$39.99 a day for QSDP?

[ccgirl]

Who eats $40 a day in counter service every day their whole trip????
I can't believe they could have the nerve to charge that. Unbelievable.

The counter service is $34.99 per night per adult. We always come out ahead. It is important to compare apples to apples though. We always get a dessert and drink included since we are on the dining plan. A samples day menu:

Breakfast:
Warm Cinnamon Roll from Main St. Bakery $3.49

Lunch:
Columbia Harbor House
Anchors Away Sandwich $8.30
Chocolate Cake $3.59
Diet Coke $2.49
TOTAL: $14.38

Snack:
Most items for $4.00

Dinner:
Cosmic Ray's
1/2 Chicken and Rib Combo $13.99
Chocolate Cake $3.59
Diet Coke $2.49
TOTAL: $20.07

GRAND TOTAL FOR DAY: $41.94

Plus: you get the refillable mug at the resort which is $14.

So, right there I saved $7 without the refillable mug per adult or $14 for the two of us. There are many places where the meals are more expensive as well.

 

[mrzrich]

For me its just not worth it. I rarely eat desert, especially not at lunch. My DH or my Mother and I often split a half chicken at Cosmic rays, a Shwarma Platter at Tangierine Cafe, or an order of ribs at Flame Tree. For my family OOP works better. What made me start this thread was the sticker shock I got when the CM said $39.99, and the fact that he tried to make me feel stupid for not agreeing with him that it was a great value.

 

[mrzrich]

The counter service is $34.99 per night per adult. l.

I seriously was quoted $39.99 pp per day. As I have found on other threads I am not the only person who was quoted this price. I really think it is a Seasonal Increase.

I am happy if the plan works for you. It seems you really work the system to get the most bang for you buck. In the case of Cosmic Rays, the Chicken and Ribs are $14, but if you really wanted a $7 hot dog instead the value of the plan goes down a bit. If you weren't hungry for desert, the value goes down more. If some of your $4 snack credits go towards $2.50 Ice Cream Bars or a bottle of water, it goes down even more.

As I said before I rarely get desert and I often share CS meals. So for me $40 a day is not a value.

 

[WaltD4Me]

For me its just not worth it. I rarely eat desert, especially not at lunch. My DH or my Mother and I often split a half chicken at Cosmic rays, a Shwarma Platter at Tangierine Cafe, or an order of ribs at Flame Tree. For my family OOP works better. What made me start this thread was the sticker shock I got when the CM said $39.99, and the fact that he tried to make me feel stupid for not agreeing with him that it was a great value.

I'm the same way. I rarely eat dessert at a meal and we will often share, especially the kids.

One of the things I never liked about the either dining plan was, for me, I would feel forced to eat a certain way. If I got the regular DDP I wouldn't feel like I could blow off TS for a day if I felt like it, same with QSDP, I'd feel like we HAD to eat CS to use the credits.

I understand the pre-pay thing as a draw to using the dining plan, but I would only do that if you could just buy credits, sort of like DVC points and use them as you pleased, for CS or TS. The plans the way there now are just too inflexible for me.

 

[ccgirl]

I seriously was quoted $39.99 pp per day. As I have found on other threads I am not the only person who was quoted this price. I really think it is a Seasonal Increase.

I am happy if the plan works for you. It seems you really work the system to get the most bang for you buck. In the case of Cosmic Rays, the Chicken and Ribs are $14, but if you really wanted a $7 hot dog instead the value of the plan goes down a bit. If you weren't hungry for desert, the value goes down more. If some of your $4 snack credits go towards $2.50 Ice Cream Bars or a bottle of water, it goes down even more.

As I said before I rarely get desert and I often share CS meals. So for me $40 a day is not a value.

Wow! I really hope it was a not so knowledgeable CM and not a seasonal increase. As you have pointed out, they do not increase the CS prices seasonally so this price should not be increased. I agree this is not for everyone. We really do work the plan to maximize it's value. I also had a DS under 3 so we would share our meals with him. My DH and myself are going to the F&W in October and we will get the QSDP as those $6 foods at the booths can really add up. You can use the snack credits for them so this will really work well for us. When we go in April we will have to think about it. Either way, we always do the math first.

 

[doconeill]

The DVC web site states $34.99 for QSDP in 2011. There are no provisions for seasonal changes. Standard DDP is $45.99 now.

They are not enticing me to get either.

Although ccgirl put up reasonable numbers, I myself can't see me or DW spending $34.99/day on two CS meals and a couple snacks. The mug cost can be seen to be roughly $2/day, and I consider the worth of it dependent on where in a resort you are staying. Some filling stations just aren't convenient.

I did a lot of math for our last trip, with an eye on the DDP (for the extra $ per day, it seemed a better deal), but it actually forced us to increase the number of TS meals we would have otherwise had, and in the end would have cost us more. We opted for a TIW card instead (my trip in October made an AP appropriate).

 

[BriarRosie]

For me its just not worth it. I rarely eat desert, especially not at lunch. My DH or my Mother and I often split a half chicken at Cosmic rays, a Shwarma Platter at Tangierine Cafe, or an order of ribs at Flame Tree. For my family OOP works better. What made me start this thread was the sticker shock I got when the CM said $39.99, and the fact that he tried to make me feel stupid for not agreeing with him that it was a great value.

I think if you're getting a meal (or in your case, splitting them), and you get a cup of water instead of a soda, and no dessert, the value of the dining plan is pretty much non-existent at that point.

That's not to say that on occasion you might opt for a splurge or a snack, but the required use of credits (use 'em or lose 'em!) is way too restrictive for me.

I think those who load a Disney gift card with a set dollar amount and order without restrictions will probably find themselves ordering less than what the dining plan entitlements are.

I do think that the ONLY exception to the snack credits was mentioned: The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. You can spend all your snack credits at the food kiosks and come out ahead. Any other time of the year? I'd be hard pressed to recommend it.

There are people who love the dining plans and really do find it works in their favor. But there are many of us who just can't justify it. Especially at the price you were quoted!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We did the gift card experiment last June. DH, DS14, and I would have paid $1247 for the QSDP. The day before we went home we had only used $625 from the gift card. We would have paid DOUBLE with the plan. We will stick with the TIW card and not worry about a dining plan.

$39.99 per day is INSANE!

 

[clandrum]

I'm one of those people, but on my last trip, I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much for the QSDP. Instead, I loaded a Disney gift card with the equivalent amount of money and used that for my meals. I wound up saving a decent amount and still had the "prepaid" convenience.

I just wanted to say thank you for this idea. You just saved me $400 maybe even more! I was generous on my budgeting. I am one of those people that normally pay for QSDP for the convience of having everything paid for and no worries. This year however my daughter is 10 and she is brining her friend along who is also 10. They will not eat adult meals but with the QSDP I would be paying for them as adults. I crunched the numbers and decided the gift card option is a far better. Again thank you so much for the idea!

I just wanted to add that we are staying at CSR, hopefully in Casitas 4 or 5. I don't see us using the refillable mugs that much because of the distance to the main building and we didn't last time we were there. So I think we are going to not purchase them this time.

 

[NickNElliesMom]

I love this idea also! My ds is 12 but will probably eat off the children's menu most of the time. I think I may cancel the qsdp, and do a preloaded card. Will we have any problems when ordering for him off the children's menu? How strict are they?

 

[lugnut33]

I love this idea also! My ds is 12 but will probably eat off the children's menu most of the time. I think I may cancel the qsdp, and do a preloaded card. Will we have any problems when ordering for him off the children's menu? How strict are they?

If you go to a quick service location just pick a table first, find out what your kid wants to eat and then go order it without them. My wife has ordered from the kids menu and it's never been a problem. I don't think they have ever asked anybody if they are ordering for a kid or not.

Table service locations might be different.

 

[BriarRosie]

I love this idea also! My ds is 12 but will probably eat off the children's menu most of the time. I think I may cancel the qsdp, and do a preloaded card. Will we have any problems when ordering for him off the children's menu? How strict are they?

If you go to a quick service location just pick a table first, find out what your kid wants to eat and then go order it without them. My wife has ordered from the kids menu and it's never been a problem. I don't think they have ever asked anybody if they are ordering for a kid or not.

Table service locations might be different.

Buying a gift card and loading it with your own budgeted amount is a great idea. I think it's smarter to use the pre-loaded card, because her son will be charged for adult prices when using the dining plan. She will not have a problem buying kids meals for her son. There's no need for subterfuge!

Keep in mind that at buffets (or all-you-can-eat meals served family style), even if he only eats the kids station food, he will still be charged for adult pricing, no exceptions.

 

[mrzrich]

I love this idea also! My ds is 12 but will probably eat off the children's menu most of the time. I think I may cancel the qsdp, and do a preloaded card. Will we have any problems when ordering for him off the children's menu? How strict are they?

If you go to a quick service location just pick a table first, find out what your kid wants to eat and then go order it without them. My wife has ordered from the kids menu and it's never been a problem. I don't think they have ever asked anybody if they are ordering for a kid or not.

Table service locations might be different.

There's really no need to hide your child, or try to be sneaky. At the CS location, they aren't strict at all. ANYBODY can order ANYTHING of the menu. I have ordered kids meals at CS for myself several times ( I know I'm weird, but I really like those uncrustables!). Most table services won't bat an eye if your older child orders a kids meal as well. My 12 year old usually orders the kids pizza. Buffets and fixed price locations (like Ohana') WILL charge you adult prices for your older child's meal.

 

[LJD2143]

I remember the first year they offered the dining plan, it was $36.99 then and it included appetizers and the tip... we've used it every year, but it's becoming less and less valueable... and now our 10 year old is an adult.

For the past 5 years, we have LOVED the dining plan! Sometimes we got it free, sometimes we paid for it......it was really a great deal and took the stress out of dining with 3 kids.

But this year, my youngest, twin boys will have just turned 10 - and there is no possible way they would eat $45.99 worth of food per day. So this is the first time we will NOT be on the Dining Plan but instead, we will use our Disney Visa Rewards card to pay for meals.

 

[NickNElliesMom]

I'm so glad I found this thread. I've been making myself crazy trying to decide if ds would eat $34.99 worth of food a day (which I really doubt), no more worrying about it now! Thanks for the advice. Of course I'm still hoping that they extend the free dining offer. But if they don't I won't be thinking about it anymore.
mrzrich, I love your picture. Modern Family is one of my favorite shows.