is 1 snack/day enough?

[ReneeA]

We do fine with 1 snack a day. However, we always pack breakfast foods to have in the room prior to rope drop so we don't use our snack credits on breakfast foods. I also find myself really full the majority of days and don't use my snack credits...I pay OOP for an iced coffees from the Joffrey's carts (they don't take DDP credits) and the kids use my leftover credits throughout the trip.

 

[LazyDaisy]

Hmm. Well, I'd prefer if there were 2 snacks per day per person again. We're moderate eaters. I'm always surprised when I see people saying that they can barely finish the food on the Dining Plan. Deluxe, OK, I can see, but the regular dining plan isn't that much - it's like two meals a day, really. I guess the desserts added in might be too much (and I guess that's Disney's intention) but I'm a square-three-meals-a-day kinda person. We're staying CL this time so breakfast will be taken care of, but if we weren't, we would probably get a snack breakfast, then QS lunch, then TS dinner. That leaves no "extra" snacks - not even for a drink or ice cream during hot weather.

I know a lot of people do just fine with two meals a day, and while I may get away with that at home sometimes, there are just too many wonderful things to try out at Disney. One of my favorite Disney activities IS eating -- it's such a great place to find a variety of restaurants. I know some other people go mainly for the rides, or the shows, or whatever, and only eat because they have to. From that perspective, you're certainly not going to starve on two meals and a snack a day... I guess it all depends on what your fav things to do there are.

 

[loricdietzel]

When we went last year we found we did not have enough snack credits. Of course, we had a 1 yr old and so we had to buy him snacks since we barely had enough credits for ourselves and he wanted all the snacks, too! I know next time we go we will be buying some snacks out of pocket even with the dining plan.

 

[lurkernj]

I think one is not enough, but two seems to be too much. There are certain snacks that I always look forward to each trip, and that takes up most of what I am allotted, and doesn't leave much left to be flexible. This next trip we will be doing food/wine fest, so I already know I won't have enough

 

[jlr9882]

We packed cereal, cereal bars, fruit, and snacks from home. Every night we froze a couple water bottles and juice boxes to carry in our cooler for the park the next day. We also had some water, juice, and coke that wasn't frozen. If we drank all of that, we would go to a CS place and ask from their free cup of ice water or and fill up our empty bottles. That way we weren't using our snack credits or paying out of pocket for drinks. We pack snacks for the park, but brought most of them back each day. We packed a bag of cereal to eat while waiting on the bus. We ate at a CS for lunch to use a credit and TS for dinner. We ended up with extra snack credits at the end of our trip, so we got things to take home with us. It was more food than we are use to eating, but I loved the DDP.

 

[gtpoohbear]

Hmm. Well, I'd prefer if there were 2 snacks per day per person again. We're moderate eaters. I'm always surprised when I see people saying that they can barely finish the food on the Dining Plan. Deluxe, OK, I can see, but the regular dining plan isn't that much - it's like two meals a day, really. I guess the desserts added in might be too much (and I guess that's Disney's intention) but I'm a square-three-meals-a-day kinda person. We're staying CL this time so breakfast will be taken care of, but if we weren't, we would probably get a snack breakfast, then QS lunch, then TS dinner. That leaves no "extra" snacks - not even for a drink or ice cream during hot weather.

I know a lot of people do just fine with two meals a day, and while I may get away with that at home sometimes, there are just too many wonderful things to try out at Disney. One of my favorite Disney activities IS eating -- it's such a great place to find a variety of restaurants. I know some other people go mainly for the rides, or the shows, or whatever, and only eat because they have to. From that perspective, you're certainly not going to starve on two meals and a snack a day... I guess it all depends on what your fav things to do there are.

This is why we do the Deluxe plan- 2 meals a day would never be enough for us no matter how big they were! And I also don't think it's a ton of food. We do eat out a lot at home and the amount of food at a meal is no different than what you'd get at Applebees or the like. Even with 3 meals a day we almost always want a snack in the afternoon while we are taking a break by the pool. Maybe it's just because we are used to eating out so we don't overstuff ourselves, but it doesn't seem like we leave a lot of food behind either. I'm suprised that Disney doesn't have a dp in between the regular and deluxe, b/c there is a big difference between 1CS/1TS and 3 TS.

 

[LazyDaisy]

I'm suprised that Disney doesn't have a dp in between the regular and deluxe, b/c there is a big difference between 1CS/1TS and 3 TS.

In my world, cats and rabbits.... no wait. In my world, the ideal in-between Dining Plan would be 2 QS meals (dessert optional) and 1 TS meal where you could pick a main AND a dessert OR an app OR an extra side. And two snacks per day. Then everyone could have a breakfast, lunch, a midday drink, a snack, and an evening meal. DH hates desserts normally but he loves apps - so what's the sense in having to buy the app out of pocket and then leaving the dessert there to pick at?

Also... yes, if you're driving in, I would (and have) brought along our own snacks and drinks. However, if we're flying, I'd rather not waste precious carry-on or suitcase space with extra snacks for the week. And since we're not driving, I'd rather not have to get grocery delivery in or find some overpriced snacks or breakfast items somewhere like the Hess station. Just too much hassle. If I'm on vacation, and there are snack booths that are fun and unique, I'd rather do that than worry about a heavy backpack with snacks, water bottles, etc. Yes, it's a sensible thing to do to bring it with, and I have done it before myself, but I'd really much rather just get something in the hotel or parks and not have to worry about it. (We do end up doing just that, but we have to pay OOP, which imo defeats the purpose a little bit of the dining plan in the first place.)

 

[CrabbyPatty]

I think it also depends on the time of year you are going. We go at the very end of the summer when it's good and HOT in WDW! I always get a flat or two of water delivered to our room, and we take them everywhere we go, so we aren't using snack credits for water. I also bring some mix-ins for the water. When it's warm, I'm much more interested in keeping hydrated than eating a lot of sweet/snacky stuff.

I also get a small stock of items that can be carried along in a backpack in the parks - nut mixes or snack bars or dried fruit - something that you can quickly grab and have with a bottle of flavored water. Also, as others have noted, if you eat CS meals, you can often take the pre-packaged dessert with you and eat that as a snack later.

We did the Deluxe Dining Plan last time we were at WDW and it seems like all we did was EAT, or run to the next ADR so we could eat again! I'm looking forward to this trip with 1 TS, 1 CS and a snack (only), and I'm planning that DD (she's 11 and a light eater) and I will be able to share some of our meals and snacks. I can't stand feeling hot, sweaty, sticky, and STUFFED with food!

 

[MommyJack]

We have had the dining plan 3 times and always have snack credits left over. Just don't forget to use them at the end to get snacks for the trip home.

 

[millerjmls]

We just returned from our trip on Sunday. We had the counter service dining plan and found that it was plenty of food. We used a few of the snacks in the parks, but had so many left over! So, we went to Goofy's candy store in Downtown Disney and used the rest on yummy treats to bring home. It's fun to get home and have some sweet treats as a reminder of the trip.

 

[danetter]

We have had the dining plan 3 times and always have snack credits left over. Just don't forget to use them at the end to get snacks for the trip home.

We have had the ddp since 2009 and never have used up all of our snack credits until the day we checked out. Last year we brought home 2 huge bags full of snacks from our credits we didn't use.
I buy breakfast cakes, pop tarts or cereal boxes, pb crackers for our breakfast in the morning. We never use our snack credit to buy drinks. We use our mug at the resort for drinks. At the parks we get free ice water and add a pack of cool-aid. Most of the time we do all you can eat TS meals around 5 and QS meals for lunch around 11:00 and some of our quick service meals we share. and still don't have to use our snack credits but if we do find something we want we usually share.
We are plus size people and this plan has worked for us.

 

[iloveeeyore]

The issue is not that there's not enough food...the issue is that there are not enough snack credits to taste all the things we want to taste! No we are usually not hungry, but we still want that gooey caramel bar from the Karamel Kuche. Our stomachs are still pretty full from our big CS lunch, but that doesn't stop me from craving the Dole Whip! The good thing is that in general, Disney snacks are HUGE, more than big enough to share, so we can try more things!

In general, we use snack credits for grab-n-go treats in the am (bagel, muffin) these are big enough to split for a small breakfast, and we supplement with cereal bars we've brought from home if necessary, so we aren't using ALL of our snack credits on breakfast. We like to have CS lunch no later than 11 or 11:30, because by then we are getting hungry from the hard-core touring we've been doing, plus we beat the crowds by having lunch early. We use our TS credits for dinner. We try to save some snack credits to share treats we see along the way that we just WANT. Usually we manage to find SOME room in our stomachs to split some snacks mid-afternoon. Hey, we are on vacation!

In short, don't use them on drinks (water is free), share some, and you'll probably find one snack per day per person is more than enough.

 

[JavaQueen8]

We were just in WDW and used all of our credits mainly on food. The portions are big at lunch and dinner so one snack credit is usually enough. we paid oop for water and coke and seemed to spend more time drinking than anything else. Dont use the snack credit for water when you could have an amazing cake pop at MK confectionaries!!

 

[sunshineNJ]

We always have some snack credits left at the end. You need to remember that you get dessert with each meal. So that's 2 desserts a day and a snack. We have found it to be MORE then enough.

 

[mickeytai]

Yes, definitely. The lunch is pretty big and a lot of time we have the dessert from the meal and save it later for our later snack. And we, a family of 4, often share the popcorn together. I would say, it's definitely enough.

 

[KKB]

and generally felt we had MORE than enough food. We brought breakfast bars from home for breakfast so we could use the snack credit for a treat...but often we were too full for dessert, so would carry it with us for a snack later (or breakfast the next day!)
No need to pay for water ever--just go to any counter in a park & ask for a FREE glass of ice water.
We always had snack credits left for mickey bars to take home!

 

[midwesternbelle]

Here is my two cents:
This is enough IF you have plenty of water/soda/some form of hydration. You DO NOT want to waste your DDP snack credit on drinks. Other than that its absolutely perfect.

 

[midwesternbelle]

Also, another tip, if your staying for 6 or seven nights... i totally recommend saving 2-3 per person on the day you go to EPCOT and "Eating the world" which basically means getting snacks from all the countries and sharing with the whole family. YUM!

 

[newdeal]

We usually dont even use a snack most days and end the trip with 4 or 5 left per person. Since we dont get credits for the departure day we use our snacks to eat breakfast. You can gt a drink with one, a pastry, some fruit and it makes a nice little breakfast meal

 

[IrisSphere]

I'm suprised that Disney doesn't have a dp in between the regular and deluxe, b/c there is a big difference between 1CS/1TS and 3 TS.

So true! I would gladly pay $15/person extra if we could have 1CS/2TS a day (even if it was 1 snack only). I am contemplating on upgrading to the DxDDP but at $30/person (+extra tips), I can't really justify it as of yet.