Dining Plan for Little Ones

[Nic's Mommy]

We're taking our little man to Disney World for the 1st time to celebrate his first Leap Day Birthday!!! Needless to say we are knee deep in the planning process and for the most part are enjoying it. We do have a lot of questions though as my husband has never been (44 years old)......it's been 20 plus years since since I've been....AND it's our first time with a toddler!

The main question we have right now is....should we get the dining plan for a 4 year old?!?! (or just order off the menu for him) Some days he has a huge appetite and we can't fill him up, but other days he doesn't eat as much.

Any other tips, advice from parents out there would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[DopeyDame]

If you do the dining plan route, you have to get it for everyone in your party - it's an all-or-nothing deal. If you plan on getting it for the grownups, you're son will get it too.
Happy birthday to him!

 

[design_mom]

I agree with the previous poster. The meal plan must be ordered for all members of your party. If you and DH decide to get it, your 4yo will have to get it, too.

That said, if you think the Dining Plan will be a good deal for you and your DH, it will almost certainly be a good deal for your son. The kid's plan is (in my opinion) a bargain. Even if you'd normally just buy him a drink and side item, you'd probably break even. And I'm sure he'll enjoy the snacks!

Congratulations on your son's birthday. My dad is a Leap Day baby, too (from 1940) and it's always a special year when he has a "real birthday."

 

[quandrea]

I wouldn't do the dining plan for the very reason you mentioned. We have been about 8 times with our kids, 2, 2, and 7. We always pay out of pocket because we can't predict when the kids will be ravenous and when they won't eat a thing. We also like to eat what we want, when we want. We always bring snacks from our villa--cheese, yogurt, cereal, trail mix that I always make, bottled water, boxed milk, etc. It's healthy, fills them up and they love it. I like having the control over what we eat. We still do one full serve a day, but I don't feel pressured to order a full meal for the kids. Sometimes all they want is an app or a bowl of soup. We'd never use the snack credits on the dp and it's way too much dessert for us.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

Kids meals are the best deal on DDP. If you are planning on doing buffets you will save a bunch with DDP. (All character meals are set menu prices and regardless of how much they eat you will be charged the set amount.) Overall the kids meals tend to be the best bargain. This is not always true for the adults. So I'd look at not what your 4 year old will eat but what you will eat.

 

[candielips]

I wouldn't recommend the DxDP for your little guy, but with either the DDP or the QSDP, you can still make it work for your little guy.
If you are dining at anywhere other than a buffet, you can choose not to order him a meal, have him share with you, and save the credit for another day when he is extra hungry. Or you can use the credit to get a kids meal for yourself for breakfast or something. I love the kids waffle breakfast combo.

 

[pooh4evr]

We have gotten the DDP twice with our kids being from 2- 8 and I would recommend it simply for the character meals/buffets which is what most of our TS meals end up being. The CS meals are good too because the grapes, and carrots are packaged and can easily be saved for a snack. We also like having time at a TS meal to sit and relax and cool off.

 

[Nic's Mommy]

I want to thank everybody for their tips and advice! Especially pointing out that everybody in our party HAS to get the dinning plan. Somewhere along the line we totally missed that. So, ya'll rock! That will make our decision a little easier....in some respects. I'm thinking that fact might move us to not get it after all. I just don't see him eating that much and fear we may be wasting a lot. Plus I'm thinking...."will I want a dessert after every meal". I love desserts don't get me wrong, but I never order one in a restaurant and would much rather it later after my dinner has gone down. ...and of course that's not an option being in the parks. We have been reading a lot of Disney sites and have gotten mixed reviews on the dining plan all together. For me this is the most confusing part of our whole trip planning, but I'm trying not to let it stress me out....LOL! At any rate THANK YOU for the advice. I'm sure I'll be back on here with LOTS MORE QUESTIONS!

 

[Deb & Bill]

But officially, he's only one, right? He only gets a birthday every four years, so he should get in and eat for free.

 

[candielips]

But officially, he's only one, right? He only gets a birthday every four years, so he should get in and eat for free.

Wouldn't that be nice! Can you imagine? He'd be eating free right up until he was 12.

 

[Nic's Mommy]

Hey! Ya'll have a point. I wonder if that would work?!?!?

 

[Diegosmom]

Taking hubby and DS4 for the first time in Jan (my first and only times was about 22 years ago too )...and you know the dining plan is my hardest thing too...Was all for regular dining then decided quick service (mostly for the snacks ) then when the new plans came out for 2012 we decided regular...then recently been really thinking...DS can really pack the food away but usually when we go out he doesnt eat much. Today we went to Chillis. We ordered chips and salsa and I ordered tacos with fries...decided not to get DS and meal. He ate chips and a few fries and his drinks...if I ordered him a meal we would have just packed it up. As it was I packed up most of my meal. So I am thinking OP might be right for us...but still no clue...lol I am going to try to add up all the meals we will probably do and see...I also noticed at alot of the TS meals (that arent buffets) that DH and I want to eat at have really basic kids meals (they seem the same at every place) and thinking DS might be sick of it by the end of our 9 days.