Pay for child under 3 on DP.

[MSSANDRA]

I can not image a one year old eating enough, or even eating the kids type meals to make it worth buying anything. There really is not...."too spicy" for a baby and they may handle that as well, if not better than hot dogs and fries. We always do the dinning plan and my DS who has still 5 last trip almost always shared my food instead of eating the kids food.

I would not count on not being charged for anything you get for your baby but you might not be. You can ask nicely if you could maybe get a baked potato for you little one and they may not charge you. You could also carry a few items with you to supplement your child's meal as needed.

Remember you may not want to introduce anything new to your baby on vacation that she has not already had. We are an allergy family and I can tell you it is no fun to discovery a new allergy in a restaurant away from home.

 

[Tiger926]

I can not image a one year old eating enough, or even eating the kids type meals to make it worth buying anything. There really is not...."too spicy" for a baby and they may handle that as well, if not better than hot dogs and fries. We always do the dinning plan and my DS who has still 5 last trip almost always shared my food instead of eating the kids food.

I would not count on not being charged for anything you get for your baby but you might not be. You can ask nicely if you could maybe get a baked potato for you little one and they may not charge you. You could also carry a few items with you to supplement your child's meal as needed.

Remember you may not want to introduce anything new to your baby on vacation that she has not already had. We are an allergy family and I can tell you it is no fun to discovery a new allergy in a restaurant away from home.

Totally agree! Our babies were exclusively breastfed for 6 months, with small introductions of gentle foods, so at age 1, they weren't eating much. Both of our babies went on their first WDW trips at 10 and 11 months of age, and they ate simple and basic foods: soup, applesauce, bread, steamed rice.

We don't eat fast food, so my kids are little foodies, but many of the kids' meals are processed foods, so I can't imagine a 1 year old baby eating this type of food whatsoever, but OP must know what her baby normally eats? Can't imagine a baby eating snack foods either to make the DP worth it.

As others have said, buffets will give food, and if not you can share, or purchase maybe some soup or sides like steamed rice or bread.

OP knows her baby best, but I wouldn't think this scenario would be financially worth it, nor dietarly worth it either.

Best of luck, OP! Tiger

 

[patsal]

I'm in the not worth it crowd. What a 1 year old can eat will be minimal and cost very little. Go a la carte and you will find the things that she will be able to eat bare very little charge. DD's first trip she was 18 months old. At non-buffets she was $5 or under for each place we visited...chicken noodle soup, grilled cheese, pasta with butter or a bit of sauce, everything else easily came off of adult plates. I always carried cheerios and a toddler meal in my bag in case she was fussy or just sleeping while we were eating.

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

We went to Disney in December and DS was 20 months old. We ordered him meals at the TS restaurants and he didn't eat at all. He snacked a lot but would not eat at the restaurants. He ate randomly through the whole trip. For example, at the Mexican restaurant he would only eat the complimentary chips. He didn't eat at all at the character buffets as he was too excited. Then one night we ate at Be Our Guest but of course he didn't. However, after dinner he saw chicken nuggets at a quick service location and wanted them. For some reason the trip changed his eating habits. At home he is good eater but I think the excitement of it all effects their appetite. And so I wouldn't suggest getting the dining plan for a child that young.

 

[LSchrow]

we haven't used the DDP in a while (last was when they allowed DVC to have DDP for only part of stay).
i wonder if you would have a problem using a child credit for an infant that is obviously not close to being 3yo (i can see the assumption being that it would be another guest's credit, and disallowed - and how would one prove otherwise? )
another thing to consider: since the system will need to age her 2 years, will you have need to pay for the adult DDP when she is 7 and 8yo, as she will show as 9/10yo?

i agree with PPs that just paying OOP for non-buffets (where she would be free) would most likely cost less, and be healthier than using the child DDP.

 

[auralia]

They did it for my son no problem this December. We were dvc staying on points using military tickets.

 

[blessedby3]

I also would not pay for a 1 yr old to have the dining plan. I cant imagine a 1 yr old eating enough to warrant that. Our youngest dd is 5 now, but on our trip when she was 3 1/2 we had free dining. She never ate a whole meal herself. She always shared with someone else and we used her credits for breakfasts for the rest of us. (we had CS plan)
I would place an order with Garden Grocer for some favorite foods for your child, or order a side off the menu and skip the dining plan cost for your dd.

 

[3pletprincesses]

I wouldn't add her to the plan. I would pay OOP for something if need be. You will probably find that you will be able to share most of your meals with her or order a side for her. My 9 month ols barely eats now and I can't see her eating all that much when she will be a year old. I think a side of veggies and a few pieces of our meat will be more then plenty for he when we go in AUgust. She will be 16 months then.

 

[pocomom]

On our last trip I didn't even get my three year old his own meals - except maybe once or twice. He just can't eat that much of it in one sitting, and is used to at least one morning and one afternoon snack. Instead I carried lots of little guy friendly foods- cut up fruit, cereal, cheese sticks yogurt tubes, half a pb&j sandwhich -I grabbed a variety each morning and we were good to go. Sometimes he would share with some or all of us at the restuarants, sometimes I got him a side to go with his other snacks but either way it was really minimal costs to keep him fed and happy!
At one my kids were still nursing once or twice a day and eating cherrios, little cut up fruit and veggies and bites of whatever mom was having, and they neded to eat way more then our 3 times a day, so I HAD to bring snacks. I would say save the expense, bring some snacks, share, and occassionally buy her an extra fruit cup or yogurt or something and you'll be fine.

 

[hsmamato2]

why would you prepay an extra 30.00 for food you're not sure you'll need? it seems to me that the better idea is to feed her off your plates as you,unless you go to the odd meal where you order her some little thing of her own(which she won't finish b/c she's 1) which may end up costing you an extra 5.00 at most? (think about it, if she won't eat the fries off your plate,will she eat a giant cheeseburger of her own?)
You could get her a side of fruit,or fries at most,and let her nibble bits of yours,I don't know any 1 year old who needs more than that...bring or buy her a banana for snacks,or a p.b. and j sandwich....I brought snacks for the kids when they were that age,and they picked their way through everything else

 

[hsmamato2]

They did it for my son no problem this December. We were dvc staying on points using military tickets.

Oh, I think they'll add it, but again,why waste the money?

 

[4HppyCamprs]

I understand the temptation to purchase food but add me to the camp that just doesn't think the dining plan for a infant is worth it. We chose to pay out of pocket our last trip because DS3 would have required a dining plan purchase if the rest of us did and it was not worth it for him, he just doesn't eat consistently enough to make it worth it. OOP if he doesn't feel like eating we are not losing anything. Prepaid you have a credit sitting there that will need to be used somehow somewhere or you will be out the money. It is a small amount of money overall but it is most definitely tied to eating at that point. My 18 month old never gets her own meals because she just doesn't eat that much. We all share with her. I might as well add that overall I am not a fan of the dining plan anymore so I may be biased. We are going OOP this next trip as well.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Sorry but i dont think it makes any sense at all to add your infant to the DP. Honestly, just pay out of pocket. At buffets, she will "eat off your plate" (which means you can still get her a plate of her own). At TS restaurants, you can get her a kids meal if you dont think she'll pick at what you ordered. Why waste money on the DP?

 

[Marionnette]

Well, if we're all going to poo-poo the OP's plans, then why do the dining plan at all? In my experience, it's not a money-saver, but that doesn't mean that I won't help someone figure out a way to do it if that's what they want.

If she has done the math and feels that it will be more cost effective for HER to buy the dining plan for her youngest, then that's up to her. Perhaps no one has considered that the OP may decide to use the baby's additional dining credits to divide among the older children for QS breakfasts or other TS meals (signature dining?) if she doesn't have the appetite they expected?

 

[4HppyCamprs]

Well, if we're all going to poo-poo the OP's plans, then why do the dining plan at all? In my experience, it's not a money-saver, but that doesn't mean that I won't help someone figure out a way to do it if that's what they want.

If she has done the math and feels that it will be more cost effective for HER to buy the dining plan for her youngest, then that's up to her. Perhaps no one has considered that the OP may decide to use the baby's additional dining credits to divide among the older children for QS breakfasts or other TS meals (signature dining?) if she doesn't have the appetite they expected?

She asked for opinions on the budget board. If she wants to do it her way nobody here will be able to tell her differently. In my opinion it doesn't make sense budget wise. If she doesn't want honest opinions from strangers then perhaps she should place this on another board that is not tied to budgeting (perhaps family) or just do what she wants without asking opinions.

 

[Jenny3]

I wouldn't do it. We rented DVC points last year and my son was just over 2 at the time of our trip. The food portions on the DDP are so large, it was very easy for him to share off our plates (3 adults, 1 child on the plan). We also had groceries delivered to our room and were sure to keep plenty of snacks, PB&Js and other treats for him in my backpack. Between all that - plus the occasional purchased snack - he was completely content

 

[hsmamato2]

Well, if we're all going to poo-poo the OP's plans, then why do the dining plan at all? In my experience, it's not a money-saver, but that doesn't mean that I won't help someone figure out a way to do it if that's what they want.

If she has done the math and feels that it will be more cost effective for HER to buy the dining plan for her youngest, then that's up to her. Perhaps no one has considered that the OP may decide to use the baby's additional dining credits to divide among the older children for QS breakfasts or other TS meals (signature dining?) if she doesn't have the appetite they expected?

because it sounds like OP doesn't have a realistic grasp of eating at WDW with a baby...and she asked. so we're here,giving our real world opinions...which all seem to say the same thing pretty much,don't worry about it,or waste your money... pay as you go and as needed is much smarter budget wise.

 

[sweetdana]

I can not image a one year old eating enough, or even eating the kids type meals to make it worth buying anything. There really is not...."too spicy" for a baby and they may handle that as well, if not better than hot dogs and fries. We always do the dinning plan and my DS who has still 5 last trip almost always shared my food instead of eating the kids food.

I would not count on not being charged for anything you get for your baby but you might not be. You can ask nicely if you could maybe get a baked potato for you little one and they may not charge you. You could also carry a few items with you to supplement your child's meal as needed.

Remember you may not want to introduce anything new to your baby on vacation that she has not already had. We are an allergy family and I can tell you it is no fun to discovery a new allergy in a restaurant away from home.

I think not introducing would be tough, but certainly would do my best to avoid. I would still give her say pasta from tony's .. but they may have a new spice we don't use at home. I wouldn't do hot dogs or fries ect. but I wouldn't give her hot dogs here either. . Part of the reason to not share with her sis would be, DD8 eats chicken fingers n grapes n yogurt a bunch there, and she would need her own meal, wouldn't eat grapes due to skin, and I would want her own yogurt.

I think that is a great idea.. sides of items at TS places.. she would eat things like bananas, and potatoes, and fruit cups, yogurts, possible side of toast/bread/rolls, green beans, ect but may not even need the grilled cheese at that time.


I think I am going to re-look at TIW based on this is a great point.. I might order something, but not a whole meal.. She is also not on milk so she would only food not drinks.

 

[sweetdana]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marionnette View Post
Well, if we're all going to poo-poo the OP's plans, then why do the dining plan at all? In my experience, it's not a money-saver, but that doesn't mean that I won't help someone figure out a way to do it if that's what they want.

If she has done the math and feels that it will be more cost effective for HER to buy the dining plan for her youngest, then that's up to her. Perhaps no one has considered that the OP may decide to use the baby's additional dining credits to divide among the older children for QS breakfasts or other TS meals (signature dining?) if she doesn't have the appetite they expected?

because it sounds like OP doesn't have a realistic grasp of eating at WDW with a baby...and she asked. so we're here,giving our real world opinions...which all seem to say the same thing pretty much,don't worry about it,or waste your money... pay as you go and as needed is much smarter budget wise.

I have after reading all the responses.. think I am going to re-look at TIW (or pay cash OOP) with the added cost of aprox 50$ for her, and see if it makes sense..

She won't drink the beverages, but might get say a side of cottage cheese, and a side of green beans for dinner, and then share say our potato /vegi/pasta we get too.. (at TS places.. ) some will be buffet so those will be free, but others we will just order stuff there.

I think I will still spend a few $$ at most of our QS places, and/or change 1 of our orders to assist her. I also have baby food to bring to supplement. (but I'd rather give her real squash instead of jarred.. but .. I will willing give her jarred over.. say fries.)

PS You can poo -poo all you want.. I am down to the 30 day and leaving window.. you cannot ruin my day if you tried... But for real, I am glad I got my answers it was exactly EXACTLY what I was looking for.. EVEN If it "poo pooed " on my DP addition HA HA!

 

[Deb & Bill]

I have after reading all the responses.. think I am going to re-look at TIW (or pay cash OOP) with the added cost of aprox 50$ for her, and see if it makes sense..

She won't drink the beverages, but might get say a side of cottage cheese, and a side of green beans for dinner, and then share say our potato /vegi/pasta we get too.. (at TS places.. ) some will be buffet so those will be free, but others we will just order stuff there.

I think I will still spend a few $$ at most of our QS places, and/or change 1 of our orders to assist her. I also have baby food to bring to supplement. (but I'd rather give her real squash instead of jarred.. but .. I will willing give her jarred over.. say fries.)

PS You can poo -poo all you want.. I am down to the 30 day and leaving window.. you cannot ruin my day if you tried... But for real, I am glad I got my answers it was exactly EXACTLY what I was looking for.. EVEN If it "poo pooed " on my DP addition HA HA!

Sweetdana, enjoy your stay no matter what you decide.