Drinks included turns out to be a negative for us and the QSDP

[Mollygirl21]

So, I did the math today and looked at our plans, calculated what we would eat by guessing where in each park, allocated 2 snacks per person and 1-3 alcoholic drinks per person per day. It came out to exactly the same as we would pay for the QSDP. Within $1. I did not figure in the refillable mug so that would make it more expensive on our own.

However, the QSDP is more regimented than the plan I came up with because of the alcohol. With the plan, we have to have our drinks with the meal. But on our own, we would be more likely have drinks with a snack or at a lounge at the end of the day.

I prefer the flexibility of no plan but DH prefers to know it is paid for and likes the "all-inclusive" feel of the DP. I get that - I really enjoy having the dining plan but this will be our first time with drinks included and I think we will end up drinking drinks we don't really want when we don't really want them and then paying out of pocket for preferred drinks at the preferred time.

Now to convince DH... (simple math don't do it)

 

[DisBuckMan]

Buy Disney gift cards in advance to pay for your meals. There...prepaid.

 

[22Tink]

DisBuckMan beat me to it but I was going to suggest the same thing. We always buy Disney gift cards before our trip so that our food is paid for before we leave.

 

[igrsod]

I agree with DisBuckMan. I love the dining plan the way your husband does... knowing everything is paid for and not worrying about it is nice on vacation. BUT.... I am with you too and our recent trips have been without the dining plan, as it is better and more flexible without the plan. SO, what we do is buy a Disney gift card and put on the amount of money allotted for meals and pay that way on vacation. We just charge it on our bands like we would with the dining plan and then every night I go to the front desk and settle up the days charges with the gift card. Easy as can be.

 

[KTR]

Don’t forget if you aren’t getting an alcoholic beverage with your meal you would likely be buying a non-alcoholic beverage with your meal. Though, maybe not, since some people get water. From what I gather the QS plan is close to a wash for many people. We have 6 people staying in an ASM suite and booked under free dining so it was a big value for us, but I can see how it isn’t always.

 

[Mollygirl21]

Buy Disney gift cards in advance to pay for your meals. There...prepaid.

Yes, this may be the way we go - or make advance payments on a specific credit card. We are in Canada so the Disney gift cards we get here are in Cdn currency which subjects us to whatever exchange rate they want to use on the day of redemption. Our credit card is US currency though so that may be the answer

Don’t forget if you aren’t getting an alcoholic beverage with your meal you would likely be buying a non-alcoholic beverage with your meal. Though, maybe not, since some people get water. From what I gather the QS plan is close to a wash for many people. We have 6 people staying in an ASM suite and booked under free dining so it was a big value for us, but I can see how it isn’t always.

We're more likely to get ice water with meals. And when we went with our DS5 a couple of years ago, the DDP was definitely the right plan for us - we were able to choose some great character meals, buffets, etc plus had lots and lots of snacks. It was perfect for that trip!

Thanks for the input everyone! I know we can't really lose one way or the other, it will only be a relatively small $$ difference either route - and peace of mind is worth quite a bit so if the QSDP gives DH the peace of mind to make this trip better for him, then that may be the right way to go too.

 

[Farro]

Hmm, I don't have that problem. I can have a drink with lunch and one later as a snack, and then one with dinner, and then one in the lounge...

We actually weren't going to do the dining plan this upcoming trip, but now that we can get a drink with both lunch and our sit down dinner, we think the plan will totally benefit us.

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

I am all about the simple math and it sounds like it makes the most sense for you not to get the dining plan.

However... I will say that it killed my vibe a little to pay triple figures for meals that were terrible (I’m looking at you, San Angel Inn). When I signed the check and saw exactly how much I was paying for food that no one liked, it was a bummer. When we had the dining plan there is a mental feeling of it being “free” even though you already paid for it (and in some cases, paid more for it.)

If you go the gift card route, I would still try to make sure you’re the one signing the bill and not your husband... it sounds like he would be more sensitive to seeing the price and having his vacation-mode bubble popped.

 

[Rach3975]

Thanks for the input everyone! I know we can't really lose one way or the other, it will only be a relatively small $$ difference either route - and peace of mind is worth quite a bit so if the QSDP gives DH the peace of mind to make this trip better for him, then that may be the right way to go too.

DH and I feel differently about the dining plan, too. Price-wise it might be a wash for us--when we have it we order in a way that makes it worthwhile, but I suspect we'd order cheaper, lighter foods at some meals if we didn't have the dining plan. We also end up ordering desserts that we don't really want after a big meal. But after trying to convince DH to go without it on the first few trips, I've let it go. The freedom to order what he wants without thinking about cost and being able to vacation without getting hit with bills all day long mean a lot to him, more than the few dollars a day we'd save by paying OOP.

 

[gillep]

The dining plan is too restrictive for us for more than a one night plan. We like to eat and drink in the lounges, and those do not take the dining plan. I also don't prefer the alcoholic drinks available at the QS restaurants vs other bars in the parks/resorts, and we like things like wine flights that are not covered by the plan. It is much more enjoyable and flexible for us to not have the plan and pay as we go.