Why Does Disney Force Me To Do the Deluxe Dining Plan?

[DisneyFamily123]

The never ending question... Why does Disney "force" me to go with the deluxe plan?

We thought we might change some of our restaurants to quick service and go with the regular plan this year, especially since we are staying at a value resort and paying for 1 dinner (T-Rex) that's not on the DDP. And the $608 it will cost us to upgrade to Deluxe could be used to pay for some of our meals or other things. But Disney has me hooked on deluxe dining again!!!

Here's the cost breakdown for 2 adults and 1 child for 8 nights.
$608 Cost to upgrade from regular DDP to Deluxe DDP

• -$66 Minus value of 24 more snacks x $2.75 each. We definitely could use these for drinks and frozen colas (hot in Sept) and at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival
• -$28 We would buy 2 refillable resort mugs. These are included in the deluxe plan. Actually 3 mugs are included, but I really only need 2. DS doesn't drink soda.
• -$88 Cost to pay for breakfast at Pop 5 mornings. If on the deluxe plan, we would be at character meals. Would use quick service for lunch, not breakfast if on the regular plan.
• -$67 Cost to pay for appetizers at 3 or 4 restaurants if on the regular plan. Deluxe plan includes appetizers.

So, $608 minus all the above = $359. That's the "real" cost of going deluxe. OK... $359 saved is money in the pocket... But what would we get for that if we go deluxe?

• Get to do 5 character breakfasts instead of quick service at Pop. Now, I love the chocolate chip pancakes at the value resorts... and that would be fine for me... but the character meals are fun for DS... OK, I'll admit I like the character meals too.
• Get to go to 6 more restaurants instead of quick service (Citricos, Brown Derby Fantasmic Package, Flying Fish, Flying Fish again, Spirit of Aloha, Tony's). We like Flying Fish...and the signature restaurants.
• Plus appetizers at those restaurants.

The Dollar Value of DDP vs. Deluxe DDP
Using last year's figures... the average dollar value (cost if not on any dining plan) of our table service meals was $157 for signature dinner, $69 for character meals, and $92 for others. That's for 2 adults and 1 child, with appetizers. So......If we did the regular DDP, I figure the dollar value for 8TS, 8QS, and the snacks is $1019. And if we did the deluxe DDP, the dollar value for 16TS, snacks, and the mugs is $2086. The difference is $1067. And going deluxe costs $608 more.

My 2010 Deluxe Dining Plan Savings Analysis

 

[OllieDannyandMe]

they are doing the same thing to me every trip.

It's even worse for me. I would actually spend the same amount of money for LESS food going OOP (or with the regular Dining Plan and additional meals OOP), as I would going with the Deluxe Dining Plan. I do not need that much food, but I like to splurge and try all of the different experiences on vacation, because we rarely eat at restaurants during the year.

It's just me and my DD (7), so for us to go Deluxe, it is about $100 per day. Well, we do a character breakfast every morning, and then, either a table service for both lunch and dinner OR a signature at dinner (and skip lunch). By the time I factor in snacks, I have paid for the Deluxe Dining Plan, so I might as well get it.

If I didn't have the Deluxe Dining Plan, I would never order dessert and never miss it. But I might as well order it and have a bite, since it is on the plan. And I must say, it is nice to have one bite of something sweet at the end of the meal.

The two of us could probably get by on $50 per day, instead of $100, but then we would miss all of the character breakfasts and Sci-Fi and 50s Primetime and Hoop Dee Doo and Marrakesh and Biergarten and Coral Reef. And I do not want to give those experiences up! So Deluxe Dining Plan it is for us!

 

[3pletprincesses]

They have done it for us in May and will doing this to us again in august. However don't forget to factor in the fact that it will cost you way mroe in tips too. the more TS, the more tip money but despite that we wlove the Deluxe plan. we love not having to worry about buying anything and have pretty much everything included that we want. We only spend a few more $$ for a drink each during dinner and othe then that , we had too many snacks credits that we enjoyed spending on the last day to bring a bit of the magic back home.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

I love deluxe too. We tried 3 TS meals a day before and we don't like it, but I am a 3 meal a day person and we love character breakfasts and Epcot restaurants. I like having a relaxing sit down breakfast and a nice dinner. We usually do CS for lunch or use our snack credits on signature dining nights (sometimes we'll do Planet Hollywood though). We still make out ahead though.

 

[Wendy5055]

It is also just my dd9 and myself...I often bring my mother along on our trips. We have been getting the DlxDP for a few years now.

My dd9 enjoys hot cocoa in the room after swimming...so we definately use her mug.

We also do 3 ts meals per day...an early character breakfast before parks open, lunch in the parks (a nice break from the heat) and dinner around 7:30pm. It works very nicely for us.

 

[aubriee]

I too love the DxDDP. I do not care for most counter service restaurants, so for the last several years have pretty much gotten the DxDDP and used it for an early TS lunch, then did a 2 credit Signature restaurant dinner. It's still too much food though as I have trouble eating an appetizer, entree, and dessert every meal. Sometimes I just want a couple of appetizers and I don't really want to eat at a Signature restaurant every night, plus there are some restaurants that don't accept the DDP that I haven't been able to eat at in years. I am also not a snacker, so always have almost all my snack credits to use up on my last day.

Consequently I am breaking the DxDP trend for my next two trips. I picked places I really wanted to eat at and then added up what I really wanted to eat at each restaurant. I refuse to skimp on vacation and always order exactly what I'm in the mood for. If I get the TiW card I can order exactly what I want and get to dine at places that don't accept the DDP. The price will be just a little more than the basic DDP, but alot less than the DxDDP. For my Sept trip I plan on eating only one CS meal and the rest will TS. I am not a breakfast eater and will be following my usual pattern of eating an early TS lunch and a TS dinner (two of which will be Signature restaurants). I'll also be eating at Portobello Club, T Rex, House of Blues, Fultons, and Kimonos--which I wouldn't be able to if I was on the DxDDP. I like to have my meals paid for in advance though, so have bought Disney gift cards to pay for my meals and tips. I think that the TiW will work out better for me than either the DDP or DxDDP, since I really want to eat somewhere in between the two.