DDP Noob--tell me how you make the most of your dining plan

[Ladyfish77]

Hello! As the title states, I'm new to the DDP. With the free dining offered, it was the best deal for our group. We've never ever used the dining plan. I've read the FAQ's and other links, but I'd love to hear how you all actually use the plan.

It seems it's better not to use for breakfast unless doing TS. I think there will be times where we can share meals to make it go farther. I'm really looking forward to some TS meals. When the kiddos were young and we were paying out of pocket it never seemed like it was worth it for the TS meals. We even booked an ADR once and cancelled it when the kids decided they weren't interested. (They were never interested in character meets so this was never a draw).

So give me your best strategies for using the regular plan (1 TS, 1 QS, 1 Snack). Do you find that this is enough food for the day? Do you buy a meal daily and use the DDP for the other two meals? I'm just looking for real-life usage of the DDP. I'd love to read about your suggestions on how to make the DDP work best! TIA!!

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

We love the DDP. We never end up buying any extra food, but we do pack breakfast foods such as cereal, granola bars, juice boxes and bagels. Using the DDP credits for breakfast is seldom good use of a credit, unless it's a TS character meal. We use our snack credits for big items (maybe a cupcake from Starring Rolls, a ham and cheese croissant from Les Halles, huge sundae from The Plaza to go area). We find our QS meals can help keep us full if we make wise choices such as Wolfgang Puck Express from Marketplace DTD (salmon, rotisserie chicken, pizzas, sandwiches, pastas), build your own pasta dishes from PORS, chicken dinners from Cosmic Rays, BOG Lunch menu ... These QS places are great and aren't just your typical burger/fries meals. Some of them can be shared quite easily too. The mug is nice to have- we never have to use snack credits for water. I see you are at PORS- Goofy's Candy Co at DTD is a great place for build your own snacks- they are huge (Mickey rice crispy heads rolled in chocolate and dipped in a treat such as oreo/butterfinger ... takes us a few days to snack away on one of these).
Enjoy!

 

[ncc1701]

Since you are at POR the best use of QS credits is Wolfgang Puck Express in the DTD Marketplace. It is our go to place for dinner if we no plans at a park or a game we want to watch at ESPN in the evening. Cooke's of Dublin is also a good DTD QS.. The one time we got the DDP (it was free) we did end up buying meals , but mostly breakfast with one lunch.

 

[Superchikk]

We also take breakfast stuff to eat in the room except for a character breakfast here & there. We'll use our snack credit for lunch if we need to on those days, and save the QS credit for dinner. Don't use your snack credits frivolously! If you want something that costs a couple bucks, pay for it oop & use your snack credit for something more expensive & filling.

 

[Lavitz]

Like others have said, we usually eat breakfast before we leave (PB&J, muffins, cereal) except the rare pre-park opening Crystal Palace/Tuskers/Ohana. Usually use TS for lunch to escape the heat, grab a QS dinner in park or usually back at the resort.

One thing I'm trying this year is to familiarize myself with what I can get as snacks. I'm not one to try and maximize the value of the dining plan, but it's nice to know the different things you can get so you don't miss out. I found it very hard to figure out exactly what you could get while I was there, and often got the same thing over and over. Found a pretty nice list here, looking forward to some root beer floats, funnel cakes and chili cheese fries snacks in Nov.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/2014-confirmed-snacks-thread.3215018/

 

[ArmyVet80]

We have always done the DlxDP (3 TS meals per person per day, 2 snacks per person per day). Very rarely do we eat breakfast and if we do it will be a snack point that we use (Beignets at POFQ are a fantastic breakfast). We always do an early lunch at around 11:00-11:30 am. At the very latest 12:30 pm and schedule dinners for between 7:45 pm and 9 pm depending on where dinner is.

We tend to get to the parks around 9:30 am on most days and get in one or two rides before our lunch. Get lunch out of the way and hit our FP rides along with a few lines. If we get hungry we'll get a snack between 2 or 3 pm to hold us over until dinner.

With the 3 TS meals per day we'll do 3 or 4 "Signature" restaurants or dining shows during our trip (Cali Grill, Yachtsman, Hoop Dee Do, CRT, etc..) to make up for the extra meals we have left over.

On our last day before we leave for MCO we'll go to DTD and my DW will get her candy fix at the Candy Cauldron. She usually ends up finishing off our snack credits (between 5-7 left) on random treats.

 

[Nancyg56]

We always use the DDP, and generally ue our TS credits at dinner. If we have breakfast at the food court some of us split the CS meal, and then split a CS lunch. THis stretches the CS credits, but that is not thegoal for us. WE just hate that FULL feeling, but donot want to stat the day on an empty stomach. We then have lunch, but again, it is not so much that we need a nap! THe CS meals include a dessert, so splitting a sweet is nice as well.

 

[Superchikk]

We always use the DDP, and generally ue our TS credits at dinner. If we have breakfast at the food court some of us split the CS meal, and then split a CS lunch. THis stretches the CS credits, but that is not thegoal for us. WE just hate that FULL feeling, but donot want to stat the day on an empty stomach. We then have lunch, but again, it is not so much that we need a nap! THe CS meals include a dessert, so splitting a sweet is nice as well.

Agree on not being too full. Even with the amount of walking we did last time, I was surprised at how little we wanted to eat. It was just too hot (September). My husband is not a "sharer" when it comes to meals, but my kids shared QS meals last time and it worked great. They're a bit older now and won't want to share as much, but if I find they're not eating enough to justify it, I'll have them share and we'll save the QS credit for later or cash it in for 3 snacks (if that change to the DP sticks).

 

[Nancyg56]

Agree on not being too full. Even with the amount of walking we did last time, I was surprised at how little we wanted to eat. It was just too hot (September). My husband is not a "sharer" when it comes to meals, but my kids shared QS meals last time and it worked great. They're a bit older now and won't want to share as much, but if I find they're not eating enough to justify it, I'll have them share and we'll save the QS credit for later or cash it in for 3 snacks (if that change to the DP sticks).

Even my 6'6" starving husband ended up sharing at some of our lunches. He really had to because he tends to snack his way around every park! LOL!

 

[DaughteroftheKing]

We share snacks. Like last year I brought reusable Disney cups (the plastic ones that are $1 at any Walmart, Dollar Tree, Party City). I put a sticker on it with each person's initial so each person had the cup for the whole trip. If we bought a popcorn, I could pour some into each person's cup. Same with Dole Whips.

 

[Nancyg56]

Agree on not being too full. Even with the amount of walking we did last time, I was surprised at how little we wanted to eat. It was just too hot (September). My husband is not a "sharer" when it comes to meals, but my kids shared QS meals last time and it worked great. They're a bit older now and won't want to share as much, but if I find they're not eating enough to justify it, I'll have them share and we'll save the QS credit for later or cash it in for 3 snacks (if that change to the DP sticks).

Even my 6'6" starving husband ended up sharing at some of our lunches. He really had to because he tends to snack his way around every park! LOL!

 

[cjsquared]

We use TS credits for either a character meal or dinner. We share almost everywhere we go so most of our QS meals and snacks are shared. At POFQ food court, a meal came with a bottled drink or water, we'd save the bottled drinks/water and take those to the parks and just use our mugs when eating at the food court.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Like others we always bring food from home for breakfast. Bring cereal and we go down to the food court the night before when it's not crazy and get milk and put it in the fridge. The food courts tend to be crazy in the mornings with long lines. Then we use our TS and CS spread out. Try not to use CS for breakfast, because it's a waste because you get less. ( no dessert)

 

[Ladyfish77]

Thanks! Great tips. I'm looking forward to other's input.

 

[PoohsHunnyBee]

When planning where/when to eat, I suggest putting OOP meals toward the end of your trip, so if plans change or something goes wrong you can use credits there. I think trying to maximize the value of the DDP to its fullest can lead to dissatisfaction when people allow the "worth" to dictate how they eat. Personally, I would never "waste" a snack credit on bottled water, etc. but I think some people feel better/last longer in the parks if they start their day with a hearty breakfast even if it is a poor value for a credit.

 

[jen8544]

Thanks for the tips!

 

[Ladyfish77]

Thank PHB--I am not going to try and "save" credits for more expensive meals, but I have two hungry teens that I think may be wanting more food. So far I'm leaning towards doing in room breakfasts, along with DH and I or DBFF and I sharing some meals, because I don't see how we could eat all of some of those counter service meals (But DS definitely can and will).

It's all new to me, so I want all the suggestions I can get! I think even having the opportunity for FD is going to really make our trip more fun since originally I was planning a RO discount at POR and changed to CBR with FD because running the numbers just seemed to make it a better deal for our group.

 

[pittsburghmom]

We have only had the QS plan and it is so much food! One useful tip that we utilized was anytime we had a meal back at the resort food court, we would use our refillable mugs during our meals and then get a bottle of chocolate milk or orange juice as our "meal beverage", but take it back to the room and stick it in the fridge for breakfast. We would also get a muffin or danish as our "dessert" and stash it back in the room for breakfast. Along with packing some other breakfast items in our luggage, we did not have any OOP food expenses, even for breakfast. Also, many of the QS meals are very large and can be easily split, so we did have a few extra QS credits we were able to use for breakfast that way as well.

 

[Lee Matthews]

Its incredibly interesting how people use their credits up. Myself and my partner are going to stay at OKW for 3 weeks next year on the standard DDP and im already looking at how im going to make use of the credits.

A few obvious ones i want to do as ive never done them is California Grill and Mickey's Backyard BBQ at 2 TS each. Then Tusker House, 1900 Park Fair at 1 TS each. For character meals too, they certainly make great use of single TS Credits

 

[FallsChurchDad]

So far I'm leaning towards doing in room breakfasts

One small suggestion on this, if you are planning to rope-drop, is to do breakfasts "in line" instead of "in room." Let's say you arrive at a park at 8:20 for a 9 am rope drop. You bring fruit, breakfast bars, yogurt, bottled drinks, etc. with you to the park. While you queue to enter the park, you eat breakfast. It's easy and a great way to pass the time.

Unlike some other amusement parks, Disney does not restrict you from bringing food and drinks through bag check.

As pittsburghmom mentioned, with FD, you can also accumulate bottled drinks and some packaged items / leftovers along the way, and save them for later breakfasts.