Let's talk Meal Plans

[vballnic3]

So we are planning a trip for late April. It would be myself, husband, Son (4) and daughter (almost 2). So it looks like it would cost us $750 for our 6 nights at WDW for the quick service meal plan.

We typically eat breakfast in the room, lunch and dinner in food courts. Factoring drinks and meals and snacks I feel like this is a good deal for my family. Yes we may be able to save money and not spend that amount on food but I like the idea of not having to deal with it. Not having to find the cheapest item on the menu because I am cheap!! Not having to pack and lug around lunches.

What is everyone's opinions on Meal Plans...

 

[loves to dive]

Opinion - they aren't worth it. If you are doing it just for convenience maybe put that money on gift cards and use those. That way you aren't looking at prices yet aren't paying for all your food that you may or may not eat up front and if you have left over you can use them for anything else at Disney. Plus, you can sometimes find gift cards with discounts, thus costing you less than face value, saving you more money. I'm betting the 2 year old isn't going to eat everything on her plate and most likely the 4 year won't either. I get myself a kid's meal half the time if I'm doing QS and can't eat it all, much less all the snacks that are included. I would think the two little ones could share a meal. Does your family drink soft drinks? I don't, or rarely do, so more often than not I get a cup of water with my meal (free). Does your family normally snack twice a day between meals? I don't, or if I do it's a half of piece of fruit so I end up either throwing away the other half or lugging it around. I can certainly bring fruit from home for less than I'm paying at Disney if I'm throwing it away any way. Does your family normally eat dessert with every meal? I don't, so I would end up getting the fruit with the meal, again either carrying it around or throwing it away. I never take food into the parks, didn't when my son was little either except maybe a zip lock bag with cheeze its in it. We bought all our meals there, rarely at breakfast in the room either. I can guarantee we didn't spend as much as even the QS plan on meals, it's a lot of food especially when the little ones are hot and cranky or hot and excited or just plain out tired, and I never once looked at how much they cost. If you are having breakfast in your room, with two little ones you may find yourself also going back to the room mid day for a break. You could take stuff for sandwiches in the room and save money that way as well, again I never did but it's an option.

 

[Pmlocke]

If you are going to eat breakfast in your room and not have a nice sit down meal for dinner then the Dining Plan IS NOT for you. The DP, last time I checked is more than $46 per adult if you get the cheaper plan giving you 2 quick serves and 2 snacks. If you are eating at Cosmic Rays type eateries for both meals, you are going to spend roughly $30 per person a day and that's stretching it. 2 snacks are what, 8 bucks. You are still wasting money every day doing this. If you don't want the hastle, charge everything to your room utilizing your magic band.

 

[Faldred]

Ok, not sure about your numbers since the 2-year-old (or not quite) wouldn't be getting a dining plan unless you "aged her up" to 3, which would also mean getting her park tickets. Totally not worth it in that case.

Now, in general, for adults paying for QSDP isn't a great proposition. You can break even or better, but you'd have to really work at it, which loses the greatest asset the QSDP has, which is its flexibility. The math gets a little trickier once you start adding children, because since CS credits are pooled, you could easily get away with ordering 3 adult meals (essentially using 2A, 1C credits) and splitting it four ways, or even just 2 adult meals split four ways (possibly supplemented with an extra snack credit or two) if you're eating light and the same foods appeal to all involved. In that latter case, you can stretch those credits out to include additional meals.

With that approach, it might work out, especially if you value "peace of mind" and not dealing with the financials as you go.

Edited to add: Okay, doing some math, if you're going with the "buy 3 adult meals at a time, split 4 ways" concept, your cost per use of 2A, 1C credits (as per this thread) is about $42.90 (compared to pre-tax prices). So at each meal, your break-even point for each drink (or drink swapped out for a snack credit item) and entree/combo is $14.30 pre-tax. Pretty easy to do, honestly.

 

[sharonabe]

It would be myself, husband, Son (4) and daughter (almost 2). So it looks like it would cost us $750 for our 6 nights at WDW for the quick service meal plan.

The 2 yr old will not get the plan, so the cost for the other three for six nights is actually $677.16.

Remember QS meals in 2017 only get entree and drink, but you do get 2 snacks per person per night.

 

[SunniKC]

We are doing the 1TS, 1QS plan in May. It will be our first time using the dining plan (okay...it will be our first time staying on property!!). My 17 yo (will be 18 by the trip) is thrilled by this because it means she can choose items on the menu that normally we'd say no to for our TS meals. We have been playing around with locations, how to get the most out of the plan and doing a lot of research. So far its coming up as saving us about $70 or $80. The QS option would actually have ended up costing us more out of pocket.

 

[vballnic3]

So our daughter will not be getting a meal plan. I understand I could get by cheaper but I do like the convenience of the QS plan. I get items I normally wouldn't get. I usually get the cheapest option not what I really want. I also love the refillable mug and we tend to get our use out of that. We like treats and normally wouldn't spend the money but will get it with snack credits. So yeah those are my thoughts

 

[Figmentmommy]

So our daughter will not be getting a meal plan. I understand I could get by cheaper but I do like the convenience of the QS plan. I get items I normally wouldn't get. I usually get the cheapest option not what I really want. I also love the refillable mug and we tend to get our use out of that. We like treats and normally wouldn't spend the money but will get it with snack credits. So yeah those are my thoughts

Value can be very subjective - so I say if you like the idea of how having a dining plan works for your family - then that's part of its value right there. Go for it! It's not like the cost difference would be that much and it's not always about the cost anyway. Enjoy!

 

[amandaleigh2]

I love the DDP. We get it every time. We have no problem using our credits, and I love having everything paid up front and not having to worry about how much money we're spending while we're there. Even if we end up spending a little more, having everything prepaid is worth it to me.

 

[rookie2]

So our daughter will not be getting a meal plan. I understand I could get by cheaper but I do like the convenience of the QS plan. I get items I normally wouldn't get. I usually get the cheapest option not what I really want. I also love the refillable mug and we tend to get our use out of that. We like treats and normally wouldn't spend the money but will get it with snack credits. So yeah those are my thoughts

I agree. If we were not on the DP I would have my family on a budget and everyone would not be able to order what they really want. My husband would be crabby because of the inflated cost of each item on the menu and the total of each meal So even if the cost is more... the stress free meals is totally worth it! Maybe there will be some form of meal discount when you're going?