Connection Vouchers & AKL

[Humpbacks1962]

I accept and respect your explanation, but...

They'll allow us a chance to try places we may not other wise try, and order in ways that we may not order without them.

See, the whole thing is that is precisely what a lot of people think. But everything figured in, you CAN afford those places after all, without Connections' help. Especially when the difference is less than $2.00! I think that a lot of people passionate about them may be misinformed.


Wanda

 

[Lewisc]

Humpbacks1962
If you use the vouchers in places like Concourse you can order items (appetizers and deserts) you might otherwise think isn't worth it. As long as you're ordering them you might as well also order some of the breakfast vouchers (you save a dollar or 2).
These vouchers were intented for packages where meals were included. Connections doesn't promote these vouchers on their website. The only places where people talk about discounts are on this board (Mary gives an idea as to where you might expect some savings.
I'm not sure the vouchers are worth it (in fact almost all of the savings comes from using them in Beaches and Cream and I'm not sure how long they'll allow people to "overorder") if you're main purpose is to save money.

 

[DisOrBust]

Not to beat a dead horse but... wouldn't the pot of pressed coffee be considered the "drink" in the breakfast voucher?

 

[chris1gill]

I think this post is beating lot's of things into the ground... But...

My family? We drive to the different resorts because we want to & because we're DVC'ers and we pool hop anywhere our hearts desire.... So, since CSR has an awesome pool for our kids, we pool hop there because WE WANT TO... and oh yeh, we get vouchers, so we can have a 50.00+ dinner for 22.00... We always pool hop to Stormalong Bay because again, our kids love it... While we're there we ate our way through lunch & ordered a Kitchen Sink, because it was hilarious fun... we all loved that.. and then we gave our neighboring table a kitchen sink too because they admired ours so much... I say spread some Disney magic... the CM's encouraged it, so we did it!! We spent over a hundred by the time we left B&C & we spent 2 vouchers 22.00... and we had a ton of fun in the process....

We used the sit down lunch voucher at Canada & now my husband wants to eat there every visit, we only saved 25.00 that visit... but enough to make it worth our while... Since we have kids we always get dessert... We order an appetizer because we like salads & we don't particularly care if we don't finish our food...

We don't mind resort hopping, that's more fun for our family & there are lots of families out there just like us...

We would have saved six dollars at Cindies Breakfast if I'd bought vouchers... I should have, it was on our agenda the last trip.... hindsight...

Oh, and I don't think a 15% tip is so bad... it's based on the regular bill, not the voucher bill....

So to each his own, if you just want some quick food & no cookie for dessert, this isn't the plan for you... if you like to indulge or try different places & check out all that Disney World has to offer, then go for it! Disney is a lot more than just theme parks!

 

[Babblin'Boo]

we get vouchers, so we can have a 50.00+ dinner for 22.00

Where? How many? Adults? Kids? Has the menu been publicized allowing anyone to confirm the savings?

Could you just itemize like Humps did? That is the whole thing! People all over these boards say how much they saved with Connections here and there, but when inquisitive guests go beyond the posts, the numbers just don't add up!

Fine if you want to prepay your meals and go resort hopping with the vouchers, but don't promote them as money saving opportunities because they are not!

 

[chris1gill]

Originally posted by Babblin'Boo

Where? How many? Adults? Kids? Has the menu been publicized allowing anyone to confirm the savings?

Could you just itemize like Humps did? That is the whole thing! People all over these boards say how much they saved with Connections here and there, but when inquisitive guests go beyond the posts, the numbers just don't add up!

Fine if you want to prepay your meals and go resort hopping with the vouchers, but don't promote them as money saving opportunities because they are not!

You know Babblin' Boo you come across not as inquisitive but as hostile, just an FYI....

At the Pepper Market we had two kids & two adults... I shared with our 4 year old... our 7 year old got a kids meal for 7.00 & change.... My Husband and I got prime rib once which was excellent, another time my Husband got some sort of Sampler entree... My Husband & I each got soda's & cake/ice cream for dessert... As I'm sure I said already, these are foods we would normally eat, we didn't order anything "extra"... The vouchers covered the 10% based on the entire cost of the meal, not the voucher price...

As for Beaches & Cream, we got two frozen drinks, Chili & a burger, Salad & a chicken sandwich, and then a kitchen sink for us and a kitchen sink for our neighbors... the waitress helped us select our food so that we could all share... Worked out great, the fun factor was high and so was the magic...

Neither of these places were out of our way...

In fact, if you do a search from mid-December you will find my itemized listing.... I for one will be ordering more vouchers for our BWV vacation & you'd better believe we'll hit B&C at least a couple of times!

 

[Drake]

can you just itemize

Rainforest Cafe -

Alaskan King Crab $29.99
Sweet and tender, steamed to perfection and served with drawn butter.

Add on an appetizer, a non-achoholic beverage, desert and tip......you don't need to itemize to see the savings of using the $29.00 lunch voucher.

We could go over other menu's....but, hey, that's been done on this thread and board already.

 

[LBYC-19]

quote
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I think this post is beating lots of things into the ground
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LOL, chris1gill, well said

Did I log onto the debate board by accident?

 

[Lewisc]

Babblin'Boo
I'm not a big connections fan, but there is no question if you go to some restaurants and order the most expensive food you'll get savings. Mary's webiste lists the restaurants.
I suspect if you order what you'd normally order the savings would be nominal.
I'm surprised Connections allows you to cancel while keeping the vouchers you purchased. I wonder if people would still the find savings worth it if they had to pay the annual fee in order to buy and use the vouchers.

 

[chris1gill]

Okay, last post here for "inquisitive minds"

Here are the old posts I made regarding the vouchers, one is from September, one is from December, both have "details"

Beaches & cream
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=137656

Pepper market & B&C (we didn't know to do the kitchen sink this time)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=726230#post726230

I suspect that if you actually want to "see" a menu, you can find it at www.wdwig.com, it's all pretty much there....

Now, off to the debate board....

 

[loribell]

Personally I couldn't get the membership just to drop it after ordering my vouchers. I have had my membership since last October. I also use it for Toys R Us, Outback, and movie tickets.
The main savings for me is because there are 10 of us going on this trip. If I can order them I would be able to use 16 breakfast vouchers (for Character Breakfast's) and 15 or 20 quick and casual vouchers (Beaches & Cream 2 times) and Pepper Market 1 or 2 times. Now if they will only let me order 10 per membership then I won't have a problem with getting a second one and then canceling it. I feel as though my first membership should allow it. I don't blame them for putting a limit on it since so many people are joiningand then canceling.


Lori

 

[DisneyKidds]

Humpbacks - sorry if I offended you in relaying the savings WE realize and trying to make others understand what value you can get from the vouchers.

If you insist on more detail, here goes.

Lets assume Pinocchio Village Haus represents a typical counter service restaurant in the parks at WDW. If we went there we would order (prices from current menu):

Double burger 6.50
Chicken Garden Salad 6.50
2 large drinks 4.60
Side of fries 1.80
Side of fruit 3.00
Brownie 1.80
Ice Cream 3.00

Total 27.20
With Tax 30.20
Less 2 vouchers 22.00
Savings 8.20 for 2 people, or 4.10 per person

Lets assume Roaring Forks is typical of a counter service place at a resort. If we went there......

Philly Steak 5.90
Chicken Sandwich 6.30
Drinks 4.60
Soup 2.80
Chili 2.80
2 Magic Cookie Bars 4.60 (These are great )

Total 26.80
With Tax 29.75
Savings 7.75, or 3.88 per person

As you can see, the average savings would be about 4.00 per person for dinner. In a week, 7 dinners x 2 people x 4.00 = 56.00.

Now for breakfast. You are right, the vouchers only seem to make sense on Character meals. However, we only do 2 meals a day and we like to enjoy a big breakfast and only do character breakfasts.

In a week we'd do Park Fare 3 times.

Meal 16.95
Tax 1.02
Tip 2.54

Total 20.51
Savings with voucher 3.01 per adult

The other 4 days we'd do other Character breakfasts.

Meal 15.99
Tax .96
Tip 2.40

Total 19.35
Savings with voucher 1.85

Total Savings for the week

3.01 x 2 x 3 = 18.06
1.85 x 2 x 4 = 14.80

We don't use vouchers for kids meals because the savings aren't there.

Total Breakfast Savings 32.86
Total Dinner Savings 56.00

Total Savings 88.86

Could you order cheaper food and save less, maybe. Would you want to? Why? Even if you did, you could still save $80 plus dollars in a week depending on where you want to eat. You can save a whole lot more if you go to places like Beaches and Cream, where you can get double burgers for 2, a couple of salads, a couple of drinks, a couple of sundaes, be served like a human being, eat a substantial meal that actually tastes good, finish all your food, and save $25 on the meal (and we would eat there even if the vouchers didn't exist).

Without indulging you can save money. Is $80 in a week worth it, or $45 on a 4 day trip? I think so, especially since we'd only use vouchers for places we would have eaten at anyway. As chris1gill so eloquently points out, if you enjoy yourself and have some fun, you can save a whole lot more. By the way, let this serve as independent confirmation of her claim to savings at B&C. We ate there several time last trip and the bill was about $50 each time. Go to WDWIG and itemize for yourself.

FYI -

We always rent a car and like to resort hop - so travel time is not an issue.

Last time I checked, a week was 7 days and not 5.

Shipping is always free.

That is our reality and rationale - and I will drop it all together.

Once again, to each his/her own. They work for us. Aparently they wouldn't work for others. That is why people suggest understanding how the vouchers work and where they can use them before buying.

Hopefully this info can be helpful to someone. Please excuse me while I call someone to take this dead horse to the glue factory .

 

[Babblin'Boo]

chris1gill, my post was not hostile at all, but your sarcasm responding to an inquiry certainly is.

Drake, your $29.99 meal with the lunch voucher saved you...$0.49 WOW! Hope you left no tips too.

DisneyKidds, your average quoting only two meals implies that each person siphons in hefty lunches *and* dinners, in order to save over $2.00. Some of us aren't mobile vacuums, perhaps a breakfast and a late dinner is quite enough, so your "$4.00" average per meal is still not convincing, recalling that the best breakfast option does not even save you a full $2.00.

Oh yea, your week may still be at 7 days but it only means that a person spending fewer may not reap your supposed benefits unless he spends, on top of everything, at least 7 days! Makes your case weaker yet.

Some just have to back off and think rationally about what they're claiming, pride aside. I think some people are really just stretching it, to make it fit. The best thing to do is, again, before anyone jumps out to get a Connections membership just for the vouchers, evaluate how realistic your savings will be. Take the cost of each voucher and download the menus of the restaurants you're interested in. Get proof of your savings beforehand.

We aren't overeaters who would consume huge meals with all the works twice a day for at least a week, so my opinion remains unchanged and my invitation to everyone is to pull out your calculators before you pull out your wallets on this one.

 

[momm2four]

Okay, I'm pretty new to the board, but Boo, how is Drake only saving .49 when the main dish alone is 29.99. Drake didn't even add the price for the side, drink or dessert, which I'm sure would have come to at least $10. So the lobster meal w/all the extras would have been over $40 plus tax and tip which would have made the $29 voucher worth more than .49

 

[cottontail]

Hi:

Thanks for taking the time to break it down and explaining it. It makes more sense now, seeing the dollars and cents. I guess each family has to decide if it will work for them, depending on where they eat.

Deb.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Boo - I don't get your point . Who is a "mobile vacuum"? If I need to break it down further, and I don't know how much simpler I can make it.....

If I am the only person eating...

On a counter service dinner at Pinocchio Village Haus after I get my burger w/ carrots, fries, soda and dessert for a total of 13.60 plus tax, or a grand total of $15.10, I have saved 4.10. Combine that with the minimum of 1.85 (by the way - the best breakfast option saves 3.00) I saved on my nice breakfast and my daily savings is 5.95. That constitutes a nice breakfast and a late dinner, no vacuum bags required . If you can be sustained on less food than that per day, more power to you. I, for one, can eat more - that is why the vouchers work so well for B&C (where we primarily use the vouchers), where you can get a real dinner (and at least 10.00 savings per person) and not the counter service fare that leaves me unsatisfied.

I don't care if I go for 1 day or 100, I'll take 5.95 (at least) in my pocket. Look at it another way, if I saved 5.95 on meals that would otherwise have cost 34.45, I have saved 17% (or more) on my meal cost - and all I had to do was order a couple of vouchers. And before you say it, I don't have to factor in the annual membership because I recouped that on the passes, vouchers from our last trip, the 20% savings at ToyRUs, Outback, etc., etc. I don't know many people that think that a sale of 17% off is better than no sale at all.

You do seem to be missing the points. On Drake's meal the entree was 29.99. You seem to forget that he also got an appetizer, drink and dessert, all including tax and tip. I bet his bill for lunch would have been better than 50.00.

Talk about backing off. It seems there are some people who have used the vouchers, have saved money, and can respond to questions based on experience, and others who seem to have a problem with the vouchers and either can't, or don't want, to see certain things.

I'll say it again, the vouchers may not work for everyone, but the savings are real for many of us. Perhaps you can provide a real life example of a counter service meal or character breakfast you had that you wouldn't have saved money on with a voucher? Your best advice is that people should do the research before they buy. They should also do it before they comment.

Hope no one's feelings are getting hurt . I bet we will soon be on the debate board. See you there.

 

[chris1gill]

Originally posted by DisneyKidds
Hope no one's feelings are getting hurt . I bet we will soon be on the debate board. See you there.

DisneyKidds, now how could feelings be hurt? Apparently nobody here is hostile

We could always start another thread & discuss ways to spend that 3 or 4 dollars saved, that might make for entertaining conversation....

 

[macs4us]

Since people are requesting real samples, I will try to show what a sample of what we saved on recent trips:
$29.50 Vouchers...
Contemporary Hotel's Concourse Steakhouse (lunch break from MK via monorail):
Chilled Shrimp - jicama slaw and mango sweet pepper dip $6.99
20 oz. Porterhouse Steak - steak cut french fries and red wine butter $23.99
Dessert $5.99
Beverage $2.00
SAVINGS: $9.47 + Tax & Tip
We also ordered one other drink, a side salad, and soup for an additional $12.00 including tax & tip. This fed 3 adults, avg. cost $13.83/person.

Epcot's L'Originale Alfredo of Rome (lunch at EPCOT):
Stuzzicarolo - assortment of imported Italian meats & gourmet cheeses including prosciutto, bresaolo, mortadella & soppressata (serves 2 - 4) $23.95
Three Pasta $19.00
Dessert $7.95
Lrg bottle of S.Pellegrino $5.15
SAVINGS: $26.55 + Tax & Tip. This fed 3 adults, avg. cost $9.83/person.

$11.00 Vouchers
Beach Club's BEACHES AND CREAM (dinner after Epcot):
Grilled Prime Rib Sub $10.95
Onion Rings $3.95
Cherry coke $2.20
Kitchen Sink $21.95
SAVINGS: $28.05 + Tax & Tip
We also ordered one other drink and soup for an additional $7.00 including tax & tip. This fed 3 adults, avg. cost $6.00/person.

Beach Club's BEACHES AND CREAM (dinner after MGM - 2 vouchers):
Double Cheeseburger $8.95
Soup $3.95
Cherry coke $2.20
Custom sundae $10.80
SAVINGS: $14.90 + Tax & Tip

Hot Dog w/everything $8.80
Onion Rings $3.95
Cherry coke $2.20
Custom dessert $4.90
SAVINGS: $8.85 + Tax & Tip
We also ordered a cup of hot tea at no charge. This fed 3 adults, avg. cost $7.33/person.

We saved money, and tried new places without going out of our way. This is just our experience, and everyone is different. We also ordered a park hopper for my mom, and cancelled during the trial period.

 

[chris1gill]

Macs4us, Thanks for your menu's! At Alfredo's, did they let you order the Stuzzicarolo as your appetizer? If so, that sounds awesome... I might have to add Alfredo's to our list for Novembers trip... LeCellier is a must do from now on, I spoiled DH using vouchers there the last time!

 

[Kacey]

OK I have to jump in here--

chris1gill, I didn't detect any sarcasm at all, in fact, your earlier posts combined with Mousesavers info & WDWig menu prices helped me decide to join Connections.

Drake, Thanks for the Rainforest info--it is on our list to visit later this week.

loribell, I have ordered 10 Q&C vouchers in 2 different orders for a total of 20. I would think you could order the other vouchers this way as well.

Babblin Boo,
I'm not quite sure why you continue to get so excited about this--everyone is just sharing personal experiences to help others who may be trying to decide about Connections. In fact, I first heard about Connections on this forum.

Now just the facts:

Bought 2 7day PHP passes for $292.70 ea. Total: $586 w/free overnight UPS shipping
Lowest price I found was Disney Club price for $308.49 ea. Total: $617.
I saved $31.

At B&C we ate: At LeCellier we ate:
Burger w/fruit 6.95 Spring Rolls 9.99
Onion Rings 3.95 NY Strip Steak 17.99
Vanilla Coke 2.20 Creme Brulee 4.99
Sundae 5.95 Iced tea 1.99
Total 19.05 Subtotal 34.96
tax 5% .96 tax 5% 1.75
tip 15% 2.86 tip 15% 6.00
Total 22.87 Total 42.71
Voucher cost -11.00 less voucher -29.50
Savings 11.87 Savings 13.21

Hot Dog/kraut 6.90 At San Angel Inn we ate:
Chili 5.95 Queso Fundido 9.25
Van Coke 2.20 Plato Nacional 15.75
Banana Split 7.95 Iced tea 1.95
Total 23.00 dessert 5.95
tax 5% 1.15 subtotal 32.90
tip 15% 3.45 tax 5% 1.65
Total 27.60 tip 15% 4.94
less Voucher -11.00 Total 39.49
Savings 16.60 less voucher -29.50
Savings 9.99

***I know I have the tax percentage too low but I did not want to inflate the numbers.***

At the risk of boring everyone with more details, we saved $15.34 and $6.18 on two adult meals at the Pepper Market.
We also bought Breakfast vouchers and used them at Cape May where we saved $3.15 per person times 6 people.

We took our daughters and their husbands with us and it gave us a chance to treat them to some nice meals.
And, chris1gill, you are right about the magic at Beaches and Cream! We had a ball!!

We have received $120 in rebates from gift cards as well as the free $25 gift card for joining. It has been well worth the 79.95 fee to join. And I did get out my calculator and checked ticket and menu prices before I signed up.

I would never suggest anyone sign up if they didn't want to, but I'm willing to share information to help others make an educated decision.

I have recieved so much help from people on these boards--and I don't take ALL the advice--only that which works for me.

Thanks to all the contributors!