Our Deluxe Dining Plan ADR's - What do you think?

[scrap_heaven]

Okay so these are our ADR's for our 6night 7 day stay

TIME Restaurant Location
5pm Hoop Dee Doo Review Fort Wilderness Resort


TIME Restaurant Location
8:10am The Crystal Palace Magic Kingdom Park

6:20PM Chef Mickey's Contemporary Resort


TIME Restaurant Location
8:10AM Akershus Royal Banquet Hall Epcot
1:10PM Le Cellier Steakhouse Epcot
7:10PM * Coral Reef Restaurant Epcot


TIME Restaurant Location
8:15AM Tusker House Restaurant Animal Kingdom
1:00PM Yak & Yeti Restaurant Animal Kingdom
7:00PM * Boatwright's Dining Hall Port Orleans Resort


TIME Restaurant Location
7:30AM Cape May Café Beach Club Resort
1:00PM Hollywood & Vine Hollywood Studios
6:35PM 50's Prime Time Café Hollywood Studios


TIME Restaurant Location
8:10AM 'Ohana Polynesian Resort
12:45PM Tony's Town Square Magic Kingdom Park
5:45PM 1900 Park Fare Grand Floridian Resort


TIME Restaurant Location
9:05AM 1900 Park Fare Grand Floridian Resort


I need to add in one more meal, which will either be on the last day or our arrival day.

But I got all our MUST haves...

 

[jlk806]

Wow thats a lot of TS meals, a lot of time each day spent in TS restaurants. Are you sure your little ones are up for that? We did the regular DP and it was too much food half the time for us!

Honestly, if I was going to do DDP, I would do TS breakfast and then a signature for dinner most days, at least that would cut down on the amount of time spent in the restaurants. I do like trying the many different restaurants WDW has to offer, but IMO, 3 TS meals a day is just too much!!

 

[scrap_heaven]

Wow thats a lot of TS meals, a lot of time each day spent in TS restaurants. Are you sure your little ones are up for that? We did the regular DP and it was too much food half the time for us!

Honestly, if I was going to do DDP, I would do TS breakfast and then a signature for dinner most days, at least that would cut down on the amount of time spent in the restaurants. I do like trying the many different restaurants WDW has to offer, but IMO, 3 TS meals a day is just too much!!

There are so many restaurants that I want to try, I am just not sure how to fit it all in....

 

[jlk806]

There are so many restaurants that I want to try, I am just not sure how to fit it all in....

Believe me, I understand I always want to try everything as well - BUT, 3 TS a day is ALOT of time spent, waiting in the restaurant lobby for your table to be ready (sometimes up to half hour!), sitting, waiting for food, etc. Esp. with 2 little ones. Wouldnt you rather spend some of that time doing rides and shows instead? Just a thought I am a mom of a toddler also.

 

[scrap_heaven]

Believe me, I understand I always want to try everything as well - BUT, 3 TS a day is ALOT of time spent, waiting in the restaurant lobby for your table to be ready (sometimes up to half hour!), sitting, waiting for food, etc. Esp. with 2 little ones. Wouldnt you rather spend some of that time doing rides and shows instead? Just a thought I am a mom of a toddler also.

MY problem is we are in between the two plans, one TS is not enough for us and 3 is too many.

If I get the regular dining, then I end up paying out of pocket almost what it costs me for the deluxe. Maybe I just need to dump my non must haves and take a couple of counter services....

Oh.....

 

[Disneywedding2010]

We are doing DxDP for Christmas. The way I have it worked out is we are doing 2 TS per day (Breakfast & Dinner) and lunch is CS. Granted we don't have children to worry about but I wanted to try the different buffets that are offered for in the morning. Lunch and dinners are in the park.

 

[kittycat9]

We love DxDDP, and have a child that doesn't manage CS meal areas very well. We plan on mixing up our credits for 2 & 3 TS/day. We will also use a couple evening carryout or in room dining credits for the kids, and hire Kids Night Out so that DH and I can schedule in a couple date nights closer to bed time when the they are exhausted (after we've logged a couple park days). I will note that we're staying CL, so we get a light breakfast with our room. However, you can use a snack credit in the AM, and merge your unused dining credit and bump up to a 2TS for one of your lunches or dinners on some nights. Like going to Cinderella's Castle, California Grill, Citricos, the Brown Derby, or other 2TS locations. It's a great way to maximize your dining service, and skip the chaos of counter service. We bought DxDDP because we wanted to revisit certain restaurants, experience new ones, and as mentioned - issues with our son and sensory challenges. So it kind of bugs me when people harp on, "oh, it's so much food, do you really want to..." I say, enjoy yourself - just make the most of the experience for both you and the rest of your family. the one thing I love most about Disney is getting to enjoy a very nice dinner WITH my children. That would never fly here at home.

 

[maddiesdaddy]

We love DxDDP, and have a child that doesn't manage CS meal areas very well. We plan on mixing up our credits for 2 & 3 TS/day. We will also use a couple evening carryout or in room dining credits for the kids, and hire Kids Night Out so that DH and I can schedule in a couple date nights closer to bed time when the they are exhausted (after we've logged a couple park days). I will note that we're staying CL, so we get a light breakfast with our room. However, you can use a snack credit in the AM, and merge your unused dining credit and bump up to a 2TS for one of your lunches or dinners on some nights. Like going to Cinderella's Castle, California Grill, Citricos, the Brown Derby, or other 2TS locations. It's a great way to maximize your dining service, and skip the chaos of counter service. We bought DxDDP because we wanted to revisit certain restaurants, experience new ones, and as mentioned - issues with our son and sensory challenges. So it kind of bugs me when people harp on, "oh, it's so much food, do you really want to..." I say, enjoy yourself - just make the most of the experience for both you and the rest of your family. the one thing I love most about Disney is getting to enjoy a very nice dinner WITH my children. That would never fly here at home.

This is EXACTLY right...we use the DxDDP most of all for flexibility....it's amazing how nice it is for breakfast in the room....ahhhh..and since gratuities are included for IN ROOM DINING (not for regular TS) restaurants, it's such a nice treat and having the DxDDP gives us that ability. Maybe it's a lot of food, maybe it's not..but really the key is that the dining plans are for you to use how you see fit. Maybe it isnt the quantity of food, maybe it's the ability to do signature restaurants, in room dining, dinner shows and CRT..there are so many things that you can do with it. If it makes sense so you can see different restaurants then go for it. We did 3 TS a day with 2 kids and they loved the change of pace, the 'stop the chaos' for a minute to digest, relive memories, laugh, plan...every family is different and if it works for you..it does...it may not work for others..but that's for them.

 

[danall]

I agree...that is a lot of TS meals. We have always just used the basic DP and found that sometimes it is too much food. We always have a CS for lunch but try to go to places where you get bigger portions. For example we like to go to Port Orleans Riverside food court and get the pasta from the create your own pasta station. This with a dessert will fill you up right until dinner time for the TS meal. Coronado Springs' Pepper Market also have huge portions and you can even share to use your meal credits for another time. Most days we don't even use our snack credits but they could be used to get a muffin/donut/bagel or other at breakfast if we wanted to.

 

[MHSweb79]

Three TS meals a day is a LOT of food and a LOT of time. A sit-down meal can eat up (sorry ) 90 minutes to 2 hours, depending on how long you wait to be seated. Some may be quicker, but you'll spend at least an hour. So, 3-6 hours a day is devoted just to eating.

Also, you get a ton of food. No way could I eat three TS meals at Disney. The heat & humidity really kill the appetite. Plus you get appetizers & desserts too!

We've always found the regular DP to be plenty. We bring Pop Tarts, granola bars, etc. and that's our breakfast for the first day or so. After that, we save our desserts (can get fruit, muffins, tarts, etc.) and use those for breakfast. Because of the non-stop desserts they keep throwing at us, we end up with a ton of leftover snack credits. These can be used in the a.m. for OJ or coffee.

That said, if you're set on the DxDP, then by all means keep all your ADR's. If you're too full or don't have enough park time, you can always cancel and eat counter service.

 

[sherbet]

Can someone explain that "inroom Dining" ? I know its 2 credits, can we do this at POR or is it just at the Deluxe resorts? Confused

 

[Colleen27]

Can someone explain that "inroom Dining" ? I know its 2 credits, can we do this at POR or is it just at the Deluxe resorts? Confused

POR only has pizza delivery, which takes 2 adult credits to get 2 salads or an order of breadsticks (DxDDP only, because that's the appetizer), a pizza, and 2 desserts. It isn't a great "value" if you're looking to make the most of the deluxe plan savings-wise, but we always seem to have one night where we feel like ordering pizza and swimming rather than heading out to an ADR.

 

[Colleen27]

MY problem is we are in between the two plans, one TS is not enough for us and 3 is too many.

If I get the regular dining, then I end up paying out of pocket almost what it costs me for the deluxe. Maybe I just need to dump my non must haves and take a couple of counter services....

That's what I'd do. We've done the deluxe plan twice now and are planning DxDDP trip #3 for March, and obviously we love it. But we learned on our first trip with the DxDDP that three meal days should be few and far between, because that is a lot of food and a lot of time. We do most 2 meal days with either a character breakfast or a TS lunch and then a signature dinner, changing things up a bit on some days to make CRT or in-room dining the two-credit meal with a one credit dinner.

You probably can't fit all your must-dos into one trip, and by trying you're only going to end up too full to enjoy many of them. And there's something to be said for flexibility - maybe you won't feel like lunch after a buffet breakfast but will want a late-night meal after a evening swim, or will want a quick breakfast to get an early start on low-crowd morning touring. Planning every credit is just too rigid; leaving a few unscheduled makes for a better balance between planning and going with the flow.

 

[scrap_heaven]

Thanks for all the advice, I am going to look at everything and make a decision.

I don't want to waste our money, but I also don't want to get there and be stuck in the oh that dinner is a $100 so we shouldn't eat their and end up with a lot of CS and regrets.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO....

Time for a spread sheet

 

[vllygrrl]

I agree with the general sentiment here that that 3 TS/day is a whole lotta time spent just on meals. Another point I wanted to bring up is that with the DxDP you get 2 snacks per person/per day. It is very easy to fill in between meals with snack credits - there are some amazing values to be had. We'll be trying the DxDP for the first time next week, and I have our days planned so that we either do breakfast and an early 2 credit meal, or an early lunch and a later 2 credit meal.

You also need to figure that 1pm is prime time in the restaurants, so a meal that would take you 45 minutes at 11:45 could easily take double that time at 1pm.

 

[rapunzels]

Holy Smokes!!! That's a lot of food!!! Do you and your spouse really eat 3 square meals a day??? If not, I would cancel at least 1 of those TS a day. If your looking for extra food for the kids, get it at counter service. Have you spent any time on allears.net??? Check it out for menu's and prices.
Traveling time alone, you won't be experiencing WDW very much.. you'll be making your way to each meal. I would plan at least 1 to 1.5 hours per TS. You'll have like 2-3 hours, which will fly, between each meal. Rethink your plan... it's hard to visit all the locations you want to go to, but that gives you an excuse to plan your next WDW trip!!!

 

[rapunzels]

Holy Smokes!!! That's a lot of food!!! Do you and your spouse really eat 3 square meals a day??? If not, I would cancel at least 1 of those TS a day. If your looking for extra food for the kids, get it at counter service. Have you spent any time on allears.net??? Check it out for menu's and prices.
Traveling time alone, you won't be experiencing WDW very much.. you'll be making your way to each meal. I would plan at least 1 to 1.5 hours per TS. You'll have like 2-3 hours, which will fly, between each meal. Rethink your plan... it's hard to visit all the locations you want to go to, but that gives you an excuse to plan your next WDW trip!!!