Reviews of Disney’s QUICK SERVICE Dining Plan
Reviewed by slapps Review Date: 01/27/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
We have visited Disney 10 times over the past 11 years. We have used the regular DDP (counter, table service, and snack) plan on several occasions and if you like to enjoy table service meals, we found it nice. The problem is that a lot of times when planning expenses, you do not figure in the tips which can add a huge chunk to your expenses.
This time down we stayed for 10 days. We did the first 5 days on the Quick Service dining plan, which we had never used. We did this because we always visit during the Christmas Holiday and it can be a hassle to get to your ADR's, so we decided to experiment. We stayed at a DVC resort the Animal Kingdom Kidani Village the first 5 days in a studio. We found that we would eat breakfast in the room and then lunch and dinner on the QS plan. We also did out of pocket at two restaurants. On our last day of our first reservation, we had 6 meals left.
We then checked into our home resort Old Key West and we did not use the meal plan. We had 3 table service meals. Our stay at OKW was in a two bedroom with our good friends also from up-state New York. We had discussed many times in the past the better deal dining plan or not. I must say we did not cook in the villa, just a quick breakfast and then most days we were on our way. We charged all our meals to our room and we figured there really was not much difference in cost between paying out of pocket or the DDP. I must also point out we did not deal shop, if we were hungry we ate. We did not look for the best price.
One thing we did notice was we were not overfull when paying out of pocket. When we did the DDP, we tended to overeat I think because you are getting your dessert and the things that come with the plan. So we figured we did not eat as much off the plan.
Last year we used the standard plan and we did not plan well and ate our table service late in the afternoon and we had about 8 QS meals left over between our two families. We have our reservations for check in this next December and we will not be using a dining plan at all.
In summation I think it all depends on what you are looking for while visiting Disney. If you plan a lot of table service meals it might be worth while. If you have small children, the QS may be better.
Pros:
ConvenientCons:
Makes it easy to overeat.Reviewed by kclhendrickson Review Date: 03/06/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
I am thrilled that we chose this dining plan!I loved that it was already "paid" for and it felt like we were eating for "free" at each meal.There were several enjoyable options at each park and hotel, and we enjoyed having a different dessert option at each location (yum!- but not good for the waistline).
I also liked the variety of "snack" options both in the park and at the hotel.
My only disappointment was that french fries were the side for most adult meals. When I actually ordered apple slices one day I got an incredulous look from the cast member. I would have liked as many options for sides as the kids (yogurt, carrots, apples, grapes, cookies, heck- even a side salad option would have been wonderful!).
You will NOT go away hungry with this plan, and it saved us on "tipping" and allowed us to have one table service meal that we paid for out of pocket and was well worth it.
Pros:
variety of options to use dinning plan atCons:
lack of "healthy" type options for adultsReviewed by mmfan Review Date: 03/21/2013
Rating: (2) Recommended
We have visited the World many times, and have never chosen to have a dining plan, as we felt it was not cost effective for us. This time my DD made the reservations, and chose a package that included the quick service plan. As I found out, we were right - the dining plans do not fit our style.
The issue was not the amount of food, we are a family that likes to eat. We never order dessert with our meals though, choosing to do snacks when we want, so that caused us to eat food we really never would have purchased.
We found that it really took away our flexibility. Sometimes we only have one meal a day, depending on snacks we eat, or find a sit down meal that we can get into at the last minute and decide to do that, all based on how the day has gone. Sure, you can use the meals and snacks however you want, but we found ourselves scrambling to fit them in. We have saved our receipts over the years and found no matter how we ate, the plans never saved us any money. I am not sure what the convenience factor is, as we charge our meals to our room key, so never handle cash. I don't happen to find it difficult to figure how much we are spending, maybe because we visit so often.
If the plan is free, you are paying full price for your room, which negates the savings. we experimented once before our vacation, covering up the prices on the menus, choosing restaurants that we wanted and meals that we wanted regardless of cost, and found that according to our likes and dislikes, we did not save any money. The important thing is to know your families habits and style before you decide if a dining plan is right for you.
Pros:
hels to determine budget -Cons:
not cost effective for usReviewed by 1283alex Review Date: 05/23/2013
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
If traveling without children, would not recommend this plan. We spent less money dining freely wherever we wanted and didn't have to worry about using dining credits on meals/snacks that we didn't really want, but were obligated to use points. Refillable mug has gotten smaller over the years and became more of a hassle to walk from pool to beverage area to fill up.
Pros:
—Cons:
—Reviewed by sabu1953 Review Date: 09/08/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
We have visited many times....and we thought we could do it this trip on the QS dining plan....we were wrong. Seems as if almost all of the good things are gone from the menus, or recipes have changed since last year. Even the snacks (Mickey Bar is half as thick as last year) seem to have been either cut in size or just "cheapened out". Would go back for the regular plan again including the sit down dinners...but would have to reconsider just this plan. When it first started, it was a great deal, but now.........
Pros:
Not locked into a dining timeCons:
Food not as good as in past yearsReviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 01/11/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
My party of four used the quick service plan for the first time from 1/6-1/10. We were able to get it for $21.99/person/night with a cast member discount and that made it an excellent value. It saved my family (three people) probably $250. We only used the refillable mugs once, so they weren't a great asset, but even without those our savings would have been around $200.
We enjoyed meals at Landscape of Flavors (breakfast/lunch/dinner), Sunshine Seasons, Boulangerie Patisserie, Columbia Harbour House, and Be Our Guest. We also had several table service meals that we just paid for out of pocket. If I were able to get the plan at a discount, I would use it again.
Pros:
Plenty of food, great choicesCons:
Cost vs. out of pocket without discountReviewed by Koon Review Date: 01/01/2016
Rating: (9) Recommended
Our family loves this plan as we use snacks for breakfast and that makes it an all-inclusive vacation. There's no considering if you need to choose a cheaper item in the menu for this meal, and if you play your cards right, multiple people can eat off of one credit since at some places the portions are plentiful! A great choice!
Pros:
FlexibilityCons:
—Reviewed by LISAE Review Date: 08/16/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
When we have visited in October/November and February we have felt the need for many table service meals and have really enjoyed them. On our previous summer visit two years ago we found that the table service meal was more like an endurance test during two weeks in the Florida sun.
This time we had the quick service dining plan for our two weeks (last week in July and first week in August).
We found that this was still too much food in the hot weather but enjoyed having the freedom of not having booked reservations.
We ordered water from garden grocer before our arrival, if we hadn't we would have needed to use credits for this.
In the event we brought quite a few snacks back home with us as we found it impossible to eat all the allowance of food.
It did give us the flexibility to have lots of frappucinos and ice-cream sundaes. Also as we weren't necessarily eating two full meals a day we did on occasion order pizza and salad and eat one large meal.
Definitely a must-do for me in the Summer and not having to allow for tips was an added bonus.
Pros:
ideal for a Summer meal planCons:
wouldn't be enough food for us in cooler weather.Reviewed by bethocindigo Review Date: 10/20/2016
Rating: (4) Recommended
With the new Magic Bands where you have the option of charging everything simply to your Resort room, I have found that this Quick-Service Plan is WAY too expensive and obsolete.
It FORCES you to take a drink AND a dessert when most of the time, you're just TOO FULL to eat another bite after the LARGE entree. I don't like caffeinated drinks and carry a 'Camel' filtered water bottle around with me in the park anyway so that's a waste too.
There is NO WAY that my family can eat $42 in food a day because the entrees (Plus fries and sometimes a few smaller side dishes) are usually no more than $15 if you add in a drink. And they only give you 1 snack
We would much rather pay for everything separately because I prefer to eat smaller portions and enjoy tasty snacks AFTER my stomach has settle and digested a few hours.
This is a waste of money when its now SO MUCH easier to just charge everything to the room.
Pros:
Easy to use and the cashiers are VERY helpful when you want to know your optionsCons:
$42 PER PERSON a day.......REALLY?Reviewed by maddox4 Review Date: 04/19/2017
Rating: (6) Recommended
On our last trip in March 2017 I kept track of what I had prepaid on the dining plan and what we actually would have paid at each location. We spent $12 in total more than if we would have paid out of pocket (I also took into account the drink mug). The 2 snack per day instead of the desserts at each meal was better for us. While it is also nice knowing you have paid for everything ahead of time, when we go back in Sept. 2017 we will not be purchasing the dining plan. We usually stay in DVC studios or 1 bedrooms so will take advantage of the "kitchen" option for some of our meals besides the usual breakfast in the room as we have done in the past.
