The free dining plan is making me nuts!!

[Cupmom]

I booked the free dining on April 1st and I have been obsessed ever since. Even though I got it for free I'm trying to use it the best way.

When do I use CS breakfast or lunch?
If we use it at lunch will we be hungry enough at dinner?
My ds13 rather eat off the kids menu, should I pay out of pocket for that and then add more TS to our trip?
If I do that where will I eat?
The most dreaded question is -What if I don't use all the credThe more I think about it the more senerios I can come up with?

I can't take 3 more months of this obsession!

 

[pooch]

I keep trying to decide how to split CS's between breakfast & lunch. With a full course dinner each I'm figuring we won't need a CS each for lunch so, maybe 2 & 2. But then again we're not big breakfast eaters so maybe 1 & 3. But then again.... . DH said, "its free!! who cares if we actually pay for breakfast OOP!!!" (ok he didn't say OOP but that's what he meant!) Isn't planning fun!!! We'll be at the Lodge (love the sound of that) 8/25 - 9/3!!!

 

[minnieandmickeymouse]

YES!! I know what you are going through. I have my days planned out where to eat for TS and what parks to be at so we are close to the TS. and I wonder if we will be hungry enough after eating alll that lunch,and should I pay OOP for lunch or breakfast now and then ect.... It's driving me nuts too.

 

[lisaross]

I've been planning since March even b4 i got free dining then it came out and i've made more ADR -- my my also this is my first time in about 15 years and our 1st family trip! My concern is what if i miss a TS - i need to book an extra one on a different day not to loose it!!! I'm not concerned about getting my free money's worth BUT the right times etc.

I have mine split between 1/2 TS for lunch and the other dinner TS's.

i'm thinking........

WolfGang Puck dnr
Garden Grill lunch
Crystal Plaza lunch
Sci - Fi lunch
Plaza - lunch
Donalds Buffet - bkfast @ AK (a back-up)
Boma - dnr
LTT - lunch (backup)
Chef Mickey dnr
Wolfgang puck lunch (back-up)
Coral Reef - dnr

i will cancel my back-up or others as i have 8TS - for the four of us - not planning on sharing

might share a couple of CS so we'll have some for our last day bk-fast and lunch and maybe inbetween.

lisa

 

[HayGan]

What I have done last year and this year to keep my sanity with the DDP is to create a simple spreadsheet that has each day on it. I look at the park times and decide which park we want to do on which day as well as if we want an early or late start. If we are starting early then I usually schedule a TS breakfast or plan to eat a CS breakfast, go back for a nap and schedule an earlier dinner. If we are starting in a park later then I plan on having a quick/light breakfast with a CS lunch and TS dinner. I then plan out which restaurants we want to eat at. I keep a running tally of credits used for the week. It works really well for me because as I change plans I have an instant total of how many TS or CS credits I should have left.

We really found that we didn't need all the CS credits we had. We ended up going to Captain Cook's the night before we left and getting some easy to go foods and juices for the plane (as well as some Mickey rice Krispy treats to enjoy at home )

I know it seems like alot of work but take a deep breath! Just give yourself a half hour or so to decide/plan where you want to go and where you want to eat! Make your ADRs when you can and then just sit back and count the days until you are with Mickey & Friends!

 

[Daisysmom]

I used the DDP last October when my grandson and I visited Disney. I was a novice then - I am not a pro yet, but I feel like I am way better informed this time.

My experience taught me to go ahead and use some of my CS credits for breakfast, because if I try to do 3 meals a day, it is just way too much food for me on the DDP. I also know now to split a TS meal with someone (bank these credits for an extra TS meal), or buy a kid's meal and save that credit for another CS or TS meal. 2 meals a day on the DDP is all I can manage. I was literally making myself sick last time by trying to eat a light breakfast in my room, lunch at the park, snack at the park, and then a big TS meal for dinner.

I also made a spreadsheet, which lists each day, where I will be, which restaurants I will go to, and the confirmation numbers. I put a code after the confirmation numbers, example: 5-TS... this means for this particular meal I will use 5 Table Service credits. It will be easier to keep track of my credits this way, and if I decide to change something, I'll know at a glance what I can do.

If you have any leftover snack or CS credits, buy the Rice Krispy Mickeys to take home, or packaged sandwiches for the wait at the airport. I do plan to use some of my TS and CS credits for breakfasts. My "big" meals will be at the Hoop Dee Doo Review, Le Cellier, Whispering Canyon Cafe, Boma, Prime Time, and Chef Mickey's.

Go ahead and make a list of the parks and restaurants you want to go to, then start mapping out your strategy. You should make your ADRs now; you can always make changes later. And don't feel guilty about using TS credits for a great breakfast. I plan to use some of mine for the buffet at Boma, then use CS credits for dinner that night.

Does that help at all? I'll be glad to answer any other questions as best as I can.

 

[n2mm]

You sound like me last year. It is very overwhelming. My only tip is to try to eat lunch early. After awhile I get so tire of looking at food. We just returned and paid for the DDP this time (DVC) and find the dining plan takes over your vacation--if you let it. My kids said they felt like their whole trip involved eating. We found we were never hungary and the last 2 days we realized we had 14 snack credits to use....how did that happen? We started skipping meals beause no one wanted to eat. I still think the DDP is a great deal, personally I just have to get over the "best deal for you money" feeling and just use it when we want to eat. By the end of our trip, I found myself no longer ordering the "more bang for the buck" meals, just what I wanted....I passed on the double cheeseburger and got the cheaper single cheesburger meal. We even ended up paying for other family members' CS meals beause the 2 of us just couldn't use them up. Now, I have to lose the extra pounds before the next trip (Aug, followed by Oct).

 

[PandaBear & Boo]

This is my first time using the DP because well because it's FREE. My DD will be celebrating her 11th B-Day down there and even if she doesn't eat off the adult menu too much I'm not going to rack my brain over it. The DP is Free so who cares. I have 6 ADR's for when we are there. All but 1 is for dinner. I figure that we would get a quick snacky like food from the hotel in the morning that could tie us over for an early lunch and then use my CS credits on lunch. I won't have the problem of two much food because I also have 2 teenage sons. My 16 yearold is 6'2" and still growing. My question is and this is going to sound stupid but what does 'OOP' mean?

 

[lisaross]

I think people want more TS meals then they are getting, and will pay oop for the cheapest!!

lisa

 

[PandaBear & Boo]

I figure that the servings are so big anyways that I will just use My CS credits for either lunch or breakfast depending on how hungry everyone is. I'm not going to rack my brain over it. I already made my ADR's even if I'm not exactly sure they are the best choices but then again I've never eaten at any of them so I won't know till I try. I have to make my own opinion. So my ADR's cover my TS credits and the CS credits I will use for either breakfast or lunch and the Snack Credits will use if we need them. If anything is left over I don't really care that much because it was FREE!! By the way thanks for letting me know what OOP means!

 

[siestakeys04]

My dd will turn 11 after we return and im going to surprise her with a cake at our ts meal. I printed off the menus of the places we are going to eat and asked my children 10 and 6 what they would want to eat if we were there so i can get an idea of what i will pay oop or us my credits, they enjoy doing and it is helping me out so i can use credits wisely so not to much will come oop. I do know my and dd will share some ts meals that are not buffets because we do have 2 character meals planned. I think it is fun to plan it keeps me occupied until we leave in aug.

 

[Julylady]

One idea. My Mom and I went down for the free dining last Sept. Each day we shared a CS breakfast and a CS lunch. (And yes, we did ask for a pay for an extra bun with our double cheeseburger! That way we didn't eat too much food and were hungry enough to eat a TS dinner each. It worked great if you don't mind sharing.

 

[imatoad]

We try to eat our counter service by 11:30am or noon, our table service res. are for 6pm, this gives us plenty of time to be hungry. We use our snack in the early a.m., but sometimes don't use it at all and end up using those credit's on our last day.

 

[denimore]

Cupmom

Are you staying at AKL? We sometimes got 3 breakfasts (CS) from Mara and could feed six and have leftovers - 4 DD's 12-22 and DH and myself.

1st post btw...my DH long time poster...Why should he have all the fun eh?

 

[Cupmom]

No we're staying at the WL. My kids are not big breakfst eaters so I'm packing a couple of boxes of cereal. A muffin and tea would be fine by me but DH might need something more substanial.

 

[MissMagnolia]

My DH thinks I'm crazy obsessed about this free dining/ADR planning/WDW special watching trip (I've been DVR-ing all the specials that have been on the Travel Channel lately)! I have all our ADRs planned for our August trip to the BC. I can't stop reading the disboards on all the restaurant threads. Now every time I even mention dining at Disney he puts his hands over his ears and says, "lalalalalalalalalala" He said I went overboard when he saw me looking at the thread showing pictures of food. He actually walked out of the room when I tried to show him a picture of the huge soda pop glass at WCC. It's just our family going this time too so I can't get my friend to obsess with me!

Our ADRs are:
CRT breakfast
CP dinner
Cape May Cafe breakfast
50s Prime Time Cafe dinner
Teppanyaki lunch
Le Cellier dinner
Boma dinner
Chef Mickey dinner
Spoodles dinner

Now...I need to get on that spreadsheet idea.........

 

[kath1210]

I booked the free dining on April 1st and I have been obsessed ever since. Even though I got it for free I'm trying to use it the best way.

When do I use CS breakfast or lunch?
If we use it at lunch will we be hungry enough at dinner?
My ds13 rather eat off the kids menu, should I pay out of pocket for that and then add more TS to our trip?
If I do that where will I eat?
The most dreaded question is -What if I don't use all the credThe more I think about it the more senerios I can come up with?

I can't take 3 more months of this obsession!

I did the same thing last year. This year, I made a TS reservation or 2 for every day and we'll just play the rest by ear. Last year we had 2 TS credits left over, plus about 12 snacks! We did not regret it at all. It's just TOO much food - and we are not light eaters!

I'm not sure you'll be able to get kids meals for your DS13. I think they have to be 9 or under. Or maybe you can get the kids meal, but they may charge a higher price.

Have a great trip and don't stress too much!

 

[Cookie Princess]

Last year I let the dining plan make me all FREAKIE! I was trying to follow everyone's advice: maximize the plan; don't use TS for lunch, don't use CS for breakfast because you don't get dessert; etc. This year, I know better! We are going to eat where we want, when we want. A CS lunch and then a TS dinner was too much food for us too close together. We are going to use more of our CS for breakfast and the "new and improved snack credits" around lunch time. If we want to use our TS for a character breakfast and then use CS for dinner we will. I too have made a spreadsheet.

Bottom line...it can drive you crazy if you let it. Just do what works for you!

 

[Daisysmom]

Last year I let the dining plan make me all FREAKIE! I was trying to follow everyone's advice: maximize the plan; don't use TS for lunch, don't use CS for breakfast because you don't get dessert; etc. This year, I know better! We are going to eat where we want, when we want. A CS lunch and then a TS dinner was too much food for us too close together. We are going to use more of our CS for breakfast and the "new and improved snack credits" around lunch time. If we want to use our TS for a character breakfast and then use CS for dinner we will. I too have made a spreadsheet.

Bottom line...it can drive you crazy if you let it. Just do what works for you!

Amen to that!! Same here!!!!

 

[alicenwonder99]

My DH thinks I'm crazy obsessed about this free dining/ADR planning/WDW special watching trip (I've been DVR-ing all the specials that have been on the Travel Channel lately)! I have all our ADRs planned for our August trip to the BC. I can't stop reading the disboards on all the restaurant threads. Now every time I even mention dining at Disney he puts his hands over his ears and says, "lalalalalalalalalala" He said I went overboard when he saw me looking at the thread showing pictures of food. He actually walked out of the room when I tried to show him a picture of the huge soda pop glass at WCC. It's just our family going this time too so I can't get my friend to obsess with me!

Our ADRs are:
CRT breakfast
CP dinner
Cape May Cafe breakfast
50s Prime Time Cafe dinner
Teppanyaki lunch
Le Cellier dinner
Boma dinner
Chef Mickey dinner
Spoodles dinner

Now...I need to get on that spreadsheet idea.........

OMG!!!! Your post has me cracking up!!!

I did the DDP last December. It was just me and my 2 youngest children (ages 7 and 5). Everyday, we ate something in the room for breakfast (like a poptart). Then we had an early lunch, and early dinner. We ended up throwing so much food away. My kids are tiny and not big eaters. And we're not from the "eat everything on your plate" type of family. We were always ready for our dinners at dinnertime.

So, plan away, but don't think you must eat all of the food they give you. I guarantee you'll come home 10+ lbs. heavier!! If you eat sensibly, then you will be ready to eat dinner at dinnertime. Or better yet, eat something light in the hotel room for breakfast, eat an early CS lunch, then a late TS for dinner.

Mary