, not at the castle or the dinner shows though.

Where did you get the pastries in France?

 

[coffman6]

A quick reply about Hoop Dee doo we were in the balcony and our seats were excellent. There really wasn't a bad seat in the house. The kids could all see really well from up there and the cast included the balcony in the show as much as the main floor. Remember adult bevies are also included in this package so that is a nice perk too!!