Is my plan reasonable?

[Jessica Rust]

THANKS!!! I have loved hearing your recommendations. I have already made several changes in our plan to include more signature restaurants and switched some things around to reduce traveling.

Being a first timer and an over planner I think I got carried away. These suggestions really helped a ton.

 

[Jessica Rust]

I agree that you are trying to cram too much in.

I will say that we did DxDDP for 4 days and ate a lot but in general I found that 6 hours between ADRs worked great if one of the meals wasn't too huge and 7 hours was a bit better if both meals were large. Like we did a coral reef lunch at 11:30 and then Biergarten dinner at 6:30 and we were ready to eat by 6:30. But two buffet meals 5-6 hours apart was not enough time to be actually hungry again.

So on Sunday I'd do either chef mickeys OR Biergarten (early ADR) and then a nice dinner at chef's de france as planned. or have a nice dinner at biergarten if you prefer it.

the one thing I don't really mind in your plans is leaving AK for the Poly for dinner. I prefer the earlier 'Ohana seatings, you can take the bus pretty much direct from AK to a resort and then back... people leave all the time to go to AK resorts for dinner from that park and IMO it's not that much different, just maybe 10-15 minutes extra for drive time. I love 'Ohana for dinner though.

On tuesday I agree with giving up the plaza UNLESS you're going to eat very light... like share an app and a milk shake. I love taking the time for a sit down restaurant but again it seems a bit like you're being a slave to the DxDDP here, that is too much food in one day for me!

on wednesday I'd try to move lunch to dinner time and maybe get a later breakfast and skip the back and forth.

on thursday I agree with getting rid of breakfast and being at Universal at RD and you are going to be too tired for HDDR. While I love it, I would not cram it in to a trip, we only do it once every great while.

Friday sounds good to me but you're probably not going to be park hopping as mentioned above, just stick with MK area.

so does Saturday.

I seriously found even on DxDDP that two meals a day were plenty. I don't think we even wanted snacks really with those two meals. And I LIKE TS meals and don't feel they take away from park time but rather enhance it.

Thanks for your input on Ohana. Everyone I talk to where I live says its a must do and the menu appealed to me. I didn't think it was a huge deal to leave and come back since I was in the park already for breakfast and it was a pretty early dinner. Plus the restaurants at AK didn't really appeal to me.

 

[scdak]

OP - you have been given some really good suggestions and I see that you are revising your plans to reflect those suggestions, take it from me, the DxDP is ALOT of food - Look at my photo and you can see that my best friend and I aren't tiny creatures and we couldn't eat 3 meals a day when we did the plan a few years ago, and that was spacing meals at 7am, 2pm and 8pm And then you have to think about great snacks too UGG, we were cancelling ADR's by day 7 of our 10 day trip and just winging it with counter meals or snacks! Changing to Signature dining meals will help use credits and get you great meals, I wish I had done that for my trip but the meals didn't look intersting to my (I am a plain, simple eater) but I think I would have found something to eat at the nicer places!

 

[Jessica Rust]

on thursday I agree with getting rid of breakfast and being at Universal at RD and you are going to be too tired for HDDR. While I love it, I would not cram it in to a trip, we only do it once every great while.

What about HDDR would we be too tired for?

 

[Pygoplites]

What about HDDR would we be too tired for?

I see no reason why you couldn't do HDDR and Universal in the same day. I would recommend eating an early breakfast at your hotel (no need to go to Cape May per your original plan), spend the day at Universal (with a light lunch) and then enjoy the chicken and ribs and fixins at HDDR. Keep in mind that travel to HDDR can be time consuming since you need to board an internal bus.

Your decision to heed our advice and book more signature meals with less travel will make your trip MUCH better. Sounds like you will have a wonderful time. Your original plan gave me an anxiety attack! I hope you give us a trip report.

 

[Pumbaa_]

What time does universal close the day you are there?

I also think you are passing some great dining options at all universal. I would eat there and not rush back

 

[crabbygal902]

What about HDDR would we be too tired for?

A full day in the parks beginning at 8 or 9 am, no break, and then a late dinner show that lasts until 10:00 pm? That is a lot in one day, especially after several park days with no breaks. We are really active people but that would just be too much. A full day at Universal followed by pool time, a food court dinner, and maybe a Movie Under the Stars or Yee-Haa Bob's show would be a great day to me. But that's the thing, everyone is different.

After a bunch of visits, I've changed the way we tour. We no longer:
Stay at a park from Rope Drop until closing with no breaks
Go to the parks multiple days in a row with taking a resort day
Chase ADRs all over WDW instead of planning meals that fit in better with our touring schedule

However, you do you. What works for me might not for you.

 

[Arielfan98]

I don't have any specific recommendations, but I wanted to put in my 2 cents. My family is filled with lots of foodies, we love food and we love going out to eat. While I do think your original plan is best revised, I want to also point out that if you're doing a once in a lifetime Disney trip and you love food, I see nothing wrong with what you're doing. Just keep in mind that you will be spending more time on dining as opposed to rides, character meet and greets, etc. If that is okay with you then that's absolutely fine.
Another thing is that a lot of people claim any dining plan offers too much food. While this is true for some families, it's not true for all. I'm not saying my family eats everything off our plate, but we choose our restaurants and food options carefully. For example, you will get the most bang for your buck dining at signature restaurants as others have stated, and when you go to these restaurants look at the most expensive entrees. Additionally, the dining plan offers you the convenience of not having to worry about carrying enough cash/credit to each restaurant--it's simple and easy. Finally, keep in mind that leftover dining and snack credits can be used for great souvenirs to take home to preserve the Disney magic (e.g rice krispy treats, mickey cookies, popcorn, etc.)
So with all these things in mind, I am just saying that for a once in a lifetime Disney trip, don't worry too much about the critical feedback on the dining plan. Best of luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[littledebbie335]

Additionally, the dining plan offers you the convenience of not having to worry about carrying enough cash/credit to each restaurant--it's simple and easy.

In case anyone reading this thread is new to the the current Magic Band system, I just wanted to clarify...if you're staying at a Disney resort, there is no need to carry cash/credit to pay at restaurants because you can just swipe your Magic Band to pay. So if you're staying on site, it's not really any more convenient to have the DDP in terms of carrying payment.

But Arielfan, I agree with everything else you said! Each person's perfect vacation looks different, and hopefully the OP found some helpful information in this thread!

 

[Pumbaa_]

Unless the band system goes down. You should always carry a backup payment option

 

[Jessica Rust]

I don't have any specific recommendations, but I wanted to put in my 2 cents. My family is filled with lots of foodies, we love food and we love going out to eat. While I do think your original plan is best revised, I want to also point out that if you're doing a once in a lifetime Disney trip and you love food, I see nothing wrong with what you're doing. Just keep in mind that you will be spending more time on dining as opposed to rides, character meet and greets, etc. If that is okay with you then that's absolutely fine.
Another thing is that a lot of people claim any dining plan offers too much food. While this is true for some families, it's not true for all. I'm not saying my family eats everything off our plate, but we choose our restaurants and food options carefully. For example, you will get the most bang for your buck dining at signature restaurants as others have stated, and when you go to these restaurants look at the most expensive entrees. Additionally, the dining plan offers you the convenience of not having to worry about carrying enough cash/credit to each restaurant--it's simple and easy. Finally, keep in mind that leftover dining and snack credits can be used for great souvenirs to take home to preserve the Disney magic (e.g rice krispy treats, mickey cookies, popcorn, etc.)
So with all these things in mind, I am just saying that for a once in a lifetime Disney trip, don't worry too much about the critical feedback on the dining plan. Best of luck and enjoy your trip!

Thank you so much for your input! I don't know if this is a once in a lifetime trip, but its a first time trip and who knows when I will come back. I have made some revisions based on suggestions and added more signature dining. I think I have a more realistic plan. Never having been before the little details were what I was wanting to work out. Now I am just stuck with my Epcot dinner choice. I changed breakfast to Garden Grill that day and now I am torn for dinner.

 

[eeyoresmom]

Thank you so much for your input! I don't know if this is a once in a lifetime trip, but its a first time trip and who knows when I will come back. I have made some revisions based on suggestions and added more signature dining. I think I have a more realistic plan. Never having been before the little details were what I was wanting to work out. Now I am just stuck with my Epcot dinner choice. I changed breakfast to Garden Grill that day and now I am torn for dinner.

Chef's de France is an excellent choice and a good counter balance experience to Garden Grill on your Epcot day. We are Disney vets and go VERY often (3-4 times a year). We don't normally do a dining plan but if we do we get the deluxe plan but really tweak it. DH and I just came back from a 3 night 4 day trip. Here is how we use the Dxddp: breakfast is usually an early snack credit from the food court, lunch is early , noonish or even earlier, dinner is late, between 7:30 and 9:00. We spread the 3 nights credits over 4 days and added a signature dinner. Even with meals spread out by 8 hours or so we are not hungry enough for snacks and bring the rice krispy treats home as souvenirs. Even with 2 TS meals a day, it's a lot of time away from the attractions. If you notice, our dinner plans preclude us from seeing most night time shows but there's no way we'd be hungry enough for dinner at 6:30. Fine for us since we've been so many times but for most first timers it wouldn't be ideal. Try really hard not to leave a park for a meal (with a few exceptions like MK to a monorail resort or Epcot to the Boardwalk). We once were staying a Port Orleans and had a dinner reservation at Boma. Using Disney transportation it took 90 minutes each way, so 4 hours for that one dinner!

 

[Arielfan98]

Thank you so much for your input! I don't know if this is a once in a lifetime trip, but its a first time trip and who knows when I will come back. I have made some revisions based on suggestions and added more signature dining. I think I have a more realistic plan. Never having been before the little details were what I was wanting to work out. Now I am just stuck with my Epcot dinner choice. I changed breakfast to Garden Grill that day and now I am torn for dinner.

Did you already put down Rose and Crown? It offers the best quality food for 1TS credit. I highly recommend their steak! Also, if you reserve a table time near Illuminations you may be seated outside with a golden view of Illuminations or they will place you in their private standing viewing area. If not, I definitely agree to Chef's de France.

 

[TwinkleKS]

We always do the DxDP. Normally I do what others have said and pick two meals per day and use credits for signature meals, etc. Or if I have a large break in between the two meals I might use a couple of credits for QS meals and we split them.

We have often gone with the DxDP and done a day at Universal. It's pretty easy - eat breakfast at a resort (like 'Ohana) then go to Universal and have a later meal planned for when you are done. In our case I think we have done Narcoossee in the evening.

As far as length of meals goes, normally you can speed it up if you want to. Just talk to your server. For instance there are a few character meals where we don't HAVE to see all of the characters, but we want to eat at that restaurant for convenience, etc. Then I tell the server when we sit down that we are okay not seeing everyone and it works out.

I find it easiest to eat at a lot of different resorts and hop back and forth if I have a car to drive. I don't like doing it when I am relying on Disney Transportation. But that is just my opinion. Plus now if you did get in a time crunch you could always Uber.

 

[rwdavis2]

This plan does not seem enjoyable at all, for all the reasons listed by others. I would strongly consider planning your meals around which park you plan to be at that day. It's a huge waste of time to leave a park to eat somewhere else, then return to the same park. I also think 3 sit down meals in one day is way too much, both in terms of amount of food and time spent in restaurants.

I agree with this. IMHO, most WDW food is mediocre at best and not worth it. I would drop the Deluxe plan and just pay out of pocket. Unless you really work the details the dining plans won't save you money. Without the plan you can still eat what you want.

 

[crabbygal902]

Now I am just stuck with my Epcot dinner choice. I changed breakfast to Garden Grill that day and now I am torn for dinner.

Several of my friends have been recently and rave about Monsieur Paul, Le Cellier is a personal favorite, Flying Fish and Yachtsman Steakhouse--which seems to get consistently good reviews--are right outside of Epcot on the Boardwalk. All of these places are 2 credits.

 

[littledebbie335]

Unless the band system goes down. You should always carry a backup payment option

Never thought of that! But I think we usually carry a card anyway?

In any case, what happens to people on the dining plan if the band system goes down? Has this happened before? Just curious!