Thoughts?

[amykissangel]

Has anyone ever done the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan and NOT thought they had way too much food?

I'm curious, as for our honeymoon in August of 2011, we want to eat at some nice places, and I know that getting the DDDP allows you to eat at some great signature restaurants. I just don't know if it's worth it.

We're thinking:

Tutto Italia - 1
Via Napoli - Not on plan
Victoria and Alberts - Not on plan
California Grill - 2
Yachtsman Steakhouse - 2
Sci Fi - 1
Le Cellier - 2
GF Cafe - 1
Liberty Tree - 1
Chef Mickey's - 1
Boma - 1

That's 11 meals - we will be there for 8 days, and I know I could throw in a Jiko, Citricos, Artist Point, etc. but I don't want to make our trip so dependant on reservations that we don't have any spontenaity. Even the above list is at least one TS per day. I just don't know what the heck I'd do with 24 meals.

Thoughts??

 

[wide-eyed2wdw]

I have wondered the same thing.

I love the idea of getting the Deluxe Dining Plan and using it for signature dining. I also thought it would be a good idea to have a nice breakfast (buffet at Crystal Palace), a lite lunch (if any) and then some signature dining at night.

Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. Hope your honeymoon is spectacular! :sohappy:

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

amykissangel, I am so glad you started this thread. DH and I sat down to think about places we like to eat one night. There are one, maybe two, counter services that we really like. That's it. The food (except for Sunshine Seasons) is really junky and mediocre at best. I honestly can see the DxDP as the better option all the way around. You get real food 2-3 times per day depending on your habits and preferences. I am not a real breakfast person, but sometimes I really enjoy it. I prefer a good lunch and late dinner, especially at the World. We eat lunch sometime in the afternoon and dinner when it is late (like 6:30,7ish). That leaves us time after lunch to do some non-park things when the crowds and heat are bad. Then, after dinner, we take advantage of EMH. Anyway, to answer your question, I think it could be okay. I used to be opposed to it, but I am not the more I think about it.

 

[mickeysshoes]

We use the Deluxe plan and really like it. By the end of the week are by passing on food but we always feel like we get our monies worth. And if your getting the regular plan for free and only paying for the upgrade, like we have done for the past 2 years, it even more worth it. We tend to not eat 3 meals aday anyway. But going in August and being hot we like to use some of the snack credit for a muffin or fruit in the AM with a juice or water. Have late morning lunch when it starts to get hot and then a later dinner. I really wish they would make a meal bank that if you had extra credit you could donate them for like Make A Wish or something. We had a couple left and would have given them in a heart beat!!!

 

[beanbunny]

We use the Deluxe plan and really like it. By the end of the week are by passing on food but we always feel like we get our monies worth. And if your getting the regular plan for free and only paying for the upgrade, like we have done for the past 2 years, it even more worth it. We tend to not eat 3 meals aday anyway. But going in August and being hot we like to use some of the snack credit for a muffin or fruit in the AM with a juice or water. Have late morning lunch when it starts to get hot and then a later dinner. I really wish they would make a meal bank that if you had extra credit you could donate them for like Make A Wish or something. We had a couple left and would have given them in a heart beat!!!

Just a heads up, we just got back from a 3 week trip & while we were there, knew we could not possibly eat all of our meals. So, on several different occasions, I "treated" the people ahead of me in line with a free meal. The cast members knew exactly what I was doing & never said it was against the rules. BTW, I was not the only one doing it. We were just "spreading the wealth"! Everyone was happy!

 

[Tomi-Rocket]

It was suggested to me to do more Signature Meals. We, too, found on our last trip in which we did the DDP that it was SO MUCH FOOD. Each time another reservation came up none of us were really hungry yet but we didn't want to hope we could get a table later on and we didn't was to go to CS. So, I learned (as I learn something new on each trip) !. To NOT eat a buffet breakfast almost every day! and 2. To make our reservations as far apart as possible. Then I got the suggestion to do more SMs. We'll use one of our snack options for either a light breakfast or lunch on the days we do a SM. I'm almost positive that's what we'll do next year when we go. We've never done a SM before anyway so that should be interesting.

 

[mickeysshoes]

Just a heads up, we just got back from a 3 week trip & while we were there, knew we could not possibly eat all of our meals. So, on several different occasions, I "treated" the people ahead of me in line with a free meal. The cast members knew exactly what I was doing & never said it was against the rules. BTW, I was not the only one doing it. We were just "spreading the wealth"! Everyone was happy!

We talked about doing that...thanks for the heads up that we can do that. I will be sure to do that next time!!! :wave:

 

[Dis4us]

Deluxe Dinning Plan

Congratulations on your up coming wedding. We had the Deluxe Plan a few years ago and it really was way to much food. We felt all we were doing on our trip was running around to our dinning reservations. It was way to much food. We now just use the regular dinning plan.:animwink:

 

[britlightyear]

We did the deluxe dining plan for 2 of our trips and while it was a lot of food, the thing I noticed most was that we spent what felt like half our vacation either in restaurants or waiting to be seated. I mean, going to 3 sit down meals a day takes up a lot of time that I would rather spend riding rides or heck, even sleeping in.
So for our trip this past January we just did the regular dining plan and it really honestly seemed like we had more time to do things and weren't always scheduling our days around when we had to be at whatever restaurant for our ADR's.

 

[NeriBeri]

I'm not sure this is in your budget, but we're doing the Premium Plan again. We've done this option in the past for the signature restaurant meals and the package additions like Cirque and it worked out great.

One of the things that I love about the plan is that room service is included. Having a light breakfast delivered to the room is a great, non-filling way to start the day w/o having to worry about making ADRs.

I wouldn't worry about the DxDDP being too much food. Just don't clean your plate! It also helps if you make sure your lunch reservations early in the day and your dinner reservations later.

And congratulations on your upcoming wedding and honeymoon.

 

[_Scar]

Wow, that's quite a bit of food!

I'd do 8 nights DDP and just do a signature or two and use credits for the rest. 2+ restarants in a day may be too much.

Also, if you don't have enough credits- go to a cheaper place for lunch. GF Cafe for lunch isn't expensive at all, which is where I ate at on my last trip and loved it!

Either way, you're eating great food! Good luck with your decision!

 

[Cindy'sBruno]

DH and I always use the regular DP and that seems to be enough food for us. We also choose not to get the PH because running back and forth between the different parks is just too much for us and a toddler. So grabbing a quick, early breakfast(at the resort or whatever food we choose to bring with us from home), an early QS lunch, and then a TS meal at night seems to be perfect for my family.

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

I hate CS meals. Sunshine Seasons is the only one I like. We also go in summer so the days are longer due to EMH and later general hours. DxDP might work for us based on our preferences. We like either a good breakfast or early lunch and later dinner. We found that eating CS was a matter of forcing ourselves and would pay out of pocket to get away from them and do TS breakfast. We honestly may not have even broken even with regular DDP in June because we just hate CS so much. Anyway, my advice is look at your family's habits at home. Do they like fast food enough to eat it each day for at least one meal? If not, you either need to do DxDP or get an AP and Tables in Wonderland card.

There are some wonderful Signatures that make the DxDP worth a look.

 

[ErickainPA]

I just wanted to say a good CS we found and really enjoy is Riverside's create your own pasta dish.