Torn between dining plans

[Mila78]

...

 

[ajpa]

I haven't tried either yet (in Dec will be our first try of DDp with free dining), but fwiw, my Travel Agent told me that she always warns her clients that deluxe dining is way too much food. From my pov it is also way too much time spent eating, considering each TS meal is at least 1.5 hours and frequently longer, not including travel time to the restaurant.

So here's my suggestion. Why not get the DDP for now, get all your ADRs of where you would like to eat and when (including signature restaurants if that's what floats your boat).
Then see if it makes sense to upgrade to the deluxe ddp.
Remember, you can always upgrade for free but disney will charge you a change fee if you downgrade anything.

hth.

 

[Faldred]

The rule of thumb for cost-effectiveness on DxDP is that using 2/3 of your credits on TS makes it cost-effective. My basic math says that a DxDP meal credit breaks even at $22 -- you can clearly go over that by a large margin at some TS places, so being under once in a while at CS isn't such a big deal.

Basically, if you want 3 meals per day and like your appetizers, DxDP is probably the better option, especially if the math says your OOP will come out pretty much the same anyway.

 

[Schmoodle]

Are you ordinarily big eaters? Have you done the basic plan before? I found that it was a lot of food. I was happy to just have a granola bar for breakfast or use a snack credit, because we got so much food with the other two meals, we were always stuffed. I don't think you'd need to pay for extra snacks or a full breakfast unless you are used to eating 3 heavy meals a day along with a couple of desserts and snacks.

The only way to really know is to look and some menus and plan out what you think you'd really want to eat on an average day, see how much that would cost, and if the dining plan would save you money. If not, you could always pay OOP and just get what you want.

 

[MagicKisses2]

I agree with schmoodle, I think the Delux Dinning would be a lot of food.

I've use the regular dinning plan two times now, with the 1 TS and 1 CS and 1 Snack per day. We are doing to have the same plan for this coming trip. Do we spend a little out of pocket, yes, typically around breakfast time. And do we buy an extra drink or two a day, yes.

However...

Just try to judge on how much you think you are going to eat per day, remember that the smell of food is all over the parks, you see people eating all the time and you will end up wanting to try what they have!!

I also noticed that since I'm walking around all day from morning to night I was typically hungry throughout the day. Still the Regular DP was fine for me. (With a few extras thrown in!!)

Good Luck!

 

[tony67]

I would pay OOP for the extras myself. I think it gives you a lot more freedom.
If you pay for the DxPP you will want to get your money's worth.

The DDP is a lot of food. I just did the QSDP and it is a lot of food IMO.

If you pay for the DxPP you may force yourself to use all the credits and probably spend more time eating then you want to. You may end up eating more then you want to and eating when you are not hungry.
You may find that by the time you have sit down breakfast, lunch and dinner you do not want an app with dinner anyway.
Also do not forget to budget tips for all the sit down meals.

Keep in mind you can always get a pastry for breakfast with your snack credits.
I always bring a box of cereal bars for breakfast so I do not have to worry about it.
I've never been happy with the breakfast options myself anyway.

The other thing is a lot of the CS meals are very large and can be shared.
So for example you could share breakfast at main street bakery (large cinnamon role and ham and cheese croissant) and lunch at Cosmic Rays (the chicken and rib combo with two sides is huge) and still have 1 snack each.

If your big eaters, and I mean BIG eaters then it may be worth it to go DxPP.

As others have said also make sure you can get the ADRs you want before you commit.
You have until three days before you leave to upgrade.

 

[james'mommy]

We always use the dining plan. We usually do the basic plan. We've done the deluxe once before and it was a lot of food. I just booked a room today for our anniversary in May. Since we are celebrating I decided to go with the deluxe plan and we are going to do signature restaurants every night. I figure that way it isn't too much food. We'll do a late breakfast or early lunch and then a late dinner.

 

[MissBritt]

Hi everyone. My boyfriend and I have a trip planned in May and we definitely want a dining plan but were not sure which one.

If we get the regular dining plan, we will have to pay breakfast out of pocket and most likely snacks/drinks at the park since we only get 1 snack a day. Plus, for our TS meal which will be dinner, we don't get the appy which is usually the best part (i.e. cheddar soup at Le Cellier) which will cost us extra as well.

If we get the deluxe dining plan, we will DEFINITELY not use 3 TS meals a day. Most likely we will do 2CS and 1 TS or 1Cs and 2TS. BUT, we will never have to worry about paying for snacks or breakfast or anything really since we will always have meal or snack credits which means the only out of pocket expenses will be tips.

So my question is, what do you guys think? I believe that in the end, the money we pay out of pocket will equal the extra money for the deluxe dining plan. and we really want to be free in getting whatever food and snacks we want.

Ugh I'm so torn!!!! I wish there was a happy medium between deluxe and regular!

You have to scour the menus and do the math to make the best choice, but for your situation, I would say pay for breakfast and apps out of pocket. Breakfast is usually the cheapest meal of the day anyhow, and you may not always want apps. Additionally, unless you planned on factoring in refillable resort mugs, Signature meals, or all TS meals, you may end up with too much food, as you suggested. However, if you are doing more days than nights, it may be worth it to pay for DXDDP- for instance, we are doing 3 nights and 4 days in December, and can make that 9 meals per person last for 4 days, with a 2TS credit meal in the mix.

 

[Mila78]

...

 

[MissBritt]

How many days and nights will you be there? Any signature meals on your list?

 

[Colleen27]

We've used both the basic and deluxe plans, and this is my take - The difference isn't as much the quantity of food as the type of food.

Tha basic plan was always plenty of food for us. It just wasn't the way we want to eat on vacation. We don't really care for CS, not because of the food but because of the experience. We like to be seated and served rather than getting our own food and hunting for a table while carrying trays. We also prefer appetizers to desserts, which is another check in favor of the deluxe plan.

We use the deluxe plan for two TS meals per day, many of them signature dinners, and don't find it to be too much food. It is more flexible and gives us more options for eating the way we want, and makes our Disney trips feel all-inclusive.

 

[Mila78]

...

 

[aksivers]

We are going in January and doing the deluxe. We did the regular dining plan in September and it was enough. We paid OOP for 2 meals and some snacks. We are using the deluxe plan to see some shows and eat at CRT and Brown Deby which require two meal tickets. These are things that we would have not normally done due to the cost. Having them paid and booked in advance makes it easier for us.

 

[MissBritt]

So let's say 8 days in the parks, 7 nights of meal credits, 3 meals per day (any combo). That's 21 credits for 24 meals each. Go to 3 Signatures, and you have used up 6 meal credits each. So you have 15 meal credits to spread over 21 meals.

 

[Mila78]

...

 

[jkjjhuddle]

We have done both.

Last year we did the DxDDP. We will not be doing that again, but that is just us. It was too much food and we felt we were running from ADR to ADR just to look at our food and not eat. We were never hungry.

NOW.. that being said, if you are doing the signatures then you are going to be fine.(more than likely) Just stop eating and pass on dessert when you want.

We like the plan for the convience of having everything paid for, however we have decided the regular plan is just fine for out family at this time.

 

[ohlas]

Well we are going to stay at disney for 10 days but we arent always going to eat or be at disney so even thou i love apptizors more then dessert it better money wise to pay oop for app and snacks then pay for ddp even thou i love the 1.5 sit down break from the crazy go go lol

 

[aviva5675]

We did regular dining when appetizer was included. It worked well for us tho we paid OOP a few times, because we went to several signature restaurants.

This time we are doing deluxe. I like the idea of being able to have an appetizer included. The places we go will not change, but because we will do Blue Zoo one night it will allow us to do 2 siggie meals, cover all our lunches and breakfasts.

It does kill me tho to use a TS for breakfast. Other than paying oop for breakfast or using snack credit, and then finding other siggie meals, no way around it....

Just because there are that many TS available on DXDP doesnt mean you have to eat so much --- eat what you want, the cost is covered.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

We had the regular dining plan and it was too much food. We were there 8 nights and after the first day we had desserts boxed and often ate for breakfast. The last full day we had 4 snack credits left per person but somehow used. We have a 15 year old son and he was even full for once!

 

[ajpa]

we had desserts boxed and often ate for breakfast.

Oooh, dessert for breakfast! I love that idea!