DDP flexibility and young kids

[JJ&JSMOM]

We're on the fence re: the DDP. I've done the math and we would save money IF we go to all 7 of our ADRs. This is my concern we have 3 young children ages 7, 4 &2 and this is their first trip to wdw so I have no idea how they'll react. Will they be up for another TS meal? Will they be too tired? In the back of my mind I say to myself "Well we can cancel if they're too tired" but that takes me back to IF we do all our TS meals we will save money if we don't then we lose money.

So my question is those people with young children do you do the DDP? It seems like the DDP takes some flexibility out of the itinerary. Just would like some thoughts on that - I know the ultimate decision is ours and it depends on our kids. But thats the difficult part - we don't know how the kids will react - they've never been to WDW. And although we've been to other theme parks before there is nothing like WDW to compare it too. Thanks in advance.

 

[mamacatnv]

Personally the lack of flexibility makes the DDP a No for us. We just returned and had no regrets. Plus with the plan your kids are stuck with redundant, small kids meals.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Ours are 8, 5, and 3 and we did the DDP on our last trip. We'll do it again on our next. We do a lot of character meals, and we also have our favorite sit downs we know we will go to. No risk of not using all the TS meals. I don't think you should worry either. You'll use the credits and save the money. Even if you have to be flexible and change plans for a meal, it isn't like you aren't going to eat anything. Even if you end up with a few cheaper meals than planned the worst you can do is breakeven.......so I'd take the low risk gamble and get the plan.

 

[bigskyernurse]

We just got back and my 2 boys (almost 4 and almost 10) loved eating at the restaurants! After the first few days, they were asking "what time is our reservation" or "where do we get to eat tonight". I'm really glad we did a TS each day (2 out of 7 days we did TS breakfast AND dinner and that worked fine too) because it was a nice break from all of the theme park hustle. I think the kids need some sit down time so they don't completely melt down. Plus, the restaurants are so nicely themed that it is an adventure in itself to eat at them. We tried to do early dinner reservations because the parks were busy then anyways and we would go back to the parks after dinner when it was usually slower. If we took an afternoon break from 2-4 we just went straight to dinner from the hotel. The kids never complained or didn't want to go to dinner and I found the TS setting much less stressful than the crowded CS lines and hunting for tables.

Here is where we went and what the kids liked:

Teppanyaki: DS 9 liked the food, the atmosphere was not a good one for DS 3. DH and I loved it but I think it would be better for older kids or adults.
Mama Melrose: Both kids said this place had the "best food of all". The kids pizza looked delicious and our older son loved the pasta. DH and I loved it as well.
Liberty Inn: They loved the characters and we all had a good time but it was crowded and it was hard for them to focus on the food. Food was good, not great.
Whispering Canyon: They loved the atmosphere here. Food was good too. Worms and dirt for dessert always makes them happy.
Hoop De Doo: This was there favorite for entertainment value. They aren't big on fried chicken or ribs but liked the cornbread, corn on the cob and dessert. We all had fun at this show.
Coral Reef: Loved the atmosphere, food was good and make your own sundaes went over well. DH and I ranked this with Mama Melrose for best food.
Ohana: DS 9 loved the shrimp (didn't eat much else but loved the shrimp). DS 3 was so amused by the entertainment that again, it was hard for him to eat, but he had fun. DH and I liked both food and atmosphere.

HTH.

 

[Anniegirl]

My boys were 1, 3, and 6 last year and we did great. We've actually done a couple of trips with the boys. Our plan of attack is to generally do a TS for lunch to break up the day and provide a nice air-conditioned sit-down 'rest'. We saved the CS meals for the end of the day when the boys are tired and less able to sit still too long for a meal. They loved Chef Mickey (we did do this one for an early dinner), Crystal Palace, 50's PrimeTime, SciFi Drive-In and the Coral Reef.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Thanks for your replies. I am leaning towards the DDP - we do have 4 character meals booked - CP, CM, Ohana's breakfast, Norway PSB. Then we also have Coral Reef, SCI FI and CRT dinner. So we have 1 breakfast, 5 dinners and 1 lunch. I started out planning all lunches but then I thought we should have a quick lunch and get back to the resort for rest time. Then after being rested have a nice meal. I don't know - it'll probably back fire on me.

There are 4 must gos so the other ones I suppose we could cancel if we had to or if DD2 is not up for it - one parent take the other two and the other parent stay at the resort. Hate to do it that way but I don't want the other two to miss out. Thanks for the help.

 

[patsal]

We did it with a 4 yo and 18 MO. Here's what we did. I made ADR's for several TS per day breakfast and dinner or breakfast and lunch. We used all of the TS with no problem and just cancelled the ADR's we didn't need freeing them up for others. We found the kids did better earlier--breakfast and lunch worked out very well for us!