Thoughts on Deluxe Dining?

[MarinaD]

I wanted to know if anyone has used the dlx dining plan? If so - what are the good things and bad things about it.

We're travelling with a 2 yo, and from our prior experience, we def used up our food credits, bc we were going to a breakfast (with characters) or dinner that was worth the cost of the dining plan.

Is it worth approx $300 or so more for 6 nights for us to upgrade to the DLX?

I feel like there's only about 2 or 3 places that take 2 credits that I'd like to go...

thanks for your help!

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

I wanted to know if anyone has used the dlx dining plan? If so - what are the good things and bad things about it.

We're travelling with a 2 yo, and from our prior experience, we def used up our food credits, bc we were going to a breakfast (with characters) or dinner that was worth the cost of the dining plan.

Is it worth approx $300 or so more for 6 nights for us to upgrade to the DLX?

I feel like there's only about 2 or 3 places that take 2 credits that I'd like to go...

thanks for your help!

I believe you are asking about Delux DDP that starts in Jan, 2008.

 

[hmillerbarilla]

The deluxe plan doesn't start until next year, and we've booked it for our September trip. I have 2 little kids and we always use our credits so I'm really looking forward to trying new places & not paying OOP for our character breakfasts!

Since we do sit down for dinner each night, and sometimes do a TS breakfast or lunch, the additional cost is worth it for us. (plus we got the bouceback deal)

I also think the 2 TS credit places sound divine. We always do Cali Grill, but next year we're trying Jiko, Yachtsman and Narcoosee's. Yay!

 

[Colleen27]

As others have said, the plan doesn't start until 2008, so no one has experience with it yet.

We're trying it in January, because we enjoy sitdown meals and are looking forward to having two "real" meals each day. We're also appetizer people, so the standard plan is unattractive for 2008 although we enjoyed the DDP in years past.

With a 2 year old in the party, I can see both pros and cons. If your child is like mine are, sitdown or character meals might be a nice break, and the structure of sitting down to a meal (rather than the more chaotic atmosphere of counter service) could be a nice way of maintaining some semblence of routine in a very non-routine place. On the other hand, if your child is fearful of characters, as many toddlers are, or gets impatient with longer meals, it might just be a source of stress.

What I did was worked up likely ADRs and menu choices, and priced it both ways to help make the decision.

 

[hddanis]

I'll be using it in Jan as well. We like to eat at least 2 sit downs a day (breakfast/dinner). The other thing I like about it is the fact it's all paid up front. I'm also able to stretch it an extra day because we arrive early and leave late.

According to my figures, I'll be saving about $300 or so for the 4 of us..Not too bad...and that's NOT counting snack credits and I think I have a couple of credits left to play with.

BTW, we're only doing 1 - 2ts meal (CRT)

 

[Colleen27]

I'll be using it in Jan as well. We like to eat at least 2 sit downs a day (breakfast/dinner). The other thing I like about it is the fact it's all paid up front. I'm also able to stretch it an extra day because we arrive early and leave late.

According to my figures, I'll be saving about $300 or so for the 4 of us..Not too bad...and that's NOT counting snack credits and I think I have a couple of credits left to play with.

That's about what we came up with too. I think the savings I figured out is just shy of $400 on the ADRs I have for our 11 night stay. That's with 9 adult and 12 child meal credits unplanned, and not counting mugs or snacks at all. We have 2 ADRs per day, generally lunch & dinner, and will probably use some of the unplanned credits for shared CS between meals or for TS breakfast if we get up earlier than expected. Some will probably be left over at the end of the trip, and I'm okay with that. I don't feel any compulsion to wring every dime from the plan.

We do have a lot of 2TS meals. We're trying California Grill, Narcoosees, Artist Point, CRT, Yachtsman Steakhouse and maybe Flying Fish (depending on whether or not Tokyo Dining will take the DDPs next year). And we have most of both of our travel days too - we will be there by lunch on our arrival day, and aren't leaving until mid-afternoon on our departure day.