How flexible is DDP??

[1800wdisney]

Hi

Im going to POP in 10!!! days, and I have a few dining questions I hope someone can answer:

We aren't big on fancy sit-down meals, espcially when there is so much to do at Disney, who really has time to plan ahead and be tied down to a reservation, I mean what if Im in line or on a ride and I should be at a resturant!!??!!! Is it possible to have two counter service meals insted of the sit down meal in one day??

The character dining that you can exchange the sitdown meals for, do you have to make reservations for them, and where do you make these reservations? and what resturants offer these special meals?

Can you make the reservations at the hotel, or do you have to make them blindly over the phone (I say blindly because we have never been interested in character dining in the past, and only ever ate at which ever resturants were nearby when we got hungry..before the DDP)

And sort of off topic, is there enough time to go back to your hotel and eat and then go back to the park? I mean how long does the transfer take from POP to the parks? Anyone??

Thanks alot for you help and sorry to ask so many questions, but I can't stop thinking about my trip...I've been basically wishing the summer away because Im so excited (we've been booked since May) LOL

Thanks again!!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

You have so many questions, it's hard to answer. Off the top of my head. No, you can't exchange 1 table service for 2 counter. You may use it for one counter service and your choice of a few small options, like lanyards or snacks.

You'll be out of luck most places if you try to dine at a table service establishment without an ADR. You might want to try walking up to the restauratn itself the morning of. It can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to get to or from a park to your hotel. Depends on how long you have to wait for a bus and how many folks are in line ahead of you. I'd make a few reservations now, just to be on the safe side. Go look at www.allearsnet.com and see the menus before you call disney dining to see if there are any reservation slots left.

Good luck.

PS - reading the 'sticky' threads at the top of each forum will answer nearly all your questions. Happy reading!

 

[1800wdisney]

Thank you so much...

 

[bicker]

Is it possible to have two counter service meals insted of the sit down meal in one day??

For a limited time, they are permitting an exchange of 1TS credit for 1CS credit plus 2 snack credits, but not 2CS. Also, as I mentioned, that's for a limited time only. I wouldn't count on it being available more than another month and a half, but it might be. There is no way to know right now.

The character dining that you can exchange the sitdown meals for, do you have to make reservations for them, and where do you make these reservations?

It is best to make reservations, since otherwise, guests are sometimes faced with being turned away from the restaurants they'd like to eat at, and left only with less popular restaurants to choose from, often requiring two bus rides to reach from their resort (each way).

and what resturants offer these special meals?

There are a number of them. The Sticky thread at the top of this forum contains a FAQ list for the Dining Plan. You should read that thread, and follow the liks to the brochure for the Dining Plan, and read that as well. It contains the list of all the participating restaurants, including those which are character meals.

Can you make the reservations at the hotel, or do you have to make them blindly over the phone (I say blindly because we have never been interested in character dining in the past, and only ever ate at which ever resturants were nearby when we got hungry..before the DDP)

Space sometimes goes quickly at these meals, so making reservations over the telephone, in advance, is often necessary. 1-407-WDW-DINE

And sort of off topic, is there enough time to go back to your hotel and eat and then go back to the park?

There's always enough time. The question many guests ask themselves is whether they want to spend their time in that way. The Pop Century resort, where you're staying, isn't a place I'd recommend traveling to to have a meal. It actually doesn't even have a table service restaurant, those only being found at the parks, Downtown Disney, and the moderate and deluxe resorts.

Have a great trip.

 

[1800wdisney]

Bicker, Thank you for all that info!!! I have to confess we booked our TS meals today and the lady on the phone was so friendly and helpfull, we are going to get two character meals; one breakfast and one dinner. Im looking forward to both of them!!!

I did forget to ask the lady about the exchanging the TS for CS, but we can always ask when we arrive. Just in case we do get stuck on a ride or a line and miss our reservation time. Your information on that topic is very reassuring!

And thank you so much for wishing me a good trip, Im sure it will be amazing. Thanks again!

My single digit dance:

 

[mince]

There were so many people SOL with trying to find dining choices, definitely make a reservation for EVERY night and cancel the ones you don't want. If not you'll be sorry.

Since it sounds like you don't have interest in maximizing the plan. Make some lunch reservations at the parks as they are easier to work around since you'll most likely be at the park around lunch time.

 

[1800wdisney]

Hi Mince!!

Thanks for the info, I made reservations, and some of my sit down meals are Breakfast and lunch so I think its gonna be good. (Two are Character Meals!!)

Thanks again for the tip!

8 days!!