OP- I read both threads, and I think I know what the confusion stems from. Disney discovered that people were sharing
DDP credits with people who did nto pay for the plan, and they did this by sharing meals. This could never happen in a buffet otr an AYCTE establishment, but it did happen elsewhae, so no more sharing when in the DDP.
Now if you pay OOP, you can share whatever you want, unless you are in a buffet, character meal, dinner show or an AYCTE restaurant. Children under three always can share, or eat from a buffet, but if you want them to have their own meal, you must pay for it.
There is no way to mitigate the cost of character meals. Everyone over the age of three must pay their freight. If you are tying to conain teh cost of dining, I suggest you check out the menus and the characters present, and then choose one or two of them, stick with breakfast because those meals are less expensive, and then choose retaurants that have meas that are in your price range. If you find that your family wants more buffet type meals, price the DDP against teh costs of OOP dining. Those meals are expensive and you may find you save money.