On DXDP, 3 meals/day-how to schedule?

[frannn]

DH would prefer me not to schedule any meals on departure day, which leaves me with 5 out of 10 nights with 3 meals/day. The other nights I have signature dining & shows. What are the best times to schedule B, L, and D so that we can get to the park early (bus and car) but still do some things in between? It'll be me, DH, and DD5. I was thinking 8:30, 1/1:30, and 6:30/7. Maybe I'm better off with earlier dinners for more park time, or a tiny bit later? I'd like to avoid CS if possible. If we have any leftover credits, we'd probably do CS on departure day.

 

[patsal]

You're going when parks stay open really late. I'd plan my late dinners 8pm ish and plan on heading back to the park that has PM EMH to enjoy a few other things before calling it a night. If you eat any earlier it will cut into your lunch time and you'll feel like you are running from lunch to dinner and you may not want to eat dinner so much because of the heat. With DXDDP you have the three course meal, eating another 3 course meal in three or four hours may not be comfortable. If you have an early breakfast--try for first seating, have lunch at 1pm and dinner at 8pm youll have nearly the whole morning and a good stretch of time between lunch an ddinner to enjoy the parks.

 

[janets]

Is there a reason DH doesn't want anything scheduled your departure day? Are you leaving particularly early? We've always found that having a nice sit down breakfast on our last day helps us to say goodbye in a fun way. If you're leaving a bit later, then schedule a breakfast like 'Ohana so that you can head over, eat and head out. That eliminates 1 credit from your group.

As for the other days, the only way would be to eat an early breakfast (maybe 7:30-8), the put lunch around 1-1:30 and push dinner to 7:30-8. Considering your daughter is only 5, will she be okay eating dinner that late? I know my 5.5 yo wouldn't do well waiting that late into the evening to eat.

If you're only doing 5 signature meals/shows, are you sure that DxDDP is the right choice for you? Just a thought to run your numbers and be sure you're actually saving by purchasing it.

 

[frannn]

I thought an early character meal in MK, then a few rides would be a nice last day, but DH wants to be sure we get to the airport nice & early, and he thinks we won't have enough time in the AM to get our luggage down, etc if we plan a meal. That's ok, I'd rather be guaranteed a couple rides & Philharmagic. We're only doing the DXDP this time because we just have to pay the difference between this & the reg DP- we booked the bounceback promo. I like having appetizers and want to try the dinner shows for the first time. I also would like to do CRT after BBB with DD5. Part of my fave parts of our annual WDW treks are the meals and the shopping (need to cut down!). I need to find a way that we can have a nice balance of eating and riding, without DH and DD5 getting cranky and exhausted. The good news is that all the most popular thrill rides with the long lines give me motion sickness, so I stay away. Last year, I took DD on Ellen's while DH rode MS-worked out great!

 

[mickeysgirl17]

When you have 3 meals per day, I'd do a very late dinner like 8:30 or 9 since you'd probably still be full from lunch especially if one of the other meals are all you can eat or buffets. Of course, this only works if there are no very young children with you.

 

[janets]

I thought an early character meal in MK, then a few rides would be a nice last day, but DH wants to be sure we get to the airport nice & early, and he thinks we won't have enough time in the AM to get our luggage down, etc if we plan a meal. That's ok, I'd rather be guaranteed a couple rides & Philharmagic. We're only doing the DXDP this time because we just have to pay the difference between this & the reg DP- we booked the bounceback promo. I like having appetizers and want to try the dinner shows for the first time. I also would like to do CRT after BBB with DD5. Part of my fave parts of our annual WDW treks are the meals and the shopping (need to cut down!). I need to find a way that we can have a nice balance of eating and riding, without DH and DD5 getting cranky and exhausted. The good news is that all the most popular thrill rides with the long lines give me motion sickness, so I stay away. Last year, I took DD on Ellen's while DH rode MS-worked out great!

If your airline participates, just give your luggage to Magical Express desk and let them get it to the airport for you. We do that all the time, never have to deal with the luggage. I guess with a late afternoon flight, I can't really understand not wanting to do an early breakfast, get a few rides in and head out. I mean, breakfast at 8, then rides at around 9:15-9:30 and out to the airport around lunchtime. Plenty of time to get the bags to the counter if you ask me. I've been known to leave around 1 for a 3:30 flight out. I just don't do 3 hours early at the airport, but understand the issues with security at MCO.