Free Quick Service

[dredick]

Any tips on how to best use the Free Quick Service dinning plan? We will be at MK, DHS, & DTD. In your opinion, where would you spend your credits? Is there anything at DTD that takes DDP? And would you still splurge for a sit down dinner? Thinking maybe O'Hana our 1st night ( man I love that place) THX!

 

[dancin Disney style]

I just go home from a 12 day stay and we decided to try the QSDP for a change. We have always had the DDP. So I decided that to get the most out of the plan and to also avoid eating burgers and fries (unless someone wanted that) I would make a list of all the places that offer other types of food.

The best place to go is WPE. You get as good a meal (or better) than any TS place. You order the food but it is served to you and they will also refill drinks if needed. We were a party of 3 and our bill was $80.

Some other great choices are:
Capt. Cooks
Contempo Cafe
CHH
Cosmic Rays
Yak & Yeti
tons of choices in Epcot

Only once during our trip did we eat burgers and it was what we actually wanted

We had intended to do 2 or 3 TS dinners just to break it up a bit but in the end we cancelled all of our ADR's. We found that the QSDP was a lot of food....probably too much for us. We had 30+ snack credits left over. The one thing that we found to be the best use of the plan, for us, was to have fruit in place of the desserts. We would either get 2 fruit cups and 1 dessert or 2 desserts and 1 fruit cup....which we would share between us. We love desserts but don't eat them on a regular basis so doing it this way allowed us to have a little dessert but still stick to a healthier way of eating.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

I agree with the pp - Wolfgang Puck Express is the BEST CS value in the World. We had better food and service there than many of the TS places.
Other favorites for QS:
Sunshine Season
Tangerine Cafe
Columbia Harbour House
Flame Tree



We are planning on doing the QS plan our next trip - We had 10 TS meals our last trip and we were underwhelmed. Our 1 TS next trip will be Via Napoli. We had an outstanding meal there in May.

 

[dredick]

great info! didnt even know WPE was on the QSDP! Awesome, I really wanted to try it. Wonder if using our snack credit for a muffin or something like that in the AM for breakfast would work w/saving the desserts for snacks? I remember most desserts are good for travel.

 

[WDWAurora]

Wolfgang Puck Express is fabulous. We ended up eating there twice last month (on the regular dining plan). I do leave a tip there, though because the food is brought out to you and they get you refills, etc. We liked everything we ordered, particularly the bacon wrapped meatloaf, rotisserie chicken, chicken pennette alfredo, and pizza. My dad and I are still talking about how great the pizza was! DH didn't try it, but liked his food (especially the meatloaf).

I'm a fan of Sunshine Seasons, too, but WPE is by far my favorite, and a really great value. Also, we were really happy at the POP foodcourt (not if you aren't staying there, of course).

We were able to get danishes, muffins, etc. at POP for breakfast. Also, they had strawberries that came with chocolate and whipped cream, and rice crispie treats. We made do. I also brought some cereal bars from home. We aren't big breakfast eaters.

 

[Dizneydaz]

Ditto what PP have said about WPE. Both locations are good, very good!

We used QSDP last year for the first time (after 6 years of reg. DDP) and didn't do one TS. It was a nice break. No ADRs to make or keep.

We are doing it again this year, in less than 4 weeks.!

We always have plenty of food and my DM and I, or my DD12 and I, will frequently share a CS meal. It's the same thing we do at home, and that's without a dessert.

Here are some of our favorite CS
DTD-WPE, EoS, and Cooke's
MK-Cosmic Rays
AK-Pizzafari and Flametree (now has a chicken and ribs combo!)
DHS-Starring Rolls
EPCOT-Sunshine Seasons, Kringla, Cantina
Resorts-POP, GF, Poly, POFQ

check out the blog at easywdw.com. I recently found it and he has a lot of current info on menu changes. He has recent pictures of most of the CS menus at AK, MK, and DHS. And some at EPCOT. There have been many changes recently with some items leaving and new items coming in. Also beverages have increased. There have been changes to some choices to use your SC one. Check it out, it's very helpful.

 

[Gracedis1]

We are doing the quick service dining plan this time. We are looking forward to it, because my 5 year old just hates sitting in a restaurant for a long time. We like the flexibility of eating whenever we want too. I look forward to getting some tips here. Thanks to the poster who said you can get fruit instead of a dessert - we are huge fruit eaters, and never eat more than 1 dessert a day. We might splurge for the 50's Prime Time at DHS because my mom is coming with us and she's never been. My kids have done character meals before, so we'll skip those this time around.

 

[tina.tina]

I totally agree with WPE and Sunshine Seasons. Before we went to WDW, I thought why would anyone go to Sunshine Seasons when you can eat in the WS countries? The food at Sunshine Seasons was really good and it was a nice air conditioned place to rest and relax, too. We really liked Pop's food court, too.

I wanted to add that the Main Street Bakery is a great place to use a snack credit and their portions are more than large enough for 2 to share.

 

[ciera321]

The best place to go is WPE. You get as good a meal (or better) than any TS place. You order the food but it is served to you and they will also refill drinks if needed.

I agree, you get the most bang for your QS buck at WPE. Plus, the food is wonderful and they serve huge portions! We eat there at least twice every trip.

 

[ncc1701]

Another vote for WPE in DTD Marketplace.We have eaten there several times on each trip even when paying OOP. We usually get a brownie or cookie for dessert and take it too eat later (Why eat a cookie when Ghiradelli's ice cream is only steps away)

 

[loislane]

We just got back a few weeks ago and some of our favorite QS places were Wolfgang Puck Express in DTD (ate there twice), Columbia Harbour House in MK, and Sunshine Seasons in EPCOT. At all 3 places, there was nice variety and you got a LOT of food!

 

[JerseyJanice]

We're doing QSDP on our upcoming trip, and we'll be probably do both Ohana and Sci Fi Dine Inn and pay OOP for those.

The counter service places we are planning to hit include:

Studios: Pizza Planet--They have Mickey head rice krispie treats that travel well and a nice side salad with their combo.

Magic Kingdom: Columbia Harbor House--I am crazy for their tuna sandwich and apple crisp dessert. DH and DS love the fried shrimp. DNephew lives on chicken nuggets at WDW. DS and DN will go to Cosmic Ray's while we're at Ohana.

Epcot: Love Sunshine Seasons and Tangerine Cafe. Planning to use many of our snack credits here at the Food & Wine Festival.

Not going to Animal Kingdom, but if we were, we'd probably go to Pizzafari for their hot Italian hero.

great info! didnt even know WPE was on the QSDP! Awesome, I really wanted to try it. Wonder if using our snack credit for a muffin or something like that in the AM for breakfast would work w/saving the desserts for snacks? I remember most desserts are good for travel.

You didn't say what resort you'll be at, but I liked most of the CS food we've gotten in WDW resorts. You get a refillable mug per person on the QSDP, so a mug of coffee plus a bagel for a snack credit, and you'll be good to go.

Desserts from the resort food court are easily saved in your room refrigerator or cooler for a bite in the morning. Big cookies, yogurt, or fruit cups from your CS lunch or dinner dessert keep well.

 

[dredick]

Our first day ( we will get to WDW around 1pm) we will do WPE for lunch. We should all be starving after a 7 hour drive!! I really am looking forward to that meatloaf...it looks yumm-o! I did go ahead and book O'hana for dinner at 8pm. It's just our fav!! So now I just need to pick for DHS & MK. Cosmic Rays looks like a great deal and it is good. But DHS really looks bland for QS. Anyone have a fav??
Wish we were going to Epcot Sunshine Seasons is the best!
We r staying at ALL STAR SPORTS.

 

[dgaston]

In addition to WPE, and Sunshine Seasons, I enjoy Morocco's Tangerine Cafe and the food court Pepper Market at CSR. And don't forget paying out of pocket at Earl of Sandwich. I wouldn't use a QS credit there, the prices are actually reasonable!

 

[baileybelle]

We always save a lot of our snack credits for F&W Festival. We use them all up there our last day. We also have one OOP for lunch at LTT. Some of our faves are:

MK: Cosmic Rays, CHH,and Pinochios
Epcot: Sunshine Seasons, Mexico, France's bakery, England, and the best of all Norway. You get a sandwich; soup salad or fruit cup; drink and a dessert.
AK : Flame Tree
DHS: Pizza Planet and Backlot Express
Pop's foodcourt
DTD: WPE, Earl of Sandwich

 

[dancin Disney style]

Our first day ( we will get to WDW around 1pm) we will do WPE for lunch. We should all be starving after a 7 hour drive!! I really am looking forward to that meatloaf...it looks yumm-o! I did go ahead and book O'hana for dinner at 8pm. It's just our fav!! So now I just need to pick for DHS & MK. Cosmic Rays looks like a great deal and it is good. But DHS really looks bland for QS. Anyone have a fav??
Wish we were going to Epcot Sunshine Seasons is the best!
We r staying at ALL STAR SPORTS.

For DHS go to Starring Rolls...the sandwiches are fantastic and fresh. Plus, the desserts are even better. We plan that one to be a dessert splurge meal. For a meal credit you get a sandwich, piece of fruit(banana or apple) or bag of chips and any dessert in the case. This could also easily be a meal to split.

In addition to WPE, and Sunshine Seasons, I enjoy Morocco's Tangerine Cafe and the food court Pepper Market at CSR. And don't forget paying out of pocket at Earl of Sandwich. I wouldn't use a QS credit there, the prices are actually reasonable!

EoS is super cheap but I see way to many people on here paying OOP for a few meals or snacks just because they are lower priced and then end up with extra credits that they can't use. So my advise is to use all your credits before you start paying OOP for things.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We are doing the quick service dining plan this time. We are looking forward to it, because my 5 year old just hates sitting in a restaurant for a long time. We like the flexibility of eating whenever we want too. I look forward to getting some tips here. Thanks to the poster who said you can get fruit instead of a dessert - we are huge fruit eaters, and never eat more than 1 dessert a day. We might splurge for the 50's Prime Time at DHS because my mom is coming with us and she's never been. My kids have done character meals before, so we'll skip those this time around.

You can get almost anything that is considered a snack credit. There is a big variety at the resort food courts. Last year we discovered the apples with caramel dip that ended up being a great option for us.....healthy but with a tiny touch of dessert all in one.

In the food courts you really need to take a few minutes and look around at everything they have. Even after a few trips we notice things that we missed previously...yet we know they were there. We don't make it about getting the highest $$$ items...we take things that are healthy or things that we can save for later. Sometimes a yogurt is more than enough dessert for me.

 

[dredick]

For DHS go to Starring Rolls...the sandwiches are fantastic and fresh. Plus, the desserts are even better. We plan that one to be a dessert splurge meal. For a meal credit you get a sandwich, piece of fruit(banana or apple) or bag of chips and any dessert in the case. This could also easily be a meal to split.



EoS is super cheap but I see way to many people on here paying OOP for a few meals or snacks just because they are lower priced and then end up with extra credits that they can't use. So my advise is to use all your credits before you start paying OOP for things.

THX! I didn't know starring rolls served sandwichs. Just the thought of picking one of there cupcakes

 

[trickiwoo]

Our favorite QS restaurants are at DTD... Earl of Sandwich and Wolfgang Puck Express!!!

 

[dredick]

looks like DHS will be the hardest park for QS. Why does everyone on the boards hate ABC comm? That is the one place I haven't tried