right help me decide if to go for the deluxe dining plan!

[orangetiggs]

We are going next Oct/Nov with our twins who will be nearly 2

I was looking at OKW and maybe upgrading the dining plan to the deluxe so that we can go to as many character meals as possible

Do you think its worth it? It will be an extra £430 for me and DH

 

[wayneg]

Could you do a rough itinery which meals you want to do and work it out?

Most character meals are only 1 credit, are you wanting to do 2 a day? if only 1 a day regular DDP should work out better deal and pay OOP for any extra.
If its breakfast you want to do again might be better paying OOP, ones we did last August we felt very poor value on DDP, worked out at around £15pp($21+tax)
DxDDP seems to work best for a lot of signature/dinner show meals or 2 TS meals a day, we wouldn't want to do either, for us each trip 1 dinner show, 1 signature and 1 TS/day is just right.

 

[fairytale]

DH and I had the same conversation just yesterday and we've decided to stay with the standard plan, ie I TS, 1CS and 1 snack. We did the same last year and felt we had more than enough.

We have 4 children, DS8, DS7, DS4 & DD3. We enjoyed approximately 10 character meals and that for us was just about right. In fact it got slightly repetative after a while. Dont get me wrong the children loved them and it was great to do every other day which is what we did.

On a seperate note, you need to consider how your girls will be when it comes to the characters. My eldest and youngest loved them from day one, had no problems interacting and thats from the age of 2. Second and middle eldest was scared and extremely reluctant to even acknowledge them till they reached around 4. The exception to this was with our eldest son.

The first time he visit wdw he was 4 and our second son at the time was 2. As it was a first time for me also we booked CRT for breakfast as it was always a dream of mine to do. Eldest DS took one look at the Princesses and bolted under the table not just for 5 minutes but for the whole hour. In fact no body actually knew he was there which was fine by me. He was scared beyond belief.

 

[dixonsontour]

My first thought is you're brave - that is is a lot of sitting with 2 x 2 year olds!

We went to florida offsite when DD was 23 months. We ate probably one TS a day - mostly places like perkins, cracker barrel for breakfast with the odd outback evening meal etc.

DD was 'good' but realistically they will only sit for a short time - giving DD toast to spread jam on kept her the most entertained!

I'd stick to DDP and just use your TS for character breakfasts and skip some of the TS dinners this time.

Buffets are also hard work with one little one - up and down with them for food then you only get chance to eat a little bit. Much preferred family style.

You also don't know which way their bodyclock will go. I thought we'd be having lots of early nights back at the villa with DD.

Well she slept late (my first lie in's) and napped (had dropped her nap at home) and was up very late.

You will have a fabulous trip just very different to your others. I have some lovely memories but we did very little in comparison to other trips.

 

[dixonsontour]

DD also disliked the characters on that trip and at DLP aged 2.5..turning point was age 3 1/4 when she happily hugged them all!

 

[orangetiggs]

maybe we will stick with normal ddp then, i guess i just thought it might have been easier as we can have a character meal for girls then a nice meal for us

the girsl are very patient and will sit for ages with a toy now so i'm hoping they stay like that to enable us to have ts meals when out there as i dont really want to live on cs for 2 weeks

we did ddp last year and liked it and want to do it again but as the deluxe was quite cheap to upgrade was tempted to take this as we then dont have to worry about running out of ts credits etc

 

[Disneymad]

On the flip side though...better to be short on TS credits and then can pay for extra stuff you need OOP than find yourself stuck at the end of your trip with a bunch of TS you couldn't use how you want because the kids were too restless or too tired to eat TS every day.

The dining plan can be absolutely fantastic under certain circumstances - but one of it's weaker points is that it can also be a little restrictive if things don't always go to plan and with 2 year old twins...I'd say there's plenty of potential for things to not always go to plan

Also, I know the urge perhaps is to take them to lots of character meals for their first trip...but I doubt you're planning every single day? So hopefully still plenty of potential for you to have some nice dinners too even with the normal plan

 

[kevin harrison]

the girsl are very patient and will sit for ages with a toy now so i'm hoping they stay like that to enable us to have ts meals when out there as i dont really want to live on cs for 2 weeks

Wait until they are old enough to want to explore and not be in a chair, it can get difficult. Best not to have too much of a plan.

 

[fairytale]

Wait until they are old enough to want to explore and not be in a chair, it can get difficult. Best not to have too much of a plan.

I tend to agree !!!

I had real high expectation that my children would sit nicely at 2 & 3 like they did at say 6 months, but ooh noo, once they know they can walk/crawl then on your marks, get set, there off

You'll find you cant wait for every mile stone to come ie sitting, crawling, walking etc but once they come you say to yourself, why did I ever rush them to crawl/walk. Enjoy though its truely the best years and wish I could have my eldest 2 back as toddlers for day

On a seperate note, I'm not sure if your planning many Buffet style Character Meals but try your best to get as many Family Style as possible. Although I never had twins I did have all my 4 within 5 years and Buffets can be a real pain. You need to get your food and the childs whilst carrying them as you dont want to leave them on their own. If not your either sat at the table whilst hubby is at the buffet and visa versa, we knocked them on the head in the end until last year when DD was 3. It ended up were DH had finished his meal and I was only just sitting down.

 

[orangetiggs]

we are going with family so it wont really bother us doing the buffets

I just thought character meals would be easier than queueing to meet them all

 

[Elise79]

Having taken DD at 22 months in May I would say just do a couple of character meals - she is good at restaurants but didn't really eat at these as she was too interested in the things going on around her! It cost us more as we were then stopping and get her snacks later!!

Plus the buffet food is pretty much the same so many other restaurants to try!

Edit: if you are still staying in a 2 bed villa you will all need to be on the same DP

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

Take no notice of everyone who tells you that 2 year olds in a restaurant will be a nightmare (and not intending to offend anyone here).

My DD is almost 2 and walks very well but will sit perfectly nicely at a table because that is what we have brought her up to know we expect. Sure she may need a small toy or something, but she is usually happy to "chat" and we have the occasional walk around the restaurant - I guess everyone knows their own kids.

 

[2Tiggies]

I never had issues with DD as a toddler in restaurants.

The real quesion is, if they play up, how will that affect you? Some people get really stressed out at the first sign of niggling. Others just go with the flow and take everything in their stride.

 

[orangetiggs]

i have twins !!!no option to get stressed anymore!! we take it as it comes and they are really good girls and dont cause us much stress so it wouldnt bother me if they did play up. I think it would bother other people at the restaurant more than us i think.

Still undecided as to what to do either book it at £400 extra or keep that for buying the girls things!

 

[2Tiggies]

i have twins !!!no option to get stressed anymore!! we take it as it comes and they are really good girls and dont cause us much stress so it wouldnt bother me if they did play up. I think it would bother other people at the restaurant more than us i think.

I had a sense you are more easy going. Just don't fall into the trap of thinking it bothers everyone else in the restaurant. I did used to worry about it and I am sure there are often one or two folk around who will get annoyed, but msot folk are so engrossed in their own conversation it is just background noise. Funny thing is that now that I don't have a baby anymore, I have finally realised that the only person it used to bother was me.

When is your ADR date? You still have some time. You could always wait until a month or so away and then assess how you think the girls will manage. I know you are going with your family and it really helps having some extra hands so although DxDDP is not for me, I wouldn't dismiss it just yet if I were you - especially since you are considering it so seriously. Now I hope this isn't an inappropriate question, but did you give it any thought BEFORE you saw it was a good deal, or was it only the great offer that caught your attention?

 

[kevin harrison]

Take no notice of everyone who tells you that 2 year olds in a restaurant will be a nightmare (and not intending to offend anyone here).

My DD is almost 2 and walks very well but will sit perfectly nicely at a table because that is what we have brought her up to know we expect. Sure she may need a small toy or something, but she is usually happy to "chat" and we have the occasional walk around the restaurant - I guess everyone knows their own kids.

No one has really said that two year olds in a restaurant will be a nightmare, just that it is best to not have to rigid a plan, kids change very quickly indeed and one day may be happen to sit in a chair, the next want to explore.

Also as mentioned here, some kids are frightened of these large characters, I remember the first character meal we did with my daughter at 23 months, the tigger and pooh meal at Crystal palace, we booked 6 months out, were really excited for Hannah and she was really scared and felt deflated.

My point is be aware of the unexpected and don't be rigid in your expectations.

Don't worry what other people think if your kids get upset, they are being kids.

 

[orangetiggs]

i think we will stay with the normal dining plan and if we want extra pay oop and save the extra money to buy the girls loads of things out there!!!

thanks for all your help and views

 

[dixonsontour]

Can I recommend a character meal to you?

On our last trip we did breakfast at Akershus - a family came with 3 girl triplets aged 2 - all in poofy disney world Belle dresses.

They were absolutely gorgeous and they got so much attention from everyone and all the characters ....I imagine twins would have the same effect!

My twin nieces are nine next month... I used to love buying them matching/coordinating outfits when they were little.

 

[2Tiggies]

i think we will stay with the normal dining plan and if we want extra pay oop and save the extra money to buy the girls loads of things out there!!!

thanks for all your help and views

Good move. Dixonsontour has a good piece of advice too - the "face" characters can be less intimidating. Of course your girls may absolutely LOVE all the characters - many little ones do. Just book all the ones you really want anyway. You can do a general meet and greet in the parks to get a feel for their reaction and if you are really worried, you can always cancel if you must or just mention when you are seated that you are concerned. They are so used to dealing with this anyway.

Happy planning!

 

[disney_princess_85]

I think you've made the right decision.