How can I possibly know?

[AMG]

Good evening all,

I am struggling with what to do.

I am using the DDP in March 2011 for the first time. In the past I never worried about eating. Maybe used a TS once or twice, while the rest of the time just got a quick bite. It was always just me and my DD.

Fast forward to March, there are 9 of us 5 children. I know if I use the DDP I need to make ressies now for every night for a TS or we will never get in.

How can I possibly know where and when we want to eat 5 months from now?

What if we don't want to allways use the TS at night? I've read that some foks use it during the day, (an idea I actually like).

What if we decide to break off for some meals. I hate to have to decide our fate now, but we may not have a choice.

Just thought I would give it a shot and ask if anyone had any advise from those who have experience with this?

 

[LockShockBarrel]

Unfortunately, the DDP really does tend to work better for those of us that are planners (for instance I knew in April where I wanted to eat in January)

Things to keep in mind here:
You can use your TS credit for any meal of the day.
You can split them in various ways.
Not everyone has to be together to use your credits.

For 9 people, and 5 of them being children, I'd suggest some character buffets. Some people will argue that buffets aren't a good use of a TS credit but I think they'll work in your benefit. You'll have lots of choices of food, everyone can get as much as they want, and the characters will come right to your table. It's a nice way to get some of the characters "out of the way", rather than having to line up for them. I believe every park has at least one character dining option and most of those are buffets (there are exceptions though)

Checking out menus will help you as well, Allears.net has them up, and update them pretty regularly. I'd suggest a planning session with the adults in your group so you can go over any possible issues (allergies, this one hates fish but loves Chinese food while another may love steak but won't touch anything deemed exotic) If you have any picky eaters, there's definitely some places that cater to a sort of..basic spectrum of palates rather than one that's more focused on a particular cuisine. Almost all Disney restaurants have a kid's menu and those tend to be of the burger, chicken tender, mac and cheese variety. To my knowledge, anyone who is a child according to the DDP must order off the children's menu, while some adults have had luck ordering off the children's menu, but getting and paying for an adult sized portion.

Another thing that you'll want to think about is timing. For instance, if you want to see say...Fantasmic, you'll need to plan your meals around that, eating before or after. Also consider if you want to stay in the parks to eat, or if you're willing to travel to one of the resorts for your meal. Some people may find it a hassle to leave the park to go to a resort to eat then go back to the park, while others find it a welcome break. Depending on how old the kids are, they may put up a fuss leaving the parks to go eat, or they could really need (not that they know it) a break from all the stimulation. If you have that planning session with the adults, find out when everyone likes to eat. Some folks need their dinner at 5 while others are more flexible.

Don't be afraid to split up either, you don't need to have every single meal together. You may find yourself in a position where People A B D E F want to go to one place really badly while People C G H I have their heart set on another place.

Some places I would suggest to you:
Animal Kingdom-
Tusker House- this is a lunch/dinner buffet with some different choices for the adults and adventurous kiddies, but also has a kids section (and adults may choose items from that section)

Hollywood Studios-
50's Prime Time- this place is great if you don't mind a little mischief. The theme is a 1950's kitchen, your servers are your long lost relatives and the food is very homestyle. Some people are a little put off by this place because the servers will act like your mom, telling you not to put your elbows on the tables and whatnot, and sometimes will even "punish" you (make sure you eat all your veggies or no dessert!)
Sci Fi DriveIn- another themed place, this time an old drive in theater playing sci fi and horror movies reels from way back when. A nice generalized menu, and the kids may enjoy the theming. You eat in booths that look like cars, but they all face a large movie screen so it's not the greatest place for conversation. Some people also complain that it's rather dark inside.

Epcot:
Coral Reef- this is heavily seafood themed, but does have some landlubber selections. It's a nice choice if only because you can see into the large fish tanks and watch the fish while you eat. Seats next to the tank aren't always available, but you can see the tank from pretty much anywhere in the restaurant.
Garden Grill- This is at the Land pavillion, and is actually a very slowly rotating restaurant. This is another pretty homestyle place, and is served family style. This is also a character meal (I believe Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto come around)
Akershus- this place is very popular because its a Princess character dining location. The food is Scandinavian themed but again, there's a kids section.

Magic Kingdom:
Crystal Palace- another character buffet here, this time it's Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger. Very pretty inside and decent food.
Liberty Tree Tavern-- this is another meal that's served family style, and leans almost towards thanksgiving dinner.
Plaza Restaurant- lots of choices here, but it is mostly sandwiches. Could be a nice change of pace.

If you're feeling like you want to go outside of the parks I'll cover some of those too.

At the Beach Club, we have Cape May Cafe. It's another buffet, seafood themed but lots of other options here.

At the Contemporary, there's Chef Mickeys. This is totally kids themed (although I've known some adults that go here without the kiddies *ahem*) This is another buffet, and is a character dining location. You can expect to find Mickey Minnie Goofy Pluto and Donald (probably not all at once but some combination of these guys) here, and it has a pretty wide selection of food.

At the Grand Floridian, there's 2 options, but very different from each other. One is 1900 Park Faire. This is a buffet and another character dining location, featuring Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella although I saw Alice and the Mad Hatter at breakfast (it's been a couple years since I've been there though). The other option here is the Grand Floridian Cafe, there's a nice menu that's pretty standard and of course a kids menu. This one is a little quieter but you may like a chance to relax.

Last one is at the Wilderness Lodge, and is called Whispering Canyon Cafe. This place is almost cowboy themed, and even features wooden horse rides for the little ones. Smallish menu, but again some pretty simple things here, and an all you care to enjoy skillet that gives you a nice pick of things.

Hopefully that helps somewhat. I really tried to focus on places that just about anyone should be able to find something at. Maybe who your traveling with is really into Japanese food, or even English cuisine..and there are certainly options for you there, but hopefully you can at least make a little dent in your decision making from this.

 

[havoc315]

If you are getting the ddp for free, you can still use all the flexibility you are used to. There are reports of people being able to use ts credits for cs meals. Or you can use your ts credits for lunch or breakfast.

If you are paying for the ddp, and you plan to use the ts meals for lunches -- you may find it is cheaper just to skip the ddp and pay for everything as you go. For adults, to achieve fair value, it assumes you are spending at least around $28-$30 on your ts meal, and many lunches cost far less.

In terms of the advanced planning -- you can use the crowd calendars to figure out where you will be at different times. And you can always make a couple extra reservations, and then just cancel them later. For example, make a lunch and dinner reservation, knowing you will only use 1 of the 2.

 

[lmbcdb]

How can I possibly know where and when we want to eat 5 months from now?

We use Tour Guide Mike. I renewed my subscription (cheap and worth it) and we decided 4 months before our trip which parks we were going to on which days of trip. We used TGM's suggestions for which parks to go to. I checked, and he has March 2011 up. From there, we pick a restaurant at the chosen park for that day and make a reservation.


What if we don't want to allways use the TS at night? I've read that some foks use it during the day, (an idea I actually like).
All of our TS credits are during the lunch hours. That way we don't have to leave the park at dinner time. Or, like a PP poster said, we scheduled it with a show in mind. (i.e. we are doing a Fantasmic dinner package)

 

[TDC Nala]

Buffets are actually a really good use of dining credits for children under 10. If you have five children under 10 in your party, buffets or family style restaurants are excellent choices for value on their credits (for information, all character meals are buffet, family style or fixed price). There are better (i.e. more value for the price) uses for adults. But the trick is, really, once you decide to go with a dining plan, to pick places your party will like, and will fit into the schedule you want to have, and not worry so much about maximizing the possible savings. And yes, you can use your TS credits for breakfast or lunch if you choose. Those who use them only for dinner are usually trying to maximize their value.

Check the online menus - this site has them, so do others - to use as a guide as to the type of food served at restaurants. You can also check the Restaurant Reviews sub-board.

 

[AMG]

Thanks everyone, this really help me out.

 

[Tammy296]

Good evening all,

I am struggling with what to do.

I am using the DDP in March 2011 for the first time. In the past I never worried about eating. Maybe used a TS once or twice, while the rest of the time just got a quick bite. It was always just me and my DD.

Fast forward to March, there are 9 of us 5 children. I know if I use the DDP I need to make ressies now for every night for a TS or we will never get in.

How can I possibly know where and when we want to eat 5 months from now?

What if we don't want to allways use the TS at night? I've read that some foks use it during the day, (an idea I actually like).

What if we decide to break off for some meals. I hate to have to decide our fate now, but we may not have a choice.

Just thought I would give it a shot and ask if anyone had any advise from those who have experience with this?

To the OP. Book the places YOU KNOW you'll have the hardest time getting into. EVEN if you don't THINK you'll want them when the time comes. That's what I'd do. Then at least you've secured a spot at the hard to get places.... good luck! Enjoy your trip ....

 

[MHSweb79]

How will you know where you want to eat 5 months from now? This is a common question from non-planners or anti-planners.

For us, it's simple. When the park hours come out we rough in a plan for which days we'd like to visit which park. We like morning EMH so this is where we start. If we're dying to see Fantasmic, that will go on the plan too. And so on until the schedule is laid out.

Once you have an idea of where you'll be on which day, it's easy to choose restaurants either in that park or close by. I make ADRs for every day and usually we end up cancelling a couple of them because our plans change or we're too tired or whatnot. We often stray from the schedule but it's better to have ADRs and not use them than to be scrambling to find a place that can seat you.

We love using our TS credits on character breakfasts, buffets and lunches. This gives us a lot more flexibility at the end of the day when fatigue and crankiness can set in.