We loved QSDP!

[gssmks]

Ok, I'm really considering the QSDP for our next trip, but I am curious about one thing. How much is a typical CS meal OOP? I was thinking that for my family of four (2A2C) it would be about 30 dollars for most places. I realize that prices vary from place to place depending on what you get, but I'm just going for a ballpark figure. If my family purchased this it would be $78 for each night of stay for us, right? So my math is not justifying this. I read that you all saved money, so please enlighten me!

Unless your family typically share meals and/or drinks, I do not think that you will feed a family of four for $30.00 per meal at the CS places in WDW. In our experience, it averages approximately $10-$12 per person, per meal for the CS. There are items on the menu that are less expensive, but it seems that my family never orders those things. Our last trip to WDW was December 2007 and at that time drinks were $2.75 each. I have not used QSDP yet, but I have used DDP and it saved me several hundred dollars.

I will never go back to WDW without the one of the plans.

 

[MissNurse]

Unless your family typically share meals and/or drinks, I do not think that you will feed a family of four for $30.00 per meal at the CS places in WDW. In our experience, it averages approximately $10-$12 per person, per meal for the CS. There are items on the menu that are less expensive, but it seems that my family never orders those things. Our last trip to WDW was December 2007 and at that time drinks were $2.75 each. I have not used QSDP yet, but I have used DDP and it saved me several hundred dollars.

I will never go back to WDW without the one of the plans.

Well, I did figure $10-$12 per adult, but I have two children (ages 7 &4), so I figured this with kids meal prices of approx 4.99. Isn't that right? They didn't seem to vary much on kids meal prices according to the allears site.

 

[gssmks]

Well, I did figure $10-$12 per adult, but I have two children (ages 7 &4), so I figured this with kids meal prices of approx 4.99. Isn't that right? They didn't seem to vary much on kids meal prices according to the allears site.

That may be right with factoring in kids meals. My DD was nine when we used DDP. She never wanted any of the kids items. She has always eaten more like an adult.

 

[Family Fun Mom]

Thanks for posting this!

We are going in August with the military discount and tickets. We added the QSDP to the package. I am looking forward to giving this plan a try. Our only other experience was with free dining (basic plan) 4 years ago. While it is a fabulous deal, being slaves to ADRs took away a little of the magic, as did waiting for 20+ minutes for a table once we got to the restaurant. It looks like they will have free dining during our dates again this time. We still got a great deal thanks to the military offer and while everyone else is waiting for a table at dinner time, we'll be enjoying some rides

I love the idea of simply finding a nearby CS spot when hunger strikes rather than planning 3 months prior to the trip where we'll eat each night. I hope our trip goes as well as yours did.

 

[2Monkeys]

I think you'll spend about $35 per QS meal at a minimum, which would be $70/day. Since the plan is $78/day, in your situation you are basically getting 4 snacks/day and 4 refillable mugs for $8/day. If you paid out of pocket, 2 snacks would probably run you at least $8/day. Sounds like a deal to me!

 

[MissNurse]

I think you'll spend about $35 per QS meal at a minimum, which would be $70/day. Since the plan is $78/day, in your situation you are basically getting 4 snacks/day and 4 refillable mugs for $8/day. If you paid out of pocket, 2 snacks would probably run you at least $8/day. Sounds like a deal to me!

You're probably right. At worst we would break even, but we probably will save money. It all depends on how you work it. That's true with all of the dining plans, though. Thank you for your help!

 

[Angies1274]

I'm so happy to hear all the positive reviews for the QSDP!! We will be trying it in a couple of weeks and are very excited! We did the regular dining plan last year and saved a lot of money by doing it. We really enjoyed trying the different restaurants but for us, it took a lot of time away from the parks. It will be so nice this year not to have to worry about ADR's and having the option to eat whenever we feel like it.

 

[housemouse]

We just used the QS plan also. For us, it wasn't that great of a deal. I don't want desserts with every meal and my DS doesn't eat them at all. We'd usually give the pre-packaged dessert options away to another table. Most of the snack options we ran across were sweets which, with the exception of a couple, didn't interest us. We used a lot of our snacks on bottled water. The day we were leaving we had 10 snacks left. We hopped in the car and ran over to AKL and used them up on hummus and pita chips.

I got home and ran the numbers. For our way of eating, I think we could budget $30pp/d and be pretty well fed and possibly have some left over.

 

[MEM]

DH and I debated last night the wisdom of doing the DDP for the first part of our trip, at BCV and then the QSP for the second part of our trip at AKV. However, we will be at AKV for 11 nights and we decided it would be difficult to ignore Boma, Jiko and the new restaurant at Kidani. Eleven days of CS will get old, we think. We decided to stick with the DDP for the 5 days at BCV and eat at Yachtsman's Steakhouse, The Wave, Spoodle's and possibly Tutto Italia. We will use our TIW card for the second part of the trip.

 

[patsal]

We debated about it and are going to get it for June/July. I plan only three TS for the 12 nights and have a TIW card, but the QSDP will allow the kids the freedom to get whatever and for me to get what i want rather than share or order the least expensive thing--it is a midset I have not something I have to do, but with the QSDP I can do what I want and not worry. I also like not having to do quick math and cringe--you know, the "can I have a slushie"--"of course you can"--mental mom math breakdown I just spent $16.00 on colored sugar water!

 

[drpeterson8]

This thread is very encouraging, since my family is going to Disney for the first time and using the QSDP. I debated for a month over which plan would suit my family the best. The appeal of the nicer restaurants was my husband's thoughts, but I know my family best. We like being "spur of the moment" and I imagine that we would have felt burdened with the thoughts of time management trying to get to the restaurants on time for our reservations. Besides, we often snack mid-day and would probably not be "hungry" at dinner time.

The QSDP sounded the best but I was worried we would get tired of "fast food". Now that I have researched it a bit, I see that there is a lot of variety in the CS.

At first I was trying to figure out how to best utilize the QS meals and snacks to get the most for the money... then after reading on here, I decided that the whole "convenience" of the prepaid meal plan was to take the "planning and scrutinizing" out of your vacation.

So, with that said... I plan to go prepared and well informed about what snacks we can have, where the best CS restaurants are and best of all... go without worry of how much money we are spending on FOOD and DRINKS (my frugal ways will stay at home so I can enjoy Disney like a kid).

Thanks for the tips!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

For those of you who are lucky enough to be going during FD, you might be interested in how they did things last year. You could trade in a TS for a CS just by announcing your intention at the ordering station. You then got the CS meal AND 2 vouchers to be used for snacks. That means that each person on FD can get 2 CS AND 3 snacks a day. Much better than the QS option IMO. Being able to have an overpriced iced tea suits me to a tee!

drpeterson8, being able to act like a kid at DW is the only way to go!

Slightly Goofy

 

[TammyLynn33]

Hey We leave in 17 days!! I just got my vouchers luggage tags etc...

My question is on the summary..It says
Snacks 2 per person..
But it says Quick Service Counter Service Meals 1..Im assuming since we paid for obviously the plan it includes 2 should I worry? lol

 

[ofhs93]

Well, I did figure $10-$12 per adult, but I have two children (ages 7 &4), so I figured this with kids meal prices of approx 4.99. Isn't that right? They didn't seem to vary much on kids meal prices according to the allears site.

We were on the QSDP in Feb. and it was perfect for us. Our *cheapest* adult meal would have been about $14 OOP.....so....at that rate the snacks and mugs were basically free. Trust me...MOST of our meals were quite a bit MORE than $14 though...the chicken/Rib combo at Cosmic Rays comes out to almost $20 after drink and dessert. If your not hungry enough to eat the dessert then pack it in your cooler and use it for a snack. We used a nice chunk of *our* snack credits to eat breakfast In the end..we had more than enough food and the CS places are NOT like fast food unless you choose those type of CS meals. It's all about planning folks Oh..don't forget...the QSDP price for kids is only $8.99...so you REALLY save money on the kids. Even before the snacks your looking at $10 for 2 meals per day. The freedom of the plan itself meant as much if not more than the savings...not having to tell the kids "no" if they wanted a treat was nice.

 

[mommyaof2]

Hey We leave in 17 days!! I just got my vouchers luggage tags etc...

My question is on the summary..It says
Snacks 2 per person..
But it says Quick Service Counter Service Meals 1..Im assuming since we paid for obviously the plan it includes 2 should I worry? lol

I wouldn't worry. Mine says the same thing and I called about it and they said it was fine.

 

[disneydreamin247]

I just switched from the basic DDP the QSDP. We only have 7 nights this trip and I don't want to have to spend it making sure we can make our ADRs on time. I'm only keeping 2 ADRs (Chef Mickey and Tusker House b'fast) and going CS the rest of the trip. It makes more sense to me for this trip.

 

[MissNurse]

We were on the QSDP in Feb. and it was perfect for us. Our *cheapest* adult meal would have been about $14 OOP.....so....at that rate the snacks and mugs were basically free. Trust me...MOST of our meals were quite a bit MORE than $14 though...the chicken/Rib combo at Cosmic Rays comes out to almost $20 after drink and dessert. If your not hungry enough to eat the dessert then pack it in your cooler and use it for a snack. We used a nice chunk of *our* snack credits to eat breakfast In the end..we had more than enough food and the CS places are NOT like fast food unless you choose those type of CS meals. It's all about planning folks Oh..don't forget...the QSDP price for kids is only $8.99...so you REALLY save money on the kids. Even before the snacks your looking at $10 for 2 meals per day. The freedom of the plan itself meant as much if not more than the savings...not having to tell the kids "no" if they wanted a treat was nice.

You are absolutely right. I got on the allears site with my calculator and added up what we would potentially do for a given day, and I consistently came out saving at least a little bit. Thanks so much!

 

[ofhs93]

You are absolutely right. I got on the allears site with my calculator and added up what we would potentially do for a given day, and I consistently came out saving at least a little bit. Thanks so much!

My pleasure ...it really all depends on the family...for those with small children or all adults that like to eat then the QSDP *will* save you money...if your light eaters or have 10-14 year olds that don't eat much then it is debatable. There are many tween/teens that don't eat enough to justify Disney's *adult* tag for them....and some of the QS meals are large enough to share with 2 people if they are lighter eaters....in those cases you could *probably* save money by going OOP. If your on the fence then I absolutely say you should try the plan just for the convenience and freedom's sake alone. Not having to worry about pinching pennies and having that food bill to deal with is nice I must say.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I have often been called 'Cheaper than dirt" and I am considering, and probably will, buy the QS dining plan, if they do not offer Free Dining when we are going to be there. We often eat at the Golden Corral down there and other places and can get away with spending as little as $35-40 a day but it is worth the bit extra for the convenience and ability to have an overpriced drink or something if the whim hits.

If you do the research and make a list, park by park etc., it is possible to find some interesting choices and not just the run of the mill foods. Make sure to check out Wolfgang Puck Express, we love the place!

JMO, your mileage may vary.

Slightly Goofy

 

[MermaidQueen]

We are also a family of 5 and just got back from Disney doing QSDP and LOVED it. Would definitely not do disney again without doing the dining plan. Now what I am about to say dont get mad but this actually came from a Disney castmember at our first meal. My daughter wanted a cheeseburger which was not on the children's menu. The castmember proceeded to tell us that Disney does not keep up with whether they are kids or adults on the counter service meals. This is only for counter service meals! So he told us we could order whatever we wanted and just say use 5 counter service meals. We were hesitant at first and said well if we wind up having to eat kids meals at end of trip we will but did not. I have kids who like to eat and this really worked out great for us. Like I said a castmember at Cosmic Ray's is the one who told us we could do this so not intentionally trying to cheat anyone.