Deluxe dining vs. Regular Dining? Worth it? Math Help needed!

[Cin]

Our last visit we had the regular dining plan which is 1 table service, 1 counter service, and 1 snack per day. We ended up buying several meals and snacks OOP even with the plan. Looking at the deluxe plan it sounds like a lot of food and like all you would be doing is going from one ADR to another if you book 3 per day.

We found that the sit down meals were quite lengthy, our shortest was just over an hour and the longest was 2 hours and that wasn't adding in commute time.

1) To those who have dined deluxe, do you actually find a way to use all the credits or do you find you have a lot of unused credits left at the end of the trip?

2) Timewise, do you spend all your time dining or commuting to and from dining or is there really some park, shop, and playtime in there as well?


3) Is it worth the cost for the upgrade? Because that is a lot of moolah!


4) Anyone good with math that can tell me whether I am better off to buy the plan and pay tips in addition to that, or just pay for the whole shebang OOP? I can't figure out the numbers to do a comparison. Help?

I am trying to decide whether to pay OOP or to get a dining plan. The last trip I calculated up and all we spent on food and drinks was $1170 for 9 nights, 9 days and that was including the tips.

It will be my hubby and I. We both like dining out but I am not going to be able to get him into any character meals. I might be able to get by with Akershus and Cinderella's Royal table (For dinner) because they are grown up characters and not cartoon ones.

 

[ccgirl]

Our last visit we had the regular dining plan which is 1 table service, 1 counter service, and 1 snack per day. We ended up buying several meals and snacks OOP even with the plan. Looking at the deluxe plan it sounds like a lot of food and like all you would be doing is going from one ADR to another if you book 3 per day.

We found that the sit down meals were quite lengthy, our shortest was just over an hour and the longest was 2 hours and that wasn't adding in commute time.

1) To those who have dined deluxe, do you actually find a way to use all the credits or do you find you have a lot of unused credits left at the end of the trip?

2) Timewise, do you spend all your time dining or commuting to and from dining or is there really some park, shop, and playtime in there as well?


3) Is it worth the cost for the upgrade? Because that is a lot of moolah!


4) Anyone good with math that can tell me whether I am better off to buy the plan and pay tips in addition to that, or just pay for the whole shebang OOP? I can't figure out the numbers to do a comparison. Help?

I am trying to decide whether to pay OOP or to get a dining plan. The last trip I calculated up and all we spent on food and drinks was $1170 for 9 nights, 9 days and that was including the tips.

It will be my hubby and I. We both like dining out but I am not going to be able to get him into any character meals. I might be able to get by with Akershus and Cinderella's Royal table (For dinner) because they are grown up characters and not cartoon ones.

My DH and myself did the Deluxe DDP when we went in October. We did use up all the credits. We ate at mostly signature places and food was part of our trip. Having said that, we probably won't get a DDP again. We typically do not eat that much food. It includes an app, meal and dessert. We would never get all three with one meal at home.

We did spend a great deal of time at restaurants but that is one of the reasons we were going.

Check out the menus and add up what you would typically eat in a day.

Hope that helps.

 

[Masonmj84]

We upgraded to the DxDP from free dining and thought it was worth it.

We only did two meals a day (one 1 TS breakfast or lunch and one signature dinner). Three TS meals a day would have been WAY too much food (and taken WAY too much time).

We absoultely loved it but food is a big part of our vacations (Disney or otherwise). I thought it was especially fun to start the day with a character breakfast and end it with a 3-course signature dinner.

We ended up using up all of our dining and snack credits (including all of our entitled appetizers, entrees, and desserts). However, we found that we had to be careful how we used our snack credits (by avoiding overly heavy snacks or snacking too late in the afternoon), otherwise we didn't enjoy our dinners as much. We also had to be careful not to over eat at the breakfast buffets (except on our departure day).

Timewise, almost all of our 1 TS meals took about an hour and all of our signature meals took slightly over 1.5 hours. In that regard, we almost always had the earliest ADR possible and, when signature dining, ordered our appetizers and entrees at the same time (we were also with 2 kids and didn't order alcohol, which likely caused the meals to be paced a bit faster).

One other note. While the DxDP works well for us (we have two Disney adults and two Disney kids, like to eat signature dinners and character breakfasts, and don't drink alcohol), for a majority of folks, I suspect TIW will be the better deal (assuming you qualify). Even for us, when our kids become Disney adults, TIW will almost certainly be the better deal (at least for the first couple years).

So for us, the question isn't so much DDP versus DxDP versus OOP. Instead, it's DxDP versus OOP using TIW.

 

[vinotinto]

We had the DxDP in our last 3 trips. I think you are asking the right kinds of questions!

1) Unused credits - We did not leave credits unused. We used a lot of credits for Signature dining (plus in one of the trips we had CRT lunch and HDDR). On our last day, we each had a meal left, and we used them at a resort CS to take our dinner 'to go.' We usually had 2 seat-down meals each day. We cancelled one breakfast and instead order room service (which uses up 2 credits).

2) Time Eating - We did spend quite a bit of time eating, especially at the Signatures. For me eating is important. There is also time involved in getting to the restaurants. We drive from Atlanta, so we have a car. That helps in getting to the resort locations in the evening. I think a car or taking taxis are a must to take full advantage of DxDP. Otherwise, you will spend a lot of time changing tarnsportation to go from resort to resort. If you are doing 2 TS dinners per day (some beakfasts and some lunches), you will still have time in the morning and afternoon to go to the parks and pool. I would not recommend eating 3 TS meals a day. That would take up more time than what is worth.

3) Worth - Worth is a completely subjective. It allowed us to try restaurants we wanted to try. IMHO, the biggest worth in terms of savings is in character dining. Each character buffet is so outrageously priced and the cost of the DxDP for kids is barely above the cost of one of those buffets per day. Also, if you know you will be dining at Signatures every night and you can eat a 3-course meal, then DxDP will be worth it, as a 3-course meal at a Signature will cost close to what you are paying for the DxDP per day, and you will still have a credit to use for Breakfast or Lunch and 2 snacks to use for the "other" meal.

For our next trip, I think we may venture in the OOP realm (GASP!). My DH definitely does not want to do any character dining so it seems there's less savings when the equation does not include kids under 10 and character dining. You are committing to a lot of money up-front on the DxDP. It can work out as a wonderful experience, but if someone does get sick and you cannot fully use the credits, then it could potentially turn into a waste. And I think we will bring my mom and we certainly don't need 3 adults getting 3-course meals every night.

I hope this helps your decision!

 

[sharonabe]

I am trying to decide whether to pay OOP or to get a dining plan. The last trip I calculated up and all we spent on food and drinks was $1170 for 9 nights, 9 days and that was including the tips.

Did you enjoy what you did last time? Do you anticipate eating the same way? If you answer "yes" to these questions, then I'd say you need to do OOP.

When you do the math on what you did last time, you spent $65 per day per person including tips. The regular DDP would cost you $51.50 pp/pd, you still need to add in tips, and you may still end up paying more OOP since you did last time.

If NOT having a DDP means you will nickle and dime yourself to not spend too much, then peace of mind comes in to play and you should probably get one.

The way to make the DxDDP work the most effectively timewise is to plan a breakfast or early lunch TS each day and then a signature for dinner each night. That way you're not spending as much time eating as you would with 3 TS a day. And you have 2 snacks pp/pd to fill in when you want something else. HOWEVER, the cost of the DxDDP is $85 pp/pd and you will be paying even more in tips with 2 TS each day.

 

[tracey1302]

With the Deluxe, does that mean you can eat Signature every day without using up 2 table service credits?

 

[Masonmj84]

With the Deluxe, does that mean you can eat Signature every day without using up 2 table service credits?

The signature dinners will still require 2 credits (the same as they would under DDP). However, under the DxDP you have 3 TS credits per day. So each day, you can use 1 credit for a breakfast or lunch and the other 2 credits for a signature dinner.

In addition, under the DxDP, appetizers are included. Under the DDP they aren't.

For these reasons, if you're going to do a dining plan and want to eat at signatures every night, the DxDP is the way to go (I personally don't think the DDP is a good deal for signatures - you have to use too high of a percentage of your TS credits for the meal and appetizers aren't included).

A possibly better option if you're an AP holder and want to eat at signatures every night is OOP using TIW. Especially, if any of the following apply: (1) you don't want a 3 course meal for everyone every night (e.g., you envision sharing or skipping at least some appetizers or desserts); (2) you enjoy an adult beverage with your meal; (3) you have kids that are young Disney adults (e.g., pre-teens); (4) you're not into character breakfasts (or are not into having a 3-course lunch and a 3-course dinner on the same day).

We're one of those rare families where none of the above apply (at least for now). So, at least in the short term, we'll stick with the DxDP (and even for us, it's a pretty close call between DxDP and TIW).

 

[Cin]

Thanks everyone for the math and number help. I can see now that for us we are better off paying OOP. For $1200 we could dine easily for 9 days/9 nights and that is with all tips and a few adult beverages included. I just don't think the DDP can beat that since it does not include tips and requires dessert whether you want it or not.

It's a tough decision though as OOP I would not order desserts at all and therefore miss out on a part of the whole dining experience. I would not have dined at some of the higher priced restaurants, and missed some wonderful now priceless experiences and memories, and then there is the peace of mind factor, although putting the cash down on a room card with charging privilidges is the same thing...

 

[Sparkie]

I too have been crunching the numbers.

For us we have 8 adults, 1 child age 3 and 1 child age 1.

The difference for DxDP and DDP for 6 nights was about 1,680.

Some of the "adults" are teens and getting them up for breakfast everyday can be challenging. And with toddlers, the thought of more than 1 sit down meal a day was almost mental torture.

But.... I like the convience of having prepaid and with some guidelines for the teens who see "room charge" as a free for all bottomless pit. Also, for the most part, most of us could not eat an App, Entree, and Dessert, EVERY meal, therefore the DxDDP loses value.

So I did the math and decided to get the basic DDP, we only have one signature meal planned right now (CRT) but am thinking of adding Fultons. The rest of the time we have 1 credit TS meals and will do counter service. For Breakfast: I have one character meal planned and will pay OOP for the early risers. For one or two table service we will pay OOP. And there may be a counter service thrown in here and there and a few extra snacks. Also plan to supplement with in room breakfasts and bottled drinks for the parks.

Even with all that I still dont envisions spending 1,680 even with tips.


I tried the TIW card last time and it only saved me about $40 and I spent time worrying about what I was spending. And also got confused on how it all works. For instance, I booked a Fantasmic package at Mama Melrose, which is on the TIW list but you cant use TIW and Fantasmic package together. So all in all, DDP doesnt really save any money but it is convient.

And... who knows... I may DITCH the plan all together. Put some money on a prepaid card and leave it on my room account with STRICT guides on what can and cant be purchased for the teens.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

I too have been crunching the numbers.

For us we have 8 adults, 1 child age 3 and 1 child age 1.

The difference for DxDP and DDP for 6 nights was about 1,680.

Some of the "adults" are teens and getting them up for breakfast everyday can be challenging. And with toddlers, the thought of more than 1 sit down meal a day was almost mental torture.

But.... I like the convience of having prepaid and with some guidelines for the teens who see "room charge" as a free for all bottomless pit. Also, for the most part, most of us could not eat an App, Entree, and Dessert, EVERY meal, therefore the DxDDP loses value.

So I did the math and decided to get the basic DDP, we only have one signature meal planned right now (CRT) but am thinking of adding Fultons. The rest of the time we have 1 credit TS meals and will do counter service. For Breakfast: I have one character meal planned and will pay OOP for the early risers. For one or two table service we will pay OOP. And there may be a counter service thrown in here and there and a few extra snacks. Also plan to supplement with in room breakfasts and bottled drinks for the parks.

Even with all that I still dont envisions spending 1,680 even with tips.


I tried the TIW card last time and it only saved me about $40 and I spent time worrying about what I was spending. And also got confused on how it all works. For instance, I booked a Fantasmic package at Mama Melrose, which is on the TIW list but you cant use TIW and Fantasmic package together. So all in all, DDP doesnt really save any money but it is convient.

And... who knows... I may DITCH the plan all together. Put some money on a prepaid card and leave it on my room account with STRICT guides on what can and cant be purchased for the teens.

With 8 adults TIW would save you a ton. (Way more than $40) The card costs $75. The break even point means that you have to spend about $375 to cover the cost of the card. After that all saving are savings. With a party of 8+ you will automatically be charged 18% gratutity no matter what.
( So $375x20%=$75)
Your CRT meal alone will cost more than $375. So if you figure you pay full price for CRT then every other meal that you have you will be saving 20% on. You would save ALOT more money with TIW for this trip.

 

[Sparkie]

With 8 adults TIW would save you a ton. (Way more than $40) The card costs $75. The break even point means that you have to spend about $375 to cover the cost of the card. After that all saving are savings. With a party of 8+ you will automatically be charged 18% gratutity no matter what.
( So $375x20%=$75)
Your CRT meal alone will cost more than $375. So if you figure you pay full price for CRT then every other meal that you have you will be saving 20% on. You would save ALOT more money with TIW for this trip.

Yea, maybe I need to recalculate. My TIW experience was with 4 adults last time and we ended up not eating as much as we thought we would. Thanks for the advice. I will "re-crunch".

 

[PaulaSB12]

I did the deluxe dining plan on my last trip in 2009 and will be doing it again in 2012. That is 42 meal credits and 28 snack credits to use.