Looking at menus and having sticker shock!

[WIcruizer]

Talked things over with DH last night and we've decided to not get the dining plan, eat primarily CS meals unless we do a character meal for the little ones, and just let them order and eat (or not eat) as they wish. None of them are big eaters and I don't expect the 17 year old will even finish a kids meal BUT I plan to make this trip as stress free as any trip with four girls can possibly be.

Funny, I was about to ask about TS. Yes, if you don't want a TS meal every day, then DDP wouldn't make sense. Your family sounds similar to ours, you'll be fine just grabbing something in your room for breakfast, CS for lunch, and a mix of CS or TS for dinner. You'll spend more time in the parks this way as well, which is what you're really there for in the first place. And Papa will save some money!

Goes without saying, but if you want a character meal, try to get your ADR ASAP...

 

[Anal Annie]

Talked things over with DH last night and we've decided to not get the dining plan, eat primarily CS meals unless we do a character meal for the little ones, and just let them order and eat (or not eat) as they wish. None of them are big eaters and I don't expect the 17 year old will even finish a kids meal BUT I plan to make this trip as stress free as any trip with four girls can possibly be.

DH and I have already experienced every dining venue that we've wanted and I anticipate the kids are going to be more interested in the parks than the food. None of them are early risers, so showing up at rope drop just isn't going to happen this trip and the six year old usually crashes early. I don't think we are going want to spend our somewhat limited Disney time sitting in a restaurant for a couple of hours every day.

I appreciate all the input I've received on this thread. It's been a valuable help in the decision-making process. This trip is going to be a surprise for them all until we get to the airport. They love when Papa takes them on a 'prise lol.

BTW, Papa and the little one were siting on the couch last night watching tv and Perry the Platypus (Phinneas and Pherb) went down a tree slide and she said she said she wanted to do that. Papa told her he didn't know where that was and she looked at him and asked "Do you know where Disney World is? I've NEVER been to Disney World!" Papa just looked at me and smiled.

As DVC members we usually go 2 or 3 times a year - I'm in constant shock at every trip that the meal prices seem to go up between each one. The French Onion soup at BOG last I looked was like $9 or $10!! It is really good but it's not THAT good (It used to be like $7). I have to budget more & more for each trip we take. We feel like the DDP is way overpriced and we are lucky that we can buy the TIW card with our DVC membership. If it wasn't for the TIW card we wouldn't eat any TS meals. I feel like breakfasts "out" are the WORST value. We always eat breakfast in our room and since you're in a suite you can do the same. If we drive we bring stuff if we fly we get a grocery order from Garden Grocer. Fruit, cereal, bagels, waffles, even pop tarts etc. We also bring our own snacks for the parks (granola, trail mix, cheese crackers etc). ANY CS restaurant will give you a cup of cold water if you stop & ask for it. We also usually carry our own Brita refillable water bottles but sometimes you just want a cold glass. They cannot and will not refuse to give you a cup of water. Don't buy bottled water in the parks - bring a case with you or get a case delivered or buy it locally. We recently stopped ordering soft drinks & iced teas with our meals and just stick to water. On our last trip in January I noticed prices for drinks were all over $3 each. That's ridiculous for iced tea. It's basically WATER. You can also bring some of those flavored drink packets that you just add to your drinks if you want something flavored.

At Epcot you can plan for a TS meal at Via Napoli - and go with the understanding that you're sharing large pizzas not ordering individual meals. They're really big, good and reasonably priced when you consider you're sharing.

One thing I do (since we go so often) is I buy a Disney gift card every week with my groceries or at Target to bring down with us to apply to our room charges. My goal is to not have hardly anything hit our credit card on file at the end of the trip (which is getting harder and harder with the recent price increases). I look at my total bill at the store and get one that I can put whatever amount I want on it - sometimes I only get $25 but sometimes I can afford a little more so I may get $35 or $40 or $50 (then I write how much is on it with a Sharpie). It might help you a little bit if you start doing something similar to lessen the final bill shock? Have fun planning - the surprise they will have when they find out they're going will be priceless!

 

[Nancyg56]

In 2010 we took our eldest granddaughter on a cruise to the Virgin Islands. When we returned my next door neighbor asked her if she enjoyed her vacation. Her response? "I had brownies and gelato EVERY day!"

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Nancyg56]

Talked things over with DH last night and we've decided to not get the dining plan, eat primarily CS meals unless we do a character meal for the little ones, and just let them order and eat (or not eat) as they wish. None of them are big eaters and I don't expect the 17 year old will even finish a kids meal BUT I plan to make this trip as stress free as any trip with four girls can possibly be.

DH and I have already experienced every dining venue that we've wanted and I anticipate the kids are going to be more interested in the parks than the food. None of them are early risers, so showing up at rope drop just isn't going to happen this trip and the six year old usually crashes early. I don't think we are going want to spend our somewhat limited Disney time sitting in a restaurant for a couple of hours every day.

I appreciate all the input I've received on this thread. It's been a valuable help in the decision-making process. This trip is going to be a surprise for them all until we get to the airport. They love when Papa takes them on a 'prise lol.

BTW, Papa and the little one were siting on the couch last night watching tv and Perry the Platypus (Phinneas and Pherb) went down a tree slide and she said she said she wanted to do that. Papa told her he didn't know where that was and she looked at him and asked "Do you know where Disney World is? I've NEVER been to Disney World!" Papa just looked at me and smiled.

You make my heart sing!!! My DH (Pa to my DGD and Budman to our little Princesses on our street) also surprises our girls, and they love it! Their sincere wish is to surprise him!

 

[wilkeliza]

Just another tip @Vijoge, if the girls like fruit as a snack (grapes or apple slices) and you are afraid they won't finish a meal then have them order Kid's Meals at any CS meal you go to. Most of them have a kiddie version of the adult meals and you can get fruit as your side and a smaller drink. I do this every trip and just toss the fruit baggie in my bag for later. So in line if I get hungry I have the grape or apple slices ready to go. It works great and prevents the food loss you are worried about. I believe you can sub the side of an adult entree for fruit as well but I barely finish a kid's meal so am not sure how I would be able to finish an adult meal but will order them if it is something I really want. If the kid's meal has 2 sides posted (so says you get fries and fruit) you can ask for double fruit.

 

[married2mm]

Talked things over with DH last night and we've decided to not get the dining plan, eat primarily CS meals unless we do a character meal for the little ones, and just let them order and eat (or not eat) as they wish. None of them are big eaters and I don't expect the 17 year old will even finish a kids meal BUT I plan to make this trip as stress free as any trip with four girls can possibly be.

DH and I have already experienced every dining venue that we've wanted and I anticipate the kids are going to be more interested in the parks than the food. None of them are early risers, so showing up at rope drop just isn't going to happen this trip and the six year old usually crashes early. I don't think we are going want to spend our somewhat limited Disney time sitting in a restaurant for a couple of hours every day.

I appreciate all the input I've received on this thread. It's been a valuable help in the decision-making process. This trip is going to be a surprise for them all until we get to the airport. They love when Papa takes them on a 'prise lol.

BTW, Papa and the little one were siting on the couch last night watching tv and Perry the Platypus (Phinneas and Pherb) went down a tree slide and she said she said she wanted to do that. Papa told her he didn't know where that was and she looked at him and asked "Do you know where Disney World is? I've NEVER been to Disney World!" Papa just looked at me and smiled.

This just melts my heart.
How wonderful.
What an amazing time you'll all have.
And I love p&f-especially Candace ..

Btw-we've stayed in both lion king and cars suites & loved them both.
The attention to detail is just incredible& totally current with the new lion king show.

Regards food-I don't eat much & a kids meal is often too much for me-others in our party make up for me though.
I would buy a gift card as others have previously suggested & simply stick all meals on there & (if there's a balance remaining) buy treats at the end of your trip.

 

[cruisingkat]

Regardless, to have a great trip with your grands, I'd plan to allow them to all order their own meal & let them order what they want. You don't want to plan an expensive trip & have it ruined by making them share &/or order things they don't want. All they'll remember is going to restaurants & eating (fill in the blank) that they didn't want, but grandma/grandpa made them order it to save money. You want them to remember all the amazing things that will happen on the trip. If purchasing DDP is the only way to assure they can order what they want at all the restaurants you choose, by all means purchase the DDP. Alternatively, choose restaurants where all of them can order individual meals of their choosing & stay in your price range.

We have 4 children (now grown with children of their own) and when we traveled, it was always on a tight budget as I was a stay at home mom - souvenirs were maybe a t-shirt. We only went took them to Disney World once (in the late 80's) and we camped at a KOA in a tent in summer. We camped all over the country and the kids were in 20 states by the time the youngest was 8. Do they remember our budget restrictions? Maybe right after the trips, but as they grew into adulthood the answer would be NO! - they remember and still talk about the time I slept in a car because a snake crawled in a tree above our tent, the time we drove through Valley Forge 8 times because DH kept missing the exit, looking for sharks teeth on the beach in Venice, FL and younger ones tossing chips on their eldest sister so the gulls would swoop in on her, learning to twist pretzels and getting certificates as pretzel twisters in Pennsylvania, having American history come alive by seeing the historical sights in Massachusetts.
At Disney, their fondest memories are getting stuck on the Great Movie Ride in front of Casablanca (they still recite the lines), riding on the Skyway above Magic Kingdom, riding Small World over and over never having to get out of the boat because of the low number of people in line. Do they remember that we limited what they could order for meals? Not a bit.
My memories of my grandparents are the times we spent together - my grandparents taking me mushroom hunting, my grandmother teaching me to cook, the wonderful food my grandmother made, the love they had for me - not the times that they told me no.
So do what is best for your budget, your grandchildren's memories will be the great times they spent with you.

 

[Nancyg56]

We have 4 children (now grown with children of their own) and when we traveled, it was always on a tight budget as I was a stay at home mom - souvenirs were maybe a t-shirt. We only went took them to Disney World once (in the late 80's) and we camped at a KOA in a tent in summer. We camped all over the country and the kids were in 20 states by the time the youngest was 8. Do they remember our budget restrictions? Maybe right after the trips, but as they grew into adulthood the answer would be NO! - they remember and still talk about the time I slept in a car because a snake crawled in a tree above our tent, the time we drove through Valley Forge 8 times because DH kept missing the exit, looking for sharks teeth on the beach in Venice, FL and younger ones tossing chips on their eldest sister so the gulls would swoop in on her, learning to twist pretzels and getting certificates as pretzel twisters in Pennsylvania, having American history come alive by seeing the historical sights in Massachusetts.
At Disney, their fondest memories are getting stuck on the Great Movie Ride in front of Casablanca (they still recite the lines), riding on the Skyway above Magic Kingdom, riding Small World over and over never having to get out of the boat because of the low number of people in line. Do they remember that we limited what they could order for meals? Not a bit.
My memories of my grandparents are the times we spent together - my grandparents taking me mushroom hunting, my grandmother teaching me to cook, the wonderful food my grandmother made, the love they had for me - not the times that they told me no.
So do what is best for your budget, your grandchildren's memories will be the great times they spent with you.

I agree.

I posted earlier about the chocolate chip pancakes, but I left out the way my DH and I planned meals. DH likes a "real" breakfast, and back almost 30 years ago, that meal alone was running us $30 to $40 for the 6 if us. We talked about having cereal and milk in the room, but DH said he did not want that, and he would not give it to the kids, and then have breakfast, so we all went out. By the time we got to Disney, food was YIKES! But we were on a vacation, and back then, the food in Disney was "baskets" which included a hot dog hamburger, fries and a beverage. DH is 6'6" and built like Paul Bunyan, and we had his teen aged nephew with us who was a weight lifter and burned calories like sawdust in a fire. The number of baskets No substitution...you got the whole thing.....was a lot, and then the dinner shows at night, character meals on the Empress Lily, and our food budget was climbing! Well we took them to the Top of the World for Brunch as a final nice meal, and that was something we had never seen before. Omelet and waffle stations, fruit bowls, pastry etc! Go for it kids! They only ate Rice Krispies and milk...you know those little cardboard boxes that turned into bowls????? I thought my DH was going to kill them all. 10 days of full breakfasts, lunch and dinners, anything they seemed to want, and the little dickens' wanted cereal in cardboard!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So the kids remembered the pancakes as their favorite, and 30 years later Buddy and I still remember this! LOL! Turns out you can feed em anything, they don't care. We should have bought a bunch of those variety packs and set them free, left them with the 17 YO a few times and escaped to a champagne brunch just for us.

 

[Vijoge]

Just another tip @Vijoge, if the girls like fruit as a snack (grapes or apple slices) and you are afraid they won't finish a meal

When we take the 5 y/o out to eat 90% of the time she orders the same thing. . .broccoli, banana slices, and grapes, with chocolate milk. The other times she alternates between pancakes or spaghetti or chicken.

 

[married2mm]

We were on vacation once and it was cold & rained & rained heavy our last day.
We were kind of in the middle of nowhere...

We decided to have a 'party' with the food we had in the apartment-predominantly chocolate.
Many, many years later our trip is known as the chocolate party.

 

[Vijoge]

When we take the 5 y/o out to eat 90% of the time she orders the same thing. . .broccoli, banana slices, and grapes, with chocolate milk. The other times she alternates between pancakes or spaghetti or chicken.

 

[Vijoge]

OMG why is that so big????

 

[Nancyg56]

OMG why is that so big????

Because it takes all that room to capture all of her cuteness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a Sweetie!

 

[married2mm]

I would eat this delightful combo (minus the chocolate milk)

 

[2binak]

Just another tip @Vijoge, if the girls like fruit as a snack (grapes or apple slices) and you are afraid they won't finish a meal then have them order Kid's Meals at any CS meal you go to. Most of them have a kiddie version of the adult meals and you can get fruit as your side and a smaller drink. I do this every trip and just toss the fruit baggie in my bag for later. So in line if I get hungry I have the grape or apple slices ready to go. It works great and prevents the food loss you are worried about. I believe you can sub the side of an adult entree for fruit as well but I barely finish a kid's meal so am not sure how I would be able to finish an adult meal but will order them if it is something I really want. If the kid's meal has 2 sides posted (so says you get fries and fruit) you can ask for double fruit.

We do this with DD's kids meals. She's not really into fries so we get fruit or yogurt instead. If she gets fruit (or double fruit) and doesn't eat it, we save it for a snack later in the day.

 

[mom2my3kids]

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.

Ohhh I know I was just looking online from last year to this year and wow the price increase is sticker shock we are not going till next june 2017 so I am sure it will raise again..We mostly do QS and only a couple TS but hoping to be able to do more TS next year..Part of my problem is I don't like a schedule I like to eat when we are hungry..

 

[SouthJersey]

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. . .

Be our Guest is because you're paying a premium on the food more than anywhere else because it has the highest demand ADR of any location and guests tend to linger around longer inside, so they have to make the $ somewhere and that's by jacking up cheap items.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

That is awesome!

 

[TML2012]

Talked things over with DH last night and we've decided to not get the dining plan, eat primarily CS meals unless we do a character meal for the little ones, and just let them order and eat (or not eat) as they wish. None of them are big eaters and I don't expect the 17 year old will even finish a kids meal BUT I plan to make this trip as stress free as any trip with four girls can possibly be.

DH and I have already experienced every dining venue that we've wanted and I anticipate the kids are going to be more interested in the parks than the food. None of them are early risers, so showing up at rope drop just isn't going to happen this trip and the six year old usually crashes early. I don't think we are going want to spend our somewhat limited Disney time sitting in a restaurant for a couple of hours every day.

I appreciate all the input I've received on this thread. It's been a valuable help in the decision-making process. This trip is going to be a surprise for them all until we get to the airport. They love when Papa takes them on a 'prise lol.

BTW, Papa and the little one were siting on the couch last night watching tv and Perry the Platypus (Phinneas and Pherb) went down a tree slide and she said she said she wanted to do that. Papa told her he didn't know where that was and she looked at him and asked "Do you know where Disney World is? I've NEVER been to Disney World!" Papa just looked at me and smiled.

I don't think you will regret paying out of pocket since one of your top concerns was food waste. Our family has been on the regular dining plan twice and it was ALOT of food... definitely more than we needed.

I hope your family has a great vacation! It is so nice to hear about kids being able to enjoy time with their grandparents. There is nothing like that special grandparent/grandchild bond

 

[Luvamouse]

I'll be one more person to chime in on the value (or not) of the DDP. We have been 7 times now in recent years (read "since the inception of the DDP"). Starting with our first, and what DH thought would be our only, WDW trip , I priced out the DDP against every menu for every TS ADR we had as well as the CS we expected to visit in each park. No seriously, I have over 25 word doc's and several spreadsheets from our 2007 trip alone, although all are not revolving around dining. I considered the fact that we rarely eat dessert, that in 2007 it included an appetizer and dessert I believe, and that it was way more food than we'd ever consume. And then ride rides. Now, the real reasoning I started avoiding the DDP for was the time factor. While we did go to all those TS, and we change it up each trip- maybe some TS, few TS or few TS-- we know that TS meals slow up our ride opportunities. With what we pay to go to the parks, we don't want to feel obligated to use the TS because it's prepaid. Prior to needing to guarantee an ADR with a CC, we could cancel on the fly if it didn't suit. Even now, I can change my plans the day before. Long story short, year 1 we chose not to do DDP and charged every single item to the room. (And that's when you look and think, did we really eat so often?? So much stuff??) After we got home I went over the room charge printout/bill and analyzed every receipt (I'm sorry if I sound uptight because I'm not, I am just such a numbers junkie ) and discovered that we saved about $200 over the course of the 10 day trip. But what we actually got included all tips, a couple of souvenir popcorn buckets and drink cups and ALL our tips. So the reality was we saved much more.

Since then, on each subsequent trip we charged every single item to the room and everyone orders what they wish. In the end we actually get less food than the DDP would offer for most meals, but we are never hungry and have snacks and buy waters, etc. in the parks. On top of that we never have to worry about what is included in the meals when doing CS. And yes, being the numbers nerd I am I have done an analysis each time of what we spent vs what DDP would cost. Each year we have saved at least 10%, and even nearly 20%, over the cost of the DDP and that is not considering the beer or two a day for DH and the tips that are included in the room charge. I am always amazed to be honest.

As with everything, it is entirely up to the user and all we can do is let others know what our experience was. But for the OP, I think she may come out ahead of the game by choosing the restaurants wisely after viewing the menus. I also love the idea someone had of letting each girl chose 1 restaurant, or 4 for them total, because perhaps group effort there is smart so that everyone has at least one item on the menu they'd order. Charging to the room is easier than using the DDP, it simply isn't paid up front. With the exception of the MIL who would choose the cheapest item, and I completely respect both parties in that scenario, just acknowledge to your guests/kids/grandkids that WDW dining is pricey, so get what you enjoy. I'd rather my DD eat and love a $30 steak that hate a $12 steamed burger because it's cheaper.

OP, you are an awesome Grandma to do that for your girls! Have a wonderful time and above all, enjoy!