Hi Dave,
Thanks for the great question. As a frugal family, we love to add the Disney Dining Plan to our vacation when we travel to Walt Disney World. We've used the Quick Service plan and The Deluxe Dining Plan and have found that both worked well for our family of 4, especially once we ran the numbers on how much we would spend on our vacation. It all about those numbers!
Since the tips are based on your Table Service experiences, you can easily choose to stick with Quick Service selections. I think the hidden treasure in picking a dining plan with Table Service is the snacks. We love Walt Disney World snacks and goodies, and you are allotted 1 snack per day, plus a Resort-Refillable drink mug, per person. If it comes out to 300 dollars more for your 6 day trip, that's 50 dollars more per day for 8 snacks, plus refillable mugs that you can fill up at your resort as many times during the day as you would like.
We actually love to upgrade to the
Deluxe Dining Plan so that we can get 2 snacks, the refillable mugs, and are able to decide between having a Table Service Meal or Quick-Service. If we'd like to save, we skip table service (and the tip), and go with Quick-Service for a night or two. But, with that particular plan, we have that option. I've found that with my kids, having options really saves us during a vacation.
If these extras would be important to your family, I'd say take a look at those numbers again. It's really all up to your family's preference with Table Service and any extras that you may already end up spending on in the parks.
I hope that answered your question, Dave. If you have any more before your trip, please don't hesitate to ask us at any time.
Have a fantastical Disney day!