Is the Deluxe worth it or should I pay the difference?

[Cdnmom6]

I am planning a trip just my DS and I for his Fifth birthday and he loves character meals so we want to do a bunch. I have a free dining code for quick service but I am going to upgrade to dining but was wondering because we want to do a lot of character meals should I go with the deluxe?

We want to do:
Ohana breakfast
Dinner with Cinderella in the castle (yes he's a boy but very excited!!)
Lunch with Oso and Manny
Breakfast in AK
Crystal palace
Chef Mickeys ?

Which meal would you suggest for his actual birthday?

 

[figment_jii]

How many days are you going for? Of the places you list, only CRT takes two credits, so you need 7 credits. The DxDP gives you three credits per person per night, so you would need to be eating two to three sit down meals a days. My guess is that the DDP (1TS, 1QS, and 1 snack per day) might be enough for your meals, if you're willing to pay for a few meals OOP.

 

[Cafeen]

As Jill suggests, it's all about how many nights you're staying and what other plans you may have.

You have 7 credits listed in your list.

For example, if you are staying 7+ nights, and those are your only planned meals, then DxDDP is certainly NOT worth it. If you are staying for 3 nights, then it probably would be (7/9 = ~78% credits spent at TS). If you have other planned TS, keeping the ratio of TS to QS at or about ~70% with at least all but 2-3 credits used is generally recommended for DxDDP (as a minimum, more is fine, you just may need a forklift to get you back on the plane if you're anything like me )

So, for example, my trip original planned trip in September (I haven't run the full numbers for the updated dates yet), I was staying for 10 days (9 nights, so 27 credits). During these 10 days, I had 21 credits planned at TS restaurants (~77%), out of 26 credits being spent. I was saving ~$180 over the identical itinerary paying OOP (note: I would be spending more than I would if I went OOP, since I would cut back... but that's a whole different discussion ).

 

[Cdnmom6]

We're only there four days so it is two ts per day. Which i think we will both need the break for.

 

[purple figment]

We're only there four days so it is two ts per day. Which i think we will both need the break for.

The dining plan is based on the number of NIGHTS you're staying so if it's 3 nights/4 days you'd have 9 dining credits and you're already using 7 so it's probably worth upgrading, especially since you're getting QS free.

If you're staying 4 nights ( 12 dining credits) you could add more TS meals or do another 2 credit dinner show to figure out what is the break even point.