Dining Plan with 3 kids

[tripletmommiesrock]

I've read a lot of posts that people have been disappointed with their Dining Plan. DH and I are planning to do the regular dining plan I guess (1 TS, 1CS, and 1 Snack) for us and our triplets who will be 5 when we go. We are paying for the dining plan as we are going in the summer (DH and I are both teachers). Our theory on the plan was that we were going to do a couple of Character meals, and we always eat at Wolfgang Pucks at DD and wanted to eat at a couple of other TS resturants we like. So the plan sounded like a good deal to us. We also figured that with 5 year olds we would need frquent breaks to rest.

However, now I am bothered by the amount of people who don't like the plan. Can anyone offer some insight based on our plan? DH and I are experienced WDW people but this will be our children's first trip.

Thanks!

 

[SnipsNSnails]

I wouldn't let the naysayers scare you. When we did the DDP our DS was only 2. And we plan on it again in Sept. We enjoyed sitting down each evening for dinner as a little time out and the CS meals were perfect while touring the parks. We tried different restaurants that I know we wouldn't have done if we had to pay OOP and got whatever we wanted rather than being scared off by the big prices on the menus. You can use your snack credits for pastries in the mornings or even save desserts that you are too full to eat for breakfast. another option would be to split breakfasts and lunches since there is always a ton of food and with 3 small children, it isn't likely that they will eat all 3 kids meals. 1 meal is plenty for both our 4 year old and 1 year old. In the end, I enjoyed it very much and look forward to doing the same thing in September!

 

[havoc315]

The ddp is not always a good value for adults. But for 5 year olds, it is usually a very good value. Especially when doing character meals.

 

[DCDisney]

With 3 kid aged kids and doing character meals the DDP is a great way to go for your needs It just gets more complicated if your kids prefer to eat adult food, are 9 and need more food than the kids plan offers, are 10 and don't want adult food, etc etc. or people want apps, don't want desserts, like less expensive TS meals.

 

[Sandisw]

Use of the DDP and it's value is really determined by each individual's situation. I believe that everyone should at least try it once, if you feel it might have value and decide for yourself.

We have used the plans several times and in terms of getting a lot of food at WDW for a decent price, then it works.

For us, however, it is just too much food and to pay for the plan every night ends up costing more in the sense that we get value from things we wouldn't buy anyway.

In your case, as others have said, the DDP is a great value for children, especially at those buffets so I would say go for it and not worry.

Once you try the plan, you will then know if it did what you hoped it would do.

Good luck!

 

[Reddy]

for the cost of character meals - it is worth it
it is alot of food & alot of the ones that don't like it usually don't eat much
or having to get out of line to go eat
or plan the whole day around eating at this place & they didn't get park hoppers so they aare stuck there

character meals will be part of the fun so take lots of pictures

 

[traceym]

We have 3 kids as well. This will be our 3rd trip with all 3 kids. We have had the dining plan on all 3 of trips and LOVED it! You can really get more "bang for your buck" with it we think. For 6 of us to eat at Boma was a little over $200. Being on the dining plan, it was covered. That one meal alone told us we will never go without it.

 

[lilandvisma]

We really like the DDP. Our kids first visit was in 2009 and I was so thankful for having it in the long run. While I'm not much a eater it's always nice to have a break, sit down and relax and recoup (ESP. if you are going during the HOT, summer months). We also like being able to not have to say "No" when the kids "need" a mickey bar or when we want to order something pricey that we otherwise wouldn't order if not on the dining plan. We also do a lot of character dining. I could never stand in line and wait for characters all day when it's much easier to do character meals. I think you are making the right decision!

 

[tripletmommiesrock]

Thanks so much for your advise!

 

[ReneeA]

We love the dining plan with our 2 kids (7 & 8 the last trip in August). We've used it 5 times - 4 free and paid for it once - and it's always been great. However, we've always stuck to a "normal" schedule in regards to eating...especially when the kids were little.

For instance, I bring breakfast bars, instant oatmeal, etc with us for the mornings. We normally eat something easy and on the go at home, so we'd grab something to eat on the way to the bus stop in the mornings. We'd eat an early (11am) CS meal...perfect time to eat because CS restaurants are empty at that time and everyone's hungry by then. Then we'd make an early (5pm) dinner reservation. I also loved never having to tell the kids "no" for a snack. There are so many different snacks that qualify on the plan that it was really great for everyone - I was able to get lattes with mine everyday, DH and the kids couldn get snacks throughout the day. Usually they would get one or 2 snacks at a time and share them between the 4 of us because they are normally huge.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

The value of the kids plan on DDP can not be beat! The cost per child is like $15-20 which is less than one character meal. I'd do it with 3 kids and never look back! I think you will enjoy the flexibility.

 

[Rotti955]

I agree... we loved being on the DDP. We used the table meals for character dining and a surprise birthday dinner for DS (9) at The Wave. The counter service meals were great for breakfast or lunch.

We were there in Sep and it was still very hot. We liked having the snacks available for the kids to get a frozen lemonade or ice cream bar in the middle of the day.

 

[MistressMerryweather]

We like the easiness of the dining plan. I like not having to worry about the money every time I buy a snack or a meal. The one thing we did not like is that the kids choices, if you are not doing a buffet, are fairly limited and not as high quality as the adult choices. We have 2 on the dining plan now, next year it will be 3. With 2, I've toyed with just paying out of pocket and letting them split cs meals, but I never do it. When we have 3 littles eating, it will be too hard to split things that simply. I just can't seem to get away from the ease of not having to worry about the price of every food item we buy. We just love the "all-inclusiveness" about it. I would definitely say, "try it once". If you find it doesn't work for your family, try doing it the other way.

 

[3pletprincesses]

I went with my 4 yo triplets last fall and did DDP and I would never go back to Disney without it. It was perfect for us. I didn't have to worry about $$ for meals other then tips. With young kids like ours, it's honnest well worth it especially if you want to do caracter meals too. We are going back in May and we paid for the DDP. I think the cost for DDP for the 5 of us was under $700 for 6 nights. No way I could feed all of us under that price with a sit down meal a day. CS is nice but not nice to live off for a week with yound kids IMO.

 

[gabriellyn]

We love love love love the DDP and won't go without it!