DDP In May - how to plan? Overwhelmed!

[egritz]

We are going to DW May 11-20 (our 1st visit ever) & decided to purchase the DDP ($40 a day one). Now that I'm reading more & seeing warnings to get reservations, I'm thinking about cancelling that.

It is just my husband & I traveling & when we travel our appetites are extremely inconsistent. Sometimes we are hungry for a big breakfast, other times we don't even eat until lunch. Plus I would hate to have to schedule our park visits, etc. around dining reservations.

Problem is that we never know when we are going to have a big meal or just snack on something small from the counter. In addition to that we don't have plans to visit specific parks on specific days, in fact our only set plans (besides the plane tix) are going to see La Nouba on Wednesday night (and I'm going to attempt to get reservations at Wolfgang Puck)

So for you more experienced DW travelor's, can you provide any advice on how to go about planning the trip to make best use of the DDP? And how many of the restaurants really charge for cancelled reservations, and what is that charge?

Thanks in advance for any & all help/advice. We want this trip to be memorable & as stress-free as possible.

(Staying at the Wilderness)

[msce2]

Where to start.....You really DO need reservations for your Table Service restaurants. There are stickies at the top of this page for menu's and for the dining plan brochures. I would print it out and reference it for the restaurants that ARE participating in the DDP. You can also check out

http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

This has menus and reviews. I would pick out your 1st choice, 2nd choice and possibly even 3rd choices and then call Disney dining ASAP! You are only 60 days out or less now, so you are at a disadvantage. It's definitely still possible, you will just have to be a little more flexible and have other options.

To make the Dining plan work for you, you do need to be a little tied down to your ressies. Most will not charge for a cancellation, but there are some (those that take credit card holds) You could always try to wing it when you got there, but you may not be able to get a reservation or they may not be accepting walk ups. If you are only 2 people you might have more luck than a bigger party. But it would be hit or miss.

The other option is to switch to the counter service plan which is about 10 cheaper per person. This gives you 2 counter/quick service meals per day and 2 snacks. (You can find the full info on the stickies at the top of the dining boards) This way you don't have to worry about making and ressies, and you can just eat at any of the participating counter service restaurants. These are places like Cosmic Rays, Flame Tree BBQ, the Food courts at some of the hotels.

[kat3668]

The Deluxe plan is wayyyyy too much food! I'd downgrade to the cheaper plan. I went with a friend last year who had the deluxe and we'd no sooner be done with one ressie and it was time for another. So if you do not want to be tied to alot of ressies just do the basic.

[egritz]

We are currently signed up for the $40 plan (1 table service, 1 counter, 1 snack per day).

I hadn't thought of downgrading to get the 2 counter service 1 snack plan, but when I suggested that to husband, he said he thinks we'll be wanting to sit down for at least 1 meal a day to rest & recouperate. He wasn't too happy about having to plan our vacation around eating of all things (we're there for rides & fun, not food!)

[jewjubean]

Honestly we've done the DP twice now and when I decided the days I was doing what park (based on EMH/LMH) and other things I was planning on doing then I planned what restaurant I was interested in eating in. We made our dining ressies and got to WDW and decided that we didnt want to eat at a certain place and that day called to try a different place. Luckly for us they had spots open and we changed them. Thats how we did it...Hope that helps!