Are vouchers worth it?

[captJack88]

I read the thread here on the budget board, and I just don't see how the vouchers are worth it. Am I missing something? I saw the Q&C vouchers are 11.50 each, plus membership to connections. I don't remeber eating ANY meals that were 11.50, so for those of you that buy these, what am I misunderstanding about vouchers? Please help!

 

[robinb]

A lot of people think vouchers are worth it. Others don't. I am in the "sometimes" camp .

Here's a link about the vouchers: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=435889

 

[ilovediznee]

We always either break even or make money using our vouchers. This is what I do. I go to Deb Willis' web site and scout out the restaurants. We always eat at certain ones (Brown Derby, Chef Mickey's, etc.), they I write down all our meals, where we're going to eat and then scan the menus and add up what I would have spent.

Using DVC, we always eat b'fast in our room, lunch and dinner are out.

PM me if you have any specific questions. I love helping people plan their trips!

DisneyDiane

 

[mad4themouse]

There are some places where using the Q&C vouchers are an excellent value (like the Pepper Market and Beaches & Cream). Of course, part of the value is when you add the dessert and the large beverage that come with the vouchers, as well as the tax and gratuity.

There are also some places where you will barely break even.

I happen to like the vouchers for the added value in certain places plus the convenience of being able to hand my DS12 a voucher in the food court and letting him go. He knows that he can get what he wants to eat without having to figure out whether he has enough money in his pocket to pay for it For the most part, he either surpasses the $11.50 cost of the voucher or comes within pennies of it.

PS- you can get a trial membership to Connections, Simple Escapes or Hotwire for $1. They are all run by the same company - Memberworks. Order the vouchers that you need and cancel the membership once they arrive.

 

[EdDome]

Ditto to the Pepper Market and Beaches & Cream. The best deals IMHO where the value approaches twice the cost of the voucher. I joined HotWire for the Q&C but also bought movie vouchers and a few other department store cards at a discount. I thought about joining, buying, and cancelling but it didn't seem right.

 

[disneysteve]

We always either break even or make money using our vouchers.

Obviously, there is no point in going to the trouble of getting vouchers just to break even.

the convenience of being able to hand my DS12 a voucher in the food court and letting him go. For the most part, he either surpasses the $11.50 cost of the voucher or comes within pennies of it.

If my DD ever spent anywhere near $11.50 on a meal at the food court I would strangle her.

On our last trip, 3 adults and 1 child, we averaged about $17/person/day for all meals and snacks. There is no way that vouchers would make sense for us.

 

[year2late]

They will be worth it for us because we share counter service meals anyway.

 

[crisi]

Even if you go to Beaches and Cream and Pepper Market - where it is nearly impossible not to spend more than you'd pay for a voucher, it may not be worthwhile if you wouldn't go to those places anyway. Neither is convienent to get to from the mainstream parks, and when we do Disney, time is more valuable to us than a few bucks. But other people place less value on time and more on money - and if Beaches and Cream and Pepper Market are on your "must do" list - or you have time to spare for the trip - or you are staying at CSR or the Y&BC anyway, the vouchers are a great value at these places. (B&C is on a lot of people's must do lists without vouchers).

Steve, I'll have to disagree with your "obviously." Although I'm not a voucher person, a lot of people here like having their meals pre-paid - even if they don't save money. As we have discussed before, money and budgeting is not just about math - its also about emotions. If pre-paying meals makes people feel better - or makes them better at managing their expenses - or keeps them from overspending while at Disney - more power to them.

You and I are pretty much polar opposites in spending and food at Disney - we love our sit down dinners and regularly spend $40 per person on dinner and drinks each evening. But because of the style in which we eat (a big sit down dinner - but a light lunch without dessert, no desire to share, and I usually skip fries and pop), vouchers don't make sense for us either. My kids are little yet, and I hope they are responsible enough that when the time comes to let them go off on their own I can hand them a $20 (or even give them room charging privledges) and know they will eat and not break the bank. But who knows what the future holds....I can see the benefit of spending $11.50 to know my kid had no excuse not to eat lunch (because he spent his $20 on Dole Whips and arcade games) - even if he only buys $6 worth of food with it. Worth $6 in peace of mind. Your peace of mind may not be worth $6, but mine is.

 

[disneysteve]

crisi - All excellent points! Can't argue with one of them.

If vouchers work for the way you or your family eat (or help you manage your money better) then go for it. Personally, they hold no appeal for me or my family because of our eating and spending habits. As with all things, don't blindly purchase vouchers assuming they will save you a bunch of money because that may not be the case. Do your homework and decide if they make sense for you.

 

[captJack88]

Thanks to everyone that posted and shared your opinions with me. We didn't do any sit down meals on our last trip, it was all counter service and eating in the room. Our next trip though we will have at least one sit down meal, so I'm going to do some research on all the vouchers, but I wanted to thank you all for the advice!

 

[garettdoyle]

For the record, I am not a voucher person, so take my opinion accordingly. I am very value minded when planning my vacations. While on vacation, I don't want to be "limited" or forced into eating somewhere just because that is part of the program. I think meal vouchers of any type are just too restrictive. I want the freedom to eat when and where I want or not eat at all.

In addition to all of this, I have not heard the greatest things about the companies that sell these vouchers. Enough people have posted negative comments to cause me to avoid them.

I go on vacation to get away from it all, not find more trouble!!

Best of luck.

 

[disneysteve]

One more point from a non-voucher person.

I wonder how many voucher users find themselves eating more food than they normally would because a) it is pre-paid and b) they want to get their money's worth.

It is well documented that people eat more at a buffet than when the meal is served to them at the table. I think this mentality contributes to the obesity epidemic. It seems to me that the vouchers could encourage the same type of behavior.

 

[mel&me]

Originally posted by disneysteve


I wonder how many voucher users find themselves eating more food than they normally would because a) it is pre-paid and b) they want to get their money's worth.

I did last year. I had them and did not realize it until about 4th day that we were stuffing ourselves every time we used them.

 

[Raggedy]

i buy a certain amount of them. I really don't eat that much. So i will share between what my DH and DS gets. I will eat a little off each of them. I will buy an extra drink though. Usually as our side we would get a salad and some fries. So the salad is mine and i will pick on the rest.

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by captJack88
I read the thread here on the budget board, and I just don't see how the vouchers are worth it. Am I missing something? I saw the Q&C vouchers are 11.50 each, plus membership to connections. I don't remeber eating ANY meals that were 11.50, so for those of you that buy these, what am I misunderstanding about vouchers? Please help!

What I found about the vouchers is that I was eating prepaid items that I would never have eaten if I had paid cash. After a week of voucher meals I got tired of gazing at menus and trying to figure out which of the most expensive meal items I could combine to get my money's worth out of a voucher...On days I would have been happy with a salad and a drink I found myself faced with the budgetary need to buy a voucher's cost worth of food....It got old. Anyone else could say...well, we sure worked off that big meal with all the walking we did...but, as you can see from my sig picture, the only one who got any real exercise was my service dog, Cash....He lost 15 pounds!....Well, I think I'll just take cash this next time and eat a few more apples and salads and fewer Combo meals.....No vouchers!

 

[jann1033]

Originally posted by disneysteve
Obviously, there is no point in going to the trouble of getting vouchers just to break even.



If my DD ever spent anywhere near $11.50 on a meal at the food court I would strangle her.

On our last trip, 3 adults and 1 child, we averaged about $17/person/day for all meals and snacks. There is no way that vouchers would make sense for us.

just curious but do you mind telling me what do you eat? ( i think i recall you posting earlier you eat little or no meat if i have the right person).. most things other than a small tossed salad would come really close to 11 by the time you add the drink and a side or dessert ( average entree i have priced , even most veggie ones are around 7, drink around 2, side around 2)

 

[Raggedy]

wow. I would also like to know where and how much you eat. I don't eat taht much. i pick off DS and DH's dish. and we spend alot more than that. I do buy vouchers. They work for us.`I buy a certain amount of them and we explore other places. where we don't use the vouchers.

 

[buzz2400]

I just tried out a bunch in July. They are such a waste of money. You get to the price of about $11.50 when you buy the most expensive thing on the menu and get a dessert. Most times it is not what you really want to eat. We wasted a lot of time just looking at the menus and adding up the prices to see if it was worth it. As to Pepper Market (where I stayed), the prices are very inflated there and the food was not that good. You really don't get to pick a side that you want. You have to take whatever side comes with the main entree. I feel that it is cheaper and easier to just eat when and where you want with cash.

 

[LisaZoe]

I bought 4 breakfast and 4 Q&C vouchers for DD and me to use on our upcoming trip (8 nights). Since DD is not yet 3, these are really for me We have PSs for 4 character breakfasts. On 2 we'll definitely save money and on the other 2 we're about at a break even or just a bit ahead.

Before I purchased the Q&C vouchers, I looked at the WDW menus for restaurants that participate in this program (a lot of them do). I did find many that I knew would not be a good deal with the vouchers because I couldn't find items on the menu that I'd want to order - at least not the ones costing enough to make the voucher a deal. I did find enough for 4 days (alternating days for sit down breakfast or lunch) that worked with out itinerary of which park or resort we'll be at each day.

I think these can be a good deal but you need to do your research first and decide if the meals you'd be ordering to get the savings would be ones you'd really want to eat. I'll wait to see how things go on this trip to decide if I'd want to use them again.

BTW - I definitely like having these pre-paid meal options but wouldn't do it if I wasn't at least breaking even (and the "trouble" to get these was extremely minimal since I'm also buying gift cards and movie tickets to use as Christmas gifts). I see this as kind of like Value vs. Deluxe resorts - each person must decide what level of convenience makes up for extra expense and go from there.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by jann1033
just curious but do you mind telling me what do you eat? ( i think i recall you posting earlier you eat little or no meat if i have the right person).. most things other than a small tossed salad would come really close to 11 by the time you add the drink and a side or dessert ( average entree i have priced , even most veggie ones are around 7, drink around 2, side around 2)

Here is a link to the threads I posted when we got back listing where we ate each of our meals.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=465150

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=465141 Read my second post in this thread. Goes into a little more detail on what we ate.

As you can see, we ate at mostly casual places, nothing fancy. You are probably right that a meal is around $11 for a main course, drink, side and dessert but we do a lot of sharing. For example, at Cosmic Ray's, I'll get just a veggie burger, DW gets a chicken sandwich, DD gets chicken fingers with fries. All 3 of us share the one order of fries. We'll usually drink water (tap, not bottled). If we do get a soda, we get one and the 3 of us share it.

We ate all breakfasts in our condo and also a few other meals in offsite restaurants where prices are more reasonable.

We'll buy some snacks in the parks like ice cream or popcorn, but we'll also bring in snacks bought at the supermarket - granola bars, pretzels, Jelly Bellys (a family favorite), etc.

Trust me, we never went hungry.