First time with DDP, please help

[acjsmom]

Dh has booked a "surprise" trip for me for our 10th wedding anniversary in April. I know about it because he can't keep a secret.

We have been to Disney once before and stayed offsite. This time, he booked us onsite with the DDP. We have three children-8, 6 and 4. We will be at the Disney Parks for six days. With the dining plan, we get five table service meals.

Right now, I have reserved four character meals. Two are for breakfast, one at 1900 Park Fair for dinner and one for the Crystal Palace for lunch on the day we leave.

Do you think I have too many character meals booked? I was thinking that we may never do the dining plan again, so I want to make the most of it. I don't want to take up all our time at meals, though.

Should I possibly cancel one of them or leave as is? Also, if you are a no show with the DDP, does your plan get charged anyway? I don't plan on being a no-show, but you never know.

Thanks for any info.

 

[Jareds_mommy]

I think 4 out of 5 are too much we over did them our last trip and the kids were getting bored of them They were getting sick of buffets
I asked my kids what their fav meal at disney was and right away DD said 1900 and DS (8) said well if you don't tell anyone then it was 1900 too they had the best food out of them all
He also really liked sci fi dinner and he said he liked Ohana a lot too
and whispering canyon the skillet he said that resturant was a lot of fun

 

[TDC Nala]

Not sure about this one. There was a poster not long ago who had booked 16 character meals in one week and I think that's definitely too many (but then one is too many for me). Four is probably doable if you like buffets, especially if some are breakfasts and you can get all your park time in after that.

If you have DDP, you need to plan to use all your credits or you give up the money you paid for them - there aren't any refunds if you don't use the credits. That said, with MOST Disney TS, there's no penalty for not showing up for your reservation. Your dining plan is not charged until after you eat. There's also the fact that it's considered a breach of etiquette on the boards, especially since Disney dining became popular, to skip a restaurant reservation without cancelling it to give someone else a chance. You'd also have to make sure you did not have to give a credit card number for holding the reservation, because if you did and you don't show up a no-show fee will be charged to your card.

 

[acjsmom]

I know about the no-show etiquette, and I would not ever do it, but with three small children (one who has Type 1 diabetes, which is one of the reasons I want to make sure we have ADRS and set times for eating. Also, another reason the buffets are appealing because more in which she can choose), you never know what might happen. (I am thinking getting sick, etc., and not because we decided to ride Dumbo one more time.)

As far as TS restaurants, are any of them fairly easy to get in without ADRs?

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I agree that 4 out of 5 might be too many. How about canceling one of your breakfast ADR's (since you have two of them) and then that way you'll have one character meal each for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This way, you'll get plenty of character interaction, but each meal will have a different feel since they're during different meal times.

 

[TDC Nala]

Disney dining is so popular that you can't count on being able to get into restaurants without ADRS. If you are traveling during a peak time, or you want a character meal or an ultrapopular restaurant like Le Cellier, Chef Mickey's or Ohana, you don't have much of a chance at any time. I'd assume you are looking for restaurants inside the theme parks. There's a couple of restaurants at Epcot that are apparently too "ethnic" for some guests - Nine Dragons (China) and Marrakesh (Morocco) that are usually much easier to walk up to than the others. Brown Derby at DHS is another - but it's not popular because it is expensive (it's a signature restaurant and costs 2 DDP credits per person).

If you dont' mind leaving the parks, you can probably get into restaurants at Downtown Disney or at resorts that are not close to theme parks, sometimes you can be lucky at the ones that are close to theme parks. With small kids who need structured eating times it sounds as though you don't want to take a chance on going from restaurant to restaurant looking for one with space for you.

If you get sick, you still don't get refunds on the dining credits. If you have to miss meals for any reason, and you can't make them up with another meal, you lose the credits.

There are buffet restaurants that are not character meals, like Boma at AKL, Biergarten at Epcot, Cape May dinner at Beach Club.

 

[acjsmom]

Thanks again. I think I am going to drop one of the character meals. We have Chef Mickey's, 1900 Park Fair, Safari Breakfast and the Crystal Palace scheduled. I think I am going to drop Crystal Palace, because I know we can catch Pooh, Tigger and the gang at Epcot. The other three I am going to leave because we did Chef Mickey's before and everyone has said they want to do that again. (This time we are going to do breakfast.) We are doing the Safari Breakfast for DD#2 because she didn't see Daisy Duck last time, and that is a must this time. 1900 Park Fair is for both my daughters. I also have a four year old son, so he will enjoy Chef Mickey's again.

On missing an already made dining ressie, I am not concerned we will lose the credit, because I will make sure we use them all up before we leave. I was concerned that if you don't show they will still take it off your dining plan.

I have added O'hana's as a table meal to replace the Crystal Palace. I don't mine leaving the parks since we are staying onsite.

 

[Jareds_mommy]

we were told people not showing up is very common, thats how we were able to get in to some places the first time we went (I was a totally newbie and didn't know about making ADR)
we were able to walk in to 1900 they told us there would be a 30 minute wait be we buzzed before we could even sit down in the hotel lobby.
Same with chef mickey

 

[squirrel]

I know about the no-show etiquette, and I would not ever do it, but with three small children (one who has Type 1 diabetes, which is one of the reasons I want to make sure we have ADRS and set times for eating. Also, another reason the buffets are appealing because more in which she can choose), you never know what might happen. (I am thinking getting sick, etc., and not because we decided to ride Dumbo one more time.)

As far as TS restaurants, are any of them fairly easy to get in without ADRs?

Make sure when you book the ADR's you have your child listed as having diabetes. The chef can then make sure there is a dessert that is low in sugar available.

 

[MerissaAndMomLoveDis]

Thanks again. I think I am going to drop one of the character meals. We have Chef Mickey's, 1900 Park Fair, Safari Breakfast and the Crystal Palace scheduled. I think I am going to drop Crystal Palace, because I know we can catch Pooh, Tigger and the gang at Epcot. The other three I am going to leave because we did Chef Mickey's before and everyone has said they want to do that again. (This time we are going to do breakfast.) We are doing the Safari Breakfast for DD#2 because she didn't see Daisy Duck last time, and that is a must this time. 1900 Park Fair is for both my daughters. I also have a four year old son, so he will enjoy Chef Mickey's again.

On missing an already made dining ressie, I am not concerned we will lose the credit, because I will make sure we use them all up before we leave. I was concerned that if you don't show they will still take it off your dining plan.

I have added O'hana's as a table meal to replace the Crystal Palace. I don't mine leaving the parks since we are staying onsite.

Considering the ages of your children, I give your four choices of Chef Mickeys BF, Tusker House BF, 1900 Park Fair Dinner, and Ohana's a thumbs up! Have you decided on your fifth table service yet?

 

[acjsmom]

Make sure when you book the ADR's you have your child listed as having diabetes. The chef can then make sure there is a dessert that is low in sugar available.

I mentioned it on the phone. I need to go back and put it on the ones I put online. I am debating getting the slipper dessert at 1900 Park Fare, though, because last time we ate at CRT and she remembers that dessert. (She didn't have diabetes then. ) I am debating getting it and letting her have a little, then supplementing it with more insulin. If it's like last time, she and her sister will just eat the fruit while mom munches on the chocolate.

Considering the ages of your children, I give your four choices of Chef Mickeys BF, Tusker House BF, 1900 Park Fair Dinner, and Ohana's a thumbs up! Have you decided on your fifth table service yet?

Thank you! I feel a lot better about my choices now. I have planned on Rain Forest Cafe at AK. (Do the Safari breakfast very early, and then late lunch.) (Wait, forgot it is not a DDP. Still want to eat there.) I was thinking about the Crystal Palace on our last day as kind of a last "hurrah", but I am not sure. Probably will cancel that one and eat a CS lunch before we leave.

I have booked, canceled and booked so much in the last three days now that I have lost track. I do have them saved in e-mail and written down, though.

Might do Liberty Tree Tavern as the fifth? Thoughts?

 

[Jareds_mommy]

lol I changed resorts 5 times our first trip
it was starting to be a running joke with my friends

 

[acjsmom]

I forgot. I booked Prime Time at HS for dh. He loves meatloaf, so we will get his opinion on it. So, I guess that is our fifth. Still not sure about canceling CP. Probably will, though.

 

[LuvToPlayDisney]

My 3 kids loved the Characters, Ohana's for Dinner is another favorite. Keeps the kids busy during the buffet and my Husbands favorite place to go. A courtesy call from your hotel on cancellations is best, even if just an hour notice.

 

[djp0630]

No I don't think 4 is too many. I really liked doing buffets with young kids and DD3 loved all the character meals. It's nice to have 1 or 2 not a character meal as they can be a little stressful worrying about seeing all the characters, autographs, etc.

 

[squirrel]

I will be taking my youngest niece to WDW this year for her first trip. We are staying for 14 nights so I know we will be dining at a lot of Character Meals. So far on my list as non-character - 'Ohana (d), Le Cellier, 50's Prime Time and HDDR. Unless I come up with another one or two the rest will be character meals.