deluxe dining upgrade

[polyk]

Hi everyone, We are a family of four. 2 adults & 2 teens. We will be staying at a deluxe resort for 10nights. We booked the trip with the free dining plan, but we upgraded to the deluxe dining plan. Were we crazy for doing this or do alot of people do the same. Total for the upgrade was $1350.00

 

[saskdw]

You've basically paid $1350 for 10 extra TS meals. For a family of 4 at most of the DW TS restaurants the bill will be $100-$150 for those meals per meal. You will probably break even.

 

[Pakey]

You will spend a lot of time dining, travelling to/from dining, with the Deluxe Plan. If you are happy with that, then it's probably a good deal. We have tried it twice, it's just too much food for us. Many people enjoy it though.

 

[HappyFingers]

we paid 652 bucks to upgrade a family of 3 adults and one child for 7 days

so the price seems about right i suppose when you add the 3 extra nights and the extra adult

 

[sunshineNJ]

Unless you want to do alot if signatures and $$ is no object I wouldn't. I would rather put that $$ toward another trip. The regular dining plan is more then enough food in my opinion. I have a teenage son who eats alot and we still had some snack credits left at the end.

 

[disneynutz]

If you love to eat and don't mind spending half of your day eating then the deluxe plan is the way to go!

Bill

 

[milmore104]

We LOVE it. We've upgraded 3x's now to the DXDDP. We love spending an hour eating a nice meal. Sometimes we spend that much time at a CS place because it's so busy anyway. Everyone should try it at least once.

 

[dzorn]

I think the regular dining plan is too much food I cannot imagine doing the deluxe plan.

Denise in MI

 

[lisaisanurse]

you will love it!

 

[Priskillet]

I think its a great idea! First of all everyone says that you spend more time eating and it can be a waste of time and money. You have to realize you can now do signature dining! That takes 2 TS credits...and let me tell you there are some great places to eat! We do DXDP each year and by the last night we have run out! Why??? Cause we take advantage of the fact that we can go to Signatures and to Dinner Shows...Take advantage and plan. If you dont this plan wont work for you. So make it...ONE SIDE note: The signature places and shows...they give you a bill at the end of the meal of what you would of paid for the meal. THIS can and does ADD UP. You are tipping off of that. So please budget for that. OVerall...its Disney...Have Fun!!

 

[DisneyFamily123]

I would upgrade to the deluxe plan. Your cost is $33.75 per person per night. For that you will get the following per person by upgrading.

• 30 dining credits to use instead of 20
• 1 appetizer per person at every table service meal (except family style and buffets)
• 20 snack credits to use instead of 10
• a refillable resort mug

Since you are staying at a deluxe resort, you probably have easier access to a lot more restaurants. It could be a lot of eating....but.... many people eat 3 meals a day. We did the deluxe plan but didn't eat 3 meals a day --- we dined on our arrival and departure days, and dined at several signature restaurants that charge 2 credits per meal.

Table service is a welcome break. We almost never go out..... I like taking that time out from all the walking in the parks and having a relaxing meal. We consider the dining to be part of the fun and vacation. Typically, we will have lunch and dinner. When 3 meals a day, it's usually a character breakfast (8am?), lunch around 1pm, and dinner around 7pm.

Appetizers being included is a big plus for us... everyone gets an appetizer and it gives us all a chance to share and try different foods.

You can also use your credits any way you like.... meaning... maybe some people in your party (the teens?) might dine on their own more or less often then others in your group.

Extra snack credits can be used to buy treats to take home on your last day. We brought home fudge from MK and Caramel from Epcot (Germany).

Here's a link to our "Dining Plan Analysis"!

 

[nrpofp]

If you love to eat and don't mind spending half of your day eating then the deluxe plan is the way to go!

Bill

Two meals a day does not equal one-half your day eating. On a ten day trip which is what we did you will have plenty of time to enjoy some nice relaxing meals. It is a vacation after all. How many times can you ride the same rides over and over.

 

[jlk806]

10 days is a long time to be on the Deluxe plan! We are doing a split stay and doing the deluxe for the first 5 nights then the regular for the last 4. But if you plan on eating dinner at a signature every day or doing a dinner show, etc then it would work out and not be sooo much food!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I love the deluxe plan and am considering using it again for my 2012 trip. I would however, use most of the "extra" credits for signature dining, since three meals a day is really too much, especially for a long trip, and using it for CS would just not be a good value.

 

[kylieh]

We're in a similar position, 3 people cost to upgrade is $891.

We're eating at some signatures, but based on where we are at the time, + a CRT, Spirit of Aloha, etc. A meal offsite whilst shopping.

Based on what roughly we expect to eat, we come out about $50 in front based on the upgrade. Not a lot, but it's paid for in advance.

 

[JLO]

I have found that the regular dining plan is perfect for our family. We have done some 2 credit TS meals with the regular dining plan because some days we don't do a TS meal... just counter service, so it all works out fine. Personally, I couldn't afford another $1350 to upgrade but if you can, maybe it's worth it. I just see it as a LOT of food!

 

[cvjw]

Our family of four, including two boys ages 11 and 15, just did the DDP for 4 nights. By the end of that time, we were so sick of eating. We felt like we just spent our time going from restaurant to restaurant. There wasn't a whole lot of time in between for other things. We really enjoyed getting to eat at some of the signature restaurants that we had never dined at before. I would do the DDP again for a few nights, but not 10.

 

[sjs314]

One of the reasons I enjoy staying at the Deluxe Resorts is the dining options you have right there at where you are staying. DxDP makes total sense IMO if staying at a Deluxe Resort.
We love to start our day off with a TS breakfast and while we do not dine at our resort for breakfast everyday, we have the option of some of the best breakfasts on Disney Property.
We are not big on counter serve meals so with the DDP we would still need to pay OOP for 1 TS meal a day, and the upgrade covers that.

Also with the DxDP you have meal credits which are interchangeable with TS or CS if you should so desire to do so, although not the best value for your money.

$1350 to upgrade is a good deal IMO. Remember you have both apps and desserts included plus the 2 snacks per day and refillable mug.

 

[wdwfan]

We love the signature restaurants and if you want to enjoy them too then I think the DxDDP is the way to go. I think its nice to have the option of doing the signature restaurants.

 

[HubbDave]

I wonder what the average caloric intake for regular dining vs deluxe dining works out to?

I guess CS meals can be pretty high calorie/fat if not careful.

We are getting the free regular dining and are sticking with it. I guess I can understand having 2 table service emals per day... probably 2-3 hours of total time sitting in resturaunts vs 1-1.5 hours. If you do a lot of character meals I could see that as being fun for a few days...

But 10 days? Plan on doing a lot of walking to burn off those extra calories!