Value vs Moderate for free dining- need opinions please

[Megara5115]

Hello! We are planning a trip 12/15-12/20 for me, husband and two kids (11yo and 9 months at time of travel). We are going to take advantage of free dining but I'm torn between booking POP (which I have already reserved) or Carribean Beach. All said and done also considering tips for the TS that would come with CB I'm thinking it will be about $500 more total.

My thinking for booking POP was that since we will have the baby that QS would be our best bet because it's flexible and perhaps I would schedule one family friendly TS (like Chef Mickey) for our trip and pay out of pocket.

Now I'm wondering if I would be better to book CB to get the Dining plan with TS because it would give us another break and probably be more relaxing? And if we were to do Chef Mickey out of pocket it would be about $150 right there.

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but I'd love feedback and opinions on this- thank you!!!!

 

[old feller]

My opinion is all those sit down meals (ressies) on regular dining plan take so much planning time out of the parks.We always found ourselves saying "we will be cutting it close on our dining ressie if we try that" got to be a hassle for us.
Also,way too much food.Breaks can also be down on slow type attractions.Would your fam like a mid day break ?
We also love pop. Have a great trip.

 

[happymommy]

To me, it really depends on if you like the feel of Caribbean Beach or Pop, and if you think you want 5 TS meal credits.

I like that Pop has one bus stop, so getting to and from the parks is easy. I think CB resort is more spread out.

CB has queen beds vs. double beds at Pop.

I love the free QSDP, but for our upcoming trip (booked 8 nights at Pop with free QS dining) it's just DD and me. We love going with the flow, so will enjoy QS meals. We enjoyed Pop last August with the same plan, so I wasn't even interested in moderate resorts.

I've heard very mixed things about Chef Mickey's, but you're really there for the characters anyway! I did think that Cape May character breakfast was great as far as quality (we ended up there years ago, as we had an extra TS credit on check-out day on the free dining plan, but all agreed we wouldn't have paid OOP for it). We're not into the characters, though!

If it were me, I'd go with Pop, but only you can decide truly!

 

[IndyRnRfan]

When we have done the dining plan we always do the DDP with the TS. This is our break in the evening. For the 3 of us it was/is always nice to look forward to eating a restaurant and sitting down as we are on the go all day and night. This last trip we averaged around 22-25k steps per day with a couple over 30k. This was even with a pool break in the afternoon. I imagine with the little one you won't be walking that much so you could get by with QS or if you plan on being at the parks most days and nights, it could be a nice break for the 11 year old and you guys as well. By the time our son was 11, he was up at the crack of dawn and didn't want to go back to the hotel until midnight so sitting down for dinner was a nice break. Now, sitting down is a nice break for my DW and me. You are only going to lose about 1-1.5 hrs for dinner. It's not that big of deal when you consider being at the parks for 14-15 hours like we normally are.

Like I try to tell our friends, get some opinions, think about what would work best for you and stick with the plan once you make a decision. Don't second guess yourself as it will make you vacation miserable. If it doesn't work out the way you liked it, now you have an excuse to go back next year and try the other plan.

 

[hjvigz72]

For our family, once we moved from Value to Moderate, we've never turned back. For us it wasn't a matter of the dining plan - we've always purchased the DDP for planning and budgeting purposes. We liked the pools and amenities better at the moderates. With that said, we also knew that we wanted at least one sit down meal every day - whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner. We've always had hoppers, but we do plan our parks and days around our dining reservations so we're not "rushing or freaking out" about making it on time.

We have stayed at both and do like them both. Pop has super fun theming for the kids. Caribbean is big, but there is also a lot to do right there should you decide to skip the parks, or need to let the littlest take a nap. There is a lot of food on the DDP, but I think if you plan it right, you can certainly make the most of it.

As for Chef Mickey - we've done it once and that was enough for us. Food for us was just "meh", but the character experience was great. Were you picking Chef Mickey for specific characters? If so, and if you are planning to visit Hollywood Studios, I believe (and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!) Hollywood and Vine now has Minnie's Holiday Dine while you are there. Holiday Themed character dining if you're interested in that. As happymommy mentioned about Cape May, Chef Mickey probably wouldn't be one we'd pay OOP for. We love O'Hana for the character breakfast and of course for dinner.

Good luck, and whatever you decide, you'll have fun! YOU'RE GOING TO DISNEY!!!

 

[ajwilhorn]

You could still stay at POP and just upgrade the dining for a fee. You may come out ahead financially that way than upgrading the resort and having the higher dining plan free.

 

[kdka421]

Just my 2 cents.

I'm just back from my first trip with our daughter who was 1.5 during the trip. She'd been on a set routine for a while, and takes one afternoon nap, which she was able to do in her stroller. We did not plan a table service meal each day, and the ones we did plan we were careful to plan at times she would unlikely be napping (breakfast or dinner). At 9 months old, your baby may still be napping twice a day, and assuming they are able to nap in their stroller, keep in mind that most table service restaurants will not let you bring a stroller into the restaurant. If you aren't confident what their nap schedule is going to be like, it would be very hard in my opinion to plan a large number of table service meals.

As for the hotels, there are definitely pluses and minuses to each. I personally love the moderate level, but in your shoes I'd stay at Pop, just because of the nap/stroller logistics.

 

[glm777]

We have stayed at deluxe resorts and value resorts when our children were younger. Our very favorite resort is POP. My thing is...if I'm going to be in WDW I want to be immersed in it! I love the theming of the value resorts. We stayed last time in the treehouse villas at SS and while it was absolutely lovely, we could have been anywhere in the Northeast woods. Not a lot of theming.
You can upgrade your dining plan from QS only to the regular dining plan for a relatively minimal charge per day. I really appreciated "having" to take a break for our sit down meal ADRs. It gave everyone a much needed rest and gave the kiddos a chance to decompress from being overwhelmed with sights and sounds and people! They were happier which in turn made us happier - a win-win all around!

 

[dnllmz]

We are staying at POP and upgraded to get the regular dining plan. I was originally going to book at a moderate CSR but when more Pop rooms became available I decided to go with that. I think the kids will love the theme. I would love to have queen beds though but my kids are pretty young (small) so we'll make due.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

For $500 more, you will be getting a bigger room, queen beds and an upgraded dining plan. That's a no-brainer to me. Quite honestly, I hated doing QS when my DS was a baby. Even with two adults, juggling a baby and a tray of food, getting condiments and utensils and then trying to find a place to sit - so stressful! I would simply plan the TS around the baby's nap schedule. As you said, Chef Mickey's is $150 in and of itself. I would go with the mod and the free DDP dining.

 

[Nancyg56]

For $500 more, you will be getting a bigger room, queen beds and an upgraded dining plan. That's a no-brainer to me. Quite honestly, I hated doing QS when my DS was a baby. Even with two adults, juggling a baby and a tray of food, getting condiments and utensils and then trying to find a place to sit - so stressful! I would simply plan the TS around the baby's nap schedule. As you said, Chef Mickey's is $150 in and of itself. I would go with the mod and the free DDP dining.

This would be my opinion. CS once a day juggling all that stuff would be enough for me. I'm biased because I like ts meals and the break that they offer.

I also understand the tip thing, but I budget it in and I'm good

 

[mickeymom22]

I would go for the moderate and DDP with TS. When our children were younger we always went during free dining and stayed where we could get the DDP with the TS. We usually planned our TS in Epcot and enjoyed a relaxing night there after the meal. Often times, we would get an early reservation time around 4:00 and the youngest would be asleep in the stroller. If you don't mind planning your park days 180 days out, it takes off the stress during the trip. You don't have to have the discussion of where to eat when everyone is tired during the trip.

I hope you have a great time planning and during your trip!