Dining Plan

[luvmy2boys]

I know this has been asked alot..But I wanted everyones opininion please My family and I are going to Disney March 21-28th. I will be me, my husband and our five boys! 9 yr old twins, 8 yr old, my 2 year old who is celebrating his birthday with Mickey Mouse again this yr :sohappy: and our 9 month old!! It will be the first time the older three have ever been!! And it is the first time we have ever stayed in a disney resort :sohappy: My question is we have the meal plan with three sit down meals and two snacks, and we really want to try alot of the great food...but do you guys think it will still be too much food??? Thanks so much for your input!!:wave:

Mirandy

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

My first instinct is to say yes. That's more food than my husband and I could happily eat. However, you have little ones who may need to much all day instead of one quick lunch and one nice dinner. You know your family's habits best. If they are used to three meals a day, I wouldn't try to change that in Disney World.

 

[djpoore94]

It is a lot of food on that plan. DH and I enjoy that plan and really take the time to figure out the spacing of meals and making sure we don't have two all you can eat places in one day. I agree that the kids will probably need more than the quick lunch and nice dinner, but another thing to keep in mind is that three sit down meals a day take away a lot of touring time which could be a bad thing for the three older boys.

 

[Fade_to_Blah]

The dining plan almost always ends up being too much food in my opinion

 

[luvmy2boys]

Thanks so much!! My plan is to do an early sit down breakfast to get everyone going, get a quick lunch ie Caseys Corner for a hotdog or Yak and Yeti, and then do an early sit down dinner around 5:30 or so..and let them go back at it if they feel up too it

 

[wdwmomof3]

So you are on the deluxe dining plan. To me, that is way to much food plus a lot of time wasted on eating. There are five of us and we find that the regular dining plan with one CS & TBS & one snack works great for us. It's just easier for us to work around one ADR a day instead of two, plus it's cheaper and that's a factor that I really have to consider.

You know your family better than anyone. If they eat A LOT, then I would go with your deluxe dining. If not, I would change it. Either way, you are going to have a blast.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Be sure that you realize that the 2yo and the 9mo old will need to either share food from the others plates, or pay out of pocket if they want their own meals - as those under the age of 3 cannot purchase the dining plan.

 

[coachjt]

I think what was failed to be mentioned is that some of the charecter meals require two TS, I would highly recommend doing these options with this many children. That said, the delux plan is an enormous amount of food. If you intend to do alot of these shows it will work for you.

I STRONGLY recommend that you sit down and schedule your meals. This will relieve alot of stress. The DDP is quite exspensive and you dont want to end up with alot left on your plan when you leave.

We always get the basic plan and find that its more then enough food, The thing to consider is if you want to visit resturants and shows that require two TS, if not go with the basic plan

 

[brent2124]

I would say the average boys that age range will want to spend more time on rides and at the pool than having 3 TS meals a day. I would suggest doing a few Character TS meals like Chef Mickeys and a Dinner show like The Spirit of Aloha at the Poly.

 

[disneygirl76]

Although I completely agree it is a lot of food - I think it is important not to miss the other benefit to this plan - the fact that you don't have to pay out of pocket and for a family of your size, that can be pricey. A great way to start the day is to do a buffet character bfast - its a great way to get character meet and greets out of the way, they start early, and its all you can eat. That is one TS. And yes, lunch may be eatten at a CS location, but again, nothing is out of pocket here. For just my DH and I, if we had to pay for a lunch for the two of us at a CS is can be around $25. And then you have to eat dinner - that again is a sit down TS. So yes, it is a lot of food - but I think it is also practical from a plan vs. out of pocket view point.

My DH and I are thinking about doing this plan, not b/c of the food but b/c the price per day out of pocket we would spend is more then if we just increased the dining plan. :wave:

 

[betteratmk]

I would compare prices of the regular plan and the deluxe plan. All of your children are still young enough for the kids meals. Are the older boys large eaters? Are they adventurous eaters? Are they big breakfast eaters? I know my son does not eat a large breakfast at all and did not like to try a large variety of things. But we could never skip lunch :slurp: !! We usually go with the regular meal plan and have a sit down dinner. Breakfast for us would be a waste, he would eat a bagel at best. Also what character meals do you not want to miss? Figure out the total of meal credits needed for your whole trip based on where you would like to eat and you shoud have your answer!! :sohappy: