Best value Counter service

[sk8jdgca]

Hi I'm thinking of doing the quick service meal plan the next time we go to Disney. It will be me, dd11 ds7, hoping to stay at Cororando springs. I tried to search for a thread on this but came up with nothing?? What are your favourite counter service places, what are the best value?

 

[candielips]

In MK the best value is def Cosmic Rays. You can get an entree that includes 1/2 chicken, 1/2 ribs and mashed potatoes and green beans as well as your dessert and drink. It is not my favourite in MK though. My fav is El Pirata Y EL Perico. I love their taco salad and tacos. Plus they have a great fixings bar.
CSR has Pepper Market where you can use your CS credits for more of a sit down meal, however there is a 10% gratuity charge if you do not take it to go.
My personal fav at DTD is Cookes of Dublin. The portions are huge.

 

[jennipooh]

Cosmic Ray's in MK (the ribs and chicken) (also a yummy chicken wrap which is cheaper)
Picnic in the Park in AK (chicken)
Flame Tree BBQ in AK (Ribs or Chicken - but also a yummy bbq sandwich)
Fairfax Fare (Ribs and Chicken or Ribs and Beef Brisket) in DHS
Sunshine Seasons in Epcot (Chicken, pork chop, asian, sandwiches)
Wolfgang Puck Express in DTD (we have only been to the one in the Market Place, but there are two)...everything there!
THERE IS A THEME!! Ribs and chicken seem to be the most expensive meals available, so they are popular on the QSDP....
Also, Pepper Market at CS has steak, chicken, carving station, etc. and the 10% is included on the dining plan.

We will be doing the QSDP for the first time, but we have made many trips to Disney and tried most of these options. The above options are awesome and we will probably have most of them for our 12 day trip... but we cannot limit ourselves to the most expensive on the plan...

We are also looking forward to Casey's in MK (hot dogs), El Pirata y el Perico in MK (tacos), Mexican CS in Epcot, Earl of Sandwich in DTD, etc.

I am hoping that it will balance out....also ds is 10 now and he eats and eats and eats.... I am purchasing the QSDP so I won't go nuts shelling out for food all day, and my challenge now is that I have to tell myself not to force him to eat the most expensive thing on the menu to get our money's worth...I guess I will just have to order the most expensive thing and be satisfied with that!

Also, if you eat at WPE, you order at the counter, but they bring your drinks and your food...so I tip here.

Have a great trip.

 

[Tricia1972]

Robinb has put together a spreadsheet that outlines the most expensive CS choices, both by ordering the most expensive item and also by figuring out the average price of an entree. You can find her sheets here

Most Expensive Item http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW Dining/2009/DisneyDiningRanking2009.htm

Most Expensive on Average http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW Dining/2009/DisneyDiningRanking2009.htm

Of course that's just basing upon price, sometimes the best isn't the best CS credit value. Two of my favorites are Wolfgang Puck Express (good value credit wise) and Casey's (not a very good value credit wise)

Hope this helps! I know her research has been a great help to me in the past.

 

[TDC Nala]

I don't believe Picnic in the Park at AK is a good dining plan value (for adults - there is no children's menu so it is probably a better value for children). The cost is about $12 per person for a party of 3 ordering chicken (the most expensive option), and the only included beverage is a very small bottle of Dasani water. You do get shared sides and the desserts are large though.

You would get better value at AK going to a regular CS, where you can get bigger portions and larger beverages.

 

[squinkette]

My DH and I just got back from our anniversary there - and we stayed at Coronado Springs, as well. I personally find the Pepper Market (Coronado Springs) and the Cantina de San Angel (Epcot) to be tops for the QS options. Pepper Market's had to cut its selections by a lot from the last time I was there, but it's still really good value for the dining plan. I had the chilaquiles at the Cantina de San Angel (the same food served at the TS San Angel, but it's served as QS), and it was amazing! The sides of rice and beans I didn't care for, but the chilaquiles, my drink, and my churro filled me up anyways. We tried Wolfgang Puck Express for the first time, and weren't very impressed. The restaurant itself seemed to be very unorganized (all machines were out of ice, they were out of all teas, out of all creme brulees, and out of all cookies...and the food was only so-so...it's one of the more expensive choices for a QS on the dining plan, but I didn't really find it worth it. It would've been better for us to eat at Pepper Market again instead.). Flame Tree BBQ was alright (stick to the sandwiches, though - the chicken can be really dry) - AK isn't really known for its great food selections, anyways. My DH and I always like Pizza Planet, but people tend to either like it or not. We were just in the mood for some pizza. Hope this helps!

 

[sk8jdgca]

Thanks everyone. Last time we went with dining the tips and appetizers were included. When we normally go out and eat we spend between 25-35. I just can't see paying for full dining then shelling out 20 or more on tips. Plus I don't like to waste all that time in restaurants.

 

[aubriee]

Fairfax Fare (Ribs and Chicken or Ribs and Beef Brisket) in DHS

Also, Pepper Market at CS has steak, chicken, carving station, etc. and the 10% is included on the dining plan.

Exactly where is Fairfax Fare? I seldom eat in DHS (instead taking the boat over to Epcot about lunch time), but Fairfax Fare sounds pretty good.

Just FYI: my understanding is that the 10% tip is no longer included with the DDP at the Pepper Market, unless you take the food to go and eat outside. I believe this changed just very recently. It was mentioned over on the CSR thread.

 

[mattsmom2000]

We are heading there in a little over a week and have purchased the Quick Service Dining Plan. We are excited to try and see how it works. Our biggest ordeal on our trips is usually having to plan our day around our table service meal. I will hopefully have lots to report when we get back with lots of photos.

 

[Dawson'sMom]

We (DH, ME-DW, & DS10 will be 11 at time of the trip) have always had the DDP on our vacations but DS10 is now a Disney Adult but still wants to eat from the children's menu so I know that DDP is out. I would love to add the QSDP if we can break even, because I really like having everything paid for when we arrive so that I don't have to worry about the budget. But I want to make sure that we will be able get our money's worth. $90.00 a day seems like a lot but I know that it really doesn't go that far at Disney. If we where to have left over CS credits can we use those to get snacks to bring back home? If you can do that how many snacks do you get for one unused CS credit? I think that we could eat for less than the $90.00 per day but wanted to compare and hope to save the headache and stress of having to know just how much money do we have left for food? So what do you all think about this? Should I add the QSDP or just suck it up and do OOP?

 

[jennipooh]

Exactly where is Fairfax Fare? I seldom eat in DHS (instead taking the boat over to Epcot about lunch time), but Fairfax Fare sounds pretty good.

Just FYI: my understanding is that the 10% tip is no longer included with the DDP at the Pepper Market, unless you take the food to go and eat outside. I believe this changed just very recently. It was mentioned over on the CSR thread.

Fairfax Fare is new...It is on Sunset Boulevard on the way to TOT and RRC. It is the area where Rosie's, Catalina Eddies, and the Turkey Legs are. They have rearranged that area. I couldn't quite figure out in what way, but I could tell things were shifted around a bit. I think the fry place is gone...and I think they moved the Turkey legs down there. It looked different.

Also, thanks for the heads up on the Pepper Market. CSR is our 2nd choice for our summer trip -Depending on how the deals play out for the summer.

 

[mattsmom2000]

We (DH, ME-DW, & DS10 will be 11 at time of the trip) have always had the DDP on our vacations but DS10 is now a Disney Adult but still wants to eat from the children's menu so I know that DDP is out. I would love to add the QSDP if we can break even, because I really like having everything paid for when we arrive so that I don't have to worry about the budget. But I want to make sure that we will be able get our money's worth. $90.00 a day seems like a lot but I know that it really doesn't go that far at Disney. If we where to have left over CS credits can we use those to get snacks to bring back home? If you can do that how many snacks do you get for one unused CS credit? I think that we could eat for less than the $90.00 per day but wanted to compare and hope to save the headache and stress of having to know just how much money do we have left for food? So what do you all think about this? Should I add the QSDP or just suck it up and do OOP?

We were the same way when we were deciding. My son is 9, but will be 10 on our trip this week. He, however, wanted to finally eat off of the Adult Menu, so it was an easy decision for us money wise. It will be worth it. I think that with the QSDP, the mugs are included, so since we do use them, it was an additional $40+ we would have spent on mugs. I also like the idea of not having to worry about money on the trip for food since it is covered. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[mattsmom2000]

We (DH, ME-DW, & DS10 will be 11 at time of the trip) have always had the DDP on our vacations but DS10 is now a Disney Adult but still wants to eat from the children's menu so I know that DDP is out. I would love to add the QSDP if we can break even, because I really like having everything paid for when we arrive so that I don't have to worry about the budget. But I want to make sure that we will be able get our money's worth. $90.00 a day seems like a lot but I know that it really doesn't go that far at Disney. If we where to have left over CS credits can we use those to get snacks to bring back home? If you can do that how many snacks do you get for one unused CS credit? I think that we could eat for less than the $90.00 per day but wanted to compare and hope to save the headache and stress of having to know just how much money do we have left for food? So what do you all think about this? Should I add the QSDP or just suck it up and do OOP?

We were the same way when we were deciding. My son is 9, but will be 10 on our trip this week. He, however, wanted to finally eat off of the Adult Menu, so it was an easy decision for us money wise. It will be worth it. I think that with the QSDP, the mugs are included, so since we do use them, it was an additional $40+ we would have spent on mugs. I also like the idea of not having to worry about money on the trip for food since it is covered. Have a wonderful trip!