Dismissing quick service dining

[RachelsMommie]

deleting double post

 

[RachelsMommie]

To each their own.

I have done the regular DDP in the past and thought the DxDDP was a waste of money. Then we did the DxDDP this time and only had 2 or 3 CS meals over 7 days...and it was awesome. It takes us 30 minutes to eat CS and it took us around 45-60 minutes to eat a TS...and it was worth it to us for the break from the park and the pampering.

Of course, I gained 6, yes, SIX pounds over a week. <sigh>

Oh, and Kevin, you were right. We tried Coral Reef because my DH and my DD5 wanted to try it...and it was terrible. Worst meal of the trip. And Narcoossee's was FABULOUS!

 

[dalt01]

we do the regular dining plan. i dont see a LOT of savings there, some though. but the main reason we do it is because it takes one more moving part out of play. we like the "cruise like" aspect of it............done and done so you can go about the business of having fun. i see no monetary value whatsoever in the QS plan and would imagine a lot of snack credits get left on the table, i know even on the regular plan we are scrambling around on the last day to use them up...........lots of apples and bananas for the plane ride.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Personally, when I first heard about the quick service plan, I laughed outloud. It honestly does not make sense to me as it is just cheaper to pay out of pocket for your counter service meals (or was at least when I first priced it out). However, people have always priced down to the very wire when it comes to dining plans. For me, I could never go to WDW without doing at least one sit down meal. The restaurants only add to the experience.

As far as valuing the time you spend in the parks, I also value the experience and time I spend in the restaurants. Furthermore, because I can only visit the World during peak seasons when the parks are open late and EMH at night affords me the option of being at MK until 3 a.m., I have never lost out on park time. I usually sleep in until 9 or 10, and hit the attractions that are either less popular or not a part of EMH in the morning. I then take a break, go to a restaurant for lunch, go swimming or shopping, etc., and later return for dinner and EMH that night. I have done all of MK in one day with this method including riding some of the major attractions several times. This strategy also works for the other parks.

Everyone's vacation is different. It boggles my mind as to why people jam pack their stay so much. You are there to enjoy life and relax. If the dining plan fits into that equation, then go for it. If not, try something different. It is all about what works for you and your family.

 

[DaParkers]

Personally, when I first heard about the quick service plan, I laughed outloud. It honestly does not make sense to me as it is just cheaper to pay out of pocket for your counter service meals (or was at least when I first priced it out).

I agree. The OP suggested adding the extra snack and refillable mug into the price equation. Why? I, and some others, wouldn't buy the mug or the extra snack anyway. And the cost of a mug is only $1.35 a day during a 10 day trip. There are some great counter service places, but my wife finds that the quality of the desserts at the counter service locations don't compare to those at sit Down locations. It's rained every time we've gone to WDW. ALL sit down restaurants are indoors. SOME of the counter service places are. IMO, what makes the regular DDP a better value than the QSDP is those things I mentioned plus the the atmosphere and overall experience that you get at a lot of the sit down places.

 

[rocio]

I agree that the counter service desserts were "eh" a lot of the times. As I said, if it wasn't for the fact that it was free for our three kids, I probably wouldn't do it again. But it worked for us on THIS trip and for OUR family. Which is I guess what everybody is agreeing on this thread. Different things work for different families and for different trips. As I said, I may try it without any dining plan next time. The only reason it worked financially for us was because of the deal we booked (kids eat and play free). Time-wise, it led to a more relaxed vacation for OUR family without any TS. Lots of pool time instead. But we have 3 young kids for who a sit-down meal is rarely relaxing

 

[Cherinva]

I've used both DDPs. It depends on how long the trip is on which plan we use...and I do run the numbers to see what my value point is. This last trip was short and we opted for the QS plan..it worked out great and I liked getting the mugs for free. On my next trip, I've booked the TS plan because of the time of the year and who I'm with. I think it's a personal choice..whatever works for ya. I do think that having any dining plan is great, because it's one more thing that's pre-paid.

 

[max'sdad]

Thanks for all the great feedback in this thread. I think it will be interesting to get a comparison between the two plans, since we did the regular dining plan last year and will be doing QSDP this year.

I'll be sure to do a dining report after our trip in August.