Need help deciding on QS DP or not.

[the_green_machine]

What I mean by the title is....

Im booking a Jan 2012 trip and I think my wife and I will purchase the quick service dining plan for the 7 days we're in WDW.

As a first timer to WDW (trying to have a great time, and still stay on budget) I'm wondering if we will be able to eat well on this plan....are the counter service meals relatively good? are there a wide selection in all 4 parks?

Ultimately we will more than likely go OOP for a couple of table service meals, but is the QS a good plan in the long run.

 

[lesabrowning]

We have never used the QS plan, but we have used the other two dining plans for years. WDW has loads of restaurants, including many counter service restaurants in all four parks. You can go online and browse what is available in each park. Look at the menus and see how they fit in with your eating style. You can also get an idea of prices and use that to see if it will be a good value for you or not. Congratulations on your trip!!

 

[Frannie115]

We had the QSD for the first time two weeks ago. It worked out really well for us. The parks have a pretty good selection of counter service restaurants. I will say, though, that the best QS meals we had were at Wolfgang Puck Express and Earl of Sandwich. Both of these are at Downtown Disney.

The leftover meals were turned into snack credits at our resort and we were able to bring some Disney snacks home

Have a great trip!

 

[the_green_machine]

We have never used the QS plan, but we have used the other two dining plans for years. WDW has loads of restaurants, including many counter service restaurants in all four parks. You can go online and browse what is available in each park. Look at the menus and see how they fit in with your eating style. You can also get an idea of prices and use that to see if it will be a good value for you or not. Congratulations on your trip!!

Great advice...I'll be looking into it for sure.

 

[the_green_machine]

We had the QSD for the first time two weeks ago. It worked out really well for us. The parks have a pretty good selection of counter service restaurants. I will say, though, that the best QS meals we had were at Wolfgang Puck Express and Earl of Sandwich. Both of these are at Downtown Disney.

The leftover meals were turned into snack credits at our resort and we were able to bring some Disney snacks home

Have a great trip!

Awesome...good to know. Being newbies I dont know how much, if any, time we'll spend outside of the resort or theme parks but I will keep this in mind.

Thanks

 

[sharonabe]

The QSDP CAN be a good way to go, but you also need to look at how you want to eat while on vacation.

The QSDP gives you a drink and dessert with every meal. If one of you prefers water or you don't think you'll want a dessert with every meal, then just paying OOP may be better. Taking one of the snack credits away for next year's plan means you come closer to breaking even money-wise and really need to maximize the plan in order to save any money.

You need to do some more homework on what is availabe at WDW. There is a link above to all the menus and it will take some time to look through them. allearsnet.com also has the menus and it is a little easier to see which restaurants are quick/counter service, but both places have good info.

 

[FLDisneyFan]

I was on the QSDP last week, and ate very well! I usually don't eat dessert or have anything other than water with meals, but it was a nice bonus for a few days. There are a lot of locations to choose from, and I bought up some boxes of chocolates with my snack credits that were remaining at the end of my trip.

 

[eww1024]

The QSDP CAN be a good way to go, but you also need to look at how you want to eat while on vacation.

The QSDP gives you a drink and dessert with every meal. If one of you prefers water or you don't think you'll want a dessert with every meal, then just paying OOP may be better. Taking one of the snack credits away for next year's plan means you come closer to breaking even money-wise and really need to maximize the plan in order to save any money.

You need to do some more homework on what is availabe at WDW. There is a link above to all the menus and it will take some time to look through them. allearsnet.com also has the menus and it is a little easier to see which restaurants are quick/counter service, but both places have good info.

Agreed. Since the 2012 QSDP only offers one snack per person, per day, it's not as attractive.

That being said, our family likes it b/c our kids don't want to sit for "sit down" dinners, plus you don't have to plan all your dining ressies ahead of time. If you're staying in a hotel with a restaurant that offers a good value for your meal credits (Mara at Animal Kingdom; Food Court at Pop Century; Pepper Market at Coronado Springs), and you eat everything (e.g., you don't use leftover meals for snacks), you may make out monetarilly.

 

[chrisw127]

I would not do it. I've done the numbers and unless you buy the most expensive thing every time (including the snack) you won't save money. I would only do it it I was keen on having everything done ahead of time. For about $11 more you can get the base plan, which is a better deal (and of course, it's all relative to how you use it).

Besides, it's an awful lot of quick service food.

Good luck.

 

[whacked]

If you are thinking about a couple of table service meals, and you're not sure what and where you are going to eat, I would probably skip the QSDP. It can limit your options, and is not as good a value with only 1 snack credit for the same price this year.

I'm not against it in principle, as I will have it on our trip this August "free". I doubt we'll bother with dining plans any more other than "free" as the potential savings is not worth the restriction to us.

We've had family members get upset stomachs, and or not feel like eating for various other reasons. Even skipping one meal with the paid dining plans can kill your potential savings.

 

[dandave]

If you're not already planning to eat several times at Wolfgang Puck Express in Downtown Disney, then I would skip it as a first-timer.

 

[3pletprincesses]

I would skip it and yet I am a big dining plan freak. I think the quick service is pretty brake even with paying out of pocket. If you already intend paying a few TS out of pocket maybe the regular plan would be better for you but even then you would need to chck to see if it fits your needs. The thing with the plan is that if you don't intend to eat as the plan is designed, it's often not worth it.

 

[the_green_machine]

I would skip it and yet I am a big dining plan freak. I think the quick service is pretty brake even with paying out of pocket. If you already intend paying a few TS out of pocket maybe the regular plan would be better for you but even then you would need to chck to see if it fits your needs. The thing with the plan is that if you don't intend to eat as the plan is designed, it's often not worth it.

But I'm wondering if I was to go OOP how should I adjust my meal budget...

with 2 adults at 35.00 per day for 7 days I was looking at putting away approx. $600.00 CAN (including tips and what not) for the QS DP.

should I consider increasing this number if I go OOP, that being said it would be nice to have this taken care of before we leave.

 

[havoc315]

But I'm wondering if I was to go OOP how should I adjust my meal budget...

with 2 adults at 35.00 per day for 7 days I was looking at putting away approx. $600.00 CAN (including tips and what not) for the QS DP.

should I consider increasing this number if I go OOP, that being said it would be nice to have this taken care of before we leave.

Depending on how you eat, you would probably be spending LESS if you went OOP.
Take a look at some of the sample restaurants that you would pick. While there are some more expensive options... Breakfast entrees are only about $6... Lunch and dinner entrees are about $8-$10.

Of course, the qsdp is only 2 meals per day...
But you could easily eat 3 QS meals for under $35...

But for comparison purposes ---

Let's say that on the QSDP -- You used your snack credit in the morning for cereal. And used your mug for coffee.
OOP == About $5

Lunch... Hmm, Columbia Harbor House -- Fried Fish Basket ($7.50), plus soda ($2.50) -- About $10.

Dinner -- Go back to the resort (for the sake of argument, we will make it the Contempo Cafe at the contemporary) -- Cheeseburger, $5.69, soda + a brownie for dessert. About $13 total.

So a total for all 3 meals -- About $28. Even with tax, About $30. About $5 less than the QSDP.

 

[LeahA]

I would personally pay OOP and skip the plan. My husband and I have used the regular DDP and have paid OOP, we always are very satisfied with a combination of counter service, and sit down meals. We have kept track of what we spent at each restaurant and have always come in under what the DDP would cost us.

 

[the_green_machine]

Depending on how you eat, you would probably be spending LESS if you went OOP.
Take a look at some of the sample restaurants that you would pick. While there are some more expensive options... Breakfast entrees are only about $6... Lunch and dinner entrees are about $8-$10.

Of course, the qsdp is only 2 meals per day...
But you could easily eat 3 QS meals for under $35...

But for comparison purposes ---

Let's say that on the QSDP -- You used your snack credit in the morning for cereal. And used your mug for coffee.
OOP == About $5

Lunch... Hmm, Columbia Harbor House -- Fried Fish Basket ($7.50), plus soda ($2.50) -- About $10.

Dinner -- Go back to the resort (for the sake of argument, we will make it the Contempo Cafe at the contemporary) -- Cheeseburger, $5.69, soda + a brownie for dessert. About $13 total.

So a total for all 3 meals -- About $28. Even with tax, About $30. About $5 less than the QSDP.

Good point made here...Luckily I have a little while before this decision has to be made...Looks like I've got homework to do!