2008 DDP Changes-CHANGING EATING HABITS!

[Muushka]

I haven't considered changing our eating habit. We'll just be changing our paying habits. If we want what we got on the Dining Plan, we'll simply have to pay more.

Some of us changed our eating habits to fit the DDP. We are simply returning to our old eating habits. More healthy, less expensive and less time consuming.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Who else has had to consider changing their eating habits at WDW due to the 2008 DDP changes? What options are you considering?

Due to the changes, we'll be able to eat at restaurants we passed over in the before.

I won't have to pay OOP for breakfast in order to save credits.

We'll have more flexibility.

We can use one credit for CS breakfast, one credit for CS or TS lunch and one credit for CS or TS dinner.
OR

We can use one credit for a CS breakfast and 2 for a signature dinner.

OR

We can use one credit for a TS breakfast and 2 for a dinner show.

I wouldn't do this if I was paying OPP for all of our meals. I wouldn't be able to do this with the old dining plan.

So for us the deluxe dining plan will work great.

 

[Twende]

Some of us changed our eating habits to fit the DDP. We are simply returning to our old eating habits. More healthy, less expensive and less time consuming.

This is how I see it for our family too. We will eat more meals in our rooms and most likely choose one very special TS a trip to splurge. Other than that we will eat less and spend more time in the parks on attractions.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I agree...for us the major appeal was the pre-paid, all inclusive part of the dining plan. The cost savings wasn't anywhere near as important to us as the stressfree, no need to carry around cash perk. It felt like when we entered the park, we could use it as we wished without pulling out more cash every 5 minutes...a real perk for my dh especially.

Us too. That's why my husband liked it so much also.

 

[NMW]

Well, we are really going back to our old way of eating with the deluxe dining plan. It's the 2007 DDP that did not fit our way of eating. We adapted somewhat, but it's so nice to have the deluxe plan now and be able to do everything we want, the way we want.

With the old DDP we struggled to use CS credits. We had to pay OOP for our TS/character breakfasts every day that we always do. We paid OOP for a couple TS lunches we wanted and skipped other TS lunches we wanted to do because we had to use all those pesky CS credits. We also really like signatures and ended up paying OOP for a dinner or two to have the credits for signatures. The old plan just did not fit our way of dining, but we still thought it was a good deal for the money, and bought it.

The new 2008 Deluxe dining plan fits our families way of dining perfectly. I have been begging Disney for a plan like this (3 meals a day with out all the boat rental/tours/child care stuff the premium plan came with) for the last 3 years. I feel like Disney finally listened to people like me!

The only bummer is the tip not being included, but I guess you can't have everything. Yes, it stinks, but what are you going to do?

so, I don't think the 2008 changes are changing our dining habits, so much as the 2008 deluxe plan FITS our dining habits. It was the old 2005-2007 plan that made us change our dining habits. Even my 10 year old said to me during our last trip that he was really getting sick of all those CS lunches. We were checking into Brown Derby for lunch (one of the endless meals we paid OOP for with the old DDP) and he said he was so happy not to be eating CS, AGAIN. I have to say, as I sat there with my cobb salad and glass of wine, I agreed with him 100%!

 

[danalee]

We too loved the "pre-paid" part of the DDP, it was so easy

We had been tossing the idea of Deluxe plan for next trip and the tip not included was a big hang up of mine, (loved the no cash thing) but like my hubby said "we put money on our room card, we will just add tip money on there as well, still giving them just one card. Here is my card take off the dining credits & the tip... bada bing bada boom" (his words, not mine )

Dont get me wrong I would still like the tip included, but I also like the "ease" dining plan and we dont rent a car when we go. So the deluxe plan it is for us

No plan will ever make everyone happy, just do what works for best for you and your vacation

 

[DisneyMomOK]

If your res starts on 12/30 and you check out on 1/3, would you be on the 2007 DDP the entire res or would they do a combination? I cannot see how that would work logistically, but when money is involved, the Mouse seems to find a way.

Sharon

 

[bicker]

Some of us changed our eating habits to fit the DDP. We are simply returning to our old eating habits. More healthy, less expensive and less time consuming.

Hehe... we never changed our eating habits to fit the Dining Plan. Always "more healthy" at least.

 

[daisyduck123]

I agree...for us the major appeal was the pre-paid, all inclusive part of the dining plan. The cost savings wasn't anywhere near as important to us as the stressfree, no need to carry around cash perk. It felt like when we entered the park, we could use it as we wished without pulling out more cash every 5 minutes...a real perk for my dh especially.

That is why we will continue to use the DDP.

I have not & never will cook in our room on vacation.....it would not be a vacation for me if I had to cook.

 

[twinmom108]

I have not & never will cook in our room on vacation.....it would not be a vacation for me if I had to cook.

Me cook? That's why we bring our 3 teenage boys.

 

[Saturn23]

I've used the dining plan on my last two trips but decided not to use it in 08. I found I was eating too much and always felt really full so now I'll be eating less. Also, my husband and I usually share an appetizer and dessert, so now we can go back to doing that instead. I've still planned one TS meal per day, but if I only feel like eating an appetizer and dessert with no main course I won't feel like I'm wasting money. I tend to prefer the vegetarian entrees and those are usually less expensive so I felt like I wasn't getting as good of a value for my credits on the plan when I ordered those. I can also try all of the bakeries at world showcase that I didn't have any room for on the meal plan. Last time we also had 2 CS credits and 6 snack credits left over when we left which I felt bad for wasting.

I was a little upset when I found out about the changes but now I'm looking forward to more freedom.

 

[deedeetoo]

We'll change our dining habits a bit but I have to admit that the old DDP is probably going to have a permanent effect on how we vacation and it will result in us spending more on food.

On vacations before the DDP we ate breakfast in the room, eat snacks (Mickey bars or popcorn ) during the day and most dinners were CS. We would do about 2-3 TS per trip. Part of this was due to the age of our children because they were so young they wouldn't sit well in restaurants especially after a busy day in the parks. We are also not big eaters.

Well we did the DDP this past year and loved it. We loved having a TS dinner each night and having trying all different TS restaurants. DH said it was his favorite thing about the trip.

Next year the DDP will not make sense for us. Not only do the changes effect us but my oldest will be 10 and she is tiny and eats almost nothing so it just doesn't make sense anymore. But I think the Disney has got us. We will probably continue to do a TS every night. What changes will we make? Breakfast will be simple and in the room. Lunch will be CS but we will probably share meals rather then each person get there own - we always had so much left over. At dinner we won't order dessert - we never finished it anyway - maybe we'll get one for the table. We probably will order one appetizer for me and DH to split.

I've gone through the menus and I think that ordering just what we want we will spend less money than we would if we bought the new DDP but more than if we went back to our old habits. So in the end Disney wins.

 

[lustergirl]

my family will continue to use the dining plan as well far beyond 2008. My 2 sons love to eat and I don't mind paying the tips- the waitstaff deserves it after dealing with my family. The fact the new 2008 dp doesn't include an appetizer doesn't bother me one bit because on the old plan which includes the appetizer sometimes it is too much. Having just the entree is fine with us as it is always good and plenty. I am already planning next year's trip- there will be 5 of us and I will include the new dining plan as well as in the past.

 

[annie1995]

Ok, I have a question regarding the 18% tip. Is that a standard tip we will have to pay at all table service resturants?? How do they inforce it? And what happens if you have a stinky does not deserve 18% tip waiter??

 

[packy]

We have done DDP the past 3 years and have loved the all inclusive aspect and not having to worry about the cost of what you order or paying a bill at the end of the meal. What we didn't like about the DDP was the need to schedule TS meals everyday (and well in advance of the trip) then build a schedule around the meal time. That said, I doubt we will do the 2008 meal plan as it just doesn't seem worth the trouble given the real cost of the new plan. Here is how I see it.

For a family of 4 adults the 2008 DDP is $152/day.
Add in a $20 tip for TS meal and you are up to $172/day.
Add back in the cost of an appetizer which you lost ($7 w/tax and tip) and the new plan would cost the equivalent of $200/day.
The 2007 plan costs $156/day for the exact same thing that would cost $200/day under the 2008 plan.

$172/day for four is quite a bit and even more when you consider that you don't even get a salad with a sit down meal on the 2008 DDP. We will probably just go back to the old way of eating, i.e. CS, McDonalds, pizza and off-site with a couple of Disney TS meals each trip. We will save some money in the process and won't have to build our schedule around TS meals.

 

[packy]

Deleted double post.

 

[JimMIA]

Ok, I have a question regarding the 18% tip. Is that a standard tip we will have to pay at all table service resturants?? How do they inforce it? And what happens if you have a stinky does not deserve 18% tip waiter??

The answer to your specific question depends on the size of your party.

If you have six or more in your party -- no matter how you are paying for the meal -- an 18% gratuity will automatically be added to your check. It's part of the cost of the meal, and you will pay it unless you complain to a manager and the manager decides to take it off your check. This will be no surprise to anyone -- the 18% automatic gratuity will be well advertised.

If you are on DDP and have fewer than six in your party, you leave whatever you think the server deserves -- hopefully keeping in mind that the normal tip is 15-20% in polite company. Keep in mind that your server has to split that tip with a bunch of other people; they are not keeping it all themselves.

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.

But there is a much larger question here that many people simply don't get.

We keep saying it over and over, but many people DO NOT GET the importance in the change in the gratuity. The importance is not whether or not it is automatically added to your check.

The importance is who pays it.

In 2008, YOU PAY IT, whereas previously Disney paid it out of the $37.99 or whatever you paid for DDP. If you eat a $50 meal, Disney has neatly transferred an additional $9 cost from them to you!

It's absolutely amazing how many people do not get this simple concept of who pays the darn bill.

 

[annie1995]

The answer to your specific question depends on the size of your party.

If you have six or more in your party -- no matter how you are paying for the meal -- an 18% gratuity will automatically be added to your check. It's part of the cost of the meal, and you will pay it unless you complain to a manager and the manager decides to take it off your check. This will be no surprise to anyone -- the 18% automatic gratuity will be well advertised.

If you are on DDP and have fewer than six in your party, you leave whatever you think the server deserves -- hopefully keeping in mind that the normal tip is 15-20% in polite company. Keep in mind that your server has to split that tip with a bunch of other people; they are not keeping it all themselves.

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.

But there is a much larger question here that many people simply don't get.

We keep saying it over and over, but many people DO NOT GET the importance in the change in the gratuity. The importance is not whether or not it is automatically added to your check.

The importance is who pays it.

In 2008, YOU PAY IT, whereas previously Disney paid it out of the $37.99 or whatever you paid for DDP. If you eat a $50 meal, Disney has neatly transferred an additional $9 cost from them to you!

It's absolutely amazing how many people do not get this simple concept of who pays the darn bill.

Thanks for the info!!!! I have not read up much on the DP for next year, but you have shed a ton of light for me!!!

 

[Lisa F]

It seems like me that people who are not going to go to TS meals anymore because of changes to the DDP are cutting off their nose to spite their face. DDP was a good deal but unless you made a sport of squeezing the highest value physically possible out of every last dollar, it wasn't THAT good a deal to warrant changing the way you vacation just to "show disney." We generally saved about 20% using the DDP and will find that savings elsewhere with more flexibility by getting the DDE. We got the DDP in the first place because it more or less fit the way we ate on vacation before the plan and will continue to do a TS a day without the plan because that's what we like.

 

[n2mm]

It seems like me that people who are not going to go to TS meals anymore because of changes to the DDP are cutting off their nose to spite their face. DDP was a good deal but unless you made a sport of squeezing the highest value physically possible out of every last dollar, it wasn't THAT good a deal to warrant changing the way you vacation just to "show disney." We generally saved about 20% using the DDP and will find that savings elsewhere with more flexibility by getting the DDE. We got the DDP in the first place because it more or less fit the way we ate on vacation before the plan and will continue to do a TS a day without the plan because that's what we like.

We don't plan to buy the 2008 DDP, but that does not mean we won't eat at TS anymore. With the new cost, $76 a day for 2 adults, plus add in $20 a day for tip (average), that is about $100 a day. We do not eat $100 a day normally for CS and TS. Yes, some days our TS might be higher, some days lower. There are some days where we just don't want a TS meal. We almost never do appetizers normally and deserts sometimes. We plan to buy the ddp in October for our "swansong", but do not plan to buy it in January 2008. We do have the DDE card too, so had to factor that in also. I think we will be much happier without the ddp, but still plan to eat at all of our favorite places.