deluxe dining plan v. regular dining plan

[tinkgirl07]

Hi everyone...I have been elected the trip planner for my family's upcoming trip and I need some help....

My mom, dad, 8 year old sister and me 24 are heading down to wdw for 6 nights. My mom is allergic to wheat so no bread, noodles, etc for her. And my sister is extermely picky, despite our desperate efforts to expand her horizons (she's down syndrome so sometimes we have to get what we can take). With that said I'm thinking we should upgrade to the deluxe for these reasons:

1. if we go to 2 counter service places across the park from each other, one for mom and one for sister, we will be eating at very different times of the day. for example, we choose a place for mom at 11a but then on our way to a place for sister we see princesses, rides have no wait and then the other half of the fmaly doesn't eat until 1p. Messing up the dinner ressies.

2. This is our one huge family chance to go all out for a vacay. We've been saving our money for about 2 years to make this the dream trip (CR club level, MNSSHP, 6 nights, etc) so if we go deluxe with the plan, we can go deluxe with the restaurants (Cali Grill, CRT, etc.)

3. If we choose table service restaurants we can all eat together and mom can get salad/grilled chicken, seafood....but they 'll also have offerings my sister will like (chicken fingers, pizza, pasta, pb&j). This way it really is a family trip.

What do you guys think? Do you think if all our meals are table service we will be constantly trying to make our ADR's? Most of the ADR's i've made are for a breakfast and then a dinner and we can use our snack credits (2 per person/per day) for like a light lunch...that way we can use a lot of 2 ts credits for one meal?

[KineGirl]

IMO the deluxe is great IF

you dont mind spending 4-5 hours a day sitting down to eat at 2 TS

you want to eat several signature (2credit) restaurants

you dont mind eating a lot of food (LOL I dont mind. Even though Im tiny I think Im 90% tummy room)

However just know that lots of CS places cater to different "eaters" for Example Cosmos Rays has both salad & chicken fingers. So does the CS area in The Land (name escapes me at the moment). DHS you might have to do a couple places but how anyone could not like the stuff at Starring Rolls is beyond me. Most of the TS have items for everyone too. Do what you feel is best for you and your family but I dont think you will necessarily be saving yourself from much running or family time if you just did the reg DDP.

Either way youre gonna have a blast!! Have so much fun its crazy!!!!

[TheMartellFamily]

Since there is an allergy with you mother make sure you inform them at the time of resservations and have it noted on it. Also it is recommeded to call each restaurant that you choose to inform the Chef of this condition and make sure they have a dedicated system for allergies. I know it is off topic but just wanted to let you know.

[Taja]

You will be tied to ADRs with the DxDP. Expect to spend about 2 hours per ADR + travel time for each one--if you're lucky about 90 minutes + travel time.

If you schedule everything together for the day and don't have to run all over WDW for your ADRs, it could be a solution to your problem. The chefs at the TS restaurants are very accommodating for special food needs--particularly if you notify them in advance.

If you're planning to tour WDW gently rather than commando style, this could work.

And tell your sister I'm a picky eater too. No excuses, in my case. I just am! :)

[Jared]

If you expect to try several signature restaurants, the deluxe plan may be appropriate for your family. It offers a lot of food and takes a lot of time and planning, so carefully consider your schedule before making a final decision.

:tasty:

[thejens]

I made the same decision. I'll let you know how it goes. I have planned our trip with the deluxe dining plan. Nearly every day we are doing a signature meal. We are often doing a late breakfast and early dinner or early lunch and later dinner. If you plan carefully, it does not have to take 5 hours a day. For example on one day we are doing the bibbity boppity boutique followed by the Cinderella's Royal Table for lunch and we will do Cali Grill for dinner. We will spend the day in MK. Travel time is really not a factor. I planned all my days like this. Frankly, sitting down for an hour and 1/2 (at most) is a wonderful break for our family and re-energizes us for more theme park fun. Now, the afternoon break in the pool, is to me, a waste of time! But we are all different. Our family really enjoys dining together, we love the different cuisines and the amazing themed environments. For us the dining is just as exciting as the rides, parades, fireworks, pools, etc. So, I think it is a personal choice based on your family's preferences. I also will say sometimes the counter service stuff can be slow and with everyone dining in different places, very inefficient for time and, as you point out, not conducive for family time. One of our least enjoyable meals was at Epcot when everyone was trying to find lunch in various countries and no one was together or remembers what they ate. I did a lot of number crunching and think if you tend to order the more expensive entrees and higher priced restaurants you will break even or save money on the plan. For me I just like not having to think about the money once I am there. Just my thought process. I say go for it!

[Checkers]

:mickey:I have never stayed at the CR but if you are staying Club Level, wouldn't you be offered food services throughout the day (continental breakfast, snacks, etc.)? If so, I would think it could impact your appetite.

Have fun!

[tinkgirl07]

thanks "thejens"....I think that the break will be good for the family too, my sister is still pretty young (8) and she is very small for her age (wears around size 5) so she will be ready for a break. i did much of the same things you did...for example breakfast and a late lunch/early dinner. or lunch and a late dinner. we are also planning on eating in the same park every day...i.e. lunch at morocco and dinner at canada, or lunch at CRT and dinner at cali grill....

I also think having the plan of where we're eating will cut down on the time spent asking "what do you want to eat?" "i don't care, what do you feel like eating?" since we don't really have one take charge person in the family, knowing where/when we are eating will provide structre. i know it is impossible to plan the characters/rides/etc you will see and what times, so the concrete meal times will help the non planned times better, in my opinion.

I appreciate all the support and feedback from everyone! :mickey:

only 129 days left!

[tyandskyesmom]

The kids and I (9 and 3 at the time) did 12 nights of the DDDP beginning on January 1, 2008. We were kind of iffy on if we would like having to be on a "schedule" and if it would ruin our fun. We normally don't even do one sit down a day but to maximize our return on the DDDP we often had 3 sit downs a day. We ended up really loving it and welcomed the time to sit down together at a table without waiting in lines (usually) to get our food and then hunting for a table.

I am having a hard time seeing us without the DDDP again...which I am sure Disney was counting on in the first place!

[Finiamh]

Can't you just decide to do a counter service instead of a table service? Though not cost efficient to do this everyday, do you not have the flexibility to do this at the last minute on the Deluxe plan?

[tinkgirl07]

Can't you just decide to do a counter service instead of a table service? Though not cost efficient to do this everyday, do you not have the flexibility to do this at the last minute on the Deluxe plan?

Well the point of us not doing the counter service is because we would have to do multiple counter services for one meal. One to appease my mom and one for my sister, we thought just having one sit down with food everyone can eat would alleviate having to go to separate counter service locations (extremely picky eater sister, and food allergy mom).