Frustrated with DDP desserts...

[Petraman]

Our last trip to WDW in August, we made sure to get the DDP basic plan. We had done it a couple years befroe and it was a killer deal! I guess I should have paid closer attention, since now they no longer include an appetizer, and also every single restaurant we went to for full service meals would not just let us order off the dessert menu. They only allowed you to have "certain" desserts, which usually constituted cake, fruit, something boring.
The last time we were able to really get the value out of the plan but this time it was very disappointing. Then to top it all off, we had saved 2 FS meals to use for the Spirit of Aloha Luau on our last night. A huge storm blew in, and we were standing around in the lobby trying to figure what to do. We asked if we could just cancel and try to go somewhere else, but they just kept saying, "hold on a bit". Finall they handed us all parkas and herded us out to the luau. As soon as we got there, I figured there was no way they could do this. What they did was sit us down, serve us food, THEN anounce "by the way, there is no way we can do the luau show. We are going to give you back 50% of your cost... or 1 FS for those on the DDP."
This was really tacky, they knew the show couldn't happen, but they had cooked food and needed to recoup so they played us.

Sad part for us was we were leaving first thing in AM so no way to really use our FS meal they gave back, so we definitely didn't get our money's worth this time around.... Oh well.

Now we're heade back in March, but with no appetizers, pitiful desserts and a higher price, I think we may pass on DDP this year. Seems to be going backwards to me. Just my opinion

[jennipooh]

It's too bad about the luau. We had reservations last August at Ft Wilderness. (Trail's End with plans to do the Campfire/movie afterwards). We rode the ferry over with tons of people who had been planning to do the HDDR or Mickey's Backyard BBQ.
A storm came in as we were waiting for the ferry. It turned quite intense during the boat ride over. In fact when we docked, I found out that boat service had been suspended just after we headed out. The Ft Wilderness staff greeted us and did everything they could to direct us all where we needed to go and to get us all in shelter, and dry. They had stacks of towels, were offering ponchos, etc. In my opinion they did everything they could to make the best of the situation. Storms, can be quite bad in Fl, but they can move quite quickly. The one we experience was intense and lasted for hours! There was flooding all around central Fl due to this.
Hopefully the Luau crew was trying to do the best they could for you given a bad situation, but I can see where you would feel cheated on top of being disappointed. Especially since it was your last night.
My experience is that Disney has bent over backwards to make us happy while we were there and have been wonderful in responding to a few inquiries and complaints once I have returned home. Perhaps you should get in touch and see if they can make this right for you. At the very least they would know how "played" this made you feel and that can help the luau experience of future guests.
Also, I'm curious about what you said about the desserts. That just plain doesn't sound right. Really, it seems unfair. I have never heard about this. I'd like to know what restaurants, so I can be prepared when we go next summer. We usually use our AP discount and/or TIW, but I am thinking of the DDP or QSDP for our upcoming trip.

[kraeurb]

I am curious what restaurants did this to you. We had the DDP this past August and we were never restricted on what desserts we wanted to order. Can you tell us which ones you are referring to?

[Faldred]

I'm going to agree that the "limited desserts" sounds wrong. If that's a change, it's a recent one -- we were able to order any dessert off the menu back in March. Now, granted, we were on Deluxe, but the dessert entitlements are the same between Deluxe and Basic.

There has been a distressing trend of "for 2" desserts and appetizers, but most places allow 2 people on plan to pool their entitlements to get them.

[Tricia1972]

I believe that the OP went in August, I seem to remember another similar post from them after they came back in August. Hopefully they can come back this time and let us know where they experienced this. I would think if this trend was widespread, we'd have heard more about it on the boards.

[aksunshine]

I was there end of Aug and we weren't restricted at any of the restraunts we ate at. That is quite strange.

[Tricia1972]

The only restriction I can think of is Tangeriene, where it's your choice of baklava or baklava.

Fixed menus (where you get the appetizer, entree, and dessert) have limited choices for all three courses as well.

[brymolmom]

We also ordered off the full dessert menu end of Aug (LeCellier, Chefs de France to name a couple of our spots). OP - Where did you go where you were limited?

[discookiemonsta]

I'd like to know as well what restaurants you went to, in regards to the dessert options. This thread is really confusing me:confused:

[Kit'smommy]

We just got back from Disney and used the DDP. We were not restricted anywhere. I am curious about what restaurants only allowed certain desserts to be ordered.

[beroh2253]

Went only a few weeks ago, the last week in Oct. and there was no restriction for dessert on the regular menu at the restaurants we went to.
Now with the Chefs Favorite at Le Cellier and the 3 course meal at Chefs de France they had restrictions on dessert but you got the appetizer but we didn't do that cause you get a lesser entree also.

[suzannews]

At the restaurant where I work, you can order any dessert of the menu. :confused3

[United544]

Maybe the OP is talking about desserts for the kid's menu? Which, if that's the case, I would agree, the desserts on the kids menu are lacking to say the least.

But, we never had any problem ordering any dessert off the main menu, on the DxDDP, when we were there last January.

[2Tiggies]

No I don't think the OP was talking about kids menus. There are a few - very few - restaurants that have certain restrictions on the dining plan: some CS and some CS. There are not many of them and I can't recall off the bat which ones they were aside from Tangierine Cafe and for some reason I seem to think Wolfgang Puck Express had cerain limitations (?)

I think the reason for the confusion is that there are only a handful of places with restrictions and they are usually non-Disney-owned locations. So if any posters had not eaten at any of these on the DDP, then they wouldn't have experienced any restictions to report on.

I have a printed page in my Disney vault :lmao:(filing system) where there was a list of "limitations and restrictions" on the dining plan. I have made notes on it so I can't see under my scrawl what website it came from. It may have been TouringPlans.com. It seems though that the info on there was based on reports from guests who had experienced the restrictions and reported back on this.

Re. the August issues some people had, yes, at the beginning of Free Dining some places seemed to have "cropped" their menus, removing more expensive items and limiting the choices. This however seems to have gone back to normal after about 6 weeks, even though free dining was extended :confused3 Again, it appeared that these were mainly Epcot non Disney owned places. Aaah, the mysteries of Disney .... :rotfl:

[aubriee]

No I don't think the OP was talking about kids menus. There are a few - very few - restaurants that have certain restrictions on the dining plan: some CS and some CS. There are not many of them and I can't recall off the bat which ones they were aside from Tangierine Cafe and for some reason I seem to think Wolfgang Puck Express had cerain limitations (?)



I go to WDW several times a year and the only place where the dessert was restricted was the Tangerine Cafe. I've never been restricted at WGP Express. Now if a dessert says it's for two, then it takes two people's credits to order. I was there this past May on the basic DDP and also this past Sept/Oct on the DxDDP and never found any limitations on desserts.

[maxiesmom]

I don't undestand about the desserts either. We used the Dining Plan in October, and we were not limited on what desserts we could order.:confused:

As far as the luau goes, it stinks that you were rained out. But I don't think Disney did anything wrong. Of course they want to run the event if they can, but even Disney can't know for sure if the rain will stop or not. If they had cancel right away and the rain had stopped they would have had a lot of ticked off guests too. There is no way to know for sure which way things will turn out. But that was not a fun way to end your vacation.

[klynn]

We were there in Sept for 3 weeks. One of the weeks we were on the DDP. We ate at LeCellier, Tutto Italia, Chefs de France, Rose & Crown, Turf Club, and California Grill. We were not restriced to a few desserts. OP. what restaurants did this to you? I'm curious.

[bangzoom6877]

Perhaps the OP just feels that the dessert menus do not have the same choices they used to have? I have read the menus on All Ears many times ( ;)) and the dessert options at a la carte TS locations look pretty good to me. Some have more items than others, but to me they are not boring at all. Maybe the OP wanted to order a dessert that was labeled "for two" with just one person's credit and were turned down.

[Petraman]

Sorry guys, I have been quite busy last couple days and had not kept up on this thread.

Let me clarify my original thoughts so there is no speculation. The restaurants I am speaking about would not let us order what we wanted. I figured that any "special expensive" dessert or for-2 dessert would not be included, so we didn't even ask. Not talking about kids menu items either, just main menu.

I wish I had posted this earlier when all the details were still fresh, but I will do my best recollect.

1) Planet Hollywood. We wanted the Creme Brule but they said we couldn't have it. Then asked for cheesecake and said no on it as well. So I asked them what we could have and as I remember it was the chocolate cake or some bowl of ice cream or something. Sad thing was the cheesecake was the same price as the chocolate cake, but they said no way.

2) Tokyo Dining. When we asked what we could have for dessert, it was green tea pudding or ice cream.

3) There was more but for the life of me, I can't remember where we ate.

All the rest of our FS meals were buffets or character dining, so had no problems there

All of that said, I am SO glad to hear it was a fluke. Sounds like everywhere else has been no problem. After hearing all your responses, maybe the Tokyo Dining deal was just a limited dessert menu. I didn't actually see a list, but it "felt" like what had happened at Planet Hollywood the night before so I just figured it was the same problem.

But PH DEFINTELY did it. I remember it quite vividly since it was so odd.

Thanks so much for all your input, you may have restored my faith in the DDP :)

[kayrosek]

Well I think you might be right about it just being a limited desert menu at Tokyo dining and I think it might change daily because when we were there on Oct. 24th. our only options were green tean pudding or ginger choclate cake I had read on Allears that they had those two plus the ice cream and I figured my son would want the icecream but it wasen't available that day.

[Petraman]

As far as the luau goes, it stinks that you were rained out. But I don't think Disney did anything wrong. Of course they want to run the event if they can, but even Disney can't know for sure if the rain will stop or not. If they had cancel right away and the rain had stopped they would have had a lot of ticked off guests too. There is no way to know for sure which way things will turn out. But that was not a fun way to end your vacation.

I hope I don't just sound like a whiner. Believe me, we still enjoyed our vacation, and obviously it didn't sour us on WDW, we can't wait to get back in March. And I am not trying to make it sound like some "Disney conspiracy", really I'm not.

That said, I guess you just need to trust me, there is no way with the storm that was happening that they didn't know. The lightning strikes were hitting so close, it rattled the windows. They had all of us waiting in the lobby and NOONE was allowed outside at all. After delaying the luau for about 45 minutes with no real letup in the storm, they began to hustle us out to the luau area, they were very concerned, had us in small groups and made us really hustle. One gal was on a walker, and Dis employee wasn't rude per se, but you could tell the lady was really struggling, and he just telling to hurry. The KNEW there would be no luau. There was no way (once I saw that the stage was right out in the open air) they were going to let anyone take that stage... they weren't even letting there own guests stay out in the open anywhere in the area.
Now with that said, I don't really blame Disney for anything (they certainly cannot control the weather), the only thing IMHO that they handled questionable was basically discouraging anyone to cancel and leave, taking us out to the arena, serving us food and THEN saying, "oh by the way". Maybe it wasn't their intention but it sure felt like "we cooked all this food, how can we recoup our losses."

Really it was just one of those "perfect storms"... IF we hadn't waited till the last night to do this, we could have used the returned DDP FS meal somewhere else later. IF we were paying cash for the meal, when they made it half price, then the meal itself was worth the price by itself. Since we ended up paying full price (2 FS meals) it was not nearly worth that.

I hope the one thing we all get from this as a lesson, is be carefull about scheduling a big 2FS meal your last night, because if something goes wrong, it is tough to get your value. We can't wait to go back and try the Luau, just won't plan it last! :)

[Colleen27]

2) Tokyo Dining. When we asked what we could have for dessert, it was green tea pudding or ice cream.


I can't speak to PH because we haven't been there in years, so the fact that we were allowed to choose any dessert may be outdated info. Tokyo Dining/Teppan Edo just have a limited dessert menu, though. When we were there last, the only options were a chocolate ginger cake, green tea pudding, or soft serve ice cream, and technically I think the ice cream was only on the kids' menu. And from what a friend who lives in the area has said in various dining reports, I think they frequently run out of the cake.

[Petraman]

I asked DW if she could remember the 3rd restaurant I mentioned limited us, but all she remembers was she thinks it was in DD and it was somehwere where she wante creme brulee again and she couldn't have it (She LOVES creme brulee... hehe)

[Colleen27]

Now with that said, I don't really blame Disney for anything (they certainly cannot control the weather), the only thing IMHO that they handled questionable was basically discouraging anyone to cancel and leave, taking us out to the arena, serving us food and THEN saying, "oh by the way". Maybe it wasn't their intention but it sure felt like "we cooked all this food, how can we recoup our losses."

Really it was just one of those "perfect storms"... IF we hadn't waited till the last night to do this, we could have used the returned DDP FS meal somewhere else later. IF we were paying cash for the meal, when they made it half price, then the meal itself was worth the price by itself. Since we ended up paying full price (2 FS meals) it was not nearly worth that.


They were also probably thinking of all the people that would be looking to them for alternate TS choices if the meal portion of the evening was canceled. Finding seating for that many families on short notice would be virtually impossible; at least serving the meal without the show solved that issue, and a 1TS refund seems fair considering. It was just bad luck on your part that you didn't have time to use that refunded credit!

Worries over the weather are usually what hold me back from booking the luau, because both our deluxe dining trips have been in the winter and while the weather might be nice, it is just as likely to be too cold for outdoor dining.

[TDC Nala]

Both Planet Hollywood and Tokyo Dining are owned and operated by third parties (not Disney) so the observation that restrictions of this type are usually limited to third party owned restaurants seems to hold.

The third restaurant was also non-Disney unless it was Cap'n Jack's, which is the only Disney-owned and operated restaurant at DTD.

[beroh2253]

I can't believe Disney could never come up with a way to close the LUAL in out of the weather, common this is Disney there must be some way, I know there is a fire twirlers, maybe a retractable roof for when it rains then do away with the fire guy. We only went once and that was our main worry on booking the LUAU was if it was cancelled then what. The also have to do something about the story line of the LUAU and do something about the seating. They really need a whole new LUAL Hall.

[TillyMarigold]

I bet the restaurant at Downtown Disney was Wolfgang Puck Express, there have been a couple reports of people not being able to get the creme brulee there on the dining plan. (But we were able to get it there.) I actually had thought that Tokyo Dining and Planet Hollywood didn't even take the DDP but apparently I was wrong.

We had 9 TS meals last time we were there, 7 of which were lunch or dinner, and picked from the full dessert menu for 6 of them (Jiko, Kona, Narcoossee's, Sci-Fi, Mama Melrose). The 7th was Akershus, where they just bring you a tray of desserts, but we did get all 3 of them. ;)

[Petraman]

I bet the restaurant at Downtown Disney was Wolfgang Puck Express, there have been a couple reports of people not being able to get the creme brulee there on the dining plan. (But we were able to get it there.) I actually had thought that Tokyo Dining and Planet Hollywood didn't even take the DDP but apparently I was wrong.

We had 9 TS meals last time we were there, 7 of which were lunch or dinner, and picked from the full dessert menu for 6 of them (Jiko, Kona, Narcoossee's, Sci-Fi, Mama Melrose). The 7th was Akershus, where they just bring you a tray of desserts, but we did get all 3 of them. ;)

I bet you are right, we did eat at Wolfgang Puck Express. That probably was the one!

[aubriee]

I bet the restaurant at Downtown Disney was Wolfgang Puck Express, there have been a couple reports of people not being able to get the creme brulee there on the dining plan. (But we were able to get it there.) I actually had thought that Tokyo Dining and Planet Hollywood didn't even take the DDP but apparently I was wrong.


Tokyo Dining and Planet Hollywood are both on the DDP. I ate at Tokyo Dining this past Sept and the only two desserts on the menu were the green tea pudding and chocolate ginger cake. The lady next to me was eating ice cream though, so I guess they had it. It just wasn't listed on the adult menu. I haven't been to WGP Express since last May, but at that time we got the creme brulee using the DDP. It may have changed since then though.:confused3

As a frequent solo traveler, what irritates me are all the appetizers and desserts for two that are now on the menus. I wish solo diners could order a half portion of them, as they are frequently the best items on the menu.

[Petraman]

Tokyo Dining and Planet Hollywood are both on the DDP. I ate at Tokyo Dining this past Sept and the only two desserts on the menu were the green tea pudding and chocolate ginger cake. The lady next to me was eating ice cream though, so I guess they had it. It just wasn't listed on the adult menu. I haven't been to WGP Express since last May, but at that time we got the creme brulee using the DDP. It may have changed since then though.:confused3

As a frequent solo traveler, what irritates me are all the appetizers and desserts for two that are now on the menus. I wish solo diners could order a half portion of them, as they are frequently the best items on the menu.

There are times that the particular dish requires that its made in larger quantity, but not always. I think your idea would be grand, as long as its doable for that item, why not?:rolleyes:

[k5thbeatle]

I saw the title of this thread and thought it read, "Frustrated with DDP". The "desserts" part was cut off. The ddp is the worst idea Disney has come up with and is the main driving force in decreasing both the quality of the food and the service at WDW.

It will be a glorious day if and when they ever end this disastrous idea, but I'm not holding my breath either!:sad1:

[Colleen27]

As a frequent solo traveler, what irritates me are all the appetizers and desserts for two that are now on the menus. I wish solo diners could order a half portion of them, as they are frequently the best items on the menu.

That bugs me too since we have an odd number of adults. There are a few places where virtually everything except the soup appetizer are "for two". Raglan Road is one that sticks in my mind, because all the really appealing appetizers are for two; I think there's soup, salad, or a goat cheese dish and that's it for single person appetizers.

[WantToGoNow]

We just got back Monday. We ate at Kona, Coral Reef, LeCellier, Sci-Fi Dine In, 50's Prime Time Cafe, Cinderella Royal Table and Crystal Palace. Every location (with the exception of Crystal Palace since it is a buffet) allowed us to order any dessert we wanted off of the menu.

Now children's dessert selections are a whole other story - but my kids didn't mind the sundaes. By the last night, however my dc's ds5 took his dads Chocolate Moose at LeCellier and ate it very quickly.

[MellieluvsDisney]

We were there in September and ate twice at Planet Hollywood. The first time we ate there, they did not present us with a dessert menu, they only told us the three dessert option that we could choose from.

The second time we went, the waiter presented us with the dessert menu explaining that we could choose any dessert including the three mentionned that other day and the other ones which used 2 dessert credit. We didn't mind, we ordered the Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie and we didn't even eat all of it.

I don't know why we were not offered that option the first time we went, but that's the only place we encountered a "problem".

We ate at Le Cellier, Sci-Ci Dine In Theater, Yak & Yeti, Grand Floridian Cafe, Whispering Canyon Cafe and so on, and we never had any restrictions on the dessert menu.

[Coach81]

Where is the OP? I'd love to hear a response.

[Petraman]

We were there in September and ate twice at Planet Hollywood. The first time we ate there, they did not present us with a dessert menu, they only told us the three dessert option that we could choose from.

The second time we went, the waiter presented us with the dessert menu explaining that we could choose any dessert including the three mentionned that other day and the other ones which used 2 dessert credit. We didn't mind, we ordered the Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie and we didn't even eat all of it.

I don't know why we were not offered that option the first time we went, but that's the only place we encountered a "problem".

We ate at Le Cellier, Sci-Ci Dine In Theater, Yak & Yeti, Grand Floridian Cafe, Whispering Canyon Cafe and so on, and we never had any restrictions on the dessert menu.

Exactly how could they charge "2 dessert credit" I wonder. The FS meal simply comes with one dessert, it does not list as a separate item on your DDP plan. I guess they mean if 4 of you are there, you can only get 2 desserts. Once again it sounds like PH is making up their own rules as they go. I think Disney either needs to make clear this kind of thing "could happen" with 3rd party restaurants, or just drop them from the DDP

I am so appreciative of all your inputs concerning all other restaurants. Sounds like a very isolated problem and that is good to know

:)

[Petraman]

Where is the OP? I'd love to hear a response.

Ummm response to what?

[TillyMarigold]

Exactly how could they charge "2 dessert credit" I wonder. The FS meal simply comes with one dessert, it does not list as a separate item on your DDP plan. I guess they mean if 4 of you are there, you can only get 2 desserts. Once again it sounds like PH is making up their own rules as they go. I think Disney either needs to make clear this kind of thing "could happen" with 3rd party restaurants, or just drop them from the DDP
Yes, exactly, and that happens at Disney-owned restaurants as well (the "Calamari for Two" and Mama Melrose is the most commonly-mentioned example). Some desserts and some appetizers are "For Two" so if you want them, two people must share.

[Jeanieblue114]

Exactly how could they charge "2 dessert credit" I wonder. The FS meal simply comes with one dessert, it does not list as a separate item on your DDP plan. I guess they mean if 4 of you are there, you can only get 2 desserts. Once again it sounds like PH is making up their own rules as they go. I think Disney either needs to make clear this kind of thing "could happen" with 3rd party restaurants, or just drop them from the DDP

I am so appreciative of all your inputs concerning all other restaurants. Sounds like a very isolated problem and that is good to know

:)

The GF Cafe' also has the desserts for 2 and it is Disney owned. We had 4 of us there in Oct and 2 shared the dessert for 2. It was made up of a platter of 4 of the mini desserts that are offered. We were glad that they got the platter because we learned that had they each ordered their own desserts, they would have gotten the same mini size dessert and only ONE.
So, it was either they each get 1 mini for 1 dessert credit.
Or, they each get 2 minis for 1 dessert credit when sharing the platter. Plus, the platter came with a little 'painter's easel' made out of white chocolate that said Celebrate on it. It was a very nice platter with a lovely selection. Getting one of the mini desserts only would have been a bit of a disappointment.

[Petraman]

The GF Cafe' also has the desserts for 2 and it is Disney owned. We had 4 of us there in Oct and 2 shared the dessert for 2. It was made up of a platter of 4 of the mini desserts that are offered. We were glad that they got the platter because we learned that had they each ordered their own desserts, they would have gotten the same mini size dessert and only ONE.
So, it was either they each get 1 mini for 1 dessert credit.
Or, they each get 2 minis for 1 dessert credit when sharing the platter. Plus, the platter came with a little 'painter's easel' made out of white chocolate that said Celebrate on it. It was a very nice platter with a lovely selection. Getting one of the mini desserts only would have been a bit of a disappointment.

That sound very nice! We may have to try that out in March.... Thanks!

[Petraman]

Yes, exactly, and that happens at Disney-owned restaurants as well (the "Calamari for Two" and Mama Melrose is the most commonly-mentioned example). Some desserts and some appetizers are "For Two" so if you want them, two people must share.

Very true, but just for clarification to everyone, the desserts that Mellie was talking about that PH charged 2 dessert credits for were not desserts "for two", they were just individual desserts. When we were they I seem to remember that I had the cheesescake which they would let me have on DDP, and the double chocolate dessert that Mellie mentioned they had to give 2 credits for is for one person and costs they very same as the piece of cheesecake..... Go figure :rolleyes: