'FD' announced for the summer months....

[cranbiz]

Ok...right...I wasn't thinking tip.

Cape may cafe...

At dinner...they have a seafood buffet that I think is a $55-$60 a person. And people rave about it.

But honestly...it smells and tastes like a publix quality shrimp and crableg dump. It's not anything that special.

But it's "can't miss" by most on these boards.

I'd much rather have something from local fish shacks in the keys, gulf coast, or New England.

Better at 1/3 the price.

People who rave about Cape May have no idea what seafood should taste like. Grey clam chowder? rubber little necks? I went once and because I was a CM the 18% gratuity was included. The food was abysmal, the server complained about how much us bus drivers made in front of my family made and ignored us the the entire time we were there. Didn't clear the plates or refill our water/iced tea. Then when I went to the dessert area, there was nothing there and the manager I asked to get it refilled just blew me off.

This was back when the gratuity was included in the DDP so she waited on an average of 6 tables an hour with a $100 minimum sale. Even if she had to tip out the busboy, she was clearing $13 a table, $78 an hour. Don't lecture me on my $12 an hour as a driver.

When leaving, I got the general manager and expressed my displeasure with the whole experience and he waived the gratuity. Man, that was nice of him.

 

[karint]

We like the dining plan because we know it's paid for ahead of time. In figuring out the break even point, once you visit the buffets you realize the value of the plan.
If you don't really eat at the more expensive places it may not be worth it for you.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

We like the dining plan because we know it's paid for ahead of time. In figuring out the break even point, once you visit the buffets you realize the value of the plan.
If you don't really eat at the more expensive places it may not be worth it for you.

And that was the original psychology of it...
Get that cost out of the way so mom and dad show up with their "vacation cash" for the giftshops...where the profit is made

 

[karint]

That is true!

 

[Eoghann]

The house always wins...

It's possible to "save" money with the Dining Plan but the percentage of people who do is very small. You can rest assured that the pricing and structure of that plan has been analyzed to death to ensure that Disney makes more money on the deal than if they didn't offer it.

 

[dlavender]

Psychologically, it definitely does its job.

Take my wife, for example. On a 6 day Disney vacation, we eat at a buffet, or a character meal maybe once. She looks at the dining plan as a way to "make" us do it. This way we can overpay in advance, and then we would have no choice but to pay $30 for scrambled eggs. (It still hurts me)

She knows that we would never budget $1000 to eat for 6 days. But, for some reason, psychologically, she wants to prepay that $1000 to force us into the "nicer" meals.

The dark arts are lost on me, but she has succumbed.....

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Yes, I know it was not a disaster for Disney but for the families who were hoping for a free dining package so they could afford a Disney vacation, it was a disaster for them.

1) You have to wonder what folks did before there was Free Dining.
2) Other vacation destinations don't have free dining, except maybe a free breakfast at some hotels.
3) Plus, Ogre (I mean Iger) announced three years ago he was weaning the public off discounts at Disney.
4) This should be no surprise to people.
.
NOTE: People should never plan upon discounts or sales. If and when such disappear, they are left in a bad position. If one plans for the full price, sales prices or discounts are just an added plus.

 

[Eoghann]

1) You have to wonder what folks did before there was Free Dining.
2) Other vacation destinations don't have free dining, except maybe a free breakfast at some hotels.
3) Plus, Ogre (I mean Iger) announced three years ago he was weaning the public off discounts at Disney.
4) This should be no surprise to people.
.
NOTE: People should never plan upon discounts or sales. If and when such disappear, they are left in a bad position. If one plans for the full price, sales prices or discounts are just an added plus.

I know this sounds harsh, but if the budget is so tight that you can only visit WDW with free dining... maybe skip a year because you don't have the money for it.

And I say that having been in that position more than once.

 

[saskdw]

2) Other vacation destinations don't have free dining, except maybe a free breakfast at some hotels.

NOTE: People should never plan upon discounts or sales. If and when such disappear, they are left in a bad position. If one plans for the full price, sales prices or discounts are just an added plus.

For me it's not about the FD per say. However the FD promo is what makes a WDW vacation a good value for us. To be frank.....a WDW vacation package at full rack rate isn't good value IMO. We can afford to go without a discount, we just won't go without one with the current pricing.

I agree people shouldn't count on discounts. We don't book or plan a trip unless FD comes out for dates that work for us. With the current Canadian dollar exchange rate we are already thinking about not going to WDW this December for the first time since 2008. No FD would just slam dunk it for us. Just not smart use of our money.

Having said that....for WDW as long as they are filling rooms than it's smart business for them.

 

[saskdw]

I know this sounds harsh, but if the budget is so tight that you can only visit WDW with free dining... maybe skip a year because you don't have the money for it.

And I say that having been in that position more than once.

For some it's not about budget. We spend around $10,000 on our yearly WDW vacations. It's simple for me....with FD I feel WDW is a good value at current pricing.....without FD I'll go spend my $10k somewhere else.

 

[Eoghann]

For some it's not about budget. We spend around $10,000 on our yearly WDW vacations. It's simple for me....with FD I feel WDW is a good value at current pricing.....without FD I'll go spend my $10k somewhere else.

Well I was mostly reacting to the notion that "it was a disaster for those hoping for FD".

I know words like disaster are used loosely these days but still a bit of perspective needs to be applied. If people can't afford it without free dining, then wait a year or 2 (I've waited 3 before). If, as in your case it seems like poor value for money... you don't go.

None of this really qualifies as a disaster and the level of emotion that gets associated with the subject of Free Dining is quite alarming in my eyes.

 

[saskdw]

Well I was mostly reacting to the notion that "it was a disaster for those hoping for FD".

I know words like disaster are used loosely these days but still a bit of perspective needs to be applied. If people can't afford it without free dining, then wait a year or 2 (I've waited 3 before). If, as in your case it seems like poor value for money... you don't go.

None of this really qualifies as a disaster and the level of emotion that gets associated with the subject of Free Dining is quite alarming in my eyes.

Agreed.

 

[junebug21981]

Do you think they will still have the Summer room discounts available just like the Spring % off that they have running now. Thoughts?

 

[Nancyg56]

I know this sounds harsh, but if the budget is so tight that you can only visit WDW with free dining... maybe skip a year because you don't have the money for it.

And I say that having been in that position more than once.

I think that there is a vast difference between "budget so tight that I can't go unless there is Free Dining" and " I refuse to pay full price so I wait until the discounts are announced and then determine if I want to justify the cost".
I do not care one way or another what the discount is called, I look at the bottom line of my vacation as a whole and then book or not book.

I am in the process of deciding if we can attend my husbands, cousin's wedding. So far the airfare will run over a grand, which puts my budget for this occasion a bit out of my comfort zone for the entire stay. For us it is not single components of any trip, it is the cost as a whole.

 

[Nancyg56]

Well I was mostly reacting to the notion that "it was a disaster for those hoping for FD".

I know words like disaster are used loosely these days but still a bit of perspective needs to be applied. If people can't afford it without free dining, then wait a year or 2 (I've waited 3 before). If, as in your case it seems like poor value for money... you don't go.

None of this really qualifies as a disaster and the level of emotion that gets associated with the subject of Free Dining is quite alarming in my eyes.

Well, I think it is really just the verbiage used, and not a disaster of epic proportions. WE can all agree that without discounts, Disney vacations can be expensive, and for some of us, we look at FD or decent RO discounts as the sale that is the deciding factor if we vacation in WDW. If without the discount the cost is too high to justify, once we add spending, gratuities all over the place, and travel costs, we choose to go elsewhere. I prefer WDW but I have a line I will not cross.

 

[Eoghann]

Well, I think it is really just the verbiage used, and not a disaster of epic proportions. WE can all agree that without discounts, Disney vacations can be expensive, and for some of us, we look at FD or decent RO discounts as the sale that is the deciding factor if we vacation in WDW. If without the discount the cost is too high to justify, once we add spending, gratuities all over the place, and travel costs, we choose to go elsewhere. I prefer WDW but I have a line I will not cross.

But verbiage matters. There's a reason why we have words like disappointment or unfortunate or sad. This trend towards ever more extreme language for even the most mundane events is not only a waste of the language it undermines communication and understanding.

I have always been a strong advocate of looking at a trip to Disney as a financial expense. If it's not worth it, don't go or go next year. Disney is not owed your vacation money. The world will not end and people shouldn't act like it's going to.

 

[Nancyg56]

But verbiage matters. There's a reason why we have words like disappointment or unfortunate or sad. This trend towards ever more extreme language for even the most mundane events is not only a waste of the language it undermines communication and understanding.

I have always been a strong advocate of looking at a trip to Disney as a financial expense. If it's not worth it, don't go or go next year. Disney is not owed your vacation money. The world will not end and people shouldn't act like it's going to.

This is a message board. I never get hung up on words here. I do understand that words matter, but when discussing vacation cancellations, dining preferences, and resort choices on the DIS I don't worry about the strength of the language. Folks are just talking

 

[lockedoutlogic]

1) You have to wonder what folks did before there was Free Dining.
2) Other vacation destinations don't have free dining, except maybe a free breakfast at some hotels.
3) Plus, Ogre (I mean Iger) announced three years ago he was weaning the public off discounts at Disney.
4) This should be no surprise to people.
.
NOTE: People should never plan upon discounts or sales. If and when such disappear, they are left in a bad position. If one plans for the full price, sales prices or discounts are just an added plus.

The bold portions is why every single thread/discussion about this inevitably gets off the rails.

People book Disney trips with their hearts...not their brains/wallets...and there seems to be an outright refusal by a large percentage of those engaged in these debates to accept the above as fact.

Bob Iger went to every business conference/symposium/ and speech from 2009-2013 and complained about discounts at parks. Not occasionally - every time.

I don't expect the average wdw traveler to read the financial section each day...but when somebody did/does read those things and points out that free dining was a stopgap and by nature temporary...I don't honestly understand anger and refusal to believe.

It is what it is/was.

 

[saskdw]

The bold portions is why every single thread/discussion about this inevitably gets off the rails.

People book Disney trips with their hearts...not their brains/wallets...and there seems to be an outright refusal by a large percentage of those engaged in these debates to accept the above as fact.

Bob Iger went to every business conference/symposium/ and speech from 2009-2013 and complained about discounts at parks. Not occasionally - every time.

I don't expect the average wdw traveler to read the financial section each day...but when somebody did/does read those things and points out that free dining was a stopgap and by nature temporary...I don't honestly understand anger and refusal to believe.

It is what it is/was.

I get all that.

IMO, FD is a brilliant promotion. It attracts lots of people for various different reasons.

I think they would be better off to keep raising package prices, but keep offering "Free Dining" promos. They would get less push back and increase profits.

But, as I keep saying....if they fill the rooms than it doesn't matter what i think.

 

[Nancyg56]

I get all that.

IMO, FD is a brilliant promotion. It attracts lots of people for various different reasons.

I think they would be better off to keep raising package prices, but keep offering "Free Dining" promos. They would get less push back and increase profits.

But, as I keep saying....if they fill the rooms than it doesn't matter what i think.

I agree. You offer fd but there are conditions, and all the components of the trip are buried in the package. I have been going regularly so I tend to break them all out, but in the end I look at the total cost and then determine if I want to pay it. For a lot of people, if they get hung up on the cost of the room it deters them. You turn the trip into a package and the details get blurred