<<WWYD>> DxDP or DDP with a 2.5 y.o???

[peanut520]

We are staying at the Contemporary in Sept 18-22 for 4 nights and 5 full days (arriving 9:30am first day and leaving approx 6:00pm on the magical express the last day). I have booked the dxdp, but have some concerns. here are the details of the planned trip:
- 4 adults (my parents) and a 2.5 year old in 2 rooms. We enjoy our sit down meals together, but this is Disney so I know that I’m dealing with a whole another beast.
- First trip on Disney dining and it will be the first Disney trip for my kiddo and my step-father. the rest has been before but it has been 15-20 years so basically the it is a first trip for all of us.
- Do you think they are going to charge for milk at the buffets? I plan on bringing a case of horizon organic milk for kiddo so I don’t have to worry about buying her milk in the park or when we eat but I’d be happier to carry less into the park daily. - We don’t really like fast food type of food, but keep hearing that dxdp is too much food and takes too much time. kiddo is usually good with restaurants, but we only go out to eat once or twice a week max. kiddo is not a huge meat eater so i have to look for veggie options for her (or me to share with her)
- I count 14 meals including breakfast for our stay, but I don’t know if we will do breakfast every day except for something for kiddo if we grab coffee in the room any maybe use a snack credit for a breakfast item. I figure I would not need to pay oop on dxdp, but will need to pay oop for at least 4 meals with ddp. Should I get the ddp and pay oop for the rest of our meals? Will doing 2 ts meals a day be too much?
- The price difference is $528 (plus the $$$ for tips) between the 2 plans. Money is not a huge concern, but I am paying for the entire vacation including my parents' portion so I would love to be able to save where I can without affecting the Disney experience for anyone.

What are your experiences with young kiddos and the dxdp? What are your thoughts? Thanks

 

[hannahdrewmom]

If you could list the restaurants that you are choicing it might help people to help you decided. Off hand I'd say dxdp seems to fit you better but it would depend on what type of restaurants you have.

In general at buffets we have found that our under 3's don't get charged for drinks. At regular TS it is hit and miss if they get charged. More often then not they were charged there though.

Most buffets will have lots of veggie and carb options. I think alot of under 3's don't eat a lot of meat. The others it will depend on the restaurant. I would say with the number of snacks that you will have for 4 individuals you will not need to pay oop AT ALL even if you bought milk in the park using a snack credit. Personally I'd not worry about bringing a carton of milk as we normally have LOTS of snacks left on dxdp at the end of the week even when buying drinks.

 

[Faldred]

- Do you think they are going to charge for milk at the buffets? I plan on bringing a case of horizon organic milk for kiddo so I don’t have to worry about buying her milk in the park or when we eat but I’d be happier to carry less into the park daily.

Dining plan or not, children under 3 eat for free at all buffets/AYCE/family style/dinner shows. That includes milk.

We don’t really like fast food type of food, but keep hearing that dxdp is too much food and takes too much time. kiddo is usually good with restaurants, but we only go out to eat once or twice a week max. kiddo is not a huge meat eater so i have to look for veggie options for her (or me to share with her)

I disagree with the "takes too much time" description. I find that a TS meal certainly takes more time than a CS meal, but not by that much, and the extra relaxation "downtime" of a TS meal allows you to keep a higher touring pace the rest of the time. Also, character meals are a great way to avoid having to stand in lines at the parks for meet & greets.

A good touring plan is far more important than the amount of time spent at meals.

I count 14 meals including breakfast for our stay, but I don’t know if we will do breakfast every day except for something for kiddo if we grab coffee in the room any maybe use a snack credit for a breakfast item. I figure I would not need to pay oop on dxdp, but will need to pay oop for at least 4 meals with ddp. Should I get the ddp and pay oop for the rest of our meals? Will doing 2 ts meals a day be too much?
- The price difference is $528 (plus the $$$ for tips) between the 2 plans. Money is not a huge concern, but I am paying for the entire vacation including my parents' portion so I would love to be able to save where I can without affecting the Disney experience for anyone.

If you're going to do 2 TS meals a day or more, I'd lean toward DxDP. Less than 2 TS meals a day is likely better with basic DDP plus OOP (pay for the least expensive meals OOP, of course).

What are your experiences with young kiddos and the dxdp? What are your thoughts? Thanks

See the trip and dining reports links in my signature. We went with (at the time) twins just a couple months older than 2 and an older child just shy of 4.

Edit: the trip/dining reports don't discuss it, but the twins are both autistic -- diagnosed officially after we got back from WDW.

 

[peanut520]

If you could list the restaurants that you are choicing it might help people to help you decided. Off hand I'd say dxdp seems to fit you better but it would depend on what type of restaurants you have.

In general at buffets we have found that our under 3's don't get charged for drinks. At regular TS it is hit and miss if they get charged. More often then not they were charged there though.

Most buffets will have lots of veggie and carb options. I think alot of under 3's don't eat a lot of meat. The others it will depend on the restaurant. I would say with the number of snacks that you will have for 4 individuals you will not need to pay oop AT ALL even if you bought milk in the park using a snack credit. Personally I'd not worry about bringing a carton of milk as we normally have LOTS of snacks left on dxdp at the end of the week even when buying drinks.

Definites:
chef mickey's
crystal palace
coral reef
donald's safari

Maybes:
Akershus Royal Banquet
Garden Grill
Boma
Ohana
Yak and Yeti's
La Chefs

as you see there is a lot of places i'd like to try but is it overkill with the kiddo?
So with dxdp i wont need to bring as much milk (i have to bring a few containers since she likes her cup of milk when she wakes up) and i'll have to brng the whole case with ddp. hmmm...

 

[catra121]

I would say go Deluxe with what you want to do. I don't think it's overkill with the kid because it gives you and them a chance to rest and take a break from the fast pace of the parks. The nice thing about the Deluxe plan is that it allows you the flexibility to use the credits any way you like so if you decide to do some CS meals you CAN...and the 2 snack credits are great for things like drinks, breakfast items, and the refillable mug is nice for getting drinks at the resort in the morning.

Deluxe will also let you do some character meals if you want because you'll have the ability to use those 2 credits without sacrificing and having to pay OOP for a meal.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

I'd go deluxe based on those restaurants. They are almost all buffets and non will be very economical oop. I think you daughter will be fine especially since the majority are character meals and as with any buffet you get your food right away so there is very little waiting that has to be done for food. (Which we all know with young ones is the WORST part of meal time! ) I'd go deluxe and enjoy it. It will help you not to have to carry milk around too! Contemporary does have a small grocer where you can buy milk too if you don't want to have to carry it or if you run out but don't want to use snacks! Plus you have a fridge in your room! I think you'll enjoy it!

 

[Colleen27]

We love deluxe with our little one, who was 2.5 for our most recent trip. The extra food at the menu-service meals and the extra snacks the plan offers means we can get through the entire trip without any OOP food for her.

Meals & drinks for kids under 3 are free at the buffets and family style locations. Most menu-service locations will not charge for a drink for a child under 3 (in two trips with our youngest we were charged for her drink once, at Raglan Road for dinner last week).

For breakfasts, we mostly used snack credits for blueberry muffins for DD2 while the adults and big kid had tea/coffee/cocoa and didn't really eat until lunch. Just one way of many that the extra snack credits came in handy. You can also use them for milk, if you don't want to carry it with you into the parks.

We don't feel like the DxDDP is too much food or time, and we've used it three times so far for a cumulative total of 26 nights. As far as the time goes we've had counter service meals take close to an hour between ordering, waiting for food, finding a table, getting condiments, and finally settling in to eat, and with a little one the standard way of avoiding that - eating at off-peak times - isn't especially practical. If you hope to eat at noonish and 6ish, many counter service locations will be chaotic. I'd far rather take an extra 15-30 minutes to have the more relaxing experience of being waited on, though many of the buffets are pretty quick anyway and might not take longer than peak-time counter service at all.

I'm currently doing a dining review if you want to pop over and see in detail how the DxDDP worked out for our family with a 2.5 year old. The link is in my signature.

 

[peanut520]

Faldred- fabulous trip and dining reports!

Colleen27 - i cant wait to read your reports.

Is not charging for drinks (milk) for set under 3 at ts restaurants the norm more than the exception?

 

[Faldred]

Is not charging for drinks (milk) for set under 3 at ts restaurants the norm more than the exception?

All I can say is that we were only charged for milk for the twins at TS once (Wolfgang Puck)... BUT we also had a child ordering a meal with us, which may have made a difference.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

I just went back through my receipts from September.... we were charge for a drink at Kona, The Wave, and Kouzzini's (breakfast). We were not charged at any buffet or at Calif Grill or Jikos (maybe a signature thing??)

I can't find my receipts from the year before it was a similar experience from memory. I do know we were charge for a drink at San Angels... because I was annoyed that I had gotten water and they still charged for dd milk. (Probably would have said something but she had a meltdown and DH payed and didn't think about it.)

 

[peanut520]

All I can say is that we were only charged for milk for the twins at TS once (Wolfgang Puck)... BUT we also had a child ordering a meal with us, which may have made a difference.

Well I dont have a problem bringing her milk since I prefer her to have organic anyways.

 

[peanut520]

I just went back through my receipts from September.... we were charge for a drink at Kona, The Wave, and Kouzzini's (breakfast). We were not charged at any buffet or at Calif Grill or Jikos (maybe a signature thing??)

I can't find my receipts from the year before it was a similar experience from memory. I do know we were charge for a drink at San Angels... because I was annoyed that I had gotten water and they still charged for dd milk. (Probably would have said something but she had a meltdown and DH payed and didn't think about it.)

hmm.... my other plan was to order a milk and water for me and "share" with her since under 3 are allowed to share the adult meal since i'm not much of a soda drinker. i guess i will have to pay attention to the reciepts.

 

[DaParkers]

Is this more like a traditional vacation or do you want to experience a lot of attractions? If traditional,then you'll be fine. If park centric, then I would caution you against "going all out". How much time will you spend at the resort? Are you willing to sacrifice attractions for meals? Also, don't underestimate the toll that touring the park takes on your body. Many people have missed their dinner adr's because they were so drained by the end of the day.

 

[Colleen27]

Is not charging for drinks (milk) for set under 3 at ts restaurants the norm more than the exception?

It seems to be a toss up and I think in most places it depends on your server rather than any official policy. Maybe what you order also makes a difference? DD2 doesn't drink much milk; she usually got iced tea or juice same as DD9 and we were only charged once on this past trip. I didn't think we were charged at all on our '09 trip, but DH says we were at Teppan Edo (which makes me think it could be a partly a Disney-owned vs third-party issue? ).

 

[peanut520]

Is this more like a traditional vacation or do you want to experience a lot of attractions? If traditional,then you'll be fine. If park centric, then I would caution you against "going all out". How much time will you spend at the resort? Are you willing to sacrifice attractions for meals? Also, don't underestimate the toll that touring the park takes on your body. Many people have missed their dinner adr's because they were so drained by the end of the day.

i think that is were i am most confused, how much will a 2.5yr old can and want to do? I dont plan on spending much time at the resort. i spoke to my mother last night she was thinking the ts would be nice down time from the park to sit down and eat. we are food focused people and enjoy meals together, but i want to balance that with seeing the park.
...with that being said i would like this trip to be a good mix of vacation at disney world (i want to see as much as i can but not be hard pressed to see everything). we can always do another trip between our other planned vacations.

 

[Faldred]

I still maintain that a good touring plan trumps any "lost" time due to dining.

Learn the basics on the theme park strategy board, especially how to use FastPass and Rider Swap, and make sure you arrive early as you can often get more done by noon than you can from noon until closing. Make your park plans and dining plans mesh together well so you're not running all over the property to get to/from meals, or even halfway across a park.

Understand that no plan will ever completely survive contact with reality, but if you've planned enough, you'll be capable of replanning on the fly.

 

[juliebean]

I think that paying oop for 4 adults would most likely easy overcome the $500 difference. I had originally planned to do the basic dining plan for our trip next month, but realized that it just didn't make financial sense to do so. It's good you've considered it. I can't say about September, but in April we did not feel that TS required a significant amount of time more than CS, just because of the lines and trying to find a clean table. I also felt having the appetizers gave us healthier options like soup or salad - and made it easier to share with kids.

If your daughter is into the princesses I'd consider adding Cinderella's Royal table if you do the deluxe. It would use up 2 credits, you get pictures with Cinderella and no tip is a financial bonus. We've also decided to not stand in line to see characters that we'll see at meals since that wasted a lot of time last visit. We are doing Askershus for breakfast to get a picture with Belle too - my 5 year old is obsessed with her! I also thought lunch with Remy at Chefs was nice for adults and kids - mine love Ratatioulle - the movie not the dish, unfortunately!

And since you are treating your parents, maybe let them pick a 2 credit steak or seafood place they'd enjoy. So sweet of you to take them!

In reality, if you need an "extra" meal for an arrival or departure day or if you do a couple of 2 credit options - the deluxe works out to 2 good meals a day plus snacks. So, you can do a late breakfast or an early lunch, maybe a snack in between or for breakfast, with a nice dinner and not be stuffed. There is only one day where we are doing 3 sit down meals and it's in Epcot because we want to try more than one restaurant and see Belle at breakfast! We are also going to Boma the evening we arrive - partly to see the animals and AKL, but also because I've had a lot of friends love it. I know I wouldn't do it if we didn't have the dining plan - it seems like a lot for a buffet. Before deciding to do the deluxe we were going to stop and pick something up on the way from the airport, but going and swimming for a while and then heading over to AKL sound like a lot more fun!

Have fun!

 

[peanut520]

delete per system error and i posted twice

 

[smiths02]

I think that if you do Deluxe, I doubt you would need to bring any milk. We had regular dining plan with 4 adults (the in-laws) and a nearly 3 year old (he was not on the plan-he counted as "free" still)-we were all in one room though :lol

Anyhow, even with just four snacks a day (one for each adult)...we had enough snack credits. With Deluxe, you would have 8 snack credits a day! Surely you could use one of those for milk in the morning.

 

[peanut520]

I think that paying oop for 4 adults would most likely easy overcome the $500 difference. I had originally planned to do the basic dining plan for our trip next month, but realized that it just didn't make financial sense to do so. It's good you've considered it. I can't say about September, but in April we did not feel that TS required a significant amount of time more than CS, just because of the lines and trying to find a clean table. I also felt having the appetizers gave us healthier options like soup or salad - and made it easier to share with kids.

If your daughter is into the princesses I'd consider adding Cinderella's Royal table if you do the deluxe. It would use up 2 credits, you get pictures with Cinderella and no tip is a financial bonus. We've also decided to not stand in line to see characters that we'll see at meals since that wasted a lot of time last visit. We are doing Askershus for breakfast to get a picture with Belle too - my 5 year old is obsessed with her! I also thought lunch with Remy at Chefs was nice for adults and kids - mine love Ratatioulle - the movie not the dish, unfortunately!

And since you are treating your parents, maybe let them pick a 2 credit steak or seafood place they'd enjoy. So sweet of you to take them!

In reality, if you need an "extra" meal for an arrival or departure day or if you do a couple of 2 credit options - the deluxe works out to 2 good meals a day plus snacks. So, you can do a late breakfast or an early lunch, maybe a snack in between or for breakfast, with a nice dinner and not be stuffed. There is only one day where we are doing 3 sit down meals and it's in Epcot because we want to try more than one restaurant and see Belle at breakfast! We are also going to Boma the evening we arrive - partly to see the animals and AKL, but also because I've had a lot of friends love it. I know I wouldn't do it if we didn't have the dining plan - it seems like a lot for a buffet. Before deciding to do the deluxe we were going to stop and pick something up on the way from the airport, but going and swimming for a while and then heading over to AKL sound like a lot more fun!

Have fun!

i'm not sure about the princess thing for dd, but she might surprise me. right not it is all about micky and donald.

i really am starting to think it is what you make of it. i am not planning to go all out and force 3 ts /day but if it happens, it happens. i remember my first trip to disney when i was 5 and it was a bus tour from nyc. my family was poor and my dad really wanted us to see disney (good thing since he pass away 2 yrs later) so we packed ramen and rice and ate at the motel, but that never bothered me. boy have things changed! the 500 difference is easy to ovecome if you want to, i think i calculated the mugs, extra snack, and 2 extra ts meals, but the frugal side says we could pack granola and eat that for breakfast and only pay $300-400 oop for the extra snacks and 2 ts meals and 1 qs meal. the definite lean is to keep the dxdp especially with the 5 full days so we actually only have 2 day what we would do 3 meals and 3 days we would do 2 meals and subsides with snack credits.