I just don't know what to do

[brockash]

Thank you Do the quick service options have seating or is it cutthroat? I have so much anxiety about this trip and it seems every time I think I have it figured out I second guess it.

And can I just go up and order a kid's meal for my ds who is 13 or can only kids go up and get kids meals?

When are you going? If you're going during a slower time, you'll have more options and it'll be more laid-back, but if you're going during a pretty busy time, seating could be a little challenging.

 

[Mugsymugs]

We are going 5/31-6/4.

 

[2forMe]

Skip the deluxe plan... Too much food, to pricey and too much time. You can still do sit down character meals on the regular dining plan. Plus for quick service many meals are large enough to share. When I went with my children we often shared meals (non buffet) and had plenty of food to be able to have 3 meals a day.

 

[GillianP1301]

My situtation is not exactly the same as yours, but I can tell you that my son (he's now 9) & I do go with the deluxe dining plan and have for the last 3 trips (yearly). My first bit of advice, is don't assume you have to have 3 TS meals a day to come out ahead financially. You also don't have to order an appetizer and dessert at every meal to come out ahead either. What I do is I browse menus and put together a list of what we'd most likely order and tally it all up and compare that to the cost of the plan. Generally having a child under 10 and doing lots of character meals will benefit you the most. As will having an under 10 year old who eats off of he adult menu (which you can do on the deluxe plan). Last year my son was eating $50 steaks at a few meals, so he was coming out well ahead dollar wise, which would offset a meal where I didn't necessarily want to have an appetizer. Just examples, but all basically to say to a bit of leg work and you may be surprised how the numbers falls out.

As for concerns about waiting for tables and whether your kids will generally just be overwhelmed, I have no experience to help you with that one, but ultimately you know your kids best. I will say that we very rarely wait longer than 5 - 10 minutes to be seated and more times than not it's less than 5 minutes. But, there have been a handful of occasions where we have waited longer, 30 minutes was our worst. But of the approximately 65 or so TS meals over our last 3 trips, I'd say it's less than 5 of those meals where we waited more than 20 minutes. We travel at a less busy time (late August), so that certainly plays into it.

One of the biggest benefits to multiple TS meals a day is you have built in breaks and cool down periods. Not to mention you miss out on a big part of Disney if you aren't enjoying some of the fabulous restaurants they have. They're almost like attractions in themselves. I find it incredibly relaxing knowing I have a place to eat and there will be a table for me. QS stresses me out a bit, to be honest and not knowing where I'll be eating is a bit stressful too. You inevitably end up in the "where are we going to eat" predicament and waste time figuring it out on the fly. Works for some people, but not for me.

 

[Hopefully]

I would definitely cancel the Deluxe Dining Plan. I don't believe it will benefit your family. I agree you need a plan - I think that at least that would help lower your stress level. I would imagine that if you are stressed your children will pick this up and react to you.
I would not plan on any Signature Restaurants. They are the more expensive, upscale restaurants. if you DD has trouble in certain settings, this may be difficult for her.
Good Luck

 

[squirrel]

With a short trip I would pay out of pocket for food and skip a DP. I found that for a first trip TS meals did take up a lot of time. Character meals were a bust as my niece was so interested in the characters that she wouldn't eat and then 30 min or less after leaving she would be hungry. Oh and she was lactose intolerant so it wasn't easy to find food quickly.

Pack some snacks you know they will eat in a backpack each day and then do CS and snacks when they are hungry. Try and time it a bit before they are hungry so they aren't already starving while you are in a line. I found the CM in the CS places were very helpful and would help find a place or carry a tray if I looked like I needed help.

 

[chris benton]

I don't think anyone has suggested a ddp calculator yet?
Mugsymugs, the ddp locks in an average price per meal and snacks, and also gets you a cup for free refills of soft drinks at resorts.
If you do not choose to use the meals or snacks you pre-pay for, you lose money.
If you do not have a plan of maximizing your average prices for meals and snacks that you have locked in, you could lose money.
If you throw away any of the food that you have pre-paid for, you lose money. A lot of ppl (I was definitely one) are not aware of the pretty big portion sizes at a decent amount of the qs places.
If you do not make use of the refill mugs, you will lose money.
The well known ddp calculator can give you a decent idea of prices,
You really need to just sit down for a while to figure out what places you'd likely eat at, and what you'd order. For my family, it would be VERY hard to make the ddp worth it, even if it was free. After seeing the amount of food, and the time it takes for table service compared to what we eat, paying out of pocket for a few TS meals, and planning several better quality qs places works out much cheaper, and more our style. A lot of people buy in to a romanticized, "all inclusive vacation" feel of the dining plans (which has its merits, I really don't mean that to sound negative) OR, they know it will work out very well for their vacationing style, and they plan it out well, and make it cost effective. A suggestion for you would be to figure out where you'd eat, and what you'd order, using this:

https://www.distripplanner.com/

And after you do that, depending on how much $ gain or loss you are likely to incur, get more granular. You might wind up saving a bunch of money using the ddp, but just don't be surprised if you look at the numbers and think it's far better paying for your meals out of pocket. There's really no reason to lock yourself into losing money, you can see the prices of what your family would likely order, and then compare that to the price of the dining plan. It's not like an all inclusive resort vacation where you don't know how much the meals cost, and have no idea if the average price per meal they are charging you is crazy or not.

Also, as others have stated, for QS/CS meals, you can order whatever you'd like. My wife and I split a few qs kid's meals as snacks or light lunches, no big deal at all. (Again, some of these qs/cs meals are much bigger than we expected, even after reading the boards here and being warned about them.) Good luck to you!

 

[KimBean]

There is a LOT of stimulation in the Character Dining buffets. Chef Mickey's most particularly. They have also become expensive enougth that we finally opted out. Just not worth it. I would not choose the DP in your situation. Being as it is your first trip the ADR's really put you in a box time wise. We are hoping for a Free Dining promotion for our upcoming trip just because feeding my 6'2 teen has become an issue. It makes sense for us. I can't feed him for $44 a day. He can use my snacks since I don't usually use them. If you decide to go out of pocket I highly reccomend the kids meal choices. I have never been questioned and I have even been encouraged to order kids by some Cast Members. They get it - way too much food. I order kids meals for myself and the kids can get whatever they want. You will surely have some challenges but Disney really is a Happy Place. Don't stress yourself about special needs kids. Nobody really cares what anyone else is doing. The worst behavior I've ever seen in the Parks has always been from adults. Relax and enjoy your precious family.

I agree. I have anxiety issues and can get kind of sensory. Things too bright or too loud can be taxing. I deal with it fine I can just feel my anxiety coming on. Character meals are one of those not relaxing things that I have to just roll with, up and down, a lot of movement around me which I don't care for. Loud very loud. We have two for this trip. Ohana breakfast which is nice because they bring the food to you and isn't the largest place so not as loud. Crystal palace is the other one and it can get loud but not like chef mickeys. I still like it there because it takes awhile for the characters to get around and I don't feel so rushed. Felt very rushed at chef mickeys and the food (dinner) is not good.

 

[thepicklebee]

Are you traveling alone with them or with another adult?

The reason I ask is that if you are traveling alone, one consideration to make is that at QS you will have to wait in line to both order your food and then pick up your food - and this can sometimes be a stressful and frustrating process. While it can, on the surface, seem like a faster option, sometimes it isn't. If you can schedule off peak ADR times for meals you may find it to be much less trying of an experience.

 

[Nancyg56]

Are you traveling alone with them or with another adult?

The reason I ask is that if you are traveling alone, one consideration to make is that at QS you will have to wait in line to both order your food and then pick up your food - and this can sometimes be a stressful and frustrating process. While it can, on the surface, seem like a faster option, sometimes it isn't. If you can schedule off peak ADR times for meals you may find it to be much less trying of an experience.

I agree. I think that carefully planned TS meals and times can be better options than CS in many circumstances. It is possible to keep the bill down becuase you control what you order, but also for people who like structure and if you are like me, get too overwhelmed to choose a place to eat if I get overhungry, an ADR can be a lifesaver. If I traveled alone with children I woudl tend to book ADR's in the parks for lunch and know that I don't need to try to balance all of the details alone. I would just plan the meal in the section of the park I wanted to be in at that time of day.

 

[rwdavis2]

I would skip the dining plan. It won't save any money (in most cases( and paying out of pocket gives you much more flexibility.