Disney Dining Plan (Deluxe Version)

So I have been reading several articles about the Disney Dining Plan and want to point out a couple of things I have noticed about the Deluxe version.

You have to eat 3 huge meals a day! - False

First they reference having 3 meals a day, that is not exactly the case you get 3 meals for each night you stay.  Our next trip we will arrive in Orlando in the late evening, stay at a cheap offsite hotel then arrive at the counter as early in the am as we can to get our vacation started.  Then we will be staying an extra night (not on our reservation) at the end of our trip so we end up with 8 nights but 9 days.  So take 24/9 and you get to spread out the meals a little more.  We will be eating at the castle one morning (before the park opens) and going to Hoopy Doo Music Review (also 2 credits).  So now we are taking 22/9 so that is 2.5 meals a day so now we are at 3 meals every other day.

You will waste 1.5 hours each time you eat! - False

Plan to eat at the restaurants that let you in the park early (Castle, Crystal Palace, Tusker House).  That way you will get you in the parks before it opens.  That will actually add to our usable park time as we will already be in the park at rope drop and be able to enjoy some great photos without a lot of people.

So if we start our day at 7am get to a before parks character meal at 8am.  Share a quick service meal in the afternoon (say in our hotel before our afternoon nap/pool time) everyday and then have dinner around 7 that is all we need to do (only time out of our park hours will be for dinner).

Character meals are the only time I will meet and greet with characters so it actually saves time from waiting in line you can multi-task.

The cost is too high / not a good value! - False

The Deluxe Plan is expensive but when if your going to eat sit down twice a day it is pretty similar in pricing except you get more times to eat and  more selection (as you don't have to worry about the cost of what your eating).  Also if you don't need to eat your 2 snacks you can purchase items that you can take home as gifts.  Some examples are popcorn, rice crispy treats, bagged candy and more...  If you don't use all your dining credits try and purchase snacks with them sometimes they let you.  Generally speaking you really need to plan out what you are going to eat as it might be cheaper to pay out of pocket but you might end up skimping out on a lot of fun.  Don't try and eat counter service for a week just to save $100 as you will really miss out on a lot of unique dining opportunities.

Convenience is not really something to count! - False 

My opinion is I like to have everything paid for before I go so I don't worry about money while on my trip it is not fun to see costs add up at every meal I don't want to be thinking about the bill I want to be enjoying Mickey and Eeyore.