Should we get the QS plan?

[momoflizandains]

We are traveling to WDW June 28-Jul 6. There are four of us in our room (2 adults and 2 kids, DD12 and DD9). We are staying in a studio at SSR along with my sister and her family and my father (3 rooms total). We will have a car to get groceries and are trying to stay on somewhat of a budget. Most of us tend to be pretty big eaters. I am trying to decide whether we should do the quick service dining plan. If we classify our DD9 as an adult, it will be over $1000 for eight nights. The kids choices do not tend to be the greatest, so we would need to do this. I keep thinking that $1000 for a week of food seems like a lot of money. On the other hand, if we tried to go at it without the plan, we could end up spending more. I have looked at the menus but am still undecided. Any advice?

 

[momoflizandains]

I forgot to add that we are DVC members and AP holders. I don't think there are many discounts available for those, though.

 

[Donna M]

Sounds like it might be a good idea for your circumstances. You don't have a kitchen to cook meals in nor the seating to eat them comfortably. If you will be going into the parks most of your days, you'll probably eat at least two of your meals there anyway. The QS is cheaper than the DDP at least! The $1,000 is a lot though and since you have a car you could make it work if you want to save the money by eating in your room for a couple of meals. Just don't buy a lot of junk food. I couldn't believe how much we spent on that!

 

[Sandisw]

We have done the QS plan and we love it. It is nice to know ahead of time what the budget will be and it certainly makes it easier to plan.

While it may not save us a lot in terms of money, it is just so convenient for the way my family enjoys to eat at WDW.

We found that it was plenty of food and that there are ways to make the dessert and snack options work to cover our breakfast.

We typically ate either lunch or dinner at our resort last summer (BLT and VWL in a split stay). When we did, we usually took fruit as our dessert and then brought it back to our room.

The next day, we would use one of our snack credits to get a yogurt, muffin, danish, or bagel. This, along with our fruit from the night before, was enough to cover our breakfast. And, because we had the refillable mugs, drinks were covered.

This still left us with one snack and 2 CS meals (minus a dessert) to eat each day--more than enough food. And, one night, we got meals from Wolfgang Puck and the pizzas were big enough for my DD 12 and I to share one of the meals.

While the $1000 does seem like a lot, for the number of people you have, it is not bad--and when you are on a budget, I think it helps. The one thing we hated, prior to the dining plans, was never knowing what food would cost and we always felt we bought based on the price and not on what we wanted.

Good luck!

 

[disneynutz]

We have found that even the QS food has been reduced to just average. Wolfgang Pucks at DTD Marketplace was the last best value for QS and their menu was great. Now I was told yesterday that they have cut the menu offerings there also.

If you are trying to save money, I would eat off site as much as possible.

Bill

 

[MinnieGi]

We are trying the QS plan for the first time this Christmas. We have used regular DDP, but the kids don't like to do so many sit-down night after night. Since Christmas is a busy week it will be nice not to have to hassle with waiting for TS table times. We also usually buy food and cook in our villa at the SUper Target or Wal-mart but again since its Christmas we don't feel like waiting in THOSE lines just a few days before the holiday. We are also 2 adults and DD10 and DS6 so we will have to pay adult fare for DD. But we are thinking she will like the more variety you get to pick from the adult menu and DS is a picky eater and tends to like the kids meals.

 

[JimMIA]

If you are trying to save money, I would eat off site as much as possible.

Bill

I have to agree with Bill; I don't think there is any way to save much money eating onsite unless you do those phony comparisons with the inflated Disney menu prices. If you look at the real numbers of what it costs for one of the DDP plans vs. what you will actually spend offsite, there is no comparison.

Since you are going to have a car anyway, eating offsite is often more convenient than treking somewhere onsite and waiting in line and fighting the crowds. Depending on where you are staying, good offsite options may be only a couple of blocks away.

When Disney Dining scuttled the dining plan a few years ago by taking both the appetizer and gratuity out, we switched to eating most of our meals offsite and we've never looked back. We now only do one character meal onsite per trip.

We find the food better at all levels of dining, the choices much more varied, and the costs much more reasonable than eating onsite.

 

[disneynutz]

I have to agree with Bill; I don't think there is any way to save much money eating onsite unless you do those phony comparisons with the inflated Disney menu prices. If you look at the real numbers of what it costs for one of the DDP plans vs. what you will actually spend offsite, there is no comparison.

Since you are going to have a car anyway, eating offsite is often more convenient than treking somewhere onsite and waiting in line and fighting the crowds. Depending on where you are staying, good offsite options may be only a couple of blocks away.

When Disney Dining scuttled the dining plan a few years ago by taking both the appetizer and gratuity out, we switched to eating most of our meals offsite and we've never looked back. We now only do one character meal onsite per trip.

We find the food better at all levels of dining, the choices much more varied, and the costs much more reasonable than eating onsite.

And all this time I thought that I was a lone wolf.

Bill

 

[Crystal_27]

I keep thinking that $1000 for a week of food seems like a lot of money. On the other hand, if we tried to go at it without the plan, we could end up spending more. I have looked at the menus but am still undecided. Any advice?

Yes, $1,000 is a lot of money for food, but if you just purchase meals for your entire family off the plan, you likely will spend more money (Disney food prices are that expensive). The couple of times that we've paid cash for CS meals, we've ended up dropping about $40 for 2 adult meals (which we've shared between the 3 of us). Extend that out for 3 meals a day over a week, it adds up fast!

With that said, given that the offerings for the CS locations are all pretty standard, if you do get the plan, I would recommend finding some locations to eat that offer different food choices so you don't get tired of hamburgers and chicken fingers. And, I agree with Sandi that knowing what your food budget is in advance (and also knowing that you can order anything off the menu) is very liberating. We always do the standard DDP and have always ended up saving a couple hundred dollars each trip, but knowing that our meals and snacks were all taken care of is really what makes us continue to use the plan. Good luck!

 

[dianeschlicht]

$1000 is especailly a lot of money for what is basically "junk" fast food. We never eat at the QS places because of that. I can spend a whole lot less and eat a whole lot better by doing a combination of my own cooking and a TS here and there. As others mentioned, the "good" QS places are quickly being removed from the program.

 

[Inkmahm]

$1000 is especailly a lot of money for what is basically "junk" fast food. We never eat at the QS places because of that. I can spend a whole lot less and eat a whole lot better by doing a combination of my own cooking and a TS here and there. As others mentioned, the "good" QS places are quickly being removed from the program.

Same here. I really can't stomach most of the QS food. I've tried chicken nuggest at MVMCP and just couldn't eat them.

We do TS only, and mostly Signature TS. We get the TIW card to save $.

 

[dgaston]

Pepper Market at Coronado Springs is a good CS option, as well as Seasons in the Land at Epcot. I also like Mara at Jambo House, Roaring Forks at VWL, and Flame Tree Barbeque at AK. Others have also posted that Artist Pallette at SSR can be good. And in general food courts at any of the Values have lots of offerings. Since you have a car, traveling a bit to these resorts could improve use of the QS plan.

 

[disneynutz]

Pepper Market at Coronado Springs is a good CS option, as well as Seasons in the Land at Epcot. I also like Mara at Jambo House, Roaring Forks at VWL, and Flame Tree Barbeque at AK. Others have also posted that Artist Pallette at SSR can be good. And in general food courts at any of the Values have lots of offerings. Since you have a car, traveling a bit to these resorts could improve use of the QS plan.

I have to vote against Pepper Market. It use to be great but like other restaurants at WDW the menu has been cut and the quality has been reduced. A couple of sections have been closed and I have to tell you that the service and quality of food last December was the worst that we have found.

Bill