DDP - first and last day included?

[Ropachs]

Hi,
We are doing the DDP for the first time this Fall. I'm wondering if on our day of arrival and departure if meals are included on those days. We arrive late afternoon and leave early afternoon so I wonder if we'll have trouble using all our meals - mainly the table service. Do you need reservations for all the table service restaurants - or just the popular ones? Thank you!
Lori

[HndrdPrcnt]

First of all,

WELCOME TO INTERCOT!!!

As for the DDP, you get the same number of days of dining as you stay nights at the resort. So, if you get in on day 1 and then spend 3 nights, you do not get meals on day 4. They pretty much figure that you would use your plan for dinner on Day 1 and then snack & CS on Day 4.

Now, as for ADRs, I would highly recommend ADRs for all TS meals. This is your only guarantee of eating at the restaurants that you really want to eat at. Otherwise, plan on settling on the less popular TS meals.

Enjoy!

[Ropachs]

Thank you! Any great TS recommendations? Our kids will be 6 and almost 2...seeing Pooh at the Crystal Palace is our only must-do thus far.

[Kairi_7378]

I agree with John... if you're on the DDP it is a good idea to make ADR's in order to guarantee that you get to use all of your TS meal credits. However, depending on what time of the year you are going, you may find that it is easier to get into some restaurants. The ones that seem to be very difficult to get into are Cinderella's Royal Table and LeCellier.

As for good TS restaurants... I think you're going to get a ton of recommendations for this. I'm not sure if you have boys or girls (or one of each) and if you are into character meals or not. If you want to see characters, the breakfasts are a good bet. Crystal Palace is great, and Donald's breakfast in the Animal Kingdom gets very good reviews here. For family style dining, there's Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom (I think they just do lunch and dinner here). If princesses are a priority on this trip, Asherkus in Epcot is a good bet. If you need to use a TS meal on your last day and don't want to go to a park, Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary , 1900 Park Faire at the Grand Floridian, or O'hana at the Polynesian are good choices for breakfast. (Chef Mickeys and Park Faire also serve character dinners.)

If you don't want all of your meals to revolve around characters, there are many other wonderful options. At the Polynesian, there is Kona Cafe and also O'hana (which doesn't' have characters at dinner. Meal is served family style and there are antics for the kids.) Boma is a highly rated buffet at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and is a good choice if you're going to be in the Animal Kingdom area. (Bonus here- you can see the animals.) At Epcot, I'd recommend Rose and Crown (England) or the Coral Reef (where else can you eat in an aquarium?!) For something a little more exotic, there is Marakesh (Morocco). Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge is popular, and can be a playful meal. The signature restaurants are also worth mention, even though they take 2 TS credits.

Most of the restaurants in WDW are on the dining plan. I'd strongly recommend that you take a look at the menus here on Intercot, and see what meals would appeal to your family. If you have questions about a specific restaurant, post a question here. People will be happy to share their experiences with you.

And before I forget... Welcome to Intercot!!!

[wendy*darling]

:mickey: Welcome to INTERCOT! :mickey:

Just a clarification on the DDP credits and how to use them.

The total number of credits is dependent on the number of nights you stay in your Disney Resort. If you are staying 5 nights, then each person in your room (3 yrs and older) gets 5 Table Service (TS), 5 Counter Service (CS) and 5 Snack credits that are good from the moment you check in until midnight on the day you check out.

The allotment is based on the nights you stay, but you can use the credits any way you like throughout your stay. One day, you might want a character breakfast (1TS) and a nice dinner (1TS), another day you might choose all CS meals. There is no restriction on how to use them. Use the TS credits for any meal of the day- not just dinner (although dinner typically gives you the best "deal" for your money). But they do expire at midnight of the day you check out and no refunds are given for unused credits.

I recommend making ADRs (reservations) for all your TS meals if possible. You already know you want to dine at Crystal Palace- so decide which day and whether it will be breakfast, lunch or dinner.
With 2 little ones, I think 'Ohana (if you can still get an ADR), Whispering Canyon and Chef Mickey's are tons of fun. If you need princesses- 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian has a Cinderella dinner buffet that is very good.

[MuchLovedMama]

Yeah, I'm on the play the meals are per night. They are good from the time you check in until midnight on the day you check out. So if you are staying 5 nights you will have:

5 TS meals
5 CS meals
5 Snacks

You can use them however you want. If one day you want 2 TS meals you can do that. We are doing that one day because we are going to be sure to hit Rainforest Cafe which isn't in the plan so with that being our only big meal that day then the next day we are doing 2 TS meals. Just divide the the meals up however you want. Enjoy!