have some questions for the dining plan experts

[Misty89]

i am just about to book our spring break trip ( which happens to be in FD period) and i am struggling with the acutal plan - we have been to WDW 3 times,but have never use the DP.
is it a no brainer to pay the $35/pps upgrade for the 3rd meal and 2nd snack?
even if we did not do any 2TS meals,it still seems like the upgrade would be worth it - am i wrong? we are big eaters,and definately eat three meals a day on vacation - and we are big sweet eaters so the snack credits would be used up on goodies for the room -i worry about having only two meals a day, and having to figure if we have CS or TS left each day -
here is my breakdown
Sun -
arrive after 6pm - Dinner @ pepper market
Mon - MK day
B- CP ( early)
L- cs
D- TS

Tues -
B - cs
L -CS
D -TS

Wed-
B-CS
L-CS
D- TD

Thurs -
B -B -TS ( just DD & I,1900 pf or cindys
L- CS
D-TS

Fri -
B- CS ( late)
( ME by 1:00) could get CS to go at RIX? ( for the airport)

i thought about doing a grocery delivery - but by upgrading we would not need it?
also -last but not least
if i wanted to make an ADR for Cindy's,how does that work with the DP? i put down deposit,do i have extra credit on plan then?


Thanks

Tina

 

[Misty89]

and also,since i am on the fence about the DXDDP, can i book my tripnow,and then upgrade at a later point? when is too late to decide to upgrade? will it still only be $35/pps after the FD promotion booking window ends on 10/29?

if we stayed with reg dining- and i wanted to pay OOP for the 2nd CS of the day how do i go about that? do i tell them i want to pay cash? do i have to use up all CS before i can pay OOP?

Thanks

 

[sharonabe]

The $35 per person per day doesn't seem like much, but if you're not going to add in at least one more TS credit per day, you're not going to see the value of that $35.

The regular DDP (which is free) already gives you one TS and one CS. If you only add in one more CS, you're losing money big time! The only place you would come close to spending $35 on a CS meal is at Wolfgang Puck Express, and I don't think you want to eat there every day.

 

[Faldred]

It's not a no-brainer, but I might very well lean DxDP in your case. It certainly suits "big eaters", but only if you plan on using at least 2/3 to 3/4 of those credits for TS meals (maybe less if you really milk the value out of the appetizers). If you'd rather do 1 TS and 2CS per day, stick with basic DDP and pay for the second CS OOP.

As far as credit use goes, think of it as a "bank" of credits. Your reservation gets all of the credits in a lump sum at check in, and they can be used by anyone on the reservation (respecting the whole adult/child thing, of course) any time until midnight following your check out. Every time you buy a meal or snack, you can choose to pay for it with credits, cash, charge back to your room (if enabled), etc. You can even pay multiple ways at the same time (e.g., some meals DDP and others cash).

You can upgrade up to 3 days before arrival, though any changes, even upgrades, within the last two weeks incur a change fee ($15, I think), whereas upgrades between 45 days and 2 weeks generally have change fees waived. Downgrades after 45 days prior to arrival always carry a $50 change fee.

Regarding CRT: if you have a dining plan booked, tell them you're paying with credits when reserving, and they'll only take a credit card hold. You can choose to pay with credits or OOP at the time you arrive. If you fail to show, your credit card will be charged the guarantee amount.

 

[Misty89]

It's not a no-brainer, but I might very well lean DxDP in your case. It certainly suits "big eaters", but only if you plan on using at least 2/3 to 3/4 of those credits for TS meals (maybe less if you really milk the value out of the appetizers). If you'd rather do 1 TS and 2CS per day, stick with basic DDP and pay for the second CS OOP.

As far as credit use goes, think of it as a "bank" of credits. Your reservation gets all of the credits in a lump sum at check in, and they can be used by anyone on the reservation (respecting the whole adult/child thing, of course) any time until midnight following your check out. Every time you buy a meal or snack, you can choose to pay for it with credits, cash, charge back to your room (if enabled), etc. You can even pay multiple ways at the same time (e.g., some meals DDP and others cash).

You can upgrade up to 3 days before arrival, though any changes, even upgrades, within the last two weeks incur a change fee ($15, I think), whereas upgrades between 45 days and 2 weeks generally have change fees waived. Downgrades after 45 days prior to arrival always carry a $50 change fee.

Regarding CRT: if you have a dining plan booked, tell them you're paying with credits when reserving, and they'll only take a credit card hold. You can choose to pay with credits or OOP at the time you arrive. If you fail to show, your credit card will be charged the guarantee amount.

Thank you i am going to go ahead and book now, and take my time to think about upgrading.

Tina

 

[havoc315]

A typical cs breakfast is no more than $10. So definitely not worth upgrading to deluxe, simply to get the cs breakfast and snack.

As others have said, the dxdp is worthwhile if you plan to used 2/3-3/4 of the credits for ts meals. Signature meals are also a good value.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

Based on your current plan I would not upgrade.

With that said I would map out your meals, where you want to eat and then double check it. I know sometimes I make a preliminary plan and then when I actually pencil in the restaurants I end up with a lot more credits than I thought!