Quick Service Dining Plan calculation

[indoshakespeare]

Please help me with this because I can't figure out why $52 per day is good value.

Let's say a quick service entree is $15 and a snack is $5
2x $15 + 2x $ 5 = 30+10 = 40. That means you have to drink a $12 worth of drink to make the dining plan worth. You fill the mug before you go to the park with a $3 worth of drink. You have to refill the mug with something worth $9 and you can't do it in the park. Even if you fill it when you return from the park, you may not get a day worth of the dining plan. And I may not to eat $15 meal every day. I may want to eat something cheaper.

So what makes it worth the value?

 

[Antaniasmom]

That's why you have to eat as expensive as you can. Alcoholic beverages are now allowed so I would be all about having that beer or maybe a mixed drink with dinner. Look at the menus where you would eat and see if it's worth it.

 

[Whositsgalore]

I’m sure it’s all specific to each family. Some people like the idea of paying before hand and knowing exactly what it’s going to cost etc... For us after three to four trips a year and knowing about how much we spend in food and drink, I’ve never been able to make the math work so that the DDP makes financial sense for us.

 

[disneyvoice]

In our experience a dining plan is not a good value. We did it once many years ago and discovered that we just don't eat enough food for a dining plan to make sense for our family. We always eat exactly what we want, including alcohol, and we still end up spending much less than we would on a dining plan. The other issue we have with the dining plan is that I can't imagine having to figure out the "best" thing to order to ensure I am maximizing my credits. If I want nothing but an appetizer somewhere I don't want to feel like I have to order steak and lobster in order to maximize credits and not lose money. We also don't understand why people say a dining plan is easier. They scan your MB in order to access your credits when you are on a dining plan, but that's exactly what we do NOT using a dining plan since we just charge everything to our account. We also just pay off our credit card immediately after our trip. We prefer not to give WDW an interest free loan by pre-paying for our food.

I have recalculated the value of the various dining plans through the years as changes have been made and it still doesn't make financial sense for us. We don't eat breakfast and tend to split meals or share appetizers. Many days we only do a TS meal and then share a snack. Most days we don't get a snack at all.

But, to each their own. Many people can't imagine doing WDW without the dining plan. If it helps them have a magical vacation, awesome!

 

[ErinTwinmom]

So look at flame tree bbq as an example, if you get the combo 19$ and get on of the pricey beers or the frozen vodka drinks (at least 8$) then you have hit 27$ in one meal.

 

[sjrec]

My husband and I shared the combo at Flame Tree a couple weeks ago. We share a lot of meals-add a salad or have a couple appetizers and a drink.
I see the appeal of paying ahead, but we order what we want and just pay the credit card when we get the bill.

 

[rwdavis2]

A few years ago The Dis Podcast reviewed the various dining plans and concluded the quick service plan was the most difficult with which to break even. You had to eat the most expensive item on the menu. None of the plans are designed to save you money anyway.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

You can save money with the QS plan, but it is the most difficult dining plan to save money on. Our snacks are usually $6+ between Starbucks, the specialty cupcakes, and festival items at Epcot, so our meals have to average $20 each to break even. With alcohol included it's easier, but if you're not a drinker you would have to eat at the same restaurants and order the same things to break even.

 

[piratepride]

The regular dining plan (1-quick & 1-table and snack) is well worth it especially if you have younger children and plan on doing character meals. You will definitely get your moneys worth if this is the situation with your family. We always did the regular dining plan when our kids were young. One character meal can easily cost you $150-200 out of pocket depending on what restaurant you dine at!

 

[gharter]

We found for us, the dining plan made no sense. There would be too much food at lunch ( at that time you couldn't substitute something for dessert), and appetizers for dinner were extra. Several of the restaurants that we wanted to eat at, were not on the list as well.
We tried it twice when we got it free, but it wouldn't be worth it to us to pay for it.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

The regular dining plan (1-quick & 1-table and snack) is well worth it especially if you have younger children and plan on doing character meals. You will definitely get your moneys worth if this is the situation with your family. We always did the regular dining plan when our kids were young. One character meal can easily cost you $150-200 out of pocket depending on what restaurant you dine at!

You are correct that with kids under 10 and doing a lot of character meals, it is easier to come close to breaking even using the regular DDP option, but even then I would argue that "you are definitely getting your money's worth". You may find value in it, but I'd hope that any time I spent $$ on food that I'd get something worthwhile. The DDP is a convenience, nothing more.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

On average you're spending about $15 for an entree, $3 for a drink, $5 for for a snack.
$46 per day not counting the refillable mug.
Again that's just average. Take advantage of the most expensive items and you're talking roughly $18 per entree, $8 per drink, and $6 per snack.
$64 per day not counting the refillable mug.
You don't find it worth your money fine but many do.
Feel free to eat as cheap as you can.

 

[scrapquitler]

Please help me with this because I can't figure out why $52 per day is good value.

Let's say a quick service entree is $15 and a snack is $5
2x $15 + 2x $ 5 = 30+10 = 40. That means you have to drink a $12 worth of drink to make the dining plan worth. You fill the mug before you go to the park with a $3 worth of drink. You have to refill the mug with something worth $9 and you can't do it in the park. Even if you fill it when you return from the park, you may not get a day worth of the dining plan. And I may not to eat $15 meal every day. I may want to eat something cheaper.

So what makes it worth the value?

For my family, it isn't worth it. Unless you are specifically eating the most expensive thing, it's just a matter of convenience.

 

[Nakkira]

Out of pocket, I found it wasn't worth it to me... Free? Well yeah! I still consider it free because the only other discount on my saem package I found without free dining saved a total of $80. I am sure we will get more than $8pp per day out of it.

 

[sharonabe]

Please help me with this because I can't figure out why $52 per day is good value.

Let's say a quick service entree is $15 and a snack is $5
2x $15 + 2x $ 5 = 30+10 = 40. That means you have to drink a $12 worth of drink to make the dining plan worth. You fill the mug before you go to the park with a $3 worth of drink. You have to refill the mug with something worth $9 and you can't do it in the park. Even if you fill it when you return from the park, you may not get a day worth of the dining plan. And I may not to eat $15 meal every day. I may want to eat something cheaper.

So what makes it worth the value?

You didn't include the drink the comes with each QS meal, but if all you drink is soda, you're right and there's almost no way to spend the $52 that the plan costs. If you prefer alcoholic or specialty (milk shake, smoothie) drinks, then you can easily spend the $52.

 

[Thiago Acquaviva]

Dining plan doesn't worth it at all in 85% of the cases.
We do it every trip tho... because it's convenient for us, specially been international visitors and having to deal with cash all the time.
it's a blessing to have this option, so we always get the quick service dining plan for our inside stay.