2011 DPP concerns & Disney email address

[divawife]

I can honestly say I have experienced both sides.

I went to college in Tampa in the '70s and stayed there as adult for 10 years. I cannot even count how many times I went to WDW. It was always for a day trip or sometimes to stay for a few nights. Many hotels I see now I have stayed in at one time or another. It never occured to us to stay on-site - who could afford the Contemporary or the Polynesian? Not me at the time.

I moved in 1983.
I went back once for EPCOT, I recall making dinner reservations in the Earth through a kiosk system? Then I was gone for years. I returned to stay off site in 1990 and at without any hassle or reservations "table service" and counter service. We saved table service for "special". The castle was King Stefan's and I thought I couldn't afford it.

Then it 2008 I took my brother, sister-in-law and 2 nieces for a week. What a shock! So much to do and so much planning! Since this was my treat the dining plan made it so much easier to keep on a budget. They felt like they could order whatever they wanted without worrying about the bill and I know exactly how much I spent. The plan didn't include apps or gratuity but that turned out just fine. They took care of their own gratuities on their own card.

I love the dining plan! I think it is a great planning & budget device. The kids menu is very limited but we ate at a lot of buffets (not because of that but it turned out that way). It was a great experience for the kids and peace of mind for me. Also, most of the food was great!

So...bottom line it makes me want to go again and spend the money and take them on vacation.

They will probably change it to the Disney Entree Plan, that is too bad.

BTW I have not heard back from them yet.

 

[mcd2745]

I'm going at the end of August with the "free" dining plan. Alternatively, I could have gotten the 30% room discount. I'm not sure which actually would have been the absolute cheaper way to go, but I'm sure the difference is pretty small anyways and i like the convenience the DP offers.

Now, if there are similar promotions next year, I would just take the room discount and pay OOP for meals - likely resulting in more CS meals. If many others took a similar approach (not an unreasonable assumption), it would probably free up a lot of reservations at many TS restaurants. So, in that sense, it may not be a bad thing entirely as people may get ADRs that they couldn't get in the past.

 

[kslo69]

I would hope that Disney wouldn't do away with the desserts all together. I think if they are going to cut anything from the DDP they just eliminate ther desserts with the counter service meals and keep the desserts with the table service or add the appetizer option to the TS. I always thought it was overkill to include dessert with CS meal but I wasn't complaining. And if they are going to raise the price an eliminate dessert all together, I would hope they would add an additional snack to each plan. Oh well guess we will all find out in about a month what Disney's final decision is regarding this.

 

[aubriee]

I wonder if the idea is to extend free dining to cover all of the slower times of the year and they want to "give away less". Free dining seems to bring people in - even though they pay top dollar for their rooms. Just a thought - it seems to me that each year they extend free dining longer

Don't know about this. Free dining for 2010 requires the purchase of two day park tickets, instead of one day park tickets like it did last year and this year there are also more black out dates. I'm still making my fall and early Dec trips this year, but paying for the DDP using two bounceback deals I got when I was there last Dec. As an AP holder free dining didn't work for us this year. No way am I buying two day park tickets I don't need (twice in 2 1/2 months yet), plus both my dates fell in a black out period this year. I'm paying for the basic DDP in Oct and for the DxDDP in Dec.

If the rumored changes for 2011 are true, those will be the last times we use the DDP. I'm contemplating a Feb trip, and will definitely be back next May, Sept/Oct, and again in Dec. If the rumored changes are true that's four trips next year where I'll be paying OOP for my meals. I go several times a year and ever since they started the DDP, I've never paid OOP. I've always used either the DDP or DxDDP.

 

[marivaid]

Question is, will the price go down and how much ? When they took the appetizer and tip off, the price only went down $1.
I believe that's when we stopped using the DDP.

 

[Cafeen]

There's a whole big thread about the details of the changes. So, at risk of getting this one merged (which it shouldn't if it stays on the aspect of letting Disney know your thoughts ahead of time), the prices are not expected to drop at all. Using rough conversions from the British brochures they looked roughly the same as they are now (granted, comparing a 2010 British brochure with a 2011 one may be a better idea, though with exchange rates always moving, that again may appear to change somewhat).

ETA:
And, on the theme of this thread, I won't be letting Disney know until the details are released (but that's just me, you all know how I post... overkill with information , so I feel I'd have to get my ducks in a row before I wrote a formal complaint to Disney). If I feel it's not a good value, I'll adjust whatever trip I take in 2011 to reflect that. Whether it's by spending less on TS (which would be likely without a plan) or staying off-site and not dining in the parks as much.

 

[bytheblood]

Question is, will the price go down and how much ? When they took the appetizer and tip off, the price only went down $1.
I believe that's when we stopped using the DDP.

The rumor on the "official" thread for this discussion is that it is going up.


http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2450005

 

[2Tiggies]

The rumor on the "official" thread for this discussion is that it is going up.


http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2450005

The rumor is based on British travel guides. The pound has taken a substantial slide against the dollar this year.

 

[marivaid]

£27 is about $41, so I"m guessing the new DDP price would be $40.99 or possibly $39.99 to make it more attractive to guests.
I don't see how it's a saving unless you're purposely eating only at the most expensive places or at buffets? It does make the DxDDP seem like a better deal though, only about $30 more for two more TS and more snacks.

 

[Luv2CtheMouse]

The rumor is based on British travel guides. The pound has taken a substantial slide against the dollar this year.

I do realize that everything is rumor until Disney announces it, but there is a post in there (from me) where information from the inside (Disney office in Cali & one in BP) provides higher pricing for this year and the removal of the CS dessert. The people in Cali have nothing to do with BP conversion. Again, it is just rumor until Disney confirms it, but I wanted to make note that your post was a little misleading.