A week on DDP with toddlers

[dspads]

Hey all,

I have never posted a review before but when planning my trip I found all the reviews by people with toddlers very helpful. So I thought I'd post mine and maybe help someone planning their trip now.

So I'll introduce us:
Me -35yo SAHM. Loves to eat and eats pretty much everything
DH - 35yo Dad. Meat & potatoes type. Non-adventurous eater. No fish or vegtables please.
DS1 - almost 5yo. Extremely picky. Likes pizza, mac n cheese, hot dogs, fries. Won't eat any veggies except for carrots and won't even sit next to a sandwich (?).
DS2 - 3yo. Pretty standard eater. Happiest with 'standard' toddler foods but not overly picky. Will eat pasta or chicken in almost any form, unlike his older brother who is very specefic about these things.....

A few notes:
We stayed at OKW in a Grand Villa with my 60-something parents, their 60-something cousin and my 30-something sisters. I will just be reviewing what we ate. We ended up getting the DDP because everyone else wanted it. We didn't think scheduling table-service with our boys would work - and it did end up being difficult. But overall I felt we got our moneys worth and was happy not to be paying the bill each night. (I might not have enjoyed certain meals as much if I got a $100+ bill at the end - IYKWIM

Here's what I'll be reviewing:

CS
Goods to Go
Cosmic Rays
Restrantasaurous
Casey's
Pizza Planet
Columbia Harbor House

TS
Chef Mickey
Tony's
Spoodles
H&V Breakfast
Olivia's -dinner
Olivia's -breakfast

Here we go.......


Goods to Go -Day 1
"Good fast food choice"

We ate here as soon as we arrived from the airpot since our room wasn't ready yet and we were starved.

Chicken strips, hot dog, kids hotdog - 3 CS
All food was typical fast food. I like WDW fries & chicken strips. Got prepackaged chocolate chip cookies for desserts to save - these were nothing special. We almost always split 3 counter meals between the four of us. Two apple sauces as kids sides. Coke for us & chocolate milks for the kids. I shared my chicken with my 3yo & fries with both kids. The 4yo had his hot dog. They each had a chocolate milk and DH and I shared his coke. There was always plenty of food.

One negative was that all the seating was in the sun & it was very hot that day. There are umbrellas but there was really no shade and limited seating.

Chef Mickeys - Day 1
"A lot of fun! Standard buffet food"
We had a 5:30 ADR, arrived on time and waited maybe 5 minutes.

The kids loved the characters. We saw the 'Fab 5'. Goofy didn't come around for autograph, just came out and danced (unless we missed it). We had each character come visit at least 2x. It was fun taking the monorail here since my boys love trains.

Buffet - 4 TS

The food was OK. What I consider typical buffet food. I wouldn't choose to eat here if it weren't for the characters. But it wasn't bad. I ate the pork & prime rib. Both meats were a nice cut and cooked nicely - the best of what I had. I also had a cranberry stuffing which was tasty and some nice baby carrots & a green bean dish. Both were fresh tasting and not mushy. Mashed potatoes were OK. I never even looked at the salad bar part. Too busy with the kids & characters!

The kids stuff was the typical WDW mac n cheese, pizza, Mickey ravioli. Not appetizing to me but they ate it. The kids also liked the bread & there was fresh fruit.

The dessert bar was good. Ice cream with loads of toppings for the kids. Yummy cookies & brownies. That was all we tried.

I would probably do it again for the characters. I generally prefer breakfast buffets (for the food) but rather be in the parks earlier. But this was a nice alternative.

More to come......

 

[Minniespal]

Great start ~ Looking forward to reading more.

 

[dspads]

Breakfast - We were staying in a condo so we grabbed a quick breakfast there.

Sharing - We almost always shared CS meals because it was just too much food. We actually ended up with 3 extra (but didn't lose out because others in our party had extra TS which we used for breakfast on our last day -they used our CS). If you do share make sure to plan to use the extras for breakfast or something.

Also it generally would 've been easier NOT to share, even though it would have been a waste of food. The kids often were fighting over the plate or a cookie they had to share. I also always got them each their own milk/juice and shared my DH's coke. We could have used that extra drink in water/gatorade -which we often used snack credits for. We never shared TS meals.

ADRs - We planned TS months in advance - we had to as a party of 9. We made all of them except O'hana's which we planned on doing prior to MVMCP - and after a day at AK. We realized it would just be way too much for the kids. Although we made all of the other ADR's it was a pain and I often was wishing just to skip it because the timing ended up just not being right. It was hard for us because we were on the DDP so we needed to use TS and we were a large group.

The one time we tried to get a ressie (for 2 days ahead for 4 of us) there was nothing available in the park we would be in (MGM). Others in our party were able to get Mexico ADRs.

 

[Ann Hess]

I am loving your review! Not only is it great, but we go to OKW next monday and I can't wait to hear what you have to say about Olivia's!

Looking forward to reading more

 

[dspads]

thanks guys.

We enjoyed OKW. The pool is great. My oldest LOVED the slide. We could've and maybe should've spent more time there. It also seems the bus stops to OKW from the parks are always one of the first (closet to the park entrance/exit=less walking). If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer.

 

[dspads]

Cosmic Ray's -Day 2
"We were hungry, it was there"

This was our first day in the parks. After a train ride, visiting Toon Town & a spin on the Indy Speedway we were starving and steps away from Cosmic Ray's. It was my plan to avoid this place due to the fact they have different food at each ordering bay. But I was not about to go hunting for another option.

Chicken nuggets, chicken sandwich, kids nuggets - 3 CS
I didn't realize when I got on the 'chicken' line that the adult meal would be nuggets instead of strips. DH wasn't answering his cell so nuggets he got. I again ordered the adult meals with fries for everyone to split and 2 apple sauces for the kids meal. 1 coke, 2 chocolate milks and I don't remember about dessert. The nuggets were good, not like McDs nuggets. Just like the WDW strips but smaller pieces. And my sandwich was tasty. Nice white meat chicken breast -grilled and flavorful.

It was noisy and very crowded in here, but service was quick. I think I'd avoid this place in the future. Mostly due to the overwhelming/crowded atmosphere and the ordering set-up.

Tony's - Day 2
"Like a good neighborhood place"
We had a 5:30 ADR, arrived on time and waited maybe 15 minutes. Thank god for the TV playing Lady & the Tramp here.


4 TS
I was unsure of this choice but we needed an ADR in MK to please my large group, and Tony's seemed most likely. Except I despise Olive Garden and I often read reviews comparing the two. We are Italians from NY so kinda pickey on this matter.....

Me: Salad, Eggplant Rotini, Cinnamom gelato
The salad was tasty and fresh. The eggplant dish was very good. I was expecting a spiral pasta due to the name but what I got was breaded eggplant in a fresh tasting sauce and a light and fresh tasting riccotta cheese served over spaghetti. I reallyt enjoyed this. The gelato was also great. Light and creamy with a great flavor.

DH: Tomato & mozzerella salad, Spaghetti & meatballs, cappuccino
He enjoyed his meal. I didn't taste his app, but the sauce on his pasta was good. Seemed different than mine (richer). The meatball was OK, a bit firm for me. And they let him get the cappuccino as his dessert.

The boys had pizza with carrot sticks as their side. And the sundae for dessert (even though it was not part of the complete meal, they let you switch it up. I thin all places we were in did). They put pepperoni on DS1's pie which made him very happy. It was very tasty. Well, DS1 didn't like the cheese But everyone else did.

I would pick Tony's again. We enjoyed the meal, the service was good, and a great location to come out of and watch Spectro. I'm really surprised of some of the reviews I have read. To me it was like your good local place. Maybe not the favorite local place. But very good.

 

[dspads]

Restrantasaurous - Day 3
"The kids were in heaven - Happy Meals at WDW!"

We picked this place purely for the McDonalds chicken & fries for the kids. It was a sure thing. It's located way in the back of Dino-land so I planned our day around arriving here at lunch time -we went after seeing Nemo. It was nice and cool with plently of seating.

Hot dog, Cheeseburger, and 2 Chicken Happy Meals - 4 CS

The hot dog was the typical WDW one on a wheat bun that is too flimsy. But fine. Burger fine, too. Not McD's. We all had McDs fries . Desserts were jello for kids and I got the brownies for us. No one liked the brownies. They were too rich and seemed to have a weird minty taste to me. The fixin's bar seemed nice but I didn't really check it out. I wonder how other people have time time do that, detour for their snack choices, etc. I am always too distracted just getting the kids settled and fed after waiting in line for 5-10 minutes.

If we have lunch at AK anytime in the near future I'm sure this is were we'll be eating.[/QUOTE]

Our ADR for tonight was at 5:30, prior to MVMCP. We realized that it would be too crazy to try and do that so we left AK around 3pm and headed back to the resort to rest. We arrived at MK around 5 to do some rides and have CS at MK.

Casey's - Day 3
"More hot dogs"

2 Hot dog meals - 2CS

We split 2 hot dog meals because I wasn't very hungry for another hot dog and DS2 doesn't eat hot dogs. So he had mostly fries. I believe we had some sort of late snack that day so were also kind of full. And were having trouble finding a place to eat do to some places closing early for party and the crowds from the early Wishes. The hot dogs & fries seemed the same as we had at Goods to Go and earlier at AK. Typical CS fare. No complaints and we were lucky to find a good seat outside.

 

[dspads]

Goods to Go - Day 4
"A decent meal pool-side"

The kids were getting burned out from the parks so we decided to spend the morning through lunch at the pool. OKW has a really cool pool slide, playground & hot tub. AND it was a great day for it.

Turkey Sandwich, Chicken Strips & hot dog kids meal- 3 CS
Another typical meal. We were satisfied. The sandwich was good. Plently of meat on a nice-ish roll. I got fruit salads for our desserts since we could take them back to room and use to snack later. The worst part was dragging the kids away from the pool so we could change for EPCOT.....

Spoodles - Day 4
"Our favorite meal!"

After a touring EPCOT for a few hours we walked to the Boardwalk for our 6:30 ADR. Waited maybe 5 minutes.

4 TS

Me: Greek salad, steak kebobs, raspberry gelato
The salad was very good. Loaded with fresh feta, kalamata olives, & pepperincini. I ordered the steak kebobs medium, sauce on side. The were huge! Cooked perfectly and very tender. The sauce was a bit spicey -middle eastern flavor. Went perfectly with the rice. I loved this dish! I didn't care for the gelato, maybe because there was some sort of cherry sauce on it. But it came with an amazing almond brittle crunchy cookie thing that was huge. I devoured it!

DHanzanella, Rigatoni, no dessert
The panzanella was amazing. The buffalo mozzerella was so good. The freshest I've had I think. And the foccacia was crouton-like (toasted) and soaking in a yummy vinagrette. I was jealous. He enjoyed his pasta with sausage, I didn't taste. And he was so full he skipped dessert (not unusual for him).

I think the boys had more pizza & sundaes. I was just glad we made it through this meal without incident.....

I also tasted the dips my mother ordered and they were great. Everyone was happy.

We then went outside and saw a great magic show on the Boardwalk before deciding to skip Illiminations and call it a night. A definite do-again.

 

[mimi'sgirl]

Loving your review. We will be in Disney next Nov. with our 3 and 5 year olds.
Would love to hear any quick tips. Thanks again. I guess by tips I mean - Did you think the dining plan was worth it? I have 1 picky eater who doesn't eat much. I also don't know about having to plan which park according to our ADRs months in advance. Just curious of your opinion.

 

[dspads]

Loving your review. We will be in Disney next Nov. with our 3 and 5 year olds.
Would love to hear any quick tips. Thanks again. I guess by tips I mean - Did you think the dining plan was worth it? I have 1 picky eater who doesn't eat much. I also don't know about having to plan which park according to our ADRs months in advance. Just curious of your opinion.

mimi'sgirl -
I think the 2007 dinning plan is a good deal, not sure about 2008. Thay being said -it wasn't for us. I planned our ADRs months in advance based on the parks we were going to be in. Had no problem sticking to the park but the timing often wasn't convienient based on the way our day was going . For example, I made dinner at 5ish. I didn't feel we had enough time to go back, relax, then come back for dinner. We never made it out the door before 9am, even though we are early risers so once we got to the parks time flew. It would be easier if walk-ups, or even same-day ADRs were possible. I think I would be less stressed with less ADRs and more CS, regardless of cost.

What was nice is that if we paid OOP for dinner at Chef Mickey's it would've cost over $100. MORE then our DDP cost per day. I think not paying a big bill at the end of each meal made then more enjoyable, IYKWIM.

I planned our park based on park hours, days the parades were, etc. I also picked MK for our first full day as a starting point. I would've planned one of our full days as no park if I was going to redo. We didn't do parks on our first day then
MK
AK - MVMCP @ night
EPCOT
MGM
MK
DTD travel home day

So we had 5 day, non-hopper. 4 days would've been fine and I would've skipped EPCOT.

Other tips, we definetly needed 2 strollers. I ended up bringing 2 from home and Southwest broke one. We ended up renting a single a couple of times because both boys needed breaks.

That's all I can think of right now. Have fun planning!

 

[dspads]

Hollywood & Vine - Day 5
"Nice breakfast - Friendly characters"

This meal was planned specefically because my youngest has a huge thing for Annie. He had not been too into the characters all week so I assumed the same would go here. And Annie wasn't there anywhere. We got June, Leo, Goliath, and Jo Jo. My oldest enjoyed it and they did a cute dancing thing. I must say it paled it comparison to the fun we had at Chef Mickey's and our prior years's trip to O'hana breakfast (but due to our own kids responses).

Buffet- 4 TS
The food was good and plentiful and it was not too crowded which was nice. We had a 10:30 seating but showed up closer to 10 and were seated right away.

There were pancakes, mickey waffles, oatmeal, grits, cheesey potatoes, tater tots, cheese/veg frittata, mexican style scramble with tortillas & fixins, bacon, biscuits etc. Fresh breads, fruit, yogurt. Bread pudding & apple crisp for dessert. Plenty of coffee and juice from our pleasant server.

Everyone was happy and we all left full.

 

[dspads]

Pizza Planet -Day 5
"OK"

We had a late lunch here. I really can't comment much on this meal. We got 3 pizza's, one with pepperoni. They came with salads which were fine. We ate outside to avoid the arcade. Liked it better than Pizza Hut, but I despise Pizza Hut. Kind of reminded me of Boboli.

Of course we ended up in the arcade away way


Olivia's - Day 5
"Relaxing meal- Really enjoyed it"

My original plan for this day was to skip dinner since we had a late breakfast and lunch. After our late lunch we rode the Great Movie ride, did Playhouse Disney and were browsing the shops awaiting the time for Osborne lights. We decided it would just be best to head back and avoid the crowds. And that we were hungry. We also had an extra TS from skipping O'hana.

When we arrived at OKW we popped into Olivia's. We had no problem getting seated, it was busy but not full. I was happy it was just the 4 of us and they had booths! Kids are so much happier in a booth!

4 TS
Me: Crab cakes, Sirloin Steak Salad
The crab cakes were great! They were small but there were 4 of them and it was just a starter after all . It came with 2 tasty sauces, not sure what they were. The salad was delicious. I was happy with all the salads I ordered this week. The steak was tender and flavorful and it was loaded with blue cheese, yum.

DH: (another) Mozzerella & Tomato, NY Strip
Liked his started. Not nearly as good as the one he had at Spoodles, but that was GREAT. He loved his steak. Tender, and that is saying a lot when you order your steak well done.

I think we got a chicken fingers and a pizza for the kids to split. They didn't eat much. But colored happily on the printouts the host gave them. This was one of our most relaxing meals. Maybe because it was just the four of us.

We didn't order desserts because it was getting late (730ish) and we were trying to get the kids to bed early.

This was a great choice for dinner and worked great for us -doing as much as we wanted in the parks and just heading home to eat instead of worrying about an ADR. Of course it wouldn't have worked every night, but ended up being perfect and solved our missing ADR issue.

 

[dspads]

Columbia Harbor House - Day 6
"Nice Variety"

I picked this place because it seemed to have a good range of choices for our large group. And we happened to be right near it after touring Tom Sawyer Island.

Tuna sandwich, Chicken strips, Mac 'n cheese - 3CS

Same chicken & mac. No complaints. Got yogurts for dessert which was good for kids (who didn't eat much of their meal). Tuna was good. Not sure of the raves it gets. But it was a nice sandwhich and healthier option.

This place was PACKED and it took forever. But everyone got to relax awhile.

Raglan Rd -Day 6
"Another great meal, I think"

I picked this place for DH's birthday dinner. Unfortunatley it was at the end of a busy week and the kids were shot. We should've really stayed in but decided to make the ADR with the rest of our group. I would've enjoyed it tons more if DS2 wasn't having a meltdown and I didn't have to keep taking him outside to jump on the lazer snowflakes on the sidewalk......

BUT. It was a cool upscale-ish pub atmosphere. Great for an adults only meal. But didn't feel unwelcome with kids. The waitstaff was great. Outside bar looked fun.

4 TS
dh: Drunk chicken, Sirloin, no dessert
Liked his meal. Preffered the strip at Olivia's but said this was good. Didn't say much else. Too distracted.

Me: Goat cheese app, Paddy's pork, no dessert
The app & dinner were delish. Such a large piece of the cheese. It was too much. Pork was so tender and juicey. Loved the glaze & the sides were the best (leeks, cabbage, mashed pot.). I was outside with DS2 when the waiter took our dessert order. He was nice enough to come looking for me to take it later, but everone had already gotten their dessert and it had been a long wait for that and it was just time for us to go IYKWIM. I really wanted the bread pudding but was too tired to even sample anyone elses.

Older DS: Dalkey Duo & sundae
He was on a chicken strike and loves hotdogs so we tried this, doubted he would eat any. But he tried it and did eat some, but said it was too spicey. Loved the fries.

DS2: He managed to sit at he table long enough to eat his mac n cheese. Which was not the standard WDW (none of the kids food was). It was elbows I think, in a more white sauce. Tasty. My very picky older one wouldn't touch it. He also feasted on Dad's chicken app. Oh, and of course he had his sundae too. The sundae was a large scoop of vanilla with a crock of fudge sauce and a big dallop of fresh whipped cream on the side.

The other adults in my group loved this place, said it was their favorite, or 2nd to Mexico (they ate there w/o us) of the week. The raved about the salmom cooked with smoked salmon & maple glaze. I would really love to return here. Even just for drinks and apps. We were too tired & cranky to really enjoy ourselves, but the food was very good for sure. Note to self, never feel pressured into making an ADR, it just won't be worth it in the end

 

[Maggi May]

Great reviews!
I especially like your quick summaries of each meal.

I agree with your comments about the DDP and planning meals with younger children. We tried the DDP once and enjoyed the convenience and savings, but like you would prefer to eat a bit more CS meals to allow for flexibility.

I really hope you get to go back to Raglan Road and try that bread pudding - it's to die for!

 

[spicemom]

Thank you for the great reviews! We'll also have a 3 yr old and 5 yr old when we go. Glad to see how you made out.

 

[lalagrace]

Thanks, we are going with our almost 3 yr old in Jan, and I love hearing toddler reviews. thanks for posting!

 

[mrhodes418]

I love the reviews. I wish this had been up before we went in Aug/Sept. We managed to hit the "Free Dining Plan" month they had last year. A couple of my own notes to add to the others:
We had ADR for Coral Reef one night. We weren't seated until 45 minutes later - traveling with DD 3 and DS 1.5. Not fun to sit and wait that long without little ones, much less hot, cranky, hungry toddlers. The staff when we were seated were rude. They didn't attach the high chair correctly to the table and it collapsed on DS, then told me I over reacted to the situation. (We left and grabbed a burger at the Electric Umbrella).
I do have to give enormous kudos to Chefs de France. We took everyone there for lunch one day, more than a little worried about how the kids would behave (they are not picky eaters at all, so no worries there). The staff was friendly and gracious. Our waiter told us to ride out the thunderstorm there, DD (who was starting to get antsy) wanted to play, so he moved a table back, so she could have a small area to dance in! Granted it wasn't that crowded, but he made our day! I would say to parents who want to try but are afraid b/c of toddlers, you never know.

 

[mousescrapper]

just subbing in to read more later.

Thanks for sending me the link....

 

[MouseFan71]

We always use the DDP and book as many character meals as possible. I really feel we get the most bang for our buck that way. We really enjoy Chef Mickeys and Crystal Palace, both are buffets so the kids don't have to wait for their food.
I agree that if you are traveling with 2 children, a double stroller is a must. We thought about renting at WDW but then we would not have it at the hotel, airport and most importantly - waiting for the bus at park closing time when they are asleep!!! We purchased a Kolcraft Twin Umbrella that reclines with canopies and has 2 mesh holders behind each seat for storage. It folds down nicely for travel on the WDW transportation and only costs about $60. It has been to WDW 4 times and still has some life left in it!!! Our girls are 5 & 6 so hopefully we can use it again this year if they're not too heavy!! This year we are also bringing our son, he's 3 and suffers from some sensory integration delays, hopefully he'll do okay. This will make table service more interesting to say the least. I'll post again when we return with an update.

 

[mousescrapper]

Cosmic Ray's -Day 2
"We were hungry, it was there"

This was our first day in the parks. After a train ride, visiting Toon Town & a spin on the Indy Speedway we were starving and steps away from Cosmic Ray's. It was my plan to avoid this place due to the fact they have different food at each ordering bay. But I was not about to go hunting for another option.

It was noisy and very crowded in here, but service was quick. I think I'd avoid this place in the future. Mostly due to the overwhelming/crowded atmosphere and the ordering set-up.


Finally getting a chance to read thru all of it and post a reply.... we stoo thought Cr's was crowded and the order area is cooky.

Tony's - Day 2
"Like a good neighborhood place"
We had a 5:30 ADR, arrived on time and waited maybe 15 minutes. Thank god for the TV playing Lady & the Tramp here.

I would pick Tony's again. We enjoyed the meal, the service was good, and a great location to come out of and watch Spectro. I'm really surprised of some of the reviews I have read. To me it was like your good local place. Maybe not the favorite local place. But very good.

Glad you liked Tony's. Our friends ate there twice and really enjoyed. Glad to feed another good review in the midst of bad ones. We are looking forward to dinning here. Especially becuase all our kids are big pasta fans!

Hollywood & Vine - Day 5
"Nice breakfast - Friendly characters"

This meal was planned specefically because my youngest has a huge thing for Annie. He had not been too into the characters all week so I assumed the same would go here. And Annie wasn't there anywhere. We got June, Leo, Goliath, and Jo Jo. My oldest enjoyed it and they did a cute dancing thing. I must say it paled it comparison to the fun we had at Chef Mickey's and our prior years's trip to O'hana breakfast (but due to our own kids responses).

We're eating lunch here, and yes, specifically picked it for our DD 5 who really loves Jo-Jo. Glad I've always heard she is there, despite the turn around on the LE guys. Glad you enjoyed it. Hope the lunch buffet will be good too.

Everyone was happy and we all left full.

Thanks agian for your quick food review. Glad you overall had some good eats and most things worked out for you.