We are headed to WDW in October (7 nights) Will fit in supper on first night & breakfast on last day. 2 adults & 1 6yo staying at POP. Are considering the QS DP. Mainly b/c my adult step-son & his gf will be joining us at the parks for a few days (they are NOT staying on resort) Is it worth it if we plan on ‘sharing’ food with them? How does that work? (Hubby usually likes to pay for everyone’s meal when his kids are with us), so I thought if we had QS DP it might be more cost effective? Thx for any info!
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Specific question on QS DDP & family members (sharing)
- Thread starter CaperRD
- Start date
jgj123
Well-Known Member
The dining plan only provides dining credits based on the number of people on your reservation for each night of your stay. So with 3 people, you would have 6 quick serve meals and 6 snacks per day (really per night) or a total of 42 meals and 42 snacks for your entire stay.
You can use these however you want and as many as you want at any time, but if you use them all in 4 days, then there are no credits for the remainder of the stay. So it's really not a question of is it worth it if sharing, it's just is it worth it for you.
Whether it's cost effective really depends on whether you max out the credits by ordering the most expensive options with each credit. But even then, it's really more of a convenience thing as most people probably break even or come out a bit behind.
You can use these however you want and as many as you want at any time, but if you use them all in 4 days, then there are no credits for the remainder of the stay. So it's really not a question of is it worth it if sharing, it's just is it worth it for you.
Whether it's cost effective really depends on whether you max out the credits by ordering the most expensive options with each credit. But even then, it's really more of a convenience thing as most people probably break even or come out a bit behind.
Minnie Mum
Well-Known Member
Unless you are all tiny eaters, you are going to have a tough time feeding 4 adults and a child on 6 credits per day. If you try to split the meals, I don't think there would be enough food to satisfy the average adult. If you just allocate a credit to each person, you'll quickly run out of credits and end up paying cash for the rest of your meals. Again, unless you are all tiny eaters.
If you plan on eating at all, I would skip this because you will be starving...
Thank you for the replies! I’ll be a little clearer. I realize I’ll be paying for a DP that includes only myself, hubby & 6yo kiddo. However, as our adult son and his girlfriend will be joining us at the parks only & only for a few days (details haven’t been solidified yet), I wondered if we paid for a QS DP in advance if our trip & help with their meals while they are with us as well. I’ve heard the DP’s are a lot of food & some families don’t use all of their credits. Is it really true that we can use several dining credits & snacks credits at once? Thank you!
DryerLintFan
Premium Member
You could upgrade to the Deluxe plan and then have enough TS credits to spread out for everyone, but I don't think you'll be able to eat enough to break even with that. I'd recommend paying out of pocket. If you're set on getting the DP for you guys, then just pay OOP for his kids meals.
DryerLintFan
Premium Member
It really depends on how strategically you eat, imo. There are meals that are big enough for sharing, like nachos from pecos bills if you get enough toppings. Or there's a half chicken at a couple of restaurants. We found though that even when we didn't think we were that hungry, we both polished off our QS meals. Unless you're very peckish, it wouldn't typically be enough for average eaters to share.
jgj123
Well-Known Member
We've never found the number of meals to be an issue, it was the snacks. We usually get the regular dining plan (1QS, 1S and 2 snacks per day) and our problem is using the snacks. We generally have snack credits left and then stock up with various items for the trip home.
With Quick Serve, you get the meal and a drink, no dessert. I can't say that there are many QS meals that are truly shareable.
So really, you'd be doing this for convenience and still buying additional meals later in the trip.
An yes, you can use as many meal credits as you want in a transaction - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... how ever many you want. Disney doesn't care how fast you use the credits and they are all available for use in any combination that you want on the day you arrive, prior to check-in.
slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
1: For your son and GF to be on the dining plan, they have to be listed as guests staying with you in the resort (you mentioned they would be joining you "at the parks," I don't know if that also means "in the room").
2: But that means you'd either have to list them as guests staying with you the entire time, paying for those extra credits when they're not with you, ORRRRR
3: Have WDW essentially split up your reservation into three smaller reservations - the days before they're with you, the days they're with you, and the days after they go. Theoretically, this could involve switching rooms at least once (I've never heard of this happening but when people split up their reservations like this they're always warned that they might have to move but Disney will make every effort to avoid it).
4: Regardless of whether you list them as with you for the entire trip or part of the trip, if your son and his GF are over the age of 18, you might have to pay extra. Hotel room rates are usually based on 2 adults occupying the room maximum (plus kids). I don't know if it applies to adult children as I don't have adult children, but bear in mind you might be paying extra for the room as a result.
I honestly think the simplest thing to do is this - buy a Disney Gift card and put $100 for each day they're joining you. Call it a "meal allowance," let them pay the balance out of pocket. You're still helping out, this affords them a little more flexibility (example, the QS dining plan isn't worth using for breakfast but maybe they'd prefer a breakfast and a late lunch, this will let them maximize that "meal allowance"). If they're hurting for a refillable mug, buy them one if you want, let your conscience be your guide. But this seems to be a better solution over making multiple reservation changes.
Thanks! No, they are not staying on Disney property. We are. They are visiting several places in Orlando, but will join us at MK, AK, HS & EP on the days we are there. In my bit of research on dining plans, I saw lots of comments saying it was “too much food’ (for the cost). I just wondered if we did add to our reservation, would there be enough to share a few meals with them while they are with us during the day. I’ll do some more research & do the math!
slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
TBH the fact that they're not staying with you makes it all pretty much moot; the dining plan's technically only for people staying in WDW resorts so if they're not in your room, they're not supposed to be on the dining plan.
When it comes to the other dining plans, it can arguably be "too much" for some people, but I don't think you'll have to worry too much about the QS plan; it's only 2 meals out of 3 (and 2 snacks, plus the refillable mug). My recommendation is to use it for breakfast as little as possible, that tends to give you the least value. If you and your husband like a beer or wine with a meal, use that option on the plan to maximize value - I'm kind of a teetotaler so the fact that dining plans now include alcohol doesn't really do me any favors. There are places like allears.net/dining where you can check out menus (with prices) to get an ides of whether or not the plan makes sense for you - if you were planning on using it a lot for breakfast, or if you wanted more sit down meals, that plan might not be economically viable. (But if you DO want sit down meals once in a while, make those breakfast, especially character breakfasts with your little one. They're always cheaper than character lunches or dinners, and then you're not blowing an otherwise expensive QS credit on a breakfast so you can pay for a more expensive meal out of pocket later in the day).
And of course, have a great time.
jaklgreen
Well-Known Member
I think that mostly applies to the Deluxe Dining plan, not the quick service one you are thinking about. I would just pay for everyone out of pocket for the trip. That way everyone can order what they want and not worry about what exactly comes on the plan, etc. It really does not save you any money by purchasing the dining plan and with your situation it would be more complicated, IMO.
DryerLintFan
Premium Member
I just thought I'd post some pictures of QS meals from our trip. These are all from Pop or Art of Animation, but I wanted to show you what the portion size was. Like in the last picture, that chicken isn't very large... it looks bigger because it's sitting on a pile of large hallow noodles.
I have a three year old and I would say that for the most part she and I could likely share a meal. But QS meals aren't generally enough to split for two adults. IMO
DisAl
Well-Known Member
We found that the hot dogs at Casey's were so large that we spit them - a whole one is too much for may people. The St. Louis rib platter at Flame Tree BBQ in AK is large enough to split for most people. You would of course need to get an extra drink and decide who gets the small cups of beans and slaw.
Dreaming of Disney World
Well-Known Member
I found that I was always hungry after finishing my quick service meals. I don't think they're enough for sharing.
JillC LI
Well-Known Member
I think that some QS meals are big enough to share and some are not. For example, the BBQ sampler platter at Flame Tree in AK is definitely enough for two. But yes, you can max out all your QS credits on a single day if you want to do it that way. Disney doesn't know who is eating the meals, and if you run out early in your trip, you can pay cash after that.
nickys
Premium Member
I think you're confusing the issue!
OP didn't mention putting them on the dining plan, he asked about sharing their own credits with their son and gf. Which is perfectly acceptable, and allowed by Disney. They officially announced as much last year.
Personally, I don't think sharing QS credits will be enough, but if it helps with the budgeting then go for it. It would probably be easier to put the money onto a gift card (assuming OP is from the US). That way DS and GF could use the gift card. Sharing credits means everyone would have to be together.
slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
You're right I missed that entirely, thanks. And TBH it could change the economics of the situation a little bit, though in an underhanded manner.
Because I think (and I could be wrong) that for the 2 adults and one 6yo on the QS plan, the system won't differentiate, it'll just show as 6 QS credits per night on the reservation.
I could be wrong on that, the system might show as 4 adult QS and 2 kid QS per night. According to this website, however, I'm not. https://.com/disney-dining-plan-credits/#Quick_Service_credits ("These credits aren't separated into child or adult categories so you can get adult meals for your child.")
So if I'm right, then in theory the system will not differentiate between a kids QS and adult QS, so the visiting adults can use the kids QS credits on adult QS meals (including alcoholic beverages).
It is as I wrote above underhanded, you're cheating the system by letting adults eat for the price of kids, even if Disney isn't taking the steps to prevent you from doing so (a little like walking into a store where the proprietor isn't around an no one is watching you; you don't subsequently steal anything, but you leave behind enough money to pay what you think things ought to be worth versus what the prices are). And it still wouldn't be enough food for everyone for the trip. But if the OP's planning on paying OOP for some table service meals and this is just their way of saving a few dollars on the QS meals, it's in theory do-able.