Should i switch to deluxe dining?

[huggiebear23]

What's the difference in price from regular to deluxe? Also does it really pay? Is it too much eating and not enough park time?

 

[AllyinWonderland]

It would be an additional $46.28/night per adult ($104.94/night per person) and an additional $10.63/night per child ($29.51/night per child). I think for most people it would not be worth it. We enjoy one sit down meal per day because it is a nice break but I can't imagine sitting down for 2-3 table service meals per day. It would take a lot of time and it would be way too much food. Most people would be better off paying for the regular dining plan and paying OOP for a couple other meals if you want more TS meals.

 

[purple figment]

It is a lot of food and a lot of additional time getting to and from restaurants and the dining time itself. At lunch and dinner at TS restaurants it entitles all the adults to have an appetizer and dessert so it is considerably more food than the regular dining plan. For us it was better to have 2 meals a day - either a TS breakfast or lunch and then a 2 credit dinner (signature or dinner show). Otherwise it was too much food and time for restaurants.

To make the DxDDP cost effective it usually means using about 65 - 75% of the credits at TS rather than CS. Since the DxDDP is $104.94 per night for adults and includes 3 dining credits and 2 snack credits per night the general value is $4 per snack (x2 = $8) and $32 per dining credit to make it work. Because of the appetizer at lunch and dinner it is easier to get to $32, but then it goes back to the "too much food and/or time" concern.

 

[wendybeth75]

We have thought about this several times. We may actually upgrade during FD sometime but we are usually stuffed the whole time on the regular dining plan. While it would be nice to do a breakfast buffet everyday and a signature at night I think I would end up with constant heartburn! Instead, just pay OOP for those couple of extra TS meals you want. That is what we have ended up doing and it is far less than the Deluxe plan.

 

[jodywgirl]

Me and my husband did do deluxe dining once. It is a lot of food, if you do it I would definitely suggest doing a signature or show for one meal and then another sit down meal. I would either do a late breakfast or early lunch and then go to a show or signature for dinner. I would never try to do deluxe with young children, to much time sitting around eating instead of being in the theme park.

 

[loveshak22]

I think it really depends on your schedule and where you want to eat. We did the deluxe DDP last time we went. The trip was just my DH and myself. We are both in our mid-30's and we went during the slow season. We were there 5 days so had 1 full day in each park so we had plenty of time for sit down meals and lots of time at the parks for our plans.

I chose the dxddp because I wanted to try a lot of the signature restaurants that are usually 2 TS on the DDP. We either ate breakfast at around 10:00 and then dinner around 7:00 with snacks in between or we ate an early lunch around 12:30 or 1:00 and then dinner at 8:00 or 8:30.

What I liked about the plan:
- We ate at great places and didn't worry about cost
- The meals were a nice break from the day or a great end to the day. Because the meals include apps, dinner, and dessert we had long meals and had some drinks and really enjoyed the time together
- Because we ate signature every night and TS another time during the day it ended up being an O.K. deal...not great but O.K.

What I didn't like:
- We are big eaters and it was still too much food. I probably wouldn't get the dxddp again unless there was some great package deal or I did the math on where we were eating and it would still be a good deal even if we decided not to eat dessert or something. For me it wasn't the time away from parks but just too much food! Maybe if we did earlier breakfasts/lunches and later dinners?

I guess all that is to say if your plan allows for the time, you're big eaters, and you plan on a lot of signature restaurants then give it a try!