Mistakes you made the 1st time you did DDP.

[5boyz]

Ok well I am going to stuffed or sick or alot heavier when I get back from Disney.....we are there 14 nights...4 of us....we will have 102 snack credits, plus the 2 desserts from our meals Guess we will be bringing back lots of Mickey Heads for our big boys at home!!!!

 

[maggiew]

I think Casey's is the only one left.

They have been adding children's menus at the few CS that didn't have them.

What about the fish & chips place at EPCOT? Did they add a kids meal?

Maggie

 

[91Coupe]

Forgetting to use the snack credits until the next to last day.

 

[KKB]

There are some CS locations, I believe, that do not have a children's menu. That is hear-say though as I don't have children so it doesn't apply to me and I don't care, but I remember hearing a lot of people mentioning some places are children menu free.

I know the pizza place at MK doesn't have kids meals...

We used snack credits for breakfast-type items. We were able to get a half gallon of milk and a box of donuts at POP food court for a snack CR each, but I hear that has been kaboshed... but there are plenty of other options in the parks for breakfast using snack credits, especially bakeries.

DO NOT save snack credits...if you run out, pay OOP at end of trip, rather than at beginning in an attempt to maximize.

DO NOT pay/use CR for water...ask for a glass at most CS locations for free.

Study menus, read reviews & make your ADRs at 90 days. We had FANTASTIC meals due to research on my part. DH said he never imagined having great meals at WDW.

We are at parks at opening (so like to eat in the room; we did bring pop tarts & br. bars, but at few due to the donuts...not sure how that will work this time). We always eat lunch promptly at 11 to avoid crowds, and to compensate for early breakfast. We make ADRs around 5....we have hit the parks hard all day & are ready to sit & relax. One night we ate at 8 and were miserable the rest of the night...need time to digest before bed (9:30 for us...DS8 is human alarm clock w/ 7AM wake up call daily).

Our kids are not into character meals (too old), and the only buffet we eat is BOMA--cuz it is so unique. Otherwise we prefer really good food to variety. Just our preference.

Relax, have fun & go with the flow!

 

[2manypets]

I stressed too much over getting the most bang for the buck. I insisted everyone eat their desserts even if they were full.

Now we order what we want, eat what we want and don't worry about it. The best bang for the buck is having it prepaid and unstressed.

 

[hthrbells]

This is great, going in Sept and will be using the DDP for the first time

 

[inkedupmomma]

The first time we used the DDP was in May 2005. First mistake was, a) we paid for it and b) we had NO CLUE you could use the snack credits for something other than popcorn,water/soda, or mickey bars!!! Had we known we could use it on other stuff, we would have become even more addicted to disney then we are now!.. well I'm not sure that is possible, but if it is then we would have! I also did not do much research on dining. Although I did some, which is a lot more than most first timers do! We lucked out and got to eat at CRT 2x, both without ressies! I think we did pretty good all in all! I would tell a first timer to make sure they look at different menus, and at least know what they are getting themselves into, so they don't come back and say how awful the food was, and how pricey it was!! research is key..this is what the Dis has taught me

 

[Jennia]

First mistake: I forgot once to order a dessert, after I'd been harassing DH about not forgetting to get his (we usually saved them for breakfast the next morning or a late night snack when back at the resort).
Second: I ordered off of the children's menu (felt so wasteful, but really wanted mac n cheese for whatever strange reason lol!)

 

[PrincessTrisha]

The first time we used the DDP was in May 2005. First mistake was, a) we paid for it and b) we had NO CLUE you could use the snack credits for something other than popcorn,water/soda, or mickey bars!!! Had we known we could use it on other stuff, we would have become even more addicted to disney then we are now!.. well I'm not sure that is possible, but if it is then we would have! I also did not do much research on dining. Although I did some, which is a lot more than most first timers do! We lucked out and got to eat at CRT 2x, both without ressies! I think we did pretty good all in all! I would tell a first timer to make sure they look at different menus, and at least know what they are getting themselves into, so they don't come back and say how awful the food was, and how pricey it was!! research is key..this is what the Dis has taught me

In all fairness to you - in May 2005 there was no free dining and in 2005 the only things that counted as snack credits were water/soda, popcorn, ice cream bars, fruit and mickey head rice crispies - it was long before the days of the $4 rule.

I biggest mistake was "extra food" - I always used to bring snacks with me and keep them in the room - the first couple of trips with the plan, I brought a bunch with me and transported those same snacks (plus a few extra that were bought with snack credits) home.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

In all fairness to you - in May 2005 there was no free dining and in 2005 the only things that counted as snack credits were water/soda, popcorn, ice cream bars, fruit and mickey head rice crispies - it was long before the days of the $4 rule.

I biggest mistake was "extra food" - I always used to bring snacks with me and keep them in the room - the first couple of trips with the plan, I brought a bunch with me and transported those same snacks (plus a few extra that were bought with snack credits) home.

Yes, I had this problem and still will because I think I will do it again. We go for 2 weeks and I used to check a gallon of water in my suitcase so I have some water to drink, I can't stand Dasani. Now they have SmartWater so I am ok now

I also usually bring goldfish (it's the only time of year I eat goldfish so it reminds me of Disney when I buy it!) and something sweet but I have trouble eating it sometimes since I am always full.

 

[*disgal*]

I ate everything at the ADR's, the CS and the snack each day. I gained 8 lbs. in 8 days. Enjoy yourself, but don't make yourself uncomfy!

You must be in good shape. I'm not (getting better) so when we went, we ate up a storm, but with all that walking, I lost 4 pds. over the course of 11 days.

Thanks for that update. When I tried to book character dinners - they all seemed to cost 2 TS. That's why we ended up at Crystal Palace for breakfast. It was the only one for 1 TS. Thanks again!

I could be mistaken, but I think all of the character meals were 1TS except CRT(maybe the other princess meal?). Ohana, CM, CP, 1900, Cape May,etc. were all one when we went. This was in 2006. The only place we used 2TS's was Hoop, of course, that's not a character meal.....well, sort of.

at Pizzafari, they didn't offer Pizza (crazy, I know) on the kids menu.... and at Pecos Bill's they didn't offer hamburgers (crazier, I know) on the kids menues...... they have since changed BOTH of these (can we say, DUH!!) so no reason to worry about it any more. And can I say, Thank goodness! I mean, imagine,..... ALL of us wanting pizza at a pizza place! What were we thinking?!

 

[tinka-belle]

When the two of us are ordering a CS meal, we get one soda (two straws) and one bottle of water as the second meal's beverage to have in the parks later, so we save on a snack credit for that.

Even those "medium" drinks (often they ran out of cups so we got a large) are big enough for two. Otherwise the ice melts and you've got two half cups of crappy diluted soda to carry around the parks before you realize you should just throw them out. We've gotten drinks without ice or ice on the side, just too much soda to drink with a meal. Much better having the water for later.

 

[Ktharee]

I can't emphasize enough about utilizing your snack credits. The last two times we had the dining plan we came home with about 10 rice crispy treats. LOL

What I have done this time around is to get a hold of that list of approved snacks around the World and make a list of what I think we may be able or want to eat during the days.

For example...one morning we plan to have a TS b'fast at Crystal Palace...our next meal will be a CS dinner at some point in Epcot later that evening, but maybe in between we'll need to nibble on something. So I've made a list of the available snacks in the MK that we could get when hunger strikes.

The dining plan is wonderful, I think you will love it!

 

[twooley2]

When we went to Disney years back. It started as A wishes celebration and allowed you to use 3 wishes as you please. It also had the option of using it for the Cirque de soleil. We never went to it and now I want to go and it isnt showing when we are going in September. The other mistake was planning meals to close together. We planned for good timing but the restaurants sometimes lagged behind in calling us for our reservation. We also ate so much we ended up eatting all the while we were there. We actually one time got done with one meal rode a ride and it was time for another reservation. When I said "I hope you all are hungary" after that ride the family thought it was a joke and said "no way" but I told them I was serious and we went to the darn reservation too. No one was hungary. We still laugh about this and they make fun of me till this day. Although those were the good old days and cinderellas castle was still only one wish. You also got good seats at Hoop De doo.

 

[inkedupmomma]

In all fairness to you - in May 2005 there was no free dining and in 2005 the only things that counted as snack credits were water/soda, popcorn, ice cream bars, fruit and mickey head rice crispies - it was long before the days of the $4 rule.

Awesome! I honestly feel a lot better now! I thought at the time I did a fair amount of research [not nearly what I do now, but much more than any normal person I knew!] and I never knew until I joined here about the snack options! i wonder how that changed over, and how people found out, as they do not advertise it on the ddp brochure thingy!!

I biggest mistake was "extra food" - I always used to bring snacks with me and keep them in the room - the first couple of trips with the plan, I brought a bunch with me and transported those same snacks (plus a few extra that were bought with snack credits) home.

Yeah I don't think we will ever be bringing snack down with! I will however bring a couple cases of water this next trip..as to not "waste" snack credits. I would do that if I was on the dxdp or any ddp for that matter! The idea of spending that much mula on water again makes me ill!

 

[bdiddy]

We only had one mistake happen and it really wasn't something planned and we did get it taken care of. Which is another great thing about Disney!!

We were there Monday to Monday and we had all of our ADR's planned but also were paying for one extra TS breakfast at our resort (it was the cheapest meal).

So, Saturday night comes around and it is my birthday and we have dinner reservations for Chefs de France at 6pm. We went on Test Track just before and my daughter throws up just after the ride...and continues to be sick that we had to cancel our dinner and leave! So, the next morning we had our last TS scheduled for Chef Mickeys but now we have 1 extra and I already paid for one on Friday!!

We get back to the resort and I start calling to try to find somewhere to get into for Sunday evening to use the last TS credit and I can't get anything!! So, Monday morning when we went to check out I went to the conceirge and explained what happened and they gave me the money back for the TS breakfast we paid for at Boatwrights and used our last TS credit for that!!

 

[NorweJenNY]

My 2 Cents: Don't worry about using snack credits for water... as long as you're not picky, you can get free cups of ice water at any counter service restaurant.

Thanks everyone for posting your tips! Good to learn from other's mistakes! (This was a great idea for a thread! )

Now I have a question, as I've heard conflicting reports...

About the adult/child counter service meals... when we go, I'll be attending a conference part of the time, so part of the time I'll be on a slightly different schedule with meals than my dh & 2 ds's... can someone (preferably who has been fairly recently) tell me for sure if Disney has a way of keeping track of how many adult and how many child CS meals were used? I don't want to do the wrong thing... nor do I want a surprise at the end of the week like thinking I have 4 CS meals for our family of four, but then an attendant informs me "yes, you have 4 CS meals left, but they're all child's CS." (No offense to dh, but I know he has a hard time of keeping track of things on his own... )

 

[KKB]

but currently, CS are not differentiated adult or child on a given key card....

Some worry that Disney will change this due to comments on the board...but considering they CAN differentiate TS, I'm betting if they were going to differentiate CS they would have already done it...

 

[Colleen27]

but currently, CS are not differentiated adult or child on a given key card....

Some worry that Disney will change this due to comments on the board...but considering they CAN differentiate TS, I'm betting if they were going to differentiate CS they would have already done it...

As long as there are any participating CS restaurants that don't have kids' menus, I don't see how they can differentiate without hassles. I have noticed they've added kids' menus to a lot of the places that didn't used to have them, so maybe they're moving in that direction, but I doubt it is a change we'll see any time soon.

 

[*disgal*]

Although those were the good old days and cinderellas castle was still only one wish. You also got good seats at Hoop De doo.

Oh, yes, we did Hoop also and got the very front next to the stage! It was awesome. We will be doing it again this August but won't be able to get that seat again. That's ok though.

Does anyone know...........if you are a family of 5, do you fit at a table on the balcony? My DH and I sat up there the first time we went but it was just the two of us and I can't remember if there were any parties larger than four up there with us. Just wondering.

So, Saturday night comes around and it is my birthday and we have dinner reservations for Chefs de France at 6pm. We went on Test Track just before and my daughter throws up just after the ride...and continues to be sick that we had to cancel our dinner and leave! So, the next morning we had our last TS scheduled for Chef Mickeys but now we have 1 extra and I already paid for one on Friday!!

We get back to the resort and I start calling to try to find somewhere to get into for Sunday evening to use the last TS credit and I can't get anything!! So, Monday morning when we went to check out I went to the conceirge and explained what happened and they gave me the money back for the TS breakfast we paid for at Boatwrights and used our last TS credit for that!!

That is SO nice of them to do that. Love when they pull out the pixie dust!