This will be our first trip without the Deluxe Dining Plan..

[oceanmarina]

I just booked for this August (The summer Disney deal is still not out yet! And as the summer airfare has nowhere to go but up, I decided to book our trip). I used my American Airlines miles and got our lodging for free, but since it is not booked with Disney I can't add the dining plan to our trip.

This will be a first for us this trip - not booking through Disney and not having the Deluxe Dining plan.

What we usually do on this plan is DH and I skip lunch and we go to sever signature dinners throughout our trip, Le Cellier, Narcoosees, Cindy's castle. We also usually do Via Napoli & Coral reef as well as character breakfasts most mornings.

For the 4 of us me, dh, ds 12 9who counts as an adult on the plan) and dd 9, I believe the deluxe dining plan would cost us $1790 for our 5 night trip.

If I only do 2 character breakfasts and still do three signature dinners and "one pointers " (via Napoli / coral reef the other 2 nights, I wonder if i'll be paying a lot more with the deluxe dining plan? DH and I never usually order alcohol and lunch is usually a quick service for the kids. The other mornings i'm thinkinh of bringing a quick service breakfast back to the room and I always order drinks / water / milk and cereal from Garden Grocer. (we stay in a villa that has a fridge)

I feel like paying out of pocket would make me eliminate a few places that I feel where the food is overrated (like when I saw the bill for Cinderellas castle in my head I said i'm glad I'm not paying out of pocket with a bill this high!)

Has anyone done both - out of pocket vs deluxe dining? Which did you feel was more expensive. Thanks, Marina

 

[jods]

Last yr I got a great deal on a package and couldn't get the ddp. It wasn't bad at all. Of course it annoyed me to pay 50 for my 12 yo to eat mac and cheese at Ohanas. I still came out ahead with the great deal I had. We only ate at places we really wanted to. We stayed CL so that did help some as we had breakfast there most mornings and snacks throughout the day. We are doing the deluxe ddp this year so I'm curious to see how it compares myself.

 

[Traver Freeman]

Never been on the Deluxe, but just a suggestion, maybe cut out those places you consider overrated? Did you just do them before because you had the plan and didn't want to waste it by NOT doing signatures and breakfasts every day?

I mean, if you like doing that every day and just have to do it every day to make it be a magical trip for you, then go ahead and don't worry about the cost. It's your vacation enjoy it, just budget for it. Check the menu prices and pre-plan your costs so you don't get sticker shock, but I see no reason to change your vacationing habits.

However, if that was just something you did every day to get your "money's worth" then do it a couple days for the restaurants you love, and then just check out some "1 credit" places for the other days.

 

[12disneybee]

Last yr I got a great deal on a package and couldn't get the ddp. It wasn't bad at all. Of course it annoyed me to pay 50 for my 12 yo to eat mac and cheese at Ohanas. I still came out ahead with the great deal I had. We only ate at places we really wanted to. We stayed CL so that did help some as we had breakfast there most mornings and snacks throughout the day. We are doing the deluxe ddp this year so I'm curious to see how it compares myself.

why would you go to Ohanas knowing the price and what your children would eat?

 

[jods]

why would you go to Ohanas knowing the price and what your children would eat?

My dh loves it there and we were on vacation. We like to eat well even if ds is picky. We're not going to stop eating what we like because of him. Buffets are the the same deal, adult price but he eats kid food. It is what it is in Disney. He started eating steak so this year it won't be bad.

 

[Traver Freeman]

My dh loves it there and we were on vacation. We like to eat well even if ds is picky. We're not going to stop eating what we like because of him. Buffets are the the same deal, adult price but he eats kid food. It is what it is in Disney. He started eating steak so this year it won't be bad.

Could you have taken a snack or some other item for him to eat so you don't have to pay full price for him? Or does Ohana not let you do that because you might be just giving him food from your meal since they bring meat constantly? I've never been there. Going for the first time this next trip.

 

[Pkltm]

Could you have taken a snack or some other item for him to eat so you don't have to pay full price for him? Or does Ohana not let you do that because you might be just giving him food from your meal since they bring meat constantly? I've never been there. Going for the first time this next trip.

Everyone at the table pays at O'hana. It is served family style.

 

[Figmentmommy]

Could you have taken a snack or some other item for him to eat so you don't have to pay full price for him? Or does Ohana not let you do that because you might be just giving him food from your meal since they bring meat constantly? I've never been there. Going for the first time this next trip.

Not possible here. At all buffets and All You Care to Eat meals everyone at the table is charged whether they eat or not.

 

[Traver Freeman]

Not possible here. At all buffets and All You Care to Eat meals everyone at the table is charged whether they eat or not.

I kind of figured considering the style of the way they serve the food, but didn't know for sure. I assume there's an age limit though? For instance, our son is under 3 and can't even get the dining plan, so I don't even think they will charge him.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

I try to think about the dining plan from the perspective of, "Do I want to look at the menu prices or not?"

If you are easily able to plan meals and eating routines, it's not so bad. But if part of vacation means not having to think about those things....?

I guess you just have to pick your top picks and plan from there!

 

[mousegear]

We've done OOP last few trips and actually like it a lot. I don't even bother with making ADRs and usually find some place to eat on the day of or day before. We don't do quick service much in disney. We eat breakfast in the room (cereal, banana, yogurt, etc) and using DME app, we find a TS place. I like the freedom of it. Between the two of us, we order an appetizer to share, each usually order entree (I sometimes order another appetizer, depending on how hungry I am) and usually skip dessert. I always collect the receipts and do the math each trip, and I come out ahead than purchasing DDP or DxDP even though we eat at signature TS at nights.

However, for the coming trip, we are partially doing DxDP (3 nights out of 7) because there are certain places I want to try this time (Cali Grill Brunch, ROL dining package, and a couple of signatures). When I added up the costs, we come out almost $200 ahead with DxDP and I didn't add up snacks or refillable mugs (we usually get a mug and a snack/person/day).

So it really depends how you plan and what you eat.

 

[Sweettears]

I didn't realize that the dining plan came with a strip option.

 

[Figmentmommy]

I kind of figured considering the style of the way they serve the food, but didn't know for sure. I assume there's an age limit though? For instance, our son is under 3 and can't even get the dining plan, so I don't even think they will charge him.

Yes - under 3 years old is always free to share from your plate. If you were at a regular a la carte restaurant and ordered him a kid's meal for example then you would be charged accordingly, but he can always share or eat food from an AYCTE or buffet restaurant without any charge. My son was a just turned 2 year old on our first family trip many years ago and boy could he eat! Those buffets and AYCTE restaurants were awesome for feeding him. I think we only ordered him a kid's meal at Whispering Canyon lunch. It's a great age to visit - free, free, free!

 

[oceanmarina]

Last yr I got a great deal on a package and couldn't get the ddp. It wasn't bad at all. Of course it annoyed me to pay 50 for my 12 yo to eat mac and cheese at Ohanas. I still came out ahead with the great deal I had. We only ate at places we really wanted to. We stayed CL so that did help some as we had breakfast there most mornings and snacks throughout the day. We are doing the deluxe ddp this year so I'm curious to see how it compares myself.

Thanks, good to know. My DD is the same way. When we go to Le Cellier, she will eat only the pretzel bread and not eat her kids meal there . Yes, let us know how it compares with the plan!

Never been on the Deluxe, but just a suggestion, maybe cut out those places you consider overrated? Did you just do them before because you had the plan and didn't want to waste it by NOT doing signatures and breakfasts every day?

I mean, if you like doing that every day and just have to do it every day to make it be a magical trip for you, then go ahead and don't worry about the cost. It's your vacation enjoy it, just budget for it. Check the menu prices and pre-plan your costs so you don't get sticker shock, but I see no reason to change your vacationing habits.

However, if that was just something you did every day to get your "money's worth" then do it a couple days for the restaurants you love, and then just check out some "1 credit" places for the other days.

Thanks for the good advice, I agree. For example Narcoosees is expensive but it is worth every penny, however Cinderella's Castle I would not pay out of pocket for as we really did not like the new menu they had last summer when we were there & they cut down on things which I felt were really cheap for a signature - for example they no longer give you a bread basket before your meal at dinner. I thought be our guest was overrated to and will be skipping that one as well. But the places we usually go to where we always have a good meal - Narcoosees, Coral reef Restaurant, Via Napoli are staying.

We've done OOP last few trips and actually like it a lot. I don't even bother with making ADRs and usually find some place to eat on the day of or day before. We don't do quick service much in disney. We eat breakfast in the room (cereal, banana, yogurt, etc) and using DME app, we find a TS place. I like the freedom of it. Between the two of us, we order an appetizer to share, each usually order entree (I sometimes order another appetizer, depending on how hungry I am) and usually skip dessert. I always collect the receipts and do the math each trip, and I come out ahead than purchasing DDP or DxDP even though we eat at signature TS at nights.

However, for the coming trip, we are partially doing DxDP (3 nights out of 7) because there are certain places I want to try this time (Cali Grill Brunch, ROL dining package, and a couple of signatures). When I added up the costs, we come out almost $200 ahead with DxDP and I didn't add up snacks or refillable mugs (we usually get a mug and a snack/person/day).

So it really depends how you plan and what you eat.

I like that idea of not being tied down to an ADR, but i'm going to make them because the time I am going they usually give free dining and i'm afraid I wont be able to get anything last minute.

Cali Grill brunch looks amazing (I've seen pictures on trip advisor), we are there on a Sunday so i'm going to look into it. What's the ROL dining package?

I didn't realize that the dining plan came with a strip option.

Yikes, I saw my typo after I posted and couldn't adjust the title, that's what I get for posting late when i'm tired!

 

[robinb]

Yikes, I saw my typo after I posted and couldn't adjust the title, that's what I get for posting late when i'm tired!

Go to the top of the thread and on the right side there is a dropdown named "thread tools". From there you can select "Edit Title".

I think that you will probably not spend as much as you are used to spending on the DxDDP going forward. I found that we did a LOT less character meals/etc once my DD was about 9-10. If you cut back to just character breakfasts (which are cheaper) you'll be fine. Look at it this way, you would have to spend nearly $90 per day per person (including your picky 9-year old) to spend as much as you would spend on the DxDDP. If you limit the number of AYCE buffets you'll most likely come out ahead.

 

[mousegear]

Cali Grill brunch looks amazing (I've seen pictures on trip advisor), we are there on a Sunday so i'm going to look into it. What's the ROL dining package?

River of Light Dining package which is just like Fantasmic Dining Package and is offered at Tusker House and Tiffin. I really want to do Tiffin but DS13 would not be happy with Tiffin's menu so I booked Tusker House breakfast and we will receive passes for the show. Breakfast with the package is $40/person and on dining plan, 1 credit/person.

 

[oceanmarina]

Go to the top of the thread and on the right side there is a dropdown named "thread tools". From there you can select "Edit Title".

I think that you will probably not spend as much as you are used to spending on the DxDDP going forward. I found that we did a LOT less character meals/etc once my DD was about 9-10. If you cut back to just character breakfasts (which are cheaper) you'll be fine. Look at it this way, you would have to spend nearly $90 per day per person (including your picky 9-year old) to spend as much as you would spend on the DxDDP. If you limit the number of AYCE buffets you'll most likely come out ahead.

Thank you so much, I was able to fix it! I am figuring out prices now (I know what we usually order for our favorite restaurants). I'm thinking of doing 2 character breakfasts during our 5 day trip (we usually do them every day when we are on the deluxe plan) but I just printed the roaring forks quick service breakfast menu and i'm thinking of grabbing breakfast for the kids and bringing back to our room for a quick breakfast. I also always order milk & cereal & drinks from garden grocer (since we stay in a 1 bedroom villa with a fridge) so i'm sure that the kids will want cereal one morning. The only thing I can't find the prices for is how much the character buffets are per person for adult and kid (they only seem to list a price range on the Disney website). I'm getting excited that I might actually come out ahead!

River of Light Dining package which is just like Fantasmic Dining Package and is offered at Tusker House and Tiffin. I really want to do Tiffin but DS13 would not be happy with Tiffin's menu so I booked Tusker House breakfast and we will receive passes for the show. Breakfast with the package is $40/person and on dining plan, 1 credit/person.

Wow that sounds exciting!

 

[12disneybee]

My dh loves it there and we were on vacation. We like to eat well even if ds is picky. We're not going to stop eating what we like because of him. Buffets are the the same deal, adult price but he eats kid food. It is what it is in Disney. He started eating steak so this year it won't be bad.

understand now

 

[robinb]

The only thing I can't find the prices for is how much the character buffets are per person for adult and kid (they only seem to list a price range on the Disney website). I'm getting excited that I might actually come out ahead!

Here you go: https://www.disboards.com/threads/buffet-character-shows-aycte-pricing.3108466/

 

[Lothlórien]

I didn't realize that the dining plan came with a strip option.

What does that mean?