DDP vs. DxDP ?

[TQH1022]

We have the DDP and are now debating the DxDP; the comments about the huge amounts of food are a little scary, and my hubby think's I've gone crazy with ADRs.... entirely possible!!

So - we are at WDW for 6 days, 2 adults and a 6 year old. ADRs already booked -

Akershus (lunch)
Liberty Tree
Tutto Italia
H&Vine breakfast
Sanaa
LeCellier
Crystal Palace
CRT (dinner)
Akershus (breakfast)
the Plaza
CM (brunch)
HoopDeDoo
CapeMay
Coral Reef
Ohana dinner


We actually aren't big foodies (no Victoria & Albert's for us!) but there are a few places we really want to go. Keeping our crew happy definitely involves regular food supplies, and we're geared up for a week of WDW park hopping!

It seems like the cost of the character & signature/special TS meals would cover the difference to upgrade, given the hike in Disney restaurant prices.

Suggestions and advice welcome - it's our first trip to WDW!
__________________

 

[goofyintoronto]

Soooo, youre there for 6 days (which is 5 nights, and equals to 5 DP credits pp) and you plan on eating at all 15 restaurants??? Thats A LOT of restaurants in such a short time. Thats basically 3 restaurants a day! I would do the DxDP for sure if you plan on doing all of those meals.

But I would honestly reconsider your list. Doing 3 restaurants a day is hard. Quite often after a bfast buffet i'd be STUFFED until dinner time. No way i can imagine eating lunch.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

If this is the way you intend to dine, the DxDP would be the one to use. However, I think it's way, way too much sit-down dining for a 5-night trip. Since you haven't been to WDW before, you may not realize just how big a place it is, and how spread out a lot of the resorts are. It can seem like you would be able to flit around from park to resort like Tinkerbelle, but honestly--you can't.

Let's say, just to use a few of your restaurants, that you want to go to H&V for breakfast (8am), Akershus for lunch (1pm), and then Sanaa for dinner (7pm). I don't know where you're staying, but if you're using Disney buses, you'll have to be at the bus stop by about 7am to be sure to be at the front door of H&V for 8am. Figure an hour or so for eating. You would then have to leave DHS by noon or so, to be sure to get to Akershus in time. Ditto for leaving Epcot (or wherever) to get to Sanaa--you would have to start heading that way by 6pm. There are a few places you've chosen that are fairly easy commutes--Cape May is near Epcot, 'Ohana is near MK, but some aren't.

I also will tell you, my DS6 wouldn't be up for this--either the sheer number of sit-down meals or the volume of food. To better accomodate him, I would drop the following:

Sanaa--unless staying at AKL
Liberty Tree Tavern
Coral Reef
Le Cellier
One Akershus
Possibly the other Akershus or CRT
Cape May--unless staying at YC/BC
'Ohana--unless staying at the Poly

Now, another person's list might be slightly different from mine, but I say this as a mother of 4 who's eaten at every single one of those restaurants with children (except Sanaa--we're more of a Boma family).

 

[TQH1022]

Ooops, my mistake! We're there 6 nights - from midday Monday to midday Sunday.

The huge quantities is my concern - we just won't eat that much at any one meal. BUT we all want / need to eat regularly and our experience with CS food in the park hasn't been good.

 

[TQH1022]

If this is the way you intend to dine, the DxDP would be the one to use. However, I think it's way, way too much sit-down dining for a 5-night trip. Since you haven't been to WDW before, you may not realize just how big a place it is, and how spread out a lot of the resorts are. It can seem like you would be able to flit around from park to resort like Tinkerbelle, but honestly--you can't.

Let's say, just to use a few of your restaurants, that you want to go to H&V for breakfast (8am), Akershus for lunch (1pm), and then Sanaa for dinner (7pm). I don't know where you're staying, but if you're using Disney buses, you'll have to be at the bus stop by about 7am to be sure to be at the front door of H&V for 8am. Figure an hour or so for eating. You would then have to leave DHS by noon or so, to be sure to get to Akershus in time. Ditto for leaving Epcot (or wherever) to get to Sanaa--you would have to start heading that way by 6pm. There are a few places you've chosen that are fairly easy commutes--Cape May is near Epcot, 'Ohana is near MK, but some aren't.

I also will tell you, my DS6 wouldn't be up for this--either the sheer number of sit-down meals or the volume of food. To better accomodate him, I would drop the following:

Sanaa--unless staying at AKL
Liberty Tree Tavern
Coral Reef
Le Cellier
One Akershus
Possibly the other Akershus or CRT
Cape May--unless staying at YC/BC
'Ohana--unless staying at the Poly

Now, another person's list might be slightly different from mine, but I say this as a mother of 4 who's eaten at every single one of those restaurants with children (except Sanaa--we're more of a Boma family).

SOOO helpful - thanks! Why Boma over Sanaa? I actually changed our Boma reservation, to a 5pm Sanaa, having heard the savannah view with the animals is fabulous; then mom and dad get to go to Le Cellier for late late dinner.

 

[Masonmj84]

I like the DxDP (at least until I saw the 2013 price increase - ouch!).

But we only use it for 2 meals a day (generally, a 1 TS breakfast or lunch + a signature dinner). We've never tried to eat 3 TS meals on the same day.

Even then, it's borderline too much food, and I'm a reasonably big eater.

For example, on our upcoming 8 night trip, we have 16 ADRs scheduled (as follows):

Dinners:
Artist Point
Citricos
Cali Grill
Flying Fish
Jiko
Hollywood Brown Derby (Fantasmic package)
'Ohana
Yachtsman

Breakfasts:
Kona
CRT
Crystal Palace
Tusker House
Cape May

Lunches:
Chefs de France
Via Napoli
50's Prime Time

Even with that, on days when we have a lunch and dinner scheduled, I'm often not hungry enough at dinner to fully enjoy the meal (on those days, we typically use a snack credit for a breakfast item and try not to snack at all between lunch and dinner).

So I agree with PP that 3 meals a day is too much food (at least it would be for me).

 

[JimmyV]

Thats A LOT of restaurants in such a short time. ...
But I would honestly reconsider your list. Doing 3 restaurants a day is hard. Quite often after a bfast buffet i'd be STUFFED until dinner time. No way i can imagine eating lunch.

However, I think it's way, way too much sit-down dining for a 5-night trip. Since you haven't been to WDW before, you may not realize just how big a place it is, and how spread out a lot of the resorts are. It can seem like you would be able to flit around from park to resort like Tinkerbelle, but honestly--you can't.

...I also will tell you, my DS6 wouldn't be up for this--either the sheer number of sit-down meals or the volume of food.

I agree with these posts. You risk turning your first visit to WDW into a "trip to the Disney restaurants with some park visits tossed in" instead of a "trip to the Disney parks with some restaurant visits tossed in", which is what it really ought to be. I can promise you that your 6 year old is not going to share your enthusiasm for spending an hour to 90 minutes at most of these places, if the alternative is to grab a cheeseburger at a counter and head back into the line for the next big attraction.

As noted, you haven't mentioned where you are staying and which restaurants you are going to on each day, but you do state your intention of park hopping. Well, park hopping and restaurant hopping can easily eat up much of your day. If you are going in early November with shorter park hours, you could be setting yourself up for disappointment. All you will be doing is going to/from restaurants. If you are going toward the end of November when crowds are high, you might be setting yourself up for disappointment unless your breakfast ADRs are really, really early. You don't want to linger at breakfast and saunter into a park with at 10:00 a.m. if the crowd calendar rating for that day is "9". You would get all of 1 or 2 rides under your belt before it is time to head off to lunch. I can promise you that your 6 year old will protest. Rightly.

 

[JimmyV]

The huge quantities is my concern - we just won't eat that much at any one meal. BUT we all want / need to eat regularly and our experience with CS food in the park hasn't been good.

In that case, you really should consider eating OOP. You can still eat regularly and often, but three people can easily split two meals. Especially at CS locations. If you haven't been to WDW before, then throw everything you think you know about CS out the window. Especially at Epcot and AK.

 

[TQH1022]

Wow, this is great information.... much to think about.

I definitely don't want to turn this into a restaurant trek - and our 6 yo would protest vehemently! But I also don't want to spend a fortune on OOP meals to get in the character and signature meals. With CRT, LeCellier and HoopDeDoo at 2 TS credits each, it adds up fast.

sigh.

Here's my revised plan....

Arrive am Monday, staying at WL...Epcot/MK
EITHER Akershus for lunch and princess time or
Liberty Tree.
Tutto Italia for dinner in Epcot before Illuminations.

Tuesday -
Breakfast (Starring Rolls?)
Late Breakfast at Akershus 10:40 (all about the princesses...)
Kid Dinner at Sanaa 5pm
LATE dinner for grownups Le Cellier

Wednesday - MK all day!
Breakfast - ?
Crystal Palace for 1:30 lunch
Cinderella's Royal Table - 5:40

Thursday - HS/MK
H'wd & Vine - 8am
Lunch - ?
The Plaza - 4:10
(MVMCP)
Tomorrowland Dessert Party

Friday - MK
Breakfast - ?
Chef Mickey - 11am
Hoop De Doo - 8:30

Saturday - Epcot/MK
Cape May Cafe 9:15
Coral Reef - 12:55
'Ohana - 7:30

Sunday - MK
Breakfast & Lunch wherever!


Still crazy ????

 

[nanhol]

Crazy is as crazy does, so I won’t comment on that. Aren’t we all a little crazy here on the disboards? OK, I probably just offended a bunch of people who read this. But my husband and kids think I'm a bit crazy for my obsessive trip planning!

I might have missed this, but when are you going? I see that you mention the MVMCP, so I'm worried that you can't play with your ressie times too much, but maybe you can make some changes.

I agree with what everyone else has said--you don't want too many meals on one day or all you'll do is visit restaurants and won't really enjoy the parks.

With your new plan I’m still a little worried for you in terms of the time you’ll spend traveling each day for meals. I try my darnedest to keep all of my meals in one area—Epcot & Boardwalk area resort restaurants, for example, or MK and monorail resort restaurants. I would avoid hitting one park in the AM for early breakfast and another park for a late breakfast (like planned for Tuesday). Remember that it can take 1.5 hours to travel between park and resort or between parks—it may take far less time, but disboards is full of stories of crazy lines and unexpected delays, particularly when there are crowds. Here are my thoughts, for whatever their worth:

• 
  Don't go to Starring Rolls on Tuesday AM at HS before heading to Epcot. Grab an early breakfast snack at your resort or at Epcot (Sunshine Seasons' croissant berry bread pudding is on my list to try for breakfast!)

• 
  I would hate to lose so much time leaving Epcot on Tuesday afternoon just to come back later that night for dinner. Can you skip the Sanaa ressie & keep your child with you for LaCellier? My 6 year old (at the time) enjoyed it when we went. Or, can you skip LaCellier and go somewhere at your resort--like Artist Point (also a signature meal, and one that gets great reviews here on disboards) Maybe do Sanaa all together on Sunday before you leave?

• 
  I would try to trade Ohana and Tutto Italia, so you eat at Ohana your first night (Ohana is easily accessible from MK on the monorail and you're already at MK), and then eat at Tutto Italia on Saturday night (so you can stay at Epcot and not have to travel just for a meal). That would reduce travel time for meals on both ends of your trip.

• 
  The timing of Crystal Palace and Cinderella's Royal Table is worrisome to me--can you get in earlier at CP? Maybe do a late breakfast instead of lunch? Those meals are so close together--I think I'd regret that.

And, take my advice with a grain of salt, as with everything on disboards. I'm not you, and maybe travel time won't bother you--perhaps it's a good time to relax and rest. I hope you have a great time at Disney!

 

[JimmyV]

Tuesday -
Breakfast (Starring Rolls?)
Late Breakfast at Akershus 10:40 (all about the princesses...)
Kid Dinner at Sanaa 5pm
LATE dinner for grownups Le Cellier


Still crazy ????

On this day? Yes. This is nuts. Or it shows a lack of understanding on the vast size of WDW. Let's say that you pop in to Starring Rolls at 9:00. And you have to be at Akershus for check-in 15 minutes before your ADR. The walk from Starring Rolls to the boat launch is 5 minutes. Odds are that you will have to wait 5 minutes for a boat and then another 10 minutes for the boat to unload and then board departing passengers. Remember that these are not taxis. They don't depart the moment you get on. They wait a set amount of time for more people to board.

The boat ride takes 20 minutes to make the full circuit to Epcot. You then have to go through security again at the International Gateway and go through the turnstiles. Factor in 5 more minutes. Then, the walk from the Gateway to Norway is all the way across World Showcase. Just about as far as you can go. That's 15 more minutes.

Add that up. You would have to leave Starring Rolls at around 9:30 to get to Akershus at 10:25. So what is the point of going to Starring Rolls in the first place? What is served there that can't be replicated at Epcot? And if you are on your way to an all you care to eat breakfast at Akershus, why do you think you need to eat at 9:00?

Later that day, you are going to make your way out of Epcot at 4:00 to begin your trek to Kidani just to feed your child only to spend another hour waiting for and traveling on a bus just to get back to Epcot, and then going back through security at the Main Entrance and then walking all the way back to World Showcase. The total time from Epcot-to Kidani-eat-back to Epcot-to Canada-eat could easily take 3.5 hours or more. Add that to your 2+ hours spent earlier in the day going from WL-to DHS-to Starring Rolls-eat-to Epcot-to Akershus-eat and you can see just how inefficient this is just for the sake of chasing down meals. Park hopping is vastly overrated for first time visitors, and hopping around chasing meals is really tough to justify. Try sticking with one park/area. If you go to the MK, eat there or around the monorail resorts. If you go to Epcot or DHS, eat there or at the Boardwalk resorts. When you go to AK, eat breakfast and lunch there or at the Lodge. The park closes early, so use that night to go to a "wild card" dinner anywhere on property. Traversing the World to eat is, to use your word, crazy.

 

[TQH1022]

Thanks for the advice and information! I am so happy to have all of the input - without the DISboards this vacation would be a much worse mess.

I moved lunch at Akershus back a bit. No Starring Rolls on Tuesday, they can wait! I'll keep trying to move CP up a bit so we can breathe before CRT, or else cancel it.

The juggling and tweaking will continue.... and I still have to decide if the DxDP is worth the added cost.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

A few more comments...

If you've never been to WDW, how do you know you have an issue with the counter service food there? While there's plenty of the chicken nuggets/cheeseburger type stuff, there's also plenty of other choices. A couple of favorites are Columbia Harbor House (MK), Sunshine Seasons (Epcot), and Flame Tree Barbecue (AK). Allears.net has menus, if you'd care to look. I'm not trying to dissuade you from trying fun restaurants, I just think a lot of people think counter service is all hot dogs and fires, and there ARE different choices out there.

My family likes Boma a lot. There are 6 of us--my kids are DD17, DS15, DD9, and DS6, so I've done WDW many times, many ways--first trip was pre-kids, next trip is just me and the little guys. My kids wouldn't agree that the sky is blue, but ask them about Disney dining, and they all request Boma! It has a large selection--some are kid-friendly picks, like mac and cheese, but there's a lot of African specialties for the more adventurous. When we go there, we arrive early so we can walk around the resort and see the animals.

You still have an awful lot of travel time between restaurants. It's tough to convey that this will be a vacation about the restaurants as it stands. Going from MK to Chef Mickey's, for example, is very do-able. But, figure it'll be at least a 2-hour chunk of time, probably more.

It makes absolutely no sense to go all the way out to Sanaa, just for one kid's meal. Keep in mind, if you have Deluxe Dining, you'll have 2 snack credits pp per day. An Uncrustable (PB&J) counts as a snack. My DS6 could live on those (you may have a more sophisticated child!). It would make much more sense to get your DD a CS meal at your resort--I assume you're leaving her with a sitter? If not, jsut go to Epcot, buy her a snack or two to tide her over until that late dinner (and understand that she might not eat much).

I toyed with the Deluxe plan myself, for my upcoming trip. I decided I'm better off going regular and paying OOP for a few things. When figuring, don't forget tips added onto the cost of DxDP.

Another thought on the princess dining--I totally get wanting to make this super special for your little girl. My biggest issue last trip was, DD9 is an Ariel freak--she can be tricky to find (unlike, say, Cinderella--she may be tough to get to, but you know where to find her!). We happened to see Ariel at CRT, so I cancelled Akershus. You don't necessarily get the same actresses who play the characters, so seeing Belle twice might cause an issue (or not--depends on the child).

Consider doing Crystal Palace for breakfast on Wed.

The Plaza is another family favorite of ours. If you go regular dining and need to pay OOP for a couple restaurants, this is a good choice for that. It's like an upscale Friendly's (good sandwiches, better ice cream).

I hope that helps. Please understand, I'm not trying to be critical. Planning a WDW for my family is slightly less complicated than the invasion of Pearl Harbor, so I'm well aware of the pitfalls.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Wednesday - MK all day!
Breakfast - ?
Crystal Palace for 1:30 lunch
Cinderella's Royal Table - 5:40

As others have mentioned, this is a bust. There's no way you'd be able to eat at both places. Not enough tim in between to breathe! Move the lunch to 1130am AT LEAST, or just cancel it and have breakfast at the MK bakery instead.

Thursday - HS/MK
H'wd & Vine - 8am
Lunch - ?
The Plaza - 4:10
(MVMCP)
Tomorrowland Dessert Party

For lunch, I wouldnt do TS. I would honestly grab a snack.

Saturday - Epcot/MK
Cape May Cafe 9:15
Coral Reef - 12:55
Ohana - 7:30

This day worries me. Either cancel Cape May or Coral Reef. I'd cancel Coral Reef. Cape May is fabulous! There's no way you'd be able to do both....most likely you wont be hungry at 1pm after eating a breakfast buffet.

 

[SignMeUp]

Wow, this is great information.... much to think about.

I definitely don't want to turn this into a restaurant trek - and our 6 yo would protest vehemently! But I also don't want to spend a fortune on OOP meals to get in the character and signature meals. With CRT, LeCellier and HoopDeDoo at 2 TS credits each, it adds up fast.

sigh.

Here's my revised plan....

Arrive am Monday, staying at WL...Epcot/MK
EITHER Akershus for lunch and princess time or
Liberty Tree. --dont know if you're flying or driving, but if flying and using ME make sure you're leaving plenty of time to check-in to resort, get to park, etc.
Tutto Italia for dinner in Epcot before Illuminations.

Tuesday -
Breakfast (Starring Rolls?) - as others have pointed out, drop this
Late Breakfast at Akershus 10:40 (all about the princesses...)
Kid Dinner at Sanaa 5pm - more unnecessary travel (unless you're going to AK this day after Epcot? Still seems like lots of time spent traveling and eating)
LATE dinner for grownups Le Cellier

Wednesday - MK all day!
Breakfast - ?
Crystal Palace for 1:30 lunch - you'll finish lunch around 3pm or a little after and have about 2 hours before you need to check in for dinner. I doubt anyone will be hungry for dinner after a big buffet lunch.Cinderella's Royal Table - 5:40

Thursday - HS/MK
H'wd & Vine - 8am
Lunch - ? - just snack or share CS meal, you really won't need much else after big buffet breakfast
The Plaza - 4:10
(MVMCP)
Tomorrowland Dessert Party

Friday - MK
Breakfast - ? - use snack credits to grab a pastry at resort CS
Chef Mickey - 11am
Hoop De Doo - 8:30

Saturday - Epcot/MK
Cape May Cafe 9:15 - time issues again, big buffet breakfast which will end about 2 hours before you need to check in for lunch. Can you move this earlier to 7:30 or 8am so you can go before the park opens?
Coral Reef - 12:55
'Ohana - 7:30

Sunday - MK
Breakfast & Lunch wherever!


Still crazy ????

My comments in purple. I think if you can adjust some of your times, you'll probably be okay.

 

[elaine amj]

I would echo a lot of what the other DISers said about travel time. Our last trip was all about food. We travelled far and wide and ended up at most of the resorts around the World for our meals. It was fun. It was well worth it for us - but we also spent 12 days there. On top of that, I was careful to plan it based on where we were going to be.

Are you not going to AK at all? That's a pity especially since it seems you've been to DLR but this is your first time to WDW.

As for feeding your kids first, I did that on our last trip too. We made time to take our kids to Planet Hollywood to eat (DH and I shared an app and a dessert). Then took them back to DisneyQuest and dropped them off. DH and I then went to Wolfgang Puck Express for our own dinner. On the other hand, all 3 of these places are in the same vicinity.

I would suggest laying out your plans and consider what times you have to leave the parks to get where you need to go for your reservations. Also work in breaktime. Then you'll have a better sense of your day. You also want fit in some rides, you know

I cut out/rearranged restaurants this way.

I remember the one time I had Le Cellier (at 11:30) and Teppan Edo (at 7) on the same day, I pushed Teppan Edo back an hour because we were still full.

 

[Masonmj84]

Here are some of my additional thoughts . . .

Wow, this is great information.... much to think about.

I definitely don't want to turn this into a restaurant trek - and our 6 yo would protest vehemently! But I also don't want to spend a fortune on OOP meals to get in the character and signature meals. With CRT, LeCellier and HoopDeDoo at 2 TS credits each, it adds up fast.

sigh.

Here's my revised plan....

Arrive am Monday, staying at WL...Epcot/MK
EITHER Akershus for lunch and princess time or
Liberty Tree.
Tutto Italia for dinner in Epcot before Illuminations.

I'd skip lunch this day and do just a 1 TS dinner (my top choices would be 'Ohana, Boma, Kona, Saana, or an Epcot World Showcase restaurant - so maybe keep Tutto).

Tuesday -
Breakfast (Starring Rolls?)
Late Breakfast at Akershus 10:40 (all about the princesses...)
Kid Dinner at Sanaa 5pm
LATE dinner for grownups Le Cellier

I assume this is an Epcot day. If so, I'd drop the Starring Rolls and kid dinner at Sanaa. I'd also think about replacing Le Cellier with Bistro, Yachtsman, or Flying Fish.

Wednesday - MK all day!
Breakfast - ?
Crystal Palace for 1:30 lunch
Cinderella's Royal Table - 5:40

Maybe too late to change, but the way I'd have done this day would be to do CRT for breakfast and a signature near MK for dinner (e.g., Citricos, Cali Grill, or Narcoossee's).

Thursday - HS/MK
H'wd & Vine - 8am
Lunch - ?
The Plaza - 4:10
(MVMCP)
Tomorrowland Dessert Party

On the DxDP, I'd do a late lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby (around 2 pm-ish) and drop The Plaza.

Friday - MK
Breakfast - ?
Chef Mickey - 11am
Hoop De Doo - 8:30

Maybe to late to change, but on this day, I'd have done a breakfast at Crystal Palace and drop Chef Mickey's lunch.

Saturday - Epcot/MK
Cape May Cafe 9:15
Coral Reef - 12:55
'Ohana - 7:30

I'd drop lunch at Coral Reef and replace 'Ohana with Artist Point (if you're staying at WL and on the DxDP, it would be a crying shame not to visit Artist Point - in addition, I don't think you're going to be very hungry for 'Ohana, even with the somewhat late ADR time).

Sunday - MK
Breakfast & Lunch wherever!

If my calculations are correct, on the DxDP, you have one credit left. Depending on when you need to leave WDW, I'd use this for either a breakfast buffet or 1 TS lunch.
Still crazy ????

 

[TQH1022]

Thanks for all of the input! We are modifying (okay, *I* am modifying) our ressies based on the comments. Love the DISboards!

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Just a final thought--it might be worthwhile for you to look at an actual map of WDW property. It can be difficult to wrap your mind around how huge a place it is--40 square miles! It's common for guests to walk 8-10 miles a day, just getting around one park.

It might also be helpful for you to buy the Unofficial Guide to WDW--I swear by that book, and buy a new copy every trip (I go every other year).

Good luck in your planning and on your vacation!

 

[ktlm]

Thanks for all of the input! We are modifying (okay, *I* am modifying) our ressies based on the comments. Love the DISboards!

Just a little bit of advice from one 6 year old Princess crazy parent to another. I think BuzznBelle's Mom is giving you some good advice because what I see in your meal plan posts- is a DL mentality and a lack of understanding in regard to the immense size of WDW and the time it takes to do things there as compared to DL. I hope you are tweaking to keep from hopping from one park area to another so much, because your original plan would leave the bulk of your trip as either eating or traveling to the next place to eat, with not that much time to actually do the parks.

We alternate between DL and WDW because we love them both, but you need to understand that WDW is NOTHING like DL where you can park hop in a matter of minutes, and travel time from the back corner of one park to the back corner of another is only about 10 minutes (we've done it in that time period). Think of DL as a suburb of Dallas, and WDW as the entire state of Texas, and that will give you a little bit of an idea. DL is a "land", and WDW is the entire "world" . Walking from one end to the other of World Showcase at Epcot (1/2 the park), is approximately 1.2 miles.

Let me give you a little bit of an idea of how we structure our trips to WDW, and that might give you a little bit of insight. The last few trips we have gone from a Sunday to Sunday. We are open to close type people, and DD is high energy. We do MK 2 full days; Epcot 2 full days; DHS 1 day; and AK is about a 1/2 day for DD because it is her least favorite. When DD gets tired of AK, we are usually back to MK or Epcot- and sometimes on DHS day she also wants to leave and go back to MK or Epcot. We also fit in some park time on our arrival and departure days. (Departure day is almost always some extra MK time). We always leave wishing we had more time because even being open to close type people, there is just so much in the parks to do that we can't ever get to it all- especially if your DD is a character nut like mine and you spend a lot of time in lines to meet characters (unlike DL where there are still "random" meet and greets, WDW's meet and greets are very structured with well known set times-- you should check kennythepirate.com as he keeps us all well updated in locations and times!).

As far as eating, we do one TS meal a day (most often lunch because we can use a rest), unless we are doing a TS breakfast, in which case we might also schedule a TS dinner. Aside from the occasional character breakfast, we usually just do a quick CS breakfast (usually brought up to our room), so we don't miss that morning shorter line park time. As far as hopping, we get park hoppers because we know that DD will probably want to go back to MK or Epcot on the AK and DHS days. We don't get hoppers to go back and forth between parks all day. The reason is that you would miss half your park time in travel. To get from the exit gate of one of the parks back into the entrance gate of another can very often take an hour or sometimes even longer. (Much different than DL, where we get hoppers because we go back and forth between the parks all day long)

Also, I wouldn't give up CRT for a 6 year old princess lover. That will be one of the highlights of her trip. There is just something special about eating in the castle. If you have to give one up that day, I would give up CP. After eating at CP's buffet, you very likely won't be in the mood for a TS dinner, unless you just don't each much at lunch at all. Plus, you will only have about an hour and a half between leaving CP and then needing to check in for CRT. If CP, is a must, then you might try to get a breakfast there that day. We really like both CP and CRT and do them both every trip, but if it came down to only one, DD would pick CRT every time.

Hope this helps you get a little better grasp on the size of WDW. Have a great trip!