Anyone else disappointed?

[leahjade]

This is the first year we ever could go during free dining time and of course this is the first year the values are excluded from regular dining. With six of us, it's so expensive to upgrade for a week. I'm bummed!

 

[luvdisney24]

This year's FD offer is exactly the same as last year's FD offer. Free Quick Serivce at the Values and Free Plus at all the other resorts. You can upgrade from QS to Plus for just $10pp, per night (10 & up), $2pp, per night (3-9).

 

[DisGirl23]

This year's FD offer is exactly the same as last year's FD offer. Free Quick Serivce at the Values and Free Plus at all the other resorts. You can upgrade from QS to Plus for just $10pp, per night (10 & up), $2pp, per night (3-9).

They didn't switch over to QS for values until it was extended last year.

 

[jldixon62]

Last year I got the regular FD plan at POP and I have a bounceback for the same at ASMu.

They started that QSD for values when they extended FD later into the fall.

 

[jlk806]

I think most people expected it. I always have stayed at POP this year decided to try CBR for something new.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

This year's FD offer is exactly the same as last year's FD offer. Free Quick Serivce at the Values and Free Plus at all the other resorts. You can upgrade from QS to Plus for just $10pp, per night (10 & up), $2pp, per night (3-9).

That is incorrect. Since 2005 the fall free dining promo had always included the basic dining plan for all resorts.

Last year, for some late fall, early winter dates, there was a second free dining offer that offered QSDP to the values, that was the first time ever.

 

[aubriee]

I'm more upset about the 2 day park ticket requirement. That really messes it up for AP holders. Buying a $80.00 one day ticket wasn't that bad, but $160.00/ticket for everyone almost cancels the discount out. I know those two day tickets can be used later to renew the AP, but most of us already have a bunch of one day tickets laying around that we've had to buy for other deals.

 

[n2mm]

not disappointed. I expected this change this year and posted it on treads discussing rumors. Since this policy started to change late last year and we saw a longer day ticket requirement on some packages and only QS on value stays I saw this coming. I booked the BB for this september because I had a strong feeling this was going to be the case. Glad I did, since the BB only required a 1 day ticket and the basic ddp on my Pop accommodation. This will be my last free ddp package. I'm an AP holder (and DVC member).

 

[TheRatPack]

Not really....we're a family of 7 and after sitting down and figuring out what table service restaurants we really really enjoyed over the past few years (all thanks to regular FD that we got to try all of those restaurants) I come out ahead taking the QSDP and paying OOP for our sit down meals. We always buy the mugs, and always end up buying extra snacks and counter service....so I just looked over my passporter from previous years for what we normally spend on all that, looked up the menus for various restaurants and tallied it all and we come out about 2-300.00 with the free QSDP versus the regular DDP for our family.

Run some numbers....you might be surprised. Don't forget that with QSDP you don't have tips, you don't have to buy your own mugs as they are included, you don't have the upgrade fee to regular DDP and even if you did one sit down meal a day you could still come out ahead.

 

[bartleby1]

I understand that it is disappointing to look forward to something and then it doesn't happen, but if you are trying to keep your costs down, you really should consider keeping the quick service plan and maybe just do one or two table service meals and pay out of pocket. You could then pick a table service for a character breakfast or lunch which is typically cheaper than dinner and still get the experience of a character meal without the higher pricetag.

With the quick service, you get 2 snacks per day instead of one. YUMMY!! I love snacks! And you can really stretch your snack credits by sharing and trying lots of different kinds of snacks. Also, you each get a refillable mug that you don't get on the regular plan. Plus, NO tips, which can really add up for larger families (automatic 18%, even for buffets). We are a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 kids) and probably spend $25 or more on tips at each table service meal.

There are lots of counter service choices if you do some research that are not the typical hamburger/hot dogs. Check out the menus at allears before you go so you can find some different choices for your family. Earl of Sandwich is FABULOUS and they even let our kids order from the adult menu last year.

 

[wdwobsessed]

Run some numbers....you might be surprised. Don't forget that with QSDP you don't have tips, you don't have to buy your own mugs as they are included, you don't have the upgrade fee to regular DDP and even if you did one sit down meal a day you could still come out ahead.

I would like to know how that is possible since the upgrade is only $10 per person per day. There is not much you can order at a sit down TS place for less than $10 a person. Character meals are almost twice that.

So no way could you add 1 sit down meal per day and come out ahead. Maybe one every other day or every third day??

WDWO

 

[TheRatPack]

I would like to know how that is possible since the upgrade is only $10 per person per day. There is not much you can order at a sit down TS place for less than $10 a person. Character meals are almost twice that.

So no way could you add 1 sit down meal per day and come out ahead. Maybe one every other day or every third day??

WDWO

Go back and read my post....we always bought the mugs OOP....we get those free now. We always ended up buying more counter service meals and more snacks (it's food and wine festival when we go)...so that's more money. And the tips add up too.

Here is a brief...well not really brief LOL breakdown of how my numbers looked.

Sticking with QSDP:
Paying OOP for TrailsEnd with tip: 147.12
Paying OOP for Playhouse Breakfast with tip: 175.93
Paying OOP for SciFi with tip: 189.51
Paying OOP for LTT lunch with tip: 180.61
Paying OOP for Garden Grill with tip: 194.93
Paying OOP for LTT before MNSSHP with tip: 189.93
(2 days spent at Universal so no TS for those days)
Total for OOP meals: 1078.03

Upgrading to the DDP:
Charge to upgrade at 10.00 per night adult and 2.00 per night child: 368.00
Mugs x 7 @13.84 each (this is with tax): 96.88
Tips for 8 nights worth of TS meals @25.00 each: 200.00 (adding Chef Mickeys and 50's Prime Time)
Pop Century QS/CS meals that we'd buy OOP: 225.00 (75.00 each x's 3)
(kids meals 4.99 each x's 3, adult meals 7.00-10.00 each x's 4, drinks free with mugs and 4.00 each for bakery or icecream treats is equal to 82.00 per meal but I figured we wouldn't all get a dessert, we'd share)
Cosmic Rays 85.00 (13.99 chicken/ribs, 10.49 ribs, 4.99 x's 3 for kids meals, 2.49 x's 4 for drinks, 7.69 nugget meal, 8.39 chicken meal, 3.00 sides x's 4 and sharing desserts)
Picnic in the Park 56.99, service for 6
Liberty Inn 80.00 (8.59 x's burgers for 4, 4.99 x's 3 kids meals, 2.49 x's 4 drinks, 3.59 desserts)
Snacks x's 2.50 each x's 7 people x's 8 nights= 140.00 (we use these for fruit cups, food and wine festival, Mickey bars, DTD..etc)
Total to upgrade to DDP and pay OOP for our other meals..etc: 1251.87

This is just our plan...everyone is different. But it works for us.

 

[leahjade]

Thanks for all your help - I will have to crunch the numbers. With a family of six, there is no budget answer! How do the refillable mugs work? Also, what could we use the two snack for as breakfast? I'll just have to see what hubby and kids want to do. We bought the regular plan last time and loved it other than the high tip costs, but to add another $420 to upgrade is beyond our reach in this economy!

 

[leahjade]

wow, you guys really DO the math! Can you upgrade for 5 of the 7 nights or do you have to upgrade the entire package?

 

[TheRatPack]

Thanks for all your help - I will have to crunch the numbers. With a family of six, there is no budget answer! How do the refillable mugs work? Also, what could we use the two snack for as breakfast? I'll just have to see what hubby and kids want to do. We bought the regular plan last time and loved it other than the high tip costs, but to add another $420 to upgrade is beyond our reach in this economy!

The mugs are good at the resorts, we always fill ours up in the morning on our way out....limited ice and it last us for quite a while. When we eat at the food court we always use these over buying drinks too. The breakfast snack credits are all over in the parks and at resorts. There are fruit cups, cereal, danish, muffins (which are HUGE) the Main Street Bakery has tons of choices if you like sweet breakfast. We always get muffins and danish at the little cart right up the hill in Animal Kingdom too....and my little ones share a danish (again..huge!!!) so then we have an extra couple of credits to get bottled drinks to stash in the stroller and they sip on those all morning.

When we take our mugs to the park with us, we can usually get ice and share a few bottled drinks amongst ourselves, and then we just rinse them out at a water fountain and either put them in the stroller or put them in our zipper top tote....they stack so we fit them all in one medium size tote (we always have a tote with our ponchos, bandaids..etc so it's not like we're not carrying it anyway). Oh and last year we got to where we'd have our mugs for breakfast at the resort food court and then run the little ones mugs back to the room and just take the adults....I don't drink a lot so the little ones would just share with me at the parks and then we'd rinse them out and put them up.

 

[aubriee]

wow, you guys really DO the math! Can you upgrade for 5 of the 7 nights or do you have to upgrade the entire package?

It's all or nothing. You'd have to upgrade the entire pkg.

 

[TheRatPack]

Yea....I'm a bit of an overplanner....I love it though. I look at all the menus online to kind of get prices and see what we'll probably order and then I print off the menus and take them with us in my passporter. When I check in at the restaurant I let the kids look over them so they know exactly what they are ordering usually before we're even seated LOL

Our family has been to those restaurants on my list multiple times though....years of free dining let us try all sorts of restaurants and these are our favs....so we kind of know what we'll be ordering...etc. Makes it easier to run the figures. If we were going with friends or something I guess it would be harder to get a figure, not knowing what they normally like to eat...etc.

 

[5boyz]

Wow that was awesome organization with your meals....

We do the QSDP as we hate having to book so far in advance and then have to work around that. I keep forgetting the tip is not included anymore too!!! Even the QSDP is way more than we would normally eat, but it is easy and we jsut take the desserts back to the room or give them to other people! Now we will have 12 mugs as we got 8 last year and will get 4 this year....my daughter uses them every morning to take her hot chocolate to school.

 

[Kudrah]

I think that if you've already done some character meals or don't have a lot of little ones and plan on spending most of your days in the parks, that the QSDP is actually the way to go. My DD is only 4 and she has never been and so this time we are going all out, and since we are a family of 5, with 4 of us counting as adults, it makes much more sense to upgrade to the DDP. Because if I want to do any character buffets, etc, it's like paying for 4 adults and 1 kid and that is PRICEY.

Other ways to save- if you aren't big breakfast eaters, cereal and oatmeal in the room, and some fresh fruit, and you are good to go. We aren't usually big breakfast people, so we don't stress too much about it. I am pretty sure you can use snack credits for things like yogurt, fruit, bagels, etc.

There are some great threads about snack credits around here where people have posted the best values for the snacks. A whole turkey leg counts as one, for instance! Sure, you can waste the credits on a bottle of water, but you can also really make them go far. Some of the snacks can easily feed 2 people.

You have plenty of time to think about it and crunch the numbers. I think that between the money you save by upgrading and not having to tip at table service, you'll have a lot more wiggle room than you think.

We have 2 boys ages 12 and 13 who could care less about Princess meals, so we are not taking them to those meals, to save on credits, lol. But depending on the ages of your kids, you might only take the younger ones to a character meal and let the older ones have some arcade time or let them do DisneyQuest or something.

The QSDP is probably the best plan of all of them, imo, if you're past the 'we have to do/meet/experience' every Character Meal stage. I imagine as a family of 6 with a budget, you are a lot like my family of 5- we don't eat out at fancy places very often anyway, and so we don't really miss it. Fine/Signature Dining isn't always a very relaxing experience with a bunch of kids, lol.

You could actually use the money to upgrade and tip and almost pay for the Halloween Party, or something like that, too!

Oh, and about the refillable Mugs- You *can* use them in the park, just not for anything but water. I have asked for ice in my mug many times and never been refused, and have also asked for them to fill my mug with ice water. I've never been turned down. And any of the food courts/QS areas that have self-serve beverage stations, you can just go up and fill them with ice and use the water button there.

 

[Melanie230]

This year's FD offer is exactly the same as last year's FD offer. Free Quick Serivce at the Values and Free Plus at all the other resorts. You can upgrade from QS to Plus for just $10pp, per night (10 & up), $2pp, per night (3-9).

No it isn't. Last year this time frame promotion was Free Dining for all resort guests. We stayed at Pop last year and got regular free dining.