WWYD? Concierge Level or Dining Plan???

[~pixiedust~]

We are trying to decide when/where/what perks/etc... to stay when we go to Disney next year (the plan is not definate yet, just in the planning stage). We were thinking of staying concierge level with the dining plan. We stayed club level with dining plan in 2005 when we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. We did feel like it was a little overkill with the food doing it that way. So now the question is which to choose??? We love the dining plan and we love club level but need to give up one. Which would you choose???? Any input would be greatly appreciated!!! We will be going in June and will be staying deluxe. We will be traveling with our 3 children (7yrs old, 5 yrs old and 4-5 months old)

~Lisa

 

[cara loves the poly]

I've chosen to go with club level. I think with the dining plan it would be soooo much food. With club level you don't have to worry about breakfast. Snacks are provided, wine and beer too. Along with the other perks concierge offers. With the dining plan, we would be paying for a few of our dinners out of pocket anyway, so for us it's not worth it. Good luck with your decision!

 

[werfamily]

I would absolutely pick the dining plan. With concierge, you have to be at the hotel at certain times to get the full benefit. The dining plan is much more flexible. I also hate the free-for-all feelings of most concierge lounges.

 

[firsttimemom]

We chose the CL over DDP for our trip this coming January. I think both would be a bit much, foodwise and I felt that having the DDP limited some of our flexibility when we tried it last year. DD just turned 10, so we'd be paying adult prices for her.

 

[gigi1313]

now that the dining plan has eliminated appetizers, the "overkill" on too much food is almost "gone" imo... we're considering going w/either the deluxe dining plan or base plus concierge...

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

For my family that's easy--the dining plan. Some people say it's 'too much food' but I don't see that. If you eat three (3) meals a day at home, why is eating at Disney any different?

Club level has its 'perks' but not enough for me to choose it over a lagoon view at this time. The 'snacks' aren't that much value to us and as for the IPO office--I'm so Type A that I make all my own ADRs and don't like giving up that much control. LOL!

 

[micmacmissy]

Is the cost the same? If so, you'd get better bang for your buck with the dining plan.

But, I personally enjoy the concierge level...I'm spoiled that way...so unless they were the same price, i'd go with concierge.

And with little ones, you're in the hotel more...it's nice to have the option of food/snacks/drinks...

 

[kgc07]

We choose to go with CL. We have a 4 year old and tend to spend time at the resort. We don't enjoy eating huge meals every night in the heat, so the dining plan for us is too much food. We are also wine drinkers and since the dining plan doesn't include wine, CL is better for us.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I've chosen to go with club level. I think with the dining plan it would be soooo much food. With club level you don't have to worry about breakfast. Snacks are provided, wine and beer too. Along with the other perks concierge offers. With the dining plan, we would be paying for a few of our dinners out of pocket anyway, so for us it's not worth it. Good luck with your decision!

I agree with what Cara said, for pretty much the same reasons.

Besides that with my family we are not the type who like to make their ADR's at 180 days out, because sometimes our plans always change. Plus we have found that we can make full meals of food they offer at 5:00 PM in the lounges and other times we like to eat at various off site restaurants. Finally in while WDW the only sit down restaurant we go to is the Rainforest Cafe at DTD and various cs locations like Earl of Sandwich.

 

[MissionMouse]

...We will be traveling with our 3 children (7yrs old, 5 yrs old and 4-5 months old)~Lisa

We find the club to be a meal for children of this age and at restaurants if you order anything for them most of the time they eat just a little, so we find not being on the dining plan to be the better deal. It also allows you to select anything for them or even share items if it is not a buffet/character meal.

 

[pyrxtc]

I say go with the dining plan. I made the same mistake of doing both last December and although the concierge was nice and I would do it again, I like to try the restaraunts in the parks too much and the dining plan would definately be cheaper. I didn't think it was too much food, you only order what you will eat and we only eat twice a day while down there for some reason so it was plenty for us. Wiht the protions, my DH and I even were able to split CS meals up and I'm sure you could do that easily enough to ahve meals for your whole vacation.

 

[ducklite]

A few thoughts...

In order to partake in the offerings, you ahve to actually be there. That can mean that your day in the parks is disrupted to get back to the resort to snack.

The CL offerings are not meant as a meal replacement with the exception of breakfast--and I've seen far too many people go hog wild and eat like there's no tomorrow making dinner out of a few finger foods, unfortunately leaving nothing left for others. You'll easily be able to make a meal of the offerings for your little ones--if they are things your kids will eat, and you can't count on that.

I think you need to look at how you normally spnd your days in the parks and how much time (and when) you are at the resort. CL offerings have been cut back pretty significantly over the years, so it's no longer the deal it once was. You are paying for service, not food.

The nice thing about CL is the convenience for breakfast with little ones.

I think if it were me I'd probably go with the meal plan as a better value. JMHO.

 

[iloveeeyore]

Hi, pixiedust!

Interesting dilemma! We have done both CL and DP, but at different times, and as we travel in August usually, we had special deals and received both for free. After much consideration and discussion, here's our "take".

We found that CL was nice for the ADRs (we thought we got better seating and service at the restaurants and dinner shows than if we had made those ADRs ourselves, though that just may have been coincidence) and the breakfast offerings (we are no longer interested in eating breakfast at restaurants, as we feel it detracts from our valuable park touring time and is way too much food in the am anyway, so that light continental "free" service is a good option). And we enjoyed the unlimited beverages (coffee, soda, juice). We liked the idea of the appetizers and wine, however, we found that we were only at the resort 1 out of 7 nights to actually take advantage of that service. Other than breakfast, we hardly used the lounge at all. It would have been nice, but just didn't find the time. Since we can make our own ADRs, pick up quick roll or muffin in the am on the go, and purchase refillable mugs for unlimited coffee and soft drinks at a much more reasonable price than concierge, ultimately we decided that if we had to pay for it, it just wouldn't be worth it for us personally. Having said that, if money were no object, pampering ourselves with concierge services would make a beautiful kind of treat. And if we spent less time at the parks, we'd take more advantage of the lounge. How does your family do WDW?

Now our thoughts on DDP. We thought it was GREAT...for free. We did the math and found that if we had paid for the DDP, we would have made out just a bit better than the "break even" mark over 7 nights, and that was when appetizers and tips were included, which they no longer are. I would make a plan of where you intend to eat and what dishes you are likely to order, and then plug in all the numbers, and see if it makes financial sense for your family. DH and I decided we would definitely accept an offer to do it again for free, but if we had to pay for it, we'd be better off just doing OOP and forgetting about managing the credits and thinking about getting our money's worth. BTW, we LOVE to dine at the nice restaurants, eat TS at least once per day, including at least one signature experience per trip, and found the dining credits relatively easy to manage.

Direct answer to your question, I'd say splurge on concierge; we see more "value" in the luxuries provided by CL services than in the DDP. Afterall, if you pay for DDP and not CL, you CANNOT use the CL services, but if you pay for CL but not DDP, you CAN still enjoy the restaurants you choose!

 

[wdwluver]

As much as I love concierge, I would choose the dining plan. It is just a better value for your money. Who cares whether it's too much food. You eat what you want, and give up what you don't want. I'm a bacon and eggs breakfast person and the concierge lounge just doesn't supply that. How many bagels and donuts can you eat? It's just not for me if I had to choose between the two.

I enjoyed staying concierge at the Poly and agree it is definitely overkill and a waste of money since we were to tempted by the appetizers offered in the evening that we were often not hungry for our dinner.

You get a feeling of exclusivity when staying on concierge level, but a lot of the offerings, besides the lounge, can be gotten by visiting the concierge downstairs. I can buy my own extra snacks and drinks if needed, and not for $100 bucks per night.

 

[3for Me]

As a PP mentioned, I think one of the best things to do is look at your vacation style. With three small kids it will certainly be easier to just grab a light breakfast from the CL in the morning. Also, if you will be coming back to your resort for an afternoon nap/break you will likely be there during the early evening offerings.

Our family LOVED the dining plan, until they changed it! We will not be using it for the first time this year as we don't think it's a good value for our style of dining anymore.

That said, we would not reap the full benefits of concierge either as I am WAY too controlling to let someone else make my ADR's.

Again, I think it boils down to your families personal style and needs.

Good luck and let us know what you decided to do and why. I am really interested in everyone's responses here as they are all so well thought out!

 

[Cass]

I would take the club level over the dining plan. Makes for a more relaxing enjoyable holiday IMO

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The CL offerings are not meant as a meal replacement with the exception of breakfast--and I've seen far too many people go hog wild and eat like there's no tomorrow making dinner out of a few finger foods, unfortunately leaving nothing left for others.

Based on what I have seen once the Resorts Club Level lounges are starting to run low on the two hot items they serve everyday at 5:00 PM, they are very fast in putting out new portions and which happens a lot until 7:00 PM when they take them away. So I am not sure how there was nothing left over for other guests, if the food always gets replaced. Maybe those guests just did not want to wait, but I am just saying what I have personally saw.

 

[ducklite]

Based on what I have seen once the Resorts Club Level lounges are starting to run low on the two hot items they serve everyday at 5:00 PM, they are very fast in putting out new portions and which happens a lot until 7:00 PM when they take them away. So I am not sure how there was nothing left over for other guests, if the food always gets replaced. Maybe those guests just did not want to wait, but I am just saying what I have personally saw.

I've seen them run out at several of the resorts--and there was no waiting, there was nothing left. I think it's incredibly rude to take heaping plates full of what is meant as an appetizer--a few pieces to nibble on as opposed to a full dinner, especially when others might not get any or have to wait as a result.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I've seen them run out at several of the resorts--and there was no waiting, there was nothing left. I think it's incredibly rude to take heaping plates full of what is meant as an appetizer--a few pieces to nibble on as opposed to a full dinner, especially when others might not get any or have to wait as a result.

I find it weird the lounges would run out of food, although I guess since that is what you seen I can't doubt you.

 

[jewelmicky]

We had the same dilema....fortunately for us CL is unavailable for our stay in Feb...so choice was made for us.
We added the Meal Plan instead. I can pick up a bottle of wine at the Convenience Store and sit on my Balcony and enjoy it...if I get the requested Tokelau Longhouse that is!

We made ADR's for all our dinners with only one Breakfast the Ohana...we will p/u a box of cereal, milk, juice, bagels cream cheese, donuts, etc.....every room has a frig.
We believe in the START EARLY plan....and will spend afernoons at the resort...most counter service is pretty much the same IMHO.