Author review of the Quick Service Plan

[Craig Jones Sr]

I just read a review on the Quick Service Plan to see if it was worth the extra cost over paying for individual meals. At the end of a 5 day visit the author posted it would cost $42 more with the dining plan. As someone who has used the dining plan multiple times over the years I have to disagree with the author. He made a fundamental mistake using the plan at the Hotel, now we have used it for dinner at the Hotel but never breakfast. Breakfast is the least costly meal to purchase at the economy hotels. We never use the meal plan for Breakfast, instead eating a light breakfast and paying cash or credit card and saving the meal plan for more expensive lunch time meals in the parks. If used this way the Quick Service Meal Plan is well worth the money.

 

[alex9179]

My takeaway, from your synopsis, is that it requires a certain allowance in how you eat to see the benefit. In order to be "worth it" the author would've had to change their preferred timing and choices. Some don't feel that's worth it to buy the plan. I'm one of them. I'm using the regular dining plan on our upcoming trip because it's free and I have kids who eat like adults. I'm pretty sure we'd end up in the red if we paid for it, and will track it out of curiosity.

 

[Craig Jones Sr]

I understand what your saying, but if your going to have any of the dining plans don't you think it to be wise to maximize how you use it. For instance why use a snack for a soda when you can use it for a more expensive Mickey Bar. I mean going to Disneyworld takes planning anyway. It's a no brainer for us. If used properly the Dining Plan is a good value.

 

[alex9179]

On these boards, it's expected to work the plan if buying it. For the average vacationer, it's not at all. I know people who thought they were only allowed 3 FPs per day and I can tell you that they never looked further than the package price. They purchased eligible food and drink when/how they wanted, like normal people do!

 

[rwdavis2]

Several years ago the Dis Unplugged Podcast analyzed the plans. They concluded the QS plan offered the least “value”. Unless one ordered the most expensive items at each meal they lost money on the plan.

 

[DisBuckMan]

I understand what your saying, but if your going to have any of the dining plans don't you think it to be wise to maximize how you use it. For instance why use a snack for a soda when you can use it for a more expensive Mickey Bar. I mean going to Disneyworld takes planning anyway. It's a no brainer for us. If used properly the Dining Plan is a good value.

Probably because most people (I would hope) order what they actually want to eat/drink, not just the most expensive thing so they can maximize a dining plan.

 

[sharonabe]

Several years ago the Dis Unplugged Podcast analyzed the plans. They concluded the QS plan offered the least “value”. Unless one ordered the most expensive items at each meal they lost money on the plan.

But that analysis was done before Disney added alcohol. For adults who are going to have beer, wine or a cocktail with their meals, they can EASILY save money with the QSDP and never have to order the most expensive item.

They also did not take into account the kids who eat like adults and can get adult QS meals for the kid's QSDP cost. They pay less than $24 per night and again, EASILY purchase more than that amount.

 

[Nancyg56]

I understand what your saying, but if your going to have any of the dining plans don't you think it to be wise to maximize how you use it. For instance why use a snack for a soda when you can use it for a more expensive Mickey Bar. I mean going to Disneyworld takes planning anyway. It's a no brainer for us. If used properly the Dining Plan is a good value.

THe dining plans offer a value if your family dining preferences mirror how they are set up to be used. If not, they are a bog old financial flop. When you say WDW takes planning, so why not plan how you want to dine to properly utilize the plan, you are really suggesting that folks should plan how to maximize the value even if they must change their dining habits.

My family uses the plan, and we tend to maximize it because when we vacation most of us are going to buy the beef on the menus, we (I) like alcohol with meals, and generally are happy using a snack credit for breakfast. Because we are usually using a FD discount and travel as a larger family, the value evens out even if all of us do not follow that outline, however if I singled out my two nieces and tracked their dining separarely they would have lost a lot of value on the plan, although the CS would have worked better than the regular one. They told us that while they enjoyed the meals we had, they would never buy that regular plan, and would seriously consider not purchasing teh CS> their normal dining habits just dont make that purchse make sense.

Probably because most people (I would hope) order what they actually want to eat/drink, not just the most expensive thing so they can maximize a dining plan.

Exactly. Once you start changing your preferences to work a plan to the max, all the fun is gone. I keep mentioning my nieces but their normal dining habits would be a mess if they tried to max the plan. We had plenty of CS credits on our last trip because we planned extra TS meals. The trip was a wedding gift for them because they had wanted to join us on a WDW vacation, but they had no idea it would be all paid for. Well, we explained the CS and snack credits thing to them and told them to eat whenever and whatever they wanted. My heart hurt when Deb asked if it was okay to use a CS credit for a little breakfast sandwich and coffee. WHAT?????? Get what you want, do not look at prices, and forget value. That was when it really hit me that a plan can backfire. We had to have a chat that once the credits were her, they were hers. If she wanted to trade her CS in for all snacks at the resort, have at it. If they wanted to use their snack credits for little tins of WDW mints as gifts, go for it. We told her it all evened out becuase a few of us got everyones value just in Venti awesome beverages at Starbucks, so no worries! LOL!

 

[DisDreaming4116]

The "value" of the dining plan can be examined many ways, however. I have a terrible habit of choosing a cheaper item on a menu, at the grocery store, etc. even if I would prefer the slightly more expensive item. Having the dining plan, especially the QSDP where you don't have to worry about tips, provides value in that I choose exactly what I want to eat and not save $1.29 by getting something I don't really want.

 

[DisBuckMan]

The "value" of the dining plan can be examined many ways, however. I have a terrible habit of choosing a cheaper item on a menu, at the grocery store, etc. even if I would prefer the slightly more expensive item. Having the dining plan, especially the QSDP where you don't have to worry about tips, provides value in that I choose exactly what I want to eat and not save $1.29 by getting something I don't really want.

You're right in that the value can be examined in many ways. In the same way that you say it allows you to get whatever you want, there are others that feel added pressure to make sure they "get their money's worth" from what they prepaid instead of ordering what they really want.

It's a double edged sword.

 

[Nancyg56]

The "value" of the dining plan can be examined many ways, however. I have a terrible habit of choosing a cheaper item on a menu, at the grocery store, etc. even if I would prefer the slightly more expensive item. Having the dining plan, especially the QSDP where you don't have to worry about tips, provides value in that I choose exactly what I want to eat and not save $1.29 by getting something I don't really want.

This is the main reason we add the plan. It woudl nto matter that I had all of our dinign money on a special card that is allocated to all thing food. I would manage one day, perhaps two ordering the steaks and getting a dessert all to myself. After that I am ordering chicken. Sharing dessert, even if I wanted the chocolate cake, I wodul share the carrot. It drives my DH batcrap crazy! My DD is the same, although for her she would end up eating pasta.

I think that you really have to knwo your family, know yourself, and be really honest how you want to eat or how t=you think you will eat. Several years ago we booked CL at teh BC. We thought that the breakfast there woudl be sufficient so I only booked one character breakfast. Nothing else. I priced the difference between the regular dining plan and DxDDP too see if our OOP spending would be close. Nope. I believed my DH when he told me a "salami sandwich is fine" (his goto answer) and was blindsided when he organized a mutiny! Apparently I was starving him at breakfast (THis stuff is not food!) and he needed more meals than I had at the time!
Now I spend more time figuring out meals costs when he joins us! LOL YOu see, what he says he will be satisfies with andwhat he means are two different things. The oppposite can be true as wall. FOlks who think they want all their meals booked in advance may be stressed because they have to plan their day around restaurants. It is nto fun for everyone.

 

[Craig Jones Sr]

When I read some of the comments on here like Alex above it's mind boggling to me. People buy food/beverage when they want to like NORMAL people. I've been to WDW about 35 times and every time we go we want to maximize what we're offered. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure this out. When my grandson wants a water it's cash. No big deal I actually ought to thank people who don't use the plan properly because of them Disney will continue to offer it because they come out ahead. It's like a Casino, I've read if everybody knew how to play the board games and maximize the odds the Casino's wouldn't offer them because their profit margin would be to small. I hear complaining all the time about how expensive Disney World is and then read mindless posts like above. People come to my wife and me for advice when going to WDW to help maximize their spending. We don't sit down and figure it out, we just know what to use the plan on and what not to.

 

[alex9179]

"mindless"
No need to insult anyone just because we know people who don't play the Disney game. So you're more focused on certain aspects,Yay for you and your budget! I find it rather mind-boggling that you refuse to entertain that there is another side to the coin.
On the average, I don't visit restaurants to maximize a deal. I go because that's what's available in a situation or choose it because I like the food offered. My point is that a lot of people on the plan have the same mindset and don't change it for a Disney vacation. They eat and drink as needed and order food that appeals. You'll see plenty of DDP proponents on the forums who know that they may not end up in the black with it, but like the convenience of prepayment. Different strokes and priorities.

 

[Darklord77]

But that analysis was done before Disney added alcohol. For adults who are going to have beer, wine or a cocktail with their meals, they can EASILY save money with the QSDP and never have to order the most expensive item.

Exactly correct. The addition of an alcoholic beverage now makes the QSDP worth buying in some circumstances. The hard part is finding QS locations that offer cocktails and not just beer.

 

[tguz]

Let’s say we did lose $42 by buying the QS meal plan over the course of a 5 day vacation. I will gladly chalk that up to the cost of convenience.

 

[gillep]

Let’s say we did lose $42 by buying the QS meal plan over the course of a 5 day vacation. I will gladly chalk that up to the cost of convenience.

That also depends on your definition of convenience. I think of convenience as being able to get exactly what I want where I want, not prepaying for a specific type of meal at a specific location that accepts the plan. For instance, we often get a couple sides instead of what QS places call entrees, and I am not usually a fan of the cocktails at the QS places, so I will grab lunch while my husband will go to a different alcohol stand to get drinks, which you can't do while using a QS credit because you would have to get everything at the QS location in order for it to count. The plans work great for some people, but not well at all for others.

 

[tguz]

That also depends on your definition of convenience. I think of convenience as being able to get exactly what I want where I want, not prepaying for a specific type of meal at a specific location that accepts the plan. For instance, we often get a couple sides instead of what QS places call entrees, and I am not usually a fan of the cocktails at the QS places, so I will grab lunch while my husband will go to a different alcohol stand to get drinks, which you can't do while using a QS credit because you would have to get everything at the QS location in order for it to count. The plans work great for some people, but not well at all for others.

I was only speaking about myself, not others. We have been happy with qs locations and all of us have found something we like. And I consider it convenient to not have to carry cash, a wallet, or to keep track of how much we have charged to a card thru the magic band. And by using the plan, we can all get what we want n not think about how much something costs and if it’s too much. For those reasons, I’d gladly call the $42 the cost of convenience.

 

[sethschroeder]

..... For instance why use a snack for a soda when you can use it for a more expensive Mickey Bar. I mean going to Disney World takes planning anyway. It's a no brainer for us. If used properly the Dining Plan is a good value.

You didn't post a link to the article but did they actually pay for the Mickey Bar with cash and use a credit on the soda? Or did they simply not eat/snack/drink at specific times that make it "worth it".

....
They also did not take into account the kids who eat like adults and can get adult QS meals for the kid's QSDP cost. They pay less than $24 per night and again, EASILY purchase more than that amount.

Last I checked kids are required to order from the kids menu if there is one ordered. Is this not correct?

 

[sharonabe]

You didn't post a link to the article but did they actually pay for the Mickey Bar with cash and use a credit on the soda? Or did they simply not eat/snack/drink at specific times that make it "worth it".



Last I checked kids are required to order from the kids menu if there is one ordered. Is this not correct?

NOPE, not at QS meals. Kids can get an adult meal. In reality, this has always been true, but it was not "advertised" or acceptable to talk about it until 4 or 5 years ago. I know we did it back in 2009, which was the last time we used any dining plan. We noticed that the credits weren't separated on our receipt and tried just ordering adult meals. It worked. At that time, it was seen as circumventing Disney's rules, so you couldn't talk about it here on the DIS. I don't remember when it became such widespread knowledge that the DIS started letting us talk about it, but it's been quite awhile.

All the dining plan PDFs still state, "Kid's must order off the kid's menu," but both QS and DxDDP credits are not separated and can be used for either. The regular DDP's TS credits are still separated and kid's must order a kid's meal at all TS restaurants when using the regular DDP.

 

[sethschroeder]

Okay that makes sense thanks for the information on that one. Thats one issue with Disney World sometimes is that there is so many guides created that not all go back and actually update things that change.