DDP Worth It During Food & Wine Fest?

[TomorrowlandKD]

Title says it all....

We're headed down in October. Seeing as though we'll probably be snacking and drinking our way around the world for F&W, does it make sense to get a DDP since we probably won't be hungry for Table Service every night?

Thanks in advance! I've never done the DDP so I'm sorry if this has been asked before.

Love you all.

 

[Skippyboo]

The F&W items are good uses for your snack credits on the dining plan. But you still have a QS and TS for each night. So if you’re snacking around Epcot- are you still want to eat a QS meal plus a TS meal too?

 

[HerRoyalHighness]

Doesn't a quick service convert to 3 snacks? That could, technically, get you 8 snacks, with the other 2 snacks included, a day, right? Would that be cheaper than paying for individual snacks?

 

[TomorrowlandKD]

Doesn't a quick service convert to 3 snacks? That could, technically, get you 8 snacks, with the other 2 snacks included, a day, right? Would that be cheaper than paying for individual snacks?

I had no idea that you can convert quick service.....hmm.

 

[Pumbaa_]

It is always a math exercise

 

[TomorrowlandKD]

It is always a math exercise

do you have to tell the cashier to “convert” a quick service into the snacks

 

[sharonabe]

do you have to tell the cashier to “convert” a quick service into the snacks

You go to ONE booth and order three items and ask the cashier to use a QS credit to pay for said items.

Now, this has been the way it has worked in the past. However, nowhere in Disney literature does it say you can do this; it's just always been done. So, they could at any time stop doing this and only allow snack credits. They don't even have to say anything; they just stop allowing it.

You still need to do the math with where you want to eat besides the F&W and also try to decide how many meals you'll be snacking around the world to see if you can use all the credits.

 

[Skippyboo]

If you convert 1 QS to 3 snacks, you lose their alcoholic beverage that you could have gotten with QS meal.

Basically, you have to do the math. If you want prepaided convenience, get one of those F&W gift cards with the wristband and load money on to it. You can’t use snack credits for alcohol at the booths anyways so you still have to pay out of pocket.

 

[KayaWildfire]

Another point about the drinking around the world, you can't get alcoholic drinks from the festival booths with snack credits. You can usually get some of the non-alcoholic ones, but you are pretty much limited to the food items.

 

[TomorrowlandKD]

Had no idea there were FW releasable wristbands. Sounds like that’s the way to do it. Thanks guys!!

 

[Pumbaa_]

It’s just a regular gift card but is worn on the wrist. You can use the funds anywhere, so not just at f&w

to me it’s just as easy to charge back to your room. Clear record of all transactions, one payment method

do note only adult qs credits can be converted to 3 snacks at the booths in epcot

i believe (and someone will correct me if I’m wrong ), you cannot use child qs credits for 3 snacks EXCEPT at resorts. You can use their snack credit for a single item.

 

[Jess.stw]

You go to ONE booth and order three items and ask the cashier to use a QS credit to pay for said items.

Now, this has been the way it has worked in the past. However, nowhere in Disney literature does it say you can do this; it's just always been done. So, they could at any time stop doing this and only allow snack credits. They don't even have to say anything; they just stop allowing it.

You still need to do the math with where you want to eat besides the F&W and also try to decide how many meals you'll be snacking around the world to see if you can use all the credits.

People report if you don't want to use all three at the same booth you can convert ahead of time at your hotel front desk and then use the three snack credits at different booths! That's what we plan to try when we are there in September. We got "free dining" but upgraded it as we like to do signature dining (2 credits) plus my husband stresses less when he doesn't have to worry about the bill, even if we pay a premium for that. My guess is for us it won't truly be "worth it" in dollars, I am a small eater...but it feels like a luxury trip that way and we have experiences we likely wouldn't otherwise splurge on.

 

[sharonabe]

People report if you don't want to use all three at the same booth you can convert ahead of time at your hotel front desk and then use the three snack credits at different booths! That's what we plan to try when we are there in September.

Those experiences are very few and far between. Doesn't mean you shouldn't try it, but be prepared for a no.

 

[Jess.stw]

Those experiences are very few and far between. Doesn't mean you shouldn't try it, but be prepared for a no.

for sure! I’ve also heard of a front desk person not knowing how but asking a supervisor who talked them through it, so that’s worth knowing and asking about too

 

[loves to dive]

It would depend on how you plan on eating at the booths. For us, F&W (and F&G) booths make up a large portion of at least one if not two meals a day. We like to try to get at least one thing at every single booth, when my son is with me that's easier because we can share but when I'm solo, I can't always do it because it's just too much food for me. At F&W we also like to have at least one of the special dining experiences and those tend to be 4 and 5 course meals so on those days, it's usually breakfast, that meal and maybe something from one or two booths for supper since we are so full from lunch. We spend part of every day at Epcot during F&W and F&G.

 

[coaster32]

I never thought the dining plan was worth it......I did the math, you breakeven at best, and only if you maximize spend......

 

[nkereina]

to me it’s just as easy to charge back to your room. Clear record of all transactions, one payment method

This. All the F&W booths are set up to accept Magic Band charging, so its easy enough to tap your band, enter your PIN, and be on your way. Just like other transactions.

As far as whether DDP would be worth it, I guess that would depend on how many days you plan to snack around F&W. If its just one day, you can easily use that QS and TS meal credit on other days. But if you have more than one day of wanting to do F&W, it becomes harder to find time to fit in those remaining QS and TS meal credits.

 

[igrsod]

We love using the dining plan during F&W. We space out our meals and use the snacks as food booth purchases. I highly recommend it.

 

[serene56]

I), you cannot use child qs credits for 3 snacks EXCEPT at resorts. You can use their snack credit for a single item.

wait. What? I can use a kids qS at pop century for 3 snack credits?

 

[sharonabe]

wait. What? I can use a kids qS at pop century for 3 snack credits?

Maybe, maybe not. Using kids QS credits for 3 snacks was getting sporadic before the shut down. Since they finally fixed the system to enforce the "kid's must order from the kid's menu" line, and since the trading for 3 snacks is not really specified anywhere in the literature, some places were not allowing it at all, some were allowing 1 snack and some were still allowing the 3 snacks. We'll have to wait and see how this all shakes out once things are open again.