1st trip to WDW and need help with DxDDP...

[cater00]

Okay me, DH, DD5, DD8 are going on our very 1st trip to WDW. We are going Sept.20-26th and will have free dining but are thinking about upgrading to Deluxe Dining. Also we are not getting the park hoppers, is that a mistake? Should we get the park hoppers? Please let me know if you think our plans so far is too much. We won't to be able to try the different places and see as much as possible because it may be several years before we will get the chance to go again if then.

20th-Check In @ 12-1pm
Fantasmic Dinner package-Mama Melrose @4:30

21st- MK
BBB @ 8 am
CRT @12pm
Plaza Restaurant @6:30pm
SpectroMagic
Wishes

22nd-
Chef Mickey @8am
HDDR @7:15pm

23rd-AK
Tusker House @8am
Mickeys BBQ @6:30

24th-
Ohana @ 7:30am
Chef Mickey @8:00pm

25th-HS
1900 Park Fare @8am
Liberty Tree Tavern @7

26th-MK
Crystal Palace @8am
Check Out @11am

Okay none of these are definite so what do you think? Like I said this is our 1st trip to WDW so not really sure what I am doing.LOL

[TDC Nala]

Maybe I am doing the math wrong but it looks like you are staying 6 nights, so you will have 18 meal credits per person and it looks to me like you are only using 15. Are you planning to throw in some counter service?

Also about the Fantasmic dinner - is 8:00 the showtime? Fantasmic dinners can't be booked any later than 5 PM and I have even seen posts that you can't get them later then 4:30 for an 8 PM show.

[Colleen27]

You do know that Liberty Tree Tavern is no longer a character meal, right? Just making sure, because they removed the characters fairly recently.

The BBB/CRT morning is such fun! We did that with DD7 on her last trip, and she just loved being a Princess for a day.

Also, for Mama Melrose, expect to eat very early for the Fantasmic package. A recent post said packages were only available between 2:30 and 4:30 or something like that.

You have a lot of character meals, which can be pretty noisy & busy, and I notice you've got Crystal Palace twice. Why not switch the CP dinner to a more relaxing, non-character meal either in the park or at one of the monorail resorts? In the park, The Plaza is good and in a great location for getting a spot for Spectro & Wishes right after dinner. Doing a resort restaurant would probably take tweaking the schedule a bit, pushing CRT up to a late breakfast and planning dinner for around 5-6 to be sure you have time to get back to MK for Spectro.

ETA: About the hoppers... We don't get them in advance. If you find you want to hop, you always have the option of adding the hopper feature at the ticket window at any park, so there's no need to make the decision and spend the money for hoppers up front.

[wahmtexas]

I think this looks good, we went in Nov with our 5 and 3 year olds and did the deluxe plan, the restaurants and characters are all part of it and the kids needed a break from the rides and parks, we really enjoyed getting dressed up a bit and doing 2 table service a day Have fun!!

[fac]

I never tried the DxDDP and am planning to try it this time, but we had used DDP a few times in the past.

If the cost is not a big problem for you, I agree on the DxDDP, my girls are 8 and 10 now, but when they were younger, I knew they would much prefer to have a sit down in the middle of the day.

I agree with the suggestions on no need to get Park Hopper now.

[squirrel]

I found the DDP to be more than enough food.

I think for your first trip, it will take too much time away from the parks eating at all the restaurants. The ADR's take a min of one hour most take an hour and a half.

[PrincessTiffany]

Originally Posted by cater00

Okay me, DH, DD5, DD8 are going on our very 1st trip to WDW. We are going Sept.20-26th and will have free dining but are thinking about upgrading to Deluxe Dining. Also we are not getting the park hoppers, is that a mistake? Should we get the park hoppers? Please let me know if you think our plans so far is too much. We won't to be able to try the different places and see as much as possible because it may be several years before we will get the chance to go again if then.

20th-Check In @ 12-1pm
Dinner-Liberty Tree Tavern @ 7pm

21st- MK
BBB @ 8 am
CRT @12pm
Crystal Palace @7pm
SpectroMagic
Wishes

22nd-
Chef Mickey @8am
HDDR @7:15pm

23rd-AK
Tusker House @8am
Mickeys BBQ @6:30

24th-
Ohana @ 7:30am
Chef Mickey @8:00pm

25th-HS
1900 Park Fare @8am
Fantasmic Dinner pk-Mama Melrose @8pm

26th-MK
Crystal Palace @8am
Check Out @11am

Okay none of these are definite so what do you think? Like I said this is our 1st trip to WDW so not really sure what I am doing.LOL

Since this is your first trip to WDW you don't really need park hoppers and I would also say you should just go with the regular dining plan. That is a ton of food and it takes up a lot of time to do that many table service meals. We always do the basic dining plan and have found it to be just the right amount of food.

[Shanna-like-Banana]

We are going to Disney as a family for the 1st time in Aug. We'll have me, DH, DD9, DS3 and DS2.

We are going with the DxDDP and are sticken to it. We choose that for several reasons. We know it will be a lot of food, but that is okay with us. Considering the size of the kids meals we know we will be sharing some of our meal at least with the 2 yr old and probably some of the 3rd yr old, both of whom can eat like champs.

Your ARDs look very similar to mine and I am totally happy with them. Our kids are very schedule driven and having meals and activities the same time as if at home is going to keep things running much smoother.

We got a ADR for the Fantasmic package, I know I'm supposed to feel lucky to get one, but i think I'm going to cancel. In Aug the show is at 9m, when I called I was told dining times were between 2:30 and 4:15. All they had was 3:45, plus didn't have any at Mama Melrose only at H&V, which is where we will be eating B-fast same morning. Add that on top of having to wait in the regular line with 3 kids, is a big fat joke

[squirrel]

First you arrive at the ADR and tell them you have arrived. Then you wait and wait and wait. At least that is what it was like for us during Free Dining. I think we had one ADR that we waited 5 min and one that was less than that. We had a total of 12 ADR's last time and I would say most had a least a 15 min wait. Sorry, but we did waste a lot of time waiting to be seated and then our meals took a min of 1 hr (Character Meals) and the rest were more like 1.5 hrs. So we did miss a lot of park time going to the restaurants.

I know some people like doing the DxDP, but I don't recommend it for people going on their first trip to WDW.

[cater00]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their suggestions. I see that the deluxe plan is mixed review, some like it some don't. I am worried that it may be too much for us but then I am worried if we don't go with it that we will be paying OOP for a lot of meals. Because we want to do CRT, HDDR, Mickeys Backyard BBQ and several character meals. And if we go with the basic plan it won't be enough credits for all of it. So if we are planning on doing those 3 meals that take 2 TS credits plus several other 1 TS credit meals wouldn't it be best to go with the Deluxe plan?
One more question... Say we make an ADR at a 1 TS meal and we can't make it are we charged for it anyways?

[Colleen27]

Originally Posted by cater00

Just wanted to thank everyone for their suggestions. I see that the deluxe plan is mixed review, some like it some don't. I am worried that it may be too much for us but then I am worried if we don't go with it that we will be paying OOP for a lot of meals. Because we want to do CRT, HDDR, Mickeys Backyard BBQ and several character meals. And if we go with the basic plan it won't be enough credits for all of it. So if we are planning on doing those 3 meals that take 2 TS credits plus several other 1 TS credit meals wouldn't it be best to go with the Deluxe plan?
One more question... Say we make an ADR at a 1 TS meal and we can't make it are we charged for it anyways?

The only real way to know which plan is best is to do the math - compare what you'd be spending OOP for the additional meals to the cost of upgrading.

As far as cancellations, there are only a handful of places with penalties, primarily the most desirable character meals and dinner shows. Those have 24 hour cancellation policies. Most other restaurants don't require a credit card for booking an ADR and don't have any penalty for cancellation or no-shows, though good manners would dictate you cancel rather than just not show of course.

[squirrel]

The places that ask for your credit card require cancellation either 24 or 48hrs before or your credit card will be charged.

The ones that you listed require a credit card (CRT, HDDR and Mickey's BBQ).

[Debbie Jean]

Originally Posted by cater00

Just wanted to thank everyone for their suggestions. I see that the deluxe plan is mixed review, some like it some don't. I am worried that it may be too much for us but then I am worried if we don't go with it that we will be paying OOP for a lot of meals. Because we want to do CRT, HDDR, Mickeys Backyard BBQ and several character meals. And if we go with the basic plan it won't be enough credits for all of it. So if we are planning on doing those 3 meals that take 2 TS credits plus several other 1 TS credit meals wouldn't it be best to go with the Deluxe plan?
One more question... Say we make an ADR at a 1 TS meal and we can't make it are we charged for it anyways?

I just wanted to say I am very impressed with your whole thought/planning process... the first trip is always the hardest to plan because every family is different... you really did your homework!

BTW, we like the deluxe because it's so much easier to do the 2TS restaurants... with all the snack credits we never need to pay for anything OOP

[VAN]

I suggested the regular dining plan; HOWEVER, if your budget allows the deluxe plan will be the way to go.

Most people are trying to watch their $$, but if this isn't a concern for you, then you will want to go deluxe.

[caroline1851]

Since this is your 1st trip, i would say do the basic DDP and enjoy your resort and spending time in the parks a little more instead of having to get to each adr. the whole bus thing is very time consuming.... Have you checked out exactly how long it'll take to get from your resort to some of the places you plan on eating? (and keep in mind, sometimes you have to wait for the bus for up to 20 min.)