How do you figure out how to schedule?

[choirfarm]

Ok.. We have such a variety of ages: dh and I, 13yo boy, 11yo boy and 6yo girl. I REALLY have no idea how we will tour. I will have a plan and I have about 4 books and all of these websites. We currently have a trip booked for October, but might switch to September if we get free dining. That said... if we did not have free dining, I don't think we would EVER eat at a table service with one exception: My daughter and I will do one princess meal. Other than that we would eat in the room or split table service meals. I'm not sure what TS or how to schedule them if we do free dining. How do you know you want to stop?? What if you want to stop and go back to the hotel at 2 or 3?? That is what I am thinking...would I schedule a TS then?? I would imagine we would go back to the park later, but how do you figure out what you will feel like. O should we just stick to October and forget about free dining.
Christine

 

[cjstarr]

Ok.. We have such a variety of ages: dh and I, 13yo boy, 11yo boy and 6yo girl. I REALLY have no idea how we will tour. I will have a plan and I have about 4 books and all of these websites. We currently have a trip booked for October, but might switch to September if we get free dining. That said... if we did not have free dining, I don't think we would EVER eat at a table service with one exception: My daughter and I will do one princess meal. Other than that we would eat in the room or split table service meals. I'm not sure what TS or how to schedule them if we do free dining. How do you know you want to stop?? What if you want to stop and go back to the hotel at 2 or 3?? That is what I am thinking...would I schedule a TS then?? I would imagine we would go back to the park later, but how do you figure out what you will feel like. O should we just stick to October and forget about free dining.
Christine

The first thing we did was figure out what park we where going to on each day. Looking at the EMH helped us do this by using the days that a certain park would be open late. After we had this down we looked at the character Breakfast & Dinners that we though would be good and that our DS5, & DS15 would like to see and called to book our ressie's. If we could get the times we wanted for that day then it was fine other wise if we had an early breakfast we would try for an early dinner and the same way if it was an late breakfast & dinner. Anyway this is how we started making an Itinerary for the week we will be there. It is good to put it on paper or MS Word that way you can see if it is going to fit what you are going to do that day at the parks.
Good Luck!!!

 

[frannn]

Once the official hours are released (along with EMH), and the tentative event dates/times, we are ready to plan. We already know which our favorite "must-do" TS/CS are. I create an excel schedule, with our favorite MK meal (CP) plugged in for dinner on the day with MK EMH, and so on. If we are planning on attending an event scheduled during our trip, we sleep in that morning, and plan our meals in the area the event is at, or at the resort, whichever is more convenient. Having previous trips under our belt, we know which our favorite rides/shows are, so we have an idea how much time we want to spend at each park. We leave time for DTD shopping and outlets. If you are night owls, you may will to plan for the extra evening hours, with maybe some midday resort/TS time, or vice versa. We just learned what worked for us each trip.

 

[Tricia1972]

What kind of discount are you getting in October and will you be giving up that discount for 'free' dining in September?

From your post, the DDP does not sound ideal for you and your touring style at this time. To utilize the DDP, especially during 'free' dining, you need to have absolute ADR times, which requires a bit of planning and a loss of some flexibility. To be fair, dining at TS requires the same ADR times, but without the DDP you have more freedom to cancel those reservations and grab a bite wherever the wind takes you.

If the DDP is just a few dollars more (hotel cost) vs going in October, you may do fine just planning your one special princess meal and using TS's as they are available to you. If there aren't any TS's available at the right time in the right park (as you tour) then you can usually convert TS to CS during free dining.

 

[choirfarm]

Well, I got 40 percent off of 2 rooms at All Star Music (no suites were available, but I'm calling back). . For 6 nights it was 805. That is during the regular time period. 6 nights of value would be 6 nights would be approximately 1228 which is a difference of 423 dollars. I figured it would cost us at least 100 dollars a day for the 5 of us (4 considered adults) to eat a day, so it seemed like I would save money and get more food if we did the free dining. I'm just not sure about the loss of flexibility. I've been to Disney twice before the first time with just hubby before kids and then when the boys were 2 and 4 (now 13 and 11) We did not eat a TS either time. We only go out to eat about 2 times a month here. It is normally Mexican food after church. I cook a lot. We don't eat fast, fried food.

Christine

 

[Tricia1972]

So figure four adults, one child eating at Disney for 7 days/6 nights - all CS.

CS Lunch - $10.00 Sandwich and Drink.

CS Dinner - $14.00 Bigger Entree and Drink.

$24.00 per adult per day

CS Child Lunch - $5.00

CS Child Dinner - $5.00

$10.00 per child per day

$106.00 OOP - dining at just CS locations

PLUS 5 snacks per day.

Getting the DDP for $400 is clearly a better deal for you, even if you eat all CS.

I'd order the DDP in September and have fun!