Is it really worth it?

[cookieswithangel]

I did the math, and I might save a total of $3 on the QSDP for our 10 night stay in June. Would you say it's worth it to fork over $700 just to possibly save 3?
Any input would be appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[hannahdrewmom]

Overall QSDP has the least value of the three plans. IMO it offers convenience but not savings. We do not get the QSDP for this reason. We tend not to eat as it set to eat so it's actually no savings as opposed to just paying as you go.

 

[nooneshome]

I would never consider buying the QSDP. We only get it because of FD and it will save us money overall as opposed to getting just a room discount. It is hard to use up all those snacks and desserts that are included in the plan. Because we are going late May we will be substituting a lot of desserts for extra bottled water.

 

[TDC Nala]

If you want the "convenience" of prepayment (some people love it, I don't find it convenient at all because I don't do that much planning), you may wish to pay $3 for that. Otherwise, just pay as you go.

 

[LeslieLou]

I've not had the QSDP plan before, but am considering doing it for only 1 day - the first day - of a stay. Then, each person gets their resort mugs (a what - $13 value? per person) and the 2 meals and 2 snacks.

For one day - It seems like a good deal?

 

[TDC Nala]

I've done it for one night. It's fine, except that I ended up wanting to eat places where I could not use the credits, and I did not have that flexibility.

 

[Cafeen]

Mathematically, QSDP works best on shorter stays where you would end up buying mugs anyway. For example:
1 Night Stay (1 Adult) QSDP would cost ~$36. If you figure $3 per snack, that's $30 left over. The mug itself is about $14, so that's only $16 to make up in two meals (or $8 per meal). Not too difficult with Disney CS.

However, on a 5 Night Stay, QSDP still costs the same per night, and we'll use the same snack cost just for consistency. So we're still at $30 per night left over. The mug's value however is now only about $2.80 per night, so we're left at making up just over $27.20 per night, or about $13.60 per meal.

Stretching it out to 10 nights with the same math, the mug's value drops again down to $1.40 per night, requiring you to make up roughly $28.60 per night, or $14.30 per meal, which is quite close to not being worth it.

DxDDP suffers from the same deminishing value of the mug (at the same rate even), but since a) it's much more expensive per night, and b) the credit entitlements (3 "TS" including Apps) make the individal meals cost much higher, the effect is negligable.

I personally wouldn't use QSDP except if I got it free, and then only as a discount to higher plans. But, then again, I like TS over CS in general.

(Note: if you normally wouldn't buy the mug, you can't really figure the mug's savings in and then it becomes a sort of "freebie" bonus, thus making the math require about $15 per meal to break even no matter the length of stay).

 

[sillylily]

I sat down this week just this week and planned out our most likely meals, snacks, etc. for every night of our stay (because I'm a planner and a dork, thank you!lol), and it was $70 LESS to go OOP, even including a breakfast at the Crystal Palace, which the QSDP doesn't allow for. So, I will not be adding it to our package like I have been debating, it seems pointless.

 

[cookieswithangel]

Thanks for the input!
We've never done a DDP, which is why we're so weary about it.
The convenience would be nice, and we'd probably end up trying snacks around the world without holding back.
The one downer is we never get pins, so we don't know the luxury of free dining. I think we're going to try the plan this year, but any other opinions would be appreciated, since we're not experienced in the field of dining plans!

 

[LeslieLou]

The one downer is we never get pins, so we don't know the luxury of free dining. I think we're going to try the plan this year, but any other opinions would be appreciated, since we're not experienced in the field of dining plans!

Speaking of pins...Is it possible to give someone a pin that you received? I got a free dining pin and I won't be using it (for instance).

 

[cookieswithangel]

Speaking of pins...Is it possible to give someone a pin that you received? I got a free dining pin and I won't be using it (for instance).

I don't think so. From what I've heard, only the person whose name the pin is under may use it.

 

[vinotinto]

Thanks for the input!
We've never done a DDP, which is why we're so weary about it.
The convenience would be nice, and we'd probably end up trying snacks around the world without holding back.
The one downer is we never get pins, so we don't know the luxury of free dining. I think we're going to try the plan this year, but any other opinions would be appreciated, since we're not experienced in the field of dining plans!

I don't know what kind of rate you have booked, but keep in mind that the dining plan requires you to book a package with tickets and dining, which has more restrictive cancellation policy than a room-only reservation. If I were to save $100 in our trip or less I definitely would NOT book the dining, due to the restrictions in what you order and the cancellation policy applied to a package ressie. Plus, if someone gets sick and they don't want to eat or want to eat something differnt from the plan (think soup!), you've already pre-paid for them. We usually do DxDP -about half 2 credit dinner meals, plus character breakfasts, and it saves us waaaay over $100 per stay - totally worth gambling by basically prepaying for our food. Just MHO.

 

[rlduvall]

I have used the QSDP on several visits and I don't think it's a poor value at all. BUT, by studying the boards and the menus for all the CS locations, I was able to maximize my value and enjoy ribeye steak at Pepper Market, bacon encrusted meatloaf and creme brulee at WPE, half a roasted chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and strawberry shortcake at Sunshine Seasons, fried shrimp platter and apple tart at Columbia Harbor . . . and so on and so on. I saved a significant amount of money. And no worrying about ADRs.

 

[Cin]

It really depends on whether or not you think it is worth it to simply order whatever you like from the menu, including dessert with lunch and dinner (whether you want it or not, they tend to insist you take on on the DDP)and no worry about payment. Our OOP costs as compared to the DDP was within a ten dollar amount so for me I liked the idea of not having to pull the wallet out and shell out more money every time we sat for a meal. It was worth ten bucks for the POM. It was nice to have it all prepaid and more Disney magic not thinking about the bill. We could have saved a little money by eating on our own, but that is because we would not have ordered desserts and some entrees were large enough to share. I would get the DDP again just for peace of mind and it makes the vacay more magical, but I kept a tally of our costs and we pretty much broke even. I think it's worth the ten bucks difference for us. We were on the QSDP and had plenty of food and beverages for the two of us. It's a convenience thing I guess more than anything else, unless you actually would have ordered all the items on the plan already is the only way it is a "real" savings.

 

[TDC Nala]

Speaking of pins...Is it possible to give someone a pin that you received? I got a free dining pin and I won't be using it (for instance).

No. PIN codes are not transferable. They can be used only by the person to whom they are assigned.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

It really depends on whether or not you think it is worth it to simply order whatever you like from the menu, including dessert with lunch and dinner (whether you want it or not, they tend to insist you take on on the DDP)and no worry about payment. Our OOP costs as compared to the DDP was within a ten dollar amount so for me I liked the idea of not having to pull the wallet out and shell out more money every time we sat for a meal. It was worth ten bucks for the POM. It was nice to have it all prepaid and more Disney magic not thinking about the bill. We could have saved a little money by eating on our own, but that is because we would not have ordered desserts and some entrees were large enough to share. I would get the DDP again just for peace of mind and it makes the vacay more magical, but I kept a tally of our costs and we pretty much broke even. I think it's worth the ten bucks difference for us. We were on the QSDP and had plenty of food and beverages for the two of us. It's a convenience thing I guess more than anything else, unless you actually would have ordered all the items on the plan already is the only way it is a "real" savings.

...and with DDP or DxDP you always get a bill anyway...even if for nothing else other than to pay the gratuity.