I'm Torn - Quick Service DP vs. DP

[tmccullough]

We did the dining plan in May 07 and hadn't before that due to the same reasons you stated. I was pleasantly surprised that even my DH never complained about having to be at a restaurant at a specific time. We really didn't feel inconvenienced at all. We're not park hoppers so when we go to a park, it's for the day and with the way the transportation runs in Disney, time is money so we get more time in the parks that way. So, ahead of time, we just planned which parks for which days based on crowd levels, and then I made reservations accordingly. BTW, there are 5 of us... me, DH, DD14, DD11AND DD7. They all loved the dining plan and now my husband who is not usually overgenerous swears by it. He refuses to go to Disney unless we do the plan! I never thought I'd ever hear him say that because he was against my doing it to start with but now... he's HOOKED!

 

[MO Nurse]

How many nights are you staying? Be sure to factor in taxes when comparing OOP vs the DP. It will cost you $10 per night to trade in one a CS meal and snack for a TS meal each night. Even if you select an inexpensive TS like Boma bfast ($18 w/taxes) for that $18 you could have essentially eaten there twice had you selected the TS DP.

We are staying 11 nights. The longer I think about it the more I lean towards changing to the basic dining plan.

 

[septbaby]

Basic DP will cost $1,121.56 for your family.
QS Plan will cost $857.56 or $264 less.

You will spend more than $264 to eat 4TS meas at WDW for a family of 2A and 2C. Go with the Basic plan if you plan to eat TS meals too. You're there long enough to really mix things up too: 2CS in a day, 2TS in a day, some 2TS meals, etc as well as having 44 snack credits to use.

 

[marybeth200]

Actually, the majority of CS (and TS for that matter) in Epcot and DTD are not Disney owned and have not signed the contract for 2009 yet. It happens every year that the list of participating restaurants is very, very limited (to WDW owned places mostly) until about Nov. Then the non-WDW owned places sign the contract and will take the DDP.

I assume it will be like the past 4 years and the same restaurants will participate like always.

If you book the dining plan, assuming these will be added later, then they don't, can you take the dining plan off of your package? I too am trying to figure out if I want a dining plan...

 

[ilovemickeymost]

I'm torn on if I should go with the quick service meal plan or the regular dining plan. I'll be traveling with my DH, DD9 & DS7. I like the idea of eating on the fly but I also like to mellow out and have a sit down dinner. My only concern with that is that I will need to make reservations and we'll be tied down to being at certain restaurants and places on certain nights. Although, I do want to do 1 character meal. I might be better off getting the quick service meal plan and paying for the character meal outright. Any feedback would be helpful!

Also how are the counter service meals? Do they have salads and decent sandwiches or am I stuck with chicken fingers, hamburgers, hot dogs & french fries?

1st off Welcome back to WDW. I'm sending you tons of Pixie Dust. We are having the same debate. I use the "Passporter" guidebook & it lists detailed descriptions of all the CS & TS resturaunts & the types of food they offer. That might help you decide. Also, I noticed you've been on many cruises. If you like the formal nights & being waited on, I'd go w/ the TS plan. If you are a go, go family & would rather see all the sites, then go w/ the CS & pay out of pocket for the CM. If you want to eat in the Castle, i'd suggest breakfast. The other food isn't my favorite, but eating in the castle is amazing. Another really neat TS place, Sci-Fi drive inn. And if you want to "eat" in a resturaunt just for the atmosphere, go for dessert or aps only. Best of Luck to you.

 

[ilovemickeymost]

How many nights are you staying? Be sure to factor in taxes when comparing OOP vs the DP. It will cost you $10 per night to trade in one a CS meal and snack for a TS meal each night. Even if you select an inexpensive TS like Boma bfast ($18 w/taxes) for that $18 you could have essentially eaten there twice had you selected the TS DP.

Does anyone know? Will they let you do it the other way? If you have TS credits left, will they let you use them at CS places? I hope they do. They will be making more money out of it. We always end up w/ 1 TS credit pp & by that time we're sick of sitting down to eat. But, to do QS DP & paying out of pocket, we'ld spend a lot more money.

 

[Disney_Angel]

It would all be personal preference. How does your family like to travel?
Can you be happy with counter service meals? How many table service meals or character meals would you like to do? How well can the kiddos sit for meals? What would give you the least amount of stress.

If you do the 1TS and 1CS plan you could have a great character meal for breakfast or dinner each day and a counter service whenever the mood strikes plus a snack. You still have a nice set meal but this would still allow for the family to be a little spontaneous.

 

[ilovemickeymost]

We are staying 11 nights. The longer I think about it the more I lean towards changing to the basic dining plan.

If you stay w/ the CS DP. Right now you'll have 22 CS, 22 snacks per person, & all the soda you want. And then you'll have the TS you want out of pocket. If you go w/ the basic DP you'll have 11TS, 11CS, & 11 snacks per person. You can always book a few places that take 2 TS credits if you are worried you won't use them all. The luau counts as 2 & it is so worth it.

 

[Disney_Angel]

If you stay w/ the CS DP. Right now you'll have 22 CS, 22 snacks per person, & all the soda you want. And then you'll have the TS you want out of pocket. If you go w/ the basic DP you'll have 11TS, 11CS, & 11 snacks per person. You can always book a few places that take 2 TS credits if you are worried you won't use them all. The luau counts as 2 & it is so worth it.

Good point and the Luau and HDDR is GREAT ways to have a good time.

 

[loislane]

Right now, we're booked with the basic dining plan but are considering dropping down to the quick-service plan. Neither of us is much for dining out, so we are really thinking QS meals will be sufficient for us.

We are much more interested in riding rides and seeing the sights than we are with having dining experiences. My hubby-to-be really doesn't want to be tied down with ADRs at all. And neither of us really likes the thought of big dinners each night - and we have no interest in TS breakfasts or lunches at all. The idea of two smaller meals plus two snacks appeals to us more.

And since it's just the two of us and no kids, we'll be skipping character meals all together.

We'll be there Sunday through Saturday and are thinking that we would take the money we save by dropping down to the QS plan and use that to pay OOP for one nice TS meal.

But this is all still in the discussion phase, since no one has actually used the QS plan yet and has any feedback on it.

I guess in the end it really comes down to personal preference. We want the freedom to wander the parks at will and grab something to eat when we get hungry. Others like to sit down and relax with a nice dinner each night. Neither one is better than the other, I think. It's just what you prefer.

 

[Dandy8]

1st off Welcome back to WDW. I'm sending you tons of Pixie Dust. We are having the same debate. I use the "Passporter" guidebook & it lists detailed descriptions of all the CS & TS resturaunts & the types of food they offer. That might help you decide. Also, I noticed you've been on many cruises. If you like the formal nights & being waited on, I'd go w/ the TS plan. If you are a go, go family & would rather see all the sites, then go w/ the CS & pay out of pocket for the CM. If you want to eat in the Castle, i'd suggest breakfast. The other food isn't my favorite, but eating in the castle is amazing. Another really neat TS place, Sci-Fi drive inn. And if you want to "eat" in a resturaunt just for the atmosphere, go for dessert or aps only. Best of Luck to you.

Thanks for the pixie dust. I'm really excited to go back to WDW and I'm even more excited to have my DD & DS experience it and create memories for them like I had when I was little. We visited MK for 2 days in 2006 but my DS had a mean stomach virus so I spent most of the time in the room with him and my DH and I switched of taking my DD to the park so I'm looking forward to being there as a family. I just got the Passporter and I haven't gone through it in great detail yet. I had purchased the one for the Disney Cruise Line before we went a few years back and it was a great source of information so I'm looking forward to it.

We do cruise a lot and I do like to be waited on and relax each day to a sit down meal but on a cruise most activities aren't happening during dining time so you don't mind having a leisurely dinner. At Disney the fun never stops so I think eating CS meals would be a better choice for us. We'll be staying for 6 nights (5 days in the park) and at this point I'm leaning toward the QS DP and I'll pay for 2 TS OOP (1 character meal & 1 dinner).

 

[Disneylvr]

For our 2009 trip we opted for the QSDP after using the regular DDP this past April. That trip was for 5 nights and it was difficult squeezing in 5 sitdown meals with our daughter (she has autism). I knew it would be nearly impossible to do that for 8 meals next year. We will plan 3 or 4 sitdown meals and pay for them out of pocket and all our other meals will be counter service obviously. We also like the fact that QSDP includes the refillable mugs since we paid for a preferred room at CBR and we'll be near the food court.

 

[lsutiggergirl]

I wouldn't want just the CS meal plan. After enjoying way too many wonderful dinners at TS restaraunts, I couldn't imagine downgrading. The new CS only meal plan is similar to what Universal Studios offers. My DH and I got it last year and were miserable eating burgers and chicken every single day. GO FOR THE MIDLEVEL DINING PLAN! ENJOY YOUR MEALS!!

 

[loislane]

Well, after debating it all night, the hubby-to-be and I decided to downgrade to the QS plan and use the savings towards one or two TS meals while we are there.
We really just wanted the flexibility to eat on the fly, and after reviewing the menus at the QS options, we think there is enough variety for us. Sure, there are lots of burgers and pizza, but we also saw turkey legs, wraps, paninis, salads, bbq, and several international options including Mexican and Asian. So, that works out fine for us.

Now we just need to decide where to do that TS meal or two. I'm thinking Ohana - have heard great things.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[racefanof88]

I think we will be using the CS plan when we return next spring. We will pay oop for a character breakfast. We used the basic plan this past May and we found the time restraints horrible, we even missed DHS. We are more park oriented than food oriented as I have very picky eaters .

 

[Angies1274]

We will be going with the Quick Service Plan this time around. We decided to pay OOP for Breakfast at Chef Mickey's one day (The boys love it!!) but other than that we will just stick to CS We did the DDP in April and we loved it but we like the idea of more flexibility this time.

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

For us? The normal ddp would only cost $44 a day more than the cs ddp...or $308 for 7 days.

Even with the cs plan we would want to do 2 character meals.
One dinner buffet would be $153.30 for all of us
And one breakfast buffet would be $ 125.61
Those two meals alone would combine for $278.91

The difference betwen the cost of those 2 meals and the upgrade to the ddp? $29.09

You could look at that 2 ways though:

I could still have 2 ts meals and all the cs meals for less money than the previous DDP.

OR

Why would I want to save $29.90 and eat all cs meals

I would choose the ts meals, but I can easily see where someone would choose the cs plan, skip the rushing for ADR's and the added cost of tips.

Either way, both plans have their merits.