Qsdp

[disneymagicgirl]

Who loves this DP and why? We have never used it, but I am debating on it for our upcoming trip. Is it cost effective? We don't usually eat much QS, so I don't know much about the pricing of these meals.

 

[CnZielinski]

We love the QSDP!! We have used the regular DDP once and ever since used the quick service. For many reasons-

1. It's sooooo much easier than having to plan your day for an ADR, esp with kids. Being able to eat whenever the kids are ready is great. We still semi-plan where we plan to eat, bc we have found some favorites, but it is still really nice to eat there whenever we're ready.

2. We LOVE having 2 snacks per day! You can use one for breakfast in the morning and still have one snack during the day, or if you're like me I get mostly popcorn and ice cream!!

3. As far as cost- if you go to the right place, it is def cost effective. Example- Pizza Planet at DHS, you get a small pizza, side salad, drink and dessert. Definately worth it! We feel like you get more food on the QSDP than on the DDP.

Just to give you some of our favorites- Pizza Planet, Pecos Bill's, Cosmic Rays, Sunshine Seasons, Contempo Cafe, Wolfgang Puck's Express. Lots of good choices for QS Have a great trip!!

 

[Gina]

Ditto every single thing the PP said. DS and I always did the regular DDP until the QS one came out. Now we're hooked!! Definitely have way more than just burgers every meal, and love love love those snack credits!! And as the PP said, it is SO nice to not be tied down to ADR's. I didn't realize how nice until we did it. Won't go back to the regular anymore!!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Thank you both for your responses. We usually really enjoy TS meals, however, we are moving our trip from Dec to Oct, so needless to say, there are no decent openings left at most TS places.
I think the snack credits would work out great with the food and wine festival.
Thanks again for your suggestions on places to eat!

 

[havoc315]

Who loves this DP and why? We have never used it, but I am debating on it for our upcoming trip. Is it cost effective? We don't usually eat much QS, so I don't know much about the pricing of these meals.

I'll tell you what the Unofficial Guide says about it --- According to the UG, it is hard to justify the value, unless you are drinking gallons of soda at the resort.

Though kids on the plan would change the assessment a bit, for adults it can be difficult to see huge value, especially if you prefer table service meals.

The QSDP runs about $32 per day. Assuming you do a QS lunch and SQ dinner each day -- QS meals typically run about $10-$15. And that assumes you actually want the dessert included in both lunch and dinner.
Using Pizzafari as an example -- Pizza and salad = $8. Dessert=3.50. Soda=2.20. So it's a bit under $14.
Assuming 2 similarly priced QS meals -- That's $28 worth of meals.
You're then still spending about another $4. Snack credit uses can range from $1-$4.
So if you use all your snack credits, at an average value of about $2.50 each--
You have ultimately saved $1 per day. Plus the refillable-resort mug -- But how much soda are most people really going to drink at the resort?

For some people, I can absolutely see it being worthwhile. If you maximize the value of all the snack credits, if you really really use that refillable mug, if you really want a dessert with each QS meal, then the plan can save you $5-$8 per day.

I think that Disney has actually strategically priced the QSDP fairly high (partially by adding the mug to justify the cost), to make it look like upgrading to the basic plan is a real value (only $10 more!) Thus, by making the QSDP a bit expensive, it makes the basic plan *appear* to be a better value. (And that's what they want to sell).

 

[Sienna]

Is it cost effective?

We did the QSDP on our trip in January and loved it. Some others have touched on the things we liked about it (the flexibility, no ADRs, the additional snack credits, etc). As far as it being cost effective, I added everything up and we definitely came out ahead when comparing the cost of each item we selected vs. the cost of the QS dining plan. However, that said, if we were paying out of pocket for each meal, I know we wouldn't have purchased all those desserts, or even a lot of beverages (we tend to refill water bottles). We probably wouldn't have gotten as many snacks, either. So out of pocket probably would have been cheaper overall, but the QS dining plan was a lot more fun!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Hmmmnnn. A lot to think about. I am way too overanalytical.
The price seems high to me. My DH doesn't do sweets. My DD and I can split meals. But if we do the QS we can let the 2 y/o and 11 y/o split a meal, so it may work out a decent deal.
I prefer TS ,but like I said, it is all booked up. That really stinks b/c I have great ADRs for December. I almost want to stick with going in Dec instead of moving it up to October.

 

[kaybird]

We actually did this experiment both ways. One trip I thought it would be cheaper to skip the dining plan, and we ate what and when we wanted. After we totaled up value, we came out about $5 cheaper for the whole trip, without purchasing beverages, desserts, and only minimal snacks. The pizzafari exaple is valid only if you choose the cheapest QS meals. However, you can use you QS credits for the fabulous salmon @ Wolfgang puck express, @$17, the great rib & Chicken Combo plate @ Cosmic rays @$14, or the Schwrama platter @ morocco @$14. You can certainly eat cheaper than the dining plan, but rarely better on the same outlay, and for us, it makes it so much easier to not worry about the money once we are there. I think allowing the $2.50 average for snacks is a bit low also, but we love our snacks!! We found the QSDP to be a great value, especially after trying to keep the costs down without it!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We actually did this experiment both ways. One trip I thought it would be cheaper to skip the dining plan, and we ate what and when we wanted. After we totaled up value, we came out about $5 cheaper for the whole trip, without purchasing beverages, desserts, and only minimal snacks. The pizzafari exaple is valid only if you choose the cheapest QS meals. However, you can use you QS credits for the fabulous salmon @ Wolfgang puck express, @$17, the great rib & Chicken Combo plate @ Cosmic rays @$14, or the Schwrama platter @ morocco @$14. You can certainly eat cheaper than the dining plan, but rarely better on the same outlay, and for us, it makes it so much easier to not worry about the money once we are there. I think allowing the $2.50 average for snacks is a bit low also, but we love our snacks!! We found the QSDP to be a great value, especially after trying to keep the costs down without it!

Thanks for sharing your experience. I didn't realize that CS meals can come out that expensive!
I got the go-ahead from the new boss to switch our vaca back to Oct instead of December today! Off to change my ticker.........!!!!!

 

[Gina]

I think that's where the value of the QSDP comes in for me, in convenience and in freedom. It gives me freedom from myself and my cheapskate-ness! Ok, not a cheapskate... just frugal... because if I wasn't, DS and I would never get to WDW in the first place. But what that translates to is me still pinching every penny and us ordering the cheapest menu items and skipping snacks and whatnot. It is pure bliss and liberty to be able to tell my son, "Sure! Have a chocolate sundae for dessert... and sure, use a snack credit to have dessert part 2!"

Even with the new higher prices, we still come out real close to even if not ahead with the QSDP. We use our mugs a whole lot, and we maximize use of our credits. And we enjoy eating lots of things we only get to have at WDW.

 

[ncc1701]

Take a look at the menu on Allears.net and WDWinfo.com to get an idea of the prices of where you would eat to see if it justifies the cost of the plan.Of course if it is free w/your package go for it

We had the regular free DDP last year for 5 days.We used 4 of our 5 QS credits at Wolfgang Puck Xpress in DTD Marketpkace.If you eat a few dinners there you will get value for your money if you pay for the QSDP.

 

[travelitis]

I think just having the food pre-paid and not stressing over every penny once you are there is such a liberating concept, that it would be worth it even if it cost a few bucks more than paying as you go. The relaxation and ease is worth something.

 

[Shadowcat70]

I think what I love about it the most is actually eating "what you want" rather than "what is the most practical". Many times we've wanted the more expensive meal off a menu, but settled for a more reasonably priced choice (I think we are subconsciously always on a budget!). With the QSDP we can just pick what we actually want!

 

[rlduvall]

I have used the QSDP 2x and I always hear how it is usually only a break even plan from many "experts". For myself, I did not find that to be true at all. I came out significantly ahead, but I always maximized the value intentionally [for fun] and some might not be interested in that.

I ate the rib-eye at Pepper Market [which is no longer available] and that came out around $28-30 right there; even getting the steak they have available now I don't see how it would be under $20. Sunshine Seasons, Tangierene Cafe, Wolfgang Puck Express, FlameTree Barbecue and others all give incredible value. The France bakery for snacks was always a great value; Dole Whips from Magic Kingdom . . . how could you go wrong?

 

[nooneshome]

We had the free QSDP last Thanksgiving and it worked out great for us. We had 5 people eating off a 4 person plan and it was still too much food. We only like to eat at one TS each trip so it was no big deal to pay OOP for this. We like the freedom and not being tied down to ADRs.

It was fun to try out the different QS places and some have stuff besides burgers and nuggets. The desserts mostly are lame so we got the water instead. Always ask the CM if you can substitute.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Thanks. I was thinking of just paying OOP for our 2 character meals and using the QSDP for the rest. Seems like the snack credits would be a great value during F&WF!

 

[robinb]

I think the price is high too. We don't like the majority of the QS desserts and we always seem to have snacks left over even on the regular DDP. If I calculated what I would pay OOP for 6 QS meals without desserts plus 3 snacks per day I would come out to a lot less than $32 per day.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I think we are going to go OOP. I would end up paying for the QSDP and still paying a few TS meals OOP. I added it all up, and OOP looks better for us. I used to love the DDP, however, they keep cutting back on what you get and it is losing its appeal for us!

 

[travelitis]

We might downgrade from the DDP to the QS. We don't want to do OOP, because it's just too painful to pay Disney prices. We don't normally eat at the parks because we go so often and can get a large pepperoni pizza for $6 ON Disney property or can go right outside the DD area to pick up Subway $5 footlongs or hit McDonald's drive thru. That being the case, we grab food on our way in or when we hop. However, our favorite QS place, Tangierine Cafe, costs $19 pp before tax for what we want to order. Having a dining plan takes the pain out of it and allows this to be an affordable option. Now it's just a matter of which plan to get. I think the DDP is simply too much food. From what I saw last weekend at the parks and on allears, we'll certainly save money on either plan.

(Need to update my signature)

 

[MichaelColey]

Most counter service meals at Disney at in the $8-$10 range. If we're paying out of pocket, we would get those meals, drink water (or bring sodas), and skip the dessert. The kids can share one meal (or kids meals are about $5), so for us it would cost about $30 per meal for four of us to eat counter service.

If we're on the dining plan, we get the drink and dessert and might choose one of the few high-value meals, so we could get $15-$25 "value" out of a meal, but it's a false value since it's more than we would normally get or need.

As for snacks, if we're paying out of pocket we almost never get them. We might bring snacks with us (and even skip lunch of those are substantial enough), but those are usually in the $0.25 - $1 range. Very few of the snacks are really worth more than that.

For our family of four, it would cost about $650 per week for the QSDP or about $850 (plus tips) for the DDP, plus potentially some out of pocket meals. Instead, we'll probably spend about $200 on groceries, pack lunches (or snacks) some days, eat counter service on site a few times (under $100 total), and eat off-site a couple times (under $100 total), and cook in the timeshare the rest of the time - for half the price.

It's easy to justify "free dining", but far harder to justify paying for the dining plan.