On
Feb 16, 2009
Christine from GA
Asked
Note: This answer was provided prior to the change to planDisney and may still contain references to Disney Parks Moms Panel.
Experiences, policies, pricing and other offerings are subject to change and may have changed since the date of this answer.
“
Me again. Doing Dluxe dining. Is there somewhere that clearly explains this in detail? The website hasn't been a lot of help. Do you use the same points for dining as for quick service meals? It sounds like the word "snack" has many meanings?”
Hi again Christine!
I'm honored you've designated me your personal "Disney Mom" planner! We had the Deluxe Dining Plan last summer and ate, and ate and ate our way through some of the best Disney meals we've had to date! In my opinion, it's actually the "easiest" plan to navigate because you have the most options (and food).
Here's how it works, you get three meal credits and two snack credits per person per day of your trip, plus a refillable mug that you can use at the resort (the mugs are a great deal). The meal credits can be used any way you like, quick service (counter-style) restaurants, table-service (e.g. Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace, Spoodles) or signature dining (Artist Point, California Grille, Jiko). The signature dining restaurants (these are the fine dining establishments) require two meal credits. At meals, you are entitled to an appetizer, entree, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage. (You don't get an appetizer on the standard plan).
In addition to this, you get two snacks per person per day. Snacks include a wide variety of choices, including popcorn, piece of fruit, DoleWhip, cereal with milk, yogurt parfait, bag of chips, etc. (There are many more options, and in general, snacks are items less than $4 on the menu.) You can also use snacks for beverages at the "snack carts" throughout the parks. We primarily used ours for popcorn for our kids and soda and/or water bottles while in the parks. We found that we got so much food with our meal credits that we weren't hungry for real "snack stuff".
The deluxe dining plan is a great value if you do a bit of planning, and make reservations at table service and signature dining establishments. We used it to get to dine at some of Disney's best, including California Grille, Jiko, Artist Point and Flying Fish Cafe. It was a wonderful culinary trip!
Bon appetite!
Tanya