If you enjoy the QSDDP, have you regretted going WITHOUT?

[MommyBryn]

We generally love the DDP- we like the "freedom" of not having to pull out cash and pay for meals and that part just makes it a little more "vacation" for us. Do we always get the full value? No, probably not. Last time we had 6 QS meals left after our 11 days (we were a group of 12), though we always try to buy meals for others in those situations. Most of the time though we use them up, and enjoy what we get with them. Not exactly a cost-savvy reason, just a "this is vacation, this is what we want to do" kind of thing.

For anyone else who is like us, have you ever gone withOUT the DDP (QS) and regretted it? I have been pricing out food and think we could totally do it and save a lot (anywhere from $100-300/2 adults), but I just wonder if we'd be thinking "I wish we just did the dining plan!"

Anyone ever regret it?

 

[sharonabe]

(like deserts as one small example, which we all love, but can do without),

Don't know if it makes any difference in your calculations, but QS meals no longer come with dessert. They are entree and drink only. But you do get two snacks per person, per night.

 

[MommyBryn]

Don't know if it makes any difference in your calculations, but QS meals no longer come with dessert. They are entree and drink only. But you do get two snacks per person, per night.

Okay, cool, thanks! The last time we went was in 2015 so I didn't know that, but I suppose cost-wise it's probably similarly priced based on the costs I've been looking at.

 

[GrumpyDad1974]

We used to do get the DDP when it was free. When free dinning isn't available we pay out of pocket. It's not inconvenient to pay with the Magic Band or with credit cards. I would never pay for QSDDP out of my pocket it's just not a good value for us. We don't always drink soda and don't really have desert. We would rather eat whatever for our meal, get a Mickey Bar later or skip meals and eat a pretzel on the go. The first year we paid out of pocket I keep the receipts and and did the math and we ate whatever and saved about $100 per person. I don't think you will regret not getting the plan... unless it's free.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

And OOP you have the flexibility of eating at other places that aren't QS but similarly priced - like Beaches n Cream or the Plaza or appetizers at a lounge.

 

[Darcy03231]

We didn't do the dining plan on the last trip and didn't regret it. For us it was just way too much food. What I did do, however, was to buy a $50 Disney gift card every month before our trip. We then used those for food/souvenirs, so it felt like everything was prepaid.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I never pay out of pocket for the dining plan either....I only get it when its free. The past few years i've paid out of pocket for my meals and i have to say, its great. I didnt miss the DP that much at all. And I didnt spend as much money as i thought i would. I normally drink water with my meals, and i dont always have dessert. So its not always expensive. If none of the desserts at the restaurant appeal to me, i'll just grab dessert someplace else such as ice cream or pastry in france in epcot, or the plaza ice cream parlor at MK...all depends which park im at.

If you have light eaters in your group, you can always share meals. That will save you even more money. For example, 50's serves huge portions. Its more than enough for sharing.

 

[loves to dive]

You can still pay with your MB, it will just charge back to your room and you can go down and pay it every night or whenever. Or, you can buy gift cards, which is sort of the same idea of the dining plan not worrying about cost sort of thing and pay with them. We haven't used the dining plan in years, we used to use it when it actually included three meals a day (I'm aging myself there) and it was actually less than paying out of pocket but the last 15 years or so it just didn't make sense for us. We like the freedom to eat whatever, wherever and whenever we want. We like not having to worry about does this place take the dining plan, is it one credit or two, what is included, can we swap out this for that, what do we do with the leftover credits (which meant we didn't really need the dining plan).

 

[Dizjunkieee]

We used to do get the DDP when it was free. When free dinning isn't available we pay out of pocket. It's not inconvenient to pay with the Magic Band or with credit cards. I would never pay for QSDDP out of my pocket it's just not a good value for us. We don't always drink soda and don't really have desert. We would rather eat whatever for our meal, get a Mickey Bar later or skip meals and eat a pretzel on the go. The first year we paid out of pocket I keep the receipts and and did the math and we ate whatever and saved about $100 per person. I don't think you will regret not getting the plan... unless it's free.

I agree with this as well. The only time we used a DDP was in the fall of '14 when we got it for "free". I used the quotations intentionally as nothing is "free" However, if you are staying at a Moderate resort, it is the best discount overall if you can get in on that promo. We go very regularly these days (3-4 times/year) and have never regretted not having the DDP. For me personally, it was more of a hassle - since in one form or another, you did pay for those credits so it is work trying to make sure we were eating at the right places and getting the more expensive items on the menu. We far prefer eating whatever we want and paying for it. Of course, we also have the added benefit of discounts with our Annual Passes, but I truly believe that even if that wasn't a factor, we would still prefer to NOT have the DDP.

 

[Disneylover99]

We love free dining when we can get it, but we will not buy the dining plan. We miss it when we don't have it, but my kids are Disney adults. The QS plan would cost my family of four almost $200 per day and half of us are happy to eat kids meals. So, no regrets for us not buying it.

 

[aretha30]

We always got it when it was a great value, years ago. We stopped getting it in 2014 I believe and for us it was the best decision. We saved hundreds and didn't watch what we ate at all. We still did the prepaid thing by getting Disney gift cards at Target (and saving 5% with our red card). We are only doing the DDP this trip because we got a QS meal free per day and will still save money (we used the dining plan calculator). This is giving us the opportunity to try a bunch of new TS meals that we've wanted to try for a while.

 

[thepicklebee]

I have used the QS plan in the past (as well as the original dining plan with apps) but truly don't see the value or benefit for us. In fact, I prefer the flexibility of being able to eat what/where we want to far outweigh the prepaid factor. My DH and I are going on a solo trip in May and I'm looking forward to just being able to pop in to places if we want a drink and a snack - and this isn't feasible on a dining plan because I'm always stuffed from dining plans.

 

[Realfoodfans]

Don't know if it makes any difference in your calculations, but QS meals no longer come with dessert. They are entree and drink only. But you do get two snacks per person, per night.

Latest information on the Disney site is now 1 snack?

 

[Leelo]

No, we do not miss the dining plan. We link our debit card to our magic band to pay. It's super easy, we don't have to worry about keeping up with DDP credits, we buy what we want, and we end up spending less than DDP costs in the end.

 

[sharonabe]

Latest information on the Disney site is now 1 snack?

No, it's definitely two snacks on all dining plans. The dessert is gone from the QS meal.

 

[happymommy]

I've enjoyed getting free dining, but wouldn't ever get any benefit by paying for it.

It's too much food, but we did convert the leftover QS credits to 3 snacks each, and took home 14 snacks (trail mix, candy bags, etc) with us.

Yes, it is two snacks per night now on the QSDP, and no dessert with meals.

I don't see why paying extra to buy the plan is any easier than just swiping your magic band to pay for every meal, charging it to your room. That way you may order as you choose, and have more freedom.

 

[Lisa F]

the only way I'd buy the QSDDP is if I had a kid 9 or under who was a big eater and could use it for adult meals at a discount. Otherwise it is really hard to break even on this plan, you are much better off just paying OOP.

 

[MudQueen22]

We are purposely going without the DDP this trip.
It's both cost savings and for flexibility.
Except for departure day, we eat breakfast either in our room or while waiting for buses. (we bring fruit and granola from home.)
Also, we will be eating a crock pot meal with family members staying at the campground one night.
We do have five TS meals (all family dining or buffet) for our dive nights there, but won't necessarily use all the QS credits.
I'm going to see how we like it.
Also, we banked up some points on our Disney Visa. Estimating that will pay between 1/4 to 1/3 of our food costs. Well see.

 

[mrzrich]

I understand the "prepaid" feeling thing, but there is another way to do that. Buy Disney gift cards. Buy a few through out the year. I try to buy one a month. You can consolidate them on the disney gift card site so you don't have a giant stack of cards to keep track of. There are ways of saving money on gift cards like buying them at Target for 5% off, or buying them at Club stores like Sam's and Costco.

 

[Realfoodfans]

I understand the "prepaid" feeling thing, but there is another way to do that. Buy Disney gift cards. Buy a few through out the year. I try to buy one a month. You can consolidate them on the disney gift card site so you don't have a giant stack of cards to keep track of. There are ways of saving money on gift cards like buying them at Target for 5% off, or buying them at Club stores like Sam's and Costco.

We can't buy those in the UK and free QSD is a great bonus for us then we just factored in a few TS extra meals for treats - first time trying it so I'll do some research before we go!