DDP and teens who eat constantly

sukhakuli

<font color=darkorchid>I guess I'm funny like that
Joined
Mar 8, 2005
We leave on Saturday, so I'm in the last minute panic mode. :)

I have 2 teens (17 and 14) and a preteen (11) who is a gymnast and all three of them eat like bottomless pits. My 6 year old is no slouch and eats a lot, too. They are all extremely tall but really thin, especially my 14 year old boy who is 6 feet tall but only 115 lbs, and growing like a weed. I'm worried that a table service meal and one quick service meal isn't going to be enough. They are used to a full breakfast, a nutrition break at school, a full lunch, and full dinner, then snack before bed.

How do you feed your kids 3 solid meals a day on the DDP? Especially teens that eat about twice what an adult eats per day. I'm not exaggerating; we go through at least 8 gallons of whole milk per week. Our grocery bill not including my food coop is about $1,000/mo. They are constantly hungry. A Disney snack isn't going to replace breakfast. I'm not sure how to plan for this? Should I get some food sent to the resort to supplement the snack credit for breakfast? what does everyone do?
 
Can you upgrade to the deluxe disney dining plan (DxDP)? If so, that's what I would suggest.

Not sure what resort you are staying at but it doesnt sound like a snack credit for breakfast is going to cut it
 
We pay OOP for additional meals. There is no way my family will be okay on two meals a day every day. I agree that you may want to cost out what extra meals will be and determine if you want to upgrade to DxDDP, but it is an expensive upgrade.

Personally I would consider ordering cereal, yogurt and fruit etc from Walmart and having breakfast in the room.

In terms of milk, I would switch that to water for a week, or let them use their refillable mugs for soft beverages.
 
As others have said, pay OOP for the extra above the DDP. We never used our credits for regular breakfast (it's a waste unless you are at a pricey buffet or something). Not sure if "in room" breakfast will cut it for them, but you can try that also with getting cereal or muffins or something. Basically, the DDP will not cover all the food you need and that's okay. You just pay for the rest.
 


As others have said, pay OOP for the extra above the DDP. We never used our credits for regular breakfast (it's a waste unless you are at a pricey buffet or something). Not sure if "in room" breakfast will cut it for them, but you can try that also with getting cereal or muffins or something. Basically, the DDP will not cover all the food you need and that's okay. You just pay for the rest.

We ordered oatmeal etc when we were in a villa. I budgeted for breakfast though because a few days of a light breakfast was fine with DH, but there was no way he would be okay with that for a week. He is the man who staged a mutiny when I tried to have him eat breakfast every day in the CL lounge, insisting I was starving him. Now I just figure a few additional meals in our plan.
 
A giant funnel cake is a snack credit, that can make a pretty filling breakfast some mornings.
There are also waffles in Sleepy Hollow in MK and the colossal cinnamon bun at Kusafiri bakery in DAK is enough for a breakfast for most of us.
 


I can relate - we have 2 teens, one of which is 6'5" and he is hungry 24/7. We do what many others have suggested and bring food for breakfast in the room. It's enough to tie them over for a bit. We choose QS and TS options that will feed them well, and get our money's worth with snack credits. We'll use snack credits for things like bags of trail mix, giant Starbucks drinks, a sandwich at Boulangerie Patisserie, a funnel cake with ice cream, etc. They've never gone hungry in the parks.
 
The only time the DDP made sense for us is when our kids were teens! That said, everywhere my DH and I ate last trip was soooo much food. He wants three meals but doesn’t eat a lot. We had free dining and we often spit a QS breakfast and lunch. Add in two snacks and a large dinner and it was more than enough. So maybe have the lighter eaters share QS and that will give you a few extras for the heavy eaters. We also usually bring some breakfast bars for DH and DGS. It really is a ton of food. Though if you added the DxDP you could do a few signatures and more sit down, family style or buffet options.
 
We stick with the regular dining plan, but supplement with food in room (snacks, lunchmeat, bread, cookies). Those late night hungry "pains" are real. You can buy on site (resorts that have suites have some groceries in gift shop area) or order some groceries in. I'd pack snacks for in the park (we always have cookies, crackers, fruit and drinks), even though you get two.
 
We raised 3 farmboys on the DDP. Never had to buy food OOP. If you are worried as others have said, consider the upgrade. We found we ate more the first half of the trip than the last. Bring things for Breakfast, or hit the buffets. It is a lot more food than you think.
 
I have trouble keeping weight on so I have to eat constantly. I have always had to supplement with 1.) An Amazon order of snacks for room and 2.) OOP meals.

I would order some snacks for the room and then figure out which meals are more expensive...pay with credits for those and OOP for cheaper ones.
 
Pay OOP for a substantial breakfast (least expensive meal). That leaves you a snack credit for a snack in the am, a QS credit for lunch, a snack credit for the afternoon and a TS for dinner.
 
Thanks, guys. We live this morning (it's 3 am Pacific time now, yikes!). It looks like I may have to buy some food. I set it up so our sit down meals are about 2 pm, hoping that would help if they were full of snacks before hand, then QS for dinner. We will see. That's one great thing about the DCL part of our trip; there is unlimited food, and they aren't shy about eating it!
 
Ha! You just described my family! At one time, I had 2 teen boys and a DD 10 years younger than the 2nd boy. All super tall and athletic. I used to say my boys had 2 throats for food. No spoons were used here, just shovels! Sadly, they ate and didnt gain a lb. I watched them eat and Id gain weight! My grocery bills were also over $1200 month, with $62 per week being spent on milk and juice :( Luckily they played sports 7 days per week and didnt have tons of time for friends to come over, but on those rare off day occasions, Id have entire Basketball/Baseball/Soccer/ teams here and my food would be gone in 2 hours.

When we went to Disney, I got the deluxe plan. We would have a buffet breakfast which they could eat all they wanted...and did. Practically all are 1 credit. On our first trip with deluxe, I planned B/L/D every day. On day 2, at dinner, I called Disney Dining and cancelled all my lunches for the remainder of the trip. It was way too much food, even for them! With the sun and walking, waiting in lines etc... it really does kill your hunger. They would get an ice cream sundae until dinner then have another TS meal. I dont think QS would have satisfied them, but really dont know because we never tried it. I wish Disney had a 2 TS/day plan! Later, they would get another snack. You can trade in 1 TS for 3 snacks, so we had plenty of snack credits.

After that I learned, but still got deluxe, but added dinner shows and signature dining to the itinerary to use up more credits, get more snack credits and have some nicer meals on vacation.

They are grown now, graduated from college and no longer go to Disney with us :( (Of course..now that they dont eat as much!!) I still get deluxe because now Im used to signature dining!!

My DD just had her first "pasta dinner" with her HS Volleyball team. 14 girls on the team. I got Olive Garden catering for 20. I should have bought for 5...they eat like birds! SOOOO different from the boys when I would order for 30 people for 18-20 boys and the food would be GONE when they left.
 
I hope the trip went well. I personally wouldn’t try to feed my ballet dancer 15 year old boy on the dining plan. He needs food more often, and Disney snacks aren’t good for him because of issues with corn syrup and related ingredients. Then again I’ve never gotten the dining plan to work for family trips at all. (Came across your post while I research to see if it makes sense for a cousin trip)

Crazy idea for you. Have you ever looked at ingredients? Once I eliminated dextrose from my son’s diet, his belly was finally capable of being full. Apparently dextrose irritates the stomach lining, so you *feel* hungry when you’re not.

He HATED it when I changed his diet after learning that, so there was no placebo effect happening, but he still reported that he was less starving.


My DD just had her first "pasta dinner" with her HS Volleyball team. 14 girls on the team. I got Olive Garden catering for 20. I should have bought for 5...they eat like birds! SOOOO different from the boys when I would order for 30 people for 18-20 boys and the food would be GONE when they left.

Hopefully it’ll change as time and practices go on. The girls my son dances with would have demolished it. Teensy teenage ballerinas eat frightening amounts lol.

And just to be pedantic and annoying, birds actually eat a ton, compared to their weight. :duck:
 
@sukhakuli Please report back. I'm taking a bottomless pit teen in January, and figure he is going to be eating others' food that they don't finish and the credits his two youngest siblings don't use because they can split a meal. I can't imagine having two of him.

For others, besides the good tips above, I would also note how great AK is for DDP "snacks" that are almost meals, like poutine and pulled pork with potatoes.
 

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