I have also saved money on the quick service dining plan several times. And I didn’t have to eat any differently than I normally would in order to do it. Those butterbeer snacks are something I always have to get and are so pricey that it makes the plan worth it. That changeover to having the snacks and drinks be interchangeable was huge!
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I just wanted to clarify a few thingd about the spreadsheet. It doesn’t include all of the possible entrees or snacks available on the QSDP, only those that have what I consider to be the best value. In addition, I’ve only gone through the menus at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, I haven’t included Volcano Bay or City Walk. I doubt any of the entrees at Citywalk will be good values in the dining plan, but I think some of the snack options might be decent.
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I agree, the change to make the snack and beverage credits interchangeable added significant value to the QSDP. Like you, butterbeer is always on my list of things I get every visit, so the QSDP just makes sense for me, and then I can get the higher priced entrees & combos without feeling like I’m overpaying. I’ve also been able to share many of those entrees (like the chicken and ribs combo from Thunder Falls or the basket o’bait combo from the Frying Dutchman) which provides even more value to the QSDP.
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We also found that the upgrade to a combo meal put the meal within sharing size.
I think lots of people get stuck in the Disney idea of one plan per person per day. The three of us averaged less than two Q.S. plans per day. Anytime using a credit wasn’t a food value, we paid directly.
The only CityWalk Snack that seemed appealing to us was in Cinnebon and they were out of whatever it was.
One thing that is truly a bad value is the QS with Freestyle when you only get another day of refill. You get one less bev/snack with that one, so it is better to just buy the refill day. Although the difference is a couple of bucks so if you could use an extra cup it be worthwhile to get the cup. But, then not everyone has a deep, base-cabinet drawer in their kitchen dedicated to park/zoo cups.
That reminds me of why I love you guys. I remember spelling out the numbers on why the QS refill plan wasn’t a good deal on Facebook. I got some eyerolls. But, here, not only do I know there won’t be any rolling eyes, but I feel bad for deleting my calculations after our first trip. The AP discount affected the numbers too.
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I am so glad I’m not the only one! I purged about 6 bottles out of that cabinet six months ago and I swear they are reproducing!
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This is super interesting! I never even considered the dining plan at Universal, but it totally makes sense. For the QS meal/drink can you get butterbeer? I mean, if you do that butterbeer, plus 2 more butterbeers for your snacks you are already at what… like $22 value?
Sort of, in at least one of the HP restaurants (maybe both) you can get a small butterbeer as a bev with your meal. Or maybe just some meals. It is the size of those little cups they give out for free water.
A Regular Butterbeer does count as a snack. So, two regular butterbeers on each plan is allowed. Also, all versions of butterbeer are allowed. Including ice cream and the potted stuff. So, QS plans are handy for Every Butterbeer Quests.
Lots of people don’t know that Bev and Snack credits are combined and use a credit on a bottled water. I suspect Universal combined the credits that because people got upset when they couldn’t use the Bev credit on Butterbeer.
Also, the credits never expire.
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I have asked repeatedly and been told that you cannot get any of the specialty beverages except for Gilly water, Pumpkin Juice, or Pumpkin Fizz as the beverage that is included with your entree credit for lunch and dinner on the QSDP. I’ve not done breakfast, and it includes a small beverage so it’s possible that you can have butterbeer with that meal.
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Me too, lol. Though mine is a huge bag in the basement with all of my Disney, Universal, & Six Flags Mugs.
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Lol, I’ve made this calculation too. There is one exception though - is you don’t already have the freestyle mug and have an American Express card, you can get a 10% discount on the QSDP by purchasing it at one of the dining kiosks using your AmEx card, so it drops the cost from $34.99 ($37.27 after tax) to $31.49 ($33.54 after tax) which saves around $3 on the Freestyle Mug - again if you don’t already have one that you plan to reactivate. Otherwise, if you are reactivating, it’s $9.99 ($8.99 if you are an AP holder at any level), so it’s basically $1 more to do the regular QSDP and reactivate the mug than the cost of the QSDP with freestyle mug.
Since I’m out of state and depending on how light I’m trying to travel, I will often purchase a QSDP with Freestyle mug at the start of my trip with the AmEx discount, and then do the regular QSDP and reactivate the mug for the remainder of my trip, since it’s the exact same cost and I get an extra snack as purchasing the QSDP with freestyle mug, since I do get the AP discount on the mug reactivation.
Also, since the cards don’t expire, I usually have a few from previous trips because I almost always have a future trip planned. I actually have many cards with snack credits as I don’t always use all of them, especially if it’s really hot outside.
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I even applied for a Amex Card just for that reason. They denied me.
Credit cards are weird. I remember just after I bought my first house with a convention al loan, I applied for a Home Depot credit card and put “3 days” in how long I’d owned. Home Depot denied me. Just after that I applied for a Bank of America card and they gave me 10k credit.
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Nice thing about keeping the old mugs is those straws that are very desirable now. We had several people ask where we got those.
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I asked the below questions, I am shocked by how quick the reply was. So, I guess the $59 24oz T-Bone is covered.
My questions
- Are all entrees in the plan at those restaurants? If not, what isn’t covered?
- Do shakes count as a drink?
- On the dessert, I saw someone say online that you didn’t have any choice on the dessert. It was usually a Brookie. Is that true? It seems to me that if the dessert is something not normally on the menu then it would likely be stale. Can you tell me what desserts are covered and if there is a choice? Not having a choice seems chintzy.
“For Full Service locations, all items available for redemption EXCLUDING Lobster. For Quick Service Meals, all items will be available for redemption EXCLUDING the 2-foot hot dog combo at Hot Dog Hall of Fame in CityWalk. Additionally, Turkey Leg Combos, Hot Dog Combos and Corn Dog Combos are all redeemed as a Quick Service Meal entitlement. In regards to shakes, this may vary by location, I recommend checking with the restaurant when you get there. The Dining Plan Desert is typically a Chef chosen dessert and does not include any dessert available at the restaurant. I hope this information is helpful. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to call us at (407) 224-4233, option five (5).”
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I agree about the straws! I actually don’t use my old straws, but have a set of wide silicone straws that I take with me for the freestyle mug since the paper straws just disintegrate so quickly. I have been stopped multiple times since they discontinued including plastic straws to be asked where I purchased my straw at in the parks. I always feel bad telling them that I purchased the set from Amazon years ago.
I was actually there the weekend they removed the straws from the freestyle mugs and started using paper straws. So many of the TMs were baffled as to why the new mugs didn’t include a straw, especially since the Icee’s are practically impossible to consume with a paper straw.
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Good information to have and thanks for sharing. I now have to go through the menus to see if it’s worth it to try the Full Service plan, or if my AP discount is the better option!
I remember them trying to give us two paper straws because they fall apart so quickly. DD wanted to try one because she never had before. That didn’t last long. It was funny just how horrible the paper straw was.
We’d accidentally left our cups with straws and drink lanyards at Mythos. They chased us down before we got out of the building and said, “You need to keep a close eye on those. People will steal them just for the accessories”
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OK, these are my calculations. I’ll put the result first.
30.00 Entrée needs to cost this before tax with no passholder discount
34.33 Entrée needs to cost this before tax with Preferred discount
36.88 Entrée needs to cost this before tax with Premier discount
These are after tax
69.21 Cost for FS Plan per day
27.68 Cost for matching QS plan
41.53 Cost for the FS meal part
FS Meal is 1 entrée, 1 non-alcoholic bev and 1 dining plan dessert
Tax at 6.5%
39.00 Cost of TS meal credit pre tax
5 Estimated Value of Bev (Buying most expensive)
4 Estimated Value of Dessert (Assume a stale brookie)
15% Food Discount for Premier Pass
10% Food Discount for Preferred Pass
43.33 With Preferred - the menu price needs to add up to this
45.88 With Premier - the menu price needs to add up to this
So, then I subtracted out the Bev and Dessert value to get
30.00 Entrée needs to cost this before tax with no passholder discount
34.33 Entrée needs to cost this before tax with Preferred discount
36.88 Entrée needs to cost this before tax with Premier discount
When I looked at the menus, Bigfire seems to be the only place where you can make it worthwhile. There are several items in the high-30’s. Or normal people could split the $59 - 24oz steak. I say normal because DH will probably eat most of it.
When you think about it, though. This shows that the full service dining isn’t that expensive. More than outside the parks, but not unreasonable. Even Lombard’s seafood had very few over $20 entrees.
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I was thinking about this. I was mildly interested in Pumpkin Juice, but not enough to spend a snack credit on it. This might be a way to give it a try.
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I always use it as my drink with my meal at Leaky Cauldron. It’s definitely worth trying out.
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