2008 DDP discussion, questions, rants and vents

[apostolic4life]

I also would have preferred a choice of appitizer vs just dessert. In the time of healthier eating I would think appitizer would be the healther route than dessert.

The dream of having the choice of a dessert or an appetizer will probably never happen. The dessert is always going to be cheaper to produce than most WDW appetizers (with the exceptions of soup or salad). When most people have the option of Duck Two Ways or Chocolate Whiskey Cake (fill in your app. or dessert of choice), I would bet more folks will choose the appetizer. The selection often is made because people do wish to maximize what they have spent (nothing wrong with that either), but WDW has decided to include the dessert which costs them less to produce so they can make more profit. Oh yeah, the point of the healthier option, WDW really could care less about your health or decisions for healthy eating habits..........it boils down to what is going to be most profitable for them. Don't think I begrudge WDW for their fiscal decisions, I respect their desire to make money for Disney shareholders.

 

[thunderbird1]

For example if you go to Captain Jack's and have lobster, dessert and beverage you are going to easily spend $40 bucks before tax.

And that's exactly what I'm doing three weeks from tonight

What, no crab cakes appetizer? Only 33 days until we're there, too--I can hardly wait!

The dream of having the choice of a dessert or an appetizer will probably never happen. The dessert is always going to be cheaper to produce than most WDW appetizers (with the exceptions of soup or salad). When most people have the option of Duck Two Ways or Chocolate Whiskey Cake (fill in your app. or dessert of choice), I would bet more folks will choose the appetizer. The selection often is made because people do wish to maximize what they have spent (nothing wrong with that either), but WDW has decided to include the dessert which costs them less to produce so they can make more profit. Oh yeah, the point of the healthier option, WDW really could care less about your health or decisions for healthy eating habits..........it boils down to what is going to be most profitable for them. Don't think I begrudge WDW for their fiscal decisions, I respect their desire to make money for Disney shareholders.

Not to mention, as someone pointed out earlier in this thread, allowing only dessert allows them to turn tables faster. If they gave you a choice of either/or, most couples/families/groups would choose at least one of each, which makes the meal take longer.

I also think people are more likely to pay OOP for an appetizer and/or skip the prepaid dessert. Think about it--it's before the meal, you're hungry, and you really want that cheese soup, so you pay OOP for it. At the end of the meal, whether or not you had an appetizer, everyone is too full, so they skip the dessert, figuring they'll get an ice cream with a snack credit later. It's a win-win situation for Disney's bottom line.

 

[debbie66]

Thank you! I was feeling a little guilty listening to all the sympathy for Disney about taking advantage of what I've paid for!!! Any Disney vacation is a stretch for my family, but I'm not complaining. Getting the most while I'm there is ok with me. Disney corporation is not poor.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Sorry if this has already been asked (don't have time to read the whole thread) but would the tip still be included in a character meal since those are priced to include tips already? Most of our TS meals would probably be used for character meals (we love them!).

Most character meals do not include tip (the exception is Cinderella's Royal Table - which takes 2 ts credits).

All other character dining requires a separate tip.

 

[korzmom]

okay,i'm sorry if this has been asked already but i dont want to read thru all the posts..so here it is, can you use a CS for breakfast at spoodles?? and is everything on the menu included?

 

[Pumbaa_]

Spoodles is a TS restaurant

 

[JLKennedy]

We were thinking of going next December and I just went on the DisneyWorld website and these are the prices I got.

11/29/08 to 12/06/08 ASMO pref.room w/ PH / dining-$2967 , deluxe dining $3863.


12/06/08 to 12/13/08 POLY/LAG.VIEW/PH/ dining-$5657.96, deluxe dining 6553.96

Wow,that's a lot!!! A DisneyCruise may be cheaper or we may be waiting an extra year at these prices and we go twice a year![/QUOTE
*********************************************
That is alot! I booked WL for 4 preferred woods view room with bunk beds and 8 day park hopper tickets and deluxe dining through AAA and will pay slightly more than your value quote. My quote is for $3,883 and change. Date of travel 9-6-08 through 9-13-08

 

[korzmom]

can anyone tell me where i can use the CS option for a good breakfast???

 

[disneydance]

Could anyone help me with my decision making right now we are planning on going to disney 5 times next year and cruising 2 times we would like to get the deluxe dining plan every time well at disney we think the deluxe dining plan would be good for us we are gettting AP BUT will pay that 1day park ticket for each time and get the non expiration feature so will have 5 days of disney for another trip!!!!! Also we are planning on doing all 12night stays during the kids school breaks and they will just miss a few other than that. We are planning on staying at AKL, Poly, WL, YC, CR, and if our budget can hold it we will stay at CSR for one extra 7 night trip. We think the 2 extra snacks a day would be great since we are always ending up buying extra icees. The only thing that bothers me is that we will have 32 cups sitting around our house. We also think with these many trips we will have plenty of time for 2 TS a day since we all love TS meals and we wont really be missing anything we have booked the deluxe plan for our first trip of the year in January but the next trips are the question do you think the deluxe plan is worth it for my family we especially love the appetizers!!

 

[mickey2000]

Sounds great! I suggest the Deluxe plan. Its a once in a life time dream of a deal As for the extra cups you could sell them on ebay. Could use the extra dollars for 2009 when they eliminate desert

 

[drag n' fly]

Wow I did not even know this thread existed until someone pointed it out to me on the Canadian board. I have not read through the whole thread yet but of the opinions I have read they are very interesting!

 

[Library Mom]

Do you think that it pays to buy a one day MYW package, just to get the dining plan? I have booked my hotel separately (to get the teacher discount) and can get a good deal on tickets thru my union so it does not pay to book a MYW package. That said, my family likes the dining plan and I am concerned about the expense of food. I'd love some imput about this. THANKS!

 

[antkim]

Could anyone help me with my decision making right now we are planning on going to disney 5 times next year and cruising 2 times we would like to get the deluxe dining plan every time well at disney we think the deluxe dining plan would be good for us we are gettting AP BUT will pay that 1day park ticket for each time and get the non expiration feature so will have 5 days of disney for another trip!!!!! Also we are planning on doing all 12night stays during the kids school breaks and they will just miss a few other than that. We are planning on staying at AKL, Poly, WL, YC, CR, and if our budget can hold it we will stay at CSR for one extra 7 night trip. We think the 2 extra snacks a day would be great since we are always ending up buying extra icees. The only thing that bothers me is that we will have 32 cups sitting around our house. We also think with these many trips we will have plenty of time for 2 TS a day since we all love TS meals and we wont really be missing anything we have booked the deluxe plan for our first trip of the year in January but the next trips are the question do you think the deluxe plan is worth it for my family we especially love the appetizers!!

BOY OH BOY is 2008 a great year for you!!! ENJOY!!!

 

[PrincessTrisha]

we are gettting AP BUT will pay that 1day park ticket for each time and get the non expiration feature so will have 5 days of disney for another trip!!!!!

You do not need to add no expiry to 1 day tickets (as tickets expire 14 days after first use, which won't happen because your tickets will be done after the 1st day of use).

The only thing that bothers me is that we will have 32 cups sitting around our house.

Do your kids have birthday parties? Save up the mugs you get each trip and use them for loot "bags" or prizes (use the same mug from the first trip and just put the others into your suitcase - with the plan a mug has been paid for during your length of stay - I don't think it matters which mug you physically use the one from Jan or the one from Oct - unless they change the design).

 

[ruthie]

Hi
Does anyone know yet if Pepper Market has been confirmed for DDP 2008?
Its not in the brochure.


Thanks

 

[BratTink]

I think the servers will lose out on this ALOT. I really doubt that people will tip 20% on their meals. Dinner at LeCell for my family in 2006 was around $300 therefore the tip would have been $60! Not going to happen.....

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

I've been a big fan of the DDP from the beginning. We've used it on every trip since its been offered and have never given it a second thought that we'd use it again.

Oh well, so much for that.

I could have understood if there was a price increase. Times change, prices go up.

I might have even been more open to them taking off the appetizers and tip -- had they changed the price accordingly.

But what they've done is removed a significant percentage of what the plan pays for, and essentially kept the price the same.

Guess after all these years, we may actually get to use the kitchens in our DVC villa. I'm definitely out of the DDP!

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Could anyone help me with my decision making right now we are planning on going to disney 5 times next year and cruising 2 times we would like to get the deluxe dining plan every time well at disney we think the deluxe dining plan would be good for us we are gettting AP BUT will pay that 1day park ticket for each time and get the non expiration feature so will have 5 days of disney for another trip!!!!! Also we are planning on doing all 12night stays during the kids school breaks and they will just miss a few other than that. We are planning on staying at AKL, Poly, WL, YC, CR, and if our budget can hold it we will stay at CSR for one extra 7 night trip. We think the 2 extra snacks a day would be great since we are always ending up buying extra icees. The only thing that bothers me is that we will have 32 cups sitting around our house. We also think with these many trips we will have plenty of time for 2 TS a day since we all love TS meals and we wont really be missing anything we have booked the deluxe plan for our first trip of the year in January but the next trips are the question do you think the deluxe plan is worth it for my family we especially love the appetizers!!

Wow, do you go to Disney this often every year? If so, you really need to look into a DVC membership. Along with all the other advantages, you won't need to worry about buying a package to get the DDP.

 

[Prinny27]

I didn't think anything of them until I just sat down and penned out how much we would actually eat and what it will wind up costing us. When I heard about the changes I thought the Deluxe plan sounded excellent and was pretty excited to start thinking about all of the extra TS restaurants we were going to be eating, even if it was more money. Now that I looked at it, the only way to get your money's worth is to have three TS meals a day. And while for some people it may be good, for me and DH, it's just not.

DH and I LOVE the DDP now, and use it for every trip we take (usually two or three a year) so we were a little upset to see that they took the appetizer off the regular DDP, but figured it still wasn't too bad of a deal. Well, I just priced out a day of exactly everything we would eat if we were on the 2008 plan, and found out that we would actually wind up spending $11 MORE than if we paid out of pocket!!! I know that's not going to be the case for every day, but it did seem odd to me that this could happen even for one day of a trip. What becomes the point of having the plan then?

I just think that if they were going to take the gratuity and appetizer off of the plan, they should reduce it more than just $1 per day. I understand that Disney probably loses a lot of money because so many people buy the DDP and they want to start turning a profit, but it's just frustrating for us, especially since we love to eat!

So... is anyone else annoyed by these changes, or are we the only ones?

 

[asmit4]

There are hundreds of posts on this issue and trust me, you are not alone. MOST people are upset about it. Seems to me like they are saving you $4.00 a day for a family of 4, and tacking on at least 30 bucks in tips a day.

Not to mention that you can forget about appetizers.