With the price increase of the Disney Dining plans yesterday, now is a good time to look at the Quick-Service dining plan, and whether it is worth it or not. Walt Disney World offers three different dining plans for guests who book a Magic Your Way package that includes your Disney resort and theme park passes. You can opt for no dining plan at all as well, though most people go with one of the three plans.
The Quick-Service dining plan is the least expensive of the three plans, and includes two quick-service meals plus one snack per person per night, plus a resort refillable mug for each person. Quick-service meals are typically akin to fast food, so hamburgers, sandwiches, salads, etc. You walk up to the counter to order your food and take it to a table to eat. A meal includes an entree, side, dessert and drink, and can be used for breakfast, lunch or dinner inside or outside of the theme parks.
Currently, the cost for the quick-service dining plan is $44.13 for adults and $19.04 for children (3 – 9 years old) per night of your stay. You must purchase a plan for your entire stay, and everyone in your party must purchase the same dining plan, or no plan at all.
Let’s look at an average day for one adult and one child. That would cost $63.17, and include two quick-service meals for each person plus 2 snacks. We will leave the refillable mug out of the equation, as that only amounts to a dollar or two per night, depending on how long you stay.
Our family is going to get lunch and dinner in the parks, plus an afternoon snack. Let’s say they are in Epcot and pick these meals:
- Lunch at Tangierine Cafe – Morocco – Adult lunch of Chicken and Lamb Shawarma Platter ($14,99), dessert ($3.99) and bottled water ($2.75). Child lunch of chicken nuggets ($8.99). With tax, you get a lunch total of about $32.75.
- Snack – Two Mickey Ice Cream Bars ($4.25 each). With tax, a total price of about $9.00.
- Dinner at The Electric Umbrella – Adult dinner of French Dip Burger ($10.99), a chocolate cupcake for dessert ($4.59) and Pineapple-Coconut Slushy for a drink ($3.99). Child dinner of Macaroni and Cheese ($5.99) and a brownie for dessert ($4.19). With tax, a total price of about $31.75.
So, for the two meals and a snack I get a rough total price of about $73,00. About $10 more than what they paid for the dining plan. But is the quick-service dining plan worth it?
Quick-Service Dining Plan PROS
- With the example above, you do save money.
- The biggest benefit I try to explain to my clients is that with all the dining plans, everything is prepaid and budgeted, so you just show up and eat, no need to worry about the cost of meals, how much money to bring or trying to order the cheapest thing on the menu just to save money. Just enjoy, that is the idea of going to Disney World, isn’t it?
Quick-Service Dining Plan CONS
- While you do save money with the example, it really isn’t a ton of money.
- While the example is accurate, you may not necessarily order like that if you don’t have the dining plan. Not everyone has a dessert with lunch or dinner, so you end up ordering things that you may not normally include in your meal, negating the savings.
So, is it worth it? My suggestion to all my clients who are considering the quick-service dining plan is: If you plan on dining this way at the parks, then yes, go for it. It may not save you a ton of money, but the peace of mind has value too. If you are planning on mixing a few table service meals in there as well, then this may not be the right plan for you.
