FREAKING OUT with DDP planning!

[Cookie Princess]

20 days to go before our vacation and this dining plan has me freaking out. I keep changing and rearranging all of my ADRs. I think the CMs are starting to disconnect me when they hear my voice on the phone. I am a very experienced WDW planner, just never used the a WDW dining plan before. Did anyone else feel this way too before their trip? Any DDP relaxation tips you can offer this obsessed diner before I need to request a resort room with padded walls?

 

[Twende]

I completely understand. I made ADRs and then decided that Boma might not be the place for us so I changed things around. Then the December calendar came out and I changed things again. Now I see we are going to miss the Osborn Christmas lights show if we keep our one dinner time so I need to make another change!


I just keep calling and thus far they have been very patient with me!

 

[GailT]

Yep and I can just picture all the comments they have on my card, UH OH, here is the B again but so far they have been super nice

 

[jackmac]

The best advice is to give youself plenty of time between activities. It seems that table service restaurants have become more popular and the service has suffered. Most of the complaints have been about slow service and the need to get to another activity. Give youself plenty of time between events. Table service meals can take up to 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get in and out. ADR's are not reservations, it can take a while to get seated. If you need to leave by a certain time tell the waitstaff when you arrive, they can help. Most important, don't overplan. You will not be able to do everything that you plan to do. You will miss some events. Prioritize and then make your dinner choices accordingly. If you want to see the Osborne lights plan a really early dinner. If you want to see Illuminations have dinner at Chef's du France or the Rose and Crown. Also be aware that Disney transportation is slow. It will take you longer to get to and from things than you think. Too often Disney vacations become marathons, trying to get everything in. You have to slow down and walk to get the most out of the experience.

 

[trvlr4301]

We were at Disney in September and I had all our reservations made right after we booked our trip. Then I found this website and started reading and looking at pictures of food so of course I had to change my reservations. I think every time I would call I would say...there we are all set now...and then I would read and read and change my mind again and call and change something else. I think I called and changed plans about 6 or 7 different times and then I finally said that is enough....I can't do this anymore...and so we went with what we had. Of course I kept thinking that maybe I should have changed this one or that one but didn't. I think we put too much thought into it and if we just pick a restaurant and go with that it would make life much easier and less stressful....but then again I have fun reading and planning. So now I figure that whichever I didn't get to try this trip I will just go to the next time round.

 

[Dorisk3]

Just relax- by all means plan around your schedule- but you can't let everyone's opinions on this board guide your every move. If a restaurant is universally disliked- yes I'd avoid it- but some of the other toss ups really are a matter of taste. I can't count how many times I read someone who said they didn't like what they had- but when I actually had it I thought it was excellent. Personal choices are just too subjective, particularly with food. You will probably make a few mistakes, I did, but we had a great time regardless and most of the time enjoyed our food very much. If you keep second guessing yourself, you're not going to have a good time. You're very smart to make your ADR's (when we were there no restaurant wanted walk ups) so you're well prepared- just relax and hope for the best!

 

[bleeps]

Hey -- we're in the same boat -- I'm an experienced WDW planner, but this upcoming trip is our first on DP and I've been going a bit nutty. if it helps you at all, I've set us up so that we can "pivot" with the DP. For example, if the CM is friendly and we can get exactly the meal we want at Cal Grill, we'll go ahead and use our 2 DP points for each of us for the meal. With Teppanyaki, which I'm reading a LOT of mixed reviews on (specifically around using DP) -- if the waiter is giving us a hard time and making us feel restricted by DP, we won't use the plan and will just pay to eat there. I have plenty of TS meals planned -- character breakfasts, etc. -- which don't give the greatest "value" as TS credits, but we can certainly use the credits there and still save some $. Does this make sense? Building flexibility into the plan helped me calm down (much to the relief of my DH and DS!).

good luck--