Full Service Or Counter Service?

[HouCuseChickie]

I think it's all personal preferences blended with perspective. To one person- an ADR for a TS meal is keeping you from precious park time and forcing you to plan your day around said meal...to another person, the experience of that meal is just as important as park time and is a highlight of the day. On top of that...parents with children often find character meals (especially well timed ones) to help save some park time. i.e. a 7am at Chef Mickey's will give your kiddos 5 characters before the parks ever open, so those are 5 M&Gs you likely won't be begged to do once it finally is park time. i.e. you have to eat, so why not make it a productive meal? Then there's the aspect of skipping the crowds...while dining from places like Cali Grill, Rose & Crown, and Narcoosee's may not be the best views of evening shows, there is something to be said for a relaxing environment to watch the show and not deal with the insane masses. And while some parents would disagree, I think that downtime you get with a TS meal helps give your kids a rest...making your park time after that meal a better quality experience. My kids relax MUCH more in a TS spot...so it really helps. There are also things like the F! pkg which actually can give you more time for fun. i.e. I'd rather get a TS meal at Mama Melrose or Brown Derby vs. waiting on a long non-moving line for over an hour+ to see Fantasmic. Plus, as much as we love the attractions, new TS meals each trip can help keep things new and fresh...i.e. I'll gladly give up a couple of rides to dine in the castle, have the endless meat parade at 'Ohana, or the relaxation of fireworks from Cali Grill.

We do some QS meals...they do help the budget and do afford us some flexibility on days when things are up in the air...but for us, TS is preferred. Ultimately, while I've pushed a number of the pros of TS meals and why we prefer them, there is no universally right or wrong answer here.

 

[jaklgreen]

We need some decent food at least every other day. Even though some of the CS restaurants have improved their food, it is still not up to the quality of a good table restaurant. I even notice a difference in the kids behavior when they just eat CS as opposed to having a nice sit down with vegis and a lean protein. No way would we ever do a week long trip with just CS.

 

[ThinkTink721]

There are so many great table service restaurants at WDW!!!

 

[disneyfan1995]

I definitely prefer table service to counter service. We usually do counter service for lunch and then table for dinner. For me, eating the counter service food which tends to be the same in a lot of places gets old really quickly.

 

[Sweet Melissa]

We're definitely the opposite. Our vacations both in and out of the World are largely framed around restaurant dining. I prefer to tour at a slow pace, and am happy to have multiple sit-down meals a day. Our idea of counter service meals are sitting at a bar and ordering appetizers.

 

[MerMom1981]

Only having one Disney vacay under my belt, I'm far from am expert, but what worked for my family was QS lunch & TS dinner. It just felt like the logical thing. During the day, we were eager to do as many rides as we could so sitting down for an hour+ for a TS meal wasn't gonna work for us. However, by the time dinner rolled around, we needed the break. It was the perfect way to unwind a bit & reflect on the day. We made it a dinnertime routine to go around the table and talk about the best part of everyone's day. I wouldn't have it any other way.

... and I may be willing to choke down a dry turkey sandwich or a cold cheeseburger for lunch, but you've got to give me something real for dinner!

 

[disneygirl76]

I know that for many people, the restaurants are an important part of their WDW experience. I have never been one of them. For me, it's counter service and food courts. I don't think I have ever ordered food sitting down at WDW.

Are there any other non-foodies out there?

We are big foodies so we like the TS. That being said, we have been to so many so often that we want new experiences. So we have been turning to the CS's a lot more. And really like them! We are not there yet to doing a CS only dining plan but there are a lot of great CS experiences.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

Can't imagine a trip to the World that didn't include CRT or Le Cellier!! With that said, we have toned down our ADRs and tend to be about 60/40 TS to QS. Still have a few more TS to try in the World Showcase and resorts, but have covered everything else. We have found a new and greater appreciation for QS.....and really have a fondness for sleepers such as Writer's Stop and Liberty Square Market for snacks!!!

 

[Scooter]

I go more for the attractions and less for the food. I could eat QS burgers and fries or chicken strips every meal for our entire week long stay. I can get a great steak dinner at home for a third of what they charge in Disney sit down venues. Don't get me wrong...I'm not a cheapskate but c'mon...48 dollars for a strip steak at Shulas? Is this steak Gold encrusted? Is it served by a topless hula dancer? I spend enough money buying things in the Disney gift shops that are made in China and marked up 1000%. When it comes to meals, I just need to fill my belly, I don't need to personally bring Disney Stockholders a quarterly dividend.

 

[Mrsdonaldduck]

We always make an ADR at chef mickeys and. Crystal palace for the kids( well I love cp too!!!) we usually go to villa Napoli and do room service one night. Other than that it is counter service. With three little ones it is just easier not to have to be somewhere at a set time.
If we could just walk in to a ts (and not need an ADR) we probably would do ts more. We just don't want to be on a schedule and it stinks if we are enjoying the pool or the park and we have to stop what we are doin to rush to an ADR.

 

[armyfamilyof5]

Today we went to AK at opening, rode Dino twice, saw It's Tough To Be A Bug, Lion King and then had a great lunch of Chicken Lo Mein and Fried Won Ton's for dessert at Yak n Yeti inside, great server Jackie, checked out the animals and were home by 1:30. Full day of activity, nice rest in the ac and we still have time to get laundry done for next week! TS meals provide a real break from the heat and if you go to the right place the food is really good. We had an early ADR and at about 11:30, it was quite when we arrived but they were packed when we left and it was pretty loud in there, our food arrived within minutes and was hot and fresh. That's why we were relaxed enough to check out the animals. our server sent us off with a soft drink to go and we enjoyed it while we strolled around and then headed out as it was pretty hot

 

[experiment624]

I think it's all personal preferences blended with perspective. To one person- an ADR for a TS meal is keeping you from precious park time and forcing you to plan your day around said meal...to another person, the experience of that meal is just as important as park time and is a highlight of the day.

Well said, exactly my sediments!

 

[mickey2008.1]

We have tried to do it with out TS, but never make without at least going to one. But it can be done on all CS places, as there are many, with very good food, not just burgers and chicken nuggets. Each park, resort, and DTD have great CS places. EPCOT is easy. DHS is tricky, but has some great wraps. DTD is very easy as well, Wolfgang Pucks answers that problem, or Earl of Sandwich. MK has a variety of roasted chicken, ribs, fried fish, lobster rolls and so on. AK has ANAdapur with great asian food. So yes, you can just do it on CS only and have good food. But for me, I want that TS!

 

[tare]

Our family mostly goes for counter service. There is such a great variety and we don't feel rushed or feel the need to have to be somewhere on schedule. But the hoop dee doo is a must for us every time!!!!

 

[Mrs.Toad]

For two adults, we usually do all TS. Then we get cravings for Casey's, Columbia, etc. and it changes. Especially a chicken breast strip attack, and it is all over.

But we do coffee, all morning in a park, lunch, back to hotel for nap, back out at attractions and a different park, big dinner, some more attractions and back to hotel. If I didn't do TS, I wouldn't have that air conditioned, rest my laurels, recharge respites, and I need them to function.

Also, we try to have a plan of action. Some long lines and hotter waits, and then do the relaxing attractions. Like, I'll do SM, and BTMR, and then go to HM. Or do SM and then go on TTA.

In Epcot, SSE is a relaxing one to do between lines.

 

[Figgy1]

75% CS....25% TS....

Same here! We always do a couple of ts just to slow down the pace and we always book 1 or 2 just because we love the place. That being said if I had a choice of going to Disney for more days or doing more ts I's do all cs if I had to. The food at the cs places has improved so much over the years and now there's so many choices we had to knock a few off our to do list.

 

[righttrack]

Breakfast on the go (a breakfast bar or bag of nuts)
Lunch CS
Dinner TS

Why? Mornings you've got to get to the parks and get going before everyone wakes up. Lots to get done in the parks in the am. Break for lunch when we are tired and hungry. Don't really plan CS, it just kind of happens. Dinnertime, we sit down. There isn't a lot you can do spontaneously in the parks anyway. It's the A/B ticket time, until EMH, and a slower pace.

 

[LucyK]

I'm not a fast-food consumer and even my favorite QS places are the ones where I can get a decent meal; CHH, FTB, ST. I like to sit down and relax while I eat, savoring my food. I also am one of those people who tries to chew at least 30 times before swallowing, it takes me at least 50 minutes to go through a full meal.

 

[JAG107]

We typically do QS most of the time, maybe averaging 3 TS meals per 8-9 day trip. No sigs, nothing too expensive, I think our costliest TS meal so far has been a dinner at Boma. We have restaurants at home that would blow away just about anything on property if you compared them dollar to dollar, so eating expensive meals at WDW just isn't part of our agenda. Some day when the kids are older, we may go for a sig, but reading about Le Cellier and a couple others not being up to par lately, it's just not worth risking disappointment for us when truthfully we'd be plenty happy sharing some nachos or a kobe burger at Big River Grille sitting out on the patio.

 

[G8rchamps]

We did dining plan for the first time this yearand did TS 6 of 7 nights (used 2 to eat in the castle once in our lifetime). Attraction fiends though so we will prob do more QS most of the time. Usually plan 1 off site meal each trip too just to get away for a few hours.