Poly CL vs Standard room with Dining Plan

[Snyders22000]

I have an opportunity to stay Poly CL for a discounted rate this fall. CL with no dining plan will be $500 less than a standard room at Poly with the Regular Dining Plan (not QS plan). We are staying 7 nights with 2 adults and 3 kids (8,7,4). I'm thinking CL food plus the extra $500 to put towards Out of Pocket meals is the better deal than the standard room. However, food and wine will be going on and we do like to have a few sit down, non character meals, so maybe the dining plan would be nice to have. Which would you choose?

 

[Smittolis]

For me i would go with the CL and no dining plan, while the dining plan can be a good way to get some food without having to look / focus on the cost in real time, I much prefer having the ability and control to make those decisions as things play out. As stated I would do the CL and start booking character dining experiences ahead of time and enjoy the savings! Just make sure you take advantage of the food offerings in the CL

 

[dkrauss]

I would think saving $500 for food given your length of stay and size of party wouldn't be enough. You're taking younglings so you'll do at least 1 character meal.......right? Plus with the meal plan you get the cups.............Idk maybe its me CL doesn't give you meals...........just snacks. I think in this specific case.........the Dining plan is a better deal.

Doug

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The dining plan is generally not a good deal unless you do a lot of buffet/character meals and have at least equal kids to adults in your party.

How do you feel about potentially planning more meals with a dining plan? Are you wall-to-wall park people, or are you planning a lot of resort time? Breakfast is really the time at CL that is a "meal replacement." The lunch snacks and the apps/desserts in the evening aren't quite meals, and also rather require that you're planning a lot of resort time to access.

 

[rwdavis2]

The dining plan is generally not a good deal unless you do a lot of buffet/character meals and have at least equal kids to adults in your party.

How do you feel about potentially planning more meals with a dining plan? Are you wall-to-wall park people, or are you planning a lot of resort time? Breakfast is really the time at CL that is a "meal replacement." The lunch snacks and the apps/desserts in the evening aren't quite meals, and also rather require that you're planning a lot of resort time to access.

I agree with this. CL is only really good for breakfast. I've done it at AKL and would never bother again. I'd also never buy the dining plan at full cost. It's not designed to save money nor do I think it is a "convenience". You still have to handle the tip anyway at the end.

 

[Armycavprincess]

We did the Poly with Deluxe dining plan(2 adults 2 kids3&6) and Poly CL with no dining plan and we prefer Poly CL. The kids got a great breakfast in the lounge and then we did a late lunch or early dinner. We found the kids really didn't want to snack while in the park, but as soon as we hit the room they would want something. It was so easy to run to lounge and pick up a few snacks. We love club level.

 

[Hopefully]

The dining plan is generally not a good deal unless you do a lot of buffet/character meals and have at least equal kids to adults in your party.

How do you feel about potentially planning more meals with a dining plan? Are you wall-to-wall park people, or are you planning a lot of resort time? Breakfast is really the time at CL that is a "meal replacement." The lunch snacks and the apps/desserts in the evening aren't quite meals, and also rather require that you're planning a lot of resort time to access.

I think it is important to note that CL is NOT a "meal replacement" other than breakfast.
Personally I would do the Standard Room and not do the DDP. We have Always done the DDP in the past and liked it.
But on this upcoming trip I am "prepaying" for our food, if you will. I am budgeting and buying Disney Gift Cards, over several months. They will be paid in full and we will use them to pay for our OOP meals.
That said, DDP snack credits can be used on F & W Kiosk food and it is a savings for some of the more expensive food items.
Good Luck

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Poly CL fan here. Whether CL is a better "deal" than the DP is pretty subjective and depends a lot on how you tour. For us, I would do CL all day long before ever doing a DP of any kind or cost, but that's just me. It can be difficult to make the "math work" with CL when purely comparing dining costs as it's not just about the food.

FWIW, I just got back from Poly CL two weeks ago and posted extensively with photos over on the CL thread. My first post is here but continues over several pages so make sure to click forward. Here's a link to the first post: Disney's Club Level (CL) Information and Questions

Poly CL has recently undergone some pretty significant changes to their snacks and evening apps, they were much better than prior trips. Fresher ingredients, good flavors, more variety than before.

Our typical CL day is breakfast in the lounge, a more substantial lunch out wherever we are, and then often we are content with evening apps for dinner. I agree it's not meant to be a meal replacement, but it often is for us because we're just not that hungry come end of the day. This applies to both the adults and kids. Granted this works for us because we do tend to be 'around' the resort more often than not as we're not commandos. I don't always follow this pattern - we'll still plan a few important ADRs here and there - but it's more or less a typical day.

For me, yes, part of CL is the food, but there are also other small benefits as well. You're guaranteed to be in the Hawaii longhouse in whatever view category you booked - I like knowing where I'll be in advance, that's worth something for me. You have access to Disney Signature Services pre-arrival who can help with any itinerary planning, adding requests to your reservation, etc. You have dedicated CM's onsite that can help with any planning while there, problems, etc. I don't really use DSS or the CL CMs while there, but it's nice to have in case.

Oh, and there's this. My favorite view in WDW.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

I would not do a CL stay with the dining plan. It's a lot of food for my family. While we do enjoy the CL quite a bit, the rooms at the poly Hawaii building will not be any larger or have any different amenities than standard room there. But... That lounge view of the Fireworks is impossible to beat
We love having the option of enjoying the fireworks and desserts in the lounge without fighting crowds leaving the MK. It's also great for us because our teenage daughter can relax in the lounge and get some alone time while her younger siblings are napping.
I think you have to price out your dining expenses and analyze what will be most cost effective for your family. Either way, the Poly is amazing and I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Surgie2]

I'm not an expert having done neither CL or dining plan but after looking at options for our 2018 trip we are going to do Poly CL. Our grandkids will be 5,5,4 and 13 months so a bit younger than your crew. One of the deciding factors for us is that we don't want to be tied done to a bunch of ADRs and we don't want a bunch of sit-down restaurant meals. Plus our grandkids for now are somewhat picky and light eaters. I think the CL offerings with the addition of some healthy snacks in the rooms will be fine for them. We might choose to order pizza to the room one night or do the Ohana Feast as a carry-out. We want to be pretty flexible. The exceptions will be one or two character meals but two will be the most we do in a one-week stay.

 

[caliope]

I'd do CL over DP simply because beer and wine are available in the lounge but are not part of any dining plan. That alone saves us money. The breakfast options are more than sufficient for the way we eat and the snacks in the afternoons and evenings, plus the desserts, supplement our OOP table service meals to the point that we've found we order (and spend) less overall on those meals.

 

[fairygagamother]

I vote for club level. It's a great place to relax. Snacks & drinks are available pretty much all day long. And adult beverages! Even the larger size Poly rooms can get a little claustrophobic sometimes & the lounge is a great escape. If your littles still nap or rest, your older kids have a separate space to hang out in for awhile (with a parent of course!). And as mentioned previously, you simply cannot beat watching the fireworks or the electric water parade from the lounge & then walk mere steps to your room for bedtime. And the dining plan has gotten SO expensive!

 

[Hopefully]

I'm not an expert having done neither CL or dining plan but after looking at options for our 2018 trip we are going to do Poly CL. Our grandkids will be 5,5,4 and 13 months so a bit younger than your crew. One of the deciding factors for us is that we don't want to be tied done to a bunch of ADRs and we don't want a bunch of sit-down restaurant meals. Plus our grandkids for now are somewhat picky and light eaters. I think the CL offerings with the addition of some healthy snacks in the rooms will be fine for them. We might choose to order pizza to the room one night or do the Ohana Feast as a carry-out. We want to be pretty flexible. The exceptions will be one or two character meals but two will be the most we do in a one-week stay.

I'm trying to follow your thoughts. I totally understand not wanting to be tied to evening ADR's with the ages of your Grandkids. But are you saying that you will use CL offerings for meals for picky children? How about the adults?
In our experience that is doubtful.
Good Luck

 

[Babsy]

I usually like to stay Poly CL, but not as a way to replace meals.

We find that it is not always convenient to be back at the Poly by 5:00 pm for evening apps. So we often get our dinner elsewhere. We do occasionally have dessert in the evening if we happen to be there in time before going to bed. But we aren't big 'sweet' fans, so this isn't often or very much. More of an occasional nice touch than a substantial impact on our OOP dining costs.

Lunch has been the least well supplied meal in the lounge, so we always book/eat lunch in the parks. Even though this seems to be better supplied these days, i doubt that we would often want to make a point to return to the resort for lunch. So much easier to eat where we are at the time.

Breakfast is a great meal in the lounge and we never book breakfast ADR's when staying CL - unless we want a PPO booking to go early into an empty park.

We don't drink alcohol, so that isn't a factor.

For us, the food in the lounge is an occasional convenience if we happen to be around. However, we don't find that it replaces dining elsewhere. Plus, we wouldn't want to ONLY eat at the lounge. There are just way too many restaurants that we love in WDW!!!

In your case, I would do the Poly CL, and book ADR's for the restaurants that i want. The $500 will help, but likely will not cover your meals. I wouldn't buy the dining plan if staying CL - just way too much food.

The least expensive route would be the standard room with the dining plan, IMO. However, a lot depends upon how much you eat and where you dine.

Good luck choosing!!! Either way, you will be staying at the Poly, which is always special!!!

 

[Surgie2]

I'm trying to follow your thoughts. I totally understand not wanting to be tied to evening ADR's with the ages of your Grandkids. But are you saying that you will use CL offerings for meals for picky children? How about the adults?
In our experience that is doubtful.

We'll see how it goes. In our experience if we have simple things on hand in the room fridge (fruit, cheese, carrots, yogurt, applesauce and veggie pouches, PB&J) we can put together enough of an evening snack that they are satisfied, especially if they have eaten a good lunch and we can also fill in a bit from the CL. We are very unlikely to have all 10 people together in a restaurant for dinner on more than one or two evenings but the adults are very resourceful about tag teaming...some eating out, others ordering in if CL offerings are not enough (likely will be enough for my husband and me but maybe not the parents). At least that's what has worked for us on previous vacations where we have not had a kitchen available. We're pretty laid back and to us it would add stress to run to multiple ADRs taking time away from the parks or having to leave the resort just to get somewhere for dinner but clearly our style isn't for everyone

 

[Snyders22000]

Thanks everyone! I think we decide on CL. We've stayed CL at CR before and did really enjoy the convenience of having breakfast, drinks, and snacks we could grab and go. We aren't huge eaters and our kids often split meals so I think supplementing CL with some quick service and a few ADR's will be the best fit of convenience and savings. Thanks for all of the helpful advice!

 

[designermv]

I would do Poly CL over Poly standard with dining plan any day. I've done DDP several times and I always feel like there is way too much food. I think it also depends on your family's dining style and preferences too. Some don't feel that CL offerings are a "meal replacement" and while we always supplement with a few TS and CS offerings, my kids and I tend to eat "tapas style" so we're totally content and satisfied putting together a plate or two of assorted apps and veggies and calling it a meal. I find I can rarely finish a full TS meal so I love the CL offerings for that reason. I also get sick of my kids wasting food on the dining plan. With CL they can take only what they want and will eat, and if they're still hungry, we can head to Captain Cook's for flatbread or sandwiches. They absolutely love the dessert offerings at night too.

 

[dkrauss]

I have a question for CL folks. Do you all really spend that much time in the Lounge? I do realize they have alcoholic beverages but other than a beer before you leave for dinner does it save that kind of money? Just curious.

Doug

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I have a question for CL folks. Do you all really spend that much time in the Lounge? I do realize they have alcoholic beverages but other than a beer before you leave for dinner does it save that kind of money? Just curious.

Doug

Save money? No. Probably no where close if I did the math on any given trip.

Do we spend much time in the lounge? For us, yes, but the response is really going to vary based on individual styles/preferences. We're not comandoes, our kids are young, we put a lot of value on resort time, so tend to be 'around.' Admittedly that could all change as our kids get older and our interests grow, but for now it works very well for us.

We don't go out of our way to be in the lounge for any given service, but if we're around, we do.

The "convenience" factor is more of what is worth it for us, not any sort of food/cost equation. Convenience takes on several forms, be it having the lounge space for extra room (eg, I can get up early and do work in the lounge and not bother folks in the room); pre-planning services to help with things like room requests; knowing what building and/or location I'll be in; dedicated CM in the building in case you need anything (not needed often, but sometimes it's nice to have), and yes, the food/drink factor. Breakfast is the real highlight especially with the kids, plus the small things like grabbing a cup of coffee to go, a beer while the rest of the family is getting ready, etc, etc.

It's a bunch of small, arguably inconsequential things,that add up to an enjoyable vacation. Again, just our perspective!