A while back I posted about the Dining plan and I think I mentioned that I thought that the Quick Service plan would be about a wash as far as price (you wouldn't save any money), but I thought the convenience made it worth it. I think I even said that if I had to pay for it, I would go ahead and add it just to avoid the stress of having to pull out my wallet at every meal and try to decide the cheapest option for all three of us. Well, my opinion has now changed on that. I am no longer a fan of the Quick Service Dining plan and I will explain why below.
Now, first of all, let me say that we had the plan for free during our 10 day trip in October. Of course that was worth it. Two free counter service meals and two snacks per day per person for free? Of course we enjoyed it. As a matter of fact, we liked it so much that I thought we would pay for it for our upcoming trip in December. So, I called to add it yesterday....and now I am not a fan anymore :(
First of all, the price listed is $30 per day per adult, and $9 per day per child. So, for a family of three you would expect to pay $69 a day. Well, hang on, you have to pay taxes on that. The tax rate is a whopping 13.5%, which brings our total to $78.32 per day in food. For two meals and two snacks per day? Seriously? Who eats that much food? We had a hard time using all of our snacks in October. Most days, we only used one per day unless we wanted a treat (i.e. cotton candy or candy that we didn't need). Also, as a note, the plan is changing in 2012. Soon, you will only get 1 snack per day, and I am sure the price is not going to reflect that change (I can't confirm that though).
So, let's walk through a typical meal for our family. We always go to Pizza Planet. There, each adult gets a pepperoni pizza (8.29 each) and the kids meal is 4.99. My daughter PREFERS water, so that doesn't cost anything as the restaurants give a complimentary cup of ice water. Plus, my husband and I can easily share a large coke (2.49). So, if I use the high tax rate of 13.5% (I don't know what it is in the parks) our total would be about $27.50. That is feeding each of us our own meal. If we spent that at each meal we are spending $55.00 a day in meals. That still leaves us $23 a day for snacks. The highest amount we would spend for snacks a day is $5 per person, so $15 a day. That brings us to $70 a day. We have already saved $8 a day by not getting the dining plan.
Hang on though, there is more. I mentioned what we would get at Pizza Planet on a typical trip. That is with the meal plan (that we always seem to get free in October). When we were there last June (and were not on the meal plan), our family shared two pizzas. Each pizza comes with a salad so my husband and I each had a salad and the three of us shared the two pizzas. That saves $4.99 for the kids meal that we can use later as a snack to get something else if we don't leave "stuffed". Often we can all share a pretzel (with free ice water) in the afternoon, and all be satisfied. There are many counter service meals where we can share meals. I will post on that at a later time. There were many meals where we wasted food because we just couldn't eat it all. Why pay extra to have all that food if you aren't going to eat it all?
Some people may say that you also get a refillable mug with the meal plan. Yes, you do and it really is a nice bonus. However, my family really only needs two of those. My daughter doesn't drink sodas, so all she wants is hot chocolate in the morning. I take some throw away coffee cups and my own hot chocolate packets. Then she gets some free hot water, and has her own hot chocolate. Since we aren't really at the hotel a lot, we only used the mugs in the morning with breakfast, and at night when we returned to the room. My husband is not a huge fan of drinking coke with breakfast, and is not a coffee drinker, so he doesn't use his much either. So, I would rather buy one or two out of pocket with the money I save by not getting the meal plan.
When I was talking to the reservation cast member yesterday, she kept asking me over and over are you sure you want to pay for all of these meals out of pocket? The more she asked me that question, the more determined I came to make the meals work for our family for cheaper than the cost of the meal plan. Now I may even (GASP) leave property for a meal or two. I can go to Giordanno's, McDonald's or even Olive Garden and spend the same amount I would for hamburgers and chicken nuggets at a counter service meal. I will take my coupons and plan ahead and see how much we can actually save. I love a challenge and after spending an hour on my cell phone with Disney to try to figure this out, I am up to the challenge! Bring it on!
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