Thoughts on QS dining plan

[wendow]

We are planning for about 95% of our meals to be QS. We have four kids and our youngest two will be not quite 4 yo (special needs) and 17 mos. Neither does that great eating out so we don't want that added stress of keeping them content at the table. Also, we don't want our schedule burdened by ADR's. So, we are perfectly fine to eat most of our meals QS.

In all my research for our trip, I had only read that the meal plan was not a good financial decision for most people. But I saw someone mention on here today that you should plan $10-15 per person, per day and $10 for snacks for meals. If that is accurate, doesn't it make sense to do the QS dining plan? I added it up for our family and it's close to $1100. I cannot imagine spending that much on food So, help me figure this out, please.

Also, we don't mind bringing snacks in but I'd prefer not to have to pack a lunch. And we don't mind sharing as long as portions are good size.

So, any thoughts? QS dining plan good value or not?

Thanks!

 

[LJSquishy]

In most cases, you will be better off paying out of pocket for your meals. Unless each person will want to eat dessert twice per day, plus 1 snack, don't get the dining plan. Some meals are large enough to share at QS locations, and you can even order 1 large drink and share if you want. My husband and I had the regular dining plan (free dining) and we were disgusted by how large portion sizes were and skipped most of the desserts because the food is so rich there. We used our snack credits for breakfast (yogurt parfait or muffin) because we couldn't handle more food in between meals! If we wouldn't have had free dining, we would not have signed up for the dining plan.

 

[danceintherain]

mousesavers.com has some excellent tips on saving on food (some of the following tips may be duplicates). It really depends on how much you eat. I'm pretty sure if we went to Flame Tree BBQ and got half a chicken, my husband would try to eat it all himself, but if I went with my Mom, we could split that meal easily.
You can also access the menus here: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningmain.cfm
I usually go through and pick a sample meal for every place we plan on eating, so I can figure out how much we're going to spend. It's not an exact indicator, but it does help. Here's a sample itinerary you can use to for comparison (it would be better to do your own meal planning, but it's a good starting point):
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-dining-plan.htm#prices2012

The $10-$15 is just an estimate that's usually on the high side so people don't under budget.

Also, consider that against the cost of the QS dining plan: $34.99
2 QS $10-$15x2=$20-$30
1 S $4 (at most)
Refillable Mug = $14 (7+ drinks that AREN'T included in your DP will make this a decent value. If you're addicted to soda or coffee, then this can be a nice addition. If you're like me and prefer water, it probably won't be. Milk & Juice are not refillable)
If you get full use out of your refillable mugs, then it CAN be a very good deal. If you don't, then you MIGHT break even.

The dining plan includes dessert and a drink at EVERY meal (well except breakfast). If you like having soda and dessert with every meal, then this is fine, but you can get free cups of water at every counter service location and/or refills for a water bottle.
If you plan on using snacks for meals every day, you may end up paying OOP for some anyways now that the Quick Service Dining Plan only includes one.

For us, all my calculations indicated that the dining plan won't be a good deal. If I could convince my DH to share with me, it'd be even less likely that we'd get a dining plan ever again.

 

[wendow]

Thanks for the responses and the links. I'll look through them. Just by what you've both said, it seems wasteful for us to buy the dining plan. We don't drink soda. Mostly water, one cup of coffee in the morning and maybe hot tea at night. We also rarely eat dessert and while I'm sure they are all yummy desserts, it might just be too much for us. Last thing I want is our stomachs aching cause we are trying to squish in too much food I think we'll pass and just pay OOP.

 

[CluelessDisFan]

We're a fan of the dining plan. Although we've not done QSDP I wouldn't hesitate to, we love a lot of the QS meals. My DH and I are big eaters. Although the dessert options get a little old, especially while you're in the parks. But at Wolfgang Puck express I would not pass on dessert there ever! I say it's worth it. But everyone has a different opinion and way of eating. We love the convienence of it being pre paid or "free" and not having to limit our selves on our choices while on vacation. We just personally know we would make cut backs, and get a cheaper meal instead of what we'd actually want.

You really do need to read some QS reviews then go take a look at the menus and decide what meals you would actually order. We usually order the more expensive or speciality meal on the menus, that helps make the cost worth it.

Keep in mind what PPs said some meals at certain QS are really big enough to share. Dig into those dining reviews and pics.

 

[Angie789]

We crunched the numbers and found that we'd come out ahead if we pay OOP. For the same amount as the QSDP, we could eat exactly like we want (i.e., not eating unappealling desserts, not stuffing ourselves, eating more snacks and less official "meals") PLUS we could afford a character breakfast and a couple of sit down meals.

There are still some people who come out ahead with the QSDP, but with the higher prices & less snack, more families would probably save a little money and have a LOT more freedom in their eating choices without it.

 

[Pembo]

We tried the QS plan one year. We ended up with a lot of snack credits at the end of our trip. I came home and added up all the receipts and we came out slightly ahead with the plan. However, we normally wouldn't have gotten soda and a dessert at every meal and we usually split more meals. So more food was definitely wasted with the QS plan.

What I really liked was the convenience of not having to think about cost when paying for meals. Our next trip I bought gift cards to use for meals. I enjoyed using prepaid cards and knew that if there was money at the end of the trip I could use it for souvenirs.

 

[hsmamato2]

FWIW,those QS desserts are generally NOT yummy...so don't worry about missing them!
there are some places in WDW you can get a nice dessert with your meal, but most of the places have those horrible plastic cased things for dessert...yuck! the one time we did a DP we tossed those and got our own snacks later....
(Sunshine seasons is one exception to this rule)

 

[disneychic2]

DH and I are huge fans of the dining plan. We've gotten it every year since it came into being. We've only payed for it once. We split cs meals, using one at breakfast, one at lunch and then we each have a ts meal. We tend toward the more expensive choices, so of us it is a savings...esp. since it's usually free. We don't waste a lot of food since we're sharing. At the end of our stay, we use up the rest of our snack credits on treats to take to the grandkids. This past April we had the quick service DP for the first time and it worked just like the reg in that we split our meals. We did use snack credits more at breakfast etc. It really is individual and each family has to crunch the numbers and take into account how they eat. If we don't feel like a dessert at the end of every meal, we don't feel badly just skipping it. Good luck and have a wonderful trip!

ETA: Another exception to the rule of less than tasty desserts is the food court at Pop Century. Design your own ice cream sundaes and fabulous (large!!) cupcakes!!

 

[disneysnowflake]

This weekend, since I just got my cast on my foot, I decided to figure out how much we'd save (or not save) if we purchased the QSDP.

It was $70 more for the QSDP than it would be paying out of pocket, and my out of pocket price included 3 of the refillable mugs, too.

Most of the options for dessert weren't that good in the parks. I liked the options at the food courts (like fruit or whatever), but in the parks it was mostly packaged chocolate cake and such.

Every single time we've used the DDP, we spent that last night buying snacks to take home since we never used them all.

This next time we'll just pay out of pocket, unless we get free dining.

 

[bdoyledimou]

my family of 6 did QSDP for 16 days --and it was a good thing it was free -- adding up the receipts we would have spent over $5000 on food!!!!
It really does depend on your family -- if you have small kids or are a small eater, then its probably not worth it.

 

[NorthernGrl]

I find the QS plan worth it. I have 4 kids, 3 of them have sensory issues and are picky eaters. They love the "predictability" of the kids meals. 2 of the 4 are under 3, so we're thankful for the large, sharable portions. I don't usually eat the desert myself, but save the little cakes for an evening treat for the kids. They love them! Lol.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

What I really liked was the convenience of not having to think about cost when paying for meals. Our next trip I bought gift cards to use for meals. I enjoyed using prepaid cards and knew that if there was money at the end of the trip I could use it for souvenirs.

I do the Disney gift card as well for our Disneyland trips. We had free dining when we visited WDW, when we return to WDW I will not add a DP to our package, if it is free great, if not I'll go the gift card route.

FYI ~ You can add money to a Disney GC by calling DelivEARS ~ 877-560-6477*you give the CM your credit/debit card info & the gift card info and they mail you the receipt. Last time I did this *a couple months ago* the $$ was on the GC the next day. You can add what ever amount you'd like as often as you'd like - I suggest emailing yourself your card # and it's PIN in case you lose the card, with that info it can be replaced. I'd prefer to have 1 card with a large amount instead of many smaller increment card, however when my Kroger store is running a gift card promotion it's worth the hassle.

 

[maggs1035]

DH and I are huge fans of the dining plan. We've gotten it every year since it came into being. We've only payed for it once. We split cs meals, using one at breakfast, one at lunch and then we each have a ts meal. We tend toward the more expensive choices, so of us it is a savings...esp. since it's usually free. We don't waste a lot of food since we're sharing. At the end of our stay, we use up the rest of our snack credits on treats to take to the grandkids. This past April we had the quick service DP for the first time and it worked just like the reg in that we split our meals. We did use snack credits more at breakfast etc. It really is individual and each family has to crunch the numbers and take into account how they eat. If we don't feel like a dessert at the end of every meal, we don't feel badly just skipping it. Good luck and have a wonderful trip!

ETA: Another exception to the rule of less than tasty desserts is the food court at Pop Century. Design your own ice cream sundaes and fabulous (large!!) cupcakes!!

We agree with you! I love the idea of having it all paid for and not having to budget while Im there, and it's just more relaxing, and we too have only paid for it one time (twice we got free dining) We really enjoy the regular dining plan, and do a character meal most every day!

 

[wendow]

Argh! I can totally see both sides here. Thank you for all the thoughts. I really appreciate it!

We aren't big eaters and we rarely, rarely eat out. So, I worry some that eating out that much will upset our tummies especially will full meals and desserts.

BUT, I also could see where it'd be kind of fun to feel like we could order anything. We said from the beginning we wanted this trip to be a splurge for us. Just cause that is something we never do.

This weekend, dh & I are gonna sit down together and price out some meals and see how it looks for us. It's kind of hard cause we will have a just turned 10yo who barely eats. She could easily share or order a kid's meal. But then I have a 12yo who could out eat most grown men She is a teeny girl but she loves food and to eat. And then my not-quite-4yo may or may not eat. He also has a severe milk allergy so I had thought of packing him a lunch. So, we have some factors to consider.

Thanks again! Love all your wisdom and advice here

 

[KarenAylwood]

Another chiming in here...

We've been on the free dining plan (regular, not QS) since it came out in 2006 or so. If we didn't go during the time when it was free, we wouldn't do it. If it was just QS, we wouldn't do it. We like the dining plan for the TS, not the QS.

I could easily not do the dining plan and eat cheaper by sharing and not getting dessert. I'd never get a dessert if I wasn't on the DDP. Even free, I generally don't eat the QS dessert unless it's the carrot cake (I'm a sucker for that one) or we're at Starring Rolls in DHS .

It sounds like based on your family it might fit you best to eat OOP. Like others said check out the menus but if you have some eaters and some non-eaters you could easily share, drink (free) ice water and come out ahead. Portions are usually huge!

 

[Sabrefan]

For us the charater meals were a large part of our vacation. I loved that the characters came to us, we did picture and autographs. We didn't care for standing in line in the heat outside so this was a nice alternative. I try to plan 1 character meal a day, so we always go with the regular dining plan. I priced out the menus and did a what if kind of budget, and found that we would break even paying OOP vs. the dining plan.

 

[Libby X 3]

It really does depend on your family and your style of eating. I think it also depends on who you are traveling with. When my husband travels with us we usually do one of the dining plans. He eats his own food and some of our leftovers. When he isn't with us and we go, we are much smaller eaters and it is cheaper for us to just pay oop. I usually try and price out sample meals and see which way will be the best for us on the current trip. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[wendow]

For us the charater meals were a large part of our vacation. I loved that the characters came to us, we did picture and autographs. We didn't care for standing in line in the heat outside so this was a nice alternative. I try to plan 1 character meal a day, so we always go with the regular dining plan. I priced out the menus and did a what if kind of budget, and found that we would break even paying OOP vs. the dining plan.

I really think I'd be all over the regular dining plan if my younger two could handle it but we barely do sit-down dinners out of the house now cause it's such a chore with them. I cannot imagine having to do that daily at WDW. But we just have some unique situations...food allergies, special needs kiddo, etc. I have no idea how my "special" little guy will do with characters. But we do have one character meal planned on the day we leave. I didn't feel like we could schedule a character meal on a park day as I just think that would be over-the-top stimulation for him.