If you have done a quick service-only (or mostly) trip--please tell me about it!

[mamamelody2]

DH and I are going to WDW in November. Just the 2 of us. So far, we are planning on pretty much all counter service meals. We are staying at a value and hoping to get free QSDP at least for some of our stay. Cost is a big part of it, and also freedom. No need for 2 hour long meals or being in a certain place at a certain time due to ADRs. Last trip was September 2016 with 13 people and free DDP. TS meals took a long time, and tips added a lot of expense. Enjoyed it, but feel like we don't need to do it this time.

BUT, I have done a ton of research here and it seems like EVERYBODY is all about the TS meals. It's making me doubt myself a bit, I'll admit. SO, please tell me about the trip you took where you ate all or mostly quick service and how it worked out for you!

 

[Disneylover99]

Don't doubt yourself. We go for two weeks at a time and do nothing but counter service on some of our trips. It's AMAZING!!!! We are not tied down to anything. There are so many great choices, we never get bored or tired of the food.

 

[willmccready]

We only did a few character meals last year with everything else quick service and didn't feel like we missed out. There are very good quick service options available, and time and money savings is substantial.

 

[TwoMisfits]

DH and I are going to WDW in November. Just the 2 of us. So far, we are planning on pretty much all counter service meals. We are staying at a value and hoping to get free QSDP at least for some of our stay. Cost is a big part of it, and also freedom. No need for 2 hour long meals or being in a certain place at a certain time due to ADRs. Last trip was September 2016 with 13 people and free DDP. TS meals took a long time, and tips added a lot of expense. Enjoyed it, but feel like we don't need to do it this time.

BUT, I have done a ton of research here and it seems like EVERYBODY is all about the TS meals. It's making me doubt myself a bit, I'll admit. SO, please tell me about the trip you took where you ate all or mostly quick service and how it worked out for you!

You are asking this question on the restaurant board...if you hit the budget or offsite boards, you'd probably get a totally different perspective...

But, CS will be fine. If you feel the urge for a TS or 2, b/c you are getting sick of CS, you will be amazed how easy they are to book the night before, when you pass the 24 hour cancel window. Also, since cost matters to you, if you feel the urge to grab an Uber and leave the bubble for a sit down place or a cheap happy hour (of which there are many), it's so simple and nice to break away from Disney pricing every once in a while...

 

[Westcoastwild]

So not the same thing, but I have done that at DL. And I would have done it at WDW if I hadn't been going in July (it was the rest and A/C that I needed).

So you can totally do it, and I don't think you're crazy. The only thing that I will say is that I think it's harder to eat healthy with QS. Other than BOG (tuna salad) healthy QS usually aren't great or plentiful. As a teen, I could have survived on burgers and fries; as an adult, I sometimes eat table service because it's the only way to get more options. If I eat too much bread, cheese, fried stuff, or meat, I crash hard these days, and it impacts my ability to enjoy the trip. But I wasn't like that even a decade ago, so everyone had different needs.

 

[Elleshoodat]

We typically only have one or two table-service meals a week, so yes, our trips are mostly quick-service. We aren't big foodies, and we find there's a lot of variety in the quick-service options (at three out of the four parks, anyway). Some of our favorites are Flame Tree Barbecue at Animal Kingdom, Tangierine Café at Epcot, and Pecos Bill's and Columbia Harbour House at Magic Kingdom.

Quick-service also works better for our touring style -- like you said, not having to be at a certain place at a certain time!

 

[georgina]

I do mostly QS places too - don't forget that The Plaza at MK is now walk-up only after noon, no ADR needed. We have gotten in to the restaurant at Morocco with no ADR also.

 

[pbb&j]

We do mostly quick service, primarily because we don't like to be tied to a schedule, not really to save money. We also tend to eat less food at once, but possibly eat more often. We just returned from an 8 night trip, and only did 3 table service meals. We absolutely loved the food booths at Flower and Garden, so if your trip is during Food and Wine, that would be a great way to enjoy lots of variety. We also were feeling like at some table service restaurants, there were so many tables crammed in, that it just wasn't relaxing. I know not everyone likes finding a CS table, but I actually do. Especially in World Showcase, there are some nice, quiet seating areas tucked away, like by the French bakery and in the back of Japan.

I find that if you do some research and think about what you order, there are many healthy choices. During our trip, I never had a burger, fries, or chicken strips... not that there is anything wrong with those, but those are not your only options. At Backlot Express in Hollywood studios, I thought the Galactic Chicken salad was delicious. Also, the fajita platter at Peco's Bill in MK was pretty good. We always like Flame Tree in AK, but there are a bunch of good choices there. Sunshine Seasons in Epcot has lots of variety, although sometimes it feels a little crazy in there to me.

We do like to add in eating in lounges, too, as those are good for a last minute decision without a reservation. Enjoy your freedom!

 

[mamamelody2]

Thanks for making me feel better! I really am looking forward to the freedom. Last year I was totally in charge of that group of 13 and I felt like I was always worrying about getting to our ADRs on time! I was the only one who knew where/when the ADRs were. Nobody else cared! At all!

I think we will get no ADRs and if we feel like it, see what availability is like the day before.

 

[samsteele]

There are some very good QS choices. I love Tangierine Cafe, Sunshine Seasons (both Epcot) plus Flametree BBQ (AK) and Columbia Harbor House & Pecos Bill (MK). The options at HS aren't that great so I wait for an early dinner at DIS Springs. Wolfgang Puck Express is excellent. Do check out the list & reviews at Tom Bricker's Disney Tourist Blog. He has some great suggestions.

 

[Farro]

We did it.

Found out we greatly missed a sit down dinner each night with a glass of wine. We decided, for ourselves, we need that bit of relaxation everyday.

But we did find we had a good variety of options to choose from!

 

[FrancoFun]

There is a family who did it and put their dining report up. You can read it here.

For our upcoming trip, we have some days with TS and some days where we are only doing QS. We are doing QS at both HS (because I don't know how long we will spend there on our park day) and MK (because the QS offerings appealed to us and we want to be able to share smaller meals (corn dog nuggets!) and snacks. If you want to try it, I say go for it!

 

[olliesmom]

We have tried!! Our last trip we decided from the beginning we were going to do just CS to keep costs down. And then...

Me (to DH): "If you could pick just one TS for our trip, what would it be?"
DH: "Well, we can't go all the way to WDW without a stop at Via Napoli" (+ Via Napoli ADR)
Me: "You're right, and we're going all the way there, we might as well do 'Ohana too" (+ Ohana ADR)
Me: "Also, there really aren't any good CS in DHS, and Sci-Fi will only be a few dollars more..." (+ Sci-Fi ADR)
DH: "Okay, and let's do just one relaxing dinner where I can get a good steak" (+ Yachtsman ADR)
Me: "And just ONE character breakfast" (+ Cape May ADR)

And so on....

 

[barbliny]

We usually do a couple of table service meals. Otherwise, we don't make a lot of ADRs - I don't like to be tied down. I may plan a lot, but we are still primarily 'freestyle' in the parks outside of a general outline and FP+. We only plan ADRs with a specific purpose - for instance Raglan Road for the entertainment, PPO BOG, lunch BOG (because I really like the turkey sandwich and it's usually our last stop before leaving the park on an EMH morning), Boma dinner or breakfast, Rose & Crown to possibly get a table with an Illuminations view, Tusker House for the ROL package. We book 'with a purpose'. Otherwise, one of our best 'meals' on our trip a few months ago was lounging on the outdoor couches at Nomad lounge and having drinks and appetizers at 11:30 am - so, some of the same food as Tiffins, relaxing atmosphere, no ADR required, lower bill!!

There is usually at least one good CS choice in each park - except HS (imho), we don't really like any of the food there - usually just grab some french fries and a beer over by TOT area if we get hungry.

I personally don't like big meals at Disney - I'd rather have small bites multiple times per day, than one big meal. Even at counter service we'll often share.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We used to do mostly TS meals, but as our kids have grown, along wth the costs to feed them, we prefer CS meals. Last June, we did 8 days with 2 TS meals total--3 if you count Beaches & Cream, but we only had the kitchen sink, so I'm not counting that. Our kids complained at the ADRs we did have because they wanted to keep playing (they are 16 and 13). We don't do many burgers (I don't do any) and/or hot dogs, although we did have lunch at Casey's one day. We find that there are plenty of different things to choose from, if you look. Sometimes, DH & I will share a bigger meal, sometimes we don't. The two of us shared the ribs/chicken/pulled pork platter at Flame Tree (I think we added a side of fries, maybe), we shared the fajita platter at Pecos Bills, and the chicken and ribs (although it is now chicken and pulled pork) at Cosmic Rays.

I don't understand the people who say they get tired of burgers--then get something else, there is plenty! HS is a little harder, but I really liked the caprese sandwich at Backlot Express, and we like Fairfax Fare too. We do tend to go to the same places every trip, though.

 

[pbb&j]

One more we really liked was Geyser Point at Wilderness Lodge. Such a nice setting, down by the water. Contempo Café at the Contemporary, and Captain Cooks at the Polynesian had some interesting choices, too. The hardest thing to find was quick service breakfast. We did like the bakery in France for breakfast, which opened earlier than the rest of World Showcase at 9.

 

[newestkg06]

We had the free QSDP in 2015 and found so many great choices. Like others have said, the flexibility is really great. If you are staying at POP, you have a great food court there with AoA just across the bridge. You absolutely can find so many things that aren't typical theme park food, it just takes a little more effort. There are also so many great snacks around the park. I would look at it as lots of freedom and lots of snacks!

 

[Nohal]

We usually go in September for an 8 day trip and have free dining. However, we went this year in December for 5 days also. On our December trip we did QS only and found it very freeing. No need to make ADR's 180 days out, no need to keep checking our watch to to get to an ADR on time, eating when we weren't really hungry but not able to cancel an ADR. There are so many great QS restaurants if we didn't have free dining I would be just as happy with QS.

 

[mamamelody2]

There is a family who did it and put their dining report up. You can read it here.

For our upcoming trip, we have some days with TS and some days where we are only doing QS. We are doing QS at both HS (because I don't know how long we will spend there on our park day) and MK (because the QS offerings appealed to us and we want to be able to share smaller meals (corn dog nuggets!) and snacks. If you want to try it, I say go for it!

Thanks for the link to that TR. Very helpful!

 

[mamamelody2]

We do like to add in eating in lounges, too, as those are good for a last minute decision without a reservation. Enjoy your freedom!

I am looking forward to visiting a couple lounges this time, as we have always had the kids along and haven't been able to. Especially determined to get to Nomad Lounge.