Is it worth it to upgrade to DxDP?

[Mackenzie'sMommy]

For the 5 of us to upgrade to DxDP it is going to be $900. I know reg. only offers 2 meals a day, and we will eat 3 a day and pay OOP. Is it worth it to upgrade or not?

 

[Faldred]

It's hard to give good advice on the subject without knowing a lot more about your party.

That aside, DxDP is more than just a meal plan, it's a commitment.

Actually, I only half-jest. Because of the large number of TS meals you will be doing (likely an average of at 2 per day, or even more, to get your value out of the plan), you will be likely be working off a schedule made around your ADRs, rather than making your ADRs work around your touring schedule. (Unless you're really good at this and can make the two mesh effortlessly.)

For "value", the rule of thumb is to use 2/3 of your DxDP credits on TS meals, meaning you could do 2 sit-down meals and a quick service meal each day, and do OK from a value standpoint.

I think a better way to look at it, especially as an upgrade from basic DDP, is to look at what the upgrade gives you, and then you can decide if it's worth it, both from the extra cost and the extra planning required. (In other words, what does it do for your overall vacation experience, and is that worth any additional cost?)

Upgrading to DxDP from basic DDP essentially means that per person, you'll get:

• 1 extra (table service) credit per night (either an extra meal, or an upgrade to a signature meal or dinner show).
• You can "convert" your DDP CS credit each night to TS if you like (as all DxDP credits are the same).
• 1 extra snack credit per night.
• An appetizer at any "menu service" TS meal.
• A resort refillable mug.

The upgrade price is $30/adult/night and $9/child/night for non-peak times and $24/adult/night and $8/child/night for peak season for 2010.

 

[Jonesloonybin]

The upgrade price is $30/adult/night and $9/child/night for non-peak times and $24/adult/night and $8/child/night for peak season for 2010.

It cost MORE to upgrade during the NON-peak time??? Why is that??? I would think it would cost LESS during non-peak times.

 

[crashbb]

It cost MORE to upgrade during the NON-peak time??? Why is that??? I would think it would cost LESS during non-peak times.

The Deluxe is always the same price whereas the regular plan changes. So, if the regular plan goes up in price (peak season) the difference is less.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

For us it is worth it. I don't know how we could go to WDW without the DxDDP. We enjoy appetizers when we go out to eat and really do not like CS. We generally have a late breakfast or early lunch and a signature dinner. Some days we may have 3 sit down meals but not many. We rarely take midday breaks so our breaks are the sit down meals. Especially our midday meal.

We have always saved based on what we ate and we rarely get 3 desserts. Sometimes we share one dessert or skip it all together.

We have found that this plan definitely works for our family. For others, it doesn't work at all.

 

[crashbb]

For us it is worth it. I don't know how we could go to WDW without the DxDDP. We enjoy appetizers when we go out to eat and really do not like CS. We generally have a late breakfast or early lunch and a signature dinner. Some days we may have 3 sit down meals but not many. We rarely take midday breaks so our breaks are the sit down meals. Especially our midday meal.

We have always saved based on what we ate and we rarely get 3 desserts. Sometimes we share one dessert or skip it all together.

We have found that this plan definitely works for our family. For others, it doesn't work at all.

This will be my first time with the DxDP, but our dining plans sound similar. Our dinners are all Signature meals (so 2 credits). We are going in January, so the parks close by 8ish most nights so we have later dinners which don't miss much park time. Most days, our other credit is an early lunch in the park that we are at (or a nearby resort). I made a list of what I would eat (often skipping dessert or appetizer) and the DxDP came out ahead of OOP. If I factored in the fact that my gluten free items have a surcharge when paying OOP, I'd come out even more ahead with the DxDP.

However, whether or not the DxDP works for you really depends on the make up of your group and how you like to eat/tour.

 

[pooch]

the deciding factor would be - can I add the meals for which we'd need to pay OOP for less than the cost of the upgrade.

So, if you kept the reg DDP, would your OOP costs be more or less than $900? If more, then go for the DxDDP, if less, keep the reg DDP and pay for the rest OOP from your $900 "food fund".

For us, it would cost $420 to upgrade our 7 night trip and we probably spend $200 OOP at most so upgrading does not make sense for us.

 

[padawans]

I think it works well if you do a lot of signatures. For the four of us are signature dinner 2 adult an d 2 kids ran around 150-200 dollars. The cost of the plan was 186 a day. So we got are moneys worth just with dinner and snacks. We only ate 2 meals a day so our breakfast or lunch was pretty much free. If you eat 2 1 credit meals a day you will break even. 3 1 credit or 1 one credit and 1 signature you will save money.

 

[left_arm]

Really, this boils down to looking at menus in allears and deciding what you'll eat. The dining plan saves money assuming you will eat the most expensive item each meal. If cheap pasta dishes are more appealing than steaks, the dining plan in general may not be worth it.

Some people use food only as a means of not starving, and they look for cheap options. We want to enjoy several nice meals; the dining plan allows us to not worry about the total bill. I want to try lots of table service options and indulge in expensive entrees we might not normally eat at home. In planning our trip, we were originally in your boat thinking about the plain ol' dining plan. After looking at menus, and knowing we wanted to eat at a few signature locations (Brown Derby, California Grill, and Jiko) the regular dining plan would not have saved us any money. So, we went with the deluxe plan and plan on taking full advantage of as many table service meals as we can appetizers and all.

It requires work, but picking out what you want to eat and comparing the cost if those items to the cost of the dining plan is the only way to see if it is worth it.

 

[Mackenzie'sMommy]

We are deciding to upgrade. After figuring up prices, since we want to do signatures and 2 credits like CRT and *hopefully* Aloha. It just made sense to us. Thank you all so much!