We are staying onsite for the first time on our next (also third) trip. Reading all the info the general consensus seems to be that the Full Service plan isn’t worthwhile. But, being a Liner, and a liner who like numbers I wanted to figure that out for myself. Particularly after I learned that you can buy for the number of people and number of days that you want. Why do people not talk about that? Imagine being able to get the Disney Deluxe plan for one day of your vacation? Or for all days of your vacation but only one person?
What I don’t have is the data on what is included. For example, can the non-alcoholic drink be a shake? Are the steaks at Big Fire included? I’ve read that the dessert is usually a Brookie. Since that isn’t on the menu, are those stale?
Also, we will probably be eating more Full Service meals this time to avoid the problem of getting table seating at Q.S. Restaurants. In August that was horrible.
I have figured out that the F.S. Meal will need to cost around $43 to make it worthwhile.
I do the same thing. Fortunately I am interested in both since Disney will be Jan 2022. Funny thing is, I think I’ve figured out when and why a DDP is worthwhile.
Just ponder being able to get a Disney Deluxe Dining plan for just one or two people among a larger group. That would be a no-brainer.
Okay, I don’t know if this has since changed, but I know at one point that full service plan you are talking about was only available when purchased as part of a Universal vacation package. Are you doing a vacation package?
Well, I called them, and I don’t have a vacation package but we could get it anyway. We have annual passes and were already staying on-site. They have a way of doing a ticketless vacation package for pass holders that is just the dining and room. Like how Disney pass holders can add dining when staying onsite. We already have a room. I had her check on what the cost would be to add one-person-three-days of dining to our 3-night reservation. The additional cost was in the high 60’s per day and matched what I’d seen online as the current charge. If you look at the plans the full service is like the quick service with an added full service meal. So, when I subtracted the cost of the QS plan, I calculated the full service needs to cost at least the low 40’s.
I have never heard of a situation where a dining plan could turn out to be cheaper at Universal. Just pay out of pocket, it’ll give you more versatility.
Well, the quick service plan worked for us. The trick was that snack/Bev are in one bucket, so both can be used for expensive snacks in the 7-ish range. So, that means entrees only needed to be 12 to break even.
But, the full-service, I was hoping I could make it work, but maybe not.
Ultimately, amusement parks, including UOR and WDW introduced dining plans to make themselves more money. While it is true some people can take advantage of them to be worth it, more often than not you will spend more for a dining plan than without. That is by design. If Disney or Universal wasn’t, on average, making more by offering them, they wouldn’t offer them.
So generally I always recommend against. And I have never come up with a case where buying a dining plan saves money. I tried hard to figure out a way to make it save money at Universal last August, but…it just didn’t. When I figured out what we were more likely going to want to eat, including snacks and drinks, etc, I saved more without the plan…and I had more flexibility just paying out of pocket. And in practice, we actually spent even less than I had originally calculated, so it would have been a mistake buying a dining plan. This was true for both Disney and UOR.
I recognize, however, that in a small set if cases, people can make it work in their favor. Also, some people find value in just paying up front and not having to think about it. (Although even that isn’t true due to tipping.). But I just have the money saved already and sitting in my account, so it is already paid for regardless…just sitting in my bank account instead of theirs.
We aren’t ones that care about pre-paying for food, or the ‘all-inclusive’ feel. We have made the Q.S. Plan worthwhile. It helps being on a Every Version of Butterbeer quest.
But, if that $59 steak at Bigfire is included, then at least one day, one person dining plan is worthwhile. DH could eat happily eat that. He can’t anymore do the “Eat this gigantic steak and it is free” things, but he can still eat. I think I’ll send Universal an email asking about what is covered on the F.S. meal. I have the list of restaurants and the categories, but nothing else.
But, it seems that no one here has made it worthwhile. Maybe I’ll report back on my findings.
One problem with researching blogs, etc. is the mixing of F.S. and Q.S. plans. They will say that that the full service plans only come with a package, and you get a Full Service Meal, then they proceed to give advice on maximizing the value of Q.S. Plan. Whereas with Disney dining plans, there is advice on maximizing both the T.S. and Q.S. meals.
I figured out why I’m obsessing about dining for our trip, beyond that I am a LIner and I have nothing else to plan. I’m on a diet until the trip. I’m dreaming about the Big Pink.
Our trip is the last week of April. I called a couple of days ago to see if it was an option. It is. I asked if it was like Disney where you had to get it for every person and every day. The nice lady proudly proclaimed that there plans were “Very Flexible” and you can just buy what you think you’ll use. If we’d had to get every person/every day that would have been certainly been Not Worthwhile
When they first opened were they not offering it? Now that I think about it, my touring plans travel agent asked me if I wanted the plan when I booked.
I’ve been very successful at making the numbers work for significant savings using the QSDP and the QSDP with freestyle mug at Uni. I’ve personally never done the Full service DP because I couldn’t find the information to know exactly what is or isn’t included. Like you, I’ve run into the same issues of blogs and reviews mixing the Full Service and Quick Service plans and spending most of their time on the QS plans. I don’t know if it’s still the same, but I’ve read on blogs in the past that it is a separate menu and only certain (lower cost) items are included in the full service plan, but I don’t know if or how accurate those reports are at this time. I look forward to your feedback if you decide to try it.
@PrincipalTinker, it’s fine that you posted the spreadsheet over here, happy to share it with other liners.
That excel file will be helpful. The family going with us has never been before. Also, I don’t know why but a Bavarian Pretzel for $9 sounds exciting. But a $7 Pretzel and cheese sounds just OK.
Another datapoint will be if any vacation package can get a guaranteed HP breakfast spot, and not just the HP package. There wasn’t worthwhile before. But with social distancing people have had their mobile orders cancelled for the HP breakfast because it was already too crowded.
