Hi and welcome!
The dining plan gets mixed reviews, but we LOVE it!!! Last year we tried skipping it, and I felt as though we were hemorraging money.
The standard
DDP gives you one table service, one counter service, and one snack credit per person per day. (And, no, you can't trade 2 counter services for an additional table service.) What we usually do is book a table service dinner, use the counter service for lunch, and get a bagel or something with the snack credit. We also order lots of breakfast foods from
www.gardengrocer.com (they deliver to the resort, and bell services holds our order, refrigerating as necessary, until we arrive. We also stock up on bottled water and park snack-- goldfish, chips, fruit.) So we always have some snack credits available if the kids want ice cream or something. All of us, including my bottomless-pit-teenage son, have plenty to eat on the DDP.
As to the resort, we're a family of 5, so standard rooms at the Values are out for us. But my husband has stayed at the All Stars a number of times as a chaperone, and my friend stayed at POP with her 3 teenage daughters, and both resorts get great reccommendations. If your gut is telling you that they're the right place for you, then go with your gut. For my family, the location, pool and of course the extra bed make the Deluxes the right choice. Spend a little time playing at
www.allears.net -- take a look at the fact sheets and slide shows, and determine what resort is best for you.
As to pin trading, we always get the kids some pins ahead of time, and they always like them too much to trade!! But my sister's kids get a real kick out of it.
Happy planning-- when are you thining of going? We're planning now for August 2014; I'll book as soon as the new prices come out.