Dining plan - basic vs. deluxe?

[jecon]

Our last trip we did the deluxe dining plan and it seemed like a lot of food and TS meals. However, we do like to eat at the more expensive restaurants. We are considering doing just the basic next year. Has anyone tried both? Any recommendations based on that experience?

[bennette]

We are not counter service people so I don't think we'll ever do the basic. We did deluxe this May and were very happy. We did all signatures or two TS credit events, like Hoop di Doo, for dinner and ate mostly resort breakfasts (or room service). We used snack credits and the occasional TS meal credit at lunch to pick up individual items until we had a full meal's worth of items, mostly grazing.

It worked well for us. We did end up feeling a little food overwhelmed on one day but that was it. We used all our snack credits, and only one of them was for something to take to the airport. We didn't end up with any leftover food, although on a couple of days, one of us turned down an appetizer or dessert at the non-signature places.

But we are a couple with no kids; I know it is harder to manage if you have multiple eaters to please.

If the dining plan wasn't so prevalent, I'd be happy to skip it and the months in advance ADR process but since that's what Disney is offering, I'll take it.

[DVCmom]

Our family has done both. We are a family of 4...our DS is 18 and DD is 13. DD and I are vegetarian. DH and DS are not.

+
Deluxe- You can try many varied themed places. You get a starter, entree', and a sweet. You get a better "value" with this plan (more for your money).
Basic- You have more flexibility with your day as you have only 1 reservation a day.

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Deluxe- You must pay alot more in tips. LOTS of food.
Basic- No starters. Only one sitdown meal a day.

[jecon]

Thanks for the feedback! I wish there was a happy medium of two TS a day. The deluxe was too much food but I know we will pay out of pocket with the basic. Oh well....

[scoobydooby]

The deluxe was too much food but I know we will pay out of pocket with the basic. Oh well....

I know we are all different but I am relatively greedy and didn't have to pay out of pocket on the basic (not the CS only) dining plan. We have children and weren't focussing on 2 credit places, but we did a couple of 2 TS credit meals and still didn't pay out of pocket. We were easily able to spread the food 'allowance' by some sharing of CS meals to cover those days we used a 2TS credit. I did pay out of pocket for Cindy's becuase it was just me and DD and this was the cheapest way of doing it. Bear in mind, there are some hefty offerings for snack credits which can serve as meals. The other thing we did was order Garden Grocer cereal and fruit and ate breakfast in our room.

[DVCmom]

jecon...
We always pay out of pocket on the basic. It has only 1 snack per day. The heat alone requires more fluid than this. Yes, I know you can bring water and use the fountains and we do but it doesn't get us through a day. At some point we are just sick of Crystal Light mixed with water. We could bring a small pack with other drinks but don't want to. Also, the basic does not allow a side only a sweet and you can not exchange them. There are times we want the chips, pasta salad, etc and we save the sweet for a snack for later. Some places it is packaged as a meal deal type of thing and included. Other places it is not. I agree with scoobydoo it is all family choices. We brought various drinks and breakfast items to eat in our room as well as many snack choices. We still paid quite a bit...

Using the deluxe plan, I never paid for anything except the tips.

To be safe, plan to spend OP on basic and if you don't it is a good start to save for your next trip!!!

[scoobydooby]

jecon...
The heat alone requires more fluid than this.

That's an excellent point and I ought to have said for the sake of clarity - we ordered a LOT of water in, so I guess this constitutes paying on top of the basic plan. Sorry - I was thinking in terms of food.

[sotodog]

I am struggling with this whole food thing. We are a family of 4 with 2 children ages 7 and 5. We'll have 8 full days in the parks and are staying at SSR with no rental car. My hubby calls me a food snob which to me means that I like freshly prepared food whether it be a 'hole in the wall' or a 'white tablecloth' place. DH and I love ethnic foods and trying new things. I don't care for the chain restaurants for the most part. If we go out as a family now, we typically all order our own entree and don't share. Sometimes we share an appetizer as a family and we may or may not order desserts, we may share 1 dessert or sometimes we get a dessert for everyone. The kids definately want a meal with the princesses and Mickey so there are at least 2 TS coupons and maybe 3 depending on where we do the princesses. We're going the last week of the Food and Wine Festival. The kids and I just drink water. It just seems to me that the food makeup of the plans does not really meet our needs as a family but at the same time, I can be cheap and might worry too much about how much we're spending on food which is no fun on vacation. My husband likes to eat what he wants when he wants and doesn't worry about money. Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Drince88]

Sotodog, I have NEVER done one of the dining plans. They just don't fit me. For one long weekend trip I even did a full analysis of the dining plan, vs the AP discount I got on the room and using the Discount card you can get with APs. I still saved money not doing the dining plan, AND I got an extra table service out of it. Now if I hadn't gotten the AP discount on the room, that wouldn't have been the case with the extra meal, but it did allow me to eat how I wanted to.

When you say you're a food snob, though - does that mean you're not going to be happy doing counter service? There are some decent choices in the parks for that, but they are counter service restaurants. If you're not going to want to do that, you might want to look into some of the 'higher' dining plans which include more table service restaurants, and different items in the food list.

I'd really recommend checking out the menus here on MousePlanet (go to Walt Disney World at the top, then scroll to the dining section) and 'select' what your group is likely to eat at each, see if that fits the dining plan, and if not, you have your basis for your food budget determined.

But regardless, you're going to want to make any ADRs for meals that you really want to do Table Service, which may be an 'issue' for the way your husband likes to approach dining on vacation. But that's one I'd say 'you're just going to have to deal'. When you get there, you may find that there's enough availability that you can make same-day changes, but I wouldn't COUNT on that. (I just got a postcard with a 'pin' offer for free dining through the first couple of weeks of December - if they offer that to the general public, all bets are off on being able to get in same-day, which I normally would say might be do-able for your visit, if you're flexible on time and location).
____________
Here's some info/links I've collected on this years' plans (and I just checked, and they all still work, whew!)

Counter service plan: The additional cost is $29.99 per night per adult or junior (ages 10-17), $8.99 per night for children (ages 3-9).
Descriptive page (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/vacation-packages/2009/quick-serve-dining/)
pdf (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw_nextgen/CoreCatalog/WaltDisneyWorld/en_us/PDF/2009%20Disney%20Quick%20Service%20Dining%20Plan%20-%20Walt%20Disney%20World.pdf)
Article by Steve (http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mo081003sr):

Regular dining plan: The additional cost is $39.99 per night per adult or junior (ages 10-17), $10.99 per night for children (ages 3-9).
Descriptive page (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/vacation-packages/2009/dining/)
PDF directly (http://adisneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw_nextgen/CoreCatalog/WaltDisneyWorld/en_us/PDF/2009%20Disney%20Dining%20Plan%20-%20Walt%20Disney%20World.pdf)

Article by Steve (http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mo081003sr):

Deluxe dining plan: The additional cost is $71.99 per night per adult or junior (ages 10-17), $20.99 per night for children (ages 3-9).
Page (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/vacation-packages/2009/deluxe-dining/)
PDF (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw_nextgen/CoreCatalog/WaltDisneyWorld/en_us/PDF/2009%20Disney%20Deluxe%20Dining%20Plan%20-%20Walt%20Disney%20World.pdf)


Wine plan: (39.99/night in 2008 - 2009 Info I can find just says "less than $40" so I guess it didn't change in price)
pdf (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw_nextgen/CoreCatalog/WaltDisneyWorld/en_us/PDF/2009%20Disney%20Wine%20Dine%20Plan%20-%20Walt%20Disney%20World.pdf)

Premium plan: This package costs $159 per adult per day and $109 per child per day more than a standard Magic Your Way Package and must be purchased for your entire reservation.
Page (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/vacation-packages/2009/premium/)
pdf (http://adisneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw_nextgen/CoreCatalog/WaltDisneyWorld/en_us/PDF/2009%20Disney%20Premium%20Plan%20-%20Walt%20Disney%20World.pdf)


Platinum plan: This package costs $209 per adult per day and $144 per child per day more than a standard Magic Your Way Package and must be purchased for your entire reservation.
Description (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/vacation-packages/2009/platinum/)
pdf (http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mo081003sr)

Package Comparison pdf (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw_nextgen/CoreCatalog/WaltDisneyWorld/en_us/PDF/2009CompareVacationPackages_WaltDisneyWorld.pdf)

[sotodog]

I will eat CS but I just don't want it every day, every meal. There seem to be quite a few CS places with wraps, skewers and things beyond hamburgers and hot dogs. I just struggle with trying to plan something so far in advance with little knowledge of how it's actually going to work. Hopefully in early Nov, it will be cool enough that a day at the parks won't leave us too sweaty and gross to go to a 'nice' restaurant. I am not sure how using Disney transportation to get to the parks, SSR and resort restaurants work logistically. Will we spend much of our day trying to plan around our ADRs? That doesn't seem like too much fun to me.

I love my husband but doesn't really help in this situation. He tells me "do what you want" but then when the time comes I can hear him say "I don't want to do this, why did you plan this like this? Let's do that." He is not a plan in advance kind of guy so he just gives me a little lip service at this point. He'll start to get into to it when we are there.

[momof three]

I will eat CS but I just don't want it every day, every meal. There seem to be quite a few CS places with wraps, skewers and things beyond hamburgers and hot dogs. I just struggle with trying to plan something so far in advance with little knowledge of how it's actually going to work. Hopefully in early Nov, it will be cool enough that a day at the parks won't leave us too sweaty and gross to go to a 'nice' restaurant. I am not sure how using Disney transportation to get to the parks, SSR and resort restaurants work logistically. Will we spend much of our day trying to plan around our ADRs? That doesn't seem like too much fun to me.

I love my husband but doesn't really help in this situation. He tells me "do what you want" but then when the time comes I can hear him say "I don't want to do this, why did you plan this like this? Let's do that." He is not a plan in advance kind of guy so he just gives me a little lip service at this point. He'll start to get into to it when we are there.

I have a hubby like this as well. I still try to make ADR's for our sit down meals 90 day out if I know we are doing a trip that far in advance. Then when we get in the parks and everyone starts to finally think of food I am able to say we have a ADR at such and such a place or you are free to try and get a table some place else. A few time of this with him finding out the hard way that you can't just walk into a WDW TS last minute and now he gets why I book this all at 90 days out. We hardley ever do the dp because it just isn't a good fit for my family but it is cost effective if you work it right.

Mily

[dahunter1129]

I love my husband but doesn't really help in this situation. He tells me "do what you want" but then when the time comes I can hear him say "I don't want to do this, why did you plan this like this? Let's do that." He is not a plan in advance kind of guy so he just gives me a little lip service at this point. He'll start to get into to it when we are there.

I feel your pain...my DH told me "Just tell me when to get us to the airport and what days to take off from work. That is all I want to know". AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[TinaMouse]

I think that's a GOOD thing. Then, when he says, "Why did you do it this way," you can reply with, "You told me to take care of it."

I'm like you--I want my food to reflect its price. If I'm in a hole-in-the-wall, I tend toward breakfast foods. You get your money's worth. You know? ANYWAY, I LOVE the variety of foods that is at WDW. I think that the dining plan is a great way to not think about what something costs--just order it (sometimes "outside the box") and go for it. I liked it much better when you got the appetizer (I'm not a dessert person), but for us, it still works.

I number-crunched last trip when I DIDN'T use the DDP. I spend about $200 more than if I had (and it was a solo trip but I ate at some HIGH end spots!), BUT I got a GREAT deal on the room that saved me MUCH more than $200. So, it was a good deal not to. If planning seems overwhelming, then I might tend toward doing it. It will be one less thing to have to think about. Whether you get the DDP or not, you'll have to get your advanced dining reservations (ADRs) in order to do Table Services (TSs).

It's simply the nature of the beast. (DDP) :(

For me, I'd never do the Counter Service DDP. Neither would I do deluxe if the kids were with me. If my DH and I were there alone, I might--just because the focus of the trip wouldn't be the attractions. Deluxe eats up TONS of your park time.

I guess that doesn't really help all that much, but it would be my thinking process.....

[sotodog]

I was reviewing the menus and I know I would be all over the place from a price stand point. Some nights I'll go vegetarian and some nights I'll have seafood or maybe steak. I don't often order chicken at restaurants but I need variety so I might do that. DH will probably always have more expensive things on menus like steak, lamb or shellfish. It also looks like just DD and I will do the princess breakfast if I can get an ADR for the Royal Table. The boys will be on their own that morning. I should probably pay OOP if I actually get a reservation for that. If not, we'll do the princesses at Norway which is my preference anyway. I might talk the boys into that since DS likes Mary Poppins and she apparently comes to Norway. That is 1 TS too so it's not so bad.

[DVCmom]

We are a family of 4 with our children being 13 and 18. DD and I are vegetarian and DH and DS are not. We have done the basic plan and the deluxe. We "saved" more on deluxe, never paid out of pocket on food or drinks, but spent alot of time with meals. We did this during midsummer so we were thankful for the cool breaks and clean tables. The basic plan gives you more flexibility, we do pay out of pocket for food/drinks, but we DO NOT eat where you only get pizza, hot dogs, and burgers. Hope this helps...

[cubsfan]

This will be our first time using the Disney Dining Plan. I think I understand most of it, however, what if we order "extras" not included in the Plan...such as cocktails or appetizers? Are we billed separately? Or do they just deduct the meals that are covered under the plan and we pay the balance? Help me understand it so there won't be any surprises later.

[Drince88]

I'm pretty sure they will give you two 'bills' - one for the Dining plan and one for 'extras'. If they just deducted the 'dining plan meals' from one bill and presented you with the balance, that would REALLY make tipping difficult (and the servers want to make tipping as easy as possible!)

[scoobydooby]

I'm pretty sure you only get one bill actually - I've probably still got all the receipts I will root them out and check

[TinaMouse]

Slightly askew but still under DDP, so I'm posting here instead of a new thread:

Do you leave your DDP in cash or can you charge it to your room? I don't really want to carry all of that cash with me (enough for 10 table services).

[momof three]

Slightly askew but still under DDP, so I'm posting here instead of a new thread:

Do you leave your DDP in cash or can you charge it to your room? I don't really want to carry all of that cash with me (enough for 10 table services).

Tina:
As long as you leave a credit card on your room account you can charge your tips and extras to your room. Just use your key to the world.

Mily

[TinaMouse]

Thanks, Mily! That's what I figured, but better to know now than to be caught w/o cash!

[bennette]

Hey Tina,

Because I had promised, promised, promised my husband we would not go over our budget, I took a pre-paid debit card with me to cover tips and food extras. (I don't do cash!) He ended up charging some things to the room when he got more comfortable with the prices and the environment but I ended up kinda liking knowing we weren't over budget. (It's usually the other way around.)

When I read the fine print on the card it said that some restaurants and hotels might not accept it but we used it everywhere at the World, including our hotel when we went to pay off our charges.

E

[TinaMouse]

Thanks, E! I'm a budget girl too. I number crunch at the end of each day when I do my trip notes to make sure I haven't gone over (or if I have extra to spend). I've got several hundred set aside for tips. I'll use my KTTW card and pay it off before I leave with either my debit or one of those pre-paid cards your referring to. Thanks so much!

[ChurroGirl]

So without starting a new thread myself:

I have never been to WDW and I would really like to plan a surprise trip for the FDH. At DL we obviously dont have Dining Plan we have to follow or anything of that nature, at WDW do you have to have a DDP or can you pay out of pocket? And what would be better to have a DDP(for 2 adults) or just pay.

Just to give you an idea as to how we eat at DL, now at DL we do breakfast in the park and like to eat at the Bayou once or twice and then eat at the various other places(the Rancho, RBT, and FM). To help with the advice....

[Drince88]

You don't have to do a dining plan, but a lot of people like them to pre-pay for most of their meals. Personally, I've never done one because it doesn't fit the way I dine at WDW.