Making the most out of the DxDP

[Masonmj84]

If I want to go on the DxDP with two meals a day, one being a signature dinner, is it a better strategy to:

(A) have the other meal every day as a character breakfast (using snack credits as a light lunch);

(B) have the other meal every day as a sit down lunch (using a snack credit or two for breakfast); or

(C) have a mix of character breakfasts and sit down lunches on different days (i.e., alternate A and B).

My concern with plan A is that the character breakfast thing may seem a bit played after a couple days (in addition to missing out on some interesting lunch options).

My concern with plans B or C is that we won’t be hungry enough for dinner (even if lunch is booked early). In addition, plan B may not be as fun for kids.

What would you suggest? Does time of our visit matter (warmer or cooler weather, crowds, etc.)? How much of a difference does it make if we’re visiting with kids under 9 as opposed to going without kids?

 

[Cafeen]

If I want to go on the DxDP with two meals a day, one being a signature dinner, is it a better strategy to:

(A) have the other meal every day as a character breakfast (using snack credits as a light lunch);

(B) have the other meal every day as a sit down lunch (using a snack credit or two for breakfast); or

(C) have a mix of character breakfasts and sit down lunches on different days (i.e., alternate A and B).

My concern with plan A is that the character breakfast thing may seem a bit played after a couple days (in addition to missing out on some interesting lunch options).

My concern with plans B or C is that we won’t be hungry enough for dinner (even if lunch is booked early). In addition, plan B may not be as fun for kids.

What would you suggest? Does time of our visit matter (warmer or cooler weather, crowds, etc.)? How much of a difference does it make if we’re visiting with kids under 9 as opposed to going without kids?

Mix it up is my suggestion. Also consider some non-character breakfasts (e.g. Kona, Boma... um... well, just those two ).

On the days with the breakfasts, book the earlier dinners (5-5:30pm or so). On the days with the lunches, book later dinners (7-8pm or so). Book the lunches for between 11:30 and 12:30 or so and you should be fine.

As far as the variations, not really. Slower times mean shorter hours, which may allow you to experience the full hours of a park and then eat, but that's about it. Kids, if they're good with sitting down then again not really. If they aren't then I'd reconsider. Remember that all meals take at least 60 minutes on average from the time you sit to the time you pay with the signatures able to take up more time than that (mine were about the same last year, but I was solo so it's not like I needed a long relaxing, conversation-filled meal )

 

[nkereina]

Some will say that breakfasts are not the best value on the deluxe dining plan because you do not get an appetizer or dessert as you would at lunch or dinner. Therefore, it is cheaper to pay OOP as the credit does not equal the price you would pay OOP. A buffet may be a different story, depending on the cost of it. I wouldn't do more than one or two character breakfasts - they all have the same foods, can be crowded, and some have the same characters. You could do an early lunch - 11:30 or 12ish, and then a later dinner like 7ish. That kind of spacing works for us when we do DxDP. The time you go doesn't really matter although a lot of people say they eat less when it's hot and DxDP is too much food for them. Also, if you are going when free dining is offered, the restaurants get crowded which may limit the ADR times you can get, which could affect your lunch/dinner spacing. Also - if you are interested in Le Cellier, try to get a lunch ADR for them. Similar menu but only 1 TS credit PP at lunch so it saves you one

 

[beautyqueen]

We are going in Feb on DxDDP, it will be just me and three of my kids, (oldest three) and we have only lunch and dinner ADR's, like a pp said, our ADR times are early lunches 12:00 or so and then later dinners around 7-8, we did it this way mostly because we don't eat a lot of breakfasts ever.

 

[Faldred]

Yeah, if going with 2 meals a day on DxDP (including a signature or other 2 credit meal), the best bet is typically a late breakfast or early lunch followed by a later dinner. You've got plenty of snacks to tide you over if necessary.

If you really want an early breakfast, schedule an earlier dinner and/or use those snacks on more filling items as the need arises.

 

[Colleen27]

We used to change it up between the two when the kids were younger, but over the years we've sort of lost interest in character meals and never much liked buffets to begin with. Now we mostly book lunches & dinners... I don't think we have a single character meal in the line up for Nov and we only had two in March.

It is easier to get a good breakfast with snack credits than a good lunch, but neither is especially difficult if you pop over to the snack sticky and familiarize yourself with what is available.

As long as you allow 6+ hours between meals not being hungry shouldn't be an issue. We have a lot of 11:30-12 lunches and followed by dinners around 6-7 and that works well for us.

 

[Saratoga Springs Tom]

This will be our second time on the DxDP. We are going for two meals a day, breakfast and Signature Dinners. Will use our snack credits for holding us over till dinner at 5. Three meals a day was too much, so we are going to try this approach for this trip. We do not dine out often during the year so being able to hit the Signature Dining restaurants for us is a real treat. We have our ADR's done and have a bit of flexibility built in just in case. We will see how this works for us this time around and adjust accordingly for future visits...

 

[KateB]

DH and I have ALWAYS done DxDP and we usually grab a snack for breakfast. Then we do the earliest lunch time and then a later dinner. After all the walking at the parks you aren't starving but the signature dinner makes it worth it. On our honeymoon we did mix it up a bit we were at WDW for 8 day s and we did 3 character breakfasts and the rest of the days we did snack breakfast and sit down lunch. I personally think it was harder to eat a regular breakfast and skip lunch. We were both kinda sleepy after the buffet breakfast versus our normal yogurt parfait.