2008 DDP Changes-CHANGING EATING HABITS!

[Lisa F]

I totally hear you about it not being as much of a value anymore. We generally spend about $100/day for food so for us, we saw it as about a 20% discount and was worth it for the lack of flexibility. Now there are other ways to get that discount that are more flexible so we won't be using the plan.

There are a lot of people who seem to be saying "well I'll just eat offsite" or "i'll just eat cs" now. I'm saying that if you enjoy eating TS onsite that not doing it just because the DDP isn't as big a value is only hurting yourself. With how packed the restaurants are and walkups being turned away left and right I'm sure disney will fill those seats anyway. DDP was never the "make it or break it" for me to eat onsite anyway - we did before, the DDP was nice, but will continue to do so after too.

The title of this thread is "changing eating habits" not "changing paying habits." We probably won't change our eating habits much (maybe have a few less appetizers and desserts and snacks).

 

[Kira G.]

I also don't think we'll be using the DDP in the future. This was our 3rd trip with it, and I'd loved it in the past, but I don't think it works for my family anymore - and that's with or without the changes.

In particular, now that we've been to Disney so many times, I found us changing our daily plans much more often than in the past. It was a bit of a problem to be "locked into" dining at a particular venue each day, and I kept stressing over "using up our credits!" This did not add much to our vacation! We did manage to find last minute ressies at a couple of places when we changed our plans (this was the week before free dining so the places were not completely overbooked), but I think we would have been happier with fewer reservations.

Also, we kept running into problems because my 9-year-old is such a foodie! She simply could not find something that she liked on the kid's menu whether it was a CS or a TS place. In the past this has been balanced by my older child's desire to live on chicken strips but he has changed his dining habits also. So, we ended up using up all our adult credits and having numerous child credits left over!

So the combination of wanting greater spontaneity and flexibility with changes to the DDP means it will probably not be a value for my family anymore. Which is too bad because I loved putting the whole thing on my Disney Visa and having 6 months to pay it off! We'll continue to eat onsite, but will only make a few "special" TS reservations and then be spontaneous for the rest. And we'll share plates a LOT more often, and throw away much less food.

No biggie - the cost will probably come out the same in the end.

 

[bicker]

There are a lot of people who seem to be saying "well I'll just eat offsite" or "i'll just eat cs" now. I'm saying that if you enjoy eating TS onsite that not doing it just because the DDP isn't as big a value is only hurting yourself.

I agree. I discount most of the swearing-off of eating on-site as reflections of frustration and disappointment. Also, people who feel the Disney magic more passionately are more like to genuinely have such draconian reactions, even to the extent it spites themselves as much as anyone else. While we can only speculate, Disney's got some pretty good numbers to back up their decisions. While there will always be fine-tuning as time goes on, figure that these changes were made with sound foundation, that the changes are better for Disney in the long-run.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

The changes in the DDP have not affected our eating habits simply because we have never used the DDP. I have wanted to try a number of times but have never been able to make the plan economically feasible with our eating habits. For example our typical CS at Columbia is my daughter and I sharing a captains galley and my wife getting the salad, with the three of us sharing a large coke and some glasses of ice water. This is enough to satisfy all of us. To get three full meals with drink and dessert would be way too much for us. Another example - Le Cellier - my wife will often get the cheese soup appetizer and we'll enjoy the pretzel bread. Filets all around , and by the time we're done we are full. A dessert for each of us ?!? - where would we put it ?

As AP holders we will continue to use the DDE card. Makes life easy for me too, as I will often tip about 20% and if I just add the discount back in and Viola! - instant tip calculation. Not exact, but close enough.

 

[winterman]

We have used the DDP twice (both free) and loved it. We were planning to pay for it on our trip next April-May. With the changes we will not do that. We will probably eat off site more often. Also, there are several restaurants where the entrees don't really appeal to me so I may just have a salad, appetizer and dessert. Hopefully that will save me some money.

 

[GofFreak]

I will not be changing my eating habits but I will not be purchasing the DDP either in 2008. The pricepoint was good for @$40 per person per day, but more than that, that will include less--and since I have to pay for appetizers and the tip it costs more than $40 per person per day. Honestly, we do not spend $160 per day to eat a TS and CS each day for the four of us. We will go back to eating off site and enjoy the vacation more with day trips to other Florida venues as well. Snacks are not something we usually eat every day, dessert with CS unheard of for us at every CS meal. The only thing we will change is purchasing the DDP--we will pay OOP for the things we purchase and really save money.

You said it!

 

[BillyFeat]

Our days on the DDP are over. My oldest turns 10 and it doesn't make sense to pay adult fare for what she eats. We will be exploring on and off site options next year.

 

[blanq]

We will be changing our eating patterns with trips in 2008 forward. We have a trip planned next month, and it will be our 2nd trip this year renting DVC points and being on the DDP.

I have a tipping point, and it has been reached. Any trip after this one will include a combination of having a light in-room breakfast, and TS/CS meals. I can't possibly eat all of the food on the DDP as it currently is anyway. Any other time we eat out, outside of WDW, we almost never have dessert with a fast food meal or an appetizer and dessert with a sitdown meal. I know we can spend less on food without the 2008 DDP and be absolutely satisfied.

 

[TDC Nala]

I won't be using it again. Just had a trip at Pop on free dining.

Could have booked the bounceback for next Labor Day but would rather be using DVC points and DDE.

I'll still eat wherever I want to eat, but I'll order less, so that's fine. No more severe overeating because it's all "included"

Offsite isn't really an option. I hardly ever get a car. And if I did I won't drive somewhere to eat because if I do that, no wine with dinner.

 

[twinmom108]

We will be changing our eating patterns with trips in 2008 forward. We have a trip planned next month, and it will be our 2nd trip this year renting DVC points and being on the DDP.

I have a tipping point, and it has been reached. Any trip after this one will include a combination of having a light in-room breakfast, and TS/CS meals. I can't possibly eat all of the food on the DDP as it currently is anyway. Any other time we eat out, outside of WDW, we almost never have dessert with a fast food meal or an appetizer and dessert with a sitdown meal. I know we can spend less on food without the 2008 DDP and be absolutely satisfied.

I totally agree!

 

[TwingleMum]

We won't do the DDP in 2008. Having the tip excluded adds too much to the cost to make it a good value for our family.

 

[Momof3disneynuts]

Well we just returned from out 10 day stay and as we were checking out, the women at the front desk asked me did i want to book for next year, so i asked her is there going to be free dining again, and she said yes but it not going to start until Aug 30, well i of course sad no, because my kids are just going backto school, and i cant have them missing the first week of school. Needless to say i am not happy that they keep making later and later every year!!!

 

[roselark]

The only change I really don't care for is the loss of gratuity.

We will still do the DDP. I went through and using allears.net, I calculated what we would normally eat to see what it would cost OOP. Even with the loss of gratuity, it is still a savings as I would have to pay gratuity OOP as well.

Actually, my husband wants to try the Deluxe. We really prefer table service over counter service anyway and that would give us the flexibility to do that and allow us to eat at more signature restaurants.

 

[twinmom108]

We won't do the DDP in 2008. Having the tip excluded adds too much to the cost to make it a good value for our family.

The exclusion of the tip is the biggest reason we won't be doing DDP in 2008 or beyond unless Disney makes DDP worth our while again. If Disney would add the tip back in and make it a choice of either appetizer or dessert, then DDP would make sense for our family once again.

 

[eeyore45]

ITA about the exclusion of the tip - I just cant see tipping 18% at a buffet!

 

[odd1]

My partner and I were just discussing this this afternoon. Up until now we've been die-hard DDP fans, and have enjoyed it our last few trips (we're DVC members). But on the trip we have scheduled next Spring, we will be dining sans DDP. Our typical dining habits don't include both a CS meal and a TS meal and a snack per day. There are many days that we could be happy with one CS meal and the snacks we bring with us.

I will miss not having to bring our backpack everywhere, but that's a small price to pay -- as opposed to paying with our wallet.

DDP -- it's been AWESOME, and we'll miss you. But we'll be just fine, and will probably save some serious calories too.

 

[lam712]

We loved the DDP when we used it on our last trip, but I think we will skip it on our next visit. I loved not having to budget or worry about how much each family member was spending on their meal. However, the TS meals do take a lot of time away from the trip. In addition, I don't want to have to worry about either carrying cash or charging tips at each of our meals. With five in our family, that would be a considerable expense added to each meal- the two dollar decrease in price would not even be close to covering that, not to mention the loss of the appetizer. While I don't always order appetizers at a meal, most off site restaurants do include a salad with an entree.

 

[twinmom108]

I will miss not having to bring our backpack everywhere, but that's a small price to pay -- as opposed to paying with our wallet.

DDP -- it's been AWESOME, and we'll miss you. But we'll be just fine, and will probably save some serious calories too.

We loved DDP too and will miss it as well. Who knows with all the walking and fewer calories we may even lose weight on our 2008 vacation.

 

[Blueyed Girl]

If you are on DDP and you order something not covered by DDP -- appetizer, alcohol, etc -- that check will carry an automatic 18% service charge, and again that is a part of the bill...not an option.

WHAT??? Are you serious? Please tell me this is not true. I don't understand how they can do this.

I booked Feb 2008 w/basic dining plan because we liked the ease of not having to carry around a lot of money, etc. But, if the above statement is true, then this is the last straw. Can you remove the dining plan once you've already booked and made ADR's?

 

[Tricia1972]

WHAT??? Are you serious? Please tell me this is not true. I don't understand how they can do this.

I booked Feb 2008 w/basic dining plan because we liked the ease of not having to carry around a lot of money, etc. But, if the above statement is true, then this is the last straw. Can you remove the dining plan once you've already booked and made ADR's?

Jim is right, Disney has left a loophole that they could charge you an 18% gratuity. From the Dining Plan Brochure, in the section regarding gratuities.

Gratuities are not included unless otherwise indicated. An 18% gratuity will be added automatically for parties of 6 or more. A gratuity may also be added automatically for ordered items that are not included in the Disney Dining Plan (e.g. alcoholic beverages).