Dining Plan Dilemma

[mickeynut1]

We tried the DlxDDP for the first time this past December and we loved it !!! I thought it would be too much food as we've always done fine with the regular DDP, but after giving the deluxe plan a try, we will always go with that from now on .

 

[lesabrowning]

We have done the DXDDP a few times and are doing it again in September. We like it with or without our kids. On some days we do have three TS meals planned, but they start with an early breakfast, and normal lunch time and a late dinner. Other days we have a breakfast and a Signature dinner. For us, I just lay out where we would like to eat and tally up the expected cost. If DXDDP says me money, we buy it. I do not worry about getting every penny of value out of it, or if we might have a left over credit or two, it is basic math for us and we have always saved money. (sometimes we just do the regular DDP if that fits better with our dining choices) We find ourselves doing several fix priced meals and signatures, so the DXDDP is a big savings.

 

[Harmonysmomma]

We like the deluxe plan. Ya, it is a lot of fun. But we enjoy it. That being said, we go to disney to take it easy and relax. I see a lot of people eat pop tarts, cereal, etc in the room(or even cook if they have a kitchen). We just don't do any of that when we are there. We also do a lot of character and 2 TS meals. So that helps.


Also, I am VERY MONEY CONSCIOUS no way could I let myself order the most expensive thing on the menu IF I had to pay. I like that it's prepaid and I can get whatever I want. AND WE HAVE ALWAYS come out HUNDRED's ahead!!

 

[noodle7729]

We did the DxDP on our trip last december. We loved it but did learn some things that we would do differently next time. Because a hot, relaxing breakfast is a must in our family we will not be booking lunches next time. The meals ended up being too close together so we didn't feel that we got as much accomplished in the morning in the parks. We loved the availability to get room service at the BCV's. It was amazing and so relaxing. It was great to know that all we needed to worry about was the tips. No paying for drinks or snacks out of pocket.

Jamie

 

[CarissaDance]

What about the food choices for kids on the plan? Do any of your kids feel there isnt enough variety and get sick of what they have to choose from? I didnt even think about that until I read it in the UG. One review said their kids dreaded meal times because their choices were very limited.

 

[smiths02]

What about the food choices for kids on the plan? Do any of your kids feel there isnt enough variety and get sick of what they have to choose from? I didnt even think about that until I read it in the UG. One review said their kids dreaded meal times because their choices were very limited.

Well, your 11 year old would get adult options and choices (and have to pay adult price)

I cannot imagine that on Deluxe with a drink, appy, entree, and dessert that the 3 "adults" (you, your DH, and your 11 year old) would not have enough to share with the 5 year olds in order to even out the selection

ETA: I can eat A LOT, but even with the regular DDP and a 2 turning 3 year old (who therefore had no meal entitlements b/c we didn't "pay" for him)...we found a way to share without ever having to pay OOP to add on something for him.

 

[dixonsontour]

For kids eating on the regular dining plan we found TS options were fine - if you look there are options like decent pizza or pasta at tutto italia (I think what DD aged 4 had would have been $20 oop at tutto), smaller version of adults meal at teppan edo etc. At ohana and buffets they can choose to eat the same as you.

QS is more limited for kids. Again there are options if you look like WPE at DTD will do a small version of any meal. Also we shared a lot with DD so split 2 adult qs between 3 of us.

 

[faithtrustpixie]

We still can't decide if we'll do it again! We (me, DH and DD5) traveled at the end of January and we had a relatively easy time getting reservations, even at the last minute so that wasn't an issue. We had free dining and upgraded.

On the pro side, DH likes to have breakfast, lunch and dinner so he was happy. We did CRT and lots of character meals. DD found something good to eat at most places and the few times she didn't find something on the menu she liked, the CM helped us out (like bringing her plain noodles at one place.) We were big fans of having everything pre-paid. It really felt like we were on vacation when we didn't have to worry about what a meal was costing us.

On the con side, we really did feel like it was too much food, especially after the first few days. We usually ended up taking the dessert to go and then we usually never ate it. I would have liked to just eat breakfast in the room or grab something quick. Although I tried not to, it was a little hard at times to not try to make sure we were getting the most "bang for the buck" which was not very "vacation-like".

For me, if money is no object, it would have been perfect to have the DXDDP and just not worry about if I was getting the best value.

Have a great trip!!

 

[sheila <3 WDW]

We did DxDP last time and we will again this time for a few reasons. First and probably most important was it allowed (forced) us time to sit and rest. We were not used to all the walking and the breaks really helped keep us going. Second, my DD eats incredibly slowly. It can take her one hour just to eat a bowl of oatmeal at home. So scheduling all our sit down meals means that DH and I won't be sitting there just waiting for DD to finish eating and we won't feel tempted to rush her. Finally, we like to eat! I loved the 2 snacks/day/person getting to try Dole Whips or get a pretzel or a drink (loved the frozen lemonade) whenever we wanted. Plus, we were on vacation and we definitely pigged out probably more than we should have. LOL

 

[ajleone]

I've done DxDDP, DDP, and QSDP. Of the three I'll never do the regular plan again, one snack, no app and no mug The Dx was great but I didn't like being tied down to ADR's everyday, however we did signature restaurants everyday with it which was nice! We now do QS and like having the freedom of counter service meals, 2 snacks and the mug, and we book a few sit down meals that we pay for out of pocket, and then there are no restrictions on those meals. Also with QS I find that wether I pay for the meal plan or not I pay the same so I might as well have the plan.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Definitely depends on your eating preferences - we always have a large ts breakfast and dinner and not lots more. We work out the approx cost each trip and usually we decide ddp and a bit oop is better for us. Last October we decided that dxdp was our best option and we loved it. Wouldn't do it each trip but really really enjoyed it when we did lots of shows and sigs. Would do it again in another couple of trips.

 

[Harmonysmomma]

I also want to say we mostly did a BF meal and then lunch (if wanted) and then a sit down dinner (A lot of 2TS).

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

we love DxDDP and it worths for our family. We have done DDP and we always had leftover CS (b/c our son doesn't like the CS choices). We like to order room service, we ate at character meal everyday b/c our son loves character meals and my husband and I enjoy signature meals. It works great for our family and we would only do DxDDp or no meal plan at all b/c the basic DDP doesn't work for us.

 

[CarissaDance]

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm definitely going to look over our list of TS we dont want to miss and add up the credits before I decide. Since this trip will be more on the go and faster paced than what our typical vacation would be, having some signature TS and not worrying about what we'll order would be our treat and it will provide a forced break. As some of you said, I too would be more restrictive on what I would order if I were paying OOP.

I really appreciate everyone being so helpful on here!

 

[nkereina]

I'm having the same dilemma as you right now. A friend of mine did DxDP two years in a row with her husband (I'm going with my boyfriend) and she highly recommended it. She said she'd never go without it. They did do a lot of signature restaurants and I think they did 2-3 TS meals a day.

I have read that if you don't do a lot of signature restaurants and at least 2 TS meals a day, you do not get your money's worth. I am past my 180 days and currently don't have 2 TS meals EVERY day so I thought maybe it would save us some money if we downgraded as well. But if we did downgrade, then we'd have to pay OOP for some TS meals and if we were paying OOP, we probably wouldn't be ordering steak and seafood and also appetizers and desserts.

It's a tough call for me because I also love the idea of having everything paid for and I know the DxDP is more than enough credits with all the options in the world. There's no worrying about anything. But at the same time, we would save some money. I guess the best thing to do is figure out how many meals you'd have to end up paying OOP for if you downgraded, and using the menus online to add up that OOP cost based on what you'd probably order. If it comes out to be what you're saving by downgrading, then it's not worth it to downgrade. I'm struggling with weather or not I want to be concerned about getting our "money's worth" if we stick with DxDP. I'm not sure how much I care about that because I like the convenience and options of it.

Good luck deciding!

 

[CarissaDance]

But if we did downgrade, then we'd have to pay OOP for some TS meals and if we were paying OOP, we probably wouldn't be ordering steak and seafood and also appetizers and desserts.

I'm struggling with weather or not I want to be concerned about getting our "money's worth" if we stick with DxDP. I'm not sure how much I care about that because I like the convenience and options of it.

Good luck deciding!

i feel the same. I also love the 2 snacks each day. I figure we could save most of those to get treats to take home too. (sigh) decisions decisions

Good luck to you too and have a great trip!

 

[~Tonga Wingo~]

I the DxDDP. I am probably one of the few who actually use it three meals per day. I don't finish everything for sure. However, I love being able to try new things etc and not worry about costs.

I generally eat breakfast before the park opens around 7:30 or 8. Lunch around 2 and then dinner around 8. We are in the park from open to close so we find sitting down to lunch and dinner gives us our breaks. Breakfast occurs before the park opens so that does not take away from park time. So at most we spend about 2.5 hrs eating while the park is open. I read a lot where people leave after lunch and head back to their hotels. Instead we use our meals as down time.

 

[DisneyStoryMania]

The DDP is the way to go, the the delux plan is a lot for Me, DW and DD, so we normally go with the reg DDP...

We are trying something new this year we are getting the delux plan for just some of the days that we are going to be there-----will update on how it went..

The Norm for us at Disney is breakfast in the room CS lunch, and TS dinner to the simple DDP works for us, depends a lot on preference.

This trip we have the Kitchen so we are thinking a lot of eating in the room..will see how it goes Have a great trip......and be Magical

 

[aripantaloon]

We use it and love it. We generally have several signature dinners as well as CRT, so we put them to good use. We aren't eating at the places that have huge portions, so we don't feel that it's too much food. Now, if you are eating at a nice TS for lunch and then again for dinner, THAT could be too much food. One time on our last trip, we did Le Cellier for lunch and then something like Cali Grill for dinner. That was pushing it for sure.

If we don't have a character breakfast planned, we use snack credits to grab breakfast on our way to the park.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

we only do the dxddp. we like signatures, a few breakfasts, and a sit down lunch. i like that when i leave home, all is paid for except gratuity and i know i won't need to spend on extra snacks, drinks or meals like breakfast. we like collecting the mugs too we normally use a snack credit for an ice cream or something during the day, and the other for a drink at night time. with the ddp, we were paying oop for extra drinks, breakfasts, and a meal on departure day. whatever you choose, have a great time!