My Deluxe Dining "Plan"

[TwistGrl101]

After reading so much negativity about the dining plan recently, I am second guessing my plan. I am hoping to get free dining in August, and if so, I would like to upgrade to deluxe. The cost to upgrade for my family of 5 would be about $600 for 7 nights. (My 2 year old is free) I would have 21 meal credits.

Here is my proposed plan:

Day 1: dinner Yachtsman Steakhouse (2)
Day 2: counter service lunch (1); dinner-'Ohana (1)
Day 3: breakfast Cape May Cafe (1); dinner Le Cellier (2)
Day 4: breakfast Tusker House (1); dinner Mickey's Backyard BBQ (2)
Day 5: breakfast CRT (2); dinner Be Our Guest (1??)
Day 6: breakfast Kouzzina (1); dinner Cape May Cafe (1)
Day 7: breakfast 'Ohana (1); dinner Cali Grill (2)
Day 8: lunch Brown Derby (2)

I would have 1 credit leftover. I keep reading how deluxe is too much food, but we will be eating breakfast and dinner everyday, and use snack credits or bring snacks into the parks for lunches.

Please tell me if you think it is "worth it" for me to do deluxe!

 

[TDC Nala]

I don't think it's worth it if you are leaving credits over - I would find something to do with that credit even if it is buying CS to take with you. But I tended to see the dining plan as a method to save money on food, and not solely for the convenience. There are guests who will buy the dining plan, leave multiple credits unused, and not be concerned about it, because they didn't buy the plan to realize savings.

I think what a lot of the posts are saying is that the DDP doesn't WORK for everyone, but whether or not is works for you is attributable to the reasons why you personally want it. If you're looking to save money you must do the math on your meals. But don't just add up the dining plan allotments - add up what you would prefer to order. If it turns out you don't want dessert at every meal, for example, then take that into consideration.

If you want it to have everything prepaid and you just have to whip out a card to pay for meals, then it'll do that for you, whether or not other people like the plan.

If you think you might end up deciding NOT to attend some of the meals you have booked, you may not want the plan, unless you only want it for convenience.

I can't tell you whether or not you should get the plan because I don't know your personal reasons for thinking it might be good for your group. The fact that you're getting free dining anyway and just upgrading means you're paying far less than you would have been paying just buying the deluxe plan outright and that will probably figure in your reasons. If you really want to spend all that time in all those restaurants, I'd say keep it because it's a free dining upgrade.

You should also consider what your cost will be in gratuities at so many TS restaurants.

 

[sharonabe]

I also think most of the negativity comes when people PAY for the dining plan. You are planning on an upgrade from FREE DDP, and I think anyone would be hard pressed to feed a family of 5 for $600 for 8 days.

So even if you don't use all the credits or eat all you are entitled to, you can't do better than $600 unless you want to brown bag for the week.

 

[havoc315]

Worth to upgrade from free dining, probably yes.

Worth to pay full DxDp.... Maybe. Certainly, if you occasionally share meals, if you skip some appetizers and desserts-- then you can keep the same plan for cheaper then the dxdp.

 

[Faldred]

But don't just add up the dining plan allotments - add up what you would prefer to order. If it turns out you don't want dessert at every meal, for example, then take that into consideration.

But there's also the "opportunity cost" of saying "if i didn't have to worry about cost, I would do X", which may be very different from how you would approach things if you havd to pay for items individually. You can pretty much always eat for cheaper OOP than you can on a dining plan... the real question is whether or not the dining plan is subjectively an improvement in the overall vacation experience to be worth the extra money.

Because it is a subjective assessment, it's very likely that two people looking over the same exact usages of the plan will come up with significantly different ideas as to the value of the plan.

 

[Hootiss]

Don't forget you need to add aprox $300- $500 for tips

 

[WillAustin]

Because it is a subjective assessment, it's very likely that two people looking over the same exact usages of the plan will come up with significantly different ideas as to the value of the plan.

Definitely. We consider the convenience to be valuable. I spent time doing the math and with the deluxe plan, our family will come out ahead on average every day, but once we are there I'm not one to worry if we're $50 behind because someone isn't hungry at a particular meal. I know there are plenty of others who couldn't stand that. Once we prepay, I'm done thinking about the cost of the meals for better or worse.

 

[Mich123]

We just decided to upgrade our free dining to DxDP and our plan looks a lot like yours. We wanted to do a couple of character breakfasts and there were also a couple of lunches that we were interested in, in addition to a signature meal. Essentially we will have two sit down meals a day. I know people comment about the amount of time the meals take, but when we travel to other places we don't usually eat counter service style meals, so i don't think it will be too onerous. I also read some posts where people commented that sitting down for lunch and breakfast doesn't really take much more time and, in my experience, going to a buffet can actually be faster.

I did do the math (by planning to pay OOP for set price meals and guesstimating the cost of the less expensive options) and it was really close, not even counting the addition of appetizers, which my family loves and orders wherever we go.

We also have a history of plowing through snack credits, so 40 snack credits over 6 days will be awesome! I am sure that we would have paid OOP for snacks with only 20 for the 4 of us for 6 days.

I like the idea of having it paid for and not worrying. I also agree with the PP who talked about the opportunity quotient, that's true, there's value to being able to order whatever we want from the menu (especially at California Grill!!!!). I know we may end up using a few for CS and I'm ok with that, I still think we are coming out ahead. We are also going during off season, so I think there's the possibility that we might be albe to do some walk in lunches on the fly.

I'm planning to do a trip report and will start the pre-trip this weekend--we leave in less than three weeks, so you can see if my plan actually works. I'm going to try to take pictures and save receipts so I can see if the gamble pays off.

 

[Travelingdad]

I've worked the math dozens of times and we always come out ahead on the DP. So for us, a family of 5, the DP is worth it. We don't do big breakfasts usually so we normally just have a piece of fruit or somehting similar in room and don't use credits for that meal. Let's us do an extra character meal or two to use the credits. We've never been able to justify the DXP cost, part of this due to not wanting to be foced to sit for a full breakfast every day.

The value of the plan for us:
* Lets us prepay and not have to worry about a budget during the vacation.
* Wife and kids will try new things, try something they normally wouldn't. Mentally not worry about paying for something they wouldn't like.

The one zinger the first time was tips, not realizing how they add up quick. They tend to be higher than normal due to the base price of the meals you apply the percentage too, even if using the DP.

 

[myladyisatramp]

I also am trying to decide whether to upgrade to DXDP....we have free dining right now... and hubby always likes to order an appetizer...sooo I think it may be worth while and I can add a few signature dining to my plan... we are only there for 4 nights...what do you think

 

[sharonabe]

I also am trying to decide whether to upgrade to DXDP....we have free dining right now... and hubby always likes to order an appetizer...sooo I think it may be worth while and I can add a few signature dining to my plan... we are only there for 4 nights...what do you think

Looks like it's just you and DH, so it would be a little over $270 to upgrade for 4 nights. You're getting close to your trip, and sometimes they will charge a change fee as well, so you need to figure that in.

Before you do that, you may want to go online to see if you can get ADRs for where you may want to eat.

The one problem I see is spending so much of your short time in restaurants. If you can do before park opening breakfasts and then plan your dinners where you're going to be anyway, then it might still work.

One argument against doing the upgrade is you can pay OOP for apps for a lot less than $270. So, can you find other reasons to upgrade that would make the $270 valuable?

 

[AKL LOVER]

IMO it would be completely worth it to upgrade to the DxDP, especially if enjoying the additional dining experiences is something you are looking forward to on your vacation. We have done DxDP in the past multiple times (DH and I, plus our 2 kids). For several trips we didn't have to pay for DS b/c he was under 3. Our last trip was the first trip where we had to pay for him and I was worried that we wouldn't see the value in the DxDP like we had before. Surprisingly, we can out ahead--and we had several credits left over at the end (due to circumstances beyond my control; DH got sick one day and we missed a dinner and were never able to make up the extra credits). I was pleasantly surprised. I did a DxDP day by day breakdown on my 'Next time I'm booking a resort without a pool' TR. My first post on that TR has links, so you can look at each of the days and then the final total. Maybe it will help you out

Looks like it's just you and DH, so it would be a little over $270 to upgrade for 4 nights. You're getting close to your trip, and sometimes they will charge a change fee as well, so you need to figure that in.

FYI: you can upgrade your dining plan at any point you just have to do it at least a week before your trip. They will not charge you a fee to do this. Even if you have already paid your package in full you can still upgrade you just pay the total cost of the upgrade when you do it over the phone. I most recently did this for our trip last year. It was not a problem and worked out well.

 

[AKL LOVER]

I also am trying to decide whether to upgrade to DXDP....we have free dining right now... and hubby always likes to order an appetizer...sooo I think it may be worth while and I can add a few signature dining to my plan... we are only there for 4 nights...what do you think

Because you want to order appetizer's AND add some signature meals to your trip I'd say it's worth it!

 

[eribriggs]

We always do the deluxe dining plan. We have been lucky enough to get the free dining and just upgrade, like you mentioned. I don't think it's too much food at all if you use your credits correctly. IMHO, I would switch out Mickey's Backyard BBQ for Hoop Dee Doo Revue and that way you will use your credits and have a much better time. Don't like the BBQ - love the HDDR!!!

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

After reading so much negativity about the dining plan recently, I am second guessing my plan. I am hoping to get free dining in August, and if so, I would like to upgrade to deluxe. The cost to upgrade for my family of 5 would be about $600 for 7 nights. (My 2 year old is free) I would have 21 meal credits.

Here is my proposed plan:

Day 1: dinner Yachtsman Steakhouse (2)
Day 2: counter service lunch (1); dinner-'Ohana (1)
Day 3: breakfast Cape May Cafe (1); dinner Le Cellier (2)
Day 4: breakfast Tusker House (1); dinner Mickey's Backyard BBQ (2)
Day 5: breakfast CRT (2); dinner Be Our Guest (1??)
Day 6: breakfast Kouzzina (1); dinner Cape May Cafe (1)
Day 7: breakfast 'Ohana (1); dinner Cali Grill (2)
Day 8: lunch Brown Derby (2)

I would have 1 credit leftover. I keep reading how deluxe is too much food, but we will be eating breakfast and dinner everyday, and use snack credits or bring snacks into the parks for lunches.

Please tell me if you think it is "worth it" for me to do deluxe!

If you had 5 ppl on the deluxe dining plan you would each have 3 credits every day. So you would have 15 credits per day times 7 nights. You would have 95 meal credits and 70 snack credits. I'm not sure where 21 credits comes in. You mean you have only made plans for meals using up 21 of your credits? If that is the case then you need to add some more meals.

Not sure if you can do this in 2012 but in 2011 you can trade a CS credit for 3 snacks or candy from the gift shop and take them home with you. You don't have to waste them. We used our extra credits for those Mickey head rice crispie treats and brought them home.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

If you had 5 ppl on the deluxe dining plan you would each have 3 credits every day. So you would have 15 credits per day times 7 nights. You would have 95 meal credits and 70 snack credits. I'm not sure where 21 credits comes in. You mean you have only made plans for meals using up 21 of your credits? If that is the case then you need to add some more meals.

Not sure if you can do this in 2012 but in 2011 you can trade a CS credit for 3 snacks or candy from the gift shop and take them home with you. You don't have to waste them. We used our extra credits for those Mickey head rice crispie treats and brought them home.

She is talking about per person. They are there 7 nights at 3 meals a day = 21 credits. She has 21 meal credits planned and I would assume that everyone in her party is planning at eating at all those meals. Also if Be Our Guest ends up being 2 credits you are right on the mark.

 

[angierae]

Four Disney adults, an upgrade cost of approximately $34 per person per day, so we paid about $950 to upgrade. However, in upgrading, were were able to do the following:

Day 1: Dinner at Ohana
Day 2: Half our party at Teppan Edo for Lunch, the other half at Le Cellier, everyone dinner at Garden Grill
Day 3: Lunch at Sci-Fi, dinner at Turf Club
Day 4: Lunch at Tusker House, dinner at Spirit of Aloha
Day 5: Lunch at Tony's, half our party dinner at the Plaza, the other half dinner at Yachtsman
Day 6: Breakfast at Akershus, lunch at Chefs de France, dinner at Captain's Grille (I know three meals in one day is a lot, but we didn't want to drop anything and our daughter's friend wanted a Princess Meal, and I don't like the castle menu.)
Day 7: Half our party breakfast at Kona, the other half breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. Dinner, half our party at Kona, the other half at Jiko
Day 8: Lunch at HBD.

We have 84 credits. That schedule uses up 72 of them. That leaves us 3 counter service breakfasts each (or the opportunity to get late-night pizza delivery, or whatever. Since we only paid the upgrade price, we're easily breaking even on what we paid even if we don't use those 12 credits.)

Now, I wil say that it's a lot of TS (we're going during Easter Week, so I didn't want to deal with CS at all) but we're a party of adults and mostly-adults so sitting for a meal twice a day isn't a huge problem like it might be with small kids. Also, I decided that lunchtime meal breaks would be better than returning to the resort. (And we still could, if we wanted to.)

So because we upgraded, we got to get 3 signature meals plus a show that we would not have done on DDP, and that was worth it to me.

 

[nkereina]

After reading so much negativity about the dining plan recently, I am second guessing my plan. I am hoping to get free dining in August, and if so, I would like to upgrade to deluxe. The cost to upgrade for my family of 5 would be about $600 for 7 nights. (My 2 year old is free) I would have 21 meal credits.

Here is my proposed plan:

Day 1: dinner Yachtsman Steakhouse (2)
Day 2: counter service lunch (1); dinner-'Ohana (1)
Day 3: breakfast Cape May Cafe (1); dinner Le Cellier (2)
Day 4: breakfast Tusker House (1); dinner Mickey's Backyard BBQ (2)
Day 5: breakfast CRT (2); dinner Be Our Guest (1??)
Day 6: breakfast Kouzzina (1); dinner Cape May Cafe (1)
Day 7: breakfast 'Ohana (1); dinner Cali Grill (2)
Day 8: lunch Brown Derby (2)

I would have 1 credit leftover. I keep reading how deluxe is too much food, but we will be eating breakfast and dinner everyday, and use snack credits or bring snacks into the parks for lunches.

Please tell me if you think it is "worth it" for me to do deluxe!

I didn't read all the replies, so I apologize if I'm repeating things.

We did DxDP in September and we had 6 credits left over at the end This was due to an error in planning on my part - I did not space our meals well enough, and as a result, we ended up canceling a few dinner ADRs because we were not hungry. I also didn't realize how much food it is. I should have known because there is never an instance in the real world where both my BF and I could each eat an appetizer, each eat an entree, and then each eat a dessert.

If you do go with DxDP, the only way to get your money's worth is to eat a TS breakfast or lunch and a signature dinner. And really, breakfast on any DDP is not a great value since it's fairly inexpensive. Also, QS on the DxDP is a waste of a credit. Your restaurant locations look fine, but I would make sure you are doing breakfast around 8am, and then doing dinner around 7pm or later. You will each have two snack credits to use in the mean time - we ended up having about 8 left over snack credits, and throughout the week we tried to use snack credits up on bottled water which seemed like a waste since you can get a free cup of water at a QS place.

Aside from not being hungry due to all the food, the heat of September also wore us out quick and because we were so run down, we did not feel like eating. I was also get a little nauseous from the heat. Something else to consider.

 

[3pletprincesses]

to us it's the perfect scenario. The girls (5yo) get their character meals and we get our signature meals. We left 1 credit each last May and still came out ahead. We love our app and the freedom to get what we wanted without worrying about the cost. Yes it's alot of food and oyu ened to plan enough time between meals or you won't be hungry at all for the next meal. We did either early breakfast and early dinner or early lunch and late dinner. We used our snacks in between meals and we had a few left over at the end which we bought stuff to bring back home for the girls. To us it's convinient. We did the same in Uagust and the air conditionning while we were eating was a welcome break during our days. We were suppose to go back to regular DDP this coming August as we will have a newborn but we have since changed our mind. The girls liked too much the variety of food which comes with signatures meals and so did we.