Should we cancel the dining plan?

[twoplustwins]

We have the QSDP dining plan, but now I am reconsidering this option. The total cost is $520 for our family. Convenience wise, I think it is worth it, but on the other hand $520 is a lot of money for food for five days. Of my four children, three of them eat like baby birds! One of them only likes pb&j, seriously, everyday. So much food went to waste on our last WDW trip. I have looked at allears to get prices on meals. I just don't know what to do. Any advice?

 

[frayedend]

I find that if paying rack rates then the dining plan comes out pretty close to out of pocket. Usually it's a small savings and a convenience to have it paid off ahead of time. Maybe taking the money and canceling isn't such a bad idea.

 

[twoplustwins]

I find that if paying rack rates then the dining plan comes out pretty close to out of pocket. Usually it's a small savings and a convenience to have it paid off ahead of time. Maybe taking the money and canceling isn't such a bad idea.

We are using the kids free promo and then we added the dining plan to it. We saved $850 with this promo instead of the $520 that the FD would have been.

 

[Faldred]

One thing to consider is would it work to stretch credits out throughout the day, using your family's credits to get 3 smaller meals rather than 2 larger ones.

For example, you'll have 2 adult, 4 child credits per day (ok, per night, but let's assume that full days = # of nights, when accounting for partial arrival and departure days equaling one day). Oh, and importantly, 12 snack credits/day.

You could still have three meals a day by splitting meals, such as:

* Breakfast: 2 child CS meals. Use snack credits for additional milk/juice or pastries (and don't forget the resort mugs for coffee, tea, and/or hot chocolate).
* Lunch, Dinner: 1 adult CS meal, 1 child CS meal each. Use snack credits for additional drinks and supplemental food.

Even by using a lot of your snack credits to bulk up those meals, you'd probably still have anywhere from a couple to half a dozen to use throughout the day to fill in between meals.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Did you get the Disney Visa kids eat, stay and play free promo or something else? I think I have the same promotion you do but mine includes the dining plan free too. Is yours another promotion that I haven't heard of?

 

[twoplustwins]

Did you get the Disney Visa kids eat, stay and play free promo or something else? I think I have the same promotion you do but mine includes the dining plan free too. Is yours another promotion that I haven't heard of?

We do not have a Disney Visa. I checked in to getting one specifically to use this promo, but it would only allow us to have two kids for free and we have four.

 

[2Tiggies]

You need to decide if convenience is more important than cost. If you like the idea of having the dining plan, keep it. If you want to save money it looks like you may be slightly better off without it.

However, it is really hard to say as most people, adults and kids alike, eat differently on vacation to what they do at home. If you would like to keep the plan, Faldred's suggestion is a very good one. Sharing kids CS for breakfast could suit you very well. Keep in mind that the kids meals are relatively small, unlike the adult meals which are well into the large side of average

 

[kehlyrsmom]

We usually have the reg dining plan so while we can not split dinner we do share our quick service meals so that we have breakfast and lunch covered and then we each get our own snack so in the end we have little or no out of pocket expense for any meals except for our tips at our TS.

I would look at the menus on AllEars and see where and what you think you might eat and compare the pricing to the daily expense of the QSDP.

Personally I like the convience of knowing its paid for and not have to make my selections based on trying to keep on a budget.

 

[sharonabe]

With four kids, you'll likely come out a little ahead with the meal plan. Essentially their meals are covered with the cost of the plan, and then the snacks are "free." You and your DH will have to maximize the adult meals to break even. Those refillable mugs for the kids are also "free," but I'm not sure how much they will use them since it's basically coffee and sodas. But they are a good souvenir.

I like the PPs idea of using some credits for breakfast and filling in with snack credits. We did some of this with 3 adults (one 10 yr old) and 1 child and we were able to use the QSDP for all our meals and didn't pay OOP for anything.

The best thing I like about the QSDP for the kids is that they get milk at every meal. That's not an option when they pass that magical 9 yr old and get the adult meals. They also have some kind of fruit or veggie and that helps us keep to a similar eating style as they have at home.

 

[dd50]

Are you booked with free dining? Where are you staying?

 

[TDC Nala]

The best thing I like about the QSDP for the kids is that they get milk at every meal. That's not an option when they pass that magical 9 yr old and get the adult meals.

Can't adults order milk? I have never heard of adults not being allowed to order milk.

 

[twoplustwins]

With four kids, you'll likely come out a little ahead with the meal plan. Essentially their meals are covered with the cost of the plan, and then the snacks are "free." You and your DH will have to maximize the adult meals to break even. Those refillable mugs for the kids are also "free," but I'm not sure how much they will use them since it's basically coffee and sodas. But they are a good souvenir.

I like the PPs idea of using some credits for breakfast and filling in with snack credits. We did some of this with 3 adults (one 10 yr old) and 1 child and we were able to use the QSDP for all our meals and didn't pay OOP for anything.

The best thing I like about the QSDP for the kids is that they get milk at every meal. That's not an option when they pass that magical 9 yr old and get the adult meals. They also have some kind of fruit or veggie and that helps us keep to a similar eating style as they have at home.

Thanks. I do like the idea of the dining plan, pretty much for convenience. I am also glad all the kids will get a mug, they would fight otherwise.

I do like the idea that PP had as well. I hope I can remember that when the trip comes!

 

[twoplustwins]

Are you booked with free dining? Where are you staying?

No, we booked with kids free and then added the dining. We are staying at Pop.

 

[MMouse1928]

The Disney dining plan is well worth the money. Although your children may not eat much you could still use snack credits on like water, drinks, little snacks like ice cream, etc. If you want to go to the bakery in your resort you could use snack credits there. For example, when I went I used a snack credit for breakfast, counter service for lunch and dinner and then I had another snack for the day that I could use in the park for ice cream,etc.

 

[missycj96]

Remember the QSDP includes 2 snacks per day. So, even kids who hardly eat meals manage to take one look at the popcorn cart or ice-cream cart and want one. Of course, whether they actually eat the snack is another story! If a kid buys a popcorn, ice-cream or both - a popcorn during the day and an ice-cream at night, you are getting close to the price per day for food on the plan for kids.

And for adults, eating 2 meals per day and even picking up some bottles of water or soda in the parks you will come close. So even if you don't end up saving money, the price can't be that far off. I like having the costs set in advance.

$520 per day is about $100 per day - it will be hard to go around the parks with 4 kids and spend much less than that. So I don't think that the money difference between the QSDP and paying as you go will be that much.

 

[Sandisw]

Remember the QSDP includes 2 snacks per day. So, even kids who hardly eat meals manage to take one look at the popcorn cart or ice-cream cart and want one. Of course, whether they actually eat the snack is another story! If a kid buys a popcorn, ice-cream or both - a popcorn during the day and an ice-cream at night, you are getting close to the price per day for food on the plan for kids.

And for adults, eating 2 meals per day and even picking up some bottles of water or soda in the parks you will come close. So even if you don't end up saving money, the price can't be that far off. I like having the costs set in advance.

$520 per day is about $100 per day - it will be hard to go around the parks with 4 kids and spend much less than that. So I don't think that the money difference between the QSDP and paying as you go will be that much.

I agree. We are a family of 5 and went for years before the dining plans were in existence. We were never able to go for less then $100/day. Of the 3 children, one ate well but the other two were young and simple eaters.

One thing we found on the QSDP is that it is a lot of food and so worth the convenience. We ended up getting fruit for our desserts for one of the two meals daily and then used that to eat with a snack credit for breakfast. The kids were never hungry and I didn't have any OOP expenses the entire week, except for a case of water I bought to keep in the room and some smoothies I bought one really really hot day that were not covered on the plan.

We really loved not having to worry about the price and just going up ordering and not worrying about it. If someone didn't finish the meal, I just didn't feel as those we wasted money since everything was paid for ahead of time.

And, when you share meals amongst yourselves, you can really stretch it!!!

 

[NEV2OLD4DIS]

I agree with Sandisw in regards to the QSDP. We did get this for free with a PIN, and we were never hungry. However, our party consisted of 8, 16 and 17 year olds who would probably eat more than your younger children. The kids meals are small though, so most kids will have no problem finishing it. Also, the kids meals do get boring for a child who enjoys variety. You would have to take a look at the menus online before leaving to find places to get variety. I thought it was on these boards, but I'm not positive, where someone posted the kids menu for all the CS's. I printed it and brought it with me as a guide. That way my son could get a variety.

I think it is wrong to substitute an adult meal for a child's, even if Disney does not distinguish between the two. Abuse of this will only increase prices in the long run, and for most younger kids it would be way too much food. If Disney is worried about this though, I'm sure that they could find a fix to it in their system. That is just my opinion though. We had plenty on our plate (especially at food court in POR) where we could give some to my 8 year old if he wanted to have something different. The same with desserts, I sometimes got what he wanted for my dessert and shared it just so he could have something besides the prepackaged chocolate chip cookie. However, with snack credits he was quite happy just being able to use those as he liked.

If you get a CS breakfast, it does not come with dessert, but instead you are allowed to pick 2 beverages. If you are at your WDW resort you will have your refillable mug making it 3 beverages really. For example, I would get a tea in my mug, then a bottle of OJ for breakfast and a Vitamin Water to bring to the park, or any choice in the refrigerator except for alcoholic beverages. Kids and DH liked the Monster Energy drinks with a retail value there of $3.99 I believe. The kids will get 2 drinks with their meal also, but they have smaller bottles of juice, water, plain or chocolate milk and can't think of what else there might have been. We did grab cinnamon rolls at Main St. Bakery (snack credit) and warmed them in the resort microwave for breakfast-yummy!

I know this is long, but we just came back Monday and all is still fresh in my mind. We did use all but one meal. I did use 2 meals just before leaving and got 2 sandwiches at our resort to eat at the airport. I ended up giving the bottled drinks to the bus driver due to forgetting that I couldn't bring them past security. He was happy though! We had so many snack credits left, so the day before we got fudge, pecan and cashew clusters, things on the idea of large Pixie Stix, and other packaged candy for the plane and home. It is nice having a those snacks back home. If you are worried about them melting, just pack them in your carry on luggage or any bag, and have luggage services hold them until you leave. That way no melting!

My final thoughts on the kids meals: Not enough variety, not so good chocolate chip cookie the only sweet dessert choice is poor, and no variety but grapes, french fries, and carrot sticks I believe for sides. I think at least some of the CS's could offer smaller versions of adult meals for little ones. However, you can find chicken drumsticks and sweet and sour chicken if you search the menus. As for the QSDP I found it to be worth it. Even though we brought home snacks that we wouldn't have, we would have spent more oop on just what we ate there. I am guessing on this just by looking at the price on the register at the time of purchase. I ate way too much dessert that I probably wouldn't have if oop, but it was nice not worrying about it.

 

[Minniemouse07]

I think it is wrong to substitute an adult meal for a child's, even if Disney does not distinguish between the two. Abuse of this will only increase prices in the long run, and for most younger kids it would be way too much food. If Disney is worried about this though, I'm sure that they could find a fix to it in their system. That is just my opinion though. We had plenty on our plate (especially at food court in POR) where we could give some to my 8 year old if he wanted to have something different. The same with desserts, I sometimes got what he wanted for my dessert and shared it just so he could have something besides the prepackaged chocolate chip cookie. However, with snack credits he was quite happy just being able to use those as he liked.

I am not saying that we intended to swap meals out between Adult and Child QS meals. My dh wasn't with us for some meals (visiting family) and the kids sometimes weren't hungry when we were so I lost track of how many of each type of meal we had left. When I approached the concierge at POR about it ...it took a LOOONG time for her to figure out why she couldn't tell me how many of each meal we had left.

So I'm not sure what kind of meals we had left on the last day... but I was concerned that I would have more of one category than the other and not be able to have our last meals. That didn't happen because all the QS meals are placed in one bucket and not marked as adult or child.

FWIW..my kids always at the child meals and dh & I always ate adult meals.

 

[NEV2OLD4DIS]

I realize Disney is not making it a point to distinguish child meals from adult, and therefore it is easy to lose track of how many meals per child or adult are left while there. We asked about a kids meal at the fish and chip place in England, but the CM told us to just order a fish and chip adult meal for our little guy and that it would not make a difference. This confused me a bit, but I shrugged it off thinking that we would just be minus 1 extra adult meal (he wanted them so bad), and that I would inquire about it at the resort desk (POR also).

It ended up that I never checked, and on the last day of our vacation we still had meals left to use. We all got what we wanted thinking we'd have to pay extra due to a shortage of an adult meal and having an extra kids meals (maybe more than 1 because he hadn't used a couple). Like you, we had no way of knowing for sure what was left except that total number of meals noted on the receipt. Anyway, I was surprised to find that our receipt came out $0. Just wanted to let you know that I DO understand. If Disney is worried about it, I'm sure they will change it in time. I just hate to see people read things here and take advantage of it to the max.

 

[Maize&Blue]

Check your dates, are they during a free dining period? If so, you may want to give Disney a call and have it switched. That will save you a bundle!!