Search down... What are some of the best values for connections vouchers...

[zakatak]

Hi!

I am interested in joining connections for the vouchers and would like to know which vouchers are the best value... where have people used them for what? and how do the lunch vouchers work?

I've tried using the totals and the menus to find out if it is a good value, but seem to be having a hard time making it to the voucher amount! lol! For the Q & C voucher, if the burger comes with fries, then you only get a drink? Or do you get an additional side dish, dessert and drink? Also, I didn't think you paid gratuities to counter service? And is tax included in the price of the counter service food?

Thanks for anyone's help and experiences... I am very confused about the vouchers and how to choose what to use them for.

Have a magical day, everyone!

Karen

 

[Cherry]

We just got back from WDW and used our Q&C vouchers at Beaches & Cream. I think just about everyone agrees that you get the best deal there. We used 3 vouchers for 7 people (2 kids). We had two prime rib sandwiches, 1 double cheeseburger (cheeseburger included fries). For the three drinks we had 2 Cokes and a milkshake. Side dishes were 1 order of fries, 1 order of onion rings and a great caesar salad which we all shared. For dessert we had a banana split, a No Way Jose sundae (it's huge), and the kids split a double dip of plain vanilla with sprinkles. We could have had the Kitchen Sink, but just didn't have room for it.

The waitress was wonderful about splitting everything up for us. We didn't ask her to, but since she knew we were sharing, she brought all of the sandwiches cut in half and on separate plates.

We figured we got somewhere between $70 and $75 worth of food for the three vouchers, plus whatever the tax and tip worked out to be. We did buy three extra drinks. We also left some extra for the tip -- I know the vouchers say it's included, but we had saved so much money, we wanted our waitress to get a good deal, too.

 

[DisneyaHolic23]

The way I figure it, tipping the wait staff extra at Beaches and Cream just ensures that they will continue to be as positive as they are about ordering all the extras. Our waitress was awesome - she pointed out the best deals on the menu, and encouraged us to have the Kitchen Sink.

I also know that the food court at Coronodo Springs is a good deal for the Quick & Casual vouchers.

 

[Gillian]

Does Beaches & Cream have table service, where they take your order & everything? We've never been there, but hope to try out the q&c vouchers soon!

 

[Kacey]

Gillian...

Yes, Beaches and Cream has table service--a few small tables in addition to 5 or 6 larger booths. There is also a counter you can sit at.(Looks like an old fashioned ice cream counter) Put your name in at the door and you can sit and wait out on the porch.

Don't miss it! It certainly is worth the trip! We had exactly the same experience that Cherry did.

Have Fun!

 

[BuzzMe]

We used 2 vouchers (cost $22) to pay for $65 worth of food at Beaches and Cream. We could have made even better use of the vouchers but my kids were only in the mood for certain things and didn't want to share. We had soup, onion rings, prime rib sand., doublecheeseburger, coke float, milkshake, and kitchen sink. We could have ordered another desert ( our waitress said to order 2 kitchen sinks!) but we were stuffed. I wanted to give the other kitchen sink to another table, but the waitress said we couldn't do that. ( I should have said they were our family). We spent another $18 on the food the kids ordered and tipped on this bill plus additional amount on total bill. The vouchers were a terrific value at B&C- great food, lots of fun!

 

[Lewisc]

It really seems like B & C is the only place with significant savings and I wonder how long before Disney either drops B & C from the program or decides that deserts like the kitchen sink are not intended for one person and exclude the expensive deserts.

 

[travelitis]

I read that the vouchers are a good value for character meals only if you get adults because they include tax and tip. The savings is the tax and tip. It said that the vouchers aren't a good value for kids.

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

We had no trouble saving money with the Q&C vouchers at regular counter service restaurants as well as at B&C. We used vouchers at Tusker House in AK and saved $5 or so on two meals - not a lot but something. We ordered two meals (entree and side dish), two bottles of water, and two desserts with our 2 vouchers. You just have to look at the menu and figure if it comes out to $10.50 or so before tax etc. and you'll at least break even. If you are looking to really save money, however, you'll have to try places like B&C or The Pepper Market.

 

[Lewisc]

Rhoda, others have posted that the Pepper market no longer accepts the vouchers. I wouldn't buy the vouchers assuming that you'll be able to use them the same way at B & C. Could you really complain if you were told deserts like the kitchen sink are not intended for 1 person? I think the vouchers are a good way to pre-pay for your trip and a good way to treat friends and family members but, with the exception of current policy at B & C, I don't see any substantial savings.

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

From what I read, The Pepper Market is again accepting Q&C vouchers but things could have changed again I would not buy them personally for TPM as we don't go there for meals but I would buy them for B&C and other counter service restaurants.

We did not order the Kitchen Sink at B&C and even used 4 vouchers for 4 people (rather than splitting vouchers as many have) and still saved a ton of money there - even with the most conservative interpretations at B&C you can still save a significant percentage so as long as they honor them there I will use them. That said, however, should they no longer accept them at B&C I would have no problem finding another counter service restaurant where I could get my money's worth out of a voucher - it may not yield the same percentage of savings but I would not have to lose money.

I think it really depends on whether you see value in saving a few dollars at a meal in exchange for the work involved in ordering and using vouchers. For me, it is worth it but for many others I can understand why it would not be.

We also used them for Character Breakfasts even though the savings was only a few dollars per person. For us, it just adds up over time (we do a CB almost every day) so I think it has value but others may not agree.

The best thing to do is to research your choices of meals ahead of time (using the menus at wdwig.com is a great way to do this) so that you can get a general estimate of the number of vouchers you will need for your trip. As long as you at least break even on some and save on others you have come out ahead for only a little effort.

 

[travelitis]

There's more on this subject at www.mousesavers.com. It elaborates on the type of voucher, where it can be used, and where it's the best value. For our party the savings on a character breakfast would be about $10, so that's worthwhile.

 

[patsal]

As AKA says the savings can really add up. For example we were just at WDW ffor 14 days. We used all three types of vouchers. Everytime the kids wanted a smoothy or milkshake rather than the drink included with the kids meal it didn't cost me extra. With the breakfast it "only" was about 10 savings for each meal, but times 5 CB's that really added up. Lunches were a good savings as well, we used one adult and one or two children's depending on the level of hunger for the children. Three appetizers, two kids entrees, one adult entree, as well as beverages and desserts (usually three). Example: Rainforest Cafe Bill with tip and tax $102.85 cost of vouchers $54.50. San Angel in Mexico total with tax and tip $106.48 cost of vouchers $84. 50's Prime Time $95.59 vouchers42.00. Beaches and Cream $85 for $22, Columbia Harbor House $24 and change for 22, Roaring Forks 14.43 for 11. For my family they were worth the savings and the convienience of pre-paid meals. I will definitelly be getting them for the Easter trip in 2003 (I still have some left over from this trip becasue I ordered them on the side of no one wanting to split meals so I won't need to order as many)

 

[DisneyaHolic23]

I just returned back from Disney World a few hours ago, and we used Connections vouchers a few times, for the places Mousesavers had listed as best value. I would definitely use them again.
At Beaches and Cream, we had two certificates for three people (but the rest of our party didn't buy the certificates), so we got $81.00 worth of food (not counting tax and tip) for only $22. We ordered two Kitchen Sinks, but our group of 9 only scraped the surface of one of them. Beaches and Cream let us send the second to another table (they had 4 adults and probably 6 kids, and didn't finish it either!).
At Rainforest Cafe my daughter and I split one of the $29.95 certificates for lunch, and had $60 in food (not counting tax and tip). They did have some exclusions - you couldn't have the appetizer platter or the Volcano dessert (which we had our hearts set on - oh well).
We also purchased three certificates for Cinderella's Royal Table, and that worked well.

I would say the best part is pre-paying for some of your meals. I think the downside is that we tend to eat more, so I wouldn't do it for all my meals!!