A few DDP questions...OOP costs, etc...

[Lesley]

I think I'd better give you our basic info first. We're a party of 5 going to WDW in September. Two adults, one 11yo (adult for dining and ticket purposes), one 6yo and one 2yo. We are planning to book Pop for 3 nights for the free dining and get the dining plan on our 5 night DVC/BCV reservation as well. I've compared the costs to what we might normally eat and it looks like we'll spend less for more food...and not have to deal with groceries. Wow, I might actually get a real vacation. We'll be doing a mix of buffet/character meals and regular menu table service meals. We have to keep those regular table service meals to a minimum...mainly because we have an active 2yo. I know we won't be squeezing the absolute most value out of the dining plan...and I compared the costs accordingly.

What I would like to know is how much food did those of you using the dining plan end up paying for out of pocket? By all accounts it looks as if we should have plenty of food for all of us even with our 2yo sharing...but I'm wondering how snacks, etc... worked out for those of you with kids. Did the kids seem satisfied with the food on the dining plan or did you find yourself buying a lot of extra snacks/drinks? I'm not really concerned about my 11yo...mainly the 6yo and 2yo who have completely unpredictable appetites. But did you find that you had way too much food for the adults and not enough for the kids? Especially with a toddler not on the dining plan?

Just wondering what I should budget for over the cost of the dining plan. We will likely bring a supply of granola bars, crackers and water for the little ones (the normal stuff we always carry)...and probably some cereal or oatmeal for breakfast.

Thanks!

 

[gigi1313]

my kids are not as young as yours, but we've done the DDP twice so far and found it to be "almost adequate" in that we did supplement w/some meals, mostly breakfast or mid-day "snack" rather than lunch...

we learned that if we opt for a smaller breakfast (usually in the room brought from the food court by me while everyone was waking/dressing), we could eat an early lunch in the parks (getting into the CS places before the crowds!) and then a nice dinner at the end of the day...

we also learned that if you use your credits wisely, the food can go a long way... i.e. we could order ds a bagel/sausage patty/drink, dd an egg sandwich/drink and me an omelette and that would be one CS credit for each of us for breakfast, or we could order the "big" breakfast platter along w/an extra bagel (pay oop for the bagel, but now it's a snack credit) and share it three ways (bagel/sausage for ds, eggs/biscuit for dd, bacon/potatoes for me) and conserve CS credits to again use to share later in the day... the only time this did not work is when ds wanted the kids mickey waffles, which we got him, so dd and i shared our platter...

we also occasionally wanted a 2nd TS on a particular day and so we went out of pocket for at least one meal...

that being said... i would budget about $10/day/person for extra food and that should be way more than enough...

 

[Lesley]

Thanks! Sounds like with our own breakfast food, snacks and water we may be fine....but I won't worry about something oop here or there. I was already thinking that we're going to need to eat at Beaches and Cream and I wouldn't want to use TS credits for it...

And now your tag reminded me of the breakfast pockets at the Fountainview....yum! I love the Fountainview.

I'd still love to hear others' experiences...

 

[twinsmamma]

When I went with my 12 yr old DS's in December I did not pay that much oop. this being said theya re big eaters and there was always more than enough food, sometimes too much at the t/s places. I paid for some snacks not on the plan that they wanted but not too many. We even had c/s meals and snacks left over on the last day and used them to get mickey rice crispies for friends. Also had c/s meals left and ot lunch last day and salads for the plane ride home.
this bing said I think that I spent maybe $60 oop for extra snacks and or sandwiches etc. We were there for 8 nights 9 dyas so this is not much. and really not needed becaue we did have left over snacks and melas at end, but I feel that if they want something different than what is offereed then I will get it for them.
i also brought granola bars etc for breakfast in room but most of time did not use, had leftovers or desserts we brought back to room from ight before.
so to put you mind at ease there is alot of food on dining plan.