Excuse me if this has been covered before. Also pardon me if I am not in the right forum (that happens to me more often than not:p).

I have seen the term Deluxe Dining Plan bandied about. This has been contrasted with the regular Disney Dining Plan. How are the two different? I understand (sort of) how the 2008 DDP is different from last year's plan. I have used the 2007 plan on my two previous trips and intend to use a plan on my trip in March (59 days to go:D).

So again, how are the two plans different, if they actually are?

Thanks.

From the Disney site:

Deluxe-
Save on meals during your vacation and enjoy delectable dining at over 100 select table-service, quick-service, Disney Character Dining and Signature Dining Experience restaurant locations throughout Walt Disney World® Resort.
For each night of your package, each Guest in your party enjoys:

3 Meals
Choose from select Walt Disney World Resort table-service and quick-service restaurants for all 3 of your meals. 1 adult table-service meal includes 1 appetizer, 1 entrée and 1 dessert (lunch or dinner only), 1 juice (breakfast only) and 1 single serving non-alcoholic beverage, or 1 full buffet.
1 child table-service meal includes 1 appetizer, 1 entrée, 1 dessert (lunch or dinner only) and 1 single serving non-alcoholic beverage, or 1 full buffet.
1 quick-service meal includes 1 entrée or 1 complete Combo Meal, 1 dessert (lunch or dinner only) or 1 juice (breakfast only) and 1 single serving non-alcoholic beverage.
Children ages 3-9 are limited to the Children's Menu (if one is available).
2 Snacks
A snack includes one of the following: frozen ice cream novelty, popsicle, fruit bar, popcorn scoop (single serving box), single serving grab bag of chips, single piece of whole fruit, 20-oz. bottle of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite or Dasani water, medium fountain soft drink or juice, 12-oz. coffee, hot chocolate or hot tea.Regular-
With the Disney Dining Plan you can choose snacks and meals at select restaurants throughout Walt Disney World® Resort including some that feature Disney Character Dining! Best of all, you can relax knowing many of your meals are paid for in advance.
For each night of your package, each Guest in your party enjoys:

1 Table-service Meal
1 adult table-service meal includes 1 entrée and 1 dessert (lunch or dinner only), 1 juice (breakfast only) and 1 single serving non-alcoholic beverage, or 1 full buffet. 1 child table-service meal includes 1 appetizer, 1 entrée, 1 dessert (lunch or dinner only) and 1 single serving non-alcoholic beverage, or 1 full buffet. Children ages 3-9 must order from a Children's Menu where available.
1 Quick-service Meal
1 quick-service meal includes 1 entrée or 1 complete Combo Meal, 1 dessert (lunch or dinner only) or 1 juice (breakfast only) and 1 single serving non-alcoholic beverage. Children ages 3-9 are limited to the Children's Menu (if one is available) at quick-service restaurants.
1 Snack
1 snack includes one of the following: frozen ice cream novelty, popsicle, fruit bar, popcorn scoop (single serving box), single serving grab bag of chips, single piece of whole fruit, 20-oz. bottle of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite or Dasani water, medium fountain soft drink or juice, 12-oz. coffee, hot chocolate or hot tea.

From the Disney site:

Deluxe-


3 Meals
Choose from select Walt Disney World Resort table-service and quick-service restaurants for all 3 of your meals. 1 adult table-service meal includes 1 appetizer, 1 entrée and 1 dessert (lunch or dinner only), 1 juice (breakfast only) and 1 single serving non-alcoholic beverage, or 1 full buffet.
. . .
1 quick-service meal includes 1 entrée or 1 complete Combo Meal, 1 dessert (lunch or dinner only) or 1 juice (breakfast only) and 1 single serving non-alcoholic beverage.

2 Snacks
A snack includes one of the following: frozen ice cream novelty, popsicle, fruit bar, popcorn scoop (single serving box), single serving grab bag of chips, single piece of whole fruit, 20-oz. bottle of Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite or Dasani water, medium fountain soft drink or juice, 12-oz. coffee, hot chocolate or hot tea.

Thank you for the info. I am familiar with the regular dining plan (I have the 2008 DDP brochure). I appreciate the material on the Deluxe plan. However, I was especially interested in the cost comparison so I did a little digging (aka Googling) and found the price of the Deluxe plan at MouseSavers.com It turned out to be $69.99 (ouch!) per adult.

With the Deluxe plan, if I'm correct, each adult "may" have three TS meals (if they are not on a diet:~D) from appetizer to dessert. However, the gratuity is still not included.

I'll be traveling by myself or with my wife, depending on circumstances. I like the idea of the Deluxe plan but I must be realistic. Thirty dollars more for much more food and a refillable mug? Is it worth it? (That's a rhetorical question, guys.:p)

as an FYI, it's my understanding that the deluxe dining plan still uses a credit system, so it's not necessarily 3 meals per day. a signature dining experience or dinner show is still 2 of the 3 credits.

as an FYI, it's my understanding that the deluxe dining plan still uses a credit system, so it's not necessarily 3 meals per day. a signature dining experience or dinner show is still 2 of the 3 credits.

Ah-h-h, you've been reading my mind. That is just what I've been thinking. I will be at WDW from March 2 to the 8th (7 days, 6 nights). Under the deluxe plan that means 18 TS credits. I've been thinking of using 8 for signature restaurants (Jiko, Yachtsman, the Brown Derby, and Flying Fish) leaving 10 TS credits.

Since I will be at the AKL Villas I could use two TS credits at the breakfast places (Mara and Boma) and another credit at the Galley in the Yacht Club (my favorite). Now I'm left with 7 credits.

Two dinners at Teppan Edo:p and (maybe) Boma and five lunches at Le Cellier, Liberty Tree Tavern, Rose and Crown, Yak and Yeti, and Coral Reef:p. This would use up my TS credits. Now I have to price all the meals from the menus and decide if I have a bargain by spending $420 for the deluxe plan.

Obviously, everything is in flux. I may choose the Coral Reef (one of my favs) for a dinner rather than lunch and so on. But the above is where my thinking is as of now.

Thanks for your reply. It's great to be able to plan for WDW.:D

Hi ChuckC,
I remembered how much you said you liked the Yacht Club Galley when I read something about it recently on AllEarsNet: http://allearsnet.com/din/restnews.htm

I don't know what this will mean for you, but I thought you should hear it from a "friend."

Hi ChuckC,
I remembered how much you said you liked the Yacht Club Galley when I read something about it recently on AllEarsNet: http://allearsnet.com/din/restnews.htm

I don't know what this will mean for you, but I thought you should hear it from a "friend."

Thanks for the heads up. Sounds like it will be interesting. Here is the description as noted in AllEars:

"Yacht Club Galley Changes - Beginning January 1, 2008, the Yacht Club Galley will become the Captain's Grille. With the name change will also come a menu change. The restaurant will continue to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast will include a buffet. Lunch will see items such as steak salad, lobster roll sandwich and Angus chuck burgers. For dinner, expect to see steak, chops, seafood and more."

I always got the impression that it was a "family restaurant". I wonder now if it will become more than that. I guess I have to check the menu.:confused:

Thanks again.

as an FYI, it's my understanding that the deluxe dining plan still uses a credit system, so it's not necessarily 3 meals per day. a signature dining experience or dinner show is still 2 of the 3 credits.


But consider that this is still a whole bunch of food! On a day that I'm planning on eating well for dinner (Cali. Grill, Brown Derby, etc.), I'll usually eat a small breakfast and a fast food lunch that's not too big. I've found from hard experience that I just can't eat 2 really big meals in a day, even if it's breakfast and dinner. And I'm a pretty big eater usually, but the deluxe plan seems like too much, even if you do the 2-credit locations.

But it may all work for you - good luck!

But consider that this is still a whole bunch of food! On a day that I'm planning on eating well for dinner (Cali. Grill, Brown Derby, etc.), I'll usually eat a small breakfast and a fast food lunch that's not too big. I've found from hard experience that I just can't eat 2 really big meals in a day, even if it's breakfast and dinner. And I'm a pretty big eater usually, but the deluxe plan seems like too much, even if you do the 2-credit locations.

But it may all work for you - good luck!

Your points are valid. I suspect that I would have difficulty with two big meals in a day tho its pleasant thinking about it. However, right know I'm in an investigative mode:cool: and just trying to figure out what is the better deal.

But thanks for your concern, Dan.:D

After going over the menus of the many restaurants, I have come up with a rather general analysis of the Deluxe DDP and the Regular DDP. The former costs (for a six night stay) $420 and the latter, $240. To get the true cost of both plans, one must factor in the 18% gratuity. What I did was that for each plan, I selected the restaurants that I might visit and the menu items that I probably would select. Granted, I probably had a bias for the more expensive items but this was not across the board.

Without throwing in a lot of figures (I did all the work but I'm not a mathematician---my daughter is and also has her master's in math) I added the initial cost of the plan and the 18% tip on the entrees I selected to get the true cost of the plans. When I did all of this, I discovered that for both plans the benefit to the Disney patrons was that they were able to have 20 to 21% more value available to them.

For example, in the RDDP my TS meals totaled $222 (gratuity $40) and the QS meals were $93 meaning that under the plan I ate about $315 worth of food. Throw in the six snacks (about $24) and the total amount I ate was about $340. Then I added the gratuity to the cost of the plan which means that the real cost was $280. So for an expenditure of $280, I consumed approximately $340 worth of food which is about 20-21% more value.

But, and this is a big but:D, with the DDDP one has (for a six night stay) 18 TS meals available (granted the patron may select a QS meal, but why?). I never factored in the 12 snacks available. This tilts the value to the DDDP, IMO.

With the RDDP one has 6 TS credits, 6 QS credits, and 6 snack credits. I can only wonder that there are a number of other meals (lunches and/or breakfasts and dinners if the patron wants to go to a signature restaurant) that must be paid OOP.

Of course, whichever plan a patron chooses, he or she does it for very personal reasons. And those reasons tend to be extremely important.

Personally, I will probably select the DDDP because I think it is the better deal. I love food but not necessarily to stuff myself. I love the preparation of food, its presentation, and watching the satisfaction on the faces of the diners. That is why I will probably select a number of signature restaurants for dinners. For the other dinners, lunches, and breakfasts I would choose restaurants in which food is presented well (e.g. Le Cellier).

I know that this is a lot of verbiage and I could be all wet but at least I have a better understanding of how the plans work and what is offered at the different restaurants.

My trip is rapidly approaching and I can barely wait!!!

Thanks for allowing me to spout off.