Hi Scott,
Welcome back to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! I love that you all are doing a Daddy and Daughter trip to the Walt Disney World Resort!
My family always gets a dining plan and it is worth it for us. With table-service restaurants, we make reservations to avoid waiting in long lines for food, we eat in lovely air-conditioned restaurants (in the summer, this is priceless) and we enjoy good food! We also use the dining plan to eat at signature restaurants. If by high-end you mean signature restaurants, I definitely think the
Disney Deluxe Dining Plan is worth it. With the Deluxe Dining Plan, each of you will get three meals and two snacks per night of stay along with a resort-refillable mug. Since signature restaurants typically require two table-service meal credits, the deluxe dining plan has given us enough credits to enjoy at least two signature restaurants per visit. There are also nice table-service restaurants that only require one table-service meal credit per person. If you do not plan to eat at signature restaurants, the Disney Dining Plan should work for you!
To determine how many meal credits a restaurants requires, simply go to the web page for that restaurant and click on the link that says "Some Dining Plans Accepted." You should then see a a pop-up chart that indicates the number of meal credits required. We always check the number of required meal credits before making dining reservations. Remember also that the resort refillable mugs are included on the dining plan. Our girls love to take them to a refillable drink station while we are at the pool or just in the room!
Scott, as you consider the value of the dining plans, I also suggest that you check restaurant menus of the places you plan to visit. Just go to the restaurant website and click on "View Menu."
Magic, memories and Minnie Mouse hugs,
Donyell