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 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.
Pros:
paid in advanceCons:
costReviewed by Disney nut Review Date: 09/29/2018
Rating: (5) Recommended
cheapest of the dining plans
Pros:
its nice to have meals paid for in advanceCons:
may or may not save you moneyReviewed 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 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 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 Anonymous Review Date: 05/24/2019
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
The Disney quick service is normally free if you book at a certain time. You get two main meals and 2 snacks a day which I thought would be great, however the food was terrible. There was only one place I liked called Bongos at Disney Springs (Cuban food) and the rest was awful. We ate at our hotel (Coronado springs) and all of the other parks (Epcot, Magic kingdom, Hollywood studios and animal kingdom) even food that was raved about online wasn’t good enough. The portion sizes were normally too small, too salty and with no vegetables. Basically you’re eating fast food everyday.
