Dithering on TS or QS

[legallyblonde]

I understand it is a pain trying to plan where you want to eat so far in advance and we did find last time that quick service is better suited in that respect. However, we do like a few of the signature restaurants and if you add up the cost of paying OOP for say 3 of these, you’ve already spent more than the price to upgrade to DDP. So we book a few signature restaurants and then have the rest spare for quick service and snacks etc as the signature restaurants are 2 TS credits. You get a few really nice meals for the holiday then as well.

[Andybear]

Originally Posted by GBScott

Some great table service experiences not to be missed. Ohana, Cinderella’s Royal table Cali Grill, 50’s Prime Time, Sci-fi Dine In, to name a few

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None of which appeal to me.

[Floridatilly]

I could manage on QS perfectly fine because there are some fantastic choices, we love breakfast & lunch at BOG but that needs booking 6 months in advance too. Also love the place in avatar land which doesn’t need booking.
We have upgraded to DDP for next year because there are some TS restaurants we want to do and it was more cost effective to upgrade.
We do love going for a sit down meal and be waited on plus it gives us time to chat & relax after a busy day.
I think you will be fine whichever you choose 👍🏻

[sha9]

Up until this year I would always have said DDP however this year it would have cost over £500 to upgrade plus the cost of tips and we just couldn’t justify it. We stuck with QSDP and it was fine. We did a couple of TS meals OOP but in hindsight they weren’t necessary, we just did it to soften the blow! Next year I don’t care about the TS meals and have agreed we’ll only do TS if on DDP.
All that said, if the hotel I wanted (and could afford) was a deluxe and DDP was included we’d be really happy to go back to many of the TS venues we’ve enjoyed in the past. Sorry, I know that doesn’t help!

[Caroian]

There seems to be a lot of posts in support of QSDP, so I thought I'd put my side in support of TS! The bottom line is that everyone is different, and you have to try to work out what will best suit you.

Personally we like having table service meals for a variety of reasons. I like knowing where I will be eating and having those specific points in my schedule. For me, having to make a decision on where to eat at a given time is often more stressful than knowing I have an ADR to go to (especially considering that ADRs are pretty flexible- we arrived as much as 30 minutes early and 20 minutes late on our recent holiday and were not turned away). I'm also not a fan of queuing for food (although mobile ordering completely removed that on this trip) or having to search for a table. Also, for children who are prone to being picky, QS can sometimes actually be harder. TS restaurants all include at least one kid staple (so chicken tenders, or mac n cheese) vs a number of the QS locations which have more limited options - especially now there are more and more themed QS locations. It's great that QS doesn't feature that many burgers and hot dogs, but for kids who want that food, it can sometimes be a challenge - of course this is not relevant to everyone's circumstances.

I also find that having a TS meal often serves as a rest stop during a busy day - some people like to go back to their resort, but an hour spent in an air conditioned restaurant often gives us the energy to keep going for a while longer without the journey to the resort and back. We also like having time as a family to sit and discuss what we've already done and what we want to do next.

Out of the hundreds of restaurants on Disney property, of course some will be better than others - in terms of atmosphere, service and food quality - but the vast majority of TS restaurants have been excellent. The same hot and miss nature is true of QS locations too.

I do think there are some common mistakes that people make when booking TS meals. A lot of people seem to rigidly stick to the idea of three meals a day. I see questions on here where people are assuming that QS=lunch and TS=dinner. On your one, two or three week holiday it really doesn't matter if you skip meals or eat nothing but chocolate for breakfast on an occasion - it isn't everyday! We usually plan big breakfasts in the first few days when we will be up early, and then don't eat again until dinner time. Like others, we do signatures, "saving" credits from days out of Disney or by having some days where we do only eat QS. QS portions can often be shared - especially resort breakfasts, and that also allows you to use extra QS credits some days. Another mistake is only booking park restaurants or character meals. At character meals you are paying for the character interaction and the food will never be top notch. If you do mainly these experiences, it won't give a balanced reflection of what Disney dining has to offer. And resort restaurants are usually much more laid back than those in the parks (or even Disney Springs) plus a great excuse to have a look around different resorts.

It's a tough choice to make, as on either plan you will have access to variety of good food and lots of it. TS will always edge for us though because we actually like to have a well formed plan and really like sit down meals. Enjoy whatever you decide!

[dx4100]

Great post by Caroian

[dx4100]

QS for 14 nights wouldn't work for our family. We have kids as well and having to decide what everyone wants, queue up and find a table for every meal would be tiring and stressful.

Some people have mentioned time it takes at QS vs TS. I actually don't think there is all that much in it. When I am planning on TouringPlans I always give about 45 mins for a QS and 90 mins for TS and the TS rarely actually takes 90mins but the QS tends to always be around 45 mins. So I personally think the time saving side of the argument isn't a great one. And you have to factor in how much more relaxing a TS is and how it resets your battery.

No matter which way you dress it up as well QS is basically in the region of a McDonalds or a Subway (sometimes better, sometimes worse) and a TS is a proper restaurant meal. I don't think I could eat just QS for 14 nights.

[sha9]

Originally Posted by dx4100

QS for 14 nights wouldn't work for our family. We have kids as well and having to decide what everyone wants, queue up and find a table for every meal would be tiring and stressful.

Some people have mentioned time it takes at QS vs TS. I actually don't think there is all that much in it. When I am planning on TouringPlans I always give about 45 mins for a QS and 90 mins for TS and the TS rarely actually takes 90mins but the QS tends to always be around 45 mins. So I personally think the time saving side of the argument isn't a great one. And you have to factor in how much more relaxing a TS is and how it resets your battery.

No matter which way you dress it up as well QS is basically in the region of a McDonalds or a Subway (sometimes better, sometimes worse) and a TS is a proper restaurant meal. I don't think I could eat just QS for 14 nights.

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I have to disagree about Subway or McDonalds. I didn’t think I could do QS for 2 weeks and to be fair we didn’t really as we had a few TS but the QS meals were varied and there were lots of really nice options. I don’t think you can class Wolfgang Pucks Express as Subway or McDonalds.

[dx4100]

Originally Posted by sha9

I have to disagree about Subway or McDonalds. I didn’t think I could do QS for 2 weeks and to be fair we didn’t really as we had a few TS but the QS meals were varied and there were lots of really nice options. I don’t think you can class Wolfgang Pucks Express as Subway or McDonalds.

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No but you can't compare Wolfgang Pucks Express to Cosmic Rays either from a food perspective. Wolfgang Pucks Express is one of the best QS restaurants.

But the experience is the similar in terms of you queue and you have to find your own table etc, no tips and so on...

There are more Cosmic Rays style QS than there are Wolfgang Pucks Express style QS at Disney. That is for sure so if you need to explain to a first timer the difference between TS and QS I think its a good comparison.

More comparisons would be Spud You Like, Harry Ramadans Express etc.

I always tell people to imagine Trafford Centre food court with all its different options (its actually quite good) but other than the food the experience is pretty much the same...

Decide
Queue
Find Table - in some form of food hall of varying styling (some good some naff)
No Tips
The only real difference is the food...

[sha9]

Originally Posted by dx4100

No but you can't compare Wolfgang Pucks Express to Cosmic Rays either from a food perspective. Wolfgang Pucks Express is one of the best QS restaurants.

But the experience is the similar in terms of you queue and you have to find your own table etc, no tips and so on...

There are more Cosmic Rays style QS than there are Wolfgang Pucks Express style QS at Disney. That is for sure so if you need to explain to a first timer the difference between TS and QS I think its a good comparison.

More comparisons would be Spud You Like, Harry Ramadans Express etc.

I always tell people to imagine Trafford Centre food court with all its different options (its actually quite good) but other than the food the experience is pretty much the same...

Decide
Queue
Find Table - in some form of food hall of varying styling (some good some naff)
No Tips
The only real difference is the food...

See more...

Yes theme park QS tends to be fairly generic however it’s not fair to suggest to someone new to QSDP that it’s all like that. As can be seen from the many dining reports there’s lots of variety to be had.