Yep- another club level vs Deluxe dining thread:)

[Kebby]

Hi all


Right now I have the option to book cl at the poly for 8 nights with DDP fir the sane price as a standard room at poly with the deluxe.

We are a family if 6, two adults and kids 8,5,3 and 18 mos. my kids are early risers.

Here is what our schedule looks like now and my ADRs. Tell me what you think!

Dec 4- arrive. Chef mickeys dinner
Dec 5- resort day. Ohanas b fast, BBB 3 pm and then T-Rex dinner( could do earl if sandwich)
Dec 6- MK. 840CP, BOG lunch. 1900 park fare dinner
Dec 7- EP. Noon- via Napoli. CP dinner package Rose and Crown
Dec 8- 1900 park fare b fast. Resort day. MVMCP night ( dinner at plaza)
Dec 9- CRT b fast. Resort hopping to see x mas decor. Ohana dinner
Dec 10- AK. Tusker house 8 am. Flame tree lunch. Dinner 50s PT and Osborne lights
Dec 11- HS. Hollywood and vine breakfast. CS lunch, then BOG dinner at MK

 

[momtobrynncess]

Hi all


Right now I have the option to book cl at the poly for 8 nights with DDP fir the sane price as a standard room at poly with the deluxe.

We are a family if 6, two adults and kids 8,5,3 and 18 mos. my kids are early risers.

Here is what our schedule looks like now and my ADRs. Tell me what you think!

Dec 4- arrive. Chef mickeys dinner
Dec 5- resort day. Ohanas b fast, BBB 3 pm and then T-Rex dinner( could do earl if sandwich)
Dec 6- MK. 840CP, BOG lunch. 1900 park fare dinner
Dec 7- EP. Noon- via Napoli. CP dinner package Rose and Crown
Dec 8- 1900 park fare b fast. Resort day. MVMCP night ( dinner at plaza)
Dec 9- CRT b fast. Resort hopping to see x mas decor. Ohana dinner
Dec 10- AK. Tusker house 8 am. Flame tree lunch. Dinner 50s PT and Osborne lights
Dec 11- HS. Hollywood and vine breakfast. CS lunch, then BOG dinner at MK

Obviously you have quite a few adr's scheduled. So if you changed to CL/DP, you would be ok with paying OOP for the remainder of your adr's that would not be covered under the DDP? I think with all those adr's I would stick with DDP.

 

[Robbi]

Is this a first trip for your kids? There are a lot of adrs and that will limit fun time in the parks. When mine were young, they wanted to eat as quickly as possible and get back to the rides, shows, etc. I know this is not part of your OP but I'd cut out the adrs to 1 or at most 2/day- breakfast and dinner.

 

[jcjen519]

i would do cl with the reg. dining plan. i would actually do cl and then pay oop because i would not be able to do the dining plan in addition to cl unless i was not going to eat any of the food in the lounge.

if you want to do the dining plan though....i would do cl and reg. there are lots of cl benefits that make it well worth it in my opinion.

sounds like a fun visit either way!

 

[MissionMouse]

We have only stayed at the PR CL MK View, so we would select CL with DDP. We are not a fan of the DDP since we mainly dine TS. We find the DDP provides us things we do not use, but CL food offerings are far from what they use to be too. The only concern I would have is what you true schedule is based upon your daily ADRs. How much time will actually be at the resort during hour the CL provides their limited food offerings? CL value has decline over the years, even more with the on-line application allowing you to make your own ADRs eliminating the IPO CM error factor, but CL works good with pool time, especially at the PR. It works great for an appetizer/alcoholic beverage prior to a nearby TS dining experience. Overall, PR is also nice with events like MVMCP..to get there and to get back using one of the transportation options.

 

[jperrot1]

With your family makeup I think that Poly Club Level would make your stay so much more convenient. You'll have a lounge that will always have sodas and snacks available for you and your kids and it will be right in your building. Just imagine coming back to your resort for that afternoon break and not having to go back to your room for the refillable cups. Just go back to your building and walk through the lounge and grab a snack/drink. Just imagine waking up in the morning and walking down your hallway to get breakfast and you are eating breakfast with the view of the magic kingdom castle.

OK. If you decide to do Club Level, I would suggest to change your character breakfasts to lunch or dinner. Now, I usually suggest when staying CL to just make any dining plans you think you will like and not look at the CL lounge as a loss if you don't show up for their offerings. I always suggest for people to do whatever they would usually do, and when you're on break at your resort, that is the time you enjoy the CL lounge. But....... in your case with your family makeup of younger ones, I just think you (and your whole family) would appreciate those CL breakfasts. It's very magical and convenient.

 

[tarak]

I would stay CL and pay for meals OOP. And I would only schedule one TS per day, if that. The first trip we took to WDW as a family of five, I was caught up in having us do everything. We were on the deluxe dining plan. We hit as many character meals as we could and it just stopped being special for my kids. Too much scheduling made us all miserable. We were just going, going, going.

If you've paid for the dining plan, you'll likely not want to cancel anything because you'll have paid for the food already. If you're paying OOP and you decide by day two it's too much, you can cancel the reservation and not be out any money. If you're staying at the Poly, make time to see Wishes from the beach. I don't know if the Poly has s'mores by the pool. If so, kids usually love that. And the pool is heated. So even if it's cooler in December (we took a trip that time of year and it was in the 80s the first part of the week and in the 60s by the end of the trip), you'll probably be able to swim.

 

[Kebby]

Thanks so much for all of the replies.

This is our first visit with all four kids, but my husband and I and my eldest have been twice before and both times were on the deluxe dining plan. I do like it, and we are not the commando types which is why I looked at it again for this trip.

However, I see all your points. I especially don't think that my 18 mos old will be happy to sit in three restaurants a day. THe biggest thing now is I have my hubby on board for club level, but not my parents. I was hoping to have them in the room next to me to help if need be... but not sure I can pass up this amazing deal!!

 

[tarak]

We're not commando park folks, either. We like to be leisurely at the parks. Our kids are 10, 8, 5, and 17 months. Pretty close to your kids, which is why I chimed in. I don't think you will regret CL at all. It's my favorite way to stay, but my husband's favorite resort is AKL, and at this point we'd have to get two rooms or a one BR suite. Or I have to convince him to try BWI and a deluxe room.

Have you been to the parks for the holidays? It's amazing. My kids were totally enchanted. And it looks like the Osborne lights might be going away if the rumors about a Star Wars expansion are true.

 

[bethclayton]

i have stayed poly CL and i completely agree with those who recommended ditching the deluxe dining and staying CL, particularly with your kids' ages. the convenience of having snacks and drinks available nearly 24/7 will be great, seeing the castle from the lounge is priceless, and i honestly think all those sit down meals will be too much for the two youngest. also- we stayed at the poly CL in december and it was a freak thing, it ended up being freezing- watching wishes from the warmth and comfort of the lounge (and yummy food and drink, to boot) was worth its weight in gold.

 

[i_heart_the_mouse]

I completely agree with everything tarak said. My kids are 10, 8, 7 and 2, and at this point CL and dining OOP is the best way to travel with my crew!

We especially love Poly CL.

 

[Ofinn]

Three years ago I would have said deluxe dining plan hands down. The price of the dining plans have gotten outrageous. I don't think they're a good deal at all. I would go with Club level and pay OOP.

 

[juliebug1997]

Thanks so much for all of the replies.

This is our first visit with all four kids, but my husband and I and my eldest have been twice before and both times were on the deluxe dining plan. I do like it, and we are not the commando types which is why I looked at it again for this trip.

However, I see all your points. I especially don't think that my 18 mos old will be happy to sit in three restaurants a day. THe biggest thing now is I have my hubby on board for club level, but not my parents. I was hoping to have them in the room next to me to help if need be... but not sure I can pass up this amazing deal!!

I can't see being able to make enough out of a meal to do CL to get out of not having to pay for a meal. Plus, there doesn't seem to be much more than pastries at breakfast and I need some protein so that breakfast will last more than two hours. I just don't see the value of CL. Also be aware that your youngest will be free!

 

[juliebug1997]

Also, do you plan on spending a lot more time at your resort? To me, CL is only going to make sense for a family that is going to spend a fair amount of time at the resort.

 

[Kebby]

We will have a full resort day the day after we arrive, and then a resort day before MVMCP and one the day after- which we may use as a water park day actually. Plus going back to the resort every afternoon for kids naps et.

This is so hard to decide! With the deluxe dining we get 80 snack credits between the kids and us. That's a lot of snacks we can get them instead of club level offerings. However, I am not sure that beats the convenience of being able to just walk down the hall to get milk or snacks. Also, we are going in December, and I do like the idea of a nice, warm spot to watch wishes.