Dining Plan Dilemma

[CarissaDance]

I've done a lot of reading here on site and just went through the Unofficial Guide section on the dining plans. We are currently booked with the DDxP but am considering down grading to the DDP. My question is, has anyone ever done the DDxP and been happy with it? It seems like most of the feedback I've read has been negative, that its too much food and too time restrictive in order to get your $ worth.

Our original reasons to do the DDxp was wanting to do several character meals, steering away from fast food and having the costs already covered so we didnt stress about how much we were paying for a meal. Any thoughts?

 

[Jessica527]

I have not done the DxDP yet but will be trying on my honeymoon. This is the feedback I have gotten so far:

- If you plan to do a lot of 2 TS Credit meals the DxDP is right for you
- If you don't mind being on a schedule with a lot of ADRs, then it is right for you
- If you typically eat B, L and D when at home, then it is right for you

We have planned ours with a lot of Signature Meals and 2 TS Credit Shows. I even used the office snack guide to get all of our snacks semi planned out.

Hope this helps

 

[madczar]

Depends on your eating style. In addition to your preferred eating styles (mentioned in the post above), your decision also depends on the kids. I see that you're brining an 11 year old, and two 4 year olds? I dunno if DxDP is right for you, unless you take your kids out to eat a alot.

When my wife and I go to Disney for an adult trip, we LOVE the DxDP for a good breakfast and a Signature dinner. Great way to use the DxDP.

For a first trip with 3 kids, (and for when we travel with our 2 kids), we prefer the DDP. The usually use the TS credit for a character buffet, or a few nice TS dinners. We use the CS credit for dinner on TS-breakfast days, and lunch on TS-dinner days. Snacks or the occasional OOP CS breakfast is also thrown in there.

We don't really like making more than 1 ADR per day with kids, b/c they like to be flexible. If you try making 3 ADR's per day with kids at Disney you tend to be in a world of hurt, running from restaurant to restaurant, full all the time, generally being miserable.

You can do lots of character meals on the DDP (just 1 a day), and then do a CS. I see you mention fast food. Lots of the CS meals now a days are a bit more healthy, and there are plenty of salads to be found to eat (and at least one veggie option per place).

Just my thoughts.

 

[kerri0616]

You don't have to consider all CS restaurants as "fast food." Sure, you could eat burgers, nuggets and fries at most CS restaurants. However, we enjoy finding other options. WPE is a good example...fresh salads, soups, pastas...This is why the DDP is right for our family. We like having 1 ADR each day for dinner and having the freedom to choose a CS for lunch. Epcot has wonderful choices! We pride ourselves on trying to find non-burger places!

Have fun deciding!

Kerri

 

[Em&Bec'sMom]

We have done the Deluxe DP once, and it was only because there was free dining and we could just pay to upgrade to the Dx plan. We did that because:
We were planning several 2 TS credit meals.
The Dx plan gives you appetizer, entree, and dessert, while the regular DP doesn't include appetizer. And I'm a BIG fan of apps (well, dessert too )
If both of those don't apply to you, I wouldn't recommend the deluxe plan.

Honestly, if you tried to do more than one or two TS meals per day, you would be taking a lot of time to eat, plus eating a LOT of food! I think you will find yourself doing more CS and then the deluxe plan will probably not be worth the cost for you.

 

[SabresFan]

We were there last July, and will be going back again this July, and did DxDP last year and will be repeating it this year. The biggest reason I went with it last year was because I wanted to have a place to sit down for lunch in air conditioning. I know some people leave the parks for the afternoon, but that's a lot of time spent on the bus or monorail, and having the leisurely lunch serves a similar purpose.

Yes, it is a lot of food, but it was the favorite part of the trip for us (me, DW, DD16 and DD13). This year we're staying seven nights but eating on 8 days and also doing 4 signature restaurants, so the total volume of food will be less, but I'm sure it will be plenty.

And there's definitely something to be said for just ordering whatever you want regardless of cost - we certainly don't do that at home, so that's an extra splurge to enjoy.

 

[gigi1313]

we did the DxDDP and liked it and would definitely do it again... however, we did learn a few things... yes, 3ADRs (or even three full meals) per day is just a little bit too much... we also found that the gratuities added up a little bit too quickly... we switched gears mid-trip and it worked better...

when we do it again (and we will) we will definitely book the dinner shows as our family really enjoys them and the gratuity is included... HDDR, SoA, CRT and maybe MBYBBQ... we will book b'fasts only for DH, youngest DS and me... the teens did not care enough to get out of bed and would prefer food court food and meet us later... or better yet, room service b'fast when they eventually wake up confident that we have TSM FPs for them (LOL)... we will also do a signature meal or two...

last but not least, we will focus on enjoying our vacation and using the DxDDP to enhance it, not the barometer by which we measure "did we get the most bang for our buck?!" 'cause that thinking actually sinks our trips

 

[catne]

we did the DxDDP and liked it and would definitely do it again... however, we did learn a few things... yes, 3ADRs (or even three full meals) per day is just a little bit too much... we also found that the gratuities added up a little bit too quickly... we switched gears mid-trip and it worked better...

when we do it again (and we will) we will definitely book the dinner shows as our family really enjoys them and the gratuity is included... HDDR, SoA, CRT and maybe MBYBBQ... we will book b'fasts only for DH, youngest DS and me... the teens did not care enough to get out of bed and would prefer food court food and meet us later... or better yet, room service b'fast when they eventually wake up confident that we have TSM FPs for them (LOL)... we will also do a signature meal or two...

last but not least, we will focus on enjoying our vacation and using the DxDDP to enhance it, not the barometer by which we measure "did we get the most bang for our buck?!" 'cause that thinking actually sinks our trips

Just a note, for your future planning...you cannot get fastpasses for people who did not enter the park: i.e., taking the teens' cards with you will not work. The fastpass machines will reject the KTTW Cards that did not go through that park's ticket machines at the turnstyle that day (they're all linked in the great Mickey Computer) So the teens will have to try to get their own fastpasses once they mosey on into the park.

to OP, we have done both Deluxe & regular dining plan many times and enjoyed both...it depends on our "touring style". If we're with people who have never been to WDW and are on a limited time budget, we'll do the regular dining to maximise park/ride time. If it's just hubby and I, or people with us have been many times, then we'll go for the dining experience and buy Deluxe with emphasis on 2 TS places.

 

[smiths02]

For our family...and we do like to eat...regular DDP was enough food for us. We had some breakfasty type foods in the room (Cliff bars, milk, water bottles), but other than that...regular was really enough food. Of course, we didn't do any 2 TS meals and we don't plan on doing any this go around either.

 

[ilovegrumpy]

If you are going to do the DDxP, a good idea is a later character buffet breakfast, like around 9 or 9:30 am. You will probably not be done with breakfast for an hour or so, you will not be hungry for lunch, maybe only "snacky" if then. Then have a very nice early dinner about 5 or so and you will have enough credits to do a 2 credit dinner, like at Narcoossee's, California Grill, Artist Point, Yachtsman Steakhouse .

Crystal Palace and 1900 Park Fare are very good buffets for breakfast. MUCH better than Chef Mickey's.

 

[senadler]

We did the DxDP on our last trip and plan to do it again in May. We have two kids DD(11) and DS(6). We only do two TS a day, but plan on doing two dinner shows and one signature dinner, so the DxDP make sense for us. We usually do snacks or counter service OOP for breakfast and then TS for lunch and dinner. This makes the DxDP a really good option for us.

 

[inkedupmomma]

LOVE the DxDP!!! For us it works great, although as others have mentioned, we don't do 3 meals. However, between CRT, signature meals, and dinner shows, it works out. We also drive and hit up EOS for food for our drive home! Personally, I like the forced break it gives us at dinner time!

It's def not for everyone, but since we do a sit down for every breakfast, it works out for us.... Plus we HATE QS LOL

 

[katiekoester]

We are also doing the DxDP with 2 kiddos, ages 8 and 5. Our kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE breakfast and I wanted some "fancier" meals at dinner, plus we don't eat fast food all that often so DxDP seemed right to us. We do have 2 days with 3 meals per day, but they are way spread out and on days we do not plan on going back to our room so I figured we would need a break mid-day. Remember you don't have to eat everything given to you. We are still saving about 27% so I figure a dessert/app missed here or there isn't a big deal.

 

[VeganRazzleDazzle]

I DxDP! Need I say more?

 

[quirty30]

We tried out the DxDP for just 2 nights a few weeks ago, and I will never do it again. My kids & I are generally big eaters, but we all thought it was just too much food. And we used it for 2 signature restaurants (HBD and Le Cellier) along with Via Napoli and Yak & Yeti.

We don't usually eat a big breakfast and we much prefer the DDP. We use our snack credits for a breakfast item such as a bagel, scone or cinnamon roll, then have a CS lunch & a TS dinner. This is more than enough food for us.

 

[momtoejanda]

We always do the DxDDP because we do a lot of character meals. Also for a 7 night trip you have 8 days to eat the food. Yes it is too much food but we pick the restaurant for the entertainment.

We now tend to have a big breakfast, my kids are huge breakfast eaters. then have a snack around 1-2pm and have dinner at 4-5 ish. and another snack later.

We do a lot of the 2 credit meals...Hoop De do, CRT, yachtsman, brown derby etc...

i did do a price comparison on the last trip and with all the 2 credits and character meals we saved about $300 and because it is so convenient I think it is worth more than just saving $300.

 

[PoohsFan1]

I DxDP! Need I say more?

I second that!

 

[CarissaDance]

Thanks for all the feedback. Maybe I should take a look again at the TS and character meals we definitely want and add up the credits it would use and then decide...

I definitely dont want to run our vacation based around a day full of ADRs or end up cancelling a bunch and feeling like I wasted paying for the upgrade. We do eat 3 meals a day at home with some snacks in between but typically they are lighter meals with a more substantial dinner. This is our first trip to Disney and we may not get back for some time so I really want the kids to have time to experience quite a bit in the parks. With the 11 yr old and the twins who will be 5 I know we'll have a lot of areas to hit so everyone gets to see things they will enjoy.

Its good to know the QS have healthier choices as well.

 

[Hopefully]

Thanks for all the feedback. Maybe I should take a look again at the TS and character meals we definitely want and add up the credits it would use and then decide...

I definitely dont want to run our vacation based around a day full of ADRs or end up cancelling a bunch and feeling like I wasted paying for the upgrade. We do eat 3 meals a day at home with some snacks in between but typically they are lighter meals with a more substantial dinner. This is our first trip to Disney and we may not get back for some time so I really want the kids to have time to experience quite a bit in the parks. With the 11 yr old and the twins who will be 5 I know we'll have a lot of areas to hit so everyone gets to see things they will enjoy.

Its good to know the QS have healthier choices as well.

I definitely suggest looking at the meals you really want and then deciding.
Knowing this is your first trip, you need to seriously consider the time you are taking away from park touring. In our experience, other than breakfast, which we don't do, most TS meals take 90 minutes or more.
You also need to consider that WDW is HUGE. If you are traveling from a park to another location for a meal you need to plan about an hour travel time each way on average.
We love the regular DDP. But it works for our style. We do a light breakfast in our room, usually a CS lunch and a evening TS dinner. This is how we eat at home. We also plan our meals around which park we will be in which day, and make our ADR's in or near that park to cut down on travel time.
Whatever you decide, have a great trip.

 

[lynn_s]

We had FD at Christmas, and upgraded to the DxDP - we planned lots of signatures, CRT, etc so it worked out well for us (most days Bfast on the run, then a sit down lunch for a rest on days going straight through, and a nice dinner). We did several CS meals here and there (used up lots of snack credits at Epcot), and didn't worry about "maximizing the value"

I liked everything being paid for, DH saying "this is all included?" and not stressing about the extra cost since it was paid for.

I did add everything up at the end and we just about broke even with what the plan would have cost normally. So personally I don't think I'd ever buy it full price. But it was nice as an upgrade from FD! I'd do it again in that case.