Critique our dining plans?

[RollTideinMD]

Hi y'all! I'm a Disney First Timer taking my kids (ages 6 and 9) to WDW February 11-16, 2019.

We are staying at Pop with the DDP. My 9 year old and I are foodies, we love characters..so lots of food and characters for us

First, I want to make sure that I am calculating the credits correctly, with the DDP it's 3 credits (plus the 2 snacks) for each night - so at five nights, we have 15 credits each. Our current plan is using 14 credits, so we'll have 1 credit left for a QS lunch somewhere one of those days, paying out of pocket for another one maybe.


Day one - early arrival at MCO:
Brunch: Chef Mickey's ADR for 1:45pm (allowing us a ton of time to take DME to Pop and then getting to the Contemporary)
Dinner: CRT ADR for 7:00pm

I am pretty thrilled with these two choices. Not looking to change anything here.

Day 2 - MK Day!!!
Breakfast: The Crystal Palace - ADR for 8:40
Lunch: BOG - ADR for 1:00
Dinner: Liberty Tree Tavern - ADR for 7:30

I am pretty on the fence about LTT - I have read great reviews, but would love to hear suggestions.

Day 3 - EPCOT!
Breakfast: Akershus ADR for 8:05
Lunch: Biergarten ADR for 12:00
Dinner: Coral Reef ADR for 7:00

I am wondering if there is a better option than Biergarten for lunch on our day in Epcot - I feel like there is TOO much to choose from! I wonder if the lunch buffet and the show will suck too much of our day in Epcot? Looking for thoughts here.

Day 4: Hollywood Studios!
Breakfast: Hollywood & Vine Disney Jr Play n'Dine ADR 8:05
Lunch: likely QS in TSL
Dinner: 50's Prime Time ADR 7:20

I'm curious about not doing the breakfast, my kids have outgrown Disney Junior, so I am more interested in hearing about the food and not the character interaction. I would gladly switch this out or even save the credit for an early lunch at a better option in HS.

Day 5: AK!!
Breakfast: Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House ADR for 8:10
Lunch: QS somewhere..
Dinner: Sanaa ADR 7:15

QS Lunch suggestions in AK?

Day 6: Saddest Day Ever:
Breakfast: Ohana ADR for 10:00 before riding the Tragical Express back to MCO.

 

[dachsie]

Day 1 - that's a lot of food really close together. I would try to adjust times if possible
Day 2 - if you like Thanksgiving dinner you will like LTT. We enjoyed it!
Day 3 - way too much food - I would drop Biergarten and fine a QS somewhere for lunch if you need to eat but probably pay OOP as you wont want much to eat
Day 4 - I would drop H&V and try to get an early lunch at Sci-Fi - you can eat a small breakfast at Everything Pop before you get there
Day 5 - Satuli Canteen is super popular (I haven't trried it yet) or Flame Tree is good QS option

Have fun - You might consider changing some of the non character meals to a Signature to use credits. Maybe drop Sanaa for Jiko or Coral Reef for Le Cellier Or even do BOG for dinner instead of lunch

 

[sharonabe]

First, I want to make sure that I am calculating the credits correctly, with the DDP it's 3 credits (plus the 2 snacks) for each night - so at five nights, we have 15 credits each. Our current plan is using 14 credits, so we'll have 1 credit left for a QS lunch somewhere one of those days, paying out of pocket for another one maybe.

I just want to make sure you have the correct plan. We usually use DDP as an abbreviation for Disney Dining Plan which is the regular plan that has 1 TS, 1 QS and 2 snacks per night. The plan that has the 3 meals and 2 snacks is the DxDDP or Deluxe Disney Dining Plan.

 

[OhThePain]

I think that is WAY WAY WAY too many reservations for first timers, especially on those first 3 days. All you will remember of your trip is food. Most TS meals are going to run you 60+ minutes and character meals can run over 90+ minutes. It should be a rule that first timers cant book more than 1 ADR per day.

 

[Destinyz12]

Day 1 and 2 look fine but day 3 you have an all you can eat breakfast and a buffet lunch pretty close together in reservation time, so you may not be hungry for lunch by 12:00. I'd probably consider dropping Biergarten and just use your snack credits for lunch whenever you end up getting hungry. You can use snack credits for most side dish type items at QS places like soups, salads, french fries, sometimes mac and cheese, ect. Day 4 I agree with above about switching out disney jr for an early lunch at Sci fi, and using snack credits for breakfast if need be. Day 5 looks good. If you do it this way you'll have one extra meal credit per person to use, in which I'd recommend maybe switching one of your dinners out for a 2-credit meal if you dont think you can fit another meal in.

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

We do the deluxe dining plan on every trip. Only 1 day or 2 at the most we have 3 TS meals. The meals do take a lot of time & with getting an appetizer, entree & dessert you really need some time in between meals or you aren’t hungry for the next meal. ( we usually do an early lunch & a late signature after we leave the park)

Day 1: I love your choices but if you can adjust the times for a bigger gap in between meals you will enjoy them more.

On day 3: if you could get a later coral reef you might enjoy it more.
For lunch that day I suggest San Angel inn instead... it is really a gorgeous restaurant.

Day 4 I’d do a early sci fi diner instead of the breakfast if those characters aren’t your favorites.

 

[CraigInPA]

To be clear, you're describing the Deluxe Dining Plan (commonly abbreviated DxDDP), not the normal Dining Plan (commonly abbreviated DDP), or the Quick Service Dining Plan (commonly abbreviated QSDDP).

As someone who has done the DxDDP several times, I can tell you that your plan has entirely too much eating. Portions are HUGE. You will not want to eat three times a day after the second day. Most people who buy DxDDP tend to eat twice a day, late breakfast and signature dinner, or early lunch and signature dinner. They'll use the snack credits to fill in the missing meal. For example, in my last trip, I had a snack credit breakfast muffin at the hotel for breakfast, lunch at San Angel Inn at 11:30, a snack credit item from Werther's in Germany in the late afternoon, and dinner at Yachtsman at 8pm.

If I was you, I'd change these days to better experience the DxDDP and open up your schedule to enjoy the parks:
Day 2: MK Day
Crystal Palace 8:40 (keep this, 1 credit)
Be Our Guest dinner (make this, 2 credits)

Day 5: AK
Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House for 8:10 (keep this, 1 credit)
Jiko dinner (make this, 2 credits)

In addition, I'd re-think what is important at Epcot and DHS, in order to bring down the time spent eating.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Not critiquing your plan, but RTR!

 

[sullyfam]

First - great job scoring all these reservations! Second, are you sure you have the right dining plan? What you are describing is the Deluxe Plan. The regular plan just has 1 QS and 1 TS per day. So I'd be sure you have the right plan or else you'll be paying for a lot of this out of pocket. If it is the Deluxe Plan, keep in mind that every person in your party gets an appetizer, an entree AND a dessert at every meal. It's A LOT of food.

Also, do you plan to stay the parks from rope drop to close? Or are you doing breaks?

Here are my thoughts on your plans (for what it's worth).

Day one - early arrival at MCO:
Brunch: Chef Mickey's ADR for 1:45pm (allowing us a ton of time to take DME to Pop and then getting to the Contemporary)
Dinner: CRT ADR for 7:00pm

These reservations are pretty close together as Chef Mickey's will take you at least 60-90 minutes meaning you won't be out of there before 3:15 p.m. You'll then need to get into MK which will take another 30 minutes perhaps putting you in MK around 4. You'll need to check into CRT around 6:45. Not a lot of time in between to do rides although I know CRT will likely be hard to change. I would consider since you are staying at Pop to check into your room, let the kids swim and grab quick service at your resort then head to MK as early as you can.

Day 2 - MK Day!!!
Breakfast: The Crystal Palace - ADR for 8:40
Lunch: BOG - ADR for 1:00
Dinner: Liberty Tree Tavern - ADR for 7:30

Again, this is a lot of food. Crystal Palace will take you until at least 10 a.m. and then you'll need to head to BOG by 12:45. Not a lot of time in between. Since it looks like this is your only full MK day I would decide what's most important (Crystal Palace or BOG) and drop the other. MK has the most amount of rides and experiences of all of the parks. Liberty Tree Tavern isn't our favorite but again, keeping in mind that's a later time which means you aren't getting out of there until 8:30 or so. Not sure what time the park closes that day.

Day 3 - EPCOT!
Breakfast: Akershus ADR for 8:05
Lunch: Biergarten ADR for 12:00
Dinner: Coral Reef ADR for 7:00

I would not recommend Biergarten. We had a hard time there with our 3 kids because they are picky eaters and didn't find a lot of choices they liked. I'd keep the breakfast and dinner and do a QS lunch. This is your only Epcot day and it's huge and there's a lot to see and do.

Day 4: Hollywood Studios!
Breakfast: Hollywood & Vine Disney Jr Play n'Dine ADR 8:05
Lunch: likely QS in TSL
Dinner: 50's Prime Time ADR 7:20

We did not enjoy Hollywood and Vine. If your kids aren't into Disney Junior, I would consider dropping it and again, just doing something quick at your resort and heading to HS for rope drop to take advantage of everything there since it's your only HS day. Parks are big and there's a lot to see and do. We love 50's PT.

Day 5: AK!!
Breakfast: Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House ADR for 8:10
Lunch: QS somewhere..
Dinner: Sanaa ADR 7:15

Keep in mind that Sanaa is outside of AK. So you'll need to exit the park by 6:30, and take a bus to AKL to eat there. If you want to go back to the park afterwards, you won't be done with Sanaa until after 8 then you'll need to take the bus back to AK. Not sure what time they close. I would consider if you plan to stay in the park, to dine inside the park if you can. My kids love Rainforest Cafe and there is also Yak and Yeti and Tiffins. QS at AK options are pretty decent.

Day 6: Saddest Day Ever:
Breakfast: Ohana ADR for 10:00 before riding the Tragical Express back to MCO.

Make sure you have plenty of time to do this. It will take you to at least 11:30 to be done and then you'll need to take the monorail to MK and then a bus back to your resort. Not sure what time your flight is. Magical Express usually picks you up 3 hours before your flight.

 

[RollTideinMD]

Not critiquing your plan, but RTR!

Roll Tide Roll!

 

[RollTideinMD]

Sorry y'all! I am still learning the abbreviations!

We have the Deluxe Dining Plan

I did drop Biergarten and pushed back a few dinners.

 

[RollTideinMD]

First - great job scoring all these reservations! Second, are you sure you have the right dining plan? What you are describing is the Deluxe Plan. The regular plan just has 1 QS and 1 TS per day. So I'd be sure you have the right plan or else you'll be paying for a lot of this out of pocket. If it is the Deluxe Plan, keep in mind that every person in your party gets an appetizer, an entree AND a dessert at every meal. It's A LOT of food.

Also, do you plan to stay the parks from rope drop to close? Or are you doing breaks?

Here are my thoughts on your plans (for what it's worth).

Day one - early arrival at MCO:
Brunch: Chef Mickey's ADR for 1:45pm (allowing us a ton of time to take DME to Pop and then getting to the Contemporary)
Dinner: CRT ADR for 7:00pm

These reservations are pretty close together as Chef Mickey's will take you at least 60-90 minutes meaning you won't be out of there before 3:15 p.m. You'll then need to get into MK which will take another 30 minutes perhaps putting you in MK around 4. You'll need to check into CRT around 6:45. Not a lot of time in between to do rides although I know CRT will likely be hard to change. I would consider since you are staying at Pop to check into your room, let the kids swim and grab quick service at your resort then head to MK as early as you can.

Day 2 - MK Day!!!
Breakfast: The Crystal Palace - ADR for 8:40
Lunch: BOG - ADR for 1:00
Dinner: Liberty Tree Tavern - ADR for 7:30

Again, this is a lot of food. Crystal Palace will take you until at least 10 a.m. and then you'll need to head to BOG by 12:45. Not a lot of time in between. Since it looks like this is your only full MK day I would decide what's most important (Crystal Palace or BOG) and drop the other. MK has the most amount of rides and experiences of all of the parks. Liberty Tree Tavern isn't our favorite but again, keeping in mind that's a later time which means you aren't getting out of there until 8:30 or so. Not sure what time the park closes that day.

Day 3 - EPCOT!
Breakfast: Akershus ADR for 8:05
Lunch: Biergarten ADR for 12:00
Dinner: Coral Reef ADR for 7:00

I would not recommend Biergarten. We had a hard time there with our 3 kids because they are picky eaters and didn't find a lot of choices they liked. I'd keep the breakfast and dinner and do a QS lunch. This is your only Epcot day and it's huge and there's a lot to see and do.

Day 4: Hollywood Studios!
Breakfast: Hollywood & Vine Disney Jr Play n'Dine ADR 8:05
Lunch: likely QS in TSL
Dinner: 50's Prime Time ADR 7:20

We did not enjoy Hollywood and Vine. If your kids aren't into Disney Junior, I would consider dropping it and again, just doing something quick at your resort and heading to HS for rope drop to take advantage of everything there since it's your only HS day. Parks are big and there's a lot to see and do. We love 50's PT.

Day 5: AK!!
Breakfast: Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House ADR for 8:10
Lunch: QS somewhere..
Dinner: Sanaa ADR 7:15

Keep in mind that Sanaa is outside of AK. So you'll need to exit the park by 6:30, and take a bus to AKL to eat there. If you want to go back to the park afterwards, you won't be done with Sanaa until after 8 then you'll need to take the bus back to AK. Not sure what time they close. I would consider if you plan to stay in the park, to dine inside the park if you can. My kids love Rainforest Cafe and there is also Yak and Yeti and Tiffins. QS at AK options are pretty decent.

Day 6: Saddest Day Ever:
Breakfast: Ohana ADR for 10:00 before riding the Tragical Express back to MCO.

Make sure you have plenty of time to do this. It will take you to at least 11:30 to be done and then you'll need to take the monorail to MK and then a bus back to your resort. Not sure what time your flight is. Magical Express usually picks you up 3 hours before your flight.

This is incredibly helpful - thank you!!

 

[sanapp]

I personally love dlxdp, but I could not use it the way you have listed. Your children are not going to want to spend as much time dining as you have listed. Also QS meals are a terrible wast of a dlxdp credit. Since it is your children's first visit I would consider doing the regular dining plan with 1 QS and 1 TS per day. I would order groceries to have in your room for breakfast and then utilize QS for lunch and TS for dinner. I did dlxdp with my daughter when she was 9, but we did either an early breakfast or lunch TS and then a signature dinner every night. I would never do a QS when on dlxdp.

 

[RollTideinMD]

One more question: Our flight lands at 8:40 that Monday morning. We planned on taking DME to the resorts and then over to Chef Mickey's for a late brunch.

Would it be worth just taking a Lyft/Uber from MCO to Pop instead of dealing with DME? I pushed our reservations out for CM because I've read that DME can take up to 3 hours sometimes.

 

[FSU Girl]

That is a lot of food and Disney has huge portions and very rich. I typically will do a signature dining for dinner and quick service for lunch. Since it's your first trip you should prioritize experiencing the parks over doing so many sit down meals. I think if you add a few more 2 credit meals and take some out where you have three meals in a day it'll help a lot more.

 

[RollTideinMD]

Thank y'all so much for the awesome input - I made several changes and I feel like we are good to go!

 

[RollTideinMD]

Just for fun:

Day 1:
Chef Mickey ADR 1:45 (still not sold here)
CRT ADR 7:00

Day 2:
The Crystal Palace ADR 8:40
BOG ADR 1:00
Liberty Tree Tavern ADR 7:50

Day 3:
Akerhus ADR 8:05
Coral Reef ADR 8:15

Day 4:
Hollywood & Vine ADR 8:05 (keeping for Rope Drop)
50's Prime Time ADR 7:20

Day 5:
Tusker House ADR 8:10
Tiffins ADR 7:50

Day 6:
Ohana ADR 8:40am

 

[foodiddiedoo]

Are you doing Coral Reef because of the aquarium? Or because you are "foodies"? If it's because of the aquarium keep it, but if you like good food, it's really mediocre at best in comparison to some better places to eat within Epcot. La Hacienda de San Angel (outside of the pyramid, not within it) has very good food.

 

[RollTideinMD]

Are you doing Coral Reef because of the aquarium? Or because you are "foodies"? If it's because of the aquarium keep it, but if you like good food, it's really mediocre at best in comparison to some better places to eat within Epcot. La Hacienda de San Angel (outside of the pyramid, not within it) has very good food.

I do like some seafood, but it's totally because of the aquarium!

 

[Destinyz12]

2nd plan looks much better, but just an FYI- if you were planning on rope dropping toy story land on HS day, that ADR will actually put you behind the rope drop crowd unless you're planning to be finished and out of there in a half hour, as they normally let the crowds in early and hold them at a certain point closer than where you'll be and I've heard they actually let them onto the rides even before official opening time