Need help with dining plan...

[C&AsMommy11]

My family and I (3 adults 2 kids) are planning a trip to Disney for June of 2012. I'm trying to weigh the options of a quick service plan and a basic dining plan. We would like to do a character meal (not sure dinner or breakfast). We might also do one or two other sit down dinners. I don't want to be tied down by reservations though. If we were to get the basic dining plan, could we use some of the TS credits at CS places? Can it work like that? Please help me! Thanks

 

[purple figment]

If you are able to use a TS credit for a CS it is a straight 1 for 1 exchange.

Some people have reported they were able to do this is at the food court at their resort. In recent years most people have said that they weren't able to do it at the CS in the parks.

 

[Quin]

June is a pretty busy time. No matter what dining plan you do or don't have, not having ADRs will mean a strong possibility of long waits and/or not getting to eat at the restaurant you want (and therefore having to spend more time moving on to another place).

As for which plan - use the menus with prices to cost it out. First figure what you would eat and how you would eat if you did not have a dining plan at all. With the QSDP you are still tied to 2 meals that include beverages and desserts, and a strict line between kids ordering kids meals and adults ordering adults meals. That works GREAT for some people and not at all for others. IF that dining plan format works for you, then you can go back and forth between the costs of the QSDP versus the regular DP.

 

[TDC Nala]

Unless you are going to eat a TS every day, choose the quick service plan. You should still make reservations for the TS meals you want to do, even if you only do one or two. Character meals can be difficult to get into.

It is not cost-effective to use TS credits for CS meals, and you may not be able to do that everywhere (it's harder in the parks than it would be at resort CS). If you're planning to use the majority of the TS meals that way, go with the quick service plan and just pay for the TS meals you want.

 

[Reddy]

I'm doing the QS meals - I set up 2 character breakfasts which I will pay OOP
then we will eat when we feel like it
now we usually eat at odd times so that helps with the lines (if lines look long we go to a ride then come back)
so if you can be flexable with time - quickservice is great
We usually order 3 meals for the 4 of us at a time

 

[C&AsMommy11]

Thanks everyone. Our whole thing with the TS is yes, we know for the dinners we do want to make sure we have that we have to have reservations. I get that. But I just wasn't sure about the TS/QS exchange. We do not want to be tied down every night to a reservation that we have to stop having fun to make it to.

One more question, if we get there and end up wanting to upgrade, can we do that? Thanks!!

 

[blessedby3]

We get the QSDP and pay for 2 meals oop and come out just a bit cheaper than having the regular plan. This way we get an extra snack each day as well as a mug per person too. We dont like being tied down to reservations everyday and just paying oop for a couple works well for us! These are usually breakfast oop ressies, so Im not sure if we would come out cheaper if we did dinner ones, but I still like the QSDP much better for our family

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Thanks everyone. Our whole thing with the TS is yes, we know for the dinners we do want to make sure we have that we have to have reservations. I get that. But I just wasn't sure about the TS/QS exchange. We do not want to be tied down every night to a reservation that we have to stop having fun to make it to.

One more question, if we get there and end up wanting to upgrade, can we do that? Thanks!!

No, you can not upgrade once you get there.

And really, on the Basic plan with 1 TS per day, you really aren't that "tied down." I mean it's one scheduled 1 1/2 hour meal per day, it's not really that hard to plan around. We have been doing the basic plan yearly since 2005 and we love it.

 

[marmalade]

No, you can not upgrade once you get there.

And really, on the Basic plan with 1 TS per day, you really aren't that "tied down." I mean it's one scheduled 1 1/2 hour meal per day, it's not really that hard to plan around. We have been doing the basic plan yearly since 2005 and we love it.

We have done the DDP for our last 3 trips and this year I am struggeling with adding it because I hated being "tied down" to that reservation everyday. We do have 3 TS scheduled for this trip, and we are staying for 6 nights so financially it makes sense for my family, me DH and 2 kids under 9 to get the DDP but I can't bring myself to add it on yet.

Maybe it's the rebel inside of me? I don't like having to do things when I am told, I wanna do them when I wanna do them.

 

[ccgirl]

Thanks everyone. Our whole thing with the TS is yes, we know for the dinners we do want to make sure we have that we have to have reservations. I get that. But I just wasn't sure about the TS/QS exchange. We do not want to be tied down every night to a reservation that we have to stop having fun to make it to.

One more question, if we get there and end up wanting to upgrade, can we do that? Thanks!!

As a PP stated, you cannot upgrade once you get there.

Another thing to consider is do you like the refillable mugs? Those are $13 each. Will you use them?

We have always done the Basic Dining plan (1TS/1QS/1Snack). Next time we are going to do the QSDP. We get the refillable mug that way plus an extra snack. We will pay for 2 meals OOP and will still save money rather than getting the Basic Dining plan. I really like the idea of being more spontaneous next time.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[C&AsMommy11]

No, you can not upgrade once you get there.

And really, on the Basic plan with 1 TS per day, you really aren't that "tied down." I mean it's one scheduled 1 1/2 hour meal per day, it's not really that hard to plan around. We have been doing the basic plan yearly since 2005 and we love it.

I get that it is only one meal a day that we are tied down for but I don't know if I want to be that structured...I like the idea of sit down because we are going to be on vacation so it would be a nice break. I don't know...it's an internal fight trying to decide...The QS for us would be $200 less than the DDP.

As a PP stated, you cannot upgrade once you get there.

Another thing to consider is do you like the refillable mugs? Those are $13 each. Will you use them?

We have always done the Basic Dining plan (1TS/1QS/1Snack). Next time we are going to do the QSDP. We get the refillable mug that way plus an extra snack. We will pay for 2 meals OOP and will still save money rather than getting the Basic Dining plan. I really like the idea of being more spontaneous next time.

Good luck with your decision.

I don't know that we'd use the mugs. Wouldn't they be kind of a pain to carry around? I'm only going to have a backpack (or 2) and an umbrella stoller. Plus that's 5 refillable mugs...4 of which would go to the same house

 

[TDC Nala]

The mugs can only be refilled at the resort, so it's not much use to carry them around the parks, unless you want the opportunity to pop in for a drink when you leave or return to the resort without going back to the room first.

If you don't want the structure or the TS meals, don't do the regular plan.

 

[ccgirl]

I get that it is only one meal a day that we are tied down for but I don't know if I want to be that structured...I like the idea of sit down because we are going to be on vacation so it would be a nice break. I don't know...it's an internal fight trying to decide...The QS for us would be $200 less than the DDP.



I don't know that we'd use the mugs. Wouldn't they be kind of a pain to carry around? I'm only going to have a backpack (or 2) and an umbrella stoller. Plus that's 5 refillable mugs...4 of which would go to the same house

Umbrella stroller = perfect storage! We filled it every morning before the park. Usually with lemonade. When we went back mid-day we would fill it again. At night we would fill it once or twice. So, we did get our use out of it. We didn't find it too much of a hassle to carry around since we had the umbrella stroller. My kids thought it was a souvenir! I still use it around home when I go to the soccer field or the pool. Plus, while you can only have WDW fill it at your resort you can fill it with whatever beverage you personally have. We have filled ours with an alcoholic beverage to sit by the pool. We thought it was a great perk.

Typically, we would use 1 snack in the morning. Some of the pastries (think Main Street Bakery at MK) are HUGE and can actually be split by two people. We would then have a counter service lunch, a snack, and a counter service dinner. Don't forget, the counter service meals for adults come with a dessert. Some places, the dessert is better than the meal. So, we had been following the QSDP without actually having the plan.

When I had the basic dining I always had extra snack credits so I just brought things home so I didn't "waste" the credit.

When we go next as a family we will get the QSDP. I will also book 2 character meals OOP and let each child pick one. They actually prefer breakfast so this will be cheaper, for us, than if we did the Basic Dining plan.

 

[mom of princessx2]

One of our best trips was using the QSDP in the month of June. We made 1 ADR for a Character breakfast for the last morning and just played it by ear the rest of the week. It was great and stress free. If was hot and the girls just wanted to stay in the pool for the evening thats what we did. If it rained we just hung out at the resort. No "hurry up get ready we have to get to XXXX for dinner". We also found many more CS locations that we now enjoy. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my TS meals but it was nice to not worry about it.

BTW-we didn't think we would use the mugs either but DH would fill them up at least once every afternoon and in the evening and if we sat by the pool we used them even more. We never took them with us in the morning to the parks.

 

[Diegosmom]

Ok I did a little figureing for my trip to help me decide. 2 adults and DS4

Quick Service for 7 nights
(34.99+34.99+11.99)x7=573.79
Dinner Ohana OP 32.99+32.99+15.99+5.33(tax)=87.30
Lunch Crystal Palace OP 24.99+24.99+13.99+4.15(tax)=68.13
Chef Mickey Breakfast 26.62+26.62+13.99+4.37(tax)=71.60
And just going to figure $15 for tip ever TS x3=45
Total $845.82

14QS
3TS
14snacks

Basic Dining
45.99+45.99+11.99x7=727.79
Refillable mugs $14x3=42
$15tipx7=$105 (I know this will vary per person and place but just to figure)

Total $874.79
7QS
7TS
7snacks

So based on my figures Basic comes out to about $30 more (so about the same) but the difference is with basic you would get 4 more TS meals but 7 less QS. If you want to throw in 3QS to the basic plan just to make total number of meals the same I'll figure $15 QS for adults so 15x3x2=90 and the kid $5x3=15 or $105 more.

But we still havent even talked snacks on QS you will have 1 more snack a day so 21 more snacks for the family for the week. If you figure the snacks at $3 each that =$63

So that brings me to Basic meal plan is $198 more then QS with 4 meals switched out QS to TS. So save $200 to eat 4 meals at QS instead of table.

I hope all this made sense...lol it surely does in my head.

 

[Celidh]

I think for us, we would rather have QSDP. We have never been to Disney so I have no idea what restaurants I would want to eat at. I don't want to have to decide 5 or 6 months ahead of time where I will be. If we decide one morning to go to mk but have a ADR for AKL for example, I don't want to have to leave what we are doing. We are planning to have one character meal. I want to go to Chef Mickey's (the kids don't get to choose, momma wants to have dinner with Mickey! LOL)

I would like the idea of ts meals if we didnt need ADRs but I don't want to have to plan that much and don't want to take the chance of not getting into a ts restaurant or having to wait hours to get in.

Also, 2 of my three kids are classed as adults so it gets expensive to updgrade 4 adult dining plans and then I would want to add at least a few mugs if not enough for all of us. I would definitely use one since I have a really bad Diet Coke habit! Then there would be the tip on top of that. I think it would end up costing us over $500.00 just to upgrade. Not worth it to me. My kids don't always like sitting and waiting in a restaurant either. DS 14 is ADHD and DS 11 has Aspergers. DD 8, well, she is the spoiled little princess baby, what can I say!!

If it were just my partner and I, I think I might opt to pay the extra for ts, but not with the kids.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I think for us, we would rather have QSDP. We have never been to Disney so I have no idea what restaurants I would want to eat at. I don't want to have to decide 5 or 6 months ahead of time where I will be. If we decide one morning to go to mk but have a ADR for AKL for example, I don't want to have to leave what we are doing. We are planning to have one character meal. I want to go to Chef Mickey's (the kids don't get to choose, momma wants to have dinner with Mickey! LOL)

I would like the idea of ts meals if we didnt need ADRs but I don't want to have to plan that much and don't want to take the chance of not getting into a ts restaurant or having to wait hours to get in.

Also, 2 of my three kids are classed as adults so it gets expensive to updgrade 4 adult dining plans and then I would want to add at least a few mugs if not enough for all of us. I would definitely use one since I have a really bad Diet Coke habit! Then there would be the tip on top of that. I think it would end up costing us over $500.00 just to upgrade. Not worth it to me. My kids don't always like sitting and waiting in a restaurant either. DS 14 is ADHD and DS 11 has Aspergers. DD 8, well, she is the spoiled little princess baby, what can I say!!

If it were just my partner and I, I think I might opt to pay the extra for ts, but not with the kids.

Our oldest child has Asperger's and that's one of the reasons why I do plan so much for our Disney trips. She very much thrives on structure and likes to know what we are doing and when we are doing it - she doesn't like not knowing what's coming. We use the UG's www.touringplans.com website's crowd calendar so we can plan out our park days. Once you know what park you are going to be in on a specific day, it's not really that hard to plan one meal per day in that area of the park.

 

[Celidh]

Our oldest child has Asperger's and that's one of the reasons why I do plan so much for our Disney trips. She very much thrives on structure and likes to know what we are doing and when we are doing it - she doesn't like not knowing what's coming. We use the UG's www.touringplans.com website's crowd calendar so we can plan out our park days. Once you know what park you are going to be in on a specific day, it's not really that hard to plan one meal per day in that area of the park.

My ds with Aspergers isn't too bad having his schedule uprooted, although none of my kids are nuts about it. I know he wouldn't appreciate having to leave one park to go have dinner somewhere else. He was only diagnosed last year so we are still learning and there is a lot of "hmm, that explains a lot" with respect to some of the behaviours and issues he has. Most of his issues have to do with the social aspect of Aspergers more than anything else. He doesn't make friends well, has no clue about social boundaries and just doesn't get some things no matter how hard we try to explain it to him. He is the sweetest, most thoughtful little boy though.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

My ds with Aspergers isn't too bad having his schedule uprooted, although none of my kids are nuts about it. I know he wouldn't appreciate having to leave one park to go have dinner somewhere else. He was only diagnosed last year so we are still learning and there is a lot of "hmm, that explains a lot" with respect to some of the behaviours and issues he has. Most of his issues have to do with the social aspect of Aspergers more than anything else. He doesn't make friends well, has no clue about social boundaries and just doesn't get some things no matter how hard we try to explain it to him. He is the sweetest, most thoughtful little boy though.

That's very interesting, because that is exactly how I would describe my daughter who has Asperger's

As for leaving a park to make an ADR, we don't really do that. All of our ADRs are made in conjuction to the park area we will be at on that day. Some people feel like that ties them down, but for me I feel like it's peace of mind.

Anyway, good luck and I hope ya'll have a magical vacation!