Is dp upgrade worth it?

[Dazed]

Finally booked for 27th Sept. 9 days at POR with free qsdp, 4 nights at RPR (Club level-good rate from Asda) then back to POP for 2 nights.

Last visit in 2009 we had a similar stay at POR but on free ddp. I loved the ddp but did feel as if there was just too much food. I love to get my money's worth so having something small or leaving out pudding was not an option!! The best part was being able to let my 3 DS's have whatever they liked, price on the menu irrelevant - they all like steak but I don't usually run to that at home!!

So question is whether to upgrade this time or not. I think we would be happy with x4 TS dinners. If I pay for these OOP I could use the remaining CS credits for breakfasts though we don't usually do much breakfast on holiday. I have some of our old receipts and seems our average TS bill was about $135 + tip. How much have prices gone up in 4 years?

Upgrade would be £540.........I think I'm talking myself in to this!
but then there's 5 extra tips to consider -help!

 

[MrRomance]

I don't know if you're anything like us but we usually have the regular DDP and on our trip in the summer we only got the QSDP and we HATED IT! Eating "fast food" all of the time was a drag and we swore we would NEVER go with QSDP again.

If you're upgrading to get something for less, then honestly, I doubt you'll get the extra £540 out of it, but if you the type of people who like non-fast food, the QSDP isn't going to be for you.

 

[wilma-bride]

I am afraid I disagree with the PP's claim that the QSDP is only fast food. There are lots of options for the QSDP that are more than just burgers and fries. WPE at DTD is a perfect example.

However, in response to your question, whether or not it's 'worth it' is really a personal thing. We never use the DDP as it doesn't suit our eating patterns (we prefer to eat off-site), however if you are going to pay OOP for 4 TS meals anyway, more than likely it would be of some benefit to you. Personally, I would still think the DDP is too restrictive and would rather pay OOP (especially if any of those TS meals are buffets, set price or low-cost meals) and, as you say, you would need to factor in the additional tips.

Dsepending on when you're travelling, you will also need to consider how easily you might get walk-ups or whether you would be able to get ADRs at the places you want to eat.

Sorry, that doesn't really answer your question but it's one of those 'how long is a piece of string' questions, I'm afraid

 

[queendisney]

I am afraid I disagree with the PP's claim that the QSDP is only fast food. There are lots of options for the QSDP that are more than just burgers and fries. WPE at DTD is a perfect example.

absolutely...loads of choice other then burgers and fries, I can honestly say that we only ate burger and fries once or twice in 3 weeks!..

Personally I would never upgrade as find there is far too much food even on the qsdp..and all those ADR to make and having to be in a certain place at a certain time. Each to their own but its not for us. But only you can decided your families needs.

 

[scoobydooby]

We just upgraded for our 2 week trip. I agree QS is not all burgers and fries but it ain't table service either. I would say that I did the math and I don't think there was much in it according to the way we eat anyway. Personally I would have stuck with QS and taken the cash, I like appetisers more than entres, but DH wanted the upgrade dealt with in advance. He also likes just choosing whatever off the menu knowing it is pre paid. It's psychological more than economic as far as I'm concerned but there you have it! Choose your four meals and what you would eat and do the sums is my advice. But don't ask my DH for the answer

 

[Dazed]

Thanks for all your thoughts.

I'm sure I will want at least a few sit down served meals in that time and on site as I'm not driving. Can anyone direct me to up to date menu with prices?

Also I'm not sure if I can leave decision about upgrading to much nearer the time or is it likely that cost to upgrade will increase before say August?

 

[wilma-bride]

Can anyone direct me to up to date menu with prices?

I believe the prices on AllEars are pre-tax prices.

http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

 

[chmurf]

We decided to upgrade from QSDP to DDP

I made a simple calculation.

We're there for 21 nights, so that's 21 TS credits.

I made a restaurant shortlist. Those we really want to do. There are all those character dining (a must do with a kid) and our 2 non character favorites (Sanaa, and Ohana dinner)

I ended up with 12 TS, which I priced up using allears menus.

In the end, I realised that we would have paid £640 OOP for those must-do restaurants.
The upgrade was £672

£32 for 9 more TS ... that was a no brainer.

So I guess you need to anticipate how many TS you want to do during your stay. Narrow it down to the ones you couldn't do without. Price them, and see if the upgrade is worth it or not.

There are a lot of offerings on the QSDP, not only burgers and fries. But there is not such a choice on the kid's menu.
You can't feed a kid mac'n'cheese for 3 weeks ...
I could do the QSDP for 3 weeks, so could my wife we've eaten (OOP) at POP's food court most days a few months ago. But DS would probably not be so happy when there is basically 5 different offerings on the kid's menu (pizza, nuggets, burger, hotdog, mac'n'cheese)
of course there is the odd sustainable fish of the day or the signature dish in some resorts, but the main point of the QSDP is to not be tied to an ADR time. What good does it do if you need to travel across the whole property in order to have a different QS experience for the kid ...

I'd rather sit down, relax, and enjoy. To me it's well worth upgrading (especially since it really gives me free meals compared to what I had scheduled, had I not been on the DDP)

 

[wayneg]

We eat a TS meal almost every day but I can't say what I would do without doing the sums.
Off the top of my head my choice would probably stick with the QSDDP then eat TS offsite when we wanted.
£540 to upgrade converts to almost $850, you need to work out what works best for you.

 

[Dazed]

Been doing my sums Wayneg using Alleasr(thanks Wilma).

One of our favourite meals last time was at Coral Reef (except youngest DS sweet which as I recall was sugar free cheescake and tasted like cardboard!)- anyway 4x steaks plus 4x sweet = $168 plus is it 6% tax makes $ 178. paid OOP for 4 nights would be somewhere around £452.

So my proposed 4(x4) OOP mels plus tips will cost about £542
9(x4) ugrade ddp meals will cost £540 +£225tips = £765
so 5(x4) TS meals which I may or may not want for £223 =£11pppmeal

I've given myself a sore head now Not sure that will make sense to anyone else. I think it brings me closer to upgrading mainly because I'm drooling over the thought of steak and delicious cheescake!

I think I'll do best, as suggested, to have a good look at the various menus to decide which option suits us best.

 

[tinkerpea]

Been doing my sums Wayneg using Alleasr(thanks Wilma).

One of our favourite meals last time was at Coral Reef (except youngest DS sweet which as I recall was sugar free cheescake and tasted like cardboard!)- anyway 4x steaks plus 4x sweet = $168 plus is it 6% tax makes $ 178. paid OOP for 4 nights would be somewhere around £452.

So my proposed 4(x4) OOP mels plus tips will cost about £542
9(x4) ugrade ddp meals will cost £540 +£225tips = £765
so 5(x4) TS meals which I may or may not want for £223 =£11pppmeal

I've given myself a sore head now Not sure that will make sense to anyone else. I think it brings me closer to upgrading mainly because I'm drooling over the thought of steak and delicious cheescake!

I think I'll do best, as suggested, to have a good look at the various menus to decide which option suits us best.

We are a family of 3 adults 3 kids, my boys are aged 10,7,7 we upgraded the kids to adult plans as I refuse to feed them the kids rubbish for 3 wks!
As much as you do t have to eat only fast food on the QS as there are some fab meals on the QS especially the one at Epcot "seasons" nr the land ride they serve full meals and amazing desserts we go each trip,
I could not do only fast food "settings" I like to dress nice for a meal and eat in the resort restaurants not just the parks! I also love steak as does my boys.... I did split a few meals and that brought the tip down.

 

[2Tiggies]

In 2009, 2010 and 2011 it worked out cheaper for us to pay OOP for our TS meals and keep the QSDP. I crunched numbers carefully particularly in 2010 as we had 7 TS reservations over 15 days - it was still cheaper, even with the tips - to do that and maintain our flexibility for the most part of the holiday by keeping the QSDP.

I fully agree with the others that it QS does not limit you to fast food type meals

I don't like fried food, not mad about bread or pasta and don't eat red meat, pork or anything chicken cooked with skin and / or bone. I have never had to do any running around to find anything to eat at any of the resorts or parks. The CS locations have really improved their menu options over the recent years too.