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Counter service dining plan!
- Thread starter gators38
- Start date
Monty
Brilliant...and Canadian
- In the Parks
- No
IMO the only advantage to the dining plans is that you pre-pay for meals. If you use all your credits during your stay, it works out to a slight-to-moderate savings at best.
If you look at cost-per-meal and snacks, you'd have to diligently order only the most expensive option every time to really get savings and I find that more stressful than it's worth.
If you look at cost-per-meal and snacks, you'd have to diligently order only the most expensive option every time to really get savings and I find that more stressful than it's worth.
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DougK
Well-Known Member
MontyMon is right on the mark as usual. While prepaying means nothing to me I do understand that for alot of people that is a big deal. But as far as I am concerned prepaying is really the only benefit of the dining plan, everything else about it is a pain, stressful, etc. with only a small amount of savings, if any at all, unless you purposely order only the most expensive meal each time. Not to mention I hate having to figure out what I want for dinner 180 days in advance! And we can thank the dining plan for that!
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It all depends on your eating habits - the dining plans give you a lot of food - even at quick service.
Read
http://www.mousesavers.com/mywplusquickdining2009.html
and
http://www.mousesavers.com/qsdiningplantips.html
and there are menus on this site and on AllEars.net - with prices.
For some it works out to a break even, some its a great value, and some won't eat enough to make it worth while, so its not worth it at all.
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DisneyMusician2
Well-Known Member
I prefer knowing tings are taken care of and paying it up front rather than paying there.
So I love the dining plan. It always saves me cash, as my wife and I have a TS meal every night we are on vacation.
For the CS plan, I am not sure, but it is convenient, and at the worst you'll break even.
But check the articles, and I believe tourinplans.com has some info on this as well.
So I love the dining plan. It always saves me cash, as my wife and I have a TS meal every night we are on vacation.
For the CS plan, I am not sure, but it is convenient, and at the worst you'll break even.
But check the articles, and I believe tourinplans.com has some info on this as well.
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RiversideBunny
New Member
You have to look at a few things:
Do you normally order desert with a hamburger and fries for lunch?
Do you normally buy a resort mug?
Do you plan to stay more than 4 nights (to spread the cost of the mug)?
Do you eat several snacks per day in addition to meals?
If 'Yes' to all of the above then the Counter Service dining plan may be worth it financially. Otherwise just pay as you go.
IMHO
Do you normally order desert with a hamburger and fries for lunch?
Do you normally buy a resort mug?
Do you plan to stay more than 4 nights (to spread the cost of the mug)?
Do you eat several snacks per day in addition to meals?
If 'Yes' to all of the above then the Counter Service dining plan may be worth it financially. Otherwise just pay as you go.
IMHO
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slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
If you use the counter service dining plan primariyl for lunches and dinners (maybe using your snacks as often as possible for things that could be used for breakfast), then it could be extremely worthwhile.
I know some of the resort gift shops (especially the ones at Fort Wilderness and at DVC resorts) will have a small selection of groceries, and many people pick up a 12-pack of Entenmann's donuts as a snack item & eat them for breakfast over the course of a few days. Granted, it's not the healthiest breakfast item, but it will stretch your dining dollar.
I know some of the resort gift shops (especially the ones at Fort Wilderness and at DVC resorts) will have a small selection of groceries, and many people pick up a 12-pack of Entenmann's donuts as a snack item & eat them for breakfast over the course of a few days. Granted, it's not the healthiest breakfast item, but it will stretch your dining dollar.
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betteratmk
Member
:wave: I know alot of people don't like the dining plan and it is not perfect :shrug: but we have always enjoyed it. If you like counter service meals enough to eat them twice a day you should be alright. There are dinner options with counter service at places like Cosmic Rays, Flame Tree, Sunshine Seasons , most of the resort food courts with CSR even offering steak I believe(unless this has recently changed) We always get the refillable mugs so it may work out!! Our problem is that we don,t like counter twice a day and will probably upgrade to reg. DDP.
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bigtotoro
Member
I can only speak for myself, so grain of salt theory applies. We are doing Deluxe Dining this time. We'll pick up a muffin at the concierge lounge in the morning (I don't like to eat a heavy breakfast at WDW). We will have an early lunch at a single credit table service. And we will finish off the day with a double credit signature dining option every night. Depending on what we order (we are quality over quantity food people) we will end up $10-30 to the good every day. If you are not a food person, if you prefer a feed bag establishment (i.e. buffet), if you do not have a mind to sit and relax at a meal twice a day, if you have fussy children, if you have annoyingly fussy eaters...this doesn't work for you. But it works for us. YMMV
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DivineMadness7
New Member
Can't do this anymore. They've changed the snack options. In the POR gift shop, I wasn't even able to get the larger bag of pretzels, I was told I could only get the small, single serving size.
When I worked out the prices for the regular dining plan, I found that you basically broke even, especially after paying gratuity. Because the Counter Service plan wouldn't require gratuity, it may be a better deal. Since no one has used this plan yet (it begins in January, right?) no one will really be able to give you first hand experience. Maybe check out the menu prices and get some averages to figure out if it works for your family. If you aren't the kind of people who want dessert all the time/would normally buy a resort mug, it may not be for you.
Last month, we traveled with a family of 6. They have 4 kids ranging in ages 11-17. The dining plan worked well for them because they were paying ahead and because the kids could use their credits when they wanted. If the older kids split with the group to go off on their own for a bit, they had their card to use their snack credit. Because your kids are younger, this isn't a benefit. You'll just need to decide if the pros/cons work for your family's habits or against them, good luck!
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Dwarful
Well-Known Member
Yeah, we tried this in July and that is a no go anymore. Heck at Magic Kingdom the kids couldn't even get a single serving candy that was $2.00 but we could get a slab of fudge that was $4. What qualified as a snack became a nightmare. That was one of many reasons we won't be back on the plan anymore.
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Rob562
Well-Known Member
Out of curiousity, I sat down and did a comparison of the Quick Service DDP vs. paying out of pocket.
If you're just looking for the bottom line, the QS DDP saved me $31.93. (And that's for one person)
I came up with a hypothetical trip, which parks we'd go to each day, and where my friends and I might likely eat our meals. I didn't just order the most-expensive thing on the menu, I chose what I might actually feel like ordering. Some meals I got a dessert, others I used the dessert to get a bottle of water (because this hypothetical trip is in June). I also used one Snack credit each day to get something for breakfast (cinnamon roll, bagel, cereal, etc) I wanted it to be as realistic as possible to how I'd actually use it.
I won't go into the details of my menu selections, but here are the places I chose to eat at:
Riverside Mill (x2)
Cantina de San Angel
Pizzafari
Yak & Yeti (Counter Service)
Backlot Express
Toluca Legs Turkey Company
Columbia Harbor House
Cosmic Ray's
Electric Umbrella
Yakitori House
Pecos Bill's
Wolfgang Puck Express
Sunshine Seasons
Plus various locations for snacks.
Including the refillable mug, my grand total came out to be $241.86. The price of 7 nights of the QS DPP is $209.93, for a total savings of $31.93.
This plan is 90% how I would eat while on a 7-day vacation, paying out of my pocket. But chances are, I would want to have one or two Table Service meals during my trip, which would have to be paid out of pocket. That would leave extra meal credits on the Dining Plan.
If I had a late-enough departure flight, I could see squeezing in an a lunch before leaving on the DME bus. Or using one or two credits for a full breakfast a couple days. But using them for breakfast would lower the savings slightly.
So there you have it... My own cost analysis for the QS DDP. Would I get it? Maybe. I'd be fine either way. It would definitely make things convenient. I guess it would depend on who I was traveling with and if they would want it.
-Rob
If you're just looking for the bottom line, the QS DDP saved me $31.93. (And that's for one person)
I came up with a hypothetical trip, which parks we'd go to each day, and where my friends and I might likely eat our meals. I didn't just order the most-expensive thing on the menu, I chose what I might actually feel like ordering. Some meals I got a dessert, others I used the dessert to get a bottle of water (because this hypothetical trip is in June). I also used one Snack credit each day to get something for breakfast (cinnamon roll, bagel, cereal, etc) I wanted it to be as realistic as possible to how I'd actually use it.
I won't go into the details of my menu selections, but here are the places I chose to eat at:
Riverside Mill (x2)
Cantina de San Angel
Pizzafari
Yak & Yeti (Counter Service)
Backlot Express
Toluca Legs Turkey Company
Columbia Harbor House
Cosmic Ray's
Electric Umbrella
Yakitori House
Pecos Bill's
Wolfgang Puck Express
Sunshine Seasons
Plus various locations for snacks.
Including the refillable mug, my grand total came out to be $241.86. The price of 7 nights of the QS DPP is $209.93, for a total savings of $31.93.
This plan is 90% how I would eat while on a 7-day vacation, paying out of my pocket. But chances are, I would want to have one or two Table Service meals during my trip, which would have to be paid out of pocket. That would leave extra meal credits on the Dining Plan.
If I had a late-enough departure flight, I could see squeezing in an a lunch before leaving on the DME bus. Or using one or two credits for a full breakfast a couple days. But using them for breakfast would lower the savings slightly.
So there you have it... My own cost analysis for the QS DDP. Would I get it? Maybe. I'd be fine either way. It would definitely make things convenient. I guess it would depend on who I was traveling with and if they would want it.
-Rob
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Thanks for all the help!
I looked at the menus of different places in all 4 parks and Pop century. I tried to figure out the kids meals with the counter service and if i'm not wrong it looks like you save over $50 dollars for the week and the adults is only $30. So with 2 kids and 2 adults the savings would be around $160 dollars for the week if I did everything right. It would be a good deal then.
thanks again!!!!!
I looked at the menus of different places in all 4 parks and Pop century. I tried to figure out the kids meals with the counter service and if i'm not wrong it looks like you save over $50 dollars for the week and the adults is only $30. So with 2 kids and 2 adults the savings would be around $160 dollars for the week if I did everything right. It would be a good deal then.
thanks again!!!!!
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Dwarful
Well-Known Member
Just a heads up, but if your older kids like food they may not be happy with the kids meal offerings for an entire week. Many CS places where adults can grab a hamburger the kids get bad chicken nuggets, cold chicken entree or hot dogs. We ran into limited options and I ate a few kids meals myself to give the kids a break, they would rather split one adult meal between them and get something they liked.
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Vermonter
New Member
Last time we went my youngest had to eat off the children’s menu while we ate off the adult menu and with the limited selection on the children’s menu he hated it (only so many plates of mac & chz w/ grapes you can stand). This year he is on the adult plan and is psyched to go :sohappy:
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Rob562
Well-Known Member
Just as an addendum, I happened to look over my spreadsheet again tonight, and realized that I forgot to fill in prices for one meal and two snacks. So the savings ended up being $55 exactly for one adult.
When I calculated replacing 3 meals with Paid-Out-of-Pocket Table Service meals and then using those extra Counter Service meals for full breakfasts, the savings went back down around $35 (plus the price of the Table Service meals and tips)
-Rob
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