21 days on QSDP - views please

Ffiharri

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 9, 2012
Am I mad?

We've done the DDP on our last 3 trips but this year the price increase has gone to more than I am willing to pay (£2,850 last year for 21 nights in OKW to over £3,600 in 2014).

DD's (19 & 14) say they're not too bothered about the DPP but,like DH, would prefer to stay on site. The girls quite fancied AS Music - they really don't care whether it's a value, mod or OKW/SSR.

Having done the sums - Music is currently around £1,780 about £1,000 cheaper than CSR or CBR which offer the free QSDP. I'm guessing that room only discounts after free dining ends may see the values offered at £1500 saving £1,280 over the free QSDP at the mods.

It's been some years since I've eaten off site for 21 days but I'm guessing that it will average around $100 a day for the 4 of us (around £1,400).

Staying in CBR (family's mod choice) or CSR (my mod choice) looks like a win win if it's just the sums to consider BUT 21 days of two counter service meals a day ............................ anyone done it? I've always enjoyed the CS meals on the DDP but we've always had a Table service to look forward to.

I'd appreciate views from those who have used QSDP. :scratchin
 
WDW has quite a wide selection of CS offerings. And it is possible not to get bored by CS ... but only for a short period of time.
QSDP for 21 days ... that's 42 counter service meals in a row ... that's a looooot.

I know we are glad to insert a TS every now and then, for a change.
So I guess that even if you're on QSDP, you might find it nice to do a few TS once in a while. Otherwise there is a fair chance that you get bored with CS meals by the end of week 2 with a full week to go. Or alternately you might eventually end up eating offsite on some days, and be left with QS credits.

For what it's worth, we did CS only (OOP) and offsite (McD and Perkins mailny) with 5 Disney TS in between over the course of 21 days last october.
To be perfectly honest, at one point by the end of week 2, we were standing in the middle of Lanscape of Flavors (AoA), we couldn't decide what to eat, nothing seemed appealing to any of us 3 .. we moved on to POP's foodcourt where we reluctantly settled for an Angus Cheesburger ... yippeeeee ! :(
We were "CS bored"

If you go Disney CS for 21 days, definitely insert offsite or TS meals in between. 21 days is a very long time on CS (even though I reckon it's highly manageable and enjoyable for some people)
 
now you've done it!!! You just watch the different opinions on this one:rotfl:

Personally we only like the qsdp as it suits our touring style completely. We nearly always go for 21 days and there is no problem with getting bored, there is a lot of choice.
We hate having to decide what to eat, when to eat it at 6 months out.
It is also very easy to find a good range of food, its not all burgers, hot dogs and fries you can get so many different things.
We don't like planning a holiday around our food we much prefer to eat when we want to and where we happen to be on that day. It allows far more freedom on this plan. We really couldn't care a hoot that we don't have real plates with real cutlery. Its all down to personal choice and we prefer to spend more time in the parks and not around a table.:)
 
If you go for the mod with the QSDP I would certainly want a least a couple of TS meals either onsite or off in the 21 days and it may mean you do not use all your credits - would that be a problem?

I have gone past the days where I enjoyed the DDP. I do not want to book a TS everyday. I want to just eat what I fancy even if that means driving offsite.

For what its worth OKW has increased behond what we are willing to pay for it next year too.
 


We have done the QSDP since 2009 and wouldn't have it any other way. You can just pay OOP for the odd TS if you want one, but last year we skipped TS altogether and did 19 days of CS meals and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It depends how important meals/sit down meals are to you and your family. If you went with the QSDP and you and your DH had a couple of TS meals you'd still come out way ahead of upgrading. I also looked at prices of values this year and then factored in adding dining plans and it is still cheaper to stay at a mod resort and get the dining free (for us anyway).
 
Am I mad?

We've done the DDP on our last 3 trips but this year the price increase has gone to more than I am willing to pay (£2,850 last year for 21 nights in OKW to over £3,600 in 2014).

DD's (19 & 14) say they're not too bothered about the DPP but,like DH, would prefer to stay on site. The girls quite fancied AS Music - they really don't care whether it's a value, mod or OKW/SSR.

Having done the sums - Music is currently around £1,780 about £1,000 cheaper than CSR or CBR which offer the free QSDP. I'm guessing that room only discounts after free dining ends may see the values offered at £1500 saving £1,280 over the free QSDP at the mods.

It's been some years since I've eaten off site for 21 days but I'm guessing that it will average around $100 a day for the 4 of us (around £1,400).

Staying in CBR (family's mod choice) or CSR (my mod choice) looks like a win win if it's just the sums to consider BUT 21 days of two counter service meals a day ............................ anyone done it? I've always enjoyed the CS meals on the DDP but we've always had a Table service to look forward to.

I'd appreciate views from those who have used QSDP. :scratchin

I have to be honest, we did 2 weeks on the QSDP last year and I couldn't stand it. I would never go on the QSDP again, I would rather suffer the higher price. There is a wide variety of options, but for us it reached a point where we were so sick of quick service meals we would have sold vital organs rather than eat one more meal. :rotfl2: We ended up buying lunch for 2 families because we just couldn't take another quick service meal.

I totally understand the price issue, but I couldn't manage it for 14 days, 21 would send me crazy :headache:
 
it reached a point where we were so sick of quick service meals we would have sold vital organs rather than eat one more meal. :rotfl2:

That bad huh? :rotfl: :lmao:


I totally understand the price issue, but I couldn't manage it for 14 days, 21 would send me crazy :headache:

The price is an issue if you are upgrading and don't want TS every day but aside from last year, it still worked out cheaper for us to get the QSDP and pay OOP for our TS and we used to do 6 or 7 per trip so you need to do the math on it. It is possible to have the best of both worlds :thumbsup2
 


I think I would need to eat offsite for a few sit down meal, or on site if you don't mind the extra cost.

Resorts such as POR have a large food court, also WP at DTD would make a change.

How do you feel? Have you looked at any menus?
 
We eat a TS meal almost every evening, might miss the odd one but couldn't do a whole holiday on QSDDP.
Unfortunately Disney don't have an option in our price bracket from this year (even more next year) Wouldn't stay in value at £60/nt room only, Moderates are more than Deluxe when upgrading to DDP, Deluxe too expensive so its back to offsite for us again.
As I have posted a few times, its not just the cost of staying there, its also cost of tips onsite, decline in service standard (we got really fed up with them asking what we wanted for dessert while still eating entree) cost of a beer etc etc.
Good luck with your choice.
 
personally for us it wouldnt work, we like our table service meals and enjoy the break.
When you think of counter service meals, you think of the basic burgers/chicken etc.
However, WDW is not like that at all and I think youll be fine. :goodvibes
I agree with others that it may be nice to pay for the odd table service meal but there are so many different counter choices that you can have.
Im not sure if youd even need to do that.
eg MK+Cosmic rays-roast chicken, CHH-salmon, Tacos, hot dogs etc
Epcot has so many choices. you can even go to DTD and eat at WPE-weve not eaten there yet but I know they do a great range.

I'd say go for it :thumbsup2
 
We've only done 10 days on the QSDP, but we LOVED it and can't wait to do it again next year.

We did a lot of resort visiting and tried out the different food courts at the hotels, really enjoyed it.
Our favourite CS meals were at Wolfgang Pucks Express, the Mara and Columbia Harbor House...
 
I wouldn't want to do it. That said with research I could, but that would involve travelling to lots of different QS places to eat to find the variety, which to me would be more hassle than planning a sit down every day. I'd do it rather than stay off site though.
 
Tbh I would be happy to do it for 2 weeks though not done it before. Payed oop for all our meals this time but had TIW card. We visited AOA food court which was lovely. DTD POR flame tree in AK and pizzafari all allowed the 20%discount. Im not a burger fan but loved the salads and pastas.
I would still pay for 3-4 TS as well. We ended up cancelling 6 of our 13 TS booked as was too hot and just were not hungry.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far - keep them coming :)

If it was just DH and I, we'd stay in LBV and dine offsite. Eldest DD would be gutted not to stay on site - she's a HUGE Disney fan and has to be dragged to Universal, IOA etc every couple of years or she'd never leave WDW (unless it's a Converse outlet :rolleyes2)

I think we have to draw a line somewhere. We simply can't afford everything -we have prioritised putting eldest daughter through University (she's in her first year) and keeping our promise of full livery for her horse (DH and I don't know one end from the other). The house can got to pot (visitors probably think it has - sorry neighbours :blush:).

There is a wide variety of options, but for us it reached a point where we were so sick of quick service meals we would have sold vital organs rather than eat one more meal. We ended up buying lunch for 2 families because we just couldn't take another quick service meal.

:rotfl2: I have warned DD's that it will be their vital organs at risk!

As I have posted a few times, its not just the cost of staying there, its also cost of tips onsite, decline in service standard (we got really fed up with them asking what we wanted for dessert while still eating entree) cost of a beer etc etc.

Absolutely! It cost over £600 in tips last year. The girls are not big meat eaters so do tend to have the cheaper meals on the Menu so I imagine many people pay much more. I politely refused a few times to order the dessert with the entrees - no one had a problem with this but it was a minor source of irritation. Some places seemed to have crammed even more tables in than the time before. I swear in Chefs that it was just as easy to eat off the next table as ours. Having said all that I do love TS dining :)

WPE-weve not eaten there yet but I know they do a great range
WPE is a great CS choice. Missed the Sweet Potato fries they used to serve though.

We hate having to decide what to eat, when to eat it at 6 months out
We're planners! The colour coded excel spread sheet is taken in paper form and blue tacked to the room door. Spare copies are in the suitcase in case the worst should happen backed up by electronic copies on the phone and ipad :scratchin On DPP, every meal is booked at 180 +10, parks are slotted in. There's a CS suggestion for each day and errr even a list of places I'd like to try "snacks" from. I really must get a life :p
 
I'd give it a try.

If you are a planner you can go to the 'best' QS. Wolfgang puck express, pepper market and be our guest lunch are just like TS.

If you fancy a sit down meal every few days then eating offsite you will still be a heck of a lot better off than with ddp.

We may do QSDP this time if US disney offer free dining for our dates.
 
I think we have to draw a line somewhere. We simply can't afford everything -we have prioritised putting eldest daughter through University (she's in her first year) and keeping our promise of full livery for her horse (DH and I don't know one end from the other). The house can got to pot (visitors probably think it has - sorry neighbours :blush:).

Ok I know how expensive keeping a horse is (then add on the first pony that you can't bear to sell...)

I think as you are happy to plan you can choice the better QS which are mainly resorts and DTD and use them for one meal to get some better food.

The other option is to use a couple of credits for breakfast as there are some breakfast options too
 
Hmmm. I really can see where you are coming from on this thread! On my last trip, we got free QSDP at POR but paid about £630 to upgrade the two of us onto DDP for the two weeks. This time around we got free DDP at Saratoga for three weeks! To be honest I don't think I could cope with CS meals for the entire holiday. I would say it was doable if you looked at menus and found places that offer more than the standard chicken nuggets, hot dog, burger or chicken salad but my experience is that these are few and far between. Even on DDP, I got sick of the CS option every day. I know it is a lot of money, especially taking into account gratuities etc, but food on Disney is expensive anyway. If it was a question of money, I would take the QSDP (only if it were free!) and try to eat either at a TS or off site at least every other day. It's a shame really because the CS meals are generally of very high quality, they just make me not want to eat fast food for months after coming home!
 
Before I did the QSDP for the 2 weeks, I thought I'd be fine, in fact, I always thought the QSDP would be better for us than the DP because I hate being so tied down by all of the ADRs. But after a week, I was losing the will to live. It isn't the lack of options because there is a decent amount of choice, I just didn't like eating off of paper plates and boxes with plastic cutlery all the time and not eating a decent meal.

I think if I were you, I'd look at other options. If you're there for 3 weeks, maybe getting an Annual Pass with TIW would work better for you? I don't know, but the very thought of 3 weeks on QSDP makes me shudder! :lmao:
 
Or at least, go to Art of Animation, where you get real plates and cutlety. They have some items on menu that get it as close to a TS meal as a CS meal can get ...
 
We did 14 days QSDP lasy year and would have been fine for longer too. I researched a lot before we went. I think if you are 'lazy' about it boredom will come quickly but using other resort CS places and those in world showcase mixes it up. Eg:
Yak & yeti CS
Flametree BBQ
Lotus Blossom Cafe
German, morrocan and japanese that i cant remember the name of!
Peppermarket
Fish&chip place in DTD
WGP Express
Earl of sandwich...

If you search in the restaurant reviews thread for QSDP only you'll get lots of ideas!
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top