OP- see the end of this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1099028
There are several of us who have been successful with adding our 2 year olds onto the dining plan. It appears that unless you are DVC, you will need to buy your child a 1 day base ticket, but this ticket can be saved and used on your child when they require park admission since the tickets don't expire until 14 days after first use.
Letsbegoofy- this really isn't different than what AP holders are doing this year and did last year to qualify for the free dining promotion. In order to participate in the dining plan, you must purchase a ticket which OP will be doing and what I am have done. AP holders buy a 1 day base ticket to get the free dining and save it for later too.
Disney advertises (especially with the new Magical Beginnings program) that "kids under 3 eat free", but that isn't really correct. Kids under 3 eat free at buffets and set priced meals, but if you order a meal off the kids menu at the other restaurants, you pay. That's fine, it makes sense and all, but like I said, kids don't really eat free as Disney advertises. Many families, mine included, cannot easily share meals, so we need to purchase a meal for DD. I would rather have DD included on the dining plan. We had a ton of trouble on our trip in January. TS servers kept trying to deduct TS credits for DD's meals even after we explicitly explained that we were paying out of pocket for her.
I, for one, wish that they would give parents the option to add on the dining plan (and I'm referring to when the dining plan is purchased, not just "free") for toddlers who don't require a ticket. We tried unsuccessfully to add DD onto the dining plan on our January trip. I am very glad that I ran across this "creative alternative" to purchasing the dining plan for DD. If we return in January 2007 before DD turns 3, we will likely purchase her a 1 day ticket so we can include her in the dining plan then too.