Deciding whether QS is worth it?

[de8212]

Got a trip planned in a few months so I'd like to start researching to see if the QS is worth it.


It's gonna be 2 adults and 2 kids. Does anyone know the exact cost of QS broken into $/per person/per day?


From the limited research I've done it seems that the only way you come out ahead is to eat at the more expensive QS places and get their most expensive foods.

has anyone done a good comparison of this?

 

[POOHsie]

Got a trip planned in a few months so I'd like to start researching to see if the QS is worth it.


It's gonna be 2 adults and 2 kids. Does anyone know the exact cost of QS broken into $/per person/per day?


From the limited research I've done it seems that the only way you come out ahead is to eat at the more expensive QS places and get their most expensive foods.

has anyone done a good comparison of this?

Here is the list of Dining Plan prices per day/per person (adult, child). It's found at the top of this Dining Plan forum. There is also a Confirmed Snacks thread that you can look through at the top of the forum. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3172886

The QS plan gives you 2 CS meals and one snack per day, plus the resort refillable mug for cold non-alcoholic fountain beverages, hot coffee, hot cocoa, hot tea, iced tea. The QS dining also covers the tax, which is 6.5%.

The Adult rate is currently $41.99. Kids daily rate is $16.03. Subtract $4-5 for snack, consider the value of refillable mug for drinks at the resort. That would leave approx. $18 (adult) for a meal which includes entree, side, dessert, non-alcoholic beverage (you can order the largest size if you want to) and tax. If you look at Disney CS menus, that amount would be similar to paying out-of-pocket for the same. Some people like the convenience of using the Magic Band for charging the meals, instead of fumbling with money or CCs. One magic band can charge a meal for everyone sharing your room.

 

[Iowajes]

. Some people like the convenience of using the Magic Band for charging the meals, instead of fumbling with money or CCs. One magic band can charge a meal for everyone sharing your room.

Can't you charge money to your room? So you would be able to use your magic band without a dining plan?


For the OP: I think it really depends on your eating style. I have NEVER purchased a dessert at a theme park, and rarely purchased a drink (we have ice water).

 

[aaarcher86]

Can't you charge money to your room? So you would be able to use your magic band without a dining plan? For the OP: I think it really depends on your eating style. I have NEVER purchased a dessert at a theme park, and rarely purchased a drink (we have ice water).

You can charge back to your room.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

You'll not be doing any more than breaking even on the QS unless you eat the most expensive meals all the time.

And yes, you can charge back to your room on the Magic Band whether you have DDP or not, so long as you link a credit card for charging.

The only reason to get the QS plan is if you want it for the "convenience" or if you want the feeling of having those meals prepaid. It won't save you money unless you are at Wolfgang Puck Cafe every day. It will save you even less money if you use the credits for breakfast - QS breakfast is the worst deal on DDP just from a straight monetary standpoint because not only are breakfasts generally cheaper, but you forfeit the dessert allotment.

 

[POOHsie]

Can't you charge money to your room? So you would be able to use your magic band without a dining plan?

For the OP: I think it really depends on your eating style. I have NEVER purchased a dessert at a theme park, and rarely purchased a drink (we have ice water).

Sure you can charge to your room, if you set up charging privileges. Some people don't have enough credit for that. My DD's BF just loved the idea of entering a restaurant and ordering anything off the menu, and get "no bill." It was like something super-exotic. To me, DDP or QSDP was just a pre-paid trip expense. If you put money in a savings account prior to your trip, and applied it to your CC bill at the end of your trip, it would accomplish the same thing.

 

[Iowajes]

Some people don't have enough credit for that.

I didn't realize Disney made you secure it with a credit card. I thought it just went onto your room bill, however you were paying it. Thanks. (But if the idea you don't want to fumble with cash/credit cards in the park- you can possibly still charge with your magic band without needing the Dining Plan.)

 

[POOHsie]

I didn't realize Disney made you secure it with a credit card. I thought it just went onto your room bill, however you were paying it. Thanks. (But if the idea you don't want to fumble with cash/credit cards in the park- you can possibly still charge with your magic band without needing the Dining Plan.)

Your room bill is basically pre-paid for Disney resorts. If you reserve a Disney Package (room + tickets + dining), your full payment is due 45 days before arrival. If you book room-only, you pre-pay one night's room charge, and balance is due at arrival. So you begin your stay with no room bill. If you want a room charging account you can establish one at check-in with cash, gift cards, CC or Debit Card. For the CC or Debit Card, I don't think the charging privilege amount is locked by Disney, but your account would be checked for credit availability. If you didn't have $500 available for Value charging (or $1000 for Moderate, $1500 for Deluxe), you would only get charging up to the amount your Card would allow.

Your Magic Band can do a lot of things - access tickets, room charging for OOP meals, charging to dining credits, upgrading your tickets. You can charge goods and souvenirs, you can charge tips for Dining Plan TS meals, you can charge a Food & Wine snack. As long as you have room charging set up. That's one of many reasons I stay at Disney Resorts when I visit WDW. Disney makes my trip so care-free in so many ways.

 

[Iowajes]

Thanks for taking time to clarify. So if you don't want a dining plan, and you don't want to deal with cash in the park, and you have bad credit, you can still easily use your magic band by setting up a cash account with your hotel room.

I can understand some people wanting a prepaid trip expense, but for me, it would be such a battle to "not waste money" I already spent. I would be getting things I wouldn't want, just to make it "worth it".

 

[POOHsie]

Thanks for taking time to clarify. So if you don't want a dining plan, and you don't want to deal with cash in the park, and you have bad credit, you can still easily use your magic band by setting up a cash account with your hotel room.

I can understand some people wanting a prepaid trip expense, but for me, it would be such a battle to "not waste money" I already spent. I would be getting things I wouldn't want, just to make it "worth it".

There's lots of POVs. When I was in my 20s and earning very little, I couldn't even consider room charging. Later years, my credit amount was not high. Now it's not an issue for me, but it took decades to get there. Lots of people purchase multiple gift cards at a slight discount (maybe 5%) and they save $ on their Disney vacation that way. But they have to stay within the total amount of their Gift Cards and there's little room for a splurge.

 

[Iowajes]

But they have to stay within the total amount of their Gift Cards and there's little room for a splurge.

Charging to your room doesn't mean you are splurging. You might actually be spending LESS than if you were on the dining plan. It just would be paid after the fact, not before hand. I'm extremely frugal- and that's why the dining plan doesn't work for me, personally. It definitely works for some families. But if you can charge to the room using cash to secure the account (or those gift cards they got with a red card discount), the excuse that you have to have available credit to do so doesn't hold. If a family wouldn't be spending the money on drinks and desserts, or typically orders the least expensive meal options, the QS dining plan would be a splurge; charging would be the way to save money (or just bring cash to the park; but the suggestion was that was a pain).

It all depends on what their eating style is.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

For most guests (not all), especially on the QS plan, the dining plan is not splurging. Because most are not going to go out of their way to find and eat the most expensive meals every time. It just FEELS like splurging. And that's very powerful sometimes.

 

[robinb]

Sure you can charge to your room, if you set up charging privileges. Some people don't have enough credit for that. My DD's BF just loved the idea of entering a restaurant and ordering anything off the menu, and get "no bill." It was like something super-exotic. To me, DDP or QSDP was just a pre-paid trip expense. If you put money in a savings account prior to your trip, and applied it to your CC bill at the end of your trip, it would accomplish the same thing.

Except at the end of your stay if you put the value of the QSDP into that account you would still have money left .

The average CS meal (entree/combo, dessert & drink) is about $17. Personally, I think the vast majority of the deserts are total crap. When we had the free DDP a few years ago we started to just say "no thanks" to the desserts because (1) we were often full and didn't need to eat a dessert and (2) they were usually pretty horrible and not worth the calories. If you don't get the dessert on the QSDP you are losing $8 worth of the value of the plan for each adult every day. That turns a plan where you really have to work at it to just break even into a losing proposition.

 

[POOHsie]

Except at the end of your stay if you put the value of the QSDP into that account you would still have money left .

The average CS meal (entree/combo, dessert & drink) is about $17. Personally, I think the vast majority of the deserts are total crap. When we had the free DDP a few years ago we started to just say "no thanks" to the desserts because (1) we were often full and didn't need to eat a dessert and (2) they were usually pretty horrible and not worth the calories. If you don't get the dessert on the QSDP you are losing $8 worth of the value of the plan for each adult every day. That turns a plan where you really have to work at it to just break even into a losing proposition.

Agreed. I don't care for dessert and it's a waste of $. In my youth, we only got dessert at Sunday dinner. And there were no trips to Disney. Maybe we camped in the woods at a nearby park for our "vacation." But for my DD and her BF, young kids in their 20s, they thought constant Disney dessert and yummy snacks were special vacation treats as opposed to their bare-bones food budget at home. Of course, DP was on me.

 

[Iowajes]

For most guests (not all), especially on the QS plan, the dining plan is not splurging. Because most are not going to go out of their way to find and eat the most expensive meals every time. It just FEELS like splurging. And that's very powerful sometimes.

But if you are not going out of your way to find and eat the most expensive meals- chances are you are wasting money; your out of pocket expense probably would have been lower if you just paid for what you ordered. Especially if you wouldn't have had that soda and dessert otherwise. So to me, you are splurging just to have it paid ahead of time. Why waste money?

Now, if you always want a drink and a dessert, and tend to always order the most expensive meal, then the QS dining plan might make sense.

And just for frame of reference- I'm young, I didn't walk uphill both ways to school. My family went on nice vacations, even to Disney. But we sure didn't eat dessert and drink sodas, and I still don't. It's a waste of money- FOR ME.

If saving money is the objective- you really have to look at it very closely.

 

[dd50]

I save money not doing the QS. I budget what it would cost for the QS and put that away. I usually have about $200 left over. That is eating at WGB express.

We do usually have soda with our meals but not dessert. We usually do get a snack in the evening tho.

 

[persimmondeb]

The last time we got it, we kept track of our receipts for about two days to see if we were spending the value of the CS plan or not, and gave up after lunchtime on the second day, because we were so clearly ahead. Now, it was a slightly better value at the time because it still had two snacks and you got two drinks at breakfast, and we did have a very specific strategy that we followed, which at many meals involved splitting large meals and getting a separate dessert with a snack credit.

I wouldn't pay for the desserts much of the time if they were OOP, but that didn't mean that they weren't happily eaten. We ordered what we wanted, but I don't think it was ever the cheapest thing on the menu. And we're very fond of the Wolfgang Puck Express. They may have changed it, but they had a $17 salmon entree that was very good.

If you are a vegetarian, or a very light eater, or don't drink soda/eat desserts, it may not work that well, but it's really not hard to spend the value of the plan. It isn't a massive savings, but every little bit helps, and it lets you eat what you want without guilt or hesitation.

Based on the menus at All Ears, if you were at Epcot--

lunch at Sunshine Seasons--Steak and Blue Cheese Sandwich 9.49

Cupcake--4.39

Large Fountain drink-2.99--

16.87

plus 6.5 percent sales tax--17.96

then for a snack--

ice cream crepe at Chefs de France--4.93

plus 6.5 percent sales tax--5.25

and for dinner--

Boulangerie Patisserie Les Halles--Poulet au Pistou--9.00

Framboise-$5.50

Limoade-$5.10

19.60 plus 6.5 percent sales tax--20.87

We're at 44.08 plus the value of the resort mug. Not a huge savings, but with the exception of the fancy French soda, not the most expensive thing in the park either. As long as you want and will eat it, the QS represents a reasonable value.

 

[Stefecatzz]

The one time I tried the QS DDP, I felt I got my money's worth. However, I usually do not order desserts or drinks b/c I'm fine w/ice water. I didn't think the feeling of being too full & having to walk around all day & night in the FL sun was worth the savings. I will just stick w/my usual eating habits & split meals at QS w/others. If we are hungry still (we usually never are), we will split a snack later.