Is DDP enough food?

[TT4Dis]

On my last and only trip our party did QSDP when kids were 5,4,1. It worked well for us to not be tied down to reservations and we could eat when kids were hungry. We did pay OOP for 2 character meals on that trip and loved them (Princess bfast in Norway, CM dinner).

On our next trip we would like to do the regular dining plan and there will be 4 kids (7,6,almost 3, and 18mths). We want to do more table service with the idea being that it will be easier to feed 4 kids from buffet and not pay any OOP like we would have to do if we did QS because 2 kids meals won't feed 4 kids. However, I am concerned that if we do mainly early TS breakfast, the meal the kids usually eat the best at home, then one counter service and one snack won't be enough to get through the rest of the day without paying OOP for food every day. I like the idea of doing early TS breakfast in the parks but worry about the rest of the day.

Has anyone ever had the experience that it isn't enough food to only have a CS meal and 1 snack for the rest of the day if you do an early breakfast? Should we try to use TS at lunch and do snack for breakfast and the CS for dinner? That may work better but I almost would rather get the reservation part of the day out of the way so kids are not tied to a schedule and we can tailor day to what they are enjoying most.

Sorry to be all over the map, but I need some direction. Someone Please Help Me!!!

 

[mamato3girls]

We are leaving on Thursday and only have 2 kids (4 and 2) but I've put a lot of thought into this, lol.

But what about packing some snack type things to hold everyone over. We have 4 dining reservations (Akershus for a late lunch-2:45, Crystal Palace for what they call an early dinner-3:30, Tusker house for breakfast-9:30, and then CRT for a very late dinner-9:35). Our plan for the days we are eating later in the day is to snack at our resort or on the trip between the resort to the parks. I've got bagels and cream cheese and peanut butter, granola bars, dry cereal, fruit, and juice packed to bring with us. I think snacking on those things will hold us over until our late lunch/early dinners and then we may still pick up another snack in the park beforehand. For the day when we have breakfast and our late dinner scheduled we are packing a sandwich for everyone along with chips, fruit and granola bars. I don't even know if we'll need it but that way we can hopefully avoid spending any extra on food and it will give us a chance to eat while we are waiting in line for the rides.

Since we have CRT which is 2 table service meals we know that we'll want to save some of our CS meals for the day we don't have any reservations.

 

[H20DogsNDisney]

We went to to disney in April we found that the Dining plan was more then enough food in fact we had some CS left at the end of the trip. we did 1 breakfast TS, Lunch TS, and a few Dinnner we mixed it up. good luck

 

[smiths02]

I think that you can't avoid either some OOP or bringing food with you since you are a family of 6 with only 4 people on the dining plan...

Even if you did TS lunch, are 4 snack credits enough to feed a family of 6 breakfast?


I think your best bet is to bring some food with you and eat at off times...

Brunch might be a good idea for you...it worked for us...we ate a Cliff bar/cereal bar in the room, got to the park for EMH, rode a few popular rides, got fastpasses and went to brunch...
For lunch, we just had snacks we were still full from brunch
For dinner, CS would be enough (You could eat a place with generous portions or do something like use 2 adult cs to get a pizza, 2 drinks, 2 desserts and get 2 kid cs...then you would probably be able to feed all 6 of you)


Or do something like an early lunch
Breakfast could be snack credits
Early lunch at a buffet
Dinner at CS using CS credits

 

[ibela]

I bring a box of cereal from home and buy a gallon of milk at the shops and keep it in the mini-fridge so we just eat cereal in the room for breakfast, CS for lunch, and then like to unwind with a TS for dinner at the end of the day to talk about what we did that day, what the kids liked best, etc. It usually gives everyone a burst of energy for EMH too. We're not big breakfast eaters though, so it works. For snacks I like to take some cereal bars with me but we'll typically get the bigger snacks and share (ex. popcorn or funnel cake), the only thing we don't share is our ice cream! ETA: some good snacks for breakfast or a light lunch: yogurt parfaits at resort CS, stuffed cream cheese pretzel.

 

[stayhomemom77]

I would do later breakfasts...like 10 to 11 am ones based on the ages of your kids and the plans that you have laid out. I don't think it will be enough food for all four of them with an early ADR for breakfast unless you're using some OOP money to supplement. If each kid had their own meal it would be different but since you have 2 under age 3 who won't get their own credits and you will need to share, then I don't think it will be enough food for the rest of the day.

I think if you are able to get a couple of snacks in the morning to tide them over until your later breakfast (there are several things that can be split easily between 4 kids using only 2 snack credits) then you still have 2 left over (yours and your spouse's credits) for later if necessary.

By having later breakfast reservations, you're still getting them the foods they eat best, but timed so that they work for the lunch meal. That then leaves you your CS meal credits for dinner.

If possible, I would ensure that there are snacks brought from home available in the room and perhaps even in your park bag for just in case.

My kids have been to Disney three times in the last 3 years (ages 4,5 then 5, 6 then 6, 7) and I've found that their appetites typically decrease in the parks...too much to see and do. They also quite willingly shared most of their snacks...popcorn was a favourite which is available at every park as well as various pastries, scoops of ice cream and bagels with cream cheese.

Try checking out the sticky link at the top of this forum about confirmed snack credits to see what is available and where and try searching out the thread that talks about how to maximize your snack credits to make them stretch farther.

Good luck!!

 

[jmartinez1895]

We found that most of the time we had too much food. We do the regualr DDP with one QS and one TS. With the QS we would save our dessert for a snack later in the day.

 

[MSLRAC]

We realized during our planning that the regular plan would not be enough food for our family. We are used to eating 3 meals , we aren't grab and go or sweets for breakfast people and we don't like CS meals. So we opted for the DXDP. Some claim it is way too much food and that the regular plan is plenty but it just would not have worked for us...the deluxe plan worked great. So I suggest you look at your family's eating habits, likes and dislikes and go from there. You might come out better doing the DXDP, paying OOP or doing a combination of the DDP and OOP meals. But I'd be willing to bet that the regular plan alone will not be enough especially since 2 of your kids are not on the plan.

 

[moniqueelaine]

Oh the DDP is plenty of food...My family never went hungry and I have a teenage son that was 16 on our last trip and I don't remember a time when he said he was hungry...You won't be disappointed we will always do the regular DDP

 

[smiths02]

Oh the DDP is plenty of food...My family never went hungry and I have a teenage son that was 16 on our last trip and I don't remember a time when he said he was hungry...You won't be disappointed we will always do the regular DDP

Are the people that are saying it is enough food realizing the age of the kids and the entitlements?

A 16 year old boy would get adult meal entitlements

This family would have 2 adult entitlements and 2 kid entitlements for 6 people

 

[Sugar Jones]

It depends on how your family is used to eating. Our kids did fine on the DDP, but they are not breakfast eaters. We had milk & cereal in our room in the mornings and then a CS lunch & TS dinner or vs versa. I was the only one that didn't care for the DDP because I like 3 meals a day, but I survived

Our days were mostly like this:

7:00am - breakfast in room (cereal & milk, cereal bars & yogurt)
11-12 - we would eat an early lunch between 11 & 12
2pmish - snack credit (usually ice cream because it was sooo hot)
5-6 dinner


I guess we did buy OOP because we brought breakfast items with us because we drove there.

When we go again (hopefully next year) I would LOVE to do the DXDP, but if we can't then I am going to do the QS and only do 2 character meals.

My kids were 8, 6 & 3 during out trip, and the 8 year old is a big eater. I wish I had upgraded him to adult because the kids meals were too small for him. The buffet's worked out best for us.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Before you make the decision to do the regular dining plan - CRUNCH the numbers! If you tend to book table service for breakfast or lunch, you may not get the 'discount' that the plan offers. So before you do anything, check to make sure it will benefit you to buy the plan. If you decide it will be beneficial, then check and see what meals are 'missing' and you will have to determine if you need more food.

We are not a family of BIG eaters and in fact, I eat tiny amounts but I need lots of snacks. The dining plan is not enough for us. We usually supplement it by bringing our own breakfast items (or buying some items at the quick service spot at the resort). We use the counter service for lunch and the table service for dinner. That's just us.

And while the plan has given us a 'discount', I will ONLY do it if it is beneficial for the meals I WANT (not what they force on you). So if you plan on going for a week but will only eat 3 table service meals at a one credit restaurant, the regular dining plan is not for you. If you are going to spots that use 2 dining credits and/or eat out every night - crunch the numbers to see if it will be beneficial! And if you only eat soup or salad, then it is probably not beneficial. But if you eat a steak for your credit, it will probably be a better benefit.

 

[starwarsdisney]

My wife and I just got back and this was the 3rd time we've done the dining plan. We've changed our eating habits a bit, but we've always felt like there was plenty of food. In fact, we actually thought it was too much on this last trip. We felt bad that we threw so much away. I would also like to see Disney offer an appitizer or desert. I love desert, but there was too much of a good thing.

 

[MSLRAC]

Are the people that are saying it is enough food realizing the age of the kids and the entitlements?

A 16 year old boy would get adult meal entitlements

This family would have 2 adult entitlements and 2 kid entitlements for 6 people

I agree with you wholeheartedly! We had plenty of food on the DxDP that we could have made that equation work but there is no way we could have pulled it off with the regular plan. I really think that this is one time that the numbers need to be crunched and see what works best because it could very well be cheaper for the OP to go with a different plan or no plan at all.

 

[nkereina]

I was torn on this myself. To me, it doesn't seem like enough. Or at least, you'll be buying stuff OOP every day. It's just my BF and I but we thought reg DP wasn't enough because we are used to eating 3 meals a day. We are used to eating 3 meals a day on our normal schedule - then factor in longer days at the parks, being out and more active, being in the heat. I think we would work up an appetite and welcome a break. We opted to go with DxDP which seems like too much food! Yes we get 3 meals a day but also 2 snack credits. I also feel guilty using some of our credits on QS because I know we aren't getting max use out of it. No happy dining plan medium!

 

[3pletprincesses]

For my girls and I it was enough IF we had arrived late the first day and left early the last day and we hadn't brought snacks from home.

I went last fall with my 4yo triplets. We mostly did character meals for breakfast, used our snacks brought from home in the afternoon and ahd early dinner. The snack credit was used either after dinner or in the afternoon if the girls were hungry and one morning we used those to buy parfaits at the resort to keep the girls happy before our early lunch. That being said, If you have 6 people to feed with 4 credits, i don't think it will be enough. If you can, upgrade to Deluxe. At least you will have the appetizer extra for each adult that you will be able to split and an extra snack credit or the other option is to buy an extra CS meal every time you eat at CS.

 

[dntd]

I would eat at places that allow you to order adult meals with kids credits,there is a sticky on this board that can help. We are using the DDP because I can't justify $70 a day more for the DDXD for us.Even buying the mug for everyone( not going to though as my kids don't need that much pop!) and a snack and a counter service BF we are still ahead using cash...

 

[sir mousejunkie]

We (DW, DD & me) have done the Quick Service Plan, The Regular Dining Plan and Deluxe Dining Plan.

On the regular Dining Plan it includes a Quick Service meal each day. A Quick Service meal can feed two adults, well... the two of us anyway. The sandwiches, pizzas, and burgers are always huge.

We always seem to have plenty or too much food.

 

[LovesTimone]

You are going to have to pay oop, there is not enough credits for a family this size.
Buffet for TS would be a must. There are some CS were a family could split, Rays in MK you can get a Chicken dinner (I think it's a half of a chicken), with Mashed potatoes, and a veg. You could order and x side of potatoes or mac n cheese. I have seen people order a double cheeseburger on the plan then order a bun (oop), and split it between kids and have them share the fries.

If you are driving; You could bring a cooler,You could have a variety of things for the room, Milk and cereal, OJ, cereal bars, pop tarts, juice boxes, peanut butter and jelly, bread, cheese, lunch-meat ect.. let the kids graze in the afternoon, by the pool. Bring soda, water, and adult beverages.
that is a huge saving right there.
There is a McDonald right outside of DTD also a Perkins which has wonderful Mammoth Muffins, You could have breakfast( very large portions If I remember a fair kids menu) there one morning, and order muffins as you choice for bread and save them for the next days breakfast. Your oop will go farther away from the parks. Also there are a few breakfast buffet place near there, not sure of the price.

If flying you could arrange for one stop on the way. Make sure to have a list of what you need. most of the time its about a 30 min stop. I have a collapsible cooler that you can pack flat, and take to the pool to keep everything cold.

Try the Garden Grocer they deliver; not sure of the cost, I think there is a link some where on the board.

You can also ship a box of goodies to the resort, my friend does this all the time. She must have her coffee..

 

[CdnCarrie]

I didn't find the dining plan saved money until all the kids were old enough to be on it. Otherwise you have to pay OOP for one child at all the TS (non buffet).