Looking For Specific Disney Dining Plan Advice

katiee_106

Earning My Ears
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
We are on the Disney 2017 Deluxe Dining Plan and our group of four will be visiting Walt Disney World in December. I am looking for some ADR advice. We have already done our 180 day bookings and we stuck to 1 Table Service meal per day. I am now wondering if I should add more Table Service Meals to get our money’s worth on the Deluxe plan or if it would take up too much of our park time. The meals in *s are what I was thinking of adding and they are all available at this point. Any advice would be great! Thank you!


Day 1: Arrival (CSR and Disney Springs)

Dinner @ Morimoto Asia - 8pm

**thinking of adding Planet Hollywood lunch**

Day 2: Epcot

Dinner @ Via Napoli - 6pm

Day 3: Magic Kingdom

Breakfast @ Cinderella’s - 8:30am

**thinking of adding an early dinner at the Plaza Restaurant**

Day 4: Animal Kingdom

Breakfast @ Tusker House - 9am

**thinking of adding dinner at the Rainforest Cafe**

Day 5: Hollywood Studios

Lunch @ Sci-Fi - 1pm

**thinking of adding dinner at 50s Prime Time Cafe**

Day 6: Animal Kingdom

Dinner @ Yak & Yeti - 6pm

Day 7: Magic Kingdom

Dinner @ BOG - 7pm

Day 8: Universal Studios

*None*

Day 9: Resort Hopping

Breakfast @ Kona - 9:30am

Dinner @ Yachtsman - 7:30pm

Day 10: Departure (CSR and Disney Springs)

Lunch @ Raglan Road - 12pm
 
The Deluxe is meant to be three table service meals per day,maybe you should consider switching to the middle plan?
 
On the Deluxe Dining Plan (DxDDP) you get 3 dining credits per night per person that can be used at Table Service or Counter Service restaurants.

It looks like you are staying 9 nights so that is 27 dining credits per person. Currently you are using 13 credits and if you book the *ed ones that's only an additional 4 credits. Also of the restaurants you listed several are relatively inexpensive (Plaza Inn, Sci Fi and Kona breakfast.)

Currently you are not getting the value (cost) of the DxDDP with the restaurants you've listed if you are paying for the plan. It would probably be better to forego the dining plan and pay out of pocket OR downgrade to the regular Disney Dining Plan (1 Table Service, 1 Counter Service and 2 snacks per night, per person.) Pay for the more expensive meals with the DDP and pay out of pocket for the less expensive meals.

To get the full value of the DxDDP you have to do mainly table service restaurants. When we had it, we did two meals a day - a 1 credit breakfast or lunch and a 2 credit signature dinner.

If you are getting free dining and upgraded to the DxDDP, the break even point will be much lower so the biggest issue will be the amount of time it will take to eat and to get to and from restaurants and the amount of food. For us it was too much time and too much food.
 
On the Deluxe Dining Plan (DxDDP) you get 3 dining credits per night per person that can be used at Table Service or Counter Service restaurants.

It looks like you are staying 9 nights so that is 27 dining credits per person. Currently you are using 13 credits and if you book the *ed ones that's only an additional 4 credits. Also of the restaurants you listed several are relatively inexpensive (Plaza Inn, Sci Fi and Kona breakfast.)

Currently you are not getting the value (cost) of the DxDDP with the restaurants you've listed if you are paying for the plan. It would probably be better to forego the dining plan and pay out of pocket OR downgrade to the regular Disney Dining Plan (1 Table Service, 1 Counter Service and 2 snacks per night, per person.) Pay for the more expensive meals with the DDP and pay out of pocket for the less expensive meals.

To get the full value of the DxDDP you have to do mainly table service restaurants. When we had it, we did two meals a day - a 1 credit breakfast or lunch and a 2 credit signature dinner.

If you are getting free dining and upgraded to the DxDDP, the break even point will be much lower so the biggest issue will be the amount of time it will take to eat and to get to and from restaurants and the amount of food. For us it was too much time and too much food.

I should have specified that we are getting Free Dining and just had to pay a small up charge to deluxe, and we did do the math and it will be worth it, even buying quick service and snacks. Thanks for the advice.
 


I would absolutely add more ADRs to make the most of the deluxe plan. We generally use it as either breakfast or lunch and a nice dinner, so we have two meals per day, plenty of time in between, and a good balance between park and dining. I really don't like in-park counter service - not the food but the overall experience of standing in lines and hunting for empty tables - so when we do the DxDDP we do almost all table service meals.

A few specific comments:

I would think about moving Morimoto Asia to lunch and Raglan Road to dinner that evening. Then if you want Planet Hollywood, you can plan that for lunch on your last day. My logic here is that Morimoto has an all day menu, so the experience is the same for lunch as for dinner, but Raglan Road is more fun in the evenings when the band and dancers are performing.

If you decide to add 50s Prime Time, you might want to swap the order - Sci-fi is open later most evenings, so if you can get 50sPT for lunch and Sci-Fi for dinner you can space the meals out a bit more than vice versa, assuming that fits around your plans for the evening shows.

I really like The Plaza. It is casual, simple, and not very expensive so maybe that's why it doesn't get much love from dining plan fans, but the food is good and the desserts are fabulous.

Good luck with your planning!
 
The deluxe is way too much food if you are only hitting 1TS credits per meal. It is somewhat designed so that you can do 1 TS or QS (not a good value) and then a signature 2 credit meal. If you upgraded for only a small amount of $$ then it seems worth it to keep it, but maybe see what you can snag for 2TS credits so that you spurge -- Jiko @ AKL is suppose to be amazing and a visit to the resort is an experience itself
 


I agree with what everyone has said. If you are only planning one TS a day, the deluxe plan is not for you. When we do that plan, we will have two TS a day, and signature meals on a least a few of the days. When we do an early breakfast and later dinner, we will mix in a counter service midday. But more often it is a late morning character meal followed by a signature dinner or dinner show.

The deluxe plan is not for everyone. We only spend about a half day at a park, and dining is as much a part of our Disney experience as the parks.

Based on your plans above, you are going to have to add meals to your day, the question is whether they will be TS or CS. If you want to be more flexible with adding CS meals to your plans, I would think the regular dining plan is a better fit for you.
 
To decide whether additional meals will take "too much time" you have to think about your group.

Does your party consist of children who will want or need a break midday? If so, could a sit-down lunch qualify, or will you also be returning to the resort for a nap?

Is this a first trip for people in your group? If so, and they are theme park open to close people, they may see the dining as a waste of time.

Is this the only trip some people in your group will ever take? If so, is the priority new experiences or riding every single ride (and will the crowds help or hinder this)?

Going at a low crowd time, with a park open to park close mentality, I have never had an issue with two TS meals in a day other than it being a ton of food. But, I generally travel with people who can keep moving all day, know anything they miss they can do next trip, and enjoy ac breaks for meals (during low crowd times).
 
We've had QDP this trip and it's way more meals and food than we can eat. We've started to share meals. On our next trip we're planning to upgrade because it will be just two adults and we'll be happy to plan around a nice break in calmer surroundings!
 
What about booking a Candlelight Processional Package for your Epcot day? That uses 2 credits. I didn't notice if you mentioned where you were staying. I would definitely add a dinner at Prime Time Cafe, and probably breakfasts on any day when you only have a dinner planned right now. I was at 1900 Park Fare a month ago and we could easily have been out of there in 30 minutes. The characters all came around quickly, and as it is buffet there is no waiting for your food to arrive. Same experience at Garden Grill. What about an early lunch on Day 7 at Liberty Tree Tavern?

I am trying to figure out how to convince my friend to do the DlxDP when we are there just 3 nights in December. We already have a CP Dinner at Chefs de France and 1900 Park Fare dinner booked :)
 
I’ll look in to all of that. I don’t think I did mention where we’re staying-Coronado Springs Resort. Thanks for all the great advice, I appreciate it!
 
I’ll look in to all of that. I don’t think I did mention where we’re staying-Coronado Springs Resort. Thanks for all the great advice, I appreciate it!

Then instead of Rainforest on your Animal Kingdom day, I'd suggest having dinner after you leave the park so you can try Maya Grill. We were so pleasantly surprised by everything there - the food, the guitarist, the atmosphere, just an all-round good experience. You don't hear much about it on the boards, I think because it is really only practical if you're staying at CSR, but we really enjoyed it.
 

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