Ugh! QSMP or DP or nothing!

[Loritlc3]

I just can't decide what to do! I just added the dining plan($455) with the table meals and made some ADR's. I just am not crazy about the time from the parks and the rigidity of the reservations. This is our first time at WDW. i just started thinking tonight that the QSMP might be better but if I calculate it and add 1 character breakfast and 1 lunch at SCI Fi it is not that different. My brother, his wife and teenage daughter will be with us for the first 4 days and they are not getting the meal plan. It doesn't make sense for them because they are leaving in the middle of their reservation and going to Universal so they won't be there for 3 days that they would have to pay for.

I am so conflicted and I keep going back and forth trying to decide.
Any advice to help me would be appreciated!

Also my brother wanted me to ask if there are restaurants off site that are reasonable and how far away are they. We will have a car.
Thank you
Lori

 

[mjones73]

I suggest you check the Dining Plan section in the Dining area for better advice on this. Also check the menus here - http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/disneydining.cfm and get an idea of where you'd like to eat, what and how much you like to eat and compare it to the cost of the dining plans.

As for offsite, there's pretty much everything under the sun to pick from.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

It really depends how your family will be eating while at WDW. If you have a table service meal planned each day, you will likely save money by doing the dining plan, particularly if you are doing character meals. You can check out all the restaurant menus on allears.net and calculate the cost to see if you will be saving money.

You might check on the restaurants board to get some opinions. There is a sticky about the various dining plans:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2054845

Here is a nice review on mousesavers.com:

http://www.mousesavers.com/diningplanreview.html

As far as offsite restaurants, Orlando has pretty much every chain restaurant you could think of. It wouldn't make sense to go offsite for lunch (too much park time lost), but dinner is doable if you are taking a longer break or are done with the parks for the day.

 

[susykt4]

We have been to Disney several times and have never done the dining plan. However, dining is not a major part of our vacation and we don't really care about trying all the table service restaurants at Epcot, etc. We usually book one character meal and otherwise eat counter service when we're hungry and when it's convenient. I've totaled our dining expenses (all on-site) for each trip and they've never justified the expense of the dining plan. For example, we don't get dessert at every meal. I love the freedom of NOT being on a plan. I think it would be convenient to have that part of your vacation already paid for, but a dining plan is certainly not necessary.

 

[Schmeck]

If you've already added the dining plan will Disney allow you to cancel it? I thought you could upgrade tickets/packages, but Disney would not let you downgrade anything?

 

[indigoxtreme]

You stated that your Brother was leaving to go to Univ. Are they still staying at WDW or leaving all together? Are they in a seperate room? If they are separate from you they do not have to have the dining plan. If they are leaving WDW all together they can have the plan for as long as they are staying at WDW.

It sounds like the Counter Service plan may be better for your style. But if you do plan a sit down meal each day then the DP is definitely a savings. Check out the menus on the other links given to you calculate the cost. Now Tax is already included in the DP, so when calculating to pay out of pocket don't forget the tax. Tip you have to pay either way it is not included.

I do not find the dining plan to be rigid. You have a choice of times to eat, if you call early enough. You know what times your family likes to eat their meals. There are some nice restaurants in the resorts as well, so you don't have to eat in the parks. If you want to go off site plan at least 30 minutes travel time and then the wait time at the restaurants. Probably about a 2hr up time block. Unless you want fast food of course.

 

[Aliceacc]

Last year was our first trip in decades, and the first with the kids. I LOVED the DDP and we're doing it again this year.

Yes, I could eat more cheaply if we did strictly counter service.

But I loved the variety of the restaurants. And it was (and is) incredibly important to me to take the time to stop as a family and just sit and eat. Counter service is always rushed, with one eye on the clock and another eye on that family circling your table, estimating how long it will be before you leave and they can take your spot.

But table service, while it does take away from your time in the parks, gives you time to talk, to enjoy each others company, to be a family. And, as an aside, we got to try some restaurants that would have been too expensive for our budget had we had to pay OOP for them.

I realize it's not the right choice for everyone. But the DDP was most definitely the right choice for us.

 

[mjones73]

If you've already added the dining plan will Disney allow you to cancel it? I thought you could upgrade tickets/packages, but Disney would not let you downgrade anything?

I believe the cut off is either a week or 72 hours before check in before you can no longer make changes to your plan. They may charge a fee to downgrade also depending on how close to check in you are.