Dumb it down for me :)

[moesy4]

Ok, this will be our first time to Disney with the exception of a one day stopover last year in over 15 years. We found a fantastic deal at CBR and are booked for May 2016. We were quoted the quick service dining plan or no plan and decided against the plan because my research and math skills (haha!) proved that we could do it cheaper on our own. We are a family of 5, but the youngest two or 2 and 1, but our 2 year old could eat like a grown man. Our oldest is 5.

Now I am reconsidering....I think altogether it would be cheaper by a decent amount (maybe around $150) but I also know how nice it is to not feel like we have to pinch pennies. My husband is the ultimate cheapskate, and I could totally see him just skipping a meal to save a few bucks. Because of the age of our children and especially the 2 year old's lack of ability to sit still, we have no interest in any sit down restaurants.

Anyway...please make sure I am understanding the quick service dining plan correctly!

1) For 7 nights, we would get 42 quick service meal credits and 21 snack credits. Disney doesn't separate kids or adults in their credits, correct? Our oldest son is an extremely picky eater and oddly rejects most "kid" foods like mac n cheese or hot dogs and so we would want the option for him to get real food if he wanted.

2) Drink credits can be exchanged for a side item now, correct? What are some typical side items that would be available at a regular quick service place? Particularly, OPR at CBR since I'd imagine a good chunk of our meals will be there? If we have the refillable mugs we would probably always want to exchange our drinks there.

3) What are some examples of some "nicer" snack items we can get? I've heard funnel cakes (with our without toppings?) Anything else fun and different and if so, where?

4) Anything I am missing that would sway me one way or the other?

 

[supersnoop]

Are you at all interested in table service meals? With the ages of your children, buffets are a great value since you don't have to pay for children under 3.

Otherwise, I'd just remind you that you don't need the dining plan to order how you want. The child price offsets the adult prices, but with only one child, I think you'll still be cutting it too close.

Try plugging in your plans to www.distripplanner.com.

 

[sharonabe]

You do have the number of credits correct.

Drink and dessert credits can be exchanged for an eligible SNACK item at the restaurant where you are eating. You'll need to peruse the menus to see what that might be. allearsnet.com has an extensive list of menus with the snack logo highlighting those items, however, they could be missing some and/or have some mis-labeled. Still, it's a good place to start.

For snack items, check the sticky over on the Dining Plan sub-forum. It's labeled 2014, but I think everything on it is still a snack credit. It may be missing some of the more expensive items that are now a snack item.

As to the cost, if you can put in the time to plan your meals and use those drinks/desserts for some decent side items to make enough food to share with the little ones, you'll probably do okay with the plan. You might save a little, you might break even, you might lose a little, but I think it will be close enough to just do the plan if you think it will lessen some of the stress of eating while there.

 

[Pookles]

I read a post from a gal who said she always pushed for the dining plan and then one time they decided to "see what would happen" if they didn't use it. Her family still ate as they normally would over 5 days I think. She saved over $250.

This being said the only thing I'm really gathering from all the planning I'm doing is that every family is different. Looking at the kid's ages, you may be getting a bargain, especially if the two year old eats a lot. The 5 year old will still eat something, and maybe the 5 and 2 year old can share meals? The baby at 1 I guess that's just a toss up since at that age you end up packing most food...we did anyway.

I have read tho that some QS meals could be exchanged for snacks...so if you get to the end have have credits left, you may want to look into that. Sorry, I didn't actually end up answering any of your questions!

 

[supersnoop]

Looking at the kid's ages, you may be getting a bargain, especially if the two year old eats a lot

That's irrelevant, though. The rules for a two year old are the same whether you're on the dining plan or not.

 

[minnie mum]

By all means, use the Disney Dining calculator link to check your meal costs. But also consider this. You will only have meal credits for 2 CS meals per day for 3 people, when you need 3 meals per day for 5 people. Will your 2 youngest children get enough food to satisfy them by sharing the food from your plates? My guess is that you will still be buying food OOP on top of the dining plan. So just where would the dining plan be saving you money? JMO, but scrimping on food is no way to vacation. You may find that budgeting for adequate meals OOP will work better for you at this time.

Now, if you were thinking of the DDP, which gives you a TS meal each day, that would definitely have the potential to save money. Doing a buffet or AYCTE meal each day would allow the 2 youngest kids their own food at no extra charge.

 

[jbrinkm]

You can use a quick service meal to buy 3 snacks. My family of 4 ate lunch at one of those little kiosks at AK for 2 quick service meals because we got 4 mac & cheese bowls and 2 fruits we shared - 6 snack credits paid for with 2 QS credits (we drank our own filtered water bottles).

 

[chinarider]

So , am I correct in reading above that.... I can drink water and get an additional side? For example.... water at BOG lunch and get onion soup instead of drink?

Also, it depends how you want to eat. We love the dining plan when we can get it at a discount ( upgrade from free QS to Reg Dining )- Otherwise, we do without the dining plan and usually get an appetizer, share an entree or share a dessert. There are certain restaurants that we dont go to on the dining plan because it wouldnt suit the way we wanted to eat there. You know your families habits so it's really a personal decision. The calculators are great tools and highly suggest using them

 

[jbrinkm]

So , am I correct in reading above that.... I can drink water and get an additional side? For example.... water at BOG lunch and get onion soup instead of drink?

I don't know about BOG. Even though it is technically QS, it felt more like a hybrid to me, with the reservation system. Also, an entrée is not usually considered a snack, so if you are getting an entrée, you'd have to get the appropriate meal accompaniments. Although, you might be able to get 3 snacks (i.e. 3 cupcakes or 3 soups, etc.) for the "cost" of 1 QS credit. The place where we stopped had these little mac & cheese bowls that counted for a snack credit, so that ended up being a good deal. Obviously you probably wouldn't want to waste a QS credit to buy 3 bottles of water (I didn't even like using 1 snack credit to buy a water!)

I've also heard that splitting the QS credits is not ALWAYS reliable. I don't know why - whether machines don't work, vendor's don't want to, or they don't know about it. All of the dining staff I talked to though, said you could always "buy down" from the type of credit that you have - i.e. 3 snacks for QS credit and QS meal for a table service credit.

 

[sharonabe]

So , am I correct in reading above that.... I can drink water and get an additional side? For example.... water at BOG lunch and get onion soup instead of drink?

Also, it depends how you want to eat. We love the dining plan when we can get it at a discount ( upgrade from free QS to Reg Dining )- Otherwise, we do without the dining plan and usually get an appetizer, share an entree or share a dessert. There are certain restaurants that we dont go to on the dining plan because it wouldnt suit the way we wanted to eat there. You know your families habits so it's really a personal decision. The calculators are great tools and highly suggest using them

Yes, you should be able to do this at BoG, but the reports on being able to use your drink entitlement for a snack item here have been sporadic. Everyone reporting back has been able to use their dessert entitlement, but the drink has been hit or miss. Perhaps it is more hit now that this has become more known in the parks.

Also, an entrée is not usually considered a snack, so if you are getting an entrée, you'd have to get the appropriate meal accompaniments.

PP is not talking about exchanging the QS credit for 3 snack items, a perk that is not actually written into the dining plan brochure. They are referring to what IS in the brochure. You may exchange your drink/dessert portion of any QS meal for a snack item at the same location at the same time as you purchase your meal.

 

[jbrinkm]

PP is not talking about exchanging the QS credit for 3 snack items, a perk that is not actually written into the dining plan brochure. They are referring to what IS in the brochure. You may exchange your drink/dessert portion of any QS meal for a snack item at the same location at the same time as you purchase your meal.

OP is talking about possibly trying to make the dining plan stretch ("Anything I am missing that would sway me one way or the other?") so that it might work for her family and I gave an example of how MY family was able to turn 2 QS credits into a meal for the 4 of us by getting 6 snack items - possibly useful information for someone who is asking that question. I didn't know it was a possibility until I went to order and was trying to count how many snack credits I had left. The lady working volunteered the information that I could use my QS credits to pay for all of the snack items I was ordering. I asked at least 6 dining staff at the parks and my resort after that, whether or not QS meals could be used to pay for 3 snacks, and all of them said yes it could, so even if it is not in the brochure, it seems to be something they all had knowledge about and were willing to do.

 

[sharonabe]

OP is talking about possibly trying to make the dining plan stretch ("Anything I am missing that would sway me one way or the other?") so that it might work for her family and I gave an example of how MY family was able to turn 2 QS credits into a meal for the 4 of us by getting 6 snack items - possibly useful information for someone who is asking that question. I didn't know it was a possibility until I went to order and was trying to count how many snack credits I had left. The lady working volunteered the information that I could use my QS credits to pay for all of the snack items I was ordering. I asked at least 6 dining staff at the parks and my resort after that, whether or not QS meals could be used to pay for 3 snacks, and all of them said yes it could, so even if it is not in the brochure, it seems to be something they all had knowledge about and were willing to do.

I wasn't disputing your advice to the OP, and yes, the exchange of 1QS for 3 snacks is pretty much done throughout the parks. I was referring to your answer to the PP about getting 3 snacks at BoG. THAT poster wasn't wanting 3 snacks; they were wanting to exchange their drink entitlement.

As to the 3 snacks for 1 QS, that is a perk that is not guaranteed because it is not in the brochure. It is done, and it is done liberally, but it is not something you can count on or insist on everywhere you go.

 

[ZoZo]

From what I've read here, I think most folks don't end up saving money when paying for their own dining plan (versus getting "free" dining). You pretty much have to buy the most expensive thing on the menu to break even. OP, it sounds pretty complicated to me to have to figure out how to "maximize" the plan with your family, keeping track of credits, figuring out quich items qualify for a snack/which snack items are the "highest value" for your credit, making sure everyone gets enough to eat, and not feeling you're "wasting" your credits. Who wants that kind of stress on vacation?

Also, lots of folks seem to like the dining plans more as a psychological "peace of mind" type thing, knowing they can order pretty much whatever they want and not worry about the price of their meals. Or they "like knowing that their meals are paid ahead of time" (which makes no sense to me - how hard is it to charge your meals to your room or pay some other way, especially since Magic Bands make it easy?). But from the posts I've read here on the DIS, those are two of the big reasons folks like the dining plans.

Given that most folks are lucky to break even on the dining plan, I say don't do it, and eat the way you want. It's a lot less complicated.

 

[chinarider]

I think it also depends if you do a lot of buffets and character meals