Meal Vouchers off Ebay?

[oct25]

Has anyone thought of buying casual meal vouchers off of ebay. They average about $15.00 each and we have heard we can share a meal since the portions are large. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!!!!!

 

[Ted and Holly]

Mary has a decent write up on MouseSavers here.

I haven't used them, so this is the best I can offer.

Ted

 

[buzz2400]

I would not pay more than $11.50 for them which you can buy at the places listed on mousesavers.com. I personnally used the vouchers in July and thought they were a big waste of money. Most of the times I just broke even and I spent more time trying to figure out which is the best place to eat to get the most for my voucher when I could have just paid cash anywhere at wdw. I never thought they were big portions. We ended up having to buy two meals each time. Also when they say you make out real well at Pepper Market it is only because the food is very highly priced (and not that good as well).

 

[funhouse8]

We used them in Dec/Jan and there were five of us. Usually we split three meals with each lunch or dinner. I enjoyed them because it got us into alot of the hotels we proably won't have gone to. So we walked around explored and then ate at the fast food rest. there.
We loved the Pepper Market and I think we ate here three times. It also was nice to have our meals prepaid, We bought them from hotwire they are too much money on ebay,

 

[G's mommy]

The Hotwire savings club has them for $11.50, that is about all I would pay for them also. If you pay more than that, you will have a hard time even breaking even at most counter service locations. I didn't find them to be much of a savings myself, the only convenience is having some meals prepaid which helps with budgeting your trip.

 

[lentesta]

Hi oct25,

I think the consensus opinion (and that of the Unofficial Guide's) is that the vouchers make sense only in some very limited circumstances. Our analysis showed that in the theme parks, you'd usually have to purchase the most expensive selections at each meal, and eat all of the food, to see a modest savings. At $15 per voucher (plus perhaps shipping), I'd say you have a better chance of lowering your food costs simply by ordering from the standard menu inside the parks, and drinking water instead of soda. (Besides, water's good for you. )

In addition, unless you've already decided to dine at one of the resort restaurants that accept the vouchers, I don't think leaving the parks to save money on lunch is a good idea. With park admission for a family of four hovering around $200 per day, leaving the park for two hours to save twenty bucks on lunch probably isn't worthwhile.

That being said, the Animal Kingdom offers a special meal voucher that can be a good deal when dining in that park. The big advantage to this voucher is that you don't have to eat all of the food at one sitting; you can use the desert voucher, for example, to get a box of popcorn hours after lunch. That seems to be a better option for a much larger number of people.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Len Testa

 

[Buzz2001]

The budget board has a thread locked to the top all about the vouchers. We used them this past trip and thought they were great. We got ribeye steak dinner for $15.00 (what I paid on eBay) and got a $34.00 dinner. So the savings were justified. You don't want to pay $15.00 then get a burger. Beaches and the Pepper Market are 2 good places to get your monies worth.

ps - welcome to the DIS!!

 

[funhouse8]

Oh Beaches and cream I forgot about that one. What a deal the ice creams for dessert were 7-8$ each. We didn't leave the parks to go to the resorts during the day. While we were there the parks closed early so we stayed till closing then went over to withever resort we wanted to for dinner. It was nice because the resorts were decorated for the holidays and we proably won't have went to see them otherwise.

 

[SAWYERMAW1]

I love the meal vouchers. We usually stay at POFQ or POR and they are great at the Food Courts there. I also like having them paid for when I go. I would NEVER buy them off E-Bay at those prices. You really don't save that much when you pay $15 and more for them. Hot Wire is easy to join and to unjoin as well. Also, if you join thru Lillian Vernon (Simple Escapes), they give you a $25 free gas voucher just for joining. Their monthly fee is higher than Hot Wire though.

 

[SamanthaL]

DON"T DO IT!! YOu can buy them for under $12. Not a good value!

 

[bunnyfoo]

I bid on some and paid about $12/voucher not including shipping. I think that might have been a rare case though ... I haven't found them that cheap since. eBay is one of the only options for me to vouchers since Hotwire doesn't accept Canadians ... oh well

 

[disfanRN]

Meal vouchers are an incredible deal, when used correctly!! Many times on our last trip my bill came to 47.00 at Pepper Market-which IMO has excellent food, and handed over 2 vouchers-23.00. You do the math. Plus, the vouchers include tax and tip when applicable. Beaches and Cream is an extraordinary value- the huge deserts alone are 7-8 each. We only need 1 voucher for 2 people and were stuffed. We ordered double cheeseburger, onion rings, flavored coke, and delicious ice cream deserts that feed 4 people easily. With Disney transportation it is easy to get over to B&C from Epcot or MGM, and head right back to the park after lunch. Ebay is a good way to go if you don't want to deal with the hotwire gig, just start early and watch the auctions. We got them for $13, they cost 17.50 at Disney, which would even be a deal if used correctly.

 

[SnowWitch]

I joined the Hotwire savings club purchased 8 Q & C and 8 VKV's. They arrived in a week and I canceled the membership with no hassle. It is definitely the way to go!!!!

 

[SamanthaL]

Disneyfan RN- I don't believe Disney sells these vouchers. They are $11.50 at Connections. I have found very few places that the savings really adds up. Mostly they are a break even thing except at Pepper Market and B and C. I would say just buy them from Connections or hot wire.

 

[HappyGramma]

If you are considering purchasing meal vouchers I would get them from Hotwire and not ebay. The prices that people are paying for them on ebay are ridiculous. I was just checking them out myself tonight. There were 2 childrens character breakfast vouchers that were up to $28.00. The price of the childrens character breakfast at CP is only $8.99 to begin with. Granted that tip and tax are not included, but it still wouldn't come to $28.00 dollars. Then of course you have to add shipping cost onto it and some of the shipping charges on ebay are high. Anyways, that just my thought on it.

Mary