QSDP vs. DDP

[mattyg]

Would it be worth the savings to QS and go OOP for a couple of TS meals? WOuld you save any money and could you get enough variety eating on counter meals over the course of a week lets say? I havent really researched it just wondering if I could be more frugal. We love some many restaurrants in WDW I would have trouble picking only 2. We usually do the basic plan, thoughts please. If you have tried it what do you prefer?

 

[deakam]

I have done both. The regular dining plan on 8 day stays with the entire family-4 of us all counting as adults, and the counter service on a 5 day trip with just my daughter and myself.

When we stay 8 days we have more time to spend in our favorite resturants. The counter service worked well on my trip with my daughter because we did not want a structured visit. We found more than enough non burger and fry meals to satisfy us and the extra snack credit worked well for breakfasts. Check out the counter service menus. We found ribs and pork chops and the most wonderful roast beef sandwiches.

I did pay oop for one dinner at Ohana. It is a fixed price so I knew ahead of time how much it was going to be.

I have a hard time defending the counter service plan when traveling with kids because the kids menus are pretty much the same no matter where you go. With the table service plan you can at least hit a few buffets that offer the kids a bigger choice.

As far as cost goes---we try to get the free dining plan--if this is not possible then I think that the price difference is minimal if you are planning on 2 or 3 oop dinners, depending on where you dine and what you order.
I guess in the end it all depends on what kind of trip you want to take. If you want to be free of any structure or time frame then go with the counter service. It gives you the choice of when you want to eat and you do not need to stalk the reservation center trying to get the time and place you want.

 

[mattyg]

Thanks we try to go when DDP is free as well. THis past trip in Feb. we ate in TS places in the park like CRT at MK or Sci FI at DHS. this was a little less stressful as far as getting to ressies. ONly problem is that you miss on some of the better restaurants at resort or at DTD.

 

[deakam]

Thanks we try to go when DDP is free as well. THis past trip in Feb. we ate in TS places in the park like CRT at MK or Sci FI at DHS. this was a little less stressful as far as getting to ressies. ONly problem is that you miss on some of the better restaurants at resort or at DTD.

The resort restaurants are the reason we take 8 days. The Magic Kingdom has a ton of great places both CS and TS just a short boat ride away with the 5 resorts in the area. The boardwalk area and all of it's resorts are a short boat ride from Hollywood Studios and a short walk from Epcot. And the Animal Kingdom closes early enough that you can take transportation from the park to the resort for Boma and Jikos and then take a bus to DTD and back to your resort. Remeber that you can take the bus from any park to any resort and then head to DTD to get back to your resort. It is a lot of traveling especially with kids. It works for us because we love to wander DTD.

 

[crostorfer]

IMO as it stands for the remainder of 2011, the QSDP is better than the DDP because it gives you the refillable mug and 2 snack credits for less money per day. Snacks and bottled water end up being one of our larger expenses when we go, so I'll take the extra snack and pay OOP for a couple meals any day of the week over the DDP.

 

[photo_chick]

I did the math to decide. I added up the cost of the TS meals we really wanted to do then subtracted it from what the DDP would cost. It looked like we'd come out just a little ahead with the DDP on this trip so we did it. Next trip it might be different.

 

[mattyg]

I did the math to decide. I added up the cost of the TS meals we really wanted to do then subtracted it from what the DDP would cost. It looked like we'd come out just a little ahead with the DDP on this trip so we did it. Next trip it might be different.

Yeah Im thinkin bang for your buck would be DDP, but QS intrigues me with flexibility. I think you could get enough to eat with snacks and all. We just love Ohana and WCC and so on and so on.

 

[sharonabe]

Just remember that in 2012, the QSDP only gives you ONE snack per day along with your two meals and refillable mug.

 

[Hootch]

our itemized bill from our trip in June. We averaged about $30 for our CS meals. That's for two adults, one Disney adult and one child. In most cases we had food left over. I often forgot to have them leave the fries off the combo.

The QSDP would have cost us $117 per day so the QSDP would not have saved us money.

 

[mattyg]

Just remember that in 2012, the QSDP only gives you ONE snack per day along with your two meals and refillable mug.

Thanks I havent seen that so that makes it a little less attractive to me. We usually try to go when they have free DP. IN Feb if you stayed in a value you got the QS but we upgraded to basic DP for only $200 over 7 days and that was three adult and one child. I still the better deal is DDP but QS is a little cheaper in a package.

 

[housemouse]

We've done the QSDP before for a 5 night stay. The only burger we had the whole trip was at a TS. We went to Sci-Fi one day OOP because we really like the burgers there. We had plenty of variety and never felt deprived. However, when I added up what we ate vs. the cost of the plan, it would have been cheaper for us to go OOP. Since they will be eliminating one snack per day on the plan it really will be no where near cost efficient for us anymore. That's not to say that I don't enjoy a QS type trip because I do. It will just be OOP for us from now on.

 

[cajunbaby1]

I would check some of the different menus of both QSDP and DDP and check the prices. I kind of figured up what i order if i was paying oop or using the dining plan. To kind of give me an idea of what i would spend in cash and about what it would be with the plan. That way you'll know if it's worth it or not.

 

[Cherinva]

I've done both and liked both...it just depends on the type of dining you want for that trip. For our upcoming vacation, we got free QS dining. We thought about upgrading to TS, but decided not to. There are a bunch of QS places we have not tried, so that's what we are going for this time. I did however, book an ADR for breakfast at O'Hanna, and will pay OOP.