Deluxe Dining Plan?

[minnie-mouse]

Am I understanding correctly, that with the Deluxe plan, you have 3 meal credits a day that can be used anyhow you want? So I could do 2 table service in one day?

[cer]

Yes, but not only that, you could do 3 table service in one day....

[minnie-mouse]

Thanks Carrie! Three might be too much for me in one day! ;)

[cer]

You could also use 1 TS for a breakfast and then 2 for signature dining. My husband and I did that last trip and we were able to eat at California Grille for the first time. It was so yummy and we are looking forward to more signature dining experiences. :thumbsup:

[Airblue1]

We did Deluxe Dining a few years back. We did it as an upgrade to free basic dining. We also made ressies at all sig restaurants. However in the end we had like 20 snack credits. I wouldn't do it again for a couple of reasons. Gained like 26 Pds and never ate thru the plan!

[SBETigg]

Deluxe Dining also includes appetizer-entree-dessert at each venue instead of simply entree-dessert on regular dining plan, and two snacks a day. So it's a lot of food. We found we needed to mix in some counter service and Signature dining (even though not the best use of credits) just to not be spending all day in restaurants and to not be as full all the time.

It's the plan to pick if you like the convenience of having a plan, want to try a lot of Signature dining or restaurants in general, and you're not super value conscious with how you spend your points or if you're eating enough to break even. If you're willing to just let go, enjoy, and know you have the credits to spare, go for it. But if you're going to be worried about getting the biggest bang for your buck and using every last credit, you might be miserable on the deluxe plan.

[spoiledraf]

If you are going to be at the resorts the entire time of your package and can eat breakfast the first day and your dinner the last day, it makes a little more sense as well. We always stay off site the day before and after so unlike some who fly and don't get to their resort until noon the first day and have to leave at three in the afternoon their last day,we usually have a full first and last day and that means two or more extra meal in the parks.

We've done the Deluxe as well as the Premium, mainly because my wife loves the signature restaurants. I like the premium because i can take out a boat or go jet skiing or parasailing or go fishing for two hours in the morning and meet the wife at 9 to hit the parks or to go to breakfast. Not the wife. Just me! All the tours are included in the Premium Plan as well. It seems like a waste to most people but my wife won't ride most of the high demand rides. Our vacations tend to be more laid back and restful. She just loves the quality of sevice and would enjoy sitting on the front porch of the Boardwalk people watching much more than standing in line for an hour at Splah Mountain. And on the Premium plan, every credit is good for a meal. It does not take two for any restaurant. So you can eat Signature breakfast lunch and dinner!
Well not really since they are mostly only open for Dinner.
Happy dining!

[minnie-mouse]

Thanks everyone. We don't care too much about whether we are getting value. It's more for convenience and we would like to try signature restaurants and character meals. Hoping it will work for us.

[akaDisneyDreamer]

We've used the Deluxe Dining Plan on our last couple of trips. For us, it's the only way to go. We like having the convienence of pre-paid meals, and being able to eat at nice restaurants for all of our meals. We've been able to enjoy signature and charactor meals. We are more laid back and enjoy having reservations, knowing that we will be eating good food and having a guaranteed table at a specific time, we still have the freedom to eat at a counter service if we want to. for instance, we still always have at least one lunch at Boulangerie Patissire! We get to try a lot of places that we wouldn't eat at if we were paying out of pocket. It's expensive, but we just consider it as part of the package, and we think it's worth it. Disney World is the only thing we really splurge on, so we do go all out when we go. And with those leftover snack credits ... we load up on treats to bring home, like Mickey rice crispie treats and cookies, etc. Nothing is wasted!

[Fastpasssteve]

A couple years ago, we used the Deluxe Dining Plan. We learned a few things:

1) We were exhausted from eating all the time.

2) Eating at Table Service restaurants stole too much time from being in the Parks.

3) We decided that, if we ever used the Deluxe plan again, we would:

3A) Dine in one Signature Restaurant (2 TS credits each) a day.

3B) That way we would be eating TS only 2 times a day, one of which would be Signature dining. That would leave us more free/unstructured time unhindered by the tyranny of too many reservations.

That way, we could go to some of our favorite places for breakfast: 1900 Park Fare, Boma (located in the Animal Kingdom Lodge), Tusker House breakfast (located right next to the Kilamanjaro Safari), Chef Mickey (the kids LOVE this place), and Kona Cafe (one of my favorite breakfasts located in the Polynesian Resort)
AND
go to great Signature Restaurants...like the California Grill, Narcoossee's, Citrico's, Artists Point, Jiko (located at the Animal Kingdom Lodge), the Brown Derby, and the Bistro de Paris.

Consider.

[minnie-mouse]

Thanks everyone. We plan to do 1 TS a day and do some character meals. We like taking a break at a TS meal to sit and relax in the AC for a bit. I also like that I won't have to be pulling out cash for snacks either.