Just got back from a week long stay. We were on the QSDP for the first time. We've always done the regular DP since it started so I wasn't sure how we'd feel about QS. I'm happy to say that it was great for this particular trip but can see where it might not make sense for everyone or even for us for every trip.
We initially chose QSDP for a few different reasons. 1) It was a quickly planned trip (couldn't of gotten reservations to some of our fav. TS on such short notice). 2)We're taking a another trip in May and planning on doing some TS so I knew we'd get to do those later. 3) The parks close earlier this time of year so taking the time away from the parks in order to do TS wouldn't be as easy as it is when the parks are open later.
We found there were some great things about QS and then some aspects that would cause us not to chose it for every trip. Here's the good. We loved not having to eat at a certain time. It was great not having to rush something else in order to make a reservation time or not having to eat when you're not hungry just because of a reservation. We also did not eat hamburgers every meal like I feared (only once, although we did do Casey's hotdogs 3 times because my kids LOVE it) Thankfully, Disney offers enough variety that you can avoid eating the same thing every meal. As with any of the dining plans it was so nice not having to carry cash and not having to tell my kids not to order dessert because they would only eat two bites of it - it's so easy to line them up and say order a meal, a drink and a dessert - it really cuts down on the discussions about what they should order. We also loved having 2 snacks a day - not that we needed them but it was fun. We'd often use one for breakfast (mmm, the Bakery on Main St.
) and then use another in the afternoon or after dinner if we didn't like the CS dessert. Another nice thing with QS was getting the refillable mugs. We always buy those anyways so it was nice having them included in the plan.
Now for the couple of things that might keep me from doing QSDP every trip.
First, I would miss doing some TS. For us, the TS are part of the Disney experience. I was okay with it this trip because I knew I would be back in 3 months and get to do TS then. If this was my only trip this year, I probably would have wanted to have had at least some TS. And even though we did have some variety with the CS meals, a week is probably all I could take. If we had done a longer trip I probably would need more variety and the nicer setting of a TS. Another point about variety, my kids are older so they didn't have to order the kid's meal - if they had, I don't think they would have been as happy as there are a lot less choices on the kid's menu. Secondly, which I think is true with any of the DP, is that it's still too much food. We really didn't need dessert twice a day and we did have trouble using all our snack credits. I really didn't think it would be too much food going into it, but it really was.
All in all though the QSDP worked well for us this trip and we might use it again for the same reasons we chose to this time. It was convenient and not time consuming and even though we got more food than we probably would have ordered without it, we still felt it was fairly cost effective because of the refillable mugs being included.
Having done both the Regular DP and now the QSDP, I think for our next trip we are going to do .... neither
but rather pay OOP because we'd like to do a combination of the two (Hey, Disney, here's your next DP 
) We'd like to do a TS every other day and then fill in with CS in between. We've found that for our family, having a TS every day is too much - too much food and too much time. We like the flexibility of not having to be somewhere at a certain time every day but don't think we want to give up TS completely. I realize it may not be as cost effective as doing the Reg. DP but I'm hoping it won't be too bad. We're going to keep all our food receipts from our upcoming May trip and see how it compares to when we do the DP. I guess based on that we'll decide what we'll do for our next trip All in all, I think the QSDP can be good, especially if you have short or frequent trips. Just like all the DPS, I think you just have to know what works best for your family and find the plan that fits.
We initially chose QSDP for a few different reasons. 1) It was a quickly planned trip (couldn't of gotten reservations to some of our fav. TS on such short notice). 2)We're taking a another trip in May and planning on doing some TS so I knew we'd get to do those later. 3) The parks close earlier this time of year so taking the time away from the parks in order to do TS wouldn't be as easy as it is when the parks are open later.
We found there were some great things about QS and then some aspects that would cause us not to chose it for every trip. Here's the good. We loved not having to eat at a certain time. It was great not having to rush something else in order to make a reservation time or not having to eat when you're not hungry just because of a reservation. We also did not eat hamburgers every meal like I feared (only once, although we did do Casey's hotdogs 3 times because my kids LOVE it) Thankfully, Disney offers enough variety that you can avoid eating the same thing every meal. As with any of the dining plans it was so nice not having to carry cash and not having to tell my kids not to order dessert because they would only eat two bites of it - it's so easy to line them up and say order a meal, a drink and a dessert - it really cuts down on the discussions about what they should order. We also loved having 2 snacks a day - not that we needed them but it was fun. We'd often use one for breakfast (mmm, the Bakery on Main St.
) and then use another in the afternoon or after dinner if we didn't like the CS dessert. Another nice thing with QS was getting the refillable mugs. We always buy those anyways so it was nice having them included in the plan. Now for the couple of things that might keep me from doing QSDP every trip.
First, I would miss doing some TS. For us, the TS are part of the Disney experience. I was okay with it this trip because I knew I would be back in 3 months and get to do TS then. If this was my only trip this year, I probably would have wanted to have had at least some TS. And even though we did have some variety with the CS meals, a week is probably all I could take. If we had done a longer trip I probably would need more variety and the nicer setting of a TS. Another point about variety, my kids are older so they didn't have to order the kid's meal - if they had, I don't think they would have been as happy as there are a lot less choices on the kid's menu. Secondly, which I think is true with any of the DP, is that it's still too much food. We really didn't need dessert twice a day and we did have trouble using all our snack credits. I really didn't think it would be too much food going into it, but it really was.
All in all though the QSDP worked well for us this trip and we might use it again for the same reasons we chose to this time. It was convenient and not time consuming and even though we got more food than we probably would have ordered without it, we still felt it was fairly cost effective because of the refillable mugs being included.
Having done both the Regular DP and now the QSDP, I think for our next trip we are going to do .... neither
but rather pay OOP because we'd like to do a combination of the two (Hey, Disney, here's your next DP ) We'd like to do a TS every other day and then fill in with CS in between. We've found that for our family, having a TS every day is too much - too much food and too much time. We like the flexibility of not having to be somewhere at a certain time every day but don't think we want to give up TS completely. I realize it may not be as cost effective as doing the Reg. DP but I'm hoping it won't be too bad. We're going to keep all our food receipts from our upcoming May trip and see how it compares to when we do the DP. I guess based on that we'll decide what we'll do for our next trip All in all, I think the QSDP can be good, especially if you have short or frequent trips. Just like all the DPS, I think you just have to know what works best for your family and find the plan that fits.
