is it better to use TS for lunch or dinner?

[dkbnyc]

trying to decide how to plan my TS meals. Should they be dinner or lunch. Obviously, they have more 'value' if used at dinner on a more expensive meal.

but from a park touring standpoint:
would i lose too much park time if i had a TS lunch?
my kids are small- 2 and 5- would a longer sit down lunch be a welcome break?
perhaps kids are too worn out at the end of the day for a longer meal?

any thoughts on what works for you?
thanks

 

[clanmcculloch]

I think it all depends on whether you'll stay at the parks all day or you'll go back to your resort to rest in the middle of the day. If you'll stay in the parks then I think lunch would be a very welcome rest in the middle of the day. Later in the day your kids will be cranky and not necessarily want to sit through a long meal. If you'll go back to your hotel then I think an early dinner would be fine. A third option is a nice character breakfast before going to the parks. Some of the breakfasts allow you to enter the parks before park opening and you can get some amazing pictures before the crowds arrive. After you finish eating, you're already there and you can head straight to their favourite attractions.

 

[MouseMomx2]

If we are paying for the dining plan we would use the TS credits for dinner, both for the value and for the entrees that are usually on the dinner menus. Then again, we tend to only buy the DDP for stays of a couple nights, as we find it cheaper to pay out of pocket for stays longer than that.

If we were to get the dining plan for free we wouldn't care whether we went for breakfast/lunch/dinner.

When we pay out of pocket we usually do table service for lunch as it tends to be cheaper, although we do always schedule a few nice dinners.

When we go in hotter weather we tend to do table service for lunch, to get out of the heat.

 

[jdiane]

We went last year with kids 6, 4, 1 and really liked the TS lunches. It gave us a nice break in the middle of the day, but it did eat up alot of park time. We had that time because we were there for 9 days, but if you were on a shorter stay, I would go for breakfast or early dinners.

Our schedule typically was park in the morning at rope drop or by 9 am, lunch at 11 or 12 depending on reservation time and then back to hotel for nap from 2 - 4. Out to park again for CS dinner or dinner at hotel and then back to park. Worked great because no one was over tired.