chmurf
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2011
I had DDP twice before, but at that time I did not have a child to feed.
If there are many reasons why I chose OOP this year, the killer reason, for me, was the very poor offerings for kids.
I thoroughly went through the menus avalaible here on DIS and on other sites, and it really was sad.
Very few restaurants offer decent food variety for the younger ones.
With an open mind, I decided to check if it was just an impression, or if there was any reality behind that.
So I focused on MK, which will obviously be the main focus of my 4yr old (he went 25 times to DLRP in 2011, I guess by now I know what he'll go for )
So in the 3 restaurants listed in the 2012 DDP pamphlet, we have a vast variety of ... hamburger, chicken nuggets or sticks, mac&cheese, raviolu and pizza ...
Only Tony's townsquare offers grilled fish of the day. But basically all the food avalaible to kids are food I would only give my kid when I'm in a hurry and have no time to cook.
And since kids are supposed to choose from the kids menu, there is definitely no way I would put my kid on the DDP. As said earlier I would rather take him to quick service, since the food will basically be the same (sandwiches, burgers, pizzas)
And as far as mac&cheese go, my kid is old enough to know that when he gets them, it's because dad was too bored or tired to be more imaginative.
(yup I'm a "Desperate HouseHusband" )
So maybe I'm missing something here, since I have read that kids did actually get tastier sounding food. But isn't the choice of restaurants really small if you're looking for something that's worth the money ?
I don't think the general public will care that much for the menus. If DDP takes the restaurant thing off their minds, what is the chance that they take the lack of choice for kids into consideration ?
Of course I'm not talking about YOU, DISer, because your mere presence here means that you plan enough to scrutinize every menu and get the best of your dining experience. I'm talking about people in general. WE are NOT the general public. We are exceptions, because the vast majority of guests do not come on forums like this one. The vast majority of guests do little planning as compared to us. Just because we are involved enough to come in places like here means that we are specific cases. So your mileage may vary. But we surely don't reflect the general public and experience. Just look at forums and how puzzled we get by hearing "general public" experiences, sometimes it sounds out of this world.
And if people really pay attention that their kid do not only eat mac&cheese day in and day out, this means that restaurants without a kid menu, or with a wider choice of food, do get larger crowds or ADR requests. And this explains why, in such restaurants, I felt rushed.
And then it's really a first come first served basis, since ADRs are opened 180 days in advance, those who wait for deals might end up having no choice but to get to restaurants with a narrower choice a food offerings.
so not only is the cost outrageous (especially for the kid's DDP) but the relative savings will also depend on your luck, or the ability to place ADRs well in advance.
So obviously DDP will not yield the same savings and/or satisfaction depending on guests.
But overall, as said on another thread, DDP would be acceptable (for me) if it was possible to book on a number of credits basis.
Right now you can only book on a length of stay basis.
Seaworld offers a "all day dining" package (for under $30) which entitles you basically to an unlimited number of visits to any restaurant on a given day
DDP would become acceptable (as far as I'm concerned) if it was possible to book a smaller number of meal credits. For example for a 14 nights stay, DDP would allow to book a minimum of 7 days' worth of credits, and up to 14
This would provide for the flexibility I require. Aside from feeding kids stuff that really have a taste and texture ... mac&cheese ... yuk ...
If there are many reasons why I chose OOP this year, the killer reason, for me, was the very poor offerings for kids.
I thoroughly went through the menus avalaible here on DIS and on other sites, and it really was sad.
Very few restaurants offer decent food variety for the younger ones.
With an open mind, I decided to check if it was just an impression, or if there was any reality behind that.
So I focused on MK, which will obviously be the main focus of my 4yr old (he went 25 times to DLRP in 2011, I guess by now I know what he'll go for )
So in the 3 restaurants listed in the 2012 DDP pamphlet, we have a vast variety of ... hamburger, chicken nuggets or sticks, mac&cheese, raviolu and pizza ...
Only Tony's townsquare offers grilled fish of the day. But basically all the food avalaible to kids are food I would only give my kid when I'm in a hurry and have no time to cook.
And since kids are supposed to choose from the kids menu, there is definitely no way I would put my kid on the DDP. As said earlier I would rather take him to quick service, since the food will basically be the same (sandwiches, burgers, pizzas)
And as far as mac&cheese go, my kid is old enough to know that when he gets them, it's because dad was too bored or tired to be more imaginative.
(yup I'm a "Desperate HouseHusband" )
So maybe I'm missing something here, since I have read that kids did actually get tastier sounding food. But isn't the choice of restaurants really small if you're looking for something that's worth the money ?
I don't think the general public will care that much for the menus. If DDP takes the restaurant thing off their minds, what is the chance that they take the lack of choice for kids into consideration ?
Of course I'm not talking about YOU, DISer, because your mere presence here means that you plan enough to scrutinize every menu and get the best of your dining experience. I'm talking about people in general. WE are NOT the general public. We are exceptions, because the vast majority of guests do not come on forums like this one. The vast majority of guests do little planning as compared to us. Just because we are involved enough to come in places like here means that we are specific cases. So your mileage may vary. But we surely don't reflect the general public and experience. Just look at forums and how puzzled we get by hearing "general public" experiences, sometimes it sounds out of this world.
And if people really pay attention that their kid do not only eat mac&cheese day in and day out, this means that restaurants without a kid menu, or with a wider choice of food, do get larger crowds or ADR requests. And this explains why, in such restaurants, I felt rushed.
And then it's really a first come first served basis, since ADRs are opened 180 days in advance, those who wait for deals might end up having no choice but to get to restaurants with a narrower choice a food offerings.
so not only is the cost outrageous (especially for the kid's DDP) but the relative savings will also depend on your luck, or the ability to place ADRs well in advance.
So obviously DDP will not yield the same savings and/or satisfaction depending on guests.
But overall, as said on another thread, DDP would be acceptable (for me) if it was possible to book on a number of credits basis.
Right now you can only book on a length of stay basis.
Seaworld offers a "all day dining" package (for under $30) which entitles you basically to an unlimited number of visits to any restaurant on a given day
DDP would become acceptable (as far as I'm concerned) if it was possible to book a smaller number of meal credits. For example for a 14 nights stay, DDP would allow to book a minimum of 7 days' worth of credits, and up to 14
This would provide for the flexibility I require. Aside from feeding kids stuff that really have a taste and texture ... mac&cheese ... yuk ...