OK, Disboard friends I need your help deciding on QS or DDP

[SPOERLX3]

Now that I have saved over $900 with the FD applied to my reservations, I need the help of my disboard friends to help me decide on whether I should keep the QS or upgrade to the DDP. PLEASE help me decide.

Here are the details:

It will be me, DH, DD22, DGD11, DGD11 & DGS11 so a total of 6, all considered adults in Disney age. We have 2 rooms at POP so we currently have the FD-QS.
DH, DD22 and DGS11 have a hearty appetite, DGD11 x 2 have a small appetite but if they are really hungry they can eat. None of the grandkids have been to Disney before.
We have had the DDP in our past 2 trips and have our favorite restraunts but with 3 grandkids going with us this time, we really thought the QS would work the best but I am really going to miss some of the restraunts that I LOVE. Especially O'hana (my favorite but not DD22)!
With the FD-QS we will still pay out of pocket at the Tusker House Breakfast and at Sci-Fi (just for shakes, burgers and onion rings & the atmosphere) (these 2 are traditions for our family).
I have figured that if we do upgrade, It would cost us $462 to upgrade + $55 for 4 mugs (DH and I wouldn't need one) + aprx $200-$250 in tips, we would still save about $200.

I would love to have your opinion on what you would do and why.

 

[jodywgirl]

Have you checked yet to see what adr's are available while you were there being within the six month window your favorites might not be available. We love the dining plan since you can have one nice sit down meal a day to get out of the crowd and relax

 

[KELLY]

We prefer the QSDP. We go for 10 days and don't want to be tied down to adr's. We are doing 2 Ts meals OP. But even those 2 meals Tuskers breakfest and T-rex won't cover the cost of the upgrade,tips and mugs. Plus t-rex isn't on the plan.

So if it were me I would do the QSDP. But some people enjoy having a scheduled meal. It just don't work for us. I hate having to worry if we have a adr to get to so we cannot get in line ect.

 

[CalSea12]

For me the special dining meals that I have when at Disney, are part of the Disney experience for me. I just have way too many favorite restaurants to not eat at them once or twice a year. I also do not mind the ADR's it helps me to schedule my day, and relax and enjoy my time.

 

[WTP]

How long is your trip? On our last trip, we did every other day for sit-downs and that worked just fine for us! I've done on the plan and off and it always is great with or without ADR's every day.

Whatever you decide, just keep in mind that since your grandkids are new to Disney and taking everything in, the trip is already super special and they aren't going to go home and talk about the restaurants they didn't visit. They will be talkng about meeting mickey, riding space mountain, and seeing the castle.

about you get DD22 to spend one night with the grandkids so you and DH can go to Ohana alone. And then pick one more ADR on top of Tusker and SciFi. It will be plenty, I'm sure!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I did the quick service plan once. Never again. We got so sick of eating QS food 2 times a day! And everywhere has the same 3 dessert options.

 

[Mom3girls]

Your grandchildren are old enough to enjoy the TS meals and they give everyone a nice break from all the running around like chickens without heads! My girls are 14, 12 and 11 for this trip and there is no way we could eat just QS meals all week. And the same went for the four other trips we have taken them on in 04, 06, 08 and 09.

 

[carebee21]

For me it would depend on how long you're going. If you're only going for 4 days, you'll probably want to utilize as much time in the park as you can, and eating counter service won't be too bad. However, if you're going for 7+ days, you should be able to tour comfortably without worrying about losing time for a sit down meal. Also, I would imagine you would be sick of counter service by then and want something different. If you decide to do DDP, be sure to include the kids in the decision making process. I'm letting my son help me pick ADR's based on the menu and pictures we see on the dining review thread and we're having so much fun!

 

[sharonabe]

Normally, I'm an OOP girl, but with free dining, you have to crunch the numbers.

With just the two TS you will definitely do, you're already talking about $320. Take the tips out of the equation and just use the mugs and upgrade which is around $520. So, is it worth $200 for however many more nights of TS you would get?

However, a part of that equation is the two TS you will do. Since you are planning on those, you will have 2 extra CS to use somewhere. That means you can have breakfast a few more times without any extra OOP or on your Tusker day, you've got lunch and dinner covered if you need it. OR your arrival/departure day dinner or lunch is covered.

If you upgrade, will you still be paying OOP for that third meal each day or is everyone okay with just the two?

 

[winterman]

DH and I were in the same situation. At first we thought we'd upgrade, but the more I thought about it, I wanted to stick with the QSDP. Upgrading doesn't just mean paying the $10 more a day (or however much) per person, it also means a significant amount of money for tips. We decided to stay with QS but also visit a few TS. We have 3 ADRs that are basically 'paid for' with the savings. Plus, we get 2 snack credits/day, many of which we will use at F&W Festival. I am really excited about some of the QS places.

 

[nickapoohiluvu]

We don't have free dining, but Kids Play Free, so we had a choice which dining package to make, whether none, QS or DDP. We didn't "crunch numbers" but did think really hard about the running to make TS reservations. While there are many good choices for TS, we just didn't think the time spent on those dining reservations was worth it. We didn't want to be tied down to having to be at a certain place at a certain time to eat. That and I wanted the mugs! I figured the flexibility, the price cut, the mugs and the extra snacks made the QS plan worth it. We still have two TS meals - one date for us and Crystal Palace for everybody on our last day.

 

[SPOERLX3]

Have you checked yet to see what adr's are available while you were there being within the six month window your favorites might not be available. We love the dining plan since you can have one nice sit down meal a day to get out of the crowd and relax

I actually have all our ressie's made, just in case we decide on the full service plan. I want to make my decision pretty quickly so if we do decide on the QS I can let those ressie's go for anyone else that needs/wants them The only thing I can't get is lunch at Le Cellier (DD22 favorite and her only request-very disappointed). I think it is because of the Candlelight processional. If we decide on the DDP, I will have to check everyday and hope for a cancelation.

 

[SPOERLX3]

How long is your trip? On our last trip, we did every other day for sit-downs and that worked just fine for us! I've done on the plan and off and it always is great with or without ADR's every day.

Whatever you decide, just keep in mind that since your grandkids are new to Disney and taking everything in, the trip is already super special and they aren't going to go home and talk about the restaurants they didn't visit. They will be talkng about meeting mickey, riding space mountain, and seeing the castle.

about you get DD22 to spend one night with the grandkids so you and DH can go to Ohana alone. And then pick one more ADR on top of Tusker and SciFi. It will be plenty, I'm sure!

Trip is 8 days/7 nights. LOVE the idea of DD22 giving me and DH a date night to O'hana! She would sooooo do this and how fun would that be for everyone Thank you for the great idea.

 

[abminer]

DH and I were in the same situation. At first we thought we'd upgrade, but the more I thought about it, I wanted to stick with the QSDP. Upgrading doesn't just mean paying the $10 more a day (or however much) per person, it also means a significant amount of money for tips. We decided to stay with QS but also visit a few TS. We have 3 ADRs that are basically 'paid for' with the savings. Plus, we get 2 snack credits/day, many of which we will use at F&W Festival. I am really excited about some of the QS places.

Us too!

It's just DBF and I and we've decided to keep the QSDP. We love WDW TS, but having 2 snax per day during F&W will be a huge value. There is some really high quality CS too, if you're willing to seek it out - we're excited about trying new ones. We've made ADRs for one signature meal and one buffet breakfast (which we may or may not keep). Neither of those type of TS meals are great values on the DDP, one is cheap and the other would take up 2 credits and have a big tip that the DDP won't cover. Also, on DDP, we always end up with some OOP extras because we are 3 meals a day types (one snack credit for b-fast doesn't always cut it for us).

To OP: It depends on the time of your visit and what kind of TS places you'd like to visit.

You can put off the decision to upgrade until several days before you arrive. Take the time to "crunch the numbers." Use the allearsnet menus to select the TS places you like best and add up what you'd realistically order (do you usually get a dessert for everyone? do you even want one ts per day or would it be less than that?) and be sure to include the tip. See how much an upgrade would or wouldn't save you.

 

[SPOERLX3]

Your grandchildren are old enough to enjoy the TS meals and they give everyone a nice break from all the running around like chickens without heads! My girls are 14, 12 and 11 for this trip and there is no way we could eat just QS meals all week. And the same went for the four other trips we have taken them on in 04, 06, 08 and 09.

I do agree that they will all enjoy the TS meals, but my fear is the girls not eating enough for an adult meal. When I asked the kids, they all said they didn't want to stop riding the rides to go to a restraunt but I agree how hard it may be to eat QS all week.

If we do the QS we have plans to visit some of the resorts to enjoy some of their Christmas decorations and eat at their food court. Really looking forward to Pepper Market. It looks really good.

 

[SPOERLX3]

For me it would depend on how long you're going. If you're only going for 4 days, you'll probably want to utilize as much time in the park as you can, and eating counter service won't be too bad. However, if you're going for 7+ days, you should be able to tour comfortably without worrying about losing time for a sit down meal. Also, I would imagine you would be sick of counter service by then and want something different. If you decide to do DDP, be sure to include the kids in the decision making process. I'm letting my son help me pick ADR's based on the menu and pictures we see on the dining review thread and we're having so much fun!

Definitely agree with letting them help, I have the ressie's already made and they did give me their thoughts. I want make my decision pretty quick so i can cancel them for someone else to grab. About half way thru they were saying, we don't want to go to a sit down restraunt every day, we want to ride the rides. They lost all interest. They don't even understand it all since they have never been.

 

[Sappermont]

You know your family best, but from what it sounds like I think that I would upgrade to DDP. You already have two TS restaurants and I'm sure that you would have no trouble deciding on a few others. Maybe have each grandchild pick a place they'd like? Pick your favorites? I think that TS meals are a really nice way to spend some down time together and good food. Our meals at my TS restaurants are some of the things I remember most about my old family trips to Disney! Either way, you will have a blast!!!

 

[SPOERLX3]

I did the quick service plan once. Never again. We got so sick of eating QS food 2 times a day! And everywhere has the same 3 dessert options.

This is my fear
We want to visit some of the other resorts on our early nights to enjoy their Christmas decorations and their food courts if we do QS. Thinking maybe if we go to AKL and eat at Mara or to Coronado Springs and eat at Pepper Market, it may break it up a little.

 

[SPOERLX3]

You know your family best, but from what it sounds like I think that I would upgrade to DDP. You already have two TS restaurants and I'm sure that you would have no trouble deciding on a few others. Maybe have each grandchild pick a place they'd like? Pick your favorites? I think that TS meals are a really nice way to spend some down time together and good food. Our meals at my TS restaurants are some of the things I remember most about my old family trips to Disney! Either way, you will have a blast!!!

I agree that whatever we decide we will have a blast!!!

I did ask my other 3 grandkids that have taken in the past...this is how we chose Sci-Fi and Tusker House Breakfast for our OOP, those were the 2 places that all 3 of them loved the best.

 

[SPOERLX3]

We prefer the QSDP. We go for 10 days and don't want to be tied down to adr's. We are doing 2 Ts meals OP. But even those 2 meals Tuskers breakfest and T-rex won't cover the cost of the upgrade,tips and mugs. Plus t-rex isn't on the plan.

So if it were me I would do the QSDP. But some people enjoy having a scheduled meal. It just don't work for us. I hate having to worry if we have a adr to get to so we cannot get in line ect.

We have been 3 times without any dining plan and the last 3 times we have had the DDP (cause they were free). I have always loved the DDP in the past but I do agree that several times we all hated having to stop what we were doing to get to an ADR especially when we were going over to another resort and had to leave a park early to get there. We always take our grandkids the yr they turn 11, the past times we have gone, there were only 3 or 4 of us, this time we have 3 grandkids that all turned 11 this year so there are 6 of us and I am thinking that the DDP may be a lot harder to manage.