DxDDP or DDP?

[v0mich01]

So, we had our wonderful dream Disney vacation planned, but we had a wonderful (surprise!) pregnancy(and with a diagnosis of unexplained infertility, it is completely welcome!) But we have had to rework our plans a bit. We postponed the trip until second trimester, I'll be about 23 weeks pregnant. We shortened the trip to four nights five days, and downgraded to a value to save a little $ to prepared for our expanding family.

So we are going 12/11-12/15 It will be me, DH, and our ALMOST 3 year old(he turns three 12/30.) We are staying in either ASMo, or Pop(our TA is trying to switch us to pop, but we'll take whatever.)

My question. We currently have the Disney dining plan. We will have to order something for my almost three year old at every restaurant for sure, he's a big eater, and I'm a pregnant eater. Now, my husband is a t1 diabetic, so he is on the steak and veggies/ fish and veggies which is why we decided on the plan in the first place.(most of the menus that it are easy for him to eat off of are table service, and I figure we'll need some sit down time with a toddler and me being pregnant.)

If we were to upgrade to the dxdp, that'd get us two appetizers, we could use to help stretch our meals and would probably work. But could we just use one of our credits to buy the kiddo a meal? So like we go to a table service and buy three meals and use three credits?

 

[Lisa F]

So, we had our wonderful dream Disney vacation planned, but we had a wonderful (surprise!) pregnancy(and with a diagnosis of unexplained infertility, it is completely welcome!) But we have had to rework our plans a bit. We postponed the trip until second trimester, I'll be about 23 weeks pregnant. We shortened the trip to four nights five days, and downgraded to a value to save a little $ to prepared for our expanding family.

So we are going 12/11-12/15 It will be me, DH, and our ALMOST 3 year old(he turns three 12/30.) We are staying in either ASMo, or Pop(our TA is trying to switch us to pop, but we'll take whatever.)

My question. We currently have the Disney dining plan. We will have to order something for my almost three year old at every restaurant for sure, he's a big eater, and I'm a pregnant eater. Now, my husband is a t1 diabetic, so he is on the steak and veggies/ fish and veggies which is why we decided on the plan in the first place.(most of the menus that it are easy for him to eat off of are table service, and I figure we'll need some sit down time with a toddler and me being pregnant.)

If we were to upgrade to the dxdp, that'd get us two appetizers, we could use to help stretch our meals and would probably work. But could we just use one of our credits to buy the kiddo a meal? So like we go to a table service and buy three meals and use three credits?

you can use your credits to buy a meal for your child, I think on either plan... but of course it makes NO sense to order off the kid menu for him. if he'd eat an adult meal then they will let you use 3 of your adult credits at one meal. if he's too young to be on the DDP and you are not buying kid credits for him, it doesn't matter... if you were buying the plan for him you would have to order off the kid menu on regular DDP and many places will let you order off the adult menu with DxDDP.

That said if he eats mostly kid meals you can probably buy him the kid plan even though he is not yet 3 as another option.

 

[v0mich01]

That said if he eats mostly kid meals you can probably buy him the kid plan even though he is not yet 3 as another option.

I *think*, from my understanding, is if we buy the dining plan for him, we have to buy him a ticket. So the cost really doesn't make sense. We like the "all inclusive" feel to the dining plan. I probably need to do that calculator thing and see where we end up.

 

[Lisa F]

I *think*, from my understanding, is if we buy the dining plan for him, we have to buy him a ticket. So the cost really doesn't make sense. We like the "all inclusive" feel to the dining plan. I probably need to do that calculator thing and see where we end up.

he can eat for "free" from any aycte place so it might be a good trip to do some character meals

 

[Faldred]

Well, with Deluxe, you're getting 3 meal credits per person per night, which doesn't really require a lot of "stretching" credits. Given what you're describing, it could make sense if you went with 2 larger meals per day (on average), one of which was a signature restaurant requiring two credits.

If so, I'd suggest paying for anything for the child out-of-pocket (or if he's adventurous enough of an eater, just feed him from your app/entree/dessert... there will likely be plenty!) at those meals, and use the snack credits to fill in any spaces around the meals. (E.g., snack(s) for breakfast, TS lunch, signature dinner.)

 

[Nancyg56]

I think the best way to calculate what is your best option is to think about where you want to eat. Before you choose any plan you should have a good idea what restaurants you plan to book, and in your case, what your little guy will eat. For instance, will he want a kids meal, or do you need an adult portion for him?

The DDP includes one TS per night per person, and one CS meal per night per person. Do you want a CS lunch or do you need TS? If you are looking at two TS per day anyway, I would cost out the DxDDP vs the DDP.

If you are content with the CS for one meal. I would look at some of the AYCTE and character meals. Your little one will not be charged, and they really are a good value when you use the plan. Paying OOP for character meals is very expensive, IMO.

When we brought the girls they were under 9, but they both had adult appetites so the DxDDP was a good choice for us. The kids had their meals from the adult menu when they wanted. WE also booked a lot of character meals for them, so sometimes they had two a day, so we did as well. The credits stretched. I think that in order to properly determine what will be the most cost effective option you will need to do some math. I never use a calculator, I look at menus and add what I think my family will choose to eat.

 

[Dakota731]

I would love to try deluxe since I don't care for counter fast food type meals, however I'm afraid it would take up so much park time.

 

[Nancyg56]

I would love to try deluxe since I don't care for counter fast food type meals, however I'm afraid it would take up so much park time.

It does not need to take too much time. WE generally book two meals per day, with one a signature dinner.

 

[LovesTimone]

With DDXDP you get 2 appetizer's, 2 entrée's and 2 dessert's at TS restaurants, the appetizer are full size and plentiful, along with 2 adult size entrée which for us are huge portions and 2 full size dessert... he should be able to eat off of your plates easily. Also you could take a look what the appetizer are possibly using one of these for his meal. Just ask the server to old one back till your entrée are ready. We just took our DGS in January who turned 2 and we did DDXDP and it worked out perfect for us.

If you plan it out, you will have enough entitlements to use for breakfast and if needed lunch on the day of departure, which is a huge help, as credits are good until midnight on the day of departure. Our friends took their grandkids and when we were talking she was like if I get the dinning plan can I get it to cover check out day as there flight did not leave until around 6:00 ish... I was confused... I said you know that they are good until mid-night on the day you leave...right?... she said she did not realize it... They said goodbye to Mickey and the gang with breakfast with them, and then burgers at the Plaza at MK, spent what was left on the snack credits, before heading home. Planning ahead gives you more wiggle room to spread out the entitlements and use them to your advantage.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I would love to try deluxe since I don't care for counter fast food type meals, however I'm afraid it would take up so much park time.

We are going to try out Deluxe for the first time in a few weeks. I don't have any days where I booked 3 sit down meals. Most days I have a late breakfast buffet booked and then a signature dinner. One day we are doing 2 1-credit meals so that we can have a sit down lunch on our departure day. I don't *think* we will spend more time eating than we did before when we ate CS breakfast and lunch and a TS dinner.

 

[Rich M]

I think it would be cheaper to pay out of pocket for a kids meal for him then it would be to upgrade to deluxe.

 

[Colleen27]

You could, but it probably doesn't make sense money-wise. Where the deluxe plan comes in handy with an under-3 that is a good eater is in the appetizers. We had a lot of meals when DD was 2 where my appetizer was her dinner - crab cakes or wings or shrimp or flatbreads, along with some of the sides from my and DH's plates, made good meals for her. Or we shared entrees, which might have left the adult with too little food if not for the appetizer to go with it (and if you let your server know that's what you're doing, they'll often plate it separately in the kitchen so you don't have to divide it yourself). But that hinges on having a child who will eat adult-menu foods.

If kids' meals are what you want for your little one and you're not interested in the DxDDP for yourself, just pay OOP for the kids meals as needed. It'll be cheaper than the upgrade.