How do you successfully (and legally) "stretch" your DDP?

[Dsnygirl]

I hope this question is okay, I did see under Figment's FAQ sticky that you can share meals under the DDP with members of your immediate party who are also on the DDP, with certain restrictions, so I'm going to assume it is. :fingers: I don't want to misuse it at all...

Okay - so the question - my DD will be turning 10 not long before our trip, and so is an "adult" on the DDP. I know that at most TS meals, she isn't going to want an adult entree, and would more likely be happy with a children's choice. So, my first question is - can my younger DD, who will be on the children's DP, share with her and we save a TS credit for another time? (As long as it's a regular meal, and not a buffet, pre-plated, etc.) My DH and I would be more than happy to share some of our choices with them to go with their meals... I just know she's not going to choose the prime rib, steak, salmon or fancy meals if there are chicken fingers or hot dogs to be had... :blush:

Second question - we are going for 7 nights, but will be there for 8 days of meals b/c our flight doesn't leave 'til almost 7pm on our last day. So, no meals are included for that day on our DDP. I know we can just pay OOP for those meals, which we will probably end up having to do, but does anybody have any tips on how they've shared/stretched meals to make the credits last through a few extra meals? (within the allowable guidelines, of course...)

Thanks -- any input is greatly appreciated!!

[Minniefan68]

I really don't see anything wrong with what you propose to do with your daughter sharing a kids meal with younger DD. You've purchased and paid for the meal plan and are using your meals as you see fit.

So if you have extra TS meals or QS at the end of the 7th day, use them on the 8th day. We did something similar b/c we found there was just too much food for our children last year ages 3,3 and 6. They could not eat two or three big meals a day plus a snack, neither could DH or I. We were so on the go and the weather so hot we did not feel like stuffing our faces all day. :blush:

By the end of our 7 night, 8 day trip we actually left without using 2 TS, 4 QS and 6 snacks.

Don't worry, there will be plenty of food for all and I think it's okay to do what you propose.

[sisterdisco]

Last Summer, DH, DS 10 and DS 8 had the DDP.

A few things we found helpful.
1st--we used our snack for breakfast. Kids got a huge Nestle Quick chocolate milk (the 400 calorie kind!)
We ate lunch early and dinner at 6pm.

Counter service recommendations--certain places have a TON of food--so you can share.
Cosmic Ray's at MK. You can get a 1/2 chicken dinner w/ potatoes and corn bread and it's excellent!
Flame Tree BBQ AK--we actually only used 3 counter service meals here for the 4 of us---way too much food--so we banked a credit there.

At the food court at WL, we also banked a few credits by sharing lunch. My DH got for one counterservice credit---a large beef on kimmelwick sandwich--served w/some sort of mac salad, and a cup of chili for a side, a bottled water and a rice krispie treat.

A few times, the little one ordered off the adult menu and the older one ordered off the kiddie menu. No one cared.

If you carefully look at the menus, you can see the variety of options that can please everyone.

This time, we are going to San Angel Inn, and neither kid will eat the mexican food, so I plan to have both of them eat chicken nuggets there and then they can both have an adult meal at another restaurant.

We found the servers to be MOST ACCOMODATING.

The other trick we did, was to get a bottle of water, and refill it and add some crystal light. Saved us a fortune.

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

My DH and I split some of our CS meals so that we could stretch out the DDP through our last day.

I don't see any problems with working out your TS credits that way.

[kakn7294]

You can order your "adult" DD her own meal from the kid's menu (each child would get her own meal) but you will lose the value of the adult meal credit. Depending on your server and the chef, sometimes larger portions of the kiddie meals can be purchased with an adult credit or they will very often substitute things like plain meats for gourmet ones, french fries for potatoes or rice, or even build you a meal to suit your tastes. Many servers will also allow your girls to swap meals as well if the younger one wants something on the adult menu while the older one wants a kid's meal. Your credits are valid from check-in until midnight on the day you check out so you will be able to use them on that last day as well. Another tip - if you have left over snack credits, before you leave, get some snacks that you can take with you to travel home. Don't let those credits go to waste!

[Jeff G]

My DD was 10 on the last trip and we were allowed to either order an adult or kids meal for her so if the 10 year old is hungry for a kids meal that wouldn'e be a problem. If you dine at any meal that is off a menu you can order as many or as few of meals as you would like on the dining plan. If you & DH or the kids want to share a meal you can do that and use only one credit.


We stretched our CS meals so we would have two extra meals on check out day. There were four of us on the plan and yet we ordered 3 meals and shared them amongst our family which allowed us to bank a meal each day. On our last day we had six meals which covered breakfast and lucnh. Even with only three meals we very seldom finished all the food and always had a big diner or lunch at a TS restauraunt.

The plan is very flexible.

[wdw_bound]

Honestly, unless both your children eat like birds, sharing a CS child's meal won't work. However, there is more than enough food in most Adult CS meals to share. On our last trip, DS was a month shy of 3, so did not have any credits. We only had to pay OOP for a couple of things for him, because DD9 and I shared many meals and let him have her child credit.

For example, at Pecos bills, DD and I split a double burger (even that was too much for us), and we pooled the fries from 2 adult meals 3 ways and still didn't finish them. In your situation, this would also work as a way of saving an adult CS credit. At one of the pizza places (can't remember if it was AK or DHS), I ordered the kids meal for DS, then ordered 2 adult pizza meals plus a side of bread sticks (one snack credit). We had food left over and were very full.

We had refillable mugs, so would typically get a bottled drink with our CS to save for later. I would also often order the fruit (where available) as the dessert option and save it for later (esp. if our CS was an evening meal - made a great breakfast treat the next morning).

There were some days when we just didn't eat that much - a couple of days we had a TS and then "grazed" on snack credits.

We also found that buffets worked well for our family, as did family style restaurants. That way, everyone got to eat what they liked without worrying about the kids menu (DH was spotted getting seconds on the chicken strips on at least one occasion :secret: ).

As for stretching, you will probably find it easier to stretch the CS meals so that you have at least one meal left for your last day. I would think it would be tougher to do with TS credits, at least in my experience.

Have a great trip!

[Minniefan68]

Honestly, unless both your children eat like birds, sharing a CS child's meal won't work.



In this day and age where so many kids are overweight, I'm glad my kids eat like birds.

(Saves money too. :) )

[nicjohn3]

My kids do eat like birds when I have to pay $5-$6 for kids meal.

The Disney's kids meals are perfect for one child. Most consists of a small bowl of grapes or applesauce, a juice box or milk, and a pbj sandwich (round, frozen things--cant think of what they are called) I would suggest sharing an adult meal with the 2 children.

I found that the Pizza Planet at DHS do not have kids meals so you can legally get an adult meal for the kids CS credit. It consists of a personal sized pizza, salad, and a drink. For our family of 4 we used 3 CS (1 adult and 2 kids) and had plenty of food.--Plus with DDP you will get a dessert with each CS.

I found that Wolf Gang Puck Express in DTD gave us a 9 inch pizza, a HUGE cookie and a 16 oz bottle of juice all for a kids CS.

I did alot of researching of menus to get the best value. Did many character dinings (buffets). I did plan where we would go eat, but was worth it. On last day of trip we had 17 snack credits and 3 CS credits left. We drove so we just packed in cooler and had for dinner that night at our hotel. I purchased sealed bags of snacks at Goofy's Candy Co. in DTD --we still have a bag of cashews left in pantry from our trip--from March.

Do your research--it pays. It saved us $300 by using the DDP.

[ElenitaB]

Keeping to Blythe's original question, we stretch our credits by:
* never using a TS credit for a breakfast or lunch, but instead save them for dinner.
* We use our snack credits for breakfast, and never on water or fruit as we buy that separately at our resort or offsite (though I'm thinking of looking into shipping a case of water to myself at our resort).
* I bring coffee/tea from home and therefore don't need to buy those items either (plus who really wants Nescafe :ack:).
* Like others have mentioned above, we'll have an earlier lunch and regular time dinner.
* Since DS and I have different tastes, we don't share, though it can easily be done at many TS and CS locations.

As an aside, the Disney kid's meals are planned to be the correct portion size for one child.

There's been some great ideas on this thread! Let's keep them coming!

[Tink&Goofy]

I wouldn't suggest having them share a kids meal - unless they really are very light eaters. At counter serve, we often split meals - ordering 3 adult meals for 4 of us (with the youngest getting her own kids meal). For TS, we will also sometimes split meals. Granted, it has to be something the kids are willing to eat, but most meals are so large, there is plenty of food! Under the old dining plan, we often ordered an appetizer for the "tween" as her meal.
Another option is to pay OOP for a kids meal for the oldest one, and save her adult TS for another meal. It reduces your out of pocket, and stretches your TS to cover another meal or so.

[tinksmom02]

We, too, get the resort mugs and so use the beverage part of our CS credits for waters for later on.

DH and I would get the combo breakfast platter at the resort for breakfast, and share with DD5.

DD and I would occasionally share meals. I know others have said the kds' meals aren't that big, but we would get the kids' grilled cheese at POFQ, with fries, grapes, and a drink, and it was plenty for Jenna and me. Course, oftentimes the heat prevented me from wanting to eat a big heavy meal anyway.

[tss22]

Cosmic Ray's has the whole Rotisserie Chicken with Mashed Potatoes family meal. Is this considered a single counter service item?

[Dsnygirl]

:thanks: Wow - you guys are awesome! I was getting a little concerned with our ADR's, as we had more TS meals than we're allotted for 7 days... with 3 TS breakfasts "scheduled", it was looking like a lot of food, and a fair amount OOP!

But - being the OCD WDW planner that I am, I just couldn't help myself and seeing as I had the menus (yes, I'm one of those that prints them, although it truthfully was just to show the "food loving" member of our party, a.k.a. my DH, what we'd be getting at different places so he could place a vote...) I went through them and was able to find three different TS meals where I think we can split our meals with our DD10 and save a credit, and another one where we can just pay OOP for her to have a kid's meal and so far, I've been able to find us one more TS meal we won't have to pay OOP for. :woohoo:

As far as our CS meals, we'd already found quite a few where we've been before and knew the food was just too much for us to all need to order, so we're all good there -- not paying OOP for any! :thumbsup:

Thanks so much for all the suggestions... keep 'em coming!! :thumbsup:

[Mickey'sGirl]

WE found that the CS locations give an obscene amount of french fries with any meal, be it an adult or kid meal. You can purchase any sandwich/burger etc. separately and then share the sides. We usually get 2 fry and two carrots and split them between the four of us. .... We often arrive at night and leave in the morning, so we are trying to use up all our meals. If I was trying to stretch them, I would buy the separate sandwich then share..... :twocents:

[BelleCiavo]

We would use many of our cs desserts for breakfast (Capt' Cook's has muffins as a dessert for example.) Sometimes when a member of our party isn't hungry at a TS restaurant we pay out of pocket for something little, like a salad, and save the TS for another time. My dh and I like to do at least one Signature dining as a date night and this has worked well for us.

[LoriSan]

We would use many of our cs desserts for breakfast (Capt' Cook's has muffins as a dessert for example.)

Does this mean that you can save the dessert from a CS meal for another time? Or do you mean you would just save the dessert and have it the next day?

[KineGirl]

Does this mean that you can save the dessert from a CS meal for another time? Or do you mean you would just save the dessert and have it the next day?

I think she means she would literally save the dessert she got from her CS and eat it in the morning since you cannot "save" the dessert portion off of your DDP. If you opt not to get a dessert with your CS you would lose that dessert.

[BelleCiavo]

I think she means she would literally save the dessert she got from her CS and eat it in the morning since you cannot "save" the dessert portion off of your DDP. If you opt not to get a dessert with your CS you would lose that dessert.

That's right. We usually only do it our our resort CS.

[Tinkpink]

Related question...hope I am not kidnapping the thread... I have heard you can "trade in" one TS credit for two CS credits? Is that true? And does it work the other way, as well? Trade two CS for one TS?

Also, are you "allowed" to share TS meals? That is, if it not a buffet or family style. Can you order items off a menu and share it between two adults? If so, anyone know which TS restaurants will allow this?

Thanks in advance!!:mickey:

[TheDuckRocks]

Don't know about your trading TS and CS meal credits, but I have never been refused the option of spliting an entree at any non-"all you care to eat" Disney restaurant.:thumbsup:

[watch4pixiedust]

I have heard you can "trade in" one TS credit for two CS credits? Is that true? And does it work the other way, as well? Trade two CS for one TS?

They allowed the option of trading a TS credit for 2 CS credits during the free dining promo either last year or the year before, but I think that was only because TS restaraunts were so booked up that some people were having a hard time finding somewhere to use all their TS credits. There were a also couple of other options for trading TS credits at that time. I don't know if they will offer that this year........haven't heard anything about it so far. I don't think they allowed it the other way.
Then again, we never know what might be around the corner ;)

[KSS]

another legal option that we have used in the past is to order a double cheeseburger meal with a cs credit and buy a bun seperate for about $.75. Make 2 seperate burgers and share the fries.

[disneykid99]

Thank you for this thread. These are all great ideas. We are excited to try them out in Sept - especially getting the refillable mug and saving the bottled drinks for in the park. :thumbsup: We were able to stretch our CS credits last Sept at our resort by ordering a large pizza from the food court. It cost two adult CS credits and fed 4 of us (2 adults, 2 kids) with some left over. It also came with 2 drinks. That was at the Pop. We are hoping they do that again this year.

[5fromabove]

another legal option that we have used in the past is to order a double cheeseburger meal with a cs credit and buy a bun seperate for about $.75. Make 2 seperate burgers and share the fries.

Wow, this is a great idea :thumbsup: A double hamburger is always WAY too much meat for us anyway...so I like this idea a lot. It would feed several of our kids. :) Thanks for this thread, I've learned a lot from it so far. Any more ideas anyone?