Will I Miss Table Service?

ashg23

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jan 1, 2016
This summer we did the free dining promotion and upgraded to DDP for the table service. We are doing bounce back and will have the QSDP included again. I am debating if we should upgrade to the DDP again or try a trip with the QSDP alone. I’m thinking the quick service will provide additional flexibility and save us time, but I don’t want to regret it!

We will have a 6 year old and 2 year old. We enjoy character meals/themed dining but have tried nearly all of them. We will be staying at POR and will have park hoppers. Have you enjoyed your quick service only trips? TIA!
 
We don’t miss TS at all. We’re very happy with fd quick service. It’s very freeing to not be tied down to ADR’s. There’s lots of variety.

That being said, you can always add a TS restaurant or two and pay oop for it with the money you save from not upgrading to TS. Then you’ll have some additional quick service credits to use up. :)
 
Your 2 yo is still free at character buffets. Maybe schedule 1 oop?

Qs has some great options. Did you know there are no child qs credits? That they are all pooled as just qs credits? You can easily stretch an adult meal for both kids. I say go for it and maybe add in 1 or 2 ts oop
 
I am the sort that has to have a few sit down meals. To me they are a way to sit and relax and breathe a bit. And when it is hot it is nice to have a forced break in the air conditioning.
 


I would miss the TS meals, but you know your family. We use them as a break that is scheduled. Look at where you really want to eat, and as suggested earlier. Maybe schedule one or two TS meals. It will be less expensive than the u
 
I do the QS dining plan and pay oop for TS. That said I usually do a split stay so the dining plan is usually for part of the trip but it works for us.
 
I don’t miss table service meals, and after trying character buffets at several places at WDW, I haven’t done any buffet there in years. Buffets are really a thing where we live.

I kind of like trying new places and specials of the house when we eat out. I particularly enjoy meals at farm to table restaurants, like the one we had about a week ago in Grand Junction where you could choose an item for every course with the fresh peaches we admired at a winery earlier in the day. Needless to say I sampled a lot of perfect peaches that night.

I did book a spur of the moment meal at moma Melrose’s last month. There was a decent off menu chef’s choice salad. Surprisingly good. Wish there were more options like that at Disney.
 


I would miss the table service esp if you’re going back in the summer. It’s a nice break from the heat. If your kids like characters also would miss the convenience of meeting characters at a meal instead of waiting in a long line for them elsewhere.
 
Our trip next summer, we will also have a 6 year old and a 2 year old. I keep going back and forth between the 2 as well, but I think we are going to stick with the QSDP (supposing that Free Dining is offered next summer anyway). We are always so stressed trying to make it to the ADR's on time. The QSDP allows for so much more flexibility and those tips really add up on the DDP. There's more value as well as you can order an adult meal for the 6 year old, and both kids can share (you can also order an extra alcoholic drink with that credit and pay for the kids drink OOP, if you so should choose).
 
Thank you so much for your replies! In regards to AC and quick service, are most quick service restaurants outside?

I did like the forced breaks that the TS meals provided, but one of my issues was that they felt VERY rushed. One of the reasons I pick the free dining discount is because I don’t think I could get myself to pay hundreds of dollars on a meal out of pocket where they are shoving my dessert onto the table before I’ve gotten halfway through my entree (and I’m a fast eater). Even though $ wise it evens out or is cheaper, it’s a mentality thing for me.
 
Thank you so much for your replies! In regards to AC and quick service, are most quick service restaurants outside?

I did like the forced breaks that the TS meals provided, but one of my issues was that they felt VERY rushed. One of the reasons I pick the free dining discount is because I don’t think I could get myself to pay hundreds of dollars on a meal out of pocket where they are shoving my dessert onto the table before I’ve gotten halfway through my entree (and I’m a fast eater). Even though $ wise it evens out or is cheaper, it’s a mentality thing for me.
There are plenty of indoor counter service locations with AC. I find them even more relaxing then TS. You can pick your own seat and not feel rushed out. :)

The key, is to eat at off times if possible to avoid the crowds.
 
There are plenty of indoor counter service locations with AC. I find them even more relaxing then TS. You can pick your own seat and not feel rushed out. :)

The key, is to eat at off times if possible to avoid the crowds.

Good tip! I think this is what we will go with. Maybe 1 character meal for the kids. Thanks everyone!
 
I would miss TS meals. We enjoy the relaxing break (normally for dinner after a day in the parks). I also think I would get tired of QS meals for a week.
 
We would miss it terribly. We like to sit and relax one meal per day and I've never had any quick service meals that I've enjoyed though I keep trying!
 
I don't miss the TS plan, I do QS these days. I also book one or two TS meals at my favourites. It does make it a job to use all of the QS credits, but if there's one of the festivals going on you can use a QS credit for 3 snacks (must be all at once) at the booths.
I just found that having to be in a particular restaurant every day, that I booked almost 6 months ago was becoming a chore. Sometimes I wanted to be somewhere else, but I had a dining reservation. QS allows us to eat when and where we want and still have our meals prepaid.
 

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