Would you upgrade to Deluxe?

[OhioWDWDuo]

Hi All!

Our next trip is in December and we currently have the basic DDP. We usually do some meals OOP because we like to do at least 2 signatures. So I calculated what we would pay OOP and it's close to upgrading to the DxDDP. If you were in this situation, would you upgrade or would you just pay OOP? We've done DxDDP twice and liked it but haven't done it in awhile due to cost (and it's a lot of food).

We already have our ADRs so that will not be an issue.

Thanks so much!

 

[mickeynut1]

I just made a decision regarding upgrading the DDP after toying with it for a few weeks . We've only done the basic DDP, which has always been plenty of food for us .....but after doing the math, it would end up costing us just as much (if not more) in the end, to pay OOP for a few meals than it would to upgrade to the deluxe plan.....so needless to say I called the other day and upgraded . Plus we always get the refillable mugs so that's a plus as well since the mugs come with the DlxDDP . So my opinion is if it's close in price between the deluxe plan and paying OOP, I'd go for the deluxe plan .

 

[OhioWDWDuo]

I just made a decision regarding upgrading the DDP after toying with it for a few weeks . We've only done the basic DDP, which has always been plenty of food for us .....but after doing the math, it would end up costing us just as much (if not more) in the end, to pay OOP for a few meals than it would to upgrade to the deluxe plan.....so needless to say I called the other day and upgraded . Plus we always get the refillable mugs so that's a plus as well since the mugs come with the DlxDDP . So my opinion is if it's close in price between the deluxe plan and paying OOP, I'd go for the deluxe plan .

Thanks so much! I totally forgot about the refillable mugs! We always get them too, so that's another reason to push me toward the DxDDP.

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks so much! I totally forgot about the refillable mugs! We always get them too, so that's another reason to push me toward the DxDDP.

I hesitated upgrading because I was worried it would be too much food.....but it just made sense after doing all the math....not to mention getting the mugs which I kept forgetting about too . Plus I have 2 teenage boys who are always hungry so I'm sure they won't have any trouble using up all the extra snack credits . Have a great trip.....we are going in December too .

 

[vllygrrl]

Hi All!

Our next trip is in December and we currently have the basic DDP. We usually do some meals OOP because we like to do at least 2 signatures. So I calculated what we would pay OOP and it's close to upgrading to the DxDDP. If you were in this situation, would you upgrade or would you just pay OOP? We've done DxDDP twice and liked it but haven't done it in awhile due to cost (and it's a lot of food).

We already have our ADRs so that will not be an issue.

Thanks so much!

We just went through this debate - we're going with my parents and sister next summer. The choice was AKL with regular dining, or a cabin at Ft Wilderness with deluxe...my foodie family decided on deluxe - we'll do one regular and one signature meal a day, so that we're not spending all our time in restaurants. Another deciding factor was that the signature restaurants tend to have better meal options for kids...

 

[danielle782001]

We are trying the deluxe plan for the first time next trip because of the 2 credit dining as well. We have avoided a few places we have always wanted to eat because of the 2 credit issue. So we have decided next time we are going to those places we have not been. The mug is an extra bonus. 2 snacks is great because that means some extra snacks for the plane ride home and a drink with a snack if someone wants....AND best of all, NO OOP food this trip!

 

[Colleen27]

We've upgraded to DxDDP on every trip we've taken since it came out. For us, it isn't a matter of the basic plan being not enough food - it really is plenty. But it isn't the type of food we want on vacation, and we always end up either paying OOP for extra TS meals or limiting our TS meals to one per night and eating QS when we'd rather be sitting down to a nice TS lunch. And while Disney does offer some good QS choices, I just feel like the whole QS routine with 3 kids in tow is a hassle, rather than the relaxing break that we get from a TS lunch.

For us, the DxDDP means we can book character breakfasts even though we're not big breakfast eaters because it isn't our only sit-down meal for the day. We can enjoy signature dinners most nights. The mugs that we buy anyway (we'd buy 3 OOP, on theplan we get 4) are included. The snacks/treats we bring home for the kids' friends are covered. And appetizers are covered, which is a biggie since we're much more interested in appetizers than desserts at about 90% of restaurants. We love it, and at this point the basic plan isn't even a consideration any more. We run the numbers for DxDDP vs OOP vs AP upgrade/TiW, but the basic DDP is such a poor fit for the way we eat on vacation that we don't give it any thought.

 

[CarissaDance]

So glad to read this thread. Planning our first trip with 3 children for next fall and had been debating which plan to do. I think the DDP is right for us too, especially after reading some of your posts.

 

[DVC Tina]

We just got back from a week at Disney last evening and we had the deluxe dining plan. I must say - We LOVED it!
It allowed us to do many signature meals, character meals, and dinner shows that we wouldn't have done otherwise.

I will say it was a TON of food.

I also kept all of the receipts for what we would have paid OOP and I compared it to what we paid for the Deluxe Dining Plan and the plan for us was by far a better deal.

Tina

 

[princesspeach]

I read on another thread that you only need to use 2/3 of your credits to break even on the plan. If your happy with breaking even I think its a great way to prepay for your food. Trying to use every credit would stress me out. I just can't eat that much.( I was editing not sure how that thumbs down got on my post I would give the dxdp a thumbs up)

 

[CarissaDance]

We just got back from a week at Disney last evening and we had the deluxe dining plan. I must say - We LOVED it!
It allowed us to do many signature meals, character meals, and dinner shows that we wouldn't have done otherwise.

I will say it was a TON of food.

I also kept all of the receipts for what we would have paid OOP and I compared it to what we paid for the Deluxe Dining Plan and the plan for us was by far a better deal.

Tina

Yes, thats kind of what we figured. Our kids eat a ton and we really want to do many character meals and still be able to have a TS dinner later. Our 10 yr old will be 11 1/2 by then and he already is eating us under the table lol.

 

[JimmyV]

For us, it comes down to the time of year that we go. If the Parks are open late, we tend to stick with the DDP, as it is hard to pull the kid (and me) out of a Park for a nice, sit-down, signature meal, especially if it is hot and muggy, and we have to shower and change before going out to dinner. So in hotter months when the Parks run longer hours, we tend to eat caually much of the time and have a nice, signature meal only on days when we do not go a Park, or when we go to AK (which always closes early enough for a shower, change of clothes and a trip to a nice restauant). When we go during "off" times when the Parks close early, we tend to do nice, TS signature meals far more often, and then upgrade to the DxDP.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

we are going DXDDP b/c we like to eat at signature meals and my son loves character meals and he doesn't like the selection of CS.

 

[Cafeen]

I read on another thread that you only need to use 2/3 of your credits to break even on the plan. If your happy with breaking even I think its a great way to prepay for your food. Trying to use every credit would stress me out. I just can't eat that much.( I was editing not sure how that thumbs down got on my post I would give the dxdp a thumbs up)

Yep, 2/3 is a good number to shoot for, both mathematically and in practice.

I just got back from my DxDDP trip and, while calculating out the cost vs savings, broke even right at the 2/3 credits spent (only 1 CS in that group). Of course, I had figured this out beforehand too, but it was nice to see the same point from both theory and practice.

I did finish with 3 credits unused, but I definitely got my money's worth (still have to enter the last 4 meals into my spreadsheet to see the difference, but without those (Jiko, San Angel Inn, Hacienda de San Angel, and The Plaza), I'm already up by $27 (ok, not much, but 3 relatively expensive meals should make up for it ).

 

[princess-rn]

I would upgrade..for two reasons really. 1. Everyone will get the refillable mug. 2. You can try more of the "signature resturants" that take 2 TS.

 

[OhioWDWDuo]

Thanks to everyone for your responses! I was leaning toward upgrading to DxDDP and your excellent points have made up my mind! Now all I need to do is convince DH...