Sit-down dinning for all meals?

[aubriee]

is your mother aware that Bistro de Paris is not on the dining plan? QUOTE]

It also looks like they won't have enough credits anyway. California Grill, Brown Derby, and Yachtsman all take two credits each. If you are there for five nights then you will each have 15 credits. However, it looks like your mom has 18 credits worth of meals booked, plus Bistro de Paris, which would have to be out of pocket, since Bistro is not even on the DDP.

I was on the DDP Sept 26th-Oct 4th and what I did was a very early lunch TS lunch everyday and then a Signature restaurant most nights. On the two nights I did not do a Signature restaurant I did a TS breakfast, late TS lunch, then a late 1 credit TS dinner. On those days it was definitely too much food. Don't forget that with the DxDDP you get an appetizer, as well as an entree and dessert.

edited: oops I can't count! Are you guys staying Thursday night or leaving after your Bistro meal? If you are staying Thursday night, then you do have enough credits, but Bistro would still be OOP.

 

[baj0505]

There are some really good food and value (IMO) QS restaurants that you could consider working in? Like Sunshine Seasons at Epcot, Wolfgang Puck Express at DTD, Tangierine Cafe, We've also found that IF your seated on time that buffet's take less time overall than sit down and either booking at a TS for their first lunch or dinner seating time is much quicker also, e.g. Chefs at 5:00pm or 11am and we were in and out in an hour since they didn't have time to get backed up.

 

[cshaffer21]

I also think it is too much running around trying to get to the next meal. And there aren't any of our favorite character meals. Your daughter's would love to eat and see all of their friends, My sister is taking her daughter and her 3 children, ages 9,9,4, and 2 in The beginning of January. They will have free dining. Their plan is to have a sit down character lunch each day and then wing it for their counter serve for dinner. This way if they want to sleep in, they don't have to be in the park till lunch and if a child gets hungry they can eat dinner shenever they need to. Also all of the sitdown meals are buffets except Liberty tree tavern and that way they don't have to wait to be served. Maybe not exactly a schedule that my family would like now but it looks like it will work for them and the kids

 

[RMulieri]

That is way too many meals and way too much time during a relatively busy week at the parks.Are you guys planning on any rides? Seriously , most of meals on average ( dining with a 5 yr old) take anywhere from 60-120 mins.If the park is open say 8 hrs a day.That is an est. of almost 4 hrs of park time lost, maybe more.

 

[itchin2go]

We did the Deluxe Dining Plan and found that it did NOT take too much time out of our touring. BUT - we go in January and can get a lot done quickly.

We would do a breakfast before the parks opened, then either a character lunch and a nice dinner, or just snack for lunch and do a 2 TS dinner. If you do a CRT breakfast before the parks open, that's 2 TS, for instance. You CAN structure it to where you're not really doing 3 meals a day, but it sounds like you're not the one "structuring" and that puts you in a weird position.

It was way too much food (not that you asked), but it didn't put a crimp in our touring plans at all.

Edited to say: As to the list of restaurants you posted, I would say that Boma and Trails End back-to-back is a bad idea. Those are 2 hearty meals. If you can, maybe you could politely suggest a few more character meals.

 

[Chelley00]

Sat:
D-Biergarten
Sun:
B-Ohana's
D-Akershus
Mon:
B-Boma
Tues:
B:1900 Park Fare
Wed:
B-Hollywood and Vine
Thurs (Thanksgiving):

These are the only ones I would definately do with kids, and then join the lunch for Thanksgiving. The rest are pretty adult themed, and would take too much time out of touring the parks, especially at a busy time like Thanksgiving week.

 

[dburg30]

Im' not sure if I'm posting this in the right area so please move if it's misposted. Myself, DH and two girls (ages 5 & 1) are going to WDW with my parents and sister the week of Thanksgiving. Because of the dining plan my mom has decided that since we get a sit-down meal three times per day we should use it. I'm worried that we'll spend all of our time eating and that the girls will get bored. However, it could be a nice break. How long does it typically take to eat a sit-down meal at WDW? Will we end up spending all of our time going from one restaurant to another?

That's pretty much true, as almost everyone has said. I love to eat, but that would be a TON of food. The one year old will probably be the easiest to deal with, but the 5 year old is going to, IMO, get sad KNOWING they are at DISNEY but always seem to be eating!!! You are in a sticky situation, since you arent going to be paying for a lot of it, BUT, going and suffering thru it doesnt sound like much fun either! Even if she would switch to the regular DP, not the deluxe, you could still have some very nice table services (heck at least one per day ) and have a much more enjoyable DISNEY vacation, not a DINING vacation.

 

[ktlm]

Here's what she has reservations for, I think we're going to join them for only a few TS meals. It's a little sticky because they're paying for the majority of the trip and we're staying together in a 2 room villa at AKL Kadani. But I can't imagine trying to keep both girls happy during a 2 hr meal. Can anyone give me an idea of how long meals at these places will take?

Sat:
D-Biergarten
Sun:
B-Ohana's
L-The Wave
D-Akershus
Mon:
B-Boma
L-Tusker House
D-Liberty Tree
Tues:
B:1900 Park Fare
L:Tuttio Italia
D:California Grill
Wed:
B-Hollywood and Vine
L-Brown Derby
D-Yachstman Grill
Thurs (Thanksgiving):
B-Boma
L-Trails End
D-Bistro de Paris

Oh my gosh!! Your kids would never see the park- and that would be even at a time that it wasn't crowded. Your Mom is going to spend her entire trip eating and traveling to the next place. Not to mention how much food that is and the travel time as you are jumping from area to area on the same day. You have to remember that nothing is close together at WDW. If you are using WDW transportation by the time you walk to the bus, wait in line, ride the bus, and walk to the area of the other park where you are eating- it can take an hour or even an hour and a half-plus because you are going at a really busy time, you may have some longer waits for a bus that isn't full. Plus, you don't always get a table at your ADR time, characters meals usually take around an hour and a half, and you can hit a slow meal. On our last trip we walked out of our 1900 Park Fare dinner 3 HOURS after we checked in.

We have taken my daughter at 2 and again at 3, and we find that 1 TS a day is perfect for us. The most I would do in a day would be 2. On your list I would keep:

Sat: Biergarten (my DD's #1 pick at WDW- tied with Princess meals)
Sun: Ohana's and Akershus- The kids will love the character meals. We haven't done ohana's yet, but we will the next trip. Your girls will LOVE the Akershus princess meal. I hope you are doing Epcot that day.
Mon: It's thanksgiving week, so I would keep Liberty Tree for a turkey dinner. If you are staying at AKL, I would keep Boma for breakfast if your ADR time is before the park opening. (You are going a very busy week, so you want to be at the parks when they open if at all possible). If I wasn't staying at AKL, I probably wouldn't mess with trying to get over to AKL that early. I might keep Tusker House for lunch if it is a long time away from the LTT time. Other wise, I think I would just stick to one meal that day. Be aware it takes quite a while to get to MK from AKL- I want to say the bus ride itself is about 20 minutes. If you plan on seeing the AKL afternoon parade, you will be leaving with the masses that all leave the minute the parade is over and you may have quite a wait to get a bus since you are there a really busy week.
Tues: Way too much traveling. I assume this is a MK day? I would keep the 1900 Park Fare character meal for the kids. If this a MK day I would skip Tuttio Italia, but maybe keep Garden Grill. If this is an Epcot day, unless the kids already have their hearts set on 1900 Park Fare, I would dump everything except Tuttio Italia.
Weds: Looks like a DHS day. I haven't eaten at any of these, but that is way too many meals in one day. I would say- just keep the one that you are most interested in.
Thurs- Pick the one you want for your Thanksgiving meal. Know that the parks can fill to capacity on Thanksgiving. I haven't been on Thanksgiving, and don't know if Epcot has gotten full and closed (I'm pretty sure MK has). Someone else can probably tell you. If Epcot were to close for capacity sometime during the day, you would not be allowed in for your Bistro ADR.

Also, I don't know what time all our breakfasts are, but realize that as you are going a VERY busy week, it is important for you to be at the parks at their opening if at all possible so you can get things done before the lines get huge. Hope this helps!

 

[wezee]

I agree you seem to have planned to use too many food credits, even with paying for Bistro, OOP, since it is not one the DDP. DH and I did the DxDDP for 8 nights a few weeks ago. We planned a 1TS and a 2TS each day. We had some fabulous food at the signature restaurants but by about the 5th day we were already fooded out. We craved a simple hot dog and beer, and actually canceled a few ADRs because it was so hot and we were stuffed. We also found that since we had such large meals we did not get to experience all the great food offerings at the F&W Fest.
I also think you have lots of buffets planned, which can be alot of food. I think if you want the character experience and enjoy buffets, which are usually a 1TS, they reg. DDP would be a better fit.
Plus remember....with the DxDDP you will have a massive amount of snacks credits, and at the non-buffet meals you can order a appie, entree and dessert.......LOTS of food!!!!!
Even with the heat and all the walking DH and I both gained 5 lbs. We also felt we were spending lots of time traveling to ADRs. Actually they controlled our lives. And we spent alot of money on tips on all those meals.
We will be back at WDW in March and have decided to go with no dining plan. (Which we have had, in some form, for our last 4-5 trips). We want to try a few non-DDP restaurants. We will plan for a couple of special meals and then do CS or snacks for all the rest.

PS......while visiting all the signature restaurants, we found that a nice appie and a glass of wine would suit us fine....and maybe share a dessert a here or there.

 

[squirrel]

I have gone for 2 week trips twice now with the free dining plan. I would never upgrade to the DxDP. I found the regular DDP was more than enough food. I also wouldn't want to waste so much time eating and travelling to the ADR's. By about day 4, I was getting sick of eating. I also purposely brought a box of cheerios to eat a bowl for breakfast every day this trip. I did that for two reasons-my niece is lactose intollerant and it takes too long to have her food made in the morning and also the smell in the food court of all the food made me ill and not want to eat.

I don't know if you have ever had the DDP before or not but I would not start out with the DxDP unless you have tried the regular plan first. Even if you have to pay for a few extra meals you would still save money. When we went to leave my niece and I had 20 snack credits, 3 CS meals and a TS each still left on our KTTW card. I did use them up at the food court but it was a lot of food to try and pack in our luggage.

Since the ADR's are already made, pick the ones that your family is interested in attending. You can also go online and see if you can get some more character meals for your immediate family (try to get them in the park you are in or at a nearby resort). I have a feeling that near the end of the trip some of the ADR's that she planned will be dropped so that you actually get to see the parks.

Have a good time. I know you are going at a busier time of year. Try to get to the parks early and use fastpass as much as possible.

 

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

I would totally agree that all you will be doing is eating, transporting and eating. You won't even have time for the food to digest before you have to eat again because you won't have much park time.

We do 1 TS and not usually every day.

I can't remember, is this your first trip? Your mom's? If kids weren't involved, it might not be too bad eating all the time, but not with the kids.


Sarah

 

[MSLRAC]

We are doing the DxDDP for our trip in February and have opted for 3 TS meals per day but I have gone to great lengths to plan all our meals for each day in the same park or very close to the park we will be in that day. I've also made sure to include lots of character meals for our kids.

There is no way I would attempt your mom's plan during that time of year...heck any time of year for that matter. It's just too much unnecessary park hopping especailly with kids in the mix.

 

[itchin2go]

I agree you seem to have planned to use too many food credits, even with paying for Bistro, OOP, since it is not one the DDP. DH and I did the DxDDP for 8 nights a few weeks ago. We planned a 1TS and a 2TS each day. We had some fabulous food at the signature restaurants but by about the 5th day we were already fooded out. We craved a simple hot and beer, and actually canceled a few ADRs because it was so hot and we were stuffed. We also found that since we had such large meals we did not get to experience all the great food offerings at the F&W Fest.
I also think you have lots of buffets planned, which can be alot of food. I think if you want the character experience and enjoy buffets, which are usually a 1TS, they reg. DDP would be a better fit.
Plus remember....with the DxDDP you will have a massive amount of snacks credits, and at the non-buffet meals you can order a appie, entree and dessert.......LOTS of food!!!!!
Even with the heat and all the walking DH and I both gained 5 lbs. We also felt we were spending lots of time traveling to ADRs. Actually they controlled our lives. And we spent alot of money on tips on all those meals.
We will be back at WDW in March and have decided to go with no dining plan. (Which we have had, in some form, for our last 4-5 trips). We want to try a few non-DDP restaurants. We will plan for a couple of special meals and then do CS or snacks for all the rest.

PS......while visiting all the signature restaurants, we found that a nice appie and a glass of wine would suit us fine....and maybe share a dessert a here or there.

wezee - I agree 100% with what you said. Sometimes, we just wanted an appetizer or soup and salad. The dining plan just did not fit the way we ate, which is why we went without it last time. From a food standpoint, that was our best trip ever. We didn't have to fool with how-many-credits-left and the like. Plus, the DxDDP was WAY too much food for us.

I would totally agree that all you will be doing is eating, transporting and eating. You won't even have time for the food to digest before you have to eat again because you won't have much park time.

That actually happened to us. We had an EARLY Cape May breakfast and then an Akershus lunch. We didn't even want any food by the time we got to Akershus, but we went ahead and did it for the characters.

 

[shawnh199]

If you are concerned about the restaurants your mother has chosen, who says you can't make your own reservations for places that are more suited for your family/kids. We are going to Disney in early December with my Mother-in-law and sister-in-law. I charted out our trip because we are going for the girls (2 & 6) to have fun. We'll have our own fun, but I'll enjoy watching my kids more than anything. (FYI - Mother-in-law is paying for a portion of our trip as well, but since she has never been, she left the basic planning up to me.)

We are doing the deluxe dining plan with a character meal every morning (when we went 2 years ago, we had a hard time getting up and getting to the parks early - the breakfasts will make us get up and get going early). My in-laws will do some meals with us, but they came up with places that they wanted to eat that we didn't, so I made reservations for those places for them. They even have a day planned for just themselves at the spa.

We plan to have TS meals for all but one or two meals. (I am too picky for most of the food at the signature restaurants) I'm not worried about the time. The character meals can be anywhere from 45-90 minutes, if you want to wait and see each character, especially at the Epcot Princess Breakfast (which IMO is a must do). The other restaurants depend on your server and how long you take to eat your food. We like to eat out a lot anyway, so my girls are used to sitting in restaurants for at least 30-60 minutes. Besides, I think TS meals will be a good way to get to sit and take a break after walking all over the parks.

Like others have said, the main problem I see with your Mother's reservations are that they are spread out all over Disney. You will spend a lot of time on buses traveling from one place to the next. We tried to make all our reservations close to the park, if not in the park, that we will be visiting that day. The restaurants that aren't close to parks are evenings that we leave the park earlyish to rest back at the hotel. Most, if not all, are rather "kid friendly".

Most importantly - HAVE FUN!! That's what Disney World is all about!

 

[tiredsigh]

I have a little guy who was 18 months on our last trip and will be 35 months on our next trip. Since there is no dining plan for kids his age, we do a lot of buffets. We also do the DxDDP because that large amount of food goes one child farther.

The way to make deluxe work for us is to plan out where each will be. I plan meals for the parks where we will be that day. Dinners are often planned at a resort close to the park or our resort.

Magic Kingdom Dinner: Chef Mickey's
Magic Kingdom B: Crystal Palace L:tony's D:1900 Park Fare
Disney Studios B:Cape May L:sci fi D:whispering canyon café
Epcot B:O'Hanas L:tutto italia D:le cellier
Animal Kingdom Bonald's Breakfast L:Yak and Yeti D:?
Magic Kingdom B:1900 Park Fare L:Crystal Palace


As you can see, we do a lot of character meals and do them more than once. But those are the places my two talk about for years after. The main thing you will see is that the commute is very minimal. All restaurants are either close to the park or close to our resort BLT.

*I* feel that deluxe can work very well for kids in some cases. You just have to plan the commute and park schedules.

We also do not park hop. That's for our sanity based on our family. We're pretty low key though

 

[Nancyg56]

I think that you need to sit down and factor travel time into your plan. You are spending a lot of time going from place to place and it is going to be very crowded. I wonder if you should add CS instead of so many TS meals. I know that part of your Mom's decision to have all sit down meals is to get the biggest bang for her dining plan buck but you may want to explain that in Disney time is a valuable resource as well. You will still get your money's worth from the plan if you get rid of some of those TS meals and the money spent on lodging and tickets will be not be lost sitting in a bus or in the car or waiting in line fore your table. Not to mention sad kids when they must leave the parks to go to yet another meal and all they really want is a Mickey head on a stick while waiting to board dumbo.

 

[Debbie-TN]

Also remember how long it takes to get to and from each of the restaurants if you're using Disney transportation. It looks like every restaurant is in a different location. You should allow at least an hour to and from the restaurant, plus at least 1 to 1 1/2 hours eating. That's 3 hours for each meal or 9 hours a day eating and traveling.

 

[alcie27]

Well the drama continues with our ADR's. My husband thought that telling my mom that we would not be joining them for some of the meals was a bad idea. He said that they want grandparent time and we're there to give it to them. I can understand his point however, I don't like the idea of flying across the country to eat my way around WDW. So I made up a nice spreadsheet with estimated travel times between parks and resorts for each meal time. My hope was that she would see the sheer amount of time involved with the travel. After everything was calculated (including a 3 hr break each day because of the 1 yr old, this may or may not be needed) we would be spending a whopping 7 hrs in MK, 6 in AK, 8 in EP and 5 in HS. Those are the totals for the ENTIRE 5 DAYS! Oh, not to mention 23 hrs traveling between locations and roughly 17 hrs eating...assuming only 1 hr per meal.

I also sent her an "alternate" schedule and eliminated only one sit-down meal per day. It didn't gain a ton of time but where we did get more time is in the parks, 13 hrs in MK. She decided that the 3 TS meals per day are not the problem and that it's the resort instead. So now she plans on calling WDW daily to try to locate rooms closer to MK or EP. She's also quite put out with me for even suggesting her plan needs to be changed.

Any suggestions for this close to travel time? Is it possible to still give her the TS meals she seems to think are a requirement while not making our kids (as well as us and my sister) miserable?

 

[vicki_c]

All I can say is:



And I'll send you some of these:


And quite a few of these:

 

[ZoZo]

Wed. is the only day there are 2 TS meals in the same park - I think she will be spending the majority of her vacation on Disney transportation to & from all these places, and inside these places while eating! That's fine if that's her goal for the trip - but I think your girls will enjoy more fun in the parks, not so much moving around from park to resort back to another park. During T-giving week this will take major time!

This is very well put - if your main goal for the trip is dining, then it makes sense to do only TS meals. But you only have a certain number of hours each day, and to (IMO) waste so much of them eating (and traveling to your next restaurant), you're going to miss out on a ton of things.

I would do a maximum of one TS meal per day, then wing it the rest of the time. I just got back from a trip with no TS ressies at all, and had a great time! To me, it's not about the dining - it's about all the other things you can do at WDW!