What I want to do about DDP.

[DisneyDivaMom]

I have a paid for pkg which includes the DDP. I purchased this believing that my 8 yo dd would have a good selection on the kids menu. Sadly after reading numerous threads on this matter, I no longer believe she will be able to eat well with the new kid's menus out there. She is an adventerous eater and I had counted on her being able to eat varied food at TS as well as at CS. I wonder if I might just be able to upgrade her her from a kid to an adult on the DDP, paying the difference of course. If I cancel the dining plan, I incur a 60.00 penalty and the balance goes to my room card like a charging privilege. It would cost me (I calculate) roughly 216.00 to pay the difference. Anyone done this upgrade after the package is paid.

 

[bicker]

I would recongize that what you're reading are the critics. The folks who are satisfied with the choices they find typically won't go out of their way to post online, and even when they do, they tend to be drowned out by the folks who feel that anyone discussing enjoying themselves debases their criticism. We go into our vacations with a positive attitude, and work with the CMs instead of against them, and we've found that we always have a wonderful time.

However, don't let me dissuade you from upgrading your DD to the regular Dining Plan. I just am not sure that it would be worth it.

 

[akalittleeva]

I considered it for my dd8 for the same reasons. I was told I could change her to an "adult" up to 3 days before arrival. My package is already paid for. I considered cancelling the DDP as well, but thought that wouldn't be fair to the rest of us (3 adults, one adult child, ds10). After reviewing the changed menus and calculating OOP costs for worst case scenario (OOP for 5 meals - she may order off the new menu once or twice - entirely her choice), it was still cheaper to just pay OOP for her while we are there rather than upgrading. I am not happy about this however, because it will be more $, making the kids DDP not such a great value for us and one of the main reasons I liked the idea of the DDP was to not have to have a bill at the end of the meal. Even more frustrating is I know things will change probably for the better - this menu will not succeed IMO, but it will be too late for us and we won't be able to get back for at least another 5 years. At least she will be an "adult" by then.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The only drawback is that Disney keeps apparently permanent records of us; if you 'age' your daughter now, in ten years she'll count as an ACTUAL adult for room rate purposes, i.e., you'd be charged for an extra adult in your room in 2015 instead of 2016.

 

[DisneyDivaMom]

Hmmmm.....I may just just share a bit here and there or let her order OOP. the kids menus just seem really limited from what I am reading. I think I will be more vocal on this trip by speaking up when needed. I hope to keep a cheerful attitude and want to refelect that as well by making sure good service is rewarded and commented on by filling out guest cards. Thanks eveyone for your help.

Oh, now we are at 28 days out!

 

[fws]

I've just posted on another thread - but worth repeating. There's a ton of food on the dining plan, so sharing is easy in counter service and I'd really recommend going for a lot of buffets and family style meals. People often feel they're not getting full value if they aren't maxing the monetary gains, but my kids (13 and 15) preferred the buffet food anyway, so I'm sure younger ones would. Boma and H & V were especial favourites.

 

[patsal]

Even before this wave of healthy options on the kids menus Disney was creating helathier menu items for the kids. Last December the kids meals came with sugar free Jello for dessert, while adults had pizza at Pinocchio's DD had a turkey wrap, and goldfish crackers, at Peco's Bills the kids choice was beans and weenies--not there anymore, etc. We were still able to find her things she would like to eat, or pay OOP for an a la carte item or two for far less than upgrading her to adult on the DDP. Even at TS where she was restricted from some of the desserts on the adult menu I'd just order what she wanted and take the kid dessert or skip dessert all together or share with her. Her CS credits were used for breakfast the next morning if we found that she could not find anything she liked on the CS kids menu and an extra entree of her choice purchased. Overall the whole extra amount I spent for the 5 nights including a few drinks and non DDP covered snacks was only around $150. Still much less than the adult price difference on the DDP.

 

[honeymo78]

patsal - thank you for your post. I wish people would read what you've said. Most of the CS changes aren't really new changes - they've been that way for a while and really has nothing to do with the new TS meals.

 

[mamamary]

I'm with FWS. Luckily we had alot of buffets picked out. We're leaving tomorrow. We're doing Crystal Palace, LTT, Chef Mickey's and H&V (glad to hear FWS liked it - I'm nervous about the bad reviews on that one). My 7 & 9 year old love to eat! I'm sure they'll do great at the buffets.

 

[saschab]

The folks who are satisfied with the choices they find typically won't go out of their way to post online, and even when they do, they tend to be drowned out by the folks who feel that anyone discussing enjoying themselves debases their criticism.

How interesting; my experience is the exact opposite. I'm happy when folks say the DDP works for them, yet when I express my displeasure with its effects I'm told I'm unreasonable.

Funny how that works....

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

Yay! Another thread about the same thing!

Same old suspects, same old whine...good thing it's the DIS and we have plenty of cheese around.

NED

 

[theostwalts]

I think it all depends on exactly what you are looking for out of the DDP. Our family likes the plan because of the convenience more than the savings. We discussed whether or not to use it again on our upcoming trip or just pay oop for everthing. Having a snack during the day, a counter service meal for lunch, and a nice sit-down meal at night really fits our plans. I did upgrage our 8 year old to the adult plan for our upcoming trip. I actually did this before the new changes were posted about. Our other 2 dds are 15 and 10, so I wanted everyone to be able to order whatever they wanted. No, we will not save as much money, but the convenience was a bigger factor for us. I really like the idea of having everything taken care of before we arrive.

 

[CPer'sMom]

Yay! Another thread about the same thing!

Same old suspects, same old whine...good thing it's the DIS and we have plenty of cheese around.

NED

Oh, I'm sorry that someone forced you to read this thread

 

[pigletforever]

i have posted this before. The restaurants are very willing to accomadate kids. At Kona's he was able to get the apples from the set menu a cheeseburger from teh ala carte menu and an ice cream sundae. At Prime time he didn't want anything on the kids menu so they got him a chicken let and mashed poatoes and green beans. I have seen others say their kids got pot roast in a kids size portion. At Coral reef the kids menu had a differnt soup and he didn't like it so the brought him the soup that was on the adult menu. I can't remember what happened at Rose and Crown but I know they accomadted him. At Le Cellier they actually went to a different restauarnat and got him apples for an appetizer because he didn't like what was on the kids menu. the servers/managers have issues with the new kids menu and want the patrons happy. At all of the above mentioned places we were charged for the kids DDP or if we were paying OOP for the meal we were charged the kids price.

 

[marmermea]

DisneyDivaMom,

I felt the same way you do and even started a post about my unhapiness at the child's menu changes. But I just got back from a week with 2 children and really only had one slight problem with it. Only some of the restaurants have that menu and then they each have some alternate choices. So when you look at the menus, you'll find the ones that have alternate choices that are ok with your kids and simply avoid the restaurants that you can't find a good choice on.

None of the buffets/shows/character meals have that menu so do go to them. Also, we ate at Le Cellier and Coral Reef which did not have the changes and had good choices for kids. I know there are many other restaurants that don't have the new kids menu also.

We had breakfasts at the POFQ food court and the kids were able to order child size portions (and they really weren't that much smaller) of the same things the adults had.

As I've posted before, the CS restaurants didn't seem to care if you ordered adult or child meals so we didn't have any problems there. We did order the child's if we could find something on the menu, but also ordered the adults once or twice if not.

All in all, we just didn't have any problem with it. So I think you should keep your Dining Plan and just avoid certain restaurants that don't have other options.

 

[honeymo78]

Great to hear piglet. I think the majority of servers/managers are there to help you and the few people who ran into cranky servers that didn't help them find something to eat were just unlucky.

 

[jordansmomma]

Yay! Another thread about the same thing!

Same old suspects, same old whine...good thing it's the DIS and we have plenty of cheese around.

NED

Sorry but you weren't required to read or post.
It is just a concerned parent with a question about how to feed their
child while on vacation. If it was such a big ordeal for you to
handle then you should have just left well enough alone and moved
on to a new thread. Just remember that you were once a child, I am sure
there were things you weren't too excited to eat either.
But in any case I am sure they will be accomidate your needs.
When I booked my trip today I called and asked about the DDP and
what i could do if my DS6 didnt find the food to be to his liking.
They just told me that most places are very helpful and will accomidate you as they see fit.

 

[tjmw2727]

I know how you feel, my dd's are good eaters and like to try new foods as well. I think if I were in your situation I would keep things as they are for now and plan to pay OOP if and when you need to, split appetizers or salads when you can and see how it works.

If after the first couple days your not finding things your dd is interested in eating then you could see about upgrading her meal plan at that point.

TJ

 

[DaisyD]

The only drawback is that Disney keeps apparently permanent records of us; if you 'age' your daughter now, in ten years she'll count as an ACTUAL adult for room rate purposes, i.e., you'd be charged for an extra adult in your room in 2015 instead of 2016.

That isn't true. They had all 3 of my kid ages wrong over the years. I simply told them the correct ages and it was changed in the computer. No biggie.

 

[DaisyD]

I would recongize that what you're reading are the critics. The folks who are satisfied with the choices they find typically won't go out of their way to post online, and even when they do, they tend to be drowned out by the folks who feel that anyone discussing enjoying themselves debases their criticism. We go into our vacations with a positive attitude, and work with the CMs instead of against them, and we've found that we always have a wonderful time.

However, don't let me dissuade you from upgrading your DD to the regular Dining Plan. I just am not sure that it would be worth it.

All the OP has to do is look at the new menus to see that most restaurants are all offering the same old stuff. She doesn't have to listen to the critics to see for herself how the new menus are are all alike. To the OP you most certainly can pay an adult DDP for your DD. You will have to get her an adult one day ticket but that isn't a big deal.