Looking at menus and having sticker shock!

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

The last thing I want to do is be fighting over dinner. Maybe I will just decide and then tell them "OK, this is where we're eating today."

I highly recommend doing just that. Pick where you will eat. Then show them the menus. Let them think about what they want, then go from there.

 

[verleniahall]

Dining Plan all the way - I reccomend it to ANYONE I know that is planning a trip. Dining is all paid for and nothing to wory about once you are there except ordieng

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Money isn't so much the issue as is the waste. I hate to pay for food and see it thrown out because they didn't eat it. I'd feel the same even if the DDP was free. But I took the advice of the poster above and checked out the menu at Art of Animation, which is where we will be staying. The food prices are much more reasonable there. So I guesThey's I will look around more and then decide. Of course, I have to try to find as many places that have broccoli as possible or I will need to bring broccoli with me, as that's the only vegetable the 6 year old will eat, and she eats a lot of it. We've just never traveled with more than two at a time before and I want this trip to be as stress-free as possible. The last thing I want to do is be fighting over dinner. Maybe I will just decide and then tell them "OK, this is where we're eating today."

IMO, that's the way to do it. Choose restaurants that are affordable for everyone to order their own meal & hype up your choices. They'll be so excited to have the amazing burger, awesome sundae, etc. of their own choosing that it won't matter what restaurant it's at.

 

[Lisa F]

Money isn't so much the issue as is the waste. I hate to pay for food and see it thrown out because they didn't eat it. I'd feel the same even if the DDP was free. But I took the advice of the poster above and checked out the menu at Art of Animation, which is where we will be staying. The food prices are much more reasonable there. So I guess I will look around more and then decide. Of course, I have to try to find as many places that have broccoli as possible or I will need to bring broccoli with me, as that's the only vegetable the 6 year old will eat, and she eats a lot of it. We've just never traveled with more than two at a time before and I want this trip to be as stress-free as possible. The last thing I want to do is be fighting over dinner. Maybe I will just decide and then tell them "OK, this is where we're eating today."

How long are you going for? is it possible to let them each pick one place to go to? If they are invested enough they will look over menus and choose. if not then at least you gave them the chance. Plan in advance, have them each get a pick and let the others know what to expect there so there are no surprises when people are hungry and grumpy. If someone doesn't like a place give them the option of ordering off the snack menu and getting another snack later.

I'm a single mom and it gets weary always making decisions about what we can afford and how to economize, so when I go on my disney trips with my son (will be 2 years 3 months since last one when I go next) I don't want to feel that way. You want dessert with dinner? SURE. You want those (ridiculously overpriced) snacks? of course! I do make him budget his "own" money for the trip and make him earn disney dollars throughout the year because otherwise he'd drive me crazy go nuts with junky toy requests... we discuss whether he wants to spend his "own" money on it and it really cuts down the i wants significantly (and teaches him a bit about how to prioritize) but for me, for once every few years I get to spend like a rich person without a care in the world (which is why it takes me a couple of years to save for each trip). To me this is part of the fun of vacation

 

[mom2my3kids]

looks like you will be spending at least 300 a day with the DDP, if

Dining Plan all the way - I reccomend it to ANYONE I know that is planning a trip. Dining is all paid for and nothing to wory about once you are there except ordieng

And tipping, heck on some of those meals tips add up...

 

[mom2my3kids]

We are a family of five my children are 22,18 and 12 so all are considered adults on the meal plan, free is great not free is not great for us..for our next trip I just sat down and wrote of list of places we wanted to eat, went online and picked what I thought we would eat adding a few bucks..We will still come out hundreds below the meal plan..Places like The Plaza, Trails End, Via Napoli, Ohana, Sci-Fi, Rainforest etc...

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

I agree with the PP. We once did the DDP and it was too much food (desserts) for us. Each trip after that I calculated all of our meals and compared it to what we would have paid if we had gotten the DDP and each time it was 100s (many 100s) cheaper for us our family of 6 (all Disney adults). Pay OOP and they can share meals - we do it all the time - not even to save money but because sometimes it is so hot we aren't even hungry. What nice grandparents!

 

[Vijoge]

Right now I'm thinking that Dining Plan or not, I will let them each choose what they want to order. Now I have to track down the broccoli. . .thanks, everybody! I am beyond excited about this trip. They are such good girls and they have no clue that we're going! Giddy grammie, that's me!

 

[Lisa F]

Right now I'm thinking that Dining Plan or not, I will let them each choose what they want to order. Now I have to track down the broccoli. . .thanks, everybody! I am beyond excited about this trip. They are such good girls and they have no clue that we're going! Giddy grammie, that's me!

Columbia Harbor House (MK)
Liberty Inn (American Pavilion in Epcot)
ABC Commissary (Hollywood Studios)
Flame Tree BBQ (AK) has broccoli with kids meals

those are the park QS I know offhand that serve broccoli. I'm sure you could sub broccoli for the second side and just get a double portion if you get her an adult meal. Or just order a few sides of broccoli.

Good plan on letting them each choose what they want. If it's not a money issue, this seems like something worth letting go

 

[Vijoge]

Good plan on letting them each choose what they want. If it's not a money issue, this seems like something worth letting go

Yes, you're right. I will just bite my tongue, smile, and tell them I love them lol

 

[Goofy G]

There are many QS options that are fun and 'Disney Affordable'
Select a couple of memorable TS meals and go QS for the rest. I vote Columbia Harbour House - the upstairs view is fun!

 

[Vijoge]

Columbia Harbor House (MK)
Liberty Inn (American Pavilion in Epcot)
ABC Commissary (Hollywood Studios)
Flame Tree BBQ (AK) has broccoli with kids meals

those are the park QS I know offhand that serve broccoli. I'm sure you could sub broccoli for the second side and just get a double portion if you get her an adult meal. Or just order a few sides of broccoli.

Columbia Harbor House looks perfect. Chicken nuggets, broccoli, grapes,and Dannon Danimals all at one meal. She'll be in heaven. Thanks!

 

[Lisa F]

Columbia Harbor House looks perfect. Chicken nuggets, broccoli, grapes,and Dannon Danimals all at one meal. She'll be in heaven. Thanks!

CHH is one of my favorites. The salmon is very good too if you like that sort of a thing!

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

We are a family of five my children are 22,18 and 12 so all are considered adults on the meal plan, free is great not free is not great for us..for our next trip I just sat down and wrote of list of places we wanted to eat, went online and picked what I thought we would eat adding a few bucks..We will still come out hundreds below the meal plan..Places like The Plaza, Trails End, Via Napoli, Ohana, Sci-Fi, Rainforest etc...

Careful with that. Those menus are changing faster than you can say Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo. Seems like every few weeks lunch menus are going away, entree prices are rising, and items are disappearing off menus. Disney can't even keep their own site updated to meet with all their changes.

We have been using that plan you described, too, and it has been a great plan. But it scares me how much prices are rising just in the last few months. Can't trust a menu from one month to the next.

 

[scrapquitler]

We're taking four granddaughters (17, 11, 8, and 6) to WDW in January and, being the compulsive over-planner that I am, I've started looking at menus trying to find places where all the girls will be able to choose something they like. So anyway, it's been five years since our last trip and I can't believe how expensive some of the meals have gotten, even counter service meals. $14 for a freaking bowl of corn flakes at Be Our Guest for breakfast, and $24 for an open face ham and egg sandwich. And this is a COUNTER SERVICE BREAKFAST! Yikes! I'm looking at $130 just for breakfast lol. I guess I'd better re-think my decision to skip the DDP.

In addition, I know none of the girls are ever going to actually finish a meal, and one meal at WDW can easily feed at least two of them, but will they ever be able to agree on what to order? Or should I just pay up, even though it may cost more, and avoid the whole argument? Traveling with four is going to be a whole lot harder than when I took one at a time. I'm rambling. . .

Most counter services don't cost anything close to what BOG costs. Those prices are what they are because of the demand for the experience.

Remember that they don't have to order the full meal, even if you are at counter service, and it's going to be too much food, you can order the sandwich or the main without the sides. Sometimes we order one combo and one extra side to split, or we order one combo and one sandwich only.

And anyone can order a kids meal at counter service. I often order the kids meal for myself, and that comes with a drink, for about $6-$7, and it's plenty.

 

[aprincessatlast]

I think you read it incorrectly, but I'm talking from experience. For example, DS's current girlfriend has traveled to many countries. We went to a wedding at Swan this weekend & she was awed by the hotel. We were talking about the places we'd stayed at WDW & UO & she said, "I would love to stay at places like that." Defending her parents, I said, "yeah, but we didn't go to Spain last year & China the year before." Her response was that they always stay in a cheap hotel, in a bad area & she & her brother would rather vacation close to home & stay somewhere nicer that they weren't afraid to walk around in.

When we went to Raglan Road yesterday, she was having a hard time choosing what she wanted to order. I told her to order what she wanted & ignore the price. She said, "but I don't know how to order that way." I said, "just pick something & order it." Incidentally, she ordered the most expensive thing on the menu, because that was what she really wanted. You wouldn't believe how excited this 22 year old college graduate was to order that meal. Whether people want to believe it or not, kids of all ages do want to have a choice.

We decided long ago to vacation less to allow our DS to get what he wants within reason rather than vacation more & constantly tell him no. As they get older, they remember the nos a lot more than they remember the yes'.

FWIW, DS's GF is definitely not a spoiled, ungrateful brat. Believe me, she's the total opposite of spoiled. That's why she was so excited to vacation her way for the first time. She's definitely not the only one. A previous GF of DS's ordered filets at every restaurant, when we took her, just because she could. It's not that we have an unlimited amount of money to spend on vacation. We definitely don't. We just choose to vacation less often, so we can let the kids enjoy the trip to the fullest.

I realize everyone doesn't have the same vacation philosophy we do. That's great. I just think it would be better to purchase DDP (which we don't do) or eat at cheaper restaurants (which there's nothing wrong with) than to force kids to share or order something they don't want.

So let me get this straight. You are talking from experience here.... about a 22 year old women who has graduated from college complaining about how she would rather have her family vacation closer to home so her parents could put her in a nicer hotel rather than taking her across the world to travel? Hmm yes please do impart more parenting wisdom upon us on how you deal with these underprivileged "children" who have been told no before in their life. must feel so good to take your child's multiple girlfriends on trips to fancy wdw. Yes the pp did sound like a guilt trip by the way.

 

[jon18uk]

We're taking four granddaughters (17, 11, 8, and 6) to WDW in January and, being the compulsive over-planner that I am, I've started looking at menus trying to find places where all the girls will be able to choose something they like. So anyway, it's been five years since our last trip and I can't believe how expensive some of the meals have gotten, even counter service meals. $14 for a freaking bowl of corn flakes at Be Our Guest for breakfast, and $24 for an open face ham and egg sandwich. And this is a COUNTER SERVICE BREAKFAST! Yikes! I'm looking at $130 just for breakfast lol. I guess I'd better re-think my decision to skip the DDP.

In addition, I know none of the girls are ever going to actually finish a meal, and one meal at WDW can easily feed at least two of them, but will they ever be able to agree on what to order? Or should I just pay up, even though it may cost more, and avoid the whole argument? Traveling with four is going to be a whole lot harder than when I took one at a time. I'm rambling. . .

Don't forget that the $14/$24 price at BOG Breakfast includes pastries and drinks as well as the entree. I do think its ridiculous they charge the same fixed price for the kids cereal as for the kids bacon & eggs. I did feel the adult meals were worth close to $20 ($10 entree $5 pastries $3 beverages $2 location premium) but $24 doesn't seem as worthwhile.
I do wonder if they are trying to encourage more and more people to use the dining plan by constantly raising the meal prices. But then DL Cali raised their prices too.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

So let me get this straight. You are talking from experience here.... about a 22 year old women who has graduated from college complaining about how she would rather have her family vacation closer to home so her parents could put her in a nicer hotel rather than taking her across the world to travel? Hmm yes please do impart more parenting wisdom upon us on how you deal with these underprivileged "children" who have been told no before in their life. must feel so good to take your child's multiple girlfriends on trips to fancy wdw. Yes the pp did sound like a guilt trip by the way.

Wow, some of you are taking my post way too personally. As I said before, she's not the only one that has commented on having to order food she didn't want her whole life. Not that I need to defend myself to these silly replies, but as I noted, I was defending her parents. Not once did I offer an opinion on her parents vacation style. I would never do that. Since they didn't ask me for an opinion, it's none of my business. You weren't there, so you have no idea how the conversation went. You're just adding a lot of your own words to the ones I typed. This is the sweetest most humble girl I've ever had the privilege of spending meaningful time with. Having to choose based on the cheapest price possible has negatively impacted her vacations though.

Your next to last sentence is so much hyperbole it's hilarious. The only reason I can imagine anyone would have read my post as a guilt trip would be if it somehow made them feel guilty. That wasn't my intention at all. OTOH, I think parents who eat whatever they want & force their kids to order the cheapest thing they can feed them should feel guilty. If anyone chooses to have kids, they should put them first. No, they shouldn't be given everything they want. My son definitely isn't, but I'm not going to buy myself an expensive entree & cheap out on his food. Instead, I would choose a cheaper location, so everyone can get what they want. The OP didn't appear to be the type of person who put themselves before the kids, so I don't think she would have felt like my post was a guilt trip at all. She actually sounded like an amazing grandparent that was asking for input, so I offered it based on experience. Naturally, it's just my opinion, with is no more important than others opinion.

FTR, we don't even go on a big vacation every year. WDW & UO are one of the least expensive vacations we can take, because we live in Florida. It's never a good idea to pass judgement on someone you know absolutely nothing about. Odds are good that you'll be off base.

 

[Nancyg56]

Oh, they'll live. Sorry, but that just sounds like quite a guilt trip to put on people who may not be able to afford it, or just don't want to spend that much money on meals. I really don't think all they'll remember from a trip to WDW is having to share a meal.

LOL! No, they will not! If that was the memory....well that is a shame really.

Years ago,when my own children were young we took them to Disney. It was a ten day trip and included area attractions, Daytona Beach and then MK and FW in Epcot over Christmas and New Years. We saved and saved for that one, and because it was Holidays we included a lot of expensive meals, and of course the Disney Dinner shows. When we got home we asked the kids their favorite things from the trip....DH almost collapsed when my youngest said his favorite thing was the chocolate chip pancakes at IHOP.

 

[Nancyg56]

Money isn't so much the issue as is the waste. I hate to pay for food and see it thrown out because they didn't eat it. I'd feel the same even if the DDP was free. But I took the advice of the poster above and checked out the menu at Art of Animation, which is where we will be staying. The food prices are much more reasonable there. So I guess I will look around more and then decide. Of course, I have to try to find as many places that have broccoli as possible or I will need to bring broccoli with me, as that's the only vegetable the 6 year old will eat, and she eats a lot of it. We've just never traveled with more than two at a time before and I want this trip to be as stress-free as possible. The last thing I want to do is be fighting over dinner. Maybe I will just decide and then tell them "OK, this is where we're eating today."

When my own we're young and we took that long trip with them, there were ages similar to your grands. WE let them choose breakfast, and they took turns. That solved a lot of arguing. Give them choices you are comfortable, and let them all make a choice from the ones you have singled out. The quick service menus are similar in cost, especially breakfast, so that can keep you budget in order and let the kids all have a decision in their meals.