Last week, some friends of mine from Pennsylvania were on vacation at Walt Disney World, so I took Friday off from work and joined them as they wrapped up their time in Florida. Recently I’ve been staying off-site, but I was able to get a pretty decent room rate at All-Star Music as an annual passholder, and I decided to add the Quick Service Dining Plan to my reservation.
For those unfamiliar with Disney’s Quick Service Dining Plan, it works just like the regular Disney Dining Plan, but instead of receiving one table service credit, one quick service credit and one snack credit per person, per night, guests receive two quick service credits and two snack credits per person, per night, plus a refillable mug for use at their resort for their entire length of stay. Adding the plan to my reservation cost $65.29 for two nights, so I figured I’d give it a try and see how good of a value it turned out to be.
After checking in at All-Star Music on Friday morning, I quickly redeemed my refillable mug credit so that I could take as much advantage of the benefit as possible. Priced at $14.44, the mug didn’t end up saving me much money as I only used it a handful of times during my two days at the resort. For those whose stay is longer, however, the refillable mug is a much better value.
I spent the day with my friends at Epcot and wound up eating at Liberty Inn at the American Adventure. I’ve been trying to eat healthier foods as of late, so I ordered the iceberg wedge salad as my entree, a sweetened tea and the baked apple dumpling for dessert; the total for my meal came to $14.03. Had I wanted to get the most out of my quick service credit, however, I would have ordered the more expensive Hot Roast Beef and Cheddar or Barbecue Pork Sandwich, as they cost over $1.50 more than the salad.
Later in the evening, after my friends returned to their resort, I visited Port Orleans French Quarter for dinner at Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory before continuing upriver to see Ye Haa Bob perform at Port Orleans Riverside’s River Roost Lounge. For dinner, I enjoyed one of my favorite Walt Disney World meals: chicken jambalaya with corn bread, a bottle of water and a cookie (unfortunately, the beignets did not count as a dessert on the Quick Service Dining Plan). This extremely tasty meal was priced at $14.73.
After finishing dinner, I used a snack credit to purchase a mint chocolate chip milk shake to bring with me up to Port Orleans Riverside. The milk shake cost $4.25
The next day was spent at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so I took the advice of AJ at The Disney Food Blog and ordered the Butterfinger cupcake at Starring Rolls. I know, I know, not the healthiest breakfast option at Walt Disney World, but AJ gave it rave reviews so I had to try it. The ginormous cupcake, priced at $4.25, was amazing and only cost one snack credit!
Several hours later, still on a sugar high from my breakfast cupcake, I had lunch at ABC Commissary while my friends went to Playhouse Disney’s Play ‘n Dine at Hollywood & Vine. At the Commissary, I ordered the cheeseburger with french fries, a sweetened tea and the chocolate mousse for dessert. Not surprisingly, I wasn’t able to finish my lunch after having such a big breakfast, but it was still an excellent use of a quick service credit, as the meal rang up as $14.78.
Later Saturday evening, I visited Coronado Springs Resort to see what the Pepper Market restaurant was like. The Pepper Market is a quick service restaurant similar to a cafeteria. When you arrive, you’re handed a card which you must bring to the stations where you order food. If you order something at the grill, one of the Cast Members will stamp the card, indicating the item that was purchased. When you’re finished eating, you pay on your way out of the restaurant and a 10% service fee is added to your bill, presumably as a gratuity for the Cast Members who refill drinks and clear plates and trays. I ordered a steak burrito, an unsweetened tea and an order of churros for dessert and the total cam to $16.12. The burrito was way bigger than I was expecting so I didn’t finish it, but it was still an amazing deal!
On Sunday morning, I had breakfast at the All-Star Music food court where I used my last two snack credits on a cheese danish and cinnamon roll. At only $5.76 for the two items, it was definitely not a great use of the snack credits, but I suppose that’s to be expected when used at a resort food court. Despite the poor value, the pastries were extremely tasty and a great way to wrap up my weekend dining experience.
So, the question is: was the Quick Service Dining Plan a good deal, even on such a short trip? If you’ve been adding up the prices along the way, then you know that it proved to be a fantastic deal! While the plan only cost $65.29 for two nights, I used the credits toward $88.36 worth of food, saving me $23.07. For those who weren’t doing the math along the way, here’s a summary of the food I purchased:
| Order | Location | Cost | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refillable Mug | Intermission Food Court | $14.44 | $14.44 |
| Iceberg Wedge Salad, Tea, Baked Apple Dumpling | Liberty Inn | $14.03 | $28.47 |
| Chicken Jambalaya, Bottled Water, Cookie | Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory | $14.73 | $43.20 |
| Mint Chocolate Chip Milkshake | Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory | $4.25 | $47.45 |
| Butterfinger Cupcake | Starring Rolls | $4.25 | $51.70 |
| Cheeseburger with fries, Tea, Chocolate Mousse | ABC Commissary | $14.78 | $66.48 |
| Steak Burrito, Tea, Churros | Pepper Market | $16.12 | $82.60 |
| Cheese Danish and Cinnamon Roll | Intermission Food Court | $5.76 | $88.36 |
I will say, however, that I ordered more food than I would have if I had been paying out of pocket and some of it did go to waste. Additionally, I’d highly recommend that those who purchase the Quick Service Dining Plan not waste their snack credits on bottles of soda or water as there are much better deals to be had throughout Walt Disney World if you want the most bang for your buck.
Have you purchased the Quick Service Dining Plan on a trip to Walt Disney World? If so, share your thoughts in the comments below!
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Great blog Tim! This will be very helpful for anyone questioning whether or not to buy the Quick Service DIning Plan.
We are staying at Pop for four days next month. This trip is primarily for the space shuttle launch on the 18th – we are only spending one day in the parks. Anyway, I decided to get the QS plan for our trip because if nothing else, we would have breakfast and dinner at Pop for most of the stay. I am anxious to see how it works out for us….
Thanks for the review.
Do you have to use the meals in day purchased? Our family is staying 6 nights and 7 days. However, The meal plan is way too much food for us. One thing that might work would be to buy 3-days worth of the meal plan if we could use those meals during any of the 7 days of our trip.
Do you know if Disney allows this?
Matt- Unfortunately, the dining plan can only be purchased for the same number of nights as your stay and all credits must be used by the end of the day (11:59:59 p.m.) of the day you check out. Additionally, everyone in your party ages 3 and up must get the dining plan. Since that is the case, it sounds like the dining plan would not be a good fit for your needs.
Just an update. Our family of 5 is getting 2 value rooms. Since we have 2 separate conf #s, we could choose to get the package for only some of us. We ended up getting the QS dining plan for 1 adult and 2 kids in our party of 5. This gives us 2 adult meals, 4 kids meal, and 6 snacks a day for the family.
The kids plan is awesome – $10 per day for 2 meals and 2 snacks.
Since you needed two rooms for your trip, two separate confirmation numbers with the dining plan on only one room is definitely the way to go. In my experience, the kids meals can be enough for adults and definitely enough for two children to share, so that should work out great for your family!