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View Full Version : Has DDP affected the quality of Disney Restaurants?


Schmoodle
10-21-2008, 01:50 PM
Maybe this belongs in the DDP section?
We were at Disney World last week, and ate at many of the restaurants in the Parks and at the Resorts. One thing I noticed was that the first question I was asked at any of these places was whether I was on the plan or not (we weren't). Not sure if that affected how we were treated, but I found it interesting. I wondered if all that free dining might affect the quality of the food offered.

I also noticed that at several of the places, which had been fully booked and I called for weeks to get our reservations, only about half the tables were filled. I get the impression that when you are on the DP, it works best if you make a bunch of reservations for the same evening, and then decide when you are there which you want to keep. It seems that Disney would be losing lots of money this way with all those empty tables, but maybe not. I suppose those tables might be empty anyway if there were no DP, and they only hold the reservation for a certain amount of time before giving it away to a walk-in.

Overall, our experiences were pretty good. We didn't have terrible food anywhere, though some was better than others. Some was quite overpriced, but that's to be expected I suppose. It certainly is easier to eat in the parks than elsewhere. Even though we stayed off property, we only ate at a local restaurant once. This was our worst dining experience as a matter of fact.

Pakey
10-21-2008, 01:57 PM
They ask if you are on DDP when you first are seated so that if you are; they can explain your options to you and to let you know what will be covered and what you would have to pay for OOP.

People make ADR's whether on DDP or not. People not on DDP are just as apt to make multiple ADR's for same meal as not.

I think the current economy would have more to do with empty tables than the DDP.

FWIW, we do not do DDP. I think that the only affect the DDP has had is that it has brought in more diners to the TS places than ever before which has then resulted in more standardized menus at each place in order to accommodate the increased numbers of diners.

TDC Nala
10-21-2008, 01:58 PM
I think the dining plan affects the ability of at least the one-credit restaurants to offer more expensive ingredients or more innovative options. But the majority appears to be happy with the current offerings and thrilled with the thought of getting decent food plus saving money, assuming they use the plan as intended. That is all that is important to a business.

The OP touches on two current hot button issues - the effect of the dining plan on restaurant quality and multiple reservation bookings - so will leave this up on DDP board as long as the discussion remains civilized.

You are asked if you are on the plan so that the servers may explain the plan if necessary and ring up the bill properly (dining plan bills are rung up separately from regular paid bills). The quality of service you receive should have nothing to do with whether or not you are using the dining plan.

Schmoodle
10-22-2008, 07:50 PM
Yes, good point about the ADRs. It doesn't really matter if you are on DDP or not when you make them.
I don't get to DW often enough to really notice trends, only once every 4 or 5 years or so. I thought frequent visitors might have some thoughts on this. As I mentioned, we enjoyed all our meals, even the night we ended up at Cosmic Ray's.
I plan to go back in about 2 years and may give the DDP a try when I do, since I ended up eating at almost all Disney restaurants anyway.
You are right that being on the DDP or not should not affect service, but wonder if that's the reality of the situation or not - and also wonder if DDP has affected the tips that the servers are getting. Like using coupons in a non-Disney restaurant where people sometimes do not realize they are supposed to base the tip on the pre-coupon cost along with service.
Anyway, sorry if I touched on hot button issues that are not supposed to be discussed, not trying to start anything! Just some "food for thought". This is an interesting place.

TDC Nala
10-22-2008, 08:55 PM
Tips are not included in the dining plan anymore, so there's no reason for the dining plan to affect tips or service from anyone based on the expected tip.

No reason not to discuss them...it's just that those discussions usually end up in fighting and personal attacks, which hasn't happened here yet.