so is it worth upgrading?

[baggienath7]

so Basically my partner and i were dealing with our ADR last night and we were wondering is it worth upgrading our QSDP to a standard Dining plan, its any extra £390 ($593 dollars).
i mean we would love to eat out most nights of our 14 night stay, however i could see the cost creeping higher and higher if we did. Also if your on a DDP are you limited to certain foods? like do you have a different menu to those who are paying cash with no DDP?

any help or advice would be great.

 

[nepalostparks]

so Basically my partner and i were dealing with our ADR last night and we were wondering is it worth upgrading our QSDP to a standard Dining plan, its any extra £390 ($593 dollars).
i mean we would love to eat out most nights of our 14 night stay, however i could see the cost creeping higher and higher if we did. Also if your on a DDP are you limited to certain foods? like do you have a different menu to those who are paying cash with no DDP?

any help or advice would be great.

Any restaurant that accepts the DDP (which is most) you will order off of the regular menu. There is no special or limited menu for DDP users.

 

[zurgandfriend]

If you enjoy eating out everynight and you can afford it I say go for it.

 

[ParentsOf4]

WDW's QS restaurants get pretty old pretty quick. After 2 QS meals per day for a week, you'll wish you weren't on it.

Conversely, at $593 for 14 days and (I assume) 2 people, that works out to an extra $21/person/day to change 1 meal from a QS to a TS. Incrementally add that to the cost you already are paying for one of the QS meals and it easily works out to well over $30/meal without alcohol. That's a lot of freakin' money for a meal and pretty much the only TS restaurants that consistently cost more are Disney's grossly overpriced buffets.

Since being introduced in 2005, the Disney Dining Plan (DDP) has proven to be popular with many onsite guests. In 2005, DDP cost $35/night and included one Table Service (TS) meal consisting of appetizer, non-alcoholic beverage, main course, dessert, and 18% gratuity, one Quick Service (QS) meal consisting of non-alcoholic beverage, main course, and dessert, and one snack. Disney now offers several DDP options, with the Standard DDP being most similar to the original DDP. The 2012 price of this plan is $51.54/night. However, the TS appetizer and 18% gratuity are no longer included. When these are factored in, the equivalent price is around $60/night. An increase from $35/night in 2005 to $60/night in 2012 represents an annual increase of 8.0%.

In 2013, the DDP price increased another 12.5%.

When originally introduced, it was possible for the casual WDW vacationer to save money using DDP. However, with the changes and price increases since then, DDP becomes more difficult to financially justify every year. If you want to maximize savings using DDP, carefully map out your dining to eat the most expensive menu items at the most expensive restaurants. Also be sure to eat every morsel. Otherwise, there’s a good chance DDP will cost you money. For the hungry planner, DDP makes sense. Yet for many WDW guests, I suspect DDP offers considerably less financial benefit.

There are some who prefer DDP for nonfinancial reasons. Perhaps the most frequently mentioned is having the meals prepaid. If this is really important to you, consider using a prepaid debit card, which offers considerably more flexibility than DDP.

You're not going to like my recommendation but I'd dump the Dining Plan completely and pay a la carte. In the long run, you'll probably spend less.

 

[Minthorne]

I say it every time I see these posts. If the majority of the people using the DDP were the financial winners in the transaction Disney wouldn't offer the plan. As the increase the price and lower the benefits they just make the transaction more beneficial in Disney's favor

 

[cowanfamily]

After a week, your going to want to have a nice table service meal. Spend the extra cash.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I agree with those who advise you to go ahead and make one table service reservation per day to liven up your itinerary (and create a lovely, air-conditioned break in the day), but pay for the whole shebang out of pocket. Unless you and your partner would ordinarily order and eat dessert with every single meal and a snack every day, you're not likely to save anything on either the quick service or standard dining plans, and will most likely lose money.

If you're committed to using the dining plan, however, I would say yes, go ahead and upgrade. The standard plan, if used judiciously (e.g., going to the best 1-credit table service restaurants and ordering the most expensive entrees), is more likely to give you your money's worth than the quick service plan, with which you'll pretty much break even no matter where you go and what you eat.

 

[DisneyDelirious]

I would say upgrade or pay out of pocket. If you park hop and are willing to travel just for a meal, there are unique and different options using QS but you may not want to travel that much every day. The MIK in particular has pretty poor offerings as far as diverse menu for QS, while AK provides some tasty alternatives. You have a 14 day stay, we usually do 10 or 11. With a stay of that length you will want plenty of options. The only reason i would recommend not upgrading for you is if you have waited too long and you can't get reservations at restaraunts you would enjoy. If you are 180 days out or if you go on line and discover that there are still good ADR's available, I'd make the move to some TS meals.

 

[jrogue]

I agree with upgrading. Part of the magic for my family and I consists of all the table service restaurants we eat at -- some of which we probably either wouldn't eat at or would order less from if we weren't on the dining plan. I'd say get the dining plan. You get snacks as well, too! It's worth it.

 

[Todd L]

so Basically my partner and i were dealing with our ADR last night and we were wondering is it worth upgrading our QSDP to a standard Dining plan, its any extra £390 ($593 dollars).
i mean we would love to eat out most nights of our 14 night stay, however i could see the cost creeping higher and higher if we did. Also if your on a DDP are you limited to certain foods? like do you have a different menu to those who are paying cash with no DDP?

any help or advice would be great.

Imho, I find it a lot easier to do the Qs and then maybe pick a Sit sown place or two for our stay and pay out of pocket for those.

Some people may tell you different and It really comes down to what is gonna work best for you .

We didnt like making all the Adr's so far in advance and the fact that they were very inflexable with the rest of our schedule.

Last few trips have all been Qs for us and its very freeing to do as you like when you like with No real schedule to have to stick to.

Have a great trip , either way youll be happy in the end!!

 

[real mad hatter]

Is your QS free ? We got QS free DDP last year ( first time on free ) but we booked 3 ADRS on top of that..To be honest eating for 14 nights of TS meals would put about two stone on me,also remember to add your tips for each meal.I would stick to your QS and add a couple of TS meals and pay out of pocket.;

 

[lilclerk]

Is your QS free ? We got QS free DDP last year ( first time on free ) but we booked 3 ADRS on top of that..To be honest eating for 14 nights of TS meals would put about two stone on me,also remember to add your tips for each meal.I would stick to your QS and add a couple of TS meals and pay out of pocket.;

That's what I would suggest, too. TS meals are not only expensive, especially when you factor in the tip plus any extras you want, but they take up a ton of time. I'd stick to QS and book a TS here and there, and pay for that out of pocket.

 

[bmarkelon]

You have to think about it and do what's best for you guys. If you think you want more than 3-5 TS meals I say go for it. We always do plus dining, we love TS meals and usually pay out of pocket for extras even with the plan. But that's us. Other's will tell you the QS works best for them. I just get tired of QS, yes there is variety but after 2 weeks of it, it will get old. There is MUCH more variety at the table. I would make a list of TS you would put on your itinerary and count them up, also make sure these are going to fit in smoothly for what you want to be doing. Some busier park goers would say that all the TS cramp their style. We like the sit down break to sit and reflect on the fun we are having and talk about what's coming up.
So, in summary as I stated first you have to analyze what you guys are looking for while you are there to make the choice that best suits your wants and needs.

 

[JillC LI]

I agree with upgrading. Part of the magic for my family and I consists at all the table service restaurants we eat at -- some of which we probably either wouldn't eat at or would order less from if we weren't on the dining plan. I'd say get the dining plan. You get snacks as well, too! It's worth it.

Ditto. We enjoy looking forward to one sit-down meal per day. Trying different Disney TS restaurants is part of the fun of the trip for us. I say upgrade.

 

[Prince-1]

WDW's QS restaurants get pretty old pretty quick. After 2 QS meals per day for a week, you'll wish you weren't on it.

Conversely, at $593 for 14 days and (I assume) 2 people, that works out to an extra $21/person/day to change 1 meal from a QS to a TS. Incrementally add that to the cost you already are paying for one of the QS meals and it easily works out to well over $30/meal without alcohol. That's a lot of freakin' money for a meal and pretty much the only TS restaurants that consistently cost more are Disney's grossly overpriced buffets.

Since being introduced in 2005, the Disney Dining Plan (DDP) has proven to be popular with many onsite guests. In 2005, DDP cost $35/night and included one Table Service (TS) meal consisting of appetizer, non-alcoholic beverage, main course, dessert, and 18% gratuity, one Quick Service (QS) meal consisting of non-alcoholic beverage, main course, and dessert, and one snack. Disney now offers several DDP options, with the Standard DDP being most similar to the original DDP. The 2012 price of this plan is $51.54/night. However, the TS appetizer and 18% gratuity are no longer included. When these are factored in, the equivalent price is around $60/night. An increase from $35/night in 2005 to $60/night in 2012 represents an annual increase of 8.0%.

In 2013, the DDP price increased another 12.5%.

When originally introduced, it was possible for the casual WDW vacationer to save money using DDP. However, with the changes and price increases since then, DDP becomes more difficult to financially justify every year. If you want to maximize savings using DDP, carefully map out your dining to eat the most expensive menu items at the most expensive restaurants. Also be sure to eat every morsel. Otherwise, there’s a good chance DDP will cost you money. For the hungry planner, DDP makes sense. Yet for many WDW guests, I suspect DDP offers considerably less financial benefit.

There are some who prefer DDP for nonfinancial reasons. Perhaps the most frequently mentioned is having the meals prepaid. If this is really important to you, consider using a prepaid debit card, which offers considerably more flexibility than DDP.

You're not going to like my recommendation but I'd dump the Dining Plan completely and pay a la carte. In the long run, you'll probably spend less.

What ParentsOf4 said.

 

[Prince-1]

What ParentsOf4 said.

Yeah it was a lot easier to quote what you said which is exactly how i feel than try to rephrase it. Saved my fingers from typing it out too.