Should we upgrade to Deluxe Dining?

[Mineu]

If we are over our credits on the regular dining plan-does it make sense to pay out of pocket or upgrade to the deluxe dining plan? We are over by 4 credits right now for our six night stay (2 adults and 4 teenagers)-we would also love to add a few more dining reservations... Thanks!

 

[ancestry]

You really need to price out the difference. In some cases it makes sense to upgrade the dining plan in other cases it makes more financial sense to pay out of pocket for some meals. You need to figure out what works for you depending on where you are eating (which restaurants) and what your group plans on ordering.

 

[sdchickie]

If you are planing on doing very many of the 2TS credit restaurants then you might want to get the Delux. If not then the regular one is most likely good enough. Which ever you decide on I would look at the menus on here and see how much you will spend at each place (average cost) and decide if it's worth it to upgrade or which TS are best to pay OOP for. I did the delux over the summer and was so glad I did, we ate at alot of great places that we normaly wouldn't have gotten to eat at.

 

[purple figment]

The DxDP is $30 a day per person more so for your group of 6 this would be $180 per day for a total of $1,080 for a 6 night stay.

Figure out how much you would pay for the meals that exceed your DDP allotment and see how they compare with the added cost of upgrading to the DxDP.

I would also make sure that all the restaurants and dinner shows I want are available before I upgrade.

 

[Mineu]

We have the CP booked and two other meals that we won't have enough credits for. I'm also thinking that the appetizers will be covered as well as an additional snack... So, based on what I have booked-I'm not quite at the $1080-but we would like to add another meal or two...

 

[ilovepete]

We just upgraded ours after seeing what it would cost us OOP for not upgrading. In our case it was worth it. I'd just price it out.

 

[Cafeen]

The typical "break even" point for DxDDP is 2/3 of your credits spent at TS locations. On a 6 night stay, this means 12 credits used. This also assumes the full 3 courses at each meal (although the individual pricing doesn't matter as much, so you don't have to "aim high").

 

[fourpeas]

I agree with everyone else! I'd love to upgrade but my kids don't eat anything (we say they live on air) and just can't justify it. With 4 teenagers, I'd imagine you'd get a big bang for your buck! I know our nephews eat my SIL out of house and home!

Have fun!

 

[Mom2micayla]

We were planning on doing the DDP and were quite a bit over on TS credits too. I started looking at DxDP and finally decided against it and the regular DDP. I think that the DxDP can be a great savings, IF you enjoy eating 3 big meals a day, 2 desserts, 2 apps, etc. We just found the DDP to be too restrictive for us b/c it wasn't enough credits and we're more app people than dessert people. And the DxDP was WAY too much food and too much time spent eating.

FTR, we are planning 2 TS meals a day without a dining plan. I will be using a restaurant.com gc for HOB, and I have 2 $50 Landry's gift certificates that I earned on Mypoints that I will use for Yak & Yeti and Rainforest (or T-Rex, haven't decided yet ). I priced it like I would if we were actually ordering how we wanted, not how we'd order to maximize the savings... so often a shared app and/or dessert. 14 TS meals, with places like Ohana, Chefs de France, Narcoossee's, Le Cellier, Turf Club, Sci Fi, etc and some extra $$ for snacks came to around $700. The DxDP was going to cost DH & I a little over $1100. So we're coming out about $400 ahead and not restricted by the dining plan. So I'd suggest you price it with all the restaurants you'd like to eat at, with the meals you'd likely order, and then see how the price falls. You might be surprised.

 

[sassyredhead]

I am in the same dilemma. Here is a list of my reasons for wanting to switch:

1. All of the restaurants we want to book are (or will be at the time of our visit) 2 TS (Le Cellier for dinner, Jiko, Artist Point, Brown Derby, California Grill).
2. I am a much bigger salad + entree kind of person and don't usually eat much dessert. When we are on the regular dining plan, I always pay for a salad OOP and then order fruit or sugar-free sorbet for dessert.
3. Since we are going during free dining during Memorial Week, the parks will probably be crowded, so a nice, air-conditioned meal would be a welcome respite . . .


Here is the reasons NOT to upgrade:
1. I convinced DH to go back a year earlier than planned because of free dining. If we upgrade, most of the savings from free dining would be cancelled out. Needless to say, he's the one who wants to dine at all the 2 TS restaurants!!
2. I don't want to feel stuffed all the time. I'm not too worried about this, because I don't ever feel too full on the regular DDP because I make sensible choices (salad as appetizer, protein and veggies for entree, fruit for dessert), so I think I'll be okay. If we do a TS breakfast, I'll probably just eat fruit and oatmeal plus coffee.

Any advice? Should I pay $800 more, or just tell DH we should eat at the Crystal Palace/Le Cellier for lunch/ etc??

 

[inkedupmomma]

Depends. For us it is worth it! We go during free dining, so we just pay the difference between the two plans. I believe it will be $33.00 per adult for our upcoming 2011 trip. We always eat a TS breakfast, and a TS dinner, and the cost we would pay OOP just to cover the breakfasts makes the DxDP worth it for us. Add in the mug, and extra snack, and I'm a happy camper! Again, this might not work for everyone though. If you don't normally eat like that, then don't force yourself too, but since we do, especially on vacation we love it!

 

[havoc315]

We have the CP booked and two other meals that we won't have enough credits for. I'm also thinking that the appetizers will be covered as well as an additional snack... So, based on what I have booked-I'm not quite at the $1080-but we would like to add another meal or two...

Remember to consider whether the extra snack and appetizers are really something you would have otherwise paid OOP for, or whether they are items you really don't need.

I'm still debating whether to upgrade. Right now, I'm planning on paying for 1 2-credit meal out of pocket, on the regular DDP. It would be nice to occasionally have an included appetizer... but I really don't need multiple appetizers per day for each adult member of the party. And it would be nice to know that 3 meals per day are being covered... but it's not like I really would even have the time for 3 ts meals per day anyway.

What it comes down to, for me....
DDP -- Breakfast will be either use of some snack credits (which means less real afternoon snacks), or breakfast in the room.
DXDDP--- Likely CS breakfast, or snack credits (while still having snack for afternoon)

DDP -- A couple of TS lunches, plus a few CS lunches.
DXDDP-- Probably have TS lunch almost every day.

Snacks -- DDP -- Having use some snacks for breakfasts, limited afternoon snacks, sharing snacks, etc.
DXDDP -- Likely more snacks than we know what to do with.

Dinner -- DDP -- Having TS dinner every night, except night of arrival. Paying OOP for Royal Table dinner. Skipping appetizers (only really an issue for a couple of nights). CS or snack on arrival night.
DXDDP -- TS every night. No OOP dinners. Maybe start the trip with a signature dinner on arrival night. Have appetizers when desired (mainly an issue at Le Cellier and the French restaurant)

At $30 per day... There are several days where there would be no real difference, but a couple of days would be "upgraded."

I guess I can upgrade any time.

 

[AggieTexan]

We're going to do the DxDp for our short (4 night) stay. All our meal credits will be used for TS...4 signature dinners, 3 TS lunches, and one TS breakfast on the morning we leave. I plan to use many of the snack credits for "grab & go" breakfasts.

I sat down with the menus for the restaurants I've selected, and for the 2 of us the savings is about $160. I do think we'll end up wasting some food, though. We usually split dessert, and being on the plan we may end up having to decline some of the courses. On the other hand, we usually order something different so we can taste more items...having it pre-paid makes it easier to do that.