If you did the Candlelight Proc this past winter...

[kerri0616]

Just wondering how you chose to pay for it...

Did you use 2 precious dining credits for it?

Or did you find it more cost effective pay OOP for the Package?

There are 4 of us and we are all considered adults on the DDP.

Thanks for you info!

Kerri

 

[cwnhokie]

We ended up doing deluxe dining because for what we wanted to do it came out the same to either do deluxe or pay out of pocket and not get the dining plan. I must say deluxe was way too much food. But we tried to keep the mindset that it was the same amount of money even if we didn't eat it all.

 

[kaybird]

We had the regular DDP, but this time chose to pay for the CP (@Chefs de France) OOP. The main reason for this was a shorter trip, and too many places we wanted to eat!

 

[TDluvsDaisy]

We were on the deluxe plan and used 2 credits. IMO it is not worth using the credits unless you have some left over. I certainly wouldn't use it with the regular dining plan.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We were not on the dining plan and paid oop.

Its just something I always budget for. We did Chefs de France for the 2nd show.

If you dont want to use 2 credits, than your lowest oop cost would be a Tier 1 restraunt.

 

[RMulieri]

If you are on the deluxe plan, than its fine.But to us not worth it on the regular plan.

 

[pad406]

We did dinner in Nine Dragons on DDP. Meal not great, service poor but CP very nice. Not sure if we'd bother again though.

 

[purpliequeen]

We calculated it as well and found that the price was about the same - either 2 TS credits or OOP. We ate at the Coral Reef, which is one of my favorite restaurants at WDW. Nothing on the menu was off limits and we got to choose a app, entree, and dessert along with on non-alcoholic beverage.

We dined on Dec. 23, 2010 and had an amazing, amazing time. The orchestra and chorus brought tears to my eyes. It was breathtaking. I can't remember what seating we had- I think around 6:30 p.m. We lined up about an hour before the show (you have to play this by ear, as it was busy the week of Christmas and also when popular narrators read) and were one of the first (in the dining package line) to get in. No one in the non-dining package got in on our night.

We thought that the reserved seating/sport for Illuminations was not very good and ended up finding an even better place to stand along the lagoon roughly 45 minutes before the fireworks. Have fun! It was one of the more "worth it" dining packages in terms of $ and value, especially when compared to the Fantasmic! package, which I found to be a total waste of money.

 

[Rekenna]

I set this up for my 2 sisters. They had lunch at Le Cellier and did the early (5:30) CP with Isabella Rossellini. It worked out well. DH and I had the boys with us and did 2 TS meals that day, while my sis's did their CP package lunch and grabbed something from Sunshine Seasons for their dinner after the CP. They said everything worked out very smoothly and they were really happy with the experience.

 

[Agri]

We paid OOP and used the extra TS credit to add in some breakfast buffets.

 

[maxiesmom]

We used dining credits. I took my dad to WDW for a quick trip and we had more sit down meals than credits. But most of our ADRs were not for expensive places, so it made sense to use credits for the CP, instead of paying out of pocket.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

We waited in the standby line on Tuesday, December 7 for the 5pm show. The narrator was Jodi Benson (voice of Ariel). We did not buy the package because I couldn't see wasting a dining credit....even though we were on the deluxe dining plan. We had a great dinner at Le Cellier at 6:15pm using only 1 credit. We waited about an hour before 5pm. When we got in, there were plenty of seats available... We were about 1/2 way to 3/4 way back from the stage. Great view. The package would have been worth it only if we really wanted to be up close, but our seats were good enough.

We followed our plan to spend the few hours before 5pm in World Showcase and get in the standby line when it looked like it was getting long... The stand by line was roped off and a CM was checking with people in line, getting a total number in the party (even if everyone was NOT in line). We were in line an hour or a little more before 5pm. Plenty of people got in line behind us and the CM told people in line that they would make it in.... I guess at some point, they told people they were past the point where the might make it in for the 5pm show. This system worked great... Several people left line to go to the bathroom (or get a drink) and everyone was courteous about it.

I have heard that the standby line is harder to get in later in December and on weekends (Fri - Mon). That's why we picked a Tuesday. Also harder when the narrator is very popular. I figured Jodi Benson would be pretty popular, but not like the crowd would gather for Whoopi Goldberg.

 

[kerri0616]

If we are able to book a trip, it will be during Xmas week which means we would have to book a CP package.

Still undecided on how to pay... leaning toward OOP.

Thanks all!

K