4 young kids: DDP or QSDP? (undecided)

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Hello...I am new to the DIS boards...so this is my first thread

We booked our first family trip to WDW under the free dining promotion for late August of next year (celebrating our anniversary and want to go before our older two kids start school)...We are staying in a family suite at AS Music for the week and we keep going back and forth about whether to keep the free quick service dining plan or upgrade to the regular dining plan. We planned on doing at least two character meals anyway...upgrading would only cost us an extra $131 (and gratuities)since the cost of both dining plans would be the same for the kids. In terms of value, I guess it is a no brainer to do the upgrade; but we have real concerns about being tied down to ADRs with our four kids (oldest DS is on the autism spectrum and youngest DD is quite active). We know we need to be flexible to an extent with scheduling our days, especially since this is our first Disney trip. Honestly, it is a production just taking them all to Denny's or Ci Ci's Pizza on an occasional basis! Do any of you have any suggestions or insight based on experiences doing a TS meal everyday with multiple young children? Thanks!

 

[CoolPool]

Its all very subjective. What I can say from experience, is that my kids enjoy the "down time" of a table service restaurant. A lot of a Disney vacation is spent waiting in lines. Waiting for a bus or monorail. Waiting for something. The restaurant time also requires waiting but...you can finally sit, relax, and re-energize for another foray in the parks. And Disney restaurants are exceptionally kid-friendly. The staff has seen it all in terms for behavior and attitude; nothing your children do hasn't been seen a hundred times before with technicolor vomit.

I would encourage you to consider at least one table service visit at Disney.

 

[moxiemom]

Getting Counter Service is not fun with 2 kids - I would guess with 4 it could get downright horrific! One of my favorite CS meals is the Seasons in Epcot. I like it because of all the variety - great healthy options and my kids like the build your own subs on the kids options. But imagine standing in line for each of the options, getting your drinks, balancing trays, keeping track of kids, fumbling for your key to the world - heaven forbid you have a question about what is included as a snack credit....etc. ugh. Now you have to find a table - Oh my!! Seating is such an issue at CS.

SO I guess what I am saying is you absolutely need the DDP! At least once a day you will enjoy the opportunity to deflate. Take in a movie at the Sci-Fi, Take the family to the Whispering Canyon cafe (and ask for ketchup!), you know the fun Disney dining.

 

[Mrs D]

I would say that you should base your decision on how eating out at a restaurant works for you at home.
Our family (with DS5 and DD3) eats out one a week or every other week. My children aren't angels but they behavior pretty well in a restaurant. For me part of a vacation is having a restaurant meal more often (and there are so many great/fun choices at Disney). I love the regular dining plan for those reasons.
I think buffets would be a great choice for your crew (one adult stays at the table with the little ones, the other takes the older ones up and dishes the little ones plates) as you don't have to wait for your order to come up.
I find that even non-character meals are fun for the kiddos - there's so much to look at and talk about.
The last selling point for me is always the price to upgrade is so nominal that you see value in one or two TS meals alone.

Not that you asked, but here are some of my favorites:
1900 Park Fare (the Cinderella dinner)
O'Hana
Crystal Palace
Chef Mickey's is fun
Biergarten (especially is the band is playing)
Akershus
Le Cellier
want to try Marrakesh and Via Napoli
Hollywood & Vine is fun
Sci Fi is neat
Boma

Hope this helps in your decision!
I've heard great things about the Tusker House breakfast

 

[Liltx]

Since it is your first visit I would say to upgrade. The kids will love the character meals and you will love the A/C. It will be HOT in Aug. But most of the character meals are buffets with which 4 young kids will be a hassle.

Now that we have been to WDW sooo many times we will continue to stick with the QSP. We like the flexibility of being on our own time. We also like all of the snack credits. We never have to say no when our kids want something. Pop has a great food court with sooo many choices and you can find great variety in the CS places in the parks and at DTD. We still do a couple of TS per trip but still come out ahead of purchasing the DDP upgrade since we stay between 8-10 nights.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I think this decision all really depends on you and your kids. Our kids are currently 2 and 4, and they do MUCH better with TS meals. There's something about being in a more formal setting that makes them get their acts together. For that reason, we've booked a TON of TS meals for our trip next month (15 )...everything from character meals, fun non-character meals, more traditional dining restaurants, and even one true signature fine dining spot.

While this works well for us, it sounds like it might not be the best choice for you... i.e. it sounds like TS may be more challenging and create more stress for what's supposed to be your vacation. If that's the case- I'd book a couple of character meals to please the kids, but stick with the QSDP to make things less stressful.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

If it only costs $131 extra and you plan on two characters meal anyway, upgrade without hesitation. The character meals alone will allow you to break even regardless if you book two other sit downs or not - if you book TS #3 and/ or #4, you certainly come out ahead. Remember, you don't have to use the TS for TS, you can use them as counter; it just isn't as cost effective.

I think that if you want to see characters the dining plan is a great option because the character meals nearly always are a fixed price buffet $$$.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

all very good suggestions...I guess there are pros and cons with both. Upgrading to DDP would be a better value, it would give us more food options, youngest DS who will be 2.5 yrs old during trip will be able to have his own plate for free at the family style & buffet places, and it would force us to take the time to sit down and recharge....however we would still have to make the commitment to scheduled meals everyday. The QSDP does give you more flexibility with your meal times, you get more snacks, the free refillable mug...but there could be just as much hassle with trying to balance trays and waiting in long lines with the kids.....Oh decisions, decisions...

 

[dixonsontour]

I'd upgrade for the character meals.

But i'd try and pick the ones that are family style like garden grill, akershus and ohana breakfast.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Mom of 4 here and our oldest daughter has Dyspraxia and Asperger's. We have been going to WDW every year since our kids were 2, 3, 4 and 7. GET THE DDP! It's the best thing Disney has come up with in years. Having one scheduled sit-down meal per day is a perk, not a hassle. Plus the money you save with character meals alone is a small fortune.

 

[jodywgirl]

I'd upgrade for the character meals.

But i'd try and pick the ones that are family style like garden grill, akershus and ohana breakfast.

I totally agree with this its great to get out of heat but nice to be served Liberty tree tavern and Ohana dinner would also work well. I would try to eat off times have breakfast late and an early dinner so counter service is not so crowded

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Thank you everyone for your input...we decided to go ahead and do the upgrade to the DDP. I have to keep in mind that there will be multitudes of other families with children at Disney just like us and that how my kids may behave won't be anything new to anyone. I think we will just do some research on which TS locations would be the best fit for our family as well as the best times of day to do each TS meal. We are also going to try to take our kids out to eat more often in a variety of settings (mall food courts, buffets like Golden Corral or Ci Ci's, Applebees, etc.) to get them more used to eating out as well as to work on their behavior in restaurants. I think our biggest concern was that we would be tied down to ADRs everyday which would give us less flexibility with our kids if we needed to change plans for the day; but the more we look into it, the more we see that the restaurants are a big part of the overall WDW experience. I guess we better take advantage of it while we can.

 

[inkedupmomma]

for that price DEFINITELY upgrade! he character meals are a great part of all the fun too!

 

[AKL LOVER]

I know you said you decided to upgrade already, but I just wanted to add that by going to character meals and meeting characters there, you spend less time waiting in character lines at the parks! This works great for us and our children!

And we also don't feel so rushed with each character at the meals like we do when we wait in a busy line!