Are we doing too much...

[AnnaS]

The best part is the planning.

My question is - which is more important to you the dining or the parks/rides. You will also be relying on Disney transportation, yes? Transportation and dining (even add waiting to be seated) takes away a lot of time from your day.

If Dining is the main part of your vacation - great, go for it even though it's a bit too much for me.

Personally for my first time - I would have some counter service breakfasts at the resort. Maybe one breakfast meal at a Table Service.

One or two table service lunches (no table service for dinner that night)

A few quick service lunches - Table service dinners those nights

For us - planning down time/pool time/resort time in the middle of the trip is great too. Granted, not many plan this for their first few trips (or all the trips) - but I think it's too much running around. We have also gotten caught with downpours where we need to wait inside somewhere for at least 20/30 minutes.

Happy planning and come back to tell us what you did and how it all worked out!!!!

 

[Bree]

How are you planning to get to Universal? I don't see that in your plans. If you are renting a car that is going to suck up some more of your time to get it and drop it off. Even if you plan on using Uber I would drop that breakfast reservation. Traffic will be very heavy in the morning and will take you longer than you think to get to US.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

My thoughts exactly. I think dining at WDW depends on what you're used to at home. For some folks eating at WDW is a real treat as compared to what they have at home which is great. But for some, it's mostly just mediocre over-priced food. We try to limit ADRs to places we know have good food regardless of the price. This means we may not have an ADR every day. For our trip in November I have only made 4 ADRs for 8 days. There are a couple more I'd like to get but nothing's available. If we don't get them that's OK or we'll try the day before.

While I agree with some of the restaurants, the ones the OP picked out are generally unique and very good experiences:
Kona, Chefs, Le Cellier, Boma, Artist pointe, Sci-fi, Yatchman, Tusker house, Sanaa, Crystal Palace, BOG, CRT

All unique, themed and very good. If what you are looking for is a true sampling of the different styles and wide range of Disney foods, you have a great selection here - not really "mediocre over-priced".

the real question is" what are you looking for?

 

[AFwifelife]

For me, I would hate all those ADRs. I can understand trying to get as much value out of the deluxe plan though and think it's a good plan (minus the breakfast before your US day) if you are wanting to try out a good amount of restaurants. We never eat the way that the dining plans dictate (app and dessert for each) so it's not a deal for us.

 

[rwdavis2]

While I agree with some of the restaurants, the ones the OP picked out are generally unique and very good experiences:
Kona, Chefs, Le Cellier, Boma, Artist pointe, Sci-fi, Yatchman, Tusker house, Sanaa, Crystal Palace, BOG, CRT

All unique, themed and very good. If what you are looking for is a true sampling of the different styles and wide range of Disney foods, you have a great selection here - not really "mediocre over-priced".

the real question is" what are you looking for?

That's true on the restaurant choices. Agreed on the final question. What do you want to do or accomplish. We just tend to not make dining a priority. I'd still go to WDW even if it was all quick service.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

That's true on the restaurant choices. Agreed on the final question. What do you want to do or accomplish. We just tend to not make dining a priority. I'd still go to WDW even if it was all quick service.

Oh, 100%. I usually only make a few ADR's. We do via Nappoli every time we are there because we love their pizza. Besides that, we generally pick 2 others ADR's per trip and that's about it for us. however, eating is not a priority for us. We don't like to spend a lot of time waiting at the restaurants and my wife and I are not very adventurous when it comes to food (we hated Remy's on the Fantasy which I know is one of the best restaurants at sea).

That said, our priorities have changed over the years and with DVC. We're more inclined now to do a few extra ADR's over rides as the rides have gotten a little old for us.

We also recognize that there are other people who love to try different foods. They can't go everywhere in the world, so for them trying all the foods in world showcase is a priority.

One of the things I love most about Disney is that it's so many different things to so many different people.

 

[shawnh199]

We have done the deluxe dining on every trip but our first trip to Disney (didn't know about it then). We had always done 3 meals per day which I know people think is a lot of food - and it is. But it doesn't mean you have to eat everything on your plate. A couple of bites of dessert just for the taste and satisfaction and we were good (or we would take it to go). We never had any issues with not being able to ride everything we wanted to and then some. We did pre-park ADR's for breakfast, usually in the park we were going to that day or a resort close to the park. NO time lost, and we were already inside the park which was always a plus! We did lunch between 1230-130. Love the A/C and the kids usually laid their heads on the table and took a nap while we waited on our food. Depending upon fast pass times or desire to see a parade, we would head back to the hotel for a swim and a nap to refresh ourselves for the evening. We did a dinner in the park or near the park and then spent the remainder of the evening in the park. This became much easier as we now own DVC at Poly which saves a lot of time going back and forth compared to when we stayed at POP. The only time we really felt full each day was after dinner because we didn't have as much walking to do after. With the early breakfast we were usually ready for lunch, sometimes to the point where we would try to get in before our reservation time. We were always ready for dinner as we were refreshed and rested.

I have no regrets for the way we did deluxe dining. We got to do so many character breakfasts, which saved us SOOO much time standing in lines in the parks for characters. We have never minded eating at quick service restaurants but, we like the relaxation of sitting down and not feeling rushed like we have always felt at QS. The only place we regularly would eat QS was at Wolfgang Pucks.

Disney food is just as an important part of our trip as is riding Big Thunder Mountain over and over again in the morning until the lines start to get longer. Unfortunately, our next trip will be our first without the deluxe dining plan as it has become too expensive with all my kids being "Disney Adults" at the ages of 10 and 14. We are looking at doing the same places we have always done but just looking at splitting entrees and appetizers and getting desserts only when we feel like it.

My biggest advise is to use your snack credits regularly. We always ended up having to buy packaged candy type snacks the night before we left because we didn't want to waste any. Wish I had known how good the caramel popcorn was at the Caramel store in Epcot - we would have used a lot more credits there.

Have lots of fun!!

 

[piccolopat]

We like to have more sit down meals rather than quick service but we also find it more time efficient to eat at or near the park we will be visiting. For example, we would go to Kona on a MK day but not on an Epcot day. We also try to have dinner earlier because we find we don't sleep as well if dinner is too late. If you haven't done so already, you should look at the menus for the places you want to go and estimate how much it would cost you out of pocket to eat if you didn't have the deluxe dining plan. For many people, it can be more expensive on a plan that out of pocket. You might find this particularly true after a few days of large meals. Without the dining plan you would be free to skip a few meals or get something lighter at quick service. Also, don't underestimate how much time sit down meals take. Since this is your first time at the parks, you might want to give yourself more park time on occasion by replacing a sit down meal with quick service. You will have to build in a lot of travel time on the buses for some of your meals.

I guess my advice bottom line is to not do the dining plan and be flexible to change your plans each day. As long as you cancel the night before, there is no penalty to cancel any of your ADRs. I think you'll know after the first day or two whether you've scheduled in too much time for meals and want more park time. Have a fantastic time!

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

We have done the deluxe dining on every trip but our first trip to Disney (didn't know about it then). We had always done 3 meals per day which I know people think is a lot of food - and it is. But it doesn't mean you have to eat everything on your plate. A couple of bites of dessert just for the taste and satisfaction and we were good (or we would take it to go). We never had any issues with not being able to ride everything we wanted to and then some. We did pre-park ADR's for breakfast, usually in the park we were going to that day or a resort close to the park. NO time lost, and we were already inside the park which was always a plus! We did lunch between 1230-130. Love the A/C and the kids usually laid their heads on the table and took a nap while we waited on our food. Depending upon fast pass times or desire to see a parade, we would head back to the hotel for a swim and a nap to refresh ourselves for the evening. We did a dinner in the park or near the park and then spent the remainder of the evening in the park. This became much easier as we now own DVC at Poly which saves a lot of time going back and forth compared to when we stayed at POP. The only time we really felt full each day was after dinner because we didn't have as much walking to do after. With the early breakfast we were usually ready for lunch, sometimes to the point where we would try to get in before our reservation time. We were always ready for dinner as we were refreshed and rested.

I have no regrets for the way we did deluxe dining. We got to do so many character breakfasts, which saved us SOOO much time standing in lines in the parks for characters. We have never minded eating at quick service restaurants but, we like the relaxation of sitting down and not feeling rushed like we have always felt at QS. The only place we regularly would eat QS was at Wolfgang Pucks.

Disney food is just as an important part of our trip as is riding Big Thunder Mountain over and over again in the morning until the lines start to get longer. Unfortunately, our next trip will be our first without the deluxe dining plan as it has become too expensive with all my kids being "Disney Adults" at the ages of 10 and 14. We are looking at doing the same places we have always done but just looking at splitting entrees and appetizers and getting desserts only when we feel like it.

My biggest advise is to use your snack credits regularly. We always ended up having to buy packaged candy type snacks the night before we left because we didn't want to waste any. Wish I had known how good the caramel popcorn was at the Caramel store in Epcot - we would have used a lot more credits there.

Have lots of fun!!

⬆⬆⬆
What she said so eloquently!
Exactly why we love the DxDP, and now that we're empty nesters will probably never go to WDW without it!

 

[brich330]

Different strokes for different folks One table meal a day for me with a small breakfast. However I value rides above all else. Some people love relaxing at the resort's and some love the food. Now if they shipped Napa Rose to Orlando I may reconsider my stance, but I have nice restaurant's at home. I don't have the haunted mansion.