Toddler and DXDP, would you do it?

[tublady]

Our next trip is in March, our DS will be 23 months, all of our previous trips we have done the deluxe dining plan. We are considering the QSDP, but my DH goes to Disney for the food and I want him to enjoy himself too. I guess my biggest concern is the amount of time some of the dining takes and how long he will want to sit there. It's going to be awhile before we will be going back so I want to make sure we are a really nice vacation. Anyone have a toddler and do the deluxe plan? Are we just nuts and should we go with the QSDP this time? I know the each child is different but I would love to hear others experiences! Thanks!

 

[blessedby3]

My dd (now 2) hates to sit in the high chair when we eat out. She also doesn not want to sit period, so meals out with her are not too fun for the rest of us. That is why we did the CS plan on our last trip (she was 17 mos then). It worked for us, but like you say, each child is different and you have to think about how they will do. Maybe you could just do the regular plan that would involve one sit down each day?
Good luck to you.

 

[Hannathy]

Is your 8 yr old going to want to "waste" time sitting a long time for meals also? I say waste because while they would have behaved when my kids were 8 they would have wanted to be out riding not in their minds waste time eating, especially if you don't go often. I think this trip your DH may have to face facts that you have young children and give up some of the sit down dining. They are only young once. Exactly how enjoyable is the meal going to be if you spend the whole time keeping the 1 yr old entertained and having to take them out of the dinner if they act up? If the tolerate it well the first day will they be able to last everyday or will they run out of patience after a meal or two and not want to sit still and quiet so long when there are more fun ways to be spending their time.

I would do CS this trip and save the fine dining for the trip when the kids are older and I knew we all could enjoy it.

 

[mjkacmom]

I agree with the PP - we're talking like 6 hours spent eating. I also don't love the food at WDW - better food here in NJ - but I do like having 1 ts a day to relax, and be served. How about the regular DDP, and some character meals?

 

[Alesia]

I wouldn't do DXDP with kids. 6 hours a day spent in restaurants is just too much for them.

 

[MaumeeMom]

The DxDP does seem to be a lot of food and time spent dining. Have you looked into the regular dining plan? It is a nice mix of both table and quick service. You can have one nice table service every day so your DH should be happy.

I wouldn't call TS a "waste" of time as a PP did because we did use the dinners as a break and as time to talk about what we have done and what we still wanted to do - our "can't miss" list. That being said, at home we sit down and eat dinner together as a family 6 out of 7 nights, so that is part of our dynamic.

Personally, I would do the regular DDP.

 

[tublady]

Thanks everyone! You confirmed for me what we have been thinking for this trip. DH was the one that suggested the CS meal plan, so he is thinking of the time spent sitting too, I was the one trying to decide if we should upgrade as a surprise. My little guy is usually pretty good at meal time but our meals at home don't last that long and as a PP poster pointed out (something I didn't think about) my DD would like to spend more time riding than sitting! Now I am thinking we are going to keep the QSDP and schedule DH and DD favorite TS and paying OOP for those. Thanks Again!

 

[tzolkin]

I would not do it, but we don't even do the regular dining plan. My kids are very good in restaurants, but we don't like to be tied to reservations at Disney. If we want to take a longer nap or go to a different park in the afternoon we like to have the flexibility to do so.

My parents, sisters, and niece (31mos at the time) did the DxDP in September. I told them several times that I thought it was a bad idea, but my mom insisted that they were going to want to do the meals. They made reservations for 2 TS meals per day (usually one character meal and one other). They said many of the meals took 2 hours or more-- they did not return to the resort for nap/rest, so they looked at the meals as their breaks from the heat and walking around. But despite that, my sisters and niece skipped a few of the meals and just grabbed something CS.

My parents called me a few days into the trip and told me they were having a good time, but they should have done the regular dining plan. Getting to two different places each day (their reservations were always for 2 diff parks or a park and a resort) and sitting with my niece for hours each day was just too much.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

I wouldn't do DXDP with kids. 6 hours a day spent in restaurants is just too much for them.

I totally agree. It was even too much for us adults. It sounded like a good idea at the time! I think the DXDP works best when you're doing a LOT of signature dining.

 

[kellyg403]

I am not sure if it would matter but when we did the Dxdp we did 2TS meals we would not normally do. Hoop De Doo, Brown Derby, Aloha, The Castle. That would cut down some of your eating time by using those credits that way.

I honestly would not do the dxdp with the kids. Too much time in rest. DH and I did when we went on adults only and it was fabulous for us. But the kids might think we lost our mind coming to WDW to eat!

Kelly

 

[melifeld]

No way. We went on a cruise with our 2 1/2 year old. Dinners in the dining room had to be significantly abbreviated for at least one of us. A 2 hour dinner is just too long for a child that young to sit through. We will be going with one of the less expensive dining plans. We just haven't decided which one yet.

 

[A MK Family]

I guess my family is the odd ones out because we love the DxDP. Last march I had my 13 month old and my 3 year old and we did deluxe. This year (2 & 4 yrs old) we are doing it again.

Except for CRT and the dinner shows I have never been over an hour at a TS. I guess it depends on your family. My kids are up supper early so we are able to enjoy a TS before the parks even open. Then some days we will do a TS lunch around 1 pm when you need a break from your morning adventures. Other days we CS it. But my family is big on family dinners it is nice to sit and have some options for dinner. And at WDW it is nice to not feel rushed for an hour and enjoy a meal - well as much as you can with toddlers. Since we have done the DxDP we have tried some many great restaurants. But they key is to plan your day. We never travel just for a ADR. It is in the park we are at or on our way.

But again this is just the experience with my family.

 

[Tristen79]

Not to be too skeptical but has anyone truly spent 2 hours at the restaurants at the Disney dining besides say Hoop Dee, or maybe Sig restaurants? It seems like those precious 45-1 hour sit downs can be blessings in disguise for too much walking, heat that can affect especially the younger ones when at Disney?

Just wondering not trying to be combatitive, I just know in our experiences unless you specifically try to stay longer usually CM's are ready to whisk you away on a turn and burn style.

 

[J3nn78]

Why are yo not considering the basic dining plan-one table service, one counter service, and one snack? Seems like a logical meet in the middle plan

 

[Alesia]

Not to be too skeptical but has anyone truly spent 2 hours at the restaurants at the Disney dining besides say Hoop Dee, or maybe Sig restaurants? It seems like those precious 45-1 hour sit downs can be blessings in disguise for too much walking, heat that can affect especially the younger ones when at Disney?

Just wondering not trying to be combatitive, I just know in our experiences unless you specifically try to stay longer usually CM's are ready to whisk you away on a turn and burn style.

You may not spend 2 hours eating, but you have to take into consideration the time waiting to be seated and the time it takes your food to arrive. When you factor those in, 2 hours isn't really excessive. If you need to travel to your ADR, you need to consider that as well. That could put you well over 2 hours, total.

 

[wendy774]

We did last year with a 16 mo and had no problems. This year we are going back and doing it again and she will be 27 mo. She did squirm a bit and we had to try and keep her busy a couple of times but for the most part everything went well. I am like your dh and go to disney for the food so I would hate QSDDP. Go for the DxDDP!!!