Should we get Deluxe Dining Plan?

[JaneSparrow]

We have 2 reservations: BLT studio for 11/29 and BLT 2BR for 11/30 to 12/7.

We added the 1 night studio because its cheaper to fly that day. There are 4 of us: me, DH, DS4 and DS1. We will be joined by another family on second reservation.

We would like to eat at Ohana, Hollywood and Vine character dining and Chef Mickey at minimum. We will definitely have some meals in our 2BR.

Is it worth it to get Deluxe D
ining Plan for our 1st reservation of 1 night? If we do, I am thinking of eating dinner at Ohana on 11/29. Lunch at Hollywood and vine and dinner at chef Mickey on 11/30.

Con:s I am not sure though if the discount will be sufficient enough to compensate for us cramming all that table service in 2 days.

Pros: We are soda drinkers so the refillable mug would be a plus.

We have DVC and Disney Visa but no TIW. Since we are not sure if we will reach $500 for eating out and we never order alcohol drinks, I don't think it's practical to get TIW. Also we don't have any trips planned to WDW until 2016 (going to Australia in 2015).11

 

[joelp]

Unless I'm mistaken, if you get any DDP for your one night stay, you'll also have to get a separate 1-day park ticket for that night (as opposed to just "adding" that day to the multi-day ticket for the rest of your stay...) - and that will eat up any savings you may have from the DDP.

 

[quirty30]

Unless I'm mistaken, if you get any DDP for your one night stay, you'll also have to get a separate 1-day park ticket for that night (as opposed to just "adding" that day to the multi-day ticket for the rest of your stay...) - and that will eat up any savings you may have from the DDP.

If OP is staying on points they don't have to purchase tickets to get the dining plan.

 

[Tigger1]

Unless I'm mistaken, if you get any DDP for your one night stay, you'll also have to get a separate 1-day park ticket for that night (as opposed to just "adding" that day to the multi-day ticket for the rest of your stay...) - and that will eat up any savings you may have from the DDP.

You would not need a one day ticket if your staying on DVC points.

The three places you want to eat are buffet or family style. If you can eat that much food, yes its a good deal. But you may have way to full of stomach by chef Mickeys. Myself I would go for the regular dining plan the
2nd part of the trip or not at all. That would be about $135 a day for your family. Still lots of food. We always end up taking quick service sandwiches back home on the last day.

Are you eating any set downs paying cash the second part of trip?

 

[dani7776]

I only get Deluxe dining if we are planning on 2 credit meals if not regular is plenty of food =)

 

[Tigger1]

I have never done Deluxe but if I did I would use it for Table service which would include appetizers. Then a big box for my leftovers for a nice snack the next day. I get to go boxes on the regular dining plan. Bad part is you need to be heading back to hotel after dinner to take leftovers.

If you do the Deluxe at places mentioned you will be fine if your used to eating two big meals a day. I would do first night as early as possible, then lunch kind of early and dinner when your kids are used to eating.

It would be fun for just one day if your not eating table service on the rest of the trip.
Did you check to see if you can get reservations still?

 

[disneynutz]

You need to look at the menus/prices, decide what you want to eat and compare your OOP cost to the cost of the dining plan.

Bill

 

[MoreTravels]

You can also use 2 credits for a signature restaurant.

I would go to Fulton's Crab House at DTD, get seafood / oyster tower appetizer and Alaska King Crab main entree, totaling $150 per person worth of food for 2 dining credits!

But then I love seafood so you may have a different preference.

Like the other poster said, it is a waste to use Deluxe Plan on buffet meals... because there is no difference in meal content in buffets. If you use it at regular restaurant, you get an extra appetizer as a Deluxe Plan holder. I love the Sushi at Kona Cafe in Polynesian, in addition to the main entree like lamb chop, when using a Deluxe Plan. Regular plans do not give that bonus.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

The signatures generally don't add any additional satisfaction for me. I tend to feel uncomfortable. The only 2 TS restaurant worth it IMHO is Yachtsman's Steakhouse. Keep in mind, I've not eaten at all signatures but have eaten at Artist Point, Narcoossees, the Luau, and Hoop Dee Doo, and Le Cellier (before it was 2 credits) and Yachtsman's Steakhouse. We also ate on the Empress Lilly (Fulton's Crab House) before DDP and before it was Fulton's.

Oh, I did enjoy Boardwalk Room Service after being sick in the room all day once.

 

[brertoad]

I think it sounds like a good idea. By picking up the DxDP on day 1, you can use it day 1 and day 2. You will get the free mugs, if you purchased those OOP they are at least $16 each. This is just for Day 1, you would save money. After that, you'd have to plan out all your meals and basically do the same thing as I did here to see if you would save money for the rest of the week.

I got the prices from TheRustyScupper's post over on the restaurants board.
(incl tax, excl tip)

Ohana dinner. . . 11/23/2013 Adult: $42.59, Child: $20.23
Chef Mickey's dinner. . . 11/23/2013 Adult: $46.85, Child: $22.36
Hollywood & Vine lunch . . . 11/23/2013 Adult: $35.14, Child: $19.16

OOP Total would be $124.58 per Adult, and $61.75 per child
Before Tip


This doesn't take into account:
your mug, a $16 value
plus 2 snack credits, about a $10 value


Deluxe Dining $99.97 per Adult, $26.84 per child
Before Tip

You would be saving at least $25, plus the free mug add $16, and snack credits, roughly $50 savings per adult and roughly $61 savings per child.

 

[Minniesgal]

I would only do deluxe to eat at Signatures which I wouldn't do with young children. Since your plan is not to eat at Signatures and to eat in the villa sometimes I think it will be way more than you need.

 

[CarolMN]

I'd go for the Deluxe Plan for that one night, but I'd use 2 TS credits for the Candlelight Processional at EPCOT on 11/30 and do just one of the TS restaurants you mentioned on 11/29.

They haven't released prices yet for the CP, but I'm sure they will be more expensive than last year. It will be more than worth it to get the Deluxe Plan if you plan to see the CP during your stay.

When we got the DxDP in 2011, the math worked out such that we were getting a very good value - rare for Disney dining plans.

For example, using last year's prices for the CP:

Dinner (plus 6:45 or 8:15 show) at Tutto Italia or Coral Reef or Le Chefs was $69.22

Cost of 2013 DxDP (Don't have 2012 prices) - $99.97

So cost of 1TS & 2 snacks & 1 mug would be $30.75

Since the CP package price will almost certainly be more than 2012, the value only gets better.

Also, the Deluxe plan includes an appetizer.

The above is the only way I would consider getting the DxDP.

 

[AirGoofy]

When you do the math, from an apples to apples comparison, price of DxDP vs OOP for the exact same menu, then yes, the DP will come out ahead. And, you get mugs.

However, the difficult calculation is time and eating differently. We did the regular DP and DxDP on different trips. With the DxDP, we ate at some signature restaurants we may not normally have. While i enjoyed the experience, we found that it was not only was it way too much food, but that we gave up park time or pool time to eat at all these places.

I did the math two trips and then stopped doing DPs altogether (and the math). I found that eating the way we wanted - a beer, 1 appetizer for the 4 of us to split, entrees, and maybe 1 dessert to split - was ultimately about the same price as the DPs, minus the snacks/mugs. Two of us in my family don't like cokes.

Ultimately, it depends on what your family prefers. But, IMO, just don't look at the math.

 

[BestDadEver]

Wouldn't you need to get another table service in there to even use all the credits for the deluxe plan . I eat more then most and I don't think I can do 2 table service in one day . Plus ant you missing out on a few quick services and doubt you will get to many snacks . I'd just get the regular DDP with one table service one quick and a snack for the whole trip then if you eat one night at the villa you can dbl up another day .

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

This is exactly what we have done in the past. If fact, we have purposefully planned split stays just to get the Deluxe dining plan for the first part of the trip. We've done it two ways:

1) Staying one night at the beginning: 1 TS dinner the first night, 1 TS lunch the second day, and 1 TS dinner the second night (exactly what you are proposing)

2) Staying two nights at the beginning: OOP for CS and TS lunches and 3 signatures the first three nights

What's good about having all the food at the beginning is that by the end of the trip you've had so much food you may have trouble enjoying it. At least, that's been my experience.

I think it's a great plan if these are the restaurants where you want to eat, and as brertoad showed, it makes money sense too!

 

[tlkscott]

We got the deluxe plan for one night last year. We did dinner at Boma, Breakfast at CM and dinner at CP. We saved over a $100 with those three meals.

 

[JaneSparrow]

You would not need a one day ticket if your staying on DVC points.

The three places you want to eat are buffet or family style. If you can eat that much food, yes its a good deal. But you may have way to full of stomach by chef Mickeys. Myself I would go for the regular dining plan the
2nd part of the trip or not at all. That would be about $135 a day for your family. Still lots of food. We always end up taking quick service sandwiches back home on the last day.

Are you eating any set downs paying cash the second part of trip?

Yes - we will be paying cash for second part of trip. We have done regular dining before and we are sick of all the food by the end. We are also cooking some of our meals on 2nd part of trip. We definitely are eating at all the restaurants I mentioned but cramming them together on first 2 days for the DDP may not be a good idea. I will have to compare prices paying cash and using DDP for those 3.

 

[JaneSparrow]

You would not need a one day ticket if your staying on DVC points.

The three places you want to eat are buffet or family style. If you can eat that much food, yes its a good deal. But you may have way to full of stomach by chef Mickeys. Myself I would go for the regular dining plan the
2nd part of the trip or not at all. That would be about $135 a day for your family. Still lots of food. We always end up taking quick service sandwiches back home on the last day.

Are you eating any set downs paying cash the second part of trip?

Paying cash for second part of our trip is what we plan to do.

 

[JaneSparrow]

I think it sounds like a good idea. By picking up the DxDP on day 1, you can use it day 1 and day 2. You will get the free mugs, if you purchased those OOP they are at least $16 each. This is just for Day 1, you would save money. After that, you'd have to plan out all your meals and basically do the same thing as I did here to see if you would save money for the rest of the week.

I got the prices from TheRustyScupper's post over on the restaurants board.
(incl tax, excl tip)

Ohana dinner. . . 11/23/2013 Adult: $42.59, Child: $20.23
Chef Mickey's dinner. . . 11/23/2013 Adult: $46.85, Child: $22.36
Hollywood & Vine lunch . . . 11/23/2013 Adult: $35.14, Child: $19.16

OOP Total would be $124.58 per Adult, and $61.75 per child
Before Tip

This doesn't take into account:
your mug, a $16 value
plus 2 snack credits, about a $10 value

Deluxe Dining $99.97 per Adult, $26.84 per child
Before Tip

You would be saving at least $25, plus the free mug add $16, and snack credits, roughly $50 savings per adult and roughly $61 savings per child.

Thank you so much - this is what I wanted to find out but my DS1 keeps pressing my laptop buttons and I sleep when he sleeps since he wakes up every hour every night for about a week of being sick! Thanks again! Now I have to think if we can really eat all of that in 2 days - lol! If not, perhaps just the regular dining plan for Chef Mickey first night and QS the following day - still thinking!