Are Connections Q & C Vouchers really a good deal??

[myfairygodmother]

I've been doing some research on these Connections meal vouchers for my upcoming trip and I have a question to which I hope the answer is yes......Am I missing something?????

I've gone through the menus for the resturants listed on the vouchers and I have only found three that will really be a big savings if we order the most expensive things on the menu and these are all in resorts. The resturants listed in the parks-it looks like that we would only break even at best with most of these and some we would actually lose money using the vouchers . These sounded like a really good deal but now I think I must be missing something somewhere--people are actually paying up to $20.00 each for these on auction sites.

PLEASE fill me in!!!!!

 

[TreeOfLife]

This has been a hot and nasty debate topic at times. You can search the boards for people's opinions.

If you want to buy the vouchers thinking you'll get a $50 meal for $11.50, don't count on it. At best you'll come up even or saving a buck.

I guess it is good if you share meals, counting on the two of you being people who do not eat much to fill up. Then you feed two for the price of one and get your meals basically at half price.

But those never say whether thay had to buy snacks after an hour and a half because they were still hungry...

You normally have to buy a second drink anyhow, maybe a dessert, and there goes your half off savings... Although the vouchers include tips, most people still leave something on the table so you tell me what your savings really were...

 

[Cindy B]

WE are buying a lot of the the Q & C vouchers before we leave as well.

Yes, there is the sharing idea. Yes, there is the "get more for 11.50 idea"

But for us, its more of a prepayment kind of thing. I"d rather not have to take things into the parks like money or Credit cards.


There are about three places that you will "make out better" than 11.50. But after researching most menus, I figure if we bought something we liked, side, drink desert.. it would come to about $10. Figure in the tax.. and its pretty darn close.

I'm not going to get upset if I am "short" within a dollar.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Originally posted by Cindy B
WE are buying a lot of the the Q & C vouchers before we leave as well.

Yes, there is the sharing idea. Yes, there is the "get more for 11.50 idea"

But for us, its more of a prepayment kind of thing. I"d rather not have to take things into the parks like money or Credit cards.


There are about three places that you will "make out better" than 11.50. But after researching most menus, I figure if we bought something we liked, side, drink desert.. it would come to about $10. Figure in the tax.. and its pretty darn close.

I'm not going to get upset if I am "short" within a dollar.

I feel the same way about the vouchers. I'm not using them as a way to save tons of money. I like to have everything paid for before the trip. The vouchers are an easy way to prepay most of your meals. After looking over the menus, there's no way for us to come out ahead EVERYTIME we use a voucher, I'm fine with that.

On our next trip DS will turn 12. I may take one of his friends with us. I'm sure they will want to spend some time on their own. With the vouchers I won't have to worry about eating some real food. They can't use the vouchers to have a candy lunch or dinner.

 

[Lewisc]

You only save money if you cherry pick the restuarants and/or items you order. Disney has them to sell with packages as a way to pre-pay for meals. This board is about the only place where these are promoted as savings.

Many of the poeple talking about what they are savings are order the kithcen sink. Disney has closed that "loophole", makes sense since that item is not intended for consumption by one person.

AGREE with previous posters, great for pre-paying and for giving kids a "meal voucher" that can't be spent on non meal items.

 

[jaygatz]

To me, the vouchers are worthwhile if they allow me to save any money. I believe that any money left in my pocket is a good thing, so I see the vouchers as a good buy. From my experience, Flame Tree Barbecue is a good place to use the vouchers as I always order the half a chicken @ $7.99 (it comes with a side), Key Lime Pie, unless they happen to have apple pie that day, @ $2.79, and a Coke @ $1.99. Total these up and you have $12.77. Add 12% tax and the total is $14.30. So, I save $3.05 at this restaurant. Also, I use the vouchers at the Cantina de San Angel @ EPCOT. There, I order the Combination Plate @ $7.25, a Churro @ $1.89, and a Coke @ $ 1.95. Total= $ 11.09. Add tax @ 12%, and the total is 12.42. Savings = $ 1.17.

For the really big savings, go to Beaches and Cream. Order a Double Burger @ $8.99, Coke @ $1.99, and a 3 scoop sundae @ $7.99. Total = $ 18.97. Plus Tax @ 12% = $21.25. Savings = $10.00.

Thus in my opinion, the vouchers are a good deal because you can use them to save anywhere from a dollar per meal to ten dollars per meal. However, I think I would also still use them even if you could only break even.

 

[patsal]

I kind of go back and fourth on this one. For a short trip 3-4 days and not being selective with the restaurants--you may just break even or lose a few dollars. For pre-paid meals and giving kids thier own meal and not worrying that they spend the money on something that they shouldn't, works great. For a two week trip with savings of 1-2 per voucher savings of about 50-60--worth it. If you like to plan your budget they are a good tool. IF you think you will be spending about 12 and getting 50+ in food it just isn't going to happen for the most part.

 

[maggiew]

The breakfast vouchers are also good. We have 3 character breakfasts planned. At the princess one, I have figured we will save $7 each (x2 = $14). At Chef Mickey's and Cape May, we will save $3.75 each (x4 = $15). So we are saving about $30 on 3 breakfasts we would have done anyway.

I also purchased Q&C vouchers. I plan to use one at Pepper Market for dinner. They have lots of items where these come out to be a great savings. They have a ribeye steak meal for $16.95 (plus tax,tip, drink and dessert). They also have a combination chinese plate for $14.75 (plus tax, tip, drink and dessert). We also plan on using them a couple of times at Beaches and Cream (we are staying at the Dolphin). I will probably have the steak sandwich, $10.99(plus tax, tip, drink, and dessert). Another time I will get the burger or chicken sandwich, $8.99 (plus tax, tip, dessert and drink). I have found that at most places in the park, we would only break about even. And I would rather have the freedom to get what I want without worrying about getting a deal. So we plan to use them for dinners, after we take our afternoon swimming break. Although, Beaches and Cream is close enough to Epcot that we could eat lunch there on our Epcot day.

I also like them for the prepaying aspect. I am trying to make this trip as inexpensive as possible. I am squeezing in a 3rd trip on our APs and DH wasn't so keen on the idea. But by using webcertificates that I received in rewards programs, I bought these vouchers and now have all of our meals paid "for free".

Maggie

 

[Mic]

We found the vouchers to be an excellent deal at Beaches and Cream, and convenient since we were staying at the BWV. We made the trip to Peppermarket Grill on one trip to use the vouchers, and again they were a good deal, but I don't know that we would always want to make a special trip to a resort to do this. My husband's favorite place to use the Q&C vouchers is at Tangeriene Cafe in Epcot, and you only save a few dollars since we rarely order the most expensive item here, but he likes having the vouchers so we will "have to use them", even though the kids would rather eat elsewhere. And the vouchers would be a good deal at several places in AK, but I think the meal deal offered there is better for us because it offers an ice cream bar and seperate drink. For a large family like ours, the Q&C vouchers save us enoough money to be worthwhile, but I am sure this is not the case for some folks. We usually use a few vouchers and purchase the kids meals with cash at most places, so it "seems" like we are not spending much money(even though the vouchers were not free).

 

[CarolMN]

Although I've used both the Vacation Kingdom and the Q&C vouchers, I do not consider them to be money savers. To me, they are like going to the mall and buying a $100 dress on sale for $75 that I don't need, and then claiming to have "saved" $25.

Without the vouchers, I would not have purchased so much food at one time. So with the vouchers, I spent more to eat more than I normally would! I do not want to spend precious vacation time traveling to other resorts just to use a Q&C voucher, either. They are usually not much better than break even (if that) at the counter service places in the parks.

That said, my DH & I did split some of the voucher meals. We ordered an extra drink (I don't eat dessert, so he got that) and left extra $$ for a tip. In those cases, it did save some $$, and made us feel better about trying places we otherwise would have passed by. There was plenty of food to share. Neither of us left hungry. It was also nice to have some meals paid for ahead of time, too.

Even so, had I not been able to purchase the vouchers from fellow DIS'rs, I would not have felt it worth the hassle/expense of joining Connections. We would not use the program for anything else and I do not want to experience the kind of hassles with Connections many have reported on this board.

JMHO. YMMV.

 

[TreeOfLife]

Without the vouchers, I would not have purchased so much food at one time

That's the bottomline. I find it hillarious when people leave their resorts to to to Beaches and Cream to save $10 on burgers and sundaes, or when they talk about the dollar they saved buying items they would not have requested without the vouchers...

And the alternative to "prepaying meals" at WDW would perhaps be using Disney dollars or even traveler cheques. At least you aren't trapped into ordering just the most expensive items on the menu to save a buck!

 

[TreeOfLife]

Without the vouchers, I would not have purchased so much food at one time

That's the bottomline. I find it hillarious when people leave their resorts to to to Beaches and Cream to save $10 on burgers and sundaes, or when they talk about the dollar they saved buying items they would not have requested without the vouchers...

And the alternative to "prepaying meals" at WDW would perhaps be using Disney dollars or even traveler cheques. At least you aren't trapped into ordering just the most expensive items on the menu to save a buck!

 

[tinaluis]

We are a family of 5 (me, DH and 3 DDs - 6, 4 and 2) and usually use 2 vouchers at each meal. It breaks down like this: 2 entrees, 2 sides, 2 desserts and 2 drinks. We add a kids meal here and there and basically are pretty full. We don't expect to save a fortune with each voucher, and sometimes we lose a little, but they work out well for us. I wouldn't pay $20 for each voucher but $11.50 is reasonable to me. You have to do the math and figure out if it works for you. BTW, we do make a special trip to Beaches and Cream each time we visit WDW and that's as big a deal to my DDs as visiting the parks.

 

[RobinMarie]

I found the vouchers were a good deal when we stayed at POR and ate at the food court. Only one adult used a voucher, the other got something else and we shared with DD. She ate the dessert, he ate the side and I split entre with dd. I saved all of the receipts from that trip and figured I had saved 3-4 dollars per meal for meals we would have otherwise paid cash for. This was a two week trip for us so the savings did add up.

The breakfast vouchers saved a bit and saved me the headache of figuring out a tip.

They worked well at Beaches n Cream when one used a voucher and split the huge dessert. The burgers and fries were definitely enough for two.

I liked the vouchers because they were prepaid and I was able to budget better. It also encouraged us to try different places. We went to CSR to use them once and I'm glad because I wanted to see the hotel.

I have also given vouchers as surprise gifts to people experiencing Disney for the first time. They made great gifts and received positive feedback when they returned. I found them more fun to give to people than cash or Disney dollars.

I've seen preteens and teens in the food courts with the vouchers. Perhaps parents preferred giving the vouchers rather than cash to their children.

I would definitely use them again!

 

[crisi]

Originally posted by TreeOfLife
That's the bottomline

Actually, thats the line across my bottom!

For me, its a real struggle to lose ten pounds. I don't need any more excuses to indulge my sweet tooth or my taste for food. Splitting isn't our style. And, I'm the type who - once I paid $11.50 for a voucher, would need to get (and eat) at least $11.50 worth of food.

I can see how they do work for other people (love the "give them to the teenagers" idea).

 

[DMRick]

At best you'll come up even or saving a buck.

I've never noticed this as a nasty thread. Jus tone where people's lifestyles differ and you have to decide which way your lifestyle fits in.

We use the lunch vouchers at Rainforest AK..always on our way out of the park. We share, just becaseu we just can't eat all the food they give us. So for about $15 each, we get a great meal. We almost always order the lobster and steak (and upgrade to a bigger piece of steak). Sometimes we switch the lobster for the cocoanut shrimp. With the dessert, appetizer, drink (I always drink water, so the drink is hubby's!) and tax and tip it's a great savings even if we got one of hte less expensive meals. But why do that? We like to treat ourselves!

We have a car, so going to Peppermarket to use the Q & C,. is usually an excuse to walk around the resort. Last trip, we foudn the ribeye at Allstar Music to be a great deal. The only bad part was, I got the pie (yummy) for the dessert, and she wanted to give me a big scoop of ice cream to go with it, but becasue you have to buy everything there at once, it would have melted. The meal came with a side, but they told me to pick out another side anyway.

We always spend time at Epcot and then scoot over for a late lunch at Beaches. We don't get the KS, since I htink it's a mess, but still do very well. We get the double hamburger and pay $1.20 for another roll, so we each have one. That and the fries or the onion rings along with the pickle (they split it so we each get some) and the drink and a great banana split shared, give a great bargain for our money.
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We used Q & C's in MK, at Columbia Harbour House and we only saved $4.00..but better my $4.00, than theirs. We bought just what we would have bought if we didn't have a voucher, and din't leave the park to do it. We always stop there to eat, with or without a voucher when going to MK, since it's so relazxing even when the park is crowded.

So it really depends on you, if you'll save.

 

[jbthi]

I think the Q & C and the Magic Kingdom lunch vouchers are great deals. We especially like eating in Canada and the Brown Derby. We always split a meal and leave extra tip. RF is the best deal but we don't like it as well. We stay at either BCV or BWV so Beaches and Cream is very convenient for us. I also like Flame Tree and Morocco.

 

[tinkerbell211]

We are staying at CBR and bought quick and casual vouchers. Both are firsts for us. Can you get a full sized pizza as an entree there, or anywhere? We tend to go above our budget at times, so I think that the vouchers will be a good choice for us, but the DH is a big eater and questions the value.

 

[SAWYERMAW1]

We stayed at BC and used vouchers at Beaches and Cream. They were well worth the $11.25. I had a steak sandwich for $10.95 and subbed onion rings for fries. The soda was $1.99 and then had the Kitchen Sink at $21.95. Savings over $23. For most lunches we shared a lunch and used one voucher. Since most of our dinners were buffets, this was plenty of food. I would use them again but only directly from Connections.

 

[KHuntress]

I, too, have been trying to work all of this out. I have created a spreadsheet that creates scenarios for the vouchers using all of the park restaurants.

Is there a way to upload an excel spreadsheet? I'd love the opinion of the experts...