DxDP - is this way too much food and time consuming with kids?

[MagicPrincess]

I've been looking over the dining plans, staying CL, combining both...trying to find the right fit for our family (me, DH, DD(will be 8.5) DS(will be 4.5)....

My main concern is, with the DxDP will we actually be able to consume this much food each day, and would the basic plan be enough?

I figure each day we could do a character breakfast (maybe use 2TS with the Cinderella breakfast), CS lunch, and TS dinner.

If we stay 7 nights, I'm not sure I'll be real concerned about cutting into park time. but any less, maybe :confused3

I just wondered if any other families with younger children have tried the DxDP and wondered how it worked out for you!

Thanks!

[mrsannb]

I thought about doing it with our last trip, but just couldn't figure out how we'd eat that much! I ended up adding in a couple of meals that we paid out of pocket for, and it ended up being a lot cheaper and plenty of food. What I recommend is planning out each restaurant you really want to eat at, and what times you think you would eat. Estimate that it takes about an hour to eat a counter service meal, and 1 1/2 to 2 hours for most table service (some are not really any longer than counter sevice after you've waiting in line and eaten). Keep in mind the travel time involved with going to certain restaurants. Are you going to get up at 7 for breakfast at 9 that you finish eating at 10:30 and have an ADR for lunch at 12? Or maybe you wait till 2pm and you get done eating around 3:00. Are you going to be hungry again before the kids are ready for bed? If you are, do you really want another table service? Is it worth the money on Deluxe to spend it at counter services? For us, it works well to do a light breakfast (maybe a cs meal, or maybe a fruit salad snack credit) and a counter service lunch, or a brunch around 10-11, and then a nice dinner.
So see where you want to eat-plan it out a little-and then see how much it would be to pay OOP for the least expensive meals that go over your regular dining plan allotment. Does it end up costing less than DxDDP? For us it was about $400 less to go with regular dining and add in a lunch at Sci Fi and a breakfast at Boma.

[Tam1067]

We're doing it this August after using the basic DDP three times in the past.

Last year on the basic, we found that we were paying OOP for a few breakfasts and lunches as well as one of the signature meals for dinner, so this year, we just bit the bullet and moved up.

We're doing TS each night and then either a character breakfast or a TS lunch on a few days. Now if we were trying to do three TS meals a day, yes, that would be too much. But my kids like breakfast buffets, and they really like the Plaza (in MK), 50s P/T, and Chefs for lunch.

I'm just staggering the schedule so that on days when we have a character breakfast, we are doing CS lunch, and then on days when we're doing a TS lunch, we will have snacks for breakfast.

[MagicPrincess]

Thanks so much for your input! I jotted down a few restaurants we want to go to, some we'd like to try, a few character meals, and I think our best option would be the DDP- not deluxe! However that could totally change once DH starts researching all the yummy restaurants! LOL

[bangzoom6877]

We have also considered whether or not the deluxe plan would be better for us. I think if we were only going for a weekend, like a 2-night or a 3-night short stay, the deluxe plan would be nice to get. However, I know that after 2 or 3 days of eating that much we would be really sick of it. Our next trip is 10 nights, so the deluxe plan would be far too much food for our family (DH, me and our two sons who will be 3 and 5 when we go back). I mean, I can't even begin to think about how we would use 80 snacks over the course of 10 days! 40 snacks will be plenty for us to enjoy all the snacks we love at Disney! I also did the math and paying OOP for even 4 or 5 TS breakfasts would cost us less than paying the extra money for the deluxe plan. We also prefer CS for lunch. Don't know if it actually takes that much less time than TS lunches, but I actually enjoy much of the CS offerings at WDW. On a 5-night trip I ate only one burger and it was by choice! I say that and make people (and myself) laugh because one of the first things people (who have never been to WDW of course) tell me when I say I am going to Disney is that I will be eating hamburgers for my whole vacation and will be bored with the food! I quickly inform those people of the CS dining options at Epcot's WS alone, plus others at the other parks! Heck, even at Sesame Place the other day, 4 of us ate lunch and not one burger! And may I add, nothing fried either! :rotfl2:

[PirateFrank]

I hope I can help here.
On both our October 08 and Jan 08 trip, we did the DxDP. We'll be doing it again for our Dec09 trip. We have two children, DS06 & DD03.

With respect to the children, we've found that pre-planned sit down meals provide a much needed break for the kids. Especially if it's hot out. It gives them an hour in AC, where they can sit down, rehydrate, chat, draw, etc...we've found that stopping for lunch in a TS or a long stop in a QS extends their endurance in the parks. Otherwise, we'd be dealing with tantrums and general emotional releases by the time we reached 3pm. TS restaurants like Biergarten, Crystal Palace, Sci Fi theater, give the kids a little relaxed entertainment where they definitely recharge.

If we were blasting through the parks and eating quick CS meals, I really think the kids would unfold alot sooner. We've been able to stay late in the parks with the kids because of this. A long lunch break and maybe even a dinner too, breaks things up nicely.

Granted, you'll need to assess your own kids, with respect to whether or not they can handle this or are they more emotionally suited for a different game plan.


As far as the food itself, I wont lie. Both 08 trips, I went down there with the mindset of "I'm gettin my money's worth." The first few days I would pig out and eat whatever I was entitled too....then, I would be popping Gas-X pills like candy...until I learned my lesson and ate 'lighter' towards the end of the trip...But it's DARN fun! Regardless, I keep myself in fairly good shape throughout the rest of the year...so to me, Disney is not only a vacation from life, but from my diet. So I enjoy having the freedom to eat quite a bit more indulgently than I normally do.

But having said that all, we definitely took note that maybe the DxDp was too much....so my wife and I had a discussion before planning the 09 trip regarding the dining plans. We were both convinced that we should be doing the regular dining plan and skip the deluxe....because of the sheer food volume.

So, being the dork that I am, I loaded up Excel. I plotted out a 7-day pro-forma trip on a spreadsheet. I selected 3 TS restaurants a day. The selections were spots that we would likely hit, if we were doing the DxDP. Then I plotted out 3 expense columns. One column was if I paid for it outright. The next column, if we were on the regular dining plan and paying the difference out of pocket. The final, was DxDP.

After doing all of this....the results were clear. The regular dining plan was savings. The DxDP was a HUGE savings.


But then I said, wait a minute...if we were on the regular DP, we wouldn't hit TS every meal.

So then I modified the spreadsheet so that lunch was changed with a CS meal with likely selections for me, the wife and kids. Then I ran out the same comparison. Obviously, the savings were cut down a bit, since a CS meal would likely be less expensive than a TS meal. But the end result was still clear....the DxDP was a significant savings....


That information sealed the deal on the DxDP. Given my spreadsheet results, we can eat some CS meals, and feel confident that we're still saving money.


So the point I'm making with this, is that if you do DxDP, you can still eat one light CS meal a day and still save money....this way, you're not feeling bloated each day.

[mommyoftwinfants]

If you eat 3 meals a day at home I say splurge on the DDDP.
It is very beneficial if you arrive in the morning on the 1st day and leave late on the last day. By adding in the extra full day we use up all of the credits every time. My guys eat like teenagers and the kids meals rarely fill them up so we never have snack credits left over.

Also if you are staying at a deluxe hotel it makes it easier to use up those TS credits. We ordered room service from VWL and absolutely loved it.

[DCDisney]

In terms of the amount of food my kids self modulate pretty well so even if they have a huge buffet they eat the same as they would at CS. That wasn't so true of adults and we really weren't even hungry for 2 TS in a day most days. The huge thing for us is that at WDW meals take a LONG time. My kids can sit for an hour no problem but the majority of non-buffet meals were about 90 mins PLUS we were often seated after a 20-30 min wait even with arriving on time or early for ADRs, eating early, and a slow time of year. Between long meals and it taking a long time to get to meals especially in resort locations it really hugely cut into park time. My kids enjoy eating out to some extent and are very good but it definitely wasn't fun for any of us past the 1 hour point in a meal. Now that the kids dessert is always the same little ice cream scoop with toppings some of the incentive to stay calm for the cool Disney desserts is totally gone.

[MagicPrincess]

Our next trip is 10 nights, so the deluxe plan would be far too much food for our family (DH, me and our two sons who will be 3 and 5 when we go back). I mean, I can't even begin to think about how we would use 80 snacks over the course of 10 days! 40 snacks will be plenty for us to enjoy all the snacks we love at Disney! I also did the math and paying OOP for even 4 or 5 TS breakfasts would cost us less than paying the extra money for the deluxe plan. :rotfl2:

WOW-I never thought about it that way! 80 SNACKS! :eek: Holy Cow!!!
Thanks for putting it that way, because I didn't even think of that!

[MagicPrincess]

I hope I can help here.
On both our October 08 and Jan 08 trip, we did the DxDP. We'll be doing it again for our Dec09 trip. We have two children, DS06 & DD03.

With respect to the children, we've found that pre-planned sit down meals provide a much needed break for the kids. Especially if it's hot out. It gives them an hour in AC, where they can sit down, rehydrate, chat, draw, etc...we've found that stopping for lunch in a TS or a long stop in a QS extends their endurance in the parks. Otherwise, we'd be dealing with tantrums and general emotional releases by the time we reached 3pm. TS restaurants like Biergarten, Crystal Palace, Sci Fi theater, give the kids a little relaxed entertainment where they definitely recharge.

If we were blasting through the parks and eating quick CS meals, I really think the kids would unfold alot sooner. We've been able to stay late in the parks with the kids because of this. A long lunch break and maybe even a dinner too, breaks things up nicely.

Granted, you'll need to assess your own kids, with respect to whether or not they can handle this or are they more emotionally suited for a different game plan.


As far as the food itself, I wont lie. Both 08 trips, I went down there with the mindset of "I'm gettin my money's worth." The first few days I would pig out and eat whatever I was entitled too....then, I would be popping Gas-X pills like candy...until I learned my lesson and ate 'lighter' towards the end of the trip...But it's DARN fun! Regardless, I keep myself in fairly good shape throughout the rest of the year...so to me, Disney is not only a vacation from life, but from my diet. So I enjoy having the freedom to eat quite a bit more indulgently than I normally do.

But having said that all, we definitely took note that maybe the DxDp was too much....so my wife and I had a discussion before planning the 09 trip regarding the dining plans. We were both convinced that we should be doing the regular dining plan and skip the deluxe....because of the sheer food volume.

So, being the dork that I am, I loaded up Excel. I plotted out a 7-day pro-forma trip on a spreadsheet. I selected 3 TS restaurants a day. The selections were spots that we would likely hit, if we were doing the DxDP. Then I plotted out 3 expense columns. One column was if I paid for it outright. The next column, if we were on the regular dining plan and paying the difference out of pocket. The final, was DxDP.

After doing all of this....the results were clear. The regular dining plan was savings. The DxDP was a HUGE savings.


But then I said, wait a minute...if we were on the regular DP, we wouldn't hit TS every meal.

So then I modified the spreadsheet so that lunch was changed with a CS meal with likely selections for me, the wife and kids. Then I ran out the same comparison. Obviously, the savings were cut down a bit, since a CS meal would likely be less expensive than a TS meal. But the end result was still clear....the DxDP was a significant savings....


That information sealed the deal on the DxDP. Given my spreadsheet results, we can eat some CS meals, and feel confident that we're still saving money.


So the point I'm making with this, is that if you do DxDP, you can still eat one light CS meal a day and still save money....this way, you're not feeling bloated each day.

WOW- you really put alot of thought into this, and it totally makes sense! I think DH and I need to really sit down together and think this through. Here is what DH said to me, "If we're going to Disney, we're doing it right. It may be the last time we go for a while, so we're staying at a deluxe resort, and we're eating GOOD!" LOL... I explained the dining plans to him, and one of his main concerns is that he doesn't want to "go hungry":rotfl2: We do love to go out to eat, and a big part of our vacations are the restaurants! Like you, we watch what we eat and exercise regularly, so eating out and splurging a bit is all part of the fun!

I would say at this point we are leaning towards Dx. I also think that with two kids, they will be 8 and 4, sit down meals will be important to help them wind down a bit. Our last trip to WDW was when DD was 2, it was a short trip- and I tried to jam pack as much as I could into 4 days. It was too much on her (and us!). :scared1: I'm hoping now that the kids are a little older, and we plan a little better, it won't be quite as crazy this time! Down time is REALLY important!!!

Thanks for all the information! I've got a lot of planning to do- but I don't mind- it sure is fun doing it!!!:cool1:

[gilsan]

You can also choose to do 2TS restaurants. We are going for 8nights and only on 2 days do we have 3 meals. We are doing early (7-8:05am) breakfast buffets most mornings with 2TS credit restaurant at (5:55-6:20pm) most nights.

The breakfast are almost all character meals (we won't need to line up in the parks to meet the characters). If we are hungry during the day we can use our snack credits.

Originally we were doing the DDP and we were going to pay out of pocket for two 2TS and a couple character meals. When we added the cost It was almost the same as doing the deluxe, so for the extra money we would get more snacks, a couple more meals and we didn't have to do any CS.

Many of our character breakfasts are at 8:00am in the park so we should lose minimal time away from the parks.

[MagicPrincess]

I have to laugh reading through all my responses...back and forth and back and forth...one minute I say we'll probobly do the basic plan, then I say DxDP...My head is spinning!:rotfl:

I love that there are so many ways to go about it, but DH would be the first to tell you- I have SUCH a hard time when it comes to making decisions! :confused3

:) thanks again for all your ideas!

[TxRabbit]

We just returned from 7 nights of DxDDP with an 8 year old boy. (8.5 to be exact.)

One of the main reasons I choose the DxDDP is because of him. I felt that he would go hungry if we were only on the DDP. The kid choices are pathetic. The DxDDP gave us a lot of flexibility with food. We generally skipped the kids appetizer, ordered share-able appetizers, supplement with bread, share some of our main dish with him, and eat dessert and he was satisfied.

We generally ate a single credit meal earlier (breakfast or lunch, generally buffet) and signature dining for dinner. Snacks in the between times helped if needed. The most difficult thing about this plan was that the signature restaurants are mostly at the resorts. So this involved more travel and time keeping than if we just had a meal planned at the park.

We did eat three counter service meals.

I agree with the PP that said that having a nice sit down meal was restorative, especially for young ones. The buffets were generally not relaxing. But dinners were nice and leisurely. DS was entertained with the activities on the kid menu. We had nice conversation.

I can tell you that toward the end of the week, it was traveling to dinner that became wearisome, not the dinner plan itself.

I was struck with a thought on our last night.

In room dining is also 2 credits. And gratuity is included.

If we do the DxDDP again, I will seriously PLAN inroom dining for multiple nights in a week. I might make an ADR, but I would remember the deal with inroom dining, and likely take advantage of it.

[squirrel]

If you have Club level don't you get breakfast and some snacks later in the day?

I think the DDP is lots of food.

[shannn]

We're using CL for breakfast only. We're not big breakfast eaters, but we love the convenience of running by the lounge for a doughnut or something.

Then we're doing ADRs for lunch at places like Plaza, Kona, etc. We'll do 2TS meals for dinner. Also we're staying 4 nights and we're doing 5 days in the parks. So we get 12 credits for 10 meals. With going to 3 Signature restaurants we'll actually end up eating 1 meal OOP or we'll use snack credits toward a meal.

[abc999]

We have 2 kids, they were 4.5 and 2.5 last time we went to Disney on teh DxDP. We also like to use the extended time that a sitdown meal gives us to rest up for the rest of the day.

The first time we went, DD was 3.5 and DS 23 months. We tried for 3 days to take them back to the resort to nap.. each time, they would fall asleep on the way to the bus or on the bus and wake up as soon as we got off the bus or in the room.. Then they would run around the room for a little while before begging us to go back to the park again. After that, we started to just find quiet places to sit and relax with the kids mid-day and found it worked much better.

Also, with young kids, I find that sitdown meals are much better.. so one parent doesn't have to drag the kids to find seats while the other goes gets the food. Most CS places are madhouses during normal meal times. We prefer someone taking us to a table and bringing us the food.

We do a combination of 3 meals a day and a couple of signatures here and there.

We used the leftover snack credits to bring souveniers back to DD's school friends.

[MEK]

I think if you want to do more than one signature restuarant and one additional TS character meal, breakfast, or lunch you should definatley consider the DxDP. My DH and I are going during free dining. My original plans for a 4 night stay included 1 signature dinner and 4 regular TS meals. Then I started adding another TS lunch and started dreaming about exchanging one TS meal for another signature meal. It became obvious to me that for another $258 I would get my money's worth. But I have a short stay and there are just 2 of us. We have decided on 3 signature dinners and we are basically filling in around them. I also think when you do a signature meal it warrants an appetizer, so the DxDP is useful for that!

[tnd]

We used the DxDP in January with our 3.5 year old son. It was fantastic. We did a lot more character meals than I would have done if I had had to pay OOP for them. We also enjoyed the breaks from touring and didn't really feel like it took away from seeing the parks but we were there for 7 days, so we had a lot of time.

We also scheduled meals for convenient times and places. If we did a character breakfast it was in a park (before the park opens) or right next to one (any of the monorail resorts work for this). Lunch was more often than not CS, but by the time you get food, find a table and eat, it's not that much longer to go to TS, especially if the parks are crowded. We did do some TS in the parks and it was great because we were right there. We also go back to the hotel in the middle of the day, so lunch was a good breaking point for us. We did TS for dinner every night except one, and 3 of them were signature (so 2 credits each).

My husband and I often shared plates of food at CS lunches, or had lighter breakfasts made up of snack credits (a muffin and bowl of fruit was 2 snack credits and very shareable for light breakfast eaters or kids). We also had dessert wrapped up several times and ate it later in the evening. DH got the cheese plate as dessert to go at several signatures and we shared it later with wine.

We were very pleased with the DxDP, so we decided to do it again in August when we go for a short free dining trip before our cruise. We're there for 4 nights and have 3 character meals and 2 signature dinners planned, plus other TS meals. I can't wait, I think the breaks and the A/C will be crucial in August.

[Jareds_mommy]

we have 2 children almost the same age as yours
we went in dec and found the basic plan had more then enough food for us
infact we left 3 counter service meals on our card
and we had 21 snack credits at the end of the week we took home a pile of make your own rice crispy mickey
we hate breakfast in the room and had lunch and dinner
we are not big snackers so we shared a few prezles and a few smoothie

[squirrel]

I found the DDP plenty. Add CL and man that's a lot of eating. I don't know why you would bother with the extra expense of staying CL if you are doing DxDP.

I couldn't imagine doing just DxDP.

Maybe it's different when it's not Free Dining, but I found the waits at the TS meals plus the length of the TS meals took a lot of time away from the parks, and we stayed for 14 nights and had 10 day tickets.

[RACHELSMOM1]

We do deluxe every time and we have Me, DH, DD9, DD8, and DD5. And yes I have paid for DDP once for a spring break trip, well worth it. With free dining I just upgrade to Deluxe and it is still a great deal. We do character bfst and signature meal for dinner, uses up 3 credits a day, and the snacks are wonderful, 2 a day for everyone!! We use those up in the parks easily, so many choices!! Not too much food!! And don't forget the refillable mugs.

[LIBLULA]

We upgraded to the Deluxe plan again this September. I like not having to worry about food--everything is paid for. It is a lot of food!:) We are not breakfast eaters, so we normally eat a early lunch 11-12(TS)and dinner at 7pm(TS). This year we are trying a lot of the signature restaurants! I try to plan our meals with park hours, so we are in or near the park we are visiting that day.

[PirateFrank]

WOW- you really put alot of thought into this, and it totally makes sense! I think DH and I need to really sit down together and think this through. Here is what DH said to me, "If we're going to Disney, we're doing it right. It may be the last time we go for a while, so we're staying at a deluxe resort, and we're eating GOOD!" LOL... I explained the dining plans to him, and one of his main concerns is that he doesn't want to "go hungry":rotfl2: We do love to go out to eat, and a big part of our vacations are the restaurants! Like you, we watch what we eat and exercise regularly, so eating out and splurging a bit is all part of the fun!



LOL. Planned well, he wouldn't go hungry on the regular dining plan (i.e. lots of buffet's, etc)....but he's virtually guaranteed of not going hungry on the DDP. Seriously, it takes some restraint to prevent a few days of gas/bloating.....my brother, who can pack away food like no one I've ever seen, would probably cry uncle at one point.

However, having said all of that, it sounds like we have similar interests for vacations. My wife and I tend to focus on restaurants as much as the attractions during vacations (and not just disney).

Regardless, I say, if you can afford it....go with the DDP....I've crunched the numbers left and right (I'm an accountant IRL) and it's really the best deal out of them all...

[Faldred]

We did deluxe with a 3-year old and 2-year-old twins for a week back in March, and it worked out great for us. As noted by at least one previous poster, getting them out of the sun and having some "relax" time extends endurance and minimizes "melt-downs". (I like to note that the days we did TS lunch, things worked out much better than when we did CS lunches.)

It's also a very good idea if your kids are extremely schedule-oriented, and tend to get irritable if they're not having meals at "normal" times.

The flip side of it is that you need to be extremely thorough in your planning. Pick the key places you want to g, and build your park touring schedule around them, filling in other meals based on where you're going to be (or be near). It also helps to have a good touring plan for each park, so that you don't feel that you're missing out on "park time" by stopping for the meals.

Also note that if you're doing a fair number of character meals, you'll probably wind up standing in fewer lines for autographs in the parks.

[Tisha_PA]

We did the DxDP in March with 3 kids (ages 2, 2, and 4). We chose the deluxe since our boys couldn't be on the plan since they were 2 and we figured we could avoid paying for extra meals for them with all the food we were getting. It worked pretty well for us. One of us always got an appetizer that the kids would eat and we were able to split that as well as DD's kids meal between all of them with no major problems. Neither of us is much of a dessert eater so we mostly would order some kind of ice cream and give it to the kids. We found that the best way for us was to do a character breakfast, a CS lunch, and a TS dinner. We did schedule a few TS lunches as well: Coral Reef and Sci Fi worked great, Y&Y I wouldn't do again.

[wendylovesdisney]

I did this before and it was hard with young kids. I liked having the extra ts and thought (and wanted) to use them all but it just became too hard with the kiddos to be so scheduled.