To add Dining Plan or not??

[Witchy Chick]

Sooo, my DH is really pushing to add the Deluxe Dining Plan for our January 2013 trip. Our family is two adults, one 4-year-old and one 2-year-old (at time of travel). The 2-year-old can "eat for free" off of any buffet meals we attend, share plates with me/DH/DD for any sit downs. Or we can pay a la carte for a meal for him if need be.

On the Disney site, I can't plug in any scenarios for our actual travel dates, so I used a Thurs - Tues in early November (comparable prices?).

If I have things figured out correctly, the deluxe dining plan will cost us $1000 more than just room + park hopper tickets. I think between the four us we could easily eat $1000 worth of meals and snacks. $1000 / 5 day stay = $200 per day. $200 per day / 4 people = $50 per person per day. (Even though we don't have to pay for our 2-year-old, he likely will eat full meals.)

Have I worked all this out correctly? Is the $1000 a reasonable estimate for how much the deluxe dining plan will cost?

Truth be told, I'm waiting to see if free dining will be offered into the beginning of the year. Then I know we will get our money's worth. haha

Thanks for any info!!!


Witchy

 

[bethymouse]

I just find that you do truly save @ least 20% on the DDP. It's my personal preference. But, yes free dining is a great deal IMHO. If you're doing Disney "all the way", and not going outside of the resorts, the the DDP is a must!

 

[real mad hatter]

Free dining yes!Deluxe dining noo way! Unless you have a huge appetite .

 

[wilkeliza]

It depends on each family. If you want to eat table service every single meal than Deluxe Dinning plan is the way to go. If you only need 1 snack, 1 quick service, and 1 table the regular dinning plan is the way to go. If you guys don't do any character meals or any table service the Quick Service Dinning plan is your best bet.

Since our first trip together my boyfriend and I determine that the Disney Dinning Plan works great for us. We use the middle one where you get 1 snack, 1 quick service, and 1 table service each day. Some days we pay out of pocket so we can use 2 table service credits for a show dinner or to eat somewhere a little nicer. We find that it allows us to not have to worry about money for food when we get there. We figure tips for every table service (we look at the menu and decide what we would get and figure a tip based on that for each meal typically about 10 for each table service) and then we figure some snack food money and maybe 1 dinner out of pocket. We take about 200 in cash for those things instead of having to carry a 1,000 or more. It just gives us piece of mind that we don't need all that money with us on vacation.

It also allows us to have some security. When we have to put the money aside for later use it becomes a temptation to spend it before we get to our trip. If we pay for the Dinning Program all our food is paid for and we can't spend money that belongs to paying off the Disney trip if that makes sense.

 

[Weather_Lady]

If you consider the fact that you wouldn't be paying much of anything for the 2-year old to eat under either scenario (since under-3s can share others' meals), you're actually paying more like $70 per person (for you, DH and your oldest), per day -- and one of those "persons" is a small child, whose table-service entrees would cost no more than $15 at most non-buffet table-service restaurants to begin with.

I suggest you take a look at a few of the menus for restaurants that interest you, and do the math based on what your family would normally order, adding in whatever additional items (snacks, drinks) the deluxe plan covers. Then it's a simple matter of comparing the numbers -- and considering how much value you place on having a pre-paid arrangement, which I know for some, is a stress reliever worth the added cost.

 

[Witchy Chick]

It depends on each family. If you want to eat table service every single meal than Deluxe Dinning plan is the way to go. If you only need 1 snack, 1 quick service, and 1 table the regular dinning plan is the way to go. If you guys don't do any character meals or any table service the Quick Service Dinning plan is your best bet.

Well since this is the first trip for our kiddos, I do have some character meals scheduled (Akershus Princess Breakfast and Chef Mickey's (dinner)). I also would like to hit Le Cellier (lunch). My in-laws are also pretty gung-ho on eating at Narcoossee's one night (2 TS credits). One reason why I'm back and forth on the dining plan. hahaa Akershus and Chef Mickey's were the two character meals I really wanted to do for the kids. With a whopping 15 TS credits (potential with Deluxe plan), I found myself adding Crystal Palace and Garden Grill. Might be too much character overload for the kids.

I tried telling DH that we likely would not get our money's worth by doing the Deluxe plan (although I would be totally amenable to the regular plan (1 QS, 1 TS, 1 snack)). DH is not a big breakfast eater, and I'm not sure how much the kids might eat. If we have the Deluxe plan -- we could (I think?) use any extra/potentially wasted credits to get meals for the 2-year-old? For example, lunch at Le Cellier. We could order two kids meals -- one for each child? Would that be allowed?

If you consider the fact that you wouldn't be paying much of anything for the 2-year old to eat under either scenario (since under-3s can share others' meals), you're actually paying more like $70 per person (for you, DH and your oldest), per day -- and one of those "persons" is a small child, whose table-service entrees would cost no more than $15 at most non-buffet table-service restaurants to begin with.

I suggest you take a look at a few of the menus for restaurants that interest you, and do the math based on what your family would normally order, adding in whatever additional items (snacks, drinks) the deluxe plan covers. Then it's a simple matter of comparing the numbers -- and considering how much value you place on having a pre-paid arrangement, which I know for some, is a stress reliever worth the added cost.

I should have mentioned that the 2-year-old will be a few weeks shy of age 3 when we go. And he's a boy. And he is a chunk. I don't want to share my plate with him. LOL I have looked at some of the menus (particularly kid menus) previously. Kid meals were generally $7.95-$8.95 IIRC (chicken tenders, pasta, mac and cheese, whatever).

I think my husband's main reason for Deluxe plan is the stress relief of not having to budget while we're there (or share meals with the almost-3-year-old). Plus -- two snacks/day, we don't have to split snacks between the two kids (or pay for a second snack out of pocket).

On one hand, it seems like an awful lot of food to me. On the other, using some of the 4-year-old's credits to feed the almost-3-year-old and having 2x the amount of snack credits might not be a bad idea........

Thanks for all of the input!!! I appreciate it!


Witchy

 

[wilkeliza]

Well since this is the first trip for our kiddos, I do have some character meals scheduled (Akershus Princess Breakfast and Chef Mickey's (dinner)). I also would like to hit Le Cellier (lunch). My in-laws are also pretty gung-ho on eating at Narcoossee's one night (2 TS credits). One reason why I'm back and forth on the dining plan. hahaa Akershus and Chef Mickey's were the two character meals I really wanted to do for the kids. With a whopping 15 TS credits (potential with Deluxe plan), I found myself adding Crystal Palace and Garden Grill. Might be too much character overload for the kids.

I tried telling DH that we likely would not get our money's worth by doing the Deluxe plan (although I would be totally amenable to the regular plan (1 QS, 1 TS, 1 snack)). DH is not a big breakfast eater, and I'm not sure how much the kids might eat. If we have the Deluxe plan -- we could (I think?) use any extra/potentially wasted credits to get meals for the 2-year-old? For example, lunch at Le Cellier. We could order two kids meals -- one for each child? Would that be allowed?

From what you have planned I would think the middle of the road disney dinning plan is fine. The Deluxe is all sit down and do you really want to have every single lunch be a sit down ADR ordeal for your entire trip?

I am not sure if places like Le Cellier would let you use more than one credit or not. I am almost certain they will because I think we gave a friend an extra credit one time but that was at a quick service location and not a table service location. At table service they may see that there are only X amount of people on the DDP in your party but you are trying to use X+1 credits.

Also have your kids every met face characters before? Be cautious at first how many character experiences you schedule. There is nothing worse than a scared cranky toddler or little kid because he was forced to eat at Akershus or Chef Mickey's. Akershus should be fine because they are face characters but some kids are petrified when they see Mickey in real life. It is just so much emotions at once for them they freak out. They are nervous because they don't actually know Mickey, they are excited because he is Mickey one of their idols, and they are scared because Mickey is suddenly 5' tall. You don't want to plan to go to all these character experiences and then turn out the two littlest are petrified of them.

However if you do find out that your kids are scared of the characters you can just ask that characters just not stop by your table. Most of the costume actors are great at listening to families and will stay just out of harms reach if a parent says their child is scared. Mickey and the crew will just wave and let you snap a picture if you just say sorry little timmy is a little scared.

 

[coachwnh]

We did the deluxe once and would never again, unless you chose many signature dining experiences where you use 2 credits. Each sit down may take up to 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. do you really want to sit that long everyday? Again, unless you eat twice each day, one at a signature, it is food overload!!!! I love to eat on vacation, but it was way to much for me and my family!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

You should at least be able to use current DxDP prices against current DDP prices to get a good cost gauge.

As for the food...we did DDP on our 2010 trip and DxDP on our 2011 trip. Considering how much it costs, I can't see doing DxDP unless you're planning every meal as TS. We managed to use every single one of our TS credits (and our kids were close to the same ages as yours), but it was A LOT of dining since we only did 2 signature meals. We feel that food is a big part of vacations, so it didn't really bug us...but it was still a lot of food. It was really more the snack credits that were the issue. By the last day, we still had over 20 snacks to burn.

However, DxDP did save us $ even though it was a ton of food since I went a bit overboard w/TS meals. We had too many TS meals for the regular DDP, but not enough for DxDP when I started crunching the numbers. What was shocking...the cost of the TS meals I had booked along with some of the must have snacks I had planned exceeded the cost of DxDP...so, we booked it...added a few more meals since we thankfully had space, and we really got our $'s worth. It is at least nice to get appetizers.

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Free dining yes!Deluxe dining noo way! Unless you have a huge appetite .

Oh I so agree.... however, if you plan to eat at a few signature restaurants, it might be cost worthy. I'll be honest, we did this once, and had a slew of credits left over. Especially with little ones, you may find the 1 credit dining options better suited for your family.

 

[powlessfamily4]

I am pro DP but Deluxe is a lot of food.

 

[tracyandalex]

We are Florida Residents and always book with a resort discount, but we will be going during free dining this fall and are trying to decide if it would be worth it for us to buy a package to get the free dining. We do eat a lot of TS, so would we need the deluxe? Does anyone know how much the cost of the upgrade to deluxe dining is (we will be staying in a moderate)? Also, I thought you could use the credits any way you chose to. Is Disney strict about snack credits only being for snacks and QS only being used at QS, etc.?
We have never used the dining plan and I think I am a little confused about how it works!
thanks in advance

 

[Witchy Chick]

From what you have planned I would think the middle of the road disney dinning plan is fine. The Deluxe is all sit down and do you really want to have every single lunch be a sit down ADR ordeal for your entire trip?

We did the deluxe once and would never again, unless you chose many signature dining experiences where you use 2 credits. Each sit down may take up to 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. do you really want to sit that long everyday? Again, unless you eat twice each day, one at a signature, it is food overload!!!! I love to eat on vacation, but it was way to much for me and my family!!

From what I understand with the Deluxe plan, although your credits are labeled "table-service" they can also be used at quick-service? I do have 4-5 quick/counter services penciled in (mostly lunches when we are in the parks).

I am not sure if places like Le Cellier would let you use more than one credit or not. I am almost certain they will because I think we gave a friend an extra credit one time but that was at a quick service location and not a table service location. At table service they may see that there are only X amount of people on the DDP in your party but you are trying to use X+1 credits.

Maybe I should call them with this hypothetical situation.

Also have your kids every met face characters before? Be cautious at first how many character experiences you schedule. There is nothing worse than a scared cranky toddler or little kid because he was forced to eat at Akershus or Chef Mickey's. Akershus should be fine because they are face characters but some kids are petrified when they see Mickey in real life. It is just so much emotions at once for them they freak out. They are nervous because they don't actually know Mickey, they are excited because he is Mickey one of their idols, and they are scared because Mickey is suddenly 5' tall. You don't want to plan to go to all these character experiences and then turn out the two littlest are petrified of them.

Good point, there. The only character meals I have tentatively scheduled (Saturday is ADR day) are: Akershus (breakfast), Chef Mickey's (dinner), Garden Grill (dinner), and Crystal Palace (breakfast). Basically one character meal each day. The Crystal Palace I added in to my original game plan in order to get an "early park entrance" (if I can get an 8am ADR) on our last full day in the World. If it turns out the kids are skittish of characters after the first meal or two, I can cancel Crystal Palace.


I took a look at menus/prices of my tentative schedule of meals. I best guessed what my DH/kids might order, and worked numbers for meals for where both kids would order food (us paying out of pocket for DS2) and numbers with the kids splitting a meal. My numbers came out to $930 (meals for both kids) and $860 (kids splitting meals). Those #s do not include dessert (which is included with the dining plan but we might/might not order if paying out of pocket), and also does not include estimated cost for one specific lunch (Be our Guest, no menu/price info out yet).

I'm thinking Deluxe dining plan might be worth it if the chunky almost-3-year-old eats a meal rather than splits with his sister/eats off our plates. And I don't think leftover snack credits will be a problem with four of us sharing six credits (two for me, two for DH, two for DD) each day. I'll just have to remind the grandmothers not to buy the kiddos ice creams with $$$$ since we will have snack credits to use.

Thanks, everyone for the assistance and suggestions!!


Witchy

 

[coachwnh]

From what I understand with the Deluxe plan, although your credits are labeled "table-service" they can also be used at quick-service? I do have 4-5 quick/counter services penciled in (mostly lunches when we are in the parks).




Maybe I should call them with this hypothetical situation.



Good point, there. The only character meals I have tentatively scheduled (Saturday is ADR day) are: Akershus (breakfast), Chef Mickey's (dinner), Garden Grill (dinner), and Crystal Palace (breakfast). Basically one character meal each day. The Crystal Palace I added in to my original game plan in order to get an "early park entrance" (if I can get an 8am ADR) on our last full day in the World. If it turns out the kids are skittish of characters after the first meal or two, I can cancel Crystal Palace.


I took a look at menus/prices of my tentative schedule of meals. I best guessed what my DH/kids might order, and worked numbers for meals for where both kids would order food (us paying out of pocket for DS2) and numbers with the kids splitting a meal. My numbers came out to $930 (meals for both kids) and $860 (kids splitting meals). Those #s do not include dessert (which is included with the dining plan but we might/might not order if paying out of pocket), and also does not include estimated cost for one specific lunch (Be our Guest, no menu/price info out yet).

I'm thinking Deluxe dining plan might be worth it if the chunky almost-3-year-old eats a meal rather than splits with his sister/eats off our plates. And I don't think leftover snack credits will be a problem with four of us sharing six credits (two for me, two for DH, two for DD) each day. I'll just have to remind the grandmothers not to buy the kiddos ice creams with $$$$ since we will have snack credits to use.

Thanks, everyone for the assistance and suggestions!!


Witchy

You had stated you would use some of your TS for QS with the deluxe plan. You do not get the value for your buck when you do that. Using a meal that averages about $10 when you are buyng at about 3-4X that doesnt work in your favor. You would be better off just getting the one TS one QS plan and paying out of pocket for the rest. Again, unless you plan on doing several signature dining experiences, the deluxe is not a good match in my opinion.

 

[tare]

Deluxe no way--just tooooo much food--we always get the free dining plans. We used to always do the sit down dining with one quick but now we just do the quick so we don't have to be anywhere at a specific time--whatever suits our fancy I guess!!! Been there done that with too many sit downs!!!

 

[Lisalyn]

Just out of curiosity...how much is it to upgrade (for an adult) from QS to the regular DDP? Just wondering!

 

[dreamfinder]

I tried telling DH that we likely would not get our money's worth by doing the Deluxe plan (although I would be totally amenable to the regular plan (1 QS, 1 TS, 1 snack)). DH is not a big breakfast eater, and I'm not sure how much the kids might eat. If we have the Deluxe plan -- we could (I think?) use any extra/potentially wasted credits to get meals for the 2-year-old? For example, lunch at Le Cellier. We could order two kids meals -- one for each child? Would that be allowed?

Quoting from the Deluxe Dining Plan brochure

- You may not redeem meals or snacks for any Guests who are not on
your Disney Deluxe Dining Plan.
- The Disney Deluxe Dining Plan is unavailable for Guests under the
age of 3, but they may share from an adult plate at no charge, or a
meal may be purchased from the menu. The price of the meal will
be added to your bill.

I'm pretty sure the system tells the wait staff how many people in your room are on the dining plan and will only let them redeem that number of swipes per meal.

From what I understand with the Deluxe plan, although your credits are labeled "table-service" they can also be used at quick-service? I do have 4-5 quick/counter services penciled in (mostly lunches when we are in the parks).

You can, but why would you want to? You are paying $85.52 per night (according to AllEars). Assuming $5 for the two snacks, you are paying $80.52 for the 3 meals. So $26.84 per meal. For a TS meal, not bad, since the DxDP still includes app, entree, and dessert. But for a CS meal? Seems like a waste.

I'd suggest re-reading the Deluxe Dining Plan brochure here -> http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/me...altDisneyWorld/en_us/PDF/2012DeluxeDining.pdf to see what is included and where you can use it.

Just out of curiosity...how much is it to upgrade (for an adult) from QS to the regular DDP? Just wondering!

$34.99 to $51.54 for an adult in regular season.

 

[Lisalyn]

Quoting from the Deluxe Dining Plan brochure

I'm pretty sure the system tells the wait staff how many people in your room are on the dining plan and will only let them redeem that number of swipes per meal.



You can, but why would you want to? You are paying $85.52 per night (according to AllEars). Assuming $5 for the two snacks, you are paying $80.52 for the 3 meals. So $26.84 per meal. For a TS meal, not bad, since the DxDP still includes app, entree, and dessert. But for a CS meal? Seems like a waste.

I'd suggest re-reading the Deluxe Dining Plan brochure here -> http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/me...altDisneyWorld/en_us/PDF/2012DeluxeDining.pdf to see what is included and where you can use it.



$34.99 to $51.54 for an adult in regular season.

thanks!