Platinum Plan

[WDFAN1977]

I have heard alot of positive and negative on this Dream Maker Package from different reviews I have read on the Net. I am now hoping to hear from some people on this wonderful forum about there experience with the Platinum Plan. My wife and I are starting to plan are WDW vacation for July 05 and considering the Platinum Plan. Any help on Pros and Cons would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lauriebar]

Hey!! Welcome to the boards!!

The best advise I can give you about whether or not to book a package instead of purchasing tickets and hotel reservations seperatly is do your research!! Sit down and figure up the costs of the meals you will be having, the water parks you want to visit, if you will go to Disney Quest etc. If you purchase a package, take advantage of it and eat at the finer and more expensive restaurants, go to the water parks and DQ. We have found that for us it is cheaper to do things without a plan because we don't need the Ultimate Park Hopper and while we eat at the nicer places it is still cheaper to pay it out of pocket.

Hope you have a great time!!

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Like Lauriebar said, it's all in the planning.

We've used the Silver Plan twice. And if you want the add-on plans to be worth it, you really must eat in the finner restaurants. You also must use the recreational offers too. Golf, tours, spas. If you do not, then you are just giving you're money away to Disney with no value at all in return.

If you'd take some advice, look at all the price breaks on all the possiable ways to buy. Tickets, hotel reservations, packages, and the add-ons Silver, Gold and Platinum.

And if you are staying in a deluxe on conciege level, but still want everything paid for, look to Gold or Silver, 'cos some of what you get on Platinum comes with a deluxe conciege room as part of the room cost. Don't want to pay for something twice do ya? :animwink:

Have fun, and keep asking questions. Oh, and don't forget about the discount codes too.

 

[jordanyosh]

Welcome to WDWMagic.

A few years ago,we did a version of what is now the Silver Plan. We found that we got our money's worth. However, we focused using our plan for dining. It was nice not having to worry about money.

For the Gold or Platinum Plan, you have to look at your length of stay and amount of time you plan on spending in the theme parks. If the emphasis of your vacation is to maximize use of your Plan (i.e. Spa, Golf, Fine Dining, Cirque, VIP seatings, special tours, concierge access) vs. seeing the parks, then I would say it is worth it. Otherwise, it seems like you pay for all these perks that you end up never using.

As Laurie and Akira said: planning would be a must.

Good luck...if you have any more ???? do not hesitate....

 

[WDFAN1977]

Thanks for the info and the welcome to the forum. My wife and I planned on spending less time in the parks and more on taking advantage of the recreation, dining, tours, ect.... .

 

[chucknstuff]

We've been doing Platinum ever since 2000....I will never do anything other than this. It is well worth it...Imagine Surf and turf everynight for dinner, every character meal, no need tip cause you've already done that (the server automatically gets 15% through the plan...the more expensive your meal, the bigger the tip". Just let the server know when they come to the table and they will hook you up. If you do this plan, consider the Coral Reef Restaurant in the living seas the Shrimp cocktail is HUGE.. We did lunch at Rainforrest at AK and for a family of 4 we would've spent $180 on it...Wifey and I had steak, son and friend had burgers. My rule of thumb is have everyone order something different on the menu the have your own little buffet (this way you can sample different dishes)

I say DO IT

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Yea, like they said....

We usually do the Silver Plan as it gives a fair amount of prepay without feeling the need to eat three full meals a day. We tried that once (to get our money's worth) and it was too much. With the silver plan we still do Cirque, backstage tours, spa and gym, watermice and some real nice dinners. If you plan for a lot of activities like tours, golf, Cirque and a lot of meals, then one of the other plans may be better.

As others have said, estimate how much you intend to do then select the plan that is most appropriate.

 

[PrinceDon]

Food package for AP's?

We are going down for 9 days with AP's. We do plan on eating 3 or 4 character meals, lots of buffets, etc. We are figuring about $90 a day for 2 people (3 meals, snacks & desserts). Is there a food only package?
Thanks

 

[TwoTigersMom]

DH, myself and my parents did the Gold plan this year. For DH & I it was a great deal! My Mom was sick most of the trip so my parents didn't get their moneys worth out of it. DH& I figured we averaged $50-100 per breakfast, $100-150 for lunch and at least $200 per dinner. It also was perfect for us because my son was 2 1/2 and we didn't have to pay for him, but we had plenty of food to share. One night my Mom was sick so my Dad, DH, DS & I went to Yachtsman's Steakhouse. We used mom's points for DS's meal since he acted as if he were starving. He ate the entire thing dessert and all! If you do Gold or Platinum, be careful when scheduling your meals. Eat a reletively early breakfast, lunch around 2pm or so then a late dinner. That way you don't feel like your eating constantly. Also, remember if you arrive say...Sat midmorning, you'll start your plan with lunch. Then the last day of your plan you'll only have breakfast. But!!!...If you are too full through your stay skip a meal or 2 or eat light and pay out of pocket for it then on your last day you could have lunch and dinner as well. DH & I decided to stay 1 more night, hotel only no plan. My parents went on home, but left their cards. Since Mom didn't use all her points DH & I used them for dinner that last night.
Next time we are going Platinum, because DS will be older and will be able to do more. Also our next baby will be 2 for the trip and since my parents won't be going and he's too young for the hotel day cares, we'll need that in room child care. Plus, we are HUGE fan's of V&A's.

 

[DiPSU224]

Like the others have said, it's all about the planning to see if it is worth it for you. It's very individualized, and what is good for one group of people may not be worth it for another group.
I did the silver package in May and found it to be excellent and we came out pretty far ahead when we calculated it all out after our trip. I'm not too familiar with the platinum package and what features it has, but we used most of our "wishes" on dining at restaurants like the Coral Reef and California Grill, places we would have overlooked before due to their costs. We also used some wishes on the Keys to the Kingdom tour and parasailing at the Contemporary. Those are 2 things that made our trip extra memorable. Being right out of college, we were able to do a lot of things on a reasonable budget. All the things we ended up doing would have cost a lot more in the long run.
I would suggest sitting down and going over the list of features your package offers and what restuarants you could choose from. If these are places and things that you would like to include in your vacation, I would say go for it. Planning ahead may be the only way to see if a package is cost effective for you. Good luck! :wave:

 

[longfamily]

Platinum is the Best!

Disney world is not the place to worry about funds. Many friends have tried to save a buck here or there and never really experienced what disney has to offer. The Platinum plan gives you that oppurtunity. This particular plan puts it all together for you and if your little heart desires it...you can have it all. What the Platinum plan offers that other plans do not is an expanded food program (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and snack) which includes the use of room service and the exquisite Victoria & Albert's (you have to try this!). it allows you to enjoy a fireworks cruise (romantic and family fun in one). Then there are spa treatments, special VIP seating for shows (more than gold plan), special tours not available to any other package and disney gives you a gift for coming (last year we got a crystal tinker bell...very beautiful and very expensive). If you have kids, the platinum plan includes in-room child care as well as kid club centers. When you check in, you don't check in with those "other" unfortunates who chose a lesser package. There will be someone waiting for you when you arrive to greet you and get you started. At the end you will get an itemized list of the things you did and what you ate. This list tells you what you would have spent had you taken advantage of these things without the platinum plan and I assure you, we usually "save" around $3000-$4000. Do yourself a favor and experience disney correctly.