Not Official: Big Changes to Disney Dining Plan

[JZCubed]

I was thinking the same thing - but we have no guarantee that they will continue to allow snack credits as in the past.

Still, nothing official, but if too many people are avoiding the Dining Plans because they are attending the F&W festival and cannot eat all the food, then I get to one of my initial suggestions - Disney may be trying to get more people to purchase their Dining Plans.

More options are certainly one way to get more people to buy the dining plans.

Once the details are official, I'll start crunching numbers to see if I can get the math to work.

 

[eyehartdisney]

I just hope this means there will be more exciting desserts than creme brulle and ice cream

 

[robinb]

What's rude is you're simply making up facts.

The article from WDW was posted on a Sunday - there would be no 'regular business hours' on a Sunday.

Also, the title of that article did not mention these changes were NOT OFFICIAL - I did.

Further, the attached articles states quite clearly in it's opening sentence…and continues:

Changes will be taking place with the popular Disney Dining Plans. We haven’t seen a full official announcement yet, but the details we’re seeing are as follows:…..Beginning May 31, guests will be able to exchange some of their table-service credits and quick-service credits for snack items…...We’re expecting more confirmation on all of this later today, but from reports we’re hearing on the DISboards, this all looks to be going into effect today, May 31.

There was never any official announcement. WDWMagic was getting anecdotal evidence in real-time from Dissers at Disney World that a likely soft-opening of some changes had already begun. And WDWMagic appeared to have some unofficial release of information that could not actually be confirmed.

Moreover, for those who may know something about the Official Announcement - you were replied to 4 minutes after your question that an official reply may come as early as or as late as Thursday, depending on your position.

Have a nice day.

Woah. Many of your posts on this subject, including this one, have been pretty rude. You seem to want to correct and one-up folks but not in a particularly polite or even helpful way.

It's not unreasonable for someone to ask if the changes have become official official and we can't rely on the subject of a thread to be up to date. You may be the OP of the thread but you can't be expected to know instantly when things become official and change the subject. It's not like George Kalogridis is going to say, "Hold up on that press release about the new DDP changes! I have to call JZCubed first so he can change that DIS thread!"

 

[JZCubed]

Woah. Many of your posts on this subject, including this one, have been pretty rude. You seem to want to correct and one-up folks but not in a particularly polite or even helpful way.

It's not unreasonable for someone to ask if the changes have become official official and we can't rely on the subject of a thread to be up to date. You may be the OP of the thread but you can't be expected to know instantly when things become official and change the subject. It's not like George Kalogridis is going to say, "Hold up on that press release about the new DDP changes! I have to call JZCubed first so he can change that DIS thread!"

Ya'know what's funny - you think it would be helpful for people to look 50 posts into a Thread to see what's current and effectively ignore the title of a Thread.

If the information were officially released - someone will post a new Thread, no?

Also,

I wonder how much the DDP will increase in price with these changes.

Disney wouldn't do it if it didn't make financial sense. It looks like they are giving a lot in these changes and I'm certain that it's not out of the kindness of their hearts.

Helpful?

But I will say this - despite your cynicism for implying that Disney is somehow being nefarious and/or greedy for wanting more people to purchase their Dining Plans, if they can offer a better deal to consumers, maybe more consumers will buy the product.

Why must all changes be one-sided in benefit and not create a win-win - more profits for Disney and better value for customers?

All profits are not derived by price increases.

Maybe, just maybe, Disney is selling fewer Dining Plans and the bean-counters are trying to capture $dollars that are being spent elsewhere.

Presently, Swan & Dolphin and Whole Foods make profits from my food purchases. Is their something wrong with Disney trying to capture those profits by giving a better deal?

 

[Ava]

One more prediction from me: I see the child QS plan going away altogether. It will be one price for everyone. The question then will be if they will even offer kid's meals at the QS locations.

I don't see them getting rid of kid's meals at QS locations, unless they add the kid's entrees to the menu in adult portions and still offer the kid-friendly side items. I also feel like it's more likely they'll just raise the price of the child's plans to be closer to the price of adult plans, rather than getting rid of the child's plan altogether.

People are so accustomed to paying a discounted price for children that I think it'd be a hard sell to offer a one-price-for-all dining plan, even if children are able to get adult meals at QS locations. It's like park tickets - technically children have access to all the same attractions as adults save the few rides that their height prevents them from riding (although most children probably reach the height requirement for all the rides before they age out of a child's ticket), but I think there would be a big backlash if Disney stopped offering any sort of discounted ticket for young children.

 

[Jennytoon]

If the DP today, with its relative inflexibility and its cost, doesn't work for a person because they would leave a dessert on the table, or have to buy a salad OOP if they really wanted one (or not buy a salad b/c they have to pay OOP), it's financially silly to pay for a more flexible dining plan when it's certainly going to cost extra. Seems like if you're willing to pay more, just leave desserts in the kitchen and pay $7 for a wanted salad/appetizer with the current cost of the dining plan.

It's clever, though, see how many people who will very likely be happy to pay more for flexibility when they can take the plan as it is today and pay more for what they want.

Not combating you, JZ. But as a total NON-user of the dining plan, I watch the outrage of people as things change, and THIS change is going to amuse me, watching people adopt it because it's flexy, while paying probably the same as they could pay now, buying the plan and adding on as they wish.

I don't know that I agree with you. This August is the first time that we will be staying on property and actually eligible for the dining plan, so I looked into it a LOT. We usually buy and cook some meals to keep costs down, but DH said he actually kind of liked the idea of just getting food wherever we were + ADRs etc. So I said we could try eating in that style. For me, although the cost was significantly more than we usually pay for food, one of the attractive features was being able to pay in advance, because I am the budget worrier so the idea of pre-paying and not having to track how much we were spending on food to make sure it wasn't getting out of hand was really attractive. So attractive that I was willing to pay more for it; both way, way more than what we normally spend on food at WDW (by eating out more than we otherwise would) and a bit more than we would spend on food if we didn't have it pre-purchased, because we would probably end up ordering full meals each instead of sometimes sharing etc.

Here is the problem: we are a family of five and we do eat out once a day on vacation although previously it was a mix of on-site and off-site. When we eat out, we usually get 2-3 appetizers and share 1-2 desserts. My husband usually partakes of an alcoholic libation. When we eat QS, we tend to share 3 meals among us and make up the difference with extra park snacks. When I looked at the DDP, it was not the cost of the plan that shooed me away, it was not the fact that the plan would cost more than the same food OOP, and it wasn't the idea that we would be leaving large numbers of desserts or QS credits uneaten. What shooed me away was that on a daily basis I would still be paying so much OOP for the extra snacks (that we used instead of QS credits) and the extra appetizers (that sometimes would have been a soup or salad) and the beverages that the entire carefree aspect of having it paid in advance would be lost.

I'll have to go back and look again, and I'm still not sure that we'll do it. But I'll tell you that it wasn't the cost that shooed me away from the DDP because I was totally willing to pay a premium over the cost of the food for the convenience of having it pre-paid. It was the lack of flexibility, much of which is addressed with these changes, that made us decide not to do it.

 

[PoohsHunnyBee]

Aw, rats......but most of the F&W booths take the snack credits, right? If I am understanding you correctly, you are saying that the places to convert the QS to the snack credits will be the limiting factor? It sounds like things need to be ironed out for this so I'll just have to wait until the official announcement and rules.

In the past a lot of F&W items counted as snack credits, and I believe it's reasonable to assume that will be the same this year. However F&W booths, so far as I understand, have never been set up to accept QS credits. So I believe it is reasonable to assume they will not be able to convert QS credits to snack credits since they won't be able to take QS credits. I agree that we need to wait for official announcements and perhaps some alterations/adjustments early on as the changes are put in place, but these seem to be safe assumptions.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

look for the price break on children's DDP to go away or at least be somewhat curtailed, except perhaps on the regular plan which still distinguishes children's TS credits from adults'

 

[danny1649]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/news/changes-taking-place-to-the-disney-dining-plans/

Looks like:

-- Snacks - you will get more snack for your credits.

-- Qwik Serve - desserts can get substituted (huge for people with diabetes, etc.).

-- Qwik Serve meal can be swapped for 3 snacks.

-- Qwik Serve adult & child can be swapped (confirming the loophole).

-- Table Service - desserts can get swapped for soup, salad, fruit plate (again, huge for many dietary restrictions).

-- Table Service - you can use as many credits as you wish to pay for someone else not on dining plan (this might make math work for many families who do not eat 3-squares per day on DxDP, but travel with friends/family for a portion of their trip).

 

[JZCubed]

I don't know that I agree with you. This August is the first time that we will be staying on property and actually eligible for the dining plan, so I looked into it a LOT. We usually buy and cook some meals to keep costs down, but DH said he actually kind of liked the idea of just getting food wherever we were + ADRs etc. So I said we could try eating in that style. For me, although the cost was significantly more than we usually pay for food, one of the attractive features was being able to pay in advance, because I am the budget worrier so the idea of pre-paying and not having to track how much we were spending on food to make sure it wasn't getting out of hand was really attractive. So attractive that I was willing to pay more for it; both way, way more than what we normally spend on food at WDW (by eating out more than we otherwise would) and a bit more than we would spend on food if we didn't have it pre-purchased, because we would probably end up ordering full meals each instead of sometimes sharing etc.

Here is the problem: we are a family of five and we do eat out once a day on vacation although previously it was a mix of on-site and off-site. When we eat out, we usually get 2-3 appetizers and share 1-2 desserts. My husband usually partakes of an alcoholic libation. When we eat QS, we tend to share 3 meals among us and make up the difference with extra park snacks. When I looked at the DDP, it was not the cost of the plan that shooed me away, it was not the fact that the plan would cost more than the same food OOP, and it wasn't the idea that we would be leaving large numbers of desserts or QS credits uneaten. What shooed me away was that on a daily basis I would still be paying so much OOP for the extra snacks (that we used instead of QS credits) and the extra appetizers (that sometimes would have been a soup or salad) and the beverages that the entire carefree aspect of having it paid in advance would be lost.

I'll have to go back and look again, and I'm still not sure that we'll do it. But I'll tell you that it wasn't the cost that shooed me away from the DDP because I was totally willing to pay a premium over the cost of the food for the convenience of having it pre-paid. It was the lack of flexibility, much of which is addressed with these changes, that made us decide not to do it.

There are many people who enjoy the convenience of the dining plans but have balked because of the inflexibility.

But I believe you've made one of my points - you could just as easily spend money at non-Disney places, but will likely give a fresh look at the Dining Plans because more flexibility may be offered.

 

[danny1649]

I moved this thread here where it is a better place for it, Danny

 

[JZCubed]

I moved this thread here where it is a better place for it, Danny

See you there.

 

[PoohsHunnyBee]

Obviously speculation on price changes for children's plans is just that...speculation. I personally question how much the change will affect Disney's bottom line on the QSDP at least. The ability to use child QS credits for adult meals has been there for a long time and was common knowledge to most anyone who put any effort into planning. While some people who knew but didn't want to break/bend rules may now take advantage of this and the non-planners may now learn about this ability, I wonder realistically how much will change.

I think a lot of people will still order kids' meals for their children even if it's not the best value, because a lot of children like those options and the portion sizes are more reasonable. I also think those who choose to order all adult meals will end up splitting/sharing their meals throughout the day and thus ordering more breakfasts and snacks which may increase Disney's profit margin.

So, while there certainly could be a dramatic price increase in store, I don't know that there would have to be for Disney's profits on the plan to be just as good as they are now.

 

[senadler]

look for the price break on children's DDP to go away or at least be somewhat curtailed, except perhaps on the regular plan which still distinguishes children's TS credits from adults'

I don't necessarily agree with this. People were already able take advantage of this at counter service restaurants simply by ordering adult meals or going through the line twice. I also think that the majority of younger children want many of the choices that are on the kids menu and will order that way regardless. I know there are definitely exceptions, and some young children eat a wider variety of food, but I know my DS4 would not be happy with anything but a kids meal.

 

[PoohsHunnyBee]

I don't necessarily agree with this. People were already able take advantage of this at counter service restaurants simply by ordering adult meals or going through the line twice. I also think that the majority of younger children want many of the choices that are on the kids menu and will order that way regardless. I know there are definitely exceptions, and some young children eat a wider variety of food, but I know my DS4 would not be happy with anything but a kids meal.

Great minds think alike.

 

[newestkg06]

I think a lot of people will still order kids' meals for their children even if it's not the best value, because a lot of children like those options and the portion sizes are more reasonable. I also think those who choose to order all adult meals will end up splitting/sharing their meals throughout the day and thus ordering more breakfasts and snacks which may increase Disney's profit margin.

THIS. I think we will be sharing some meals more than we had planned on, and converting to snack credits (i.e. like getting ice cream by the pool), but the kids will probably still want the more kid friendly sides (and to be honest more healthy ones) like yogurt, grapes, etc.
I also wonder how much Disney is going to publicize this. I love that we will have this flexibility, but it is going to be a bit confusing and I hope I don't have to quote the policy to CM's every time I want to do something that is allowed.

 

[robinb]

I don't necessarily agree with this. People were already able take advantage of this at counter service restaurants simply by ordering adult meals or going through the line twice. I also think that the majority of younger children want many of the choices that are on the kids menu and will order that way regardless. I know there are definitely exceptions, and some young children eat a wider variety of food, but I know my DS4 would not be happy with anything but a kids meal.

I know that a lot of DISers knew how to get around the rules, but I would say the average family didn't know and didn't care.

 

[sharonabe]

THIS. I think we will be sharing some meals more than we had planned on, and converting to snack credits (i.e. like getting ice cream by the pool), but the kids will probably still want the more kid friendly sides (and to be honest more healthy ones) like yogurt, grapes, etc.
I also wonder how much Disney is going to publicize this. I love that we will have this flexibility, but it is going to be a bit confusing and I hope I don't have to quote the policy to CM's every time I want to do something that is allowed.

Well, I guess if more people are going to use their $18 value QS credits to get $12 ice cream around the pool, Disney truly will be the winner in these new changes.

 

[Disfan1968]

So, while there certainly could be a dramatic price increase in store, I don't know that there would have to be for Disney's profits on the plan to be just as good as they are now.

I sincerely doubt there will be a dramatic price increase as that would absolutely cause a ton of people to bail out of the plan. If it becomes evidently clear to even the uninformed (the average park-goer that doesn't obsess over boards like this) that the meal plan costs more, they will sell a lot less of them. They want MORE participation, not less. So, could there be a price increase, yes? Dramatic? I highly doubt it.

 

[PoohsHunnyBee]

I know that a lot of DISers knew how to get around the rules, but I would say the average family didn't know and didn't care.

Agreed, but I would say that average family is typically going to order a kids' meal for a kid and they're probably not going to care that they can order a chicken and ribs combo at Cosmic Ray's for their 3-year-old. If they do care, it's likely to be a situation where they praise Disney for their child being able to eat whatever he wanted when he got chicken nuggets 9 times and upgraded to an adult hot dog once. Don't get me wrong; I think the changes will be great and adult meals will be utilized by families with adventurous eaters, 7-9 year-olds who have been jealous of their older siblings' meals, etc. But the average family will likely not be costing Disney much (if anything) more to feed.

I sincerely doubt there will be a dramatic price increase as that would absolutely cause a ton of people to bail out of the plan. If it becomes evidently clear to even the uninformed (the average park-goer that doesn't obsess over boards like this) that the meal plan costs more, they will sell a lot less of them. They want MORE participation, not less. So, could there be a price increase, yes? Dramatic? I highly doubt it.

Sorry if I worded that badly! I don't believe there will be a "dramatic" price increase either; some people seem to think there will be and I was trying to indicate that I believed it was possible but unlikely.

The biggest change/benefit to everyone should be less confusion at counter service. If changes are as is being unofficially reported then for 1 QS credit you get a meal plus two items with the snack logo OR 3 items with the snack logo. Even people who have never heard of the dining plan before they show up for their first trip ever but somehow purchased it anyway should be able to understand that with a quick explanation. I'm sure people will still slow down the lines with questions somehow but this version of the plan is much more straightforward as it will now be clear to the under-informed that alcoholic beverages don't count as a drink, you can get the giant cupcake as your dessert, etc.

I loved how clear the snack logos were when I used the DDP for the first time in 2011 because I knew exactly what I could get with a snack credit by looking at the menu. I wished they had some way to indicate QS meals like this. I was one of those people who slowed things down when I had to go back to grab chips that I couldn't tell were included with the sandwich at Starring Rolls when I used a QS credit there and I thought I had the plan down backwards and forwards before I went on that trip! I'm very excited for these changes as it appears Disney will be granting my wish! And in addition to making options simpler to figure out, I may be able to get soup and a cupcake at BOG without paying OOP?! Yes, please!