DDP Mistake

[DerangedAboutDisney]

I went do WDW for the first time on DDP...

In the beginning I thought, oh my... this is TOO MUCH! Then I realised that I was doing it all wrong. My problem was that I was traveling with VERY young chilren who needed to keep an eating schedule if you will. So, I was eating breakfast at 10 and having an early lunch. Can you say waddle?! So I finally wised up, and took a snack for lunch while everyone else ate a light lunch (it was summer so it usually was something cold) and I found myself actually being hungry for my table service meal that night at 5 - 5:30, and I was still using my CS credits for breakfast. I really don't know why I didn't think of that in the first place.

Which makes me think of those new dining plans there were rumours of (the breakfast option? two snacks a day?)

 

[Belle5]

Are you saying you think it wiser to use the counter service credit for breakfast and the snack for lunch? That's a pretty good idea... Maybe not the best use of the credits as far as $$ go...Hmmm...have to think on this one. I am thinking more along the lines of an extremely early counter service lunch and cocoa or coffee in a refillable mug for breakfast. Dinners at 5:30 or so and then a snack as the park closes or back at the resort food court.

 

[Tricia1972]

That's a good point.

Thinking about it for our group, I don't think it'd work though. We always go to the parks for Rope Drop and rely on Disney transportation to get to the parks. If we went to a CS breakfast at our resort we'd have to be there when they open. If we had to be there for opening I'd have to be up and going by 4:45, and the kids would have to be up and going by 5:30 at the absolute latest.

 

[disneyjunkie]

It works out pretty well for us.

If the parks open at 8:00, we're on the bus at 7:15. We have breakfast in the food court at 6:30. Then we're ready for lunch at 11:00-11:30 and dinner at 4:30-5:00.

If we're having breakfast in the parks, then we just grab a poptart or something in the room. We'll have breakfast at 10:30 lunch about 3:00 and dinner a late CS dinner

 

[jnadelman]

We use the CS for lunch. For breakfast, we use the snacks or our own food. We boxes of cereal, fruit, granola bars etc. You can use the snacks to get pretty much anything under $4.00, so you can even get bagels and muffins etc. Maybe this changed, but we did it twice like this already

 

[MAKmom]

This is our first time using the DDP. We are a family of 4. I plan on grabing 2 breakfast item using 2 credits every morning. Then use 2 credits for lunch. I am not a breakfast person. Our 11 year old is not a big eater & just want a bagel. We will just grab & eat on the way to the bus.

 

[Scornelius]

That's a good point.

Thinking about it for our group, I don't think it'd work though. We always go to the parks for Rope Drop and rely on Disney transportation to get to the parks. If we went to a CS breakfast at our resort we'd have to be there when they open. If we had to be there for opening I'd have to be up and going by 4:45, and the kids would have to be up and going by 5:30 at the absolute latest.

Nosy, maybe, but I just have to ask: what is your morning routine??? I can't imagine what would require getting up that early except a morning jog or workout routine, which I personally think is nuts because of all the walking one does at WDW. DH and I literally roll out of bed about 8 minutes before we hit the bus stop, and that includes a shower!

 

[Tricia1972]

Nosy, maybe, but I just have to ask: what is your morning routine??? I can't imagine what would require getting up that early except a morning jog or workout routine, which I personally think is nuts because of all the walking one does at WDW. DH and I literally roll out of bed about 8 minutes before we hit the bus stop, and that includes a shower!

No, I am not getting up to exercise. Though only burning 100 calories per mile walked, and factoring how much I ate at Disney - It wouldn't have been a bad idea for me to work out a little extra.

In the morning I get up first. I shower and start to wake the kids up. DH gets up and showers. I get the kids started on breakfast. DH finishes his shower and joins us in the dining room for breakfast (usually toasted waffles or cereal with milk)

I go and dry my hair, put on sunscreen and make up and verify one last time that I have everything for the day and that the diaper bag is packed properly (we packed it the night before, but it never hurts to double check).

DH gets the kids started on brushing their teeth, changes DS2's diaper. I join him and spray the kids with sunscreen. We get the kids dressed and set for the day.

Kids are dressed, we are dressed, and everyone is fed and ready to go. I could take about 10-15 minutes off of the routine in the room if we didn't eat breakfast in the room. However, we'd lose a lot more time eating at the commissary at the hotel. Add to the routine a 10 minute walk to the restaurant, 5-10 minutes in line and another 15 minutes eating (minimum - bigger breakfasts tend to take longer to eat). Now it's another 5 minute walk to the bus stop from here. We'd take over half an hour to eat at the resort restaurant. I take less than half that time eating in our room.

 

[canwegosoon]

What I do is split the CS lunch with one of my sons and the other gets a childs meal(usually chicken). This leaves us 1 kscs which over a 6-7 day trip ...I could easily have 6 cs credits built up. For the first few days I get a 1bag of bagles/1box of doughnuts, and 2L soda with some of the snack credits, and buy a juice etc...so that is our room snacks and breakfast(I use 3-4 sc doing this). Then we have breakfast on the run each morning- eating an early 11:30 cs and a TS at 6:30. The extra CS credits(kids) we can usually use at Spoodles or BCV Marketplace of a breakfast platter, so again using 3 per day -we can usually get hot meals on our last 2 days.