Question for Parents: Did your kids utelize the dining plan and would you do it again

[Grendalynn]

I am booking our vacation tomorrow. No matter what. I keep calculating and recaluculating our options - what will save us the most money, what is most practical and where do I get the best discount .... I am now holding off because I am apprehensive about booking with dining or without dining.... DH says No Way to the DDP! I say Yes way -I think??! Are we really wanting to sit down every day at a fancy meal in a restaurant? Or will it be easier to just fly by the seat of our pants?? What will the kids really allow us to do?

I would love to hear from families who have done the dining plan with kids similar in ages to my boys and what you thought of the experience... Worth it not worth it? And is it worth booking a room only ressie with the AAA discount and avoid the meal plan all together? I could save 20-30% to put toward our food expenses -is the meal deal that worth it??

I have called Disney Travel a few times and get differet views from each CM I speak to... Is it worth the extra $$ or not? Will we eat $39.99 a day worth of food, every day or just on soem days? Are we better off to pay for things out of our pocket? We def. plan to do some dinner/character shows and fun meals like Whispering Canyon. Our boys will be 5, 8 and 18 months when go. DS1 will be a picker and not on the plan... he will eat off our plates. I am not worried about the money, but more the money we could be wasting if we didnt fully utelize the plan. I dont think that we would be up for a sit down meal every day, nor would the kids. I think they would get sick of it pretty quickly or we will be just too busy! I think I am repeating myself, I am going to go and wait for some responses to help sway my descision one way or another....

 

[Whosemom]

I'm anxious for your answers, too. We actually have an 12 yo picky eater, so we decided to skip it, but I still don't know if it was the right choice. TS is nice, but I think with my 12, 9 and 7 yo, we will want to run like the wind. If your 5yo still benefits from a nap, I would lean toward doing it with your kids ages. When ours were littler, those TS late lunch/early dinners really could make the day. Of course, we've never gone back to the room for a break. If you do that then, .

 

[dismom9761]

I say DDP if you are planning on doing many character meals/buffets.I am too tired to look up prices but compare where you think you will eat versus the DDP.One character meal for a child is something like $17.99.That alone is more than the dining plan and you still get a CS and snack.I love the DDP but I am also getting it free for the first time in 12 days. I jsy think for your kids ages it would be a good choice.

 

[disney_family_1247]

We had the dining plan on our trip last year because of the free offer. Our kids were 6, 3, and 3 months. We're doing it for free again this September.

I would not pay extra for the plan. Our 3 year old is picky and was super bored having to sit at restaraunts so much. We usually eat counter service meals with one character meal per trip. It sometimes felt like we were being driven by the reservations, and we are used to going at our own pace. I tried to make this year's reservations more carefully. It takes a huge chunk of your day. We had a great time because all of the food was free; we didn't feel bad having a taste of dessert if we were too full to eat the whole thing. If we had paid for the plan, I think we would have been trying to eat way too much to get our money's worth

I guess my basic message is free food=good while paying for the dining plan and making your trip super structured=bad. Although it musn't have been too bad since we are doing it again

 

[LJRJR]

I would get the DDP for the family, we do, my children are DD7, DS5 & DS3. I would probably almost spend $10 per day on snacks for the kids let alone feeding them, and they have to eat something, even if it is cereal for breakfast. If you are going to do some character meals, it is definatley worth it, and then even if the rest are counter service, I think you might be able to use your table service meals for counter service (but you would have to double check on that). I think that the DDP plan, in the end provides more than enough food for the family, we were always splitting a lunch or breakfast between the kids or between my DH& myself and then using the unused meal credit for a late afternoon snack for the kids (such as a chicken finger meal at the resort split between the 3 late in the afternoon), however I really do believe that it does save money in the end. Remember that gratuities are included in that price so, when you are at a table service meal, it saves you that much more. Good luck!

 

[RIDisneyFan]

We've gotten the DDP free the last two years. We decided if we went again, we would pay for it - it's definitely worth it for me, DH, DD7, and DD9. We've done 2 character meals each time we've gone, plus a nice dinner at LeCellier (in my opinion the best 1 credit meal at WDW!). My DD9 is kind of a picky eater, but still eats enough to make the plan worth it, and DD7 definitely eats enough to make it worthwhile. I like the idea of having our meals prepaid; I don't have to worry about how much money to bring for food. And when the kids ask for a snack (like a Mickey bar ) I let them get one as long as they still have snack credits left (we keep track of how many each person in our family uses).

 

[belle&beast]

We will be using the DDP fot the second time in December with our kids. The first time, DS was only 2, so he just ate off our plates and DD was 4. We are using it again for a number of reasons: we like the convenience of our meals being paid for, we are able to try restaurants we would otherwise probably not try, we are going to lots of character meals and it more than makes up for the cost of them OOP. Last time we traveled in January and only bought one snack the whole time. We really found that it was plenty of food for our family along with granola bars and quick things like that for breakfast.

All this being said, this will probably be our last time using the DDP. I am not impressed witht he changes for 2008. The cost went down very minimally, they eliminated the appetizer from the TS (not that big of a deal to me), but the biggest part that turns me away is that the gratuity is no longer included. DH and I are good tippers, especially when we receive good service, which we always do in WDW. It just won't be worth the cost anymore for us. We will just choose our favorites and pay OOP. We will probably do the math to make sure that is the best way to go, but in my quick calculation in my head it probably is.

 

[Grendalynn]

Good Morning Fellow Dis'ers! Thanks so much for the great info!I have been torn about to add it or not to add it... I guess when I make the reservation, I can always have it in our package and then take it out down the line should we/I come up with a concrete descision....

I think its the AAA Discount that is making me question our intentions the most. I got a room only quote yesterday from Disney withe the AAA discount for the WL of $1949.08!! Add tickets - 7 day park hoppers of $982 and I am truely not sure what we would do... Thats a lot easier to swallow that $5000+ with the dining... I think the food on the dining plan will come to around $900.00. Would we really spend $900+ on food?? How much have others outthere spent on non-dining plan food on their trips?? I would love to hear more... keep it coming!!

 

[kjetjl]

To decide if we should use the dining plan on our trip last May, I went to allearsnet.com and looked at the menus and prices and wrote out where we wanted to eat and the counter service we would probably hit during the day. The dining plan ended up being a great deal for us. When the kids are under 10, the character meals themselves are $10 or more. I think the plan could be a great deal or an extravagant expense..you just have to take carefully into consideration your family and what I call your "vacation style."
The first few years we were park commandos. I didn't want to waste my time sitting in a restaurant. But I have come to appreciate the a/c and just the "wind down" time. And for my husband, he needs a good meal to get him through the day or else he is a big grump!
Good luck with the decision.

 

[3littleHalls]

I just wanted to add my opinion on the DDP with kids. We have paid for it twice, and free once. My oldest....extremely picky eater is almost 8, my middle...has a food allergy(soy) and my youngest will try most things and this will be the first time paying for hers. Also, we haven't gone yet with the new menu. But we truely think it is worth it. We have been to WDW without the plan and spent hundreds more. My children stay on a regular eating schedule so there are no tantrums b/c they are hungry. Good luck with your decision!

 

[amyhughes]

I would recommend it, but you have to know how to work it in to your schedule.

Our schedule is like this:

Breakfast in our room (we get one with a small kitchen) cause my boys would rather have milk and cheerios than eggs any day. Or oatmeal. Plus my DH has a cereal he has to eat or he is a big grump!

Lunch is Counter Service, depending on the park you can usually find one or more that is out of the way. Or use your sit down for a place like the LIberty Tree (if you don't have a character event scheduled there already) During lunch it is just nice and shady, and relaxing!

Go back to hotel and relax, swim, nap. Get up, eat our sit down meal hit the park that has extra magic hours.

This is truly the only way I can figure to work it around us to keep all three guys in my family happy. But it does make for a relaxing trip and I did not feel rushed we just made sure we were around that particular restaurant doing attractions an hour or so beforehand.

As for the picky eaters, we have two boys with a sensory disorder. They hate textures, food goes in they spit out examine it goes back in. I know, it takes some getting used to. But they ate well everywhere we went, there seemed to be a selection like PB & J, or Fruit Cups that they loved to begin with. They also love Pizza and that comes in a bundance on the Kids Menus. The Buffets all have a great selection (Those wonderful little PB & Js!) and tons of little goodies that kids love. I checked out allears.net for a complete menu and that helped me plan where to go for the boys.

Lots of Luck and Pixie Dust!!

 

[ENSOCK]

I chose to get it. We had it in 2005 and loved it. When making our plans for next year, I ask DH what he wanted to do and he said to get it. He loved that it made us stop and relax for a little while. Also, we do not do commando through the parks so it really did not make us feel as if we had were losing time.

This year I am debating on whether to just pay the extra for my ds9 (buy tickets as if he is 10) or just get him the childs meal. He eats more than dh and I! Everybody keeps telling me wait until he gets to be a teenager I am going to have to start raising my on beef!!

 

[thepeach80]

We're getting it and I think it will work out great for us. There will be 6 adults and 1 child getting the plan (2 kids are under 3 so they'll eat off our plates). We're planning on 3 character meals and my parents wanted the luau so for us it seems a better deal doing it this way. We have reservations for lunch for our park days and a breakfast and a dinner planned for non-park days. Then we'll just use our QS credits as we find time. I'll have a better opinion of course when we get back, 3 wks from today we leave!

 

[mickey2minnie1]

Hi! I am so excited for you planning your stay. it is stressful, but sooo much fun.

We decided on the DDP because my DH wanted everything prepaid before going. I wanted my kids to be able to order what they wanted and get snacks when they wanted without my DH calculating every penny going out the door. For me, it is about the freedom and relaxation of knowing we can. My kids are 10, 7, and 5. Like a previous poster stated, you will spend that much on snacks alone with drinks...

We have character meals planned all week, so for us, it will be well spent.

I would do it for the ability and flexilbility it gives you to enjoy the whole World!

Good luck!!

 

[mommyof2princesses]

We did the free dining plan last year and loved it. We are doing it again for free this year. My dh and I had already decided that whether or not they offered it for free this year we were getting it. My kids are 4 and 12. My 4 yo is picking and she ate fine. The plan is so worth it. We ate with cinderella, winnie the pooh, mickey mouse and we ate at Le Cellier which would have cost us $170 and we didn't order our youngest her own meal. (Last year she wasn't 3 yet and she was free.)

 

[Grendalynn]

I think I am sold on the Dining Plan. Since I am doing the booking and usually handling the money and paying for meals, tips etc, I think I am going to include the dining plan in the ressie... now I just have to decide where to book - via AAA and get a discount (just how good is the AAA discount BTW?) or book through Disney so I have 24-7 access to my account....??? Descisions descisions....

 

[HaleyB]

Book with AAA and take the discount.

All you lose is the ability to change your reservation. If you need to change dates or resorts it really is not a 'must be done this minute' deal. If a code comes out that is better than your discount through AAA and you can't get ahold of the TA fast, just book a new package w/the code and cancel one of them after a day or two. As long as you have space on a CC it costs you nothing.

You can still call ME directly (I think, and again not a thing you need to rush) and make all your dining ressies directly.

 

[jenrein]

We saved enough using AAA that we got the meal plan basically for free compared to doing it through Disney. I have 3 kids all very different eaters. My oldest was 11 and she was allowed at most places to eat as an adult or a child so she lucked out. Alot of the counter meals include a really gross sugar free jello cup for dessert while all the adults get chocolate this and lemon that....so that kind of stunk. (Of course we shared ours). Otherwise the kids choices are almost the same from place to place and they ate well.

 

[bzzymom]

We used the dining plan 2 times. both times, DS was a "child" ....age 8 and 9, and DD was 1.5 and 2.5 so she wasn't on the plan. We liked the plan, but we like to eat at sit down restaruants every day. Next time we go, since DS in now 10, we will have to pay "adult" dining plan price. I am not sure if we will do it or not. He is a picky eater, and found things on the kids menu, but not much on the adult menu's. If you are going to do buffets and character meals, I would do it. The child price for those is almost what it costs per day.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

We did the dining plan for our trip we just took in July. We have 2 children (ages 3 and 5) and 2 adults in our group. I don't think I would do it again - especially when the new version that does not include tips comes out.

It was a struggle for us to use all 6 of our sit down credits. We had 2 character meals that used 1 credit each (Akershus and Crystal Palace) and we had one character meal that used 2 credits (CRT). We ate one dinner in our hotel (Olivia's at OKW) and found ourselves calling around to find a place to use up our final TS credit (lunch at Downtown Disney - the name of the place escapes me). We had originally scheduled a TS meal at Ohana's, but did not feel like going out for dinner and cancelled that.

Our Counter Service meals just seemed to include too much food and the selections were not that great for our kids. We wasted a lot of food - it seems like our kids (who are not picky eaters) barely ate half of the food that came with each meal. Another problem was the dessert option - it took my kids about 2 meals to figure out that dessert was always an option. They could not concentrate on their "real" food when they knew a cookie or a scoop of ice cream was waiting. We also dumped a lot of soda - usually, my husband and I share a large soda, but we each got our own on the meal plan.

We actually kept forgetting to use our snack credits. I am so in the habit of not buying beverages and Disney snacks that it was hard to get myself into the "buy snack" mode. We ended up with 2 unused snack credits.