Could you live on QS for 8 days?

[la79al]

DH has decided that he is not willing to pay all this money to go to Disney. The only place I can possibly think of cutting some (besides driving instead of flying) is to downgrade from DDP to QSDP. I'm just worried that we are going to get sick of it about 3 days into the trip.

[Haley/Hayden Mom]

DH has decided that he is not willing to pay all this money to go to Disney. The only place I can possibly think of cutting some (besides driving instead of flying) is to downgrade from DDP to QSDP. I'm just worried that we are going to get sick of it about 3 days into the trip.

You shouldn't get tired of it as long as you research the menus and see what each QS place has to offer. We did fine last year on just QSDP and never got bored with our menu choices. I also kept copies of the menus for each park in my bag for every day of our trip.

[PurpleTurtle]

No, I couldn't.

[TDC Nala]

If you put your mind to it and plan where you will eat, there is certainly enough variety that you won't get sick of the food. Personally I'd never do it, but not because there isn't enough food variety.

[pumba]

a year ago we went to Disney when they first came out with the fall free dining.....we could not get any reservations anywheres..
Now about the food......All Star Movies had quite a few different types of dinners offered for families....We could have chicken, steak, pork roast, one night they had fish..spaghetti and meatballs with salads and breadsticks, pizza was offered every night too....we also had chicken ceasar salad, hamburgers and chicken fingers.......MK had Cosmic Rays with meals with potatoes, veggies and chicken and ribs or one half of a chicken.....We did not have the same type of meals as if we were going to our favorite restaurants but we made do and we were fine for 7 nights......
Plan ahead and you should do fine..

[tinka-belle]

Counter service places with very good variety
OR
How not to eat a burger my entire vacation!


MK Cosmic Rays, Columbia Harbor House

HS Starring Rolls (not much variety for sandwiches but yummy desserts!),
Backlot Express

AK Flame Tree, Pizzafari

Epcot Sunshine Seasons in the Land
Limited menus at each country, but as a whole great variety in WS

A turkey leg CS meal with a drink and a bag of chips in every park.

DTD Wolfgang Puck Express Westside, Earl of Sandwich

Resorts: CSR Pepper Market (real silverware and plates), as well as various food courts though there seems to be much better variety in the value and moderate resorts as opposed to the deluxe for CS.

The issue for me would be can I eat at off times to find a table and avoid crowds. Lunch at 11:45am is suprisingly open, but at noon the lines start getting long. Same for dinner time. Eat at off times, snack if you have to at regular meal times, and the crowd issue is taken care of.

[2Tiggies]

We did 16 days QS - payed 5 TS OOP (might have been 6) but then we were there quite awhile.

I did it for DD, but if she wasn't into character meals, and we were there for a week, I could get by without it. We are quite happy with the CS and found plenty of options, in spite of an allergy and a slightly picky eater.

It depends on your itinerary and your group. If you like to Go,Go,Go without being tied to ADRs it is great. If you really like the daily sit down meal, then you may want to do a few TS. I fall more into the first category, but do like to have a few sit downs during the trip as well - just not every day - or every second day for that matter. Is it doable? Absolutely. Does it suit everyone? Absolutely not. But if it is variety you are worried about, worry not. There is plenty!

[magicinwaiting]

Some of the CS food is better than the TS. You get a lot of food and can often share. Besides, you don't need ressies!

[katieandemismom]

It depends on where you stay. We have been very happy with it at Pop, but hated it on our quick 3 night stay at BCV. There weren't enough kid friendly options in that area for us. We most likely won't do it again unless we stay somewhere with a good foodcourt.

[patchchild]

You could be happy if you spent a lot of time in Epcot. The land has lots of non fast food choices that are quick service. Most of the countries also have interesting quick service choices. I adore stopping at Morocco, you can eat three meals off one combo plate. Japan and China also have interesting choices.

[jodywgirl]

There are a lot of good quick service in the parks.
Epcot - Sunshine Season in the land is wonderful lots of variety the desserts are great
Animal Kingdom - Pizzafari ( I luv the hot italian sandwich) and Flame Tree Barbecue
Magic Kingdom - Columbia Harbor House, Cosmic Rays and Peco bill are good and the bakery is great for breakfast
DHS - Starring Rolls has good sandwiches and pastries for breakfast

Some of the resorts have better food courts than others. I actually like the food courts at the values better a lot more variety

[Aristocath]

If the choice is QS and Disney or no Disney, why yes, I can survive on the QSDP for 8 days!:laughing:

[Nadjalu]

No I could not do it. Even though there is a wide variety there isn't enough for 3 meals a day for 8 days. At least not for me.

[Kaleigh]

Absolutely. Make good use of the different options in the World Showcase as well as Downtown Disney Options as well as some of the resort offerings which offer some different things like the Polynesian and Port Orleans Riverside (Dole Whips and Beignets!)

[skysmom99]

I'm wondering about this, too. It seems that the children's menus are the same at most CS places and I'm worried my kids won't want the same thing over and over.

However, I've also heard that on the QSDP your card just shows CS meals, not adult vs child meals. Anyone know if that is true?

[Luv2Roam]

It's do-able. And for some it may be better than DDP. But me personally I would not want to. There are a lot of good selections for counter service. However I would soon tire of sitting in noisy food courts. Maybe if I had a DVC where I had a kitchen too. :confused3

[mkleinbe]

I agree that if it was the difference between Disney and no Disney, then yes I could eat the QSDP for 8 days. That being said, have you priced things out to see how much paying out of pocket would be? I priced the QSDP and the value for ME really wasn't there. We like sit downs some as well, so once I paid for the QS plan and the TS meals I decided to just book the DDP.

[gobraves39560]

We did it for 8 days!!! and LOVED it. Find the menu's.. allears.net.. there are so many counter sercive places. This May, we will do one OOP table service. We do not like being tied down to reservations. No fun at all for us!!
You won't be saving alot doing this though. Where are you staying? I say downgrade resort unless you are at a value, and don't do hoppers. We don't need them with little ones. Good luck!!

[mkleinbe]

You won't be saving alot doing this though. Where are you staying? I say downgrade resort unless you are at a value, and don't do hoppers. We don't need them with little ones. Good luck!!

I was thinking that too. Or even shorten (GASP) your trip a couple of days.

[TDC Nala]

I'm wondering about this, too. It seems that the children's menus are the same at most CS places and I'm worried my kids won't want the same thing over and over.

However, I've also heard that on the QSDP your card just shows CS meals, not adult vs child meals. Anyone know if that is true?

You must use children's CS credits to purchase children's meals unless the restaurant has no children's menu. This is true no matter how the credits are tracked by Disney.

[skysmom99]

You must use children's CS credits to purchase children's meals unless the restaurant has no children's menu. This is true no matter how the credits are tracked by Disney.

Thanks! We'll just do an occasional meal shuffle to keep the boys from eating the same thing every meal.

[amshowers]

I think downgrading will only save you about 200.00. Imho is worth the extra money to be able to relax and be served. You could do some character meals and your dd could eat off the bufffet, with QS you have to share with her. I would'nt downgrade unless you really enjoy the flexablity of the QS plan.

[Sienna]

We just got back from an 8-night stay with the QSDP. Overall I give it a huge thumbs up because it was definitely convenient and we had plenty of food. Even with the variety of choices, however, I did get a little tired of the "fast food" experience. Waiting in line (sometimes), having to get your own condiments, napkins, busing your own table, etc. It really wasn't a huge deal, but it did get kinda old towards the end. I would definitely do it again, though. It's nice to have it all paid for up front and not feel like the food is a huge added expense to the trip.

[ginnymack]

Are you sure you need the dining plan at all? That is a lot of quick service! I know if you eat everything offered the dining plan is a good deal, but if left to my own devices, I would skip desserts most of the time, drink water instead of soda or milkshake and maybe even share an order of fries with the hubby. Maybe you could commit to breakfast in the room a few pb& j's for lunch and splurge on a few dinners? Try checking some of the menus for where you want to go and if you stick to water and pass on most desserts and skip a few snacks I'll bet you will come out way ahead!

[Wendy5055]

...and after you drink only water and eat at CS places for a few days, perhaps your hubby will rethink his mandate.

I say go for it! Look at it as an adventure...POP food court has some great and tasty CS options. When we stayed there we did use the food court for meals...love the parmesean encrusted chicken!:lovestruc

There are also places like Main Street Bakery which has sandwiches and such you can choose from and some of the stuff is only 1 snack credit. If your kids are old enough (mine is 8 and she loves to do this), have them pick a CS place that appeals to them.

Then you can come back and tell everyone how your family made out on the CS WDW adventure!!!:cool1::thumbsup2

[dtaylor98]

We are doing an 8 day QSDP in May. We did the regular dining last time and I don't think my husband and daughter liked being tied to being at certain places at certain times. I have told them we won't be doing all burgers and pizza even though I think my husband could live on pizza alone. We'll see how it goes.

[MelanieC]

I could do it even as a vegetarian. Lots of variety and lots of yummy choices. Now if you had asked me last year I would say I would never do it, but when we decided to go this year we decided to do our two week trip as cheap as possible..............so we commited to QSDP with one TS at Boma. It can be done and I think we are actual excited for something different this year. I'm actually looking foward to trying some of the yummy vegetarian options that Disney has to offer.

[danceintherain]

We used to do it every trip when I was younger. We stayed off property, and just at counter service in the parks. Sometimes my parents would even make us pack lunches.

Personally, if I could only afford the Quick Service Dining Plan, then I would probably just skip doing a Dining Plan altogether, and have a daily food budget. Some Quick Service meals are just too inexpensive to justify a credit. My husband can eat an entire meal no matter how big it is, so we each end up using a credit anyways.

When I do Quick Service sometimes I like to order off the kids menu, which wouldn't be a good value on an adult credit, even if they let me do it and don't differentiate.

[Bama_C]

Over the past four years, we have spent 11 days per year eating the regular DDP. We really enjoy the TS meals, but could definitely do the QS plan. There are sooo many choices for QS meals, and honestly preparing for and sitting down to a TS meal per day of the trip eats away at the park time. If we were staying for a shorter time during our trips, I think we'd opt for the QS plan for that reason alone. Many times our TS ADR will be somewhere other than the park we're in, so we leave what we're doing to get there. We try to get to the ADR by at least 15 mins before time, sit until they call to be seated, spend at least an hour to hour and a half ordering, eating, and paying. This is a real time sapper. For 8 days, I would love the QS only plan. I could eat exactly when and where I wanted to.

I think the variety of QS meals is pretty broad.

MK: There is Cosmic Ray's where you can get BBQ, hamburgers, sandwiches and more. At Columbia HH you can get fish n chips, a fabulous tuna s'wich, grilled chicken salad. At Casey's Corner you can get a great hot dog. Tomorrowland Noodle Station has great Asian inspired foods like. Pinnochio's has pizzas, salads, etc. And my favorite CS in MK is Pecos Bill's where you can get taco salads, hamburgers, wraps, etc
.
EPCOT: You can get everything from focaccia and panini to pasta to rare ahi tuna salad at Sunshine Seasons. You can eat fish n chips at England, French pastries with your sandwich in France, great Middle Eastern food at Tangierine Cafe, Japanese cuisine, hamburgers in the American pavilion, frankfurters in Germany, pastries and other offerings in Norway, or Mexican food. So many choices. (That's 8 days of choices in that park alone.)

DHS: I used to think that the QS here was so lacking. But we really enjoyed it this past September. There are lots of choices; you just need to make sure that you study up on the menus to choose the ones that are best for your family. There are burgers, Southwest Chicken Salad, grilled veggie sandwich on ciabatta, Asian salad, chicken curry, BBQ, hot dogs, pizza, wraps, etc.

AK: OK... so this is not my favorite park to eat CS in for one reason and one reason only... the fact that it is 99 degrees in the shade and none of the options are air conditioned. That aside, the food is excellent. Flame Tree has some of the best BBQ I've ever tasted (love the chicken.) Yak & Yeti has some seriously good noodle dishes (love the shrimp). There's Pizzafari with pizza (duh) and hot Italian style sandwiches.

But, some of the best CS meals are found at the resorts. You can get steak at Pepper Market (CSR), great shrimp or chicken with custom-created pasta dishes and fabulous fried chicken at Riverside Mill (POR), fried shrimp at Mara (AKL), and many others. I know others have said that you might not save all that much on the money end, but if you do decide to go that way I think you'll find plenty of variety.

pixiedust:

[LovesTimone]

I would drive before I would give up table service.
I'm assuming that you have children going with you. Character meals!!!!
Here are 5 good reasons, no waiting in the hot sun for autographs, better food, and being able to sit down, kids are occupied and AIR CONDITIONING!!! :cloud9:
Table service meals are a break for everyone to unwind and relax ( which is what vacation is for) this gives everyone some down time, time to cool off or dry off or sleep. Nothing is worse than to have a little one ( or a parent) have a melt down in the happiest place on earth.

Or give DH the shock treatment:scared1:. Show him what it would cost him if you went without the DP.:teacher: or Appeal to his inner beast give him some menus that have several steak choice's.:rotfl2:

Pixie dust coming your way

[ancestry]

I think you could manage as well although it may not make for an enjoyable vacation (at least for me it wouldn't). I don't like having to stress over food on a vacation and we do enjoy at least one sit down restaurant each day.

If you research your choices and plan to hit a variety of counter service restaurants you should be okay. :)

[frayedend]

I think you could do it but not sure it's the best choice for you. I've been researching our trip for August. We added regular dining and are booked with everything at full price (anticipating free dining during our stay but can't be certain). Here is what I think based on menus and prices.

QS or regular are both close to break even price for what we want to eat. The reason we chose the dining plan is that we don't want to worry about how much each thing on the menu will cost. If I want the $36 steak no problem. Also with dining plan we pay up front so that is out of the way before we go. We don't need to be checking the budget when we get some food.

But for you getting a dining plan may not be the best option. You may do better by choosing your own places based on price. You can probably fit some of the less expensive table service places, maybe a buffet here or there. The last few times we've been on DDP we had more than we actually needed. Sometimes you just aren't hungry enough for 3 meals a day. A snack in the morning is enough.

If you plan your day you can do a snack or inexpensive breakfast and book a late afternoon buffet. Then you may just need a snack at later.

No matter what you do I think the key is to let your husband know that the cost will be similar no matter where you go. It's just a matter of paying now or paying later.