Food Overkill

[tjknitz]

Ok, first trip to WDW and we are going during free dining. I'm not sure if I am going for food overkill or what. From what I have started planning, I am coming up short on meals - what the heck? I must be doing this all wrong. Can someone take a look at this schedule I have made and give me some suggestions? Also, can you tell me if I am just planning way too much food for one day? We aren't huge eaters. Typically my kids will have breakfast (consisting of cereal) Lunch (mac and cheese with a veggie - i.e.) and dinner with 2 small snacks durning the day. I have no idea what to expect though in the parks. Please help!

9/11: Dinner at POP after arrive (CS)
9/12: Breakfast at CRT (only oop meal) 8am
Lunch: Peco's Bill (CS)
Dinner: Chef Mickey 5pm

9/13: Breakfast (eating in hotel room, pop tarts, breakfast bars, etc)
Lunch: CS (not sure where though, somewhere in DHS)
Dinner: TS Mama Melrose

9/14: Breakfast: TS Crystal Palace 8am
Lunch: CS Cosmic Rays
Dinner: TS Ohana 7pm

9/15: Breakfast: TS Askershus 10:30am
Lunch: Snacks to hold us over til dinner
Dinner: TS Coral Reef 5pm
9/16: Breakfast: Tusker House 8am
Lunch: Flame Tree BBQ
Dinner: ?????

9/17: Breakfast in our room
Going to MK, will use any snack credits left over (if any)
We will be eating at the airport before we go home.

So, are there any days that you think I am eating too much or better yet, how would you change this for the better?

thanks for any help! I'm lost!

 

[catne]

Too many meals in restaurants, IMHO. First I'd say stick with your cereal or poptarts in the room - just a real pain to try to get to morning ADRs with getting exhausted kids up & going -rush,rush,rush. Not a pleasant way to start the day. Would not do 3 restaurant meals in a day -- or if you really, really want to do that, you need to spread them way out -- if you're having a breakfast ADR at 8, you won't get out of that before 9:00--do not plan lunch before 1:30 or 2:00 - and again, that meal won't get done until 3:00 so no way will you be ready to eat at 5 or 6:00. So then dinner no earlier than 7:00 - 8:00 would be even better. On this schedule, it seems you've over-spent your TS credits...I count 6 nights, so you'll have 6 TS...you have 7 TS on this schedule plus OOP CRT. I seriously would not do two sit-down table service meals a day (been there, done that. You will be spending hours getting to, waiting for, eating and then getting back to what you were doing. No fun for the kids, and during Free Dining the park hours are shorter than regular seasons -- do you want to spend 5-6 hours of your "park" time with eating?) I would start with choose one of those princess breakfasts & dump the other one...the plan below gets you a princess breakfast, but no OOP cost - it's all free dining...that extra money can go to souvenirs or extra mickey ice cream:

9/11: Dinner at POP after arrive (1 CS)

9/12: Breakfast in Room
Lunch: Peco's Bill (1 CS)
Dinner: Chef Mickey 1 TS

9/13: Breakfast (eating in hotel room, pop tarts, breakfast bars, etc)
Lunch: Toy Story Pizza Planet 1 CS
Dinner: TS Mama Melrose 1 TS

9/14: Breakfast: in room poptarts
Lunch: CS Cosmic Rays 1 CS
Dinner: TS Ohana 7pm 1 TS

9/15:Akershus Breakfast 10:30, 1 TS
Lunch: snacks or split a couple of counter service meals between you at Sunshine Seasons/The Land
Dinner: TS Coral Reef 5pm 1 TS

9/16: Breakfast in room
Lunch: Flame Tree BBQ 1 CS
Dinner: 1 TS restaurant – if you’re in Animal Kingdom, I’d do the Tusker House buffet for dinner or Yak & Yeti. Or eat at one of the monorail restaurants & head to the MK for the evening. Kona Café, The Wave or Grand Floridian are all nice places for 1 TS.

9/17: Split remaining counter service for breakfast platters to share at Pop
Going to MK, will use any snack credits left over (if any)
We will be eating at the airport before we go home.

 

[ShannonMB]

Here's what we do...

If we are having a TS breakfast, then we just have a snack (or snacks) till our table service dinner.

If we are not having a TS breakfast, then we will have a quick snack for breakfast, then an EARLY CS lunch. (Early CS -- 11am is a great way to go, because you beat the crowds and are definitely hungry by 6ish for dinner).

I love to eat, esp at WDW, and I'm always more than satisfied with 1CS, 1TS, and some snacks!! (Don't forget to leave room for snacks!!!!)

One other thing we do -- we always have ADRs for our table service, but find it a little more difficult to plan specific CS meals. Rather, I pick several at each park that sound good, and we eat at the one closest to where we are at 11am(ish). I haven't gotten my touring down to enough of a science yet that I'll know exactly where we will be at what time, and I'm not willing to criss-cross the parks to get to the CS I planned).

Hope this helps some! Have a great time!!

 

[Nikisha421]

I have fun its food...though im not a summer AM person...so I would never have breakfast ADRs...but enjoy it alll...really if you never try then you will never know what your children will tolerate

 

[Colleen27]

Ok, first trip to WDW and we are going during free dining. I'm not sure if I am going for food overkill or what. From what I have started planning, I am coming up short on meals - what the heck? I must be doing this all wrong. Can someone take a look at this schedule I have made and give me some suggestions? Also, can you tell me if I am just planning way too much food for one day? We aren't huge eaters. Typically my kids will have breakfast (consisting of cereal) Lunch (mac and cheese with a veggie - i.e.) and dinner with 2 small snacks durning the day. I have no idea what to expect though in the parks. Please help!

9/11: Dinner at POP after arrive (CS)
9/12: Breakfast at CRT (only oop meal) 8am
Lunch: Peco's Bill (CS)
Dinner: Chef Mickey 5pm

9/13: Breakfast (eating in hotel room, pop tarts, breakfast bars, etc)
Lunch: CS (not sure where though, somewhere in DHS)
Dinner: TS Mama Melrose

9/14: Breakfast: TS Crystal Palace 8am
Lunch: CS Cosmic Rays
Dinner: TS Ohana 7pm

9/15: Breakfast: TS Askershus 10:30am
Lunch: Snacks to hold us over til dinner
Dinner: TS Coral Reef 5pm
9/16: Breakfast: Tusker House 8am
Lunch: Flame Tree BBQ
Dinner: ?????

9/17: Breakfast in our room
Going to MK, will use any snack credits left over (if any)
We will be eating at the airport before we go home.

So, are there any days that you think I am eating too much or better yet, how would you change this for the better?

thanks for any help! I'm lost!

It looks really good to me, but that's why we do the deluxe plan! Have you thought about upgrading? With your kids being under 10 and so many fixed price/character meals, I think you'd find it to be a good deal, and it would be a way to avoid cancelling those fun character breakfasts. You could also skip the in-room breakfasts by using snack credits at the Pop food court or the bakeries to have some morning goodies on hand.

 

[tjknitz]

Thanks everyone! I thought that 2TS meals and 1CS meal a day would be WAY too much for me - but with never going I have no idea what to expect.

This board is such a huge help! I would be a mess in the World without it

 

[brymolmom]

If you want to stretch out your credits farther - definitely stick to one TS meal per day. Correct me if I'm wrong - but aren't you using 7 TS credits (even with paying for CRT OOP)? So you will need to pay for one more, since it looks like you're only staying 6 nights and will have 6 credits to use. OR, just cut one out (I would do that).

We have a SMALL meal of cereal (brought in luggage) plus a couple snacks for breakfast in room. Then we have either a late brunch at a breakfast place (the kids LOVE breakfast foods) or an early dinner at TS. Then for our CS meal we usually split 3 meals between the 4 of us (maybe adding on with a snack or two) - so that gives us some 'extra' CS meals to use. This time for Free Dining, we're using a 2 TS credit meal (the Luau) - so we will be staying 8 nights but only having 7 sit down meals. By sharing some of our CS meals we will just use CS for 2 meals on the off day. Also planning on doing pizza take out at POP food court on night before departure - hanging out at pool while parents pack. This will only be 2 CS credits and I'm sure we'll be able to split it among all 4 of us.

 

[Colleen27]

Thanks everyone! I thought that 2TS meals and 1CS meal a day would be WAY too much for me - but with never going I have no idea what to expect.

This board is such a huge help! I would be a mess in the World without it

You're going to get a lot of conflicting opinions on what is way too much in terms of eating at Disney.

Personally 2 sitdown meals works for my family, because we don't really take mid-day breaks. So what we'll do is either a late breakfast or early lunch. That way, we can hit some rides early when the crowds are lower and then use our mid-day meal as a little air conditioned break from the crowds and heat. It also allows us to get our character meals out of the way earlier in the day so that we can still have a more relaxing dinner. Then we'll grab snacks from the bakeries at MK or Epcot on our way out of the park for the night to have for breakfast the next morning.

Other families swear by an afternoon rest back at the resort, in which case 2 sitdown meals tends to cut into park time pretty heavily.

 

[BayouMickey]

It's all what you are into.
Me, I'm a certified chef, I love food.
In 16 days Me and the wife will be going on a WDW food binge!
We're on the DxDP
And just about every meal is a table service. So if yours is overkill, mine is a food apocalypse. Do what YOU want to do, forget what everyone else thinks, this is your trip not theirs.

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

It's all what you are into.
Me, I'm a certified chef, I love food.
In 16 days Me and the wife will be going on a WDW food binge!
We're on the DxDP
And just about every meal is a table service. So if yours is overkill, mine is a food apocalypse. Do what YOU want to do, forget what everyone else thinks, this is your trip not theirs.

Well said!

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

How many nights are you staying, I count 6 - so 6TS and 6 CS

Ok, first trip to WDW and we are going during free dining. I'm not sure if I am going for food overkill or what. From what I have started planning, I am coming up short on meals - what the heck? I must be doing this all wrong. Can someone take a look at this schedule I have made and give me some suggestions? Also, can you tell me if I am just planning way too much food for one day? We aren't huge eaters. Typically my kids will have breakfast (consisting of cereal) Lunch (mac and cheese with a veggie - i.e.) and dinner with 2 small snacks durning the day. I have no idea what to expect though in the parks. Please help!

9/11: Dinner at POP after arrive (CS#1)

9/12: Breakfast at CRT (only oop meal) 8am
Lunch: Peco's Bill (CS#2)
Dinner: Chef Mickey (TS#1)

9/13: Breakfast (eating in hotel room, pop tarts, breakfast bars, etc)
Lunch: (CS#3) (not sure where though, somewhere in DHS)
Dinner: (TS#2) Mama Melrose

9/14: Breakfast: (TS#3) Crystal Palace 8am
Lunch: (CS#4) Cosmic Rays
Dinner: (TS#4) Ohana 7pm

9/15: Breakfast: (TS#5) Askershus 10:30am
Lunch: Snacks to hold us over til dinner
Dinner: (TS#6) Coral Reef 5pm

9/16: Breakfast: Tusker House 8am - Will be OOP also - Eat in the room
Lunch: Flame Tree BBQ (CS#5)
Dinner: ????? has to be (CS#6)

9/17: Breakfast in our room
Going to MK, will use any snack credits left over (if any)
We will be eating at the airport before we go home.

So, are there any days that you think I am eating too much or better yet, how would you change this for the better?

thanks for any help! I'm lost!

I put your credits in, are you staying 6 or 7 nights??

 

[HayGan]

Well, if I read your schedule correctly you are staying for 6 nights but have 7 TS meals planned (excluding Cinderella's.) Your credits are based upon the number of nights you are there not the number of days. Unless you want to pay OOP for another meal, you are going to want to drop another one of your TS meals.

Right now, you have
Chef Mickey's
Mama Melrose
Crystal Palace
'Ohana
Akershus
Coral Reef
Tusker House


For our family (me DH and 2 boys 7 & 9), we usually have a nice breakfast in the room, a light lunch and a sit down dinner. We usually have a snack or two during the day. We find 2 sit down meals to be way to much during the day. Bu as others have said - do what is best for you and your family!

 

[AUDramaQueen]

I don't think that looks too bad. We arent big breakfast eaters so we only used our TS for lunch or dinner and usually only scheduled one TS a day.

But like others have said, you do have an extra table service you will have to pay out of pocket for (not counting CRT) so you may want to drop one where you have 2 TS scheduled in one day. I am guessing your Tusker House breakfast since you probably don't wanna give up Pooh and Friends or the Princesses.

Also, you can stretch your CS credits by sharing. Some of the portions are huge (Cosmic Rays Chicken and Rib combo or roasted chicken anywhere really) so you can use 1 credit to serve you and your husband.

 

[MHSweb79]

If you're not big eaters, then stick to one sit-down meal per day. We've gone with the basic dining plan a few times and we always end up with credits left over at the end of the trip - it's a LOT of food and you say your family are not big eaters anyway.

 

[lilandvisma]

We have ADRs for a lot of the same TS places...We are not big eaters (well, the girls and myself...DH can be when he wants to lol)

Sooo...we have planned to split a lot of our CS meals and use the remaining if we were to get hungry in the day again (concerned about the EMH nights I have earlier TS scheduled) or for a breakfast to split between us, etc...

I only have two TS planned for one day out of our 8 day trip, CM at 10 for breakfast and 1900 PF at 8 for dinner. I wouldn't want to do this more than once because for us with the girls, well..it seems as though it would be too time consuming. However, the buffets are faster to get in and out of...or so I've read

If you need to drop a TS I wouldnt drop Tusker House as I keep hearing great things about it The food and the character interaction. We have that scheduled at 8 am as well and are looking forward to it!!

Good luck with things!!

 

[tjknitz]

How many nights are you staying, I count 6 - so 6TS and 6 CS



I put your credits in, are you staying 6 or 7 nights??

This brings in a really good point. I could have sworn that my TA said that I will have 7 days on the dining package even though I'm staying 6 nights (I think we bought an extra day) That is why I'm figuring 7 instead of 6. Now I'm really confused and will have to call her tomorrow to confirm. Is it possible to pay for an extra day on the dining plan if you aren't staying the night?

 

[brymolmom]

Dining plan credits are based on NIGHTS of stay, not days or tickets or anything. You cannot purchase for more than your nights of stay.

You can just pay OOP for the other meals, no need to buy more credits.

 

[HayGan]

This brings in a really good point. I could have sworn that my TA said that I will have 7 days on the dining package even though I'm staying 6 nights (I think we bought an extra day) That is why I'm figuring 7 instead of 6. Now I'm really confused and will have to call her tomorrow to confirm. Is it possible to pay for an extra day on the dining plan if you aren't staying the night?

Well, if your TA said that they are completely wrong! As I said earlier and others have said, you receive credits according to the number of nights you stay not the number of days.

You can only recieve the dining plan for nights that you are staying at a Disney resort. You could receive an extra day of the dining plan if you added that last night on to your reservation (even if you did not use it) but it would likely be cheaper to pay for one meal OOP.

 

[tjknitz]

Thanks everyone for your input. I did call my TA earlier today and she did say that I would get 7 credits - hmmmm. So I asked her to double check and make sure because I was hearing differently. So she did. She was wrong.. And to think that she books Disney trips everyday
So, thanks everyone for giving me the heads up on that.

Either way, I did make a decision and I'm all set now!

I decided to remove Akershus breakfast. IF I don't get CRT, then I will add Akershus back in as my OOP breakfast for the experiance with the princesses.

For the most part though, we will be keeping everything else pretty much the same. Of course, can't plan for CS credits, I figure we will just eat when we are hungry. If there is a lot of time between lunch and our dinner ADR, then we will use CS. If not, then we will just use snacks to get us by!