I want the DDP but don't want a schedule!!

[New England]

Ok, My family (me, husband and two boys 6 & 8 at trip time) will go to Disney probably in May 09. I think the dining plan would be a good option for us but we have such busy lives and are so scheduled when not on vacation.

We HATE schedules on vacation!!!! I see us planning two dinners...possible Mickey's BBQ and the Spirit of Aloha or Chef Mickey. I understand that we will need ADR's for these but where are we gonna be able to eat a TS dinner if we don't make reservations????

 

[mickeystoontown]

We aren't big on being too scheduled on our vacations; however, when you purchase the Dining Plan, you must be on some type of schedule. I make our ADRs for dinner time. By the time our dinner ADR rolls around, we have done most of our park touring and are, actually, ready for a sit-down meal.

We always go to WDW during the last week of May through the first full week of June. Each time we have gone, we have seen many many people getting turned away because they didn't have an ADR.

I think it would be best if you plan your table service meals for dinner time. Your counter service credits can be used for lunch and snack credits for mid-day.

 

[ruzer28]

Honestly, these days, I'm not sure where you can get in without a reservation. I really think that if you don't plan and make ADR's you might wind up unable to use all of your dining plan credits that you paid for. One option might be to go for lunches. I don't know if that interests you at all, but I think most of the restaurants are able to take walk-ins at lunch time, but dinner is much dicier. As the previous poster mentioned, I see people turned away all the time at restaurants at dinner time. When they're turned away, it's not because the wait time is excessive, it's that they will never be seated.

 

[beroh2253]

Good Luck

 

[GoofyMomma]

If you do not plan on making ADR, you will need to have either an early or late dinner. Also, it will depend on the time of year (if free dining is offered, etc). I had a friend who did not make ADR because of the same reason (did not want a schedule). They had to wait for 2 hours most nights before they were sitted. This was not very good, especially when they had two hungry kids. This was also during a time when the parks were not crowded (October).

 

[septbaby]

Scheduling one event a day isn't really being "scheduled".

Your choices will be to schedule or eat CS. If you are stayig at a Deluxe resort you could use 2 credits for room service meals. There are a few places that don't take ADRs, but realize those places will require you to wait. With two adults I could see doing that, but with two young boys that just seems unfair and not a fun way to spend vacation. If you don't schedule or make ADRs you won't get to take them to any character meals, a big plus of being on the DP.

You have plenty of time to decide and plan, good luck.

 

[minniekissedme]

Ok, My family (me, husband and two boys 6 & 8 at trip time) will go to Disney probably in May 09. I think the dining plan would be a good option for us but we have such busy lives and are so scheduled when not on vacation.

We HATE schedules on vacation!!!!

I have to say that I felt the same way when we did the DDP...but the only thing we schedule is dinner. And it is worth every few extra minutes you may miss out on.

On our trip in early Feb this year I saw two groups turned away at two different restaurants because of a lack of ressies. And the best way to take advantage of the DDP is by utilizing your TS meals for dinner.

Make the ressies...enjoy great dinner time meals...and don't schedule anything else while you're there. The two hours of down time will be a welcome break and you'll LOVE the great food.

Try Kona Cafe, Coral Reef, 50's Prime Time, Le Cellier, Wolfgang Puck, and more.

 

[New England]

We aren't big on being too scheduled on our vacations; however, when you purchase the Dining Plan, you must be on some type of schedule. I make our ADRs for dinner time. By the time our dinner ADR rolls around, we have done most of our park touring and are, actually, ready for a sit-down meal.

We always go to WDW during the last week of May through the first full week of June. Each time we have gone, we have seen many many people getting turned away because they didn't have an ADR.

I think it would be best if you plan your table service meals for dinner time. Your counter service credits can be used for lunch and snack credits for mid-day.

All of you.....great tips! I'll suck it up and make ADR's for dinner and I think the sit down time will be welcomed and a nice time to talk about the day.

Mickeystoontown: How do you like going that time of the year? How is the crowd and weather?

 

[Markstudy]

I love your question....

I have learned to make my meal schedule 180 days in advance and enjoy it. ... boy has Disney got us trained.

I enjoyed the question because it reminds me of Elton John, or Bill Gates.... wouldn't it by nice to own a jet, and only travel with a personal chef?

I read that when Hue Hefner went to France...his chef flew in a few days ahead of time to train the kitchen staff how to cook Hue's favorite meals... (Hefner wanted to go to France and stay in the best resort, but doesn't like French food)

For those of us 50 million guest who will visit Disney World this year, without our "people"(staff) .... we just have to live with the schedule

 

[accountingbabe08]

we had ADR's @ Coral Reef. while we were waiting to be seated we saw about 10 families turned away they way saying that they didn't have a table available til Mid July.

Boy was my family glad that their mommy made reservations.

 

[choirfarm]

or when your brood will be hungry????? Especially when you have a variety of ages. On vacation, if we choose to have a big breakfast, then we don't eat until 3 and that is it for the day. Other times, we want to get going early and may want to have a big lunch. We never really eat a big dinner, to be honest. But what if you are having such fun riding rides, you don't want to eat??? How in the world do you know in advance what you want to do???
Christine

 

[1000th happy haunt]

I've been the Magic Kingdom many times and saw signs at City Hall that the Table Service restaurants in the MK were not taking walk-ins that day.

I empathize with you, but if you're doing DDP, you need to have some sort of reservations in place.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Ok, My family (me, husband and two boys 6 & 8 at trip time) will go to Disney probably in May 09. I think the dining plan would be a good option for us but we have such busy lives and are so scheduled when not on vacation.

We HATE schedules on vacation!!!! I see us planning two dinners...possible Mickey's BBQ and the Spirit of Aloha or Chef Mickey. I understand that we will need ADR's for these but where are we gonna be able to eat a TS dinner if we don't make reservations????

Hiya! We are a family that does not mind the one scheduled ADR per day and I am a bit of a planner. My mom on the other hand is they type who does not want to schedule vacations. In 2007, My mom took my niece (her granddaughter) to Disney World and did not purchase the dining plan. She spent more money by not purchasing the dining plan. She told me she would purchase it next time she went.

Depending on how many nights you are staying, is how many TS credits you receive.

Example: you stay 6 nights.

Here is what you can do.

Schedule:

Spirit of Aloha Dinner show takes 2 credits so that is one night you are scheduled and you have 4 TS credits left.

Next you could Schedule:

Yachtsman Steakhouse which takes 2 TS Credits, so then you only have 2 TS credits left and you are only scheduled for 2 days on your vacation.

Next you Could schedule:

Cinderella's Royal Table - 2 TS Credits gone again. So then you are only scheduled for three days of your 7 day vacation.

That is not too bad. I know you do not want to be scheduled but to be honest if you want to save a bit of money by buying the dining plan, you will have to schedule. I know disappointing but trust me it will not be so bad.

You can also cancel the dining plan and pay out of pocket and only at CS restaurants. There are cancellations on occasions and some of the parks have a board when you walk in that will tell they have openings at the TS restaurants in the park.

I am not sure about this but I also think you can use TS credits as CS credits. I would contact Disney to check on this.

Our family shares the CS credits for breakfast and lunch because you get such large portions of food. So this could be an option for you also.

Good Luck!

 

[aubriee]

I've been to WDW in Jan, May, Sept, Oct, and Dec and have seen people turned away from restaurants almost every trip. With the DDP ADRS are almost required. If you want to eat at off times and at out of the way unpopular restaurants you might be OK.

 

[duketennisgal]

I've had really great luck in early May, early June, late June, early July and early August doing a last minute thing.

We never really decide which park we for sure want to go to till the day before. What I do is I call from our room the night before with a couple of restaurants in mind at the park we will be going to. The CM's have always been very helpful and I have never come away without a reservation. I've even been able to book LeCellier in early July the night before we visited.

I don't know if maybe there's a lot of last minute cancellations or just that they hold back a few tables for that very reason but we've never had any problems getting into a restaurant we wanted. You do have to be a bit flexible with your times though, you could be looking at a 4:00 dinner reservation, just eat a late breakfast and you should be fine, if you are up late in the parks you can have a snack later in the evening.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Ok, My family (me, husband and two boys 6 & 8 at trip time) will go to Disney probably in May 09. I think the dining plan would be a good option for us but we have such busy lives and are so scheduled when not on vacation.

We HATE schedules on vacation!!!! I see us planning two dinners...possible Mickey's BBQ and the Spirit of Aloha or Chef Mickey. I understand that we will need ADR's for these but where are we gonna be able to eat a TS dinner if we don't make reservations????

We're kind of in the same boat! We only booked Chef Mickey on our last WDW trip, and didn't have any trouble finding TS for dinners. BUT that was 4 years ago, and I guess it has changed! I probably will book DDP because otherwise I think we won't have anywhere to eat! I just hate to have to already plan out what park I will be at on my trip each day 6 months in advance, kwim?? And I like to park hop- which is a little harder if I am booking ADRs. Sigh. I guess I will bite the bullet! DH likes to plan- I like to wing it!

The good news is we'll be able to see which way we like it better- DDP or no DDP- because we're doing a Land/Sea package (and adding DDP) and then coming back for 3 more nights post-cruise. Those nights aren't eligible for DDP since they won't be on a package.

 

[Matt71]

Just FYI, Planet Hollywood @ DTD only take walk-ups - no ADRS. I don't know how busy they are, but at least you'll be in the same boat as everyone else.

On a related note, I can't imagine how awful it must feel as a child to get turned away from a character meal after looking forward to seeing a particular character, because my parents didn't make ADRs. Anyone ever see that or have that happen to them?

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Just FYI, Planet Hollywood @ DTD only take walk-ups - no ADRS. I don't know how busy they are, but at least you'll be in the same boat as everyone else.

On a related note, I can't imagine how awful it must feel as a child to get turned away from a character meal after looking forward to seeing a particular character, because my parents didn't make ADRs. Anyone ever see that or have that happen to them?

No- on our previous trips we always made ADRs for the character meals. I just didn't make them 6 months in advance!! HAHA!! More like a month in advance.

Okay, so I am narrowing down my TS choices for our dining plan part of the trip! I know we'll need to make a couple ADRs for our non-plan days too after the cruise. I just don't know if we'll feel like being so much on a "schedule" after vegging out on the cruise! I know one of those days will be a water park day- but that may depend on the weather!

 

[Tricia1972]

or when your brood will be hungry????? Especially when you have a variety of ages. On vacation, if we choose to have a big breakfast, then we don't eat until 3 and that is it for the day. Other times, we want to get going early and may want to have a big lunch. We never really eat a big dinner, to be honest. But what if you are having such fun riding rides, you don't want to eat??? How in the world do you know in advance what you want to do???
Christine

That's one of the issues with the DDP. You need to have some sort of a schedule to make sure that you get an equal value out of the plan.

So long as you're fine with grabbing a CS when you get hungry, the DDP may not be for you.

If you really want to make SURE that you get a table at a TS location, then you need some sort of a schedule - even if it's just for one meal. This is regardless of how you're paying for your meal.

 

[septbaby]

or when your brood will be hungry????? Especially when you have a variety of ages. On vacation, if we choose to have a big breakfast, then we don't eat until 3 and that is it for the day. Other times, we want to get going early and may want to have a big lunch. We never really eat a big dinner, to be honest. But what if you are having such fun riding rides, you don't want to eat??? How in the world do you know in advance what you want to do???
Christine

That comment assumes that you meal plan isn't going to be fun too or that you aren't actually hungry.

We planned our meals "with a purpose"

Arrival night Narcoossee's with Wishes, non park day.
Coral Reef Lunch after early morning in MK, we were starved and arrived over 30 minutes early and ate everything in sight...
Chef Mickey's was our first meal of the day, we slept in after a late night with the Pirate and Princess Party. The hightlight of the trip for our 5yo.
We cancelled Play 'n Dine at H&V breakfast and just did CS, too full and wanted to relax at the resort instead; ate Dinner at Boma right after AK closed. No way we could have eaten two buffets that day.
Wanted to stay in MK and "play", but ended up leaving to make our ADR at MGM. It was the Fantasmic package and that was a good enough reason to keep it. Had it just been another meal we would have canceled and figured out a plan B like Beaches & Cream or our resort TS.


DP only limits you if you allow yourself to feel trapped. We canceled when we wanted and usually looked forward to our meals.

Good luck with your plans!