Reviews of Disney’s DELUXE Dining Plan
Reviewed by ROCCOFIRE Review Date: 07/11/2014
Rating: (0) Recommended
The first time we used the plan. Incredible amount of food, and we ate all of epoct, and many restaurants that I would never go if I paid, like France and Morocco, and what a awesome surprise. The 2 snacks a day great for buying beverages during the hot month of July. BUT we only ate twice a day because you get an appetizer, main course and dessert plus refills on beverages, we were too full. So much food, but you are able to order anything and eat anywhere that was nice. I wish I could donate my un used dinning credits. It was nice to not to worry about buying food, but TIPS not included.
Pros:
a variety to eat anywhereCons:
too much foodReviewed by Disney nut Review Date: 09/29/2018
Rating: (1) Recommended
its easy and convenient because its paid for in advance
Pros:
you can do a lot of character meals and save moneyCons:
too much food for most peopleReviewed by tiffynicole1984 Review Date: 12/29/2018
Rating: (7) Recommended
I would do the deluxe dining plan again but you have to choose some two-credit signature restaurants otherwise it's too much food. My boyfriend and I used this for our December 2018 trip and we chose what we wanted - we didn't choose the most expensive items - and I still saved over $500. I wish Disney would let you use snack credits towards merchandise items as well. With so much food, we didn't need snack credits! You'll end up getting a lot to take home the last day you're there to use up those snack credits.
Pros:
Meals paid in advanceCons:
Too much food - portion sizes are so huge as most restaurants, too many snack credits.Reviewed by KAA1960 Review Date: 12/27/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
We decided to try the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan on a recent trip because Disney had changed the rules on how entitlements can be used. We were on a trip with two separate rooms/reservations (3 people & 4 people). We bought the Deluxe Plan for one of the rooms (4 people) and were able to feed BOTH rooms since we were able to share the entitlements. 3 meals per day is a lot of food - we sometimes shared meals (especially table service which also includes an appetizer) and when each used a meal, we were able to (wanted to) skip other meals. The downside of this is 'managing' the plan - I felt like I spent a lot of time making sure we were making the best use of entitlements for 7 people.
Pros:
We definitely saved money and had PLENTY to eat. If you are in a situation like ours (2 reservations), I'd recommend buying it for 1 room. In my opinion it is way too much food unless sharing.Cons:
Managing all of the meals/entitlements for 7 people.Reviewed by ibwalrash Review Date: 02/10/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
This was our second time using the deluxe dining plan, and we had the same feelings as our first time, lots of fun to eat out all the time, but too much food! We appreciate getting the added bonus of appetizers when compared to the regular dining plan. But it can feel like a full time job to get your money's worth.
Is it worth it? If you and your family like to enjoy taking a break and sitting down at a table service restaurant at different times throughout the day, then yes. If you want to sample different restaurants throughout the world that offer foods that you would never get at a counter service restaurant, than yes.
Some drawbacks. In order to maximize the delux dining plan, you must eat 3 table service meals a day. This means making reservations well in advance for the popular restaurant and being flexible with all other plans to be able to accommodate your dining plans.
If you want to eat your way through Disney, then the Deluxe is a great way to experience some really good restaurants in the World. Otherwise, consider a regular dining plan and pay out of pocket for appetizers and extra meals.
Pros:
Adds an "all-inclusive" aspectCons:
so much foodReviewed by jim61vik Review Date: 11/22/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
My family and I stayed at the Polynesian resort 11/13-1/18 for 5 nights. We had the free dining plan upgraded to Deluxe.
My family consists of my 2 daughters (10,17) wife and myself. The 10 yr old likes steak and good size meals and is often not enamored of the "childrens menu" so we though it would be interesting to see how she did with nearly all grown up meals.
First off we were happy with the cost since we just did the upgrade on free dining at a deluxe resort we ended up getting more than our moneys worth assuming we would have made the same dining choices paying direct out of pocket (which we probably would not have had quit as many very large meals).
We tried a bunch of character meals:
Ohana - Breakfast
Chef Mickey - Breakfast
Park Fare (at GF) - Breakfast
Crystal Palace - Breakfast
They were all decent Chef Mickey probably had the best food and variety of the bunch. They are all fairly similar. Photos are very nice we had Photo Pass Plus.
We also tried the Arkeshus lunch which the whole family thought was awesome! The princesses there were unbelievably friendly best character experience I've ever had at Disney.
We ate at Artist Point which some of us loved and some of us didn't I'll try and write reviews of all the restaurants we tried.
We also tried Tuto Italia, Kona Cafe, Liberty Tree Tavern, 50's Primetime as well as a couple quick dining options.
One thing to keep in mind is that the tips on these meals can be substantial our tip alone was over $50 at Artist Point so make sure you keep those in mind if you are watching your budget. We did not drink any alcoholic beverages on this visit but those are also not included.
The amount of food is really staggering and I think you need to realize you aren't going to be able to eat it all at every meal. My youngest couldn't eat half of most of her meals. We did later on skip a couple appetizers or deserts just because we were full.
The biggest complaint I have is how long it takes, the servers in general are very cordial and attentive but some locations just don't seem to have enough servers or they have too many tables for the servers this seems especially so on the breakfast buffets. It takes forever to get your check, wait to process the tip, get your pin number, wait for the desert menus, etc. It was almost an 1.5 - 2 hours for each meal. Do the math... if you have 3 sit down meals you're talking about 5-6 hours of your day. And some restaurants are very busy and even if you are on time for your reservation you may wait 15-30 minutes. I don't have the answer to this problem, but Disney really needs to look at it and try to streamline it. It's to their benefit to get you back into the park and spend more money. I never felt rushed at any meal even though I had read that some people have experienced that. For us it was the opposite we were all sitting at our tables repeatedly waiting for something.
Another negative is the ADR, if you have to change a reservation it is nearly impossible to do so. So if you are running late you end up canceling and with the new rules on canceling a day ahead this will cost you if you just don't go.
Not sure how we'll do this next time. I like the food but it was too much. I wish they had another category with maybe 2 sit down meals a day and 1 quick serve.
This is definitely a good way to try some very nice restaurants if you can manage the schedules.
Pros:
Lots of good food choicesCons:
Takes too much timeReviewed by 1283alex Review Date: 05/29/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
If you have the money and want to indulge in a little food luxury, this is your best plan. Does provide you with a lot of food. Felt like we wasted a lot of food (especially desserts -were just too full). Liked having appetizers. Cost effective - we would have spent way more money eating like this if paying cash.
Pros:
a nice luxury - money saverCons:
too much food -Reviewed by DisneyDana Review Date: 09/29/2018
Rating: (9) Recommended
We had the deluxe dining plan the last time we visited WDW and it was so very convenient! I loved the freedom of knowing that we had already pre-paid and could order what we wanted with no worries of "should I spend this much" etc. It was definitely worth it, especially with the snack credits! Made you excited to see what you could get!
Pros:
No hassle, easy to use, very convenient.Cons:
a bit pricey and always works out in Disney's favor and not the guest.Reviewed by Ladies4Disney Review Date: 04/17/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We have used the Deluxe Dining Plan in the past and decided to use it again this trip. It is a lot of food, but we were able to eat at many of the Signature restaurants for dinner. We used one table service credit for an early lunch and scheduled a later dinner at the restaurants that required two table credits. We saved money on this plan and would use it again. I wouldn't recommend it if you don't use it for all table service meals. You would probably lose money on this plan.
Pros:
3 Credits a DayCons:
A lot of food.Reviewed by BermudaJen Review Date: 09/01/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
The deluxe dining plan is great if your family members are big eaters. The great thing is that you pre-pay and don't feel like you are shelling out money every 5 minutes for drinks and snacks. Unfortunately, we are not huge eaters so we wasted credits because we just couldn't eat 3 meals and 2 snacks every day. I used snack credits at the end of trip to purchase cookies,etc. to bring home as souvenirs.
If you can eat 3 large meals and 2 snacks every day, the deluxe meal plan is a great value and very convenient. For us, I think we will go with the regular meal plan and if we go over by a meal or snack or two, we will pay out of pocket.
