Recommendations for DDP

[Diane Gom]

Planning on Renting points for vacation in June. There will be 4 of us 2 adults and 2 children (7 and 11). Which DDP do you recommend. Would also like suggestions on Character Dining for boys.
Thanks!!

 

[Disneypubgal]

Girls or boys?

 

[lucyem]

My boys are 4 & 7 and we did 3 character meals last trip. Cape May, Ohanas and Liberty Tree (which was temporary until the Crystal Palace came back). The boys enjoyed seeing Donald & Goofy at Cape May and had a lot of fun interactions because it was not so crowded. Goofy was great and the food was good. Ohanas had Stitch, Pluto & Mickey but they had less interaction time with them and the food was not that wonderful. There really is no "boy" character meals like the princess ones for the girls.

The DDP totally depends on your family so you might want to check the DDP forum for advice on how to figure that out.

 

[rhonimouse]

Chef Mickey's (at the contemporary) is a great Character meal experience...we have had breakfast or dinner on previous visits and both have been high energy fun character interaction with a great selection for buffet style meal.

 

[jekjones1558]

Just wanted to note that if you are talking about June, 2010 you may find limited times for Character Dining. These ADRs tend to book up very quickly and the booking window for June began last December. You also may find limited room availability at some DVC resorts.

 

[Crystal_27]

Planning on Renting points for vacation in June. There will be 4 of us 2 adults and 2 children (7 and 11). Which DDP do you recommend. Would also like suggestions on Character Dining for boys.
Thanks!!

Well, given the ages of your children, keep in mind that you will be paying the full adult price for your 11 year old. The upside, though, is that your 11 year old will be able to order off of the adult menu, so if he is a good eater, that might work out well. If, however, he's not a good eater, you might end up not getting as much value out of the DDP as you would like. I hate to recommend the Quick Service Plan just because I think that hamburgers, chicken fingers, sandwiches, and salads (which are the typical offerings from CS eateries) can get old very quickly, but that might be a viable option for your family. In terms of character meals, we've eaten at Chef Mickey's for dinner, Ohana for breakfast, CRT for breakfast, and Crystal Palace for breakfast, and I would recommend them all to anyone looking for a good character meal. Hope that helps - - happy planning!

 

[Diane Gom]

thanks everyone, our 7 and 11 year old are boys.

 

[SassyLassy]

I definitely recommend the Crystal Palace! Its a great way to start the day off at the MK!

 

[Princess&CowboyMommy]

I think we like the regular DDP the best. I think it's only $10 more/day for 3 of you and it opens you up to all the character meals and some great buffets. We're really not into the Deluxe Dining plan as it would be just too much for our family to do 2-3 sit-down meals/day...plus it's waaaay more per person. You also are getting close to June as far as ADRs are concerned, so trying to do the Deluxe plan at this point, would be harder because you'd need to secure 2-3x as many adrs than the regular plan.

That being said - my hubby and I only tried the dining plan for the first time this last visit. In the past, we've had family with us part of the trip, and some who didn't want the plan, so this was our first trip that it would just be us to be able to use it. We loved it.

We used it for 7 nights, so we had 7 TS credits. The kids, hubby, and I all used 5 of those 7 with meals together. Then one night, we had the kids being "sitted" and hubby and I treated ourselves to Flying Fish (2 credits each).

For character meals - I'd suggest Chef Mickey's and Donald's Breakfast at AK and maybe Ohana. Crystal Palace is good, but I'm not sure your sons would like Winnie the Pooh and friends??

 

[speakupjc]

Le Cellier is a must do if you can get a adr. Also try the counter service in France.

 

[DenLo]

I think the regular dining plan works well especially if you plan to do character meals since they require a TS meal. Any chance your boys still like Winnie the Pooh characters? The breakfast at Crystal Palace was good, better than the ones at Ohanas and Tusker House. But the only characters are Pooh, Piglet, Eyeore and Tigger, hopefully your older son won't be offended at being at a baby's breakfast.

Pluto at Ohana's Best Friends Breakfast was really funny and very popular with the boys. We had an early breakfast (8:00 am) and the characters each came by each table for photos and interacted with the children. They didn't seem to rush from table to table. But the restaurant was pretty empty. But the meal there was just okay, nothing special. Same for the food at Tusker House. The characters there, Daisy, Mickey and Goofy quickly went through the tables, posing for photos and giving autographs. Donald was outside for a photo with their photographer and he didn't come around to the tables later.

One meal your sons might enjoy is Teppan Edo, at Japan in Epcot. It's a Benihana style restaurant where the food is cooked at the table. It's part of the DP.

My DSIL uses the lunch meal at a TS restaurant (especially a character meal) as a breaking point to get her children away from the park and back to the room for a nap. Even the older kids are pretty worn out after a long morning of walking around a park and doing rides and attractions. Then they might go to the pool after the nap. Or have dinner at the resort (a counter service meal) and then go to a park for the evening.

 

[Dean]

Planning on Renting points for vacation in June. There will be 4 of us 2 adults and 2 children (7 and 11). Which DDP do you recommend. Would also like suggestions on Character Dining for boys.
Thanks!!

I'm sure you know that one of the children will be charged as an adult. As for what's best, or even whether you should do it at all, you need to decide how and where to eat. Look at the menu's here or at allearsnet.com to see what works for you. That'll also give you an idea of the value you'll get or not get. Then look at when you'll arrive and depart on the first and last day where a late arrival and early departure will rob you of several meals you could potentially use up your credits. IF you decide on one that has table service options, make sure you make the appropriate dining reservations as others have suggested.

 

[Eeyorerocks!]

Our twins (boy and girl) are 10. We also have a two year old. Our older kids still love Chef Mickey's and CP

 

[robhawk]

If you are staying at BCV or BW I recommend Cape May Character Breakfast. It is much more relaxed that a lot of other character meals. We always do it the day we leave.
We like the regular DDP.
Have a blast.

Rob

 

[goldenears]

If you want to get the DDP and do character meals, I would def. do the regular DDP vs. the quick service.
I would suggest Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace. Even if your boys aren't big into Pooh and friends, I am sure they would appreciate getting into the MK before it officially opens-if you can get an 8:00 ADR.