Anyone with a toddler use the deluxe plan?

[disneypolybride2008]

We normally would get deluxe dining so that we can do a character breakfast each morning, have a TS dinner, and we would prefer a QS lunch but its a better value to do a TS lunch. That was with two adults though. With our next visit being with our daughter, she will be under 3, i was wondering if it is a good or bad idea to go deluxe. Normally we would eat the character buffet at 8-9am, lunch at 2-3, and dinner as close to 10pm as we could get. What was your eating schedule with a toddler? Do you think deluxe would work? My main thing is that we would want to do the character buffets in the morning for sure, along with a TS dinner... too bad there isnt an option for what i need.

 

[Colleen27]

We love the deluxe plan with our toddler! We've done it twice - once when she was 16mo and once when she was 30mo - and will probably be using it again in Nov (currently waffling a bit because our middle child is "graduating" to adult pricing).

What we did was planned either a character breakfast or a TS lunch, followed by a TS or signature dinner. Breakfasts we plan for either pre-park opening or the latest seating (usually 10:30ish), lunches on days we don't have breakfasts around 11:30-12, and dinner at 6-7. In between we'd just share QS or pick up snacks. We did CRT, ordered pizza to the room, shared QS from the food court when we were enjoying pool time, and generally had no problems using up all the credits. The snacks came in handy too, because the baby needed more bottles of juice, pieces of fruit, and other between-meal munchies than we'd get for ourselves. The most recent trip with her was the first time we didn't have any extra snack credits to use for take-home treats!

On the deluxe plan you need to use about 2/3 of your credits for TS to get your money's worth out of the plan, so even if you stick with a character breakfast and one-credit dinner with counter service in-between the plan likely makes sense for you. We don't do three TS meal days at all, but we've come out ahead on the plan every time.

 

[Sparkie]

I think it would depend on your toddler.

We did a trip with a 21 month old and then again when she was 26 months. We only did the basic dining plan but we found our table service meals to be difficult and we did not get to relax and enjoy them as much as we had in the past. (FYI the toddler is a grandchild)

On average, we spent 1.5 hours per sit down meal. 1.5 hours is an eternity for some toddlers.

Early breakfast- she didnt want to eat.
Table service lunch- pushed into nap time
Table service dinner- we tried to eat by 6 or 7 pm because after 8 or 9 she was done and ready for bed.

For us, next time it will be Quick Service with a few out of pocket table service meals.

So when you ask about Delux and a toddler, I think you have to consider the nature of your toddler.

 

[anjalee6]

We have done the deluxe plan 3 times so far with toddlers and will be doing it again in 17 days. It works really well for our family. We do at least 2 TS meals a day and we do one princess meal and HDDR or SOA so that we get the most out of our TS credits on the deluxe plan. It's a great way to beat the heat and relax for us.

 

[3pletprincesses]

We did it with our 4 yo triplets and loved it. I think it depends more on the child then anything else. I girls have no problem sitting for 2 hours for a meal. We bring crayons and coloring books for in between courses at signature meals. Disney goes give a kids menu and crayons for them to color it but we foudn that bringing extra was better as they get tired of the same colors LOL

We did early character breakfast and early dinner every day and a few times we did early lunch and later dinner because we knew we would sleep in. If you have a portable DVD, that would work too to keep them busy. We average 2 hours at signature meals as a party of 5. It was lots of fun and lots of good food.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

thank you for the responses. glad to hear it is working out well. even if we only do a TS character breakfast, QS lunch, and a TS dinner, with the two snacks, we will come out ahead with the plan.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

How late does your toddler stay up? Dinner past 7 probably isnt going to be a good idea, right?

 

[peanut520]

How late does your toddler stay up? Dinner past 7 probably isnt going to be a good idea, right?

Not a btdt buyer are going in September with my 29 mo. We are doing dxddp. My plan is to keep her schedule as close to normal as possible I have early lunch adrs (11:30) so she will be about to nap (1:30-3:00) afterwards and a few hours back at the parks before an early dinner (5:40 adrs so I m hoping we'll be seated by 6 because that is normally the time we try to eat dinner).

We just did a late dinner last night with family for a fair well dinner and she didn't go to bed until 9:30 pm and was miserable this morning. So we will not bedding that again. Her normal bedtime is 7:30 pm.

 

[Colleen27]

How late does your toddler stay up? Dinner past 7 probably isnt going to be a good idea, right?

That varies a ton from child to child. At 16mo my DD was good until about 9-9:30 but she's never been on a "toddler" schedule because of the older kids. She goes to bed around 9 most nights, because by then the house is quiet and that way she's fast asleep by the time the older kids go up to their rooms at 9:30-10. At 30mo, we could have had dinner at 10 and she'd have been fine - she's not napping at home regularly because if she does she's not tired at bedtime, so with napping every day at WDW she was outlasting us all in the evenings. But she's never been a schedule-dependent child; some kids need the familiar structure more than others (my oldest was that way, big time!).

 

[hannahdrewmom]

We love dxdp with toddlers. We have the flexibility for room service, pizza, or qs in addition to ts. We tended to plan for a mix of things. We did CRT, one signature, a couple qs, a day with 3 meals, and 2 mornings with sharing room service. Ended up with 0 meals left and only 1 snack left!

It takes some planning in the beginning but then it gives you EXTREME flexibility to change things on the fly. The additional snacks are AWESOME to make up for meals and beverages that are needed for the little one not on the plan too. We also never ate dinner past 6 pm since our little ones normally are in bed by 7.