Am I The Only One Mad At Disney Dining?

[jennifer6800]

I think like many of the others that the value isn't there. But most of that is because we are Florida residents, and many times I have called about the Free Dining and priced the trip at rack rate with park tickets and the free dining and at Florida resident rate and I can never justify the added cost. Even when we stay DVC the cost of the dining plan doesn't make sense, we can't eat all that food anyway. At home does anyone ever get their own entree, side, dessert and large soda at the locals Arby's, McDonald's or Burger King? And when was the last time you went out to dinner and everyone at the table got their own desserts. Is this real value or perceived value?

 

[patsal]

While the DDP may have great value for some, we are in the shoes of the OP as well. I find that the DDP value is relative to the prices they publish, but for those of us who choose not to use it, well the prices are outrageous. No, I will not pay that price for lasagna. OP one of the things we do is still eat on site, but limit where and what depending upon our mood. I will pay oop for signature dining, although all the choices are not still in tact the value, variety and flavor are all still there. I also make it a point to seek out the places that do not take the DDP. So Fulton's , House of Blues, etc. are all on my list of places that still have not artificially inflated the prices on the menu to make the DDP look like a great deal. Since you have a DVC villa you will find that eating breakfast htere is easy and a welcome wayt o begin the day, if you return to the room for rest or swim in the early/mid afternoon preparing sandwiches and salads are quicka nd easy, then dinner on or off site depending upon the evening plans and no big deal at all.
We go so often with DVC that the dining has become a moot point with us for hte most part. We think character meals are overpriced so we don't do them anymore, we feel that some places have incredibly high prices (Tutto Italia for example) so we choose not to eat there. We have travelled offsite and have had some really great meals with very little inconvenience.
There are things that I miss and I am fairly certain that to keep prices and profit in line the more expensive and unique offereings have been removed.

 

[Don Disney]

We get deluxe dining, and pay for it. What bothers me is that thanks to "free dining", people that never would have paid for a TS meal (or in some cases, even eaten on WDW property) are now jamming the restaurants and ADR's have become a nightmare.

I would rather they just offer room rate discounts and leave the restaurants for those of us willing to pay for the plans.

Well,well,well;What have we got here? It's really great you can buy the "Deluxe",but everyone,including myself cannot afford BASIC dining!!!! I guess Disney should just forget about us "PO-FOLK",and let only those who can afford to buy the dining plans,AND THEIR FAMILIES enjoy the character meals and other restaurants!!!!!; Boy am I glad that I live in the U.S.A,where EVERYONE get's a little consideration now and then;especially those of us who work hard all year,and care enough about our families to save some of our hard-earned cash to be able to take a nice vacation ONCE a year!!!!!!

 

[Koren34]

Compare WDW CS to the food at pro sports events. It tastes better and costs half as much.

Absolutely!!! Better than a barf dog at the stadium for $9.00!

I think the economy has played a role in some of the choices WDW has made but honestly having gone many times, I still think there are really good choices for a good price. I would not want to haul my kids off site every time they wanted to eat so part of it for us is the Disney experience as well as convience. We got in on the 4/3 deal so we're not paying rack rate but did add QSDP.

I think there are places you can go and get an excellent sandwich, salad etc but the next day you may not have the same great experience but that doesn't make it all bad.

I also really don't think FD fills up the ADR's and I think it's great that WDW is offering great incentives to allow people of ALL socio-economic groups to be able to experience the magic

 

[Don Disney]

Absolutely!!! Better than a barf dog at the stadium for $9.00!

I think the economy has played a role in some of the choices WDW has made but honestly having gone many times, I still think there are really good choices for a good price. I would not want to haul my kids off site every time they wanted to eat so part of it for us is the Disney experience as well as convience. We got in on the 4/3 deal so we're not paying rack rate but did add QSDP.

I think there are places you can go and get an excellent sandwich, salad etc but the next day you may not have the same great experience but that doesn't make it all bad.

I also really don't think FD fills up the ADR's and I think it's great that WDW is offering great incentives to allow people of ALL socio-economic groups to be able to experience the magic

AMEN

 

[faindrops27]

Did some menus just recently change?? I do not understand the OP's point. You have free dining. But, will eat off site. Because?? I am probably just tired. from work. So, I just am not comprehending, your point. What drastic changes have they made??

 

[patsal]

Well,well,well;What have we got here? It's really great you can buy the "Deluxe",but everyone,including myself cannot afford BASIC dining!!!! I guess Disney should just forget about us "PO-FOLK",and let only those who can afford to buy the dining plans,AND THEIR FAMILIES enjoy the character meals and other restaurants!!!!!; Boy am I glad that I live in the U.S.A,where EVERYONE get's a little consideration now and then;especially those of us who work hard all year,and care enough about our families to save some of our hard-earned cash to be able to take a nice vacation ONCE a year!!!!!!

Don't go giving Disney too much credit here. They only want to fill rooms and will do that however they can. If they can't get people to fork over full price in the off season/ hurricane season they will promo to fill the rooms however they can. If, in this economy they have to sweeten the pot, they will. Don't expect that they are doing this to benefit the poor working family (if that were true they would have the offer available when kids are not supposed to be in school)--they are doing it to keep solvent and if someone benefits along the way great but they are not giving things away out of the kindness of their hearts.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

We get deluxe dining, and pay for it. What bothers me is that thanks to "free dining", people that never would have paid for a TS meal (or in some cases, even eaten on WDW property) are now jamming the restaurants and ADR's have become a nightmare.

I would rather they just offer room rate discounts and leave the restaurants for those of us willing to pay for the plans.

I'm curious...You are going during the 'free dining' period and choosing NOT to get the free dining at all and pay 100% OOP for the deluxe plan?

 

[Don Disney]

Don't go giving Disney too much credit here. They only want to fill rooms and will do that however they can. If they can't get people to fork over full price in the off season/ hurricane season they will promo to fill the rooms however they can. If, in this economy they have to sweeten the pot, they will. Don't expect that they are doing this to benefit the poor working family (if that were true they would have the offer available when kids are not supposed to be in school)--they are doing it to keep solvent and if someone benefits along the way great but they are not giving things away out of the kindness of their hearts.

I don't for a minute think they are doing anything out of the kindness of their hearts;I'm simply saying,that instead of staying off property and cooking(which we have done the week after Thanksgiving X 3-took kids out of school then as well),we get to stay on property and enjoy the reastaurants too! Besides,we have to stay somewhere,so we're paying for rooms anyway. Also,I'm pretty sure Disney is getting MAJOR discounts from their food and beverage suppliers during,and after free dining for unloading so much of the suppliers inventory that otherwise might not move so quickly.I'm quite aware it is all about business-I wish I had that account,then I too could afford to pay out of pocket for the "DELUXE",and stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge to boot!!!

 

[Don Disney]

We get deluxe dining, and pay for it. What bothers me is that thanks to "free dining", people that never would have paid for a TS meal (or in some cases, even eaten on WDW property) are now jamming the restaurants and ADR's have become a nightmare.

I would rather they just offer room rate discounts and leave the restaurants for those of us willing to pay for the plans.

By the way, I forgot to mention-don't go during free-dining then

 

[brockash]

I'm sorry that you feel this way. To me it's still better than eating off site because you are surrounded by Disney 24/7. I love it!

ITA, and I LOVE FD!!!!

 

[Koren34]

Don't go giving Disney too much credit here. They only want to fill rooms and will do that however they can. If they can't get people to fork over full price in the off season/ hurricane season they will promo to fill the rooms however they can. If, in this economy they have to sweeten the pot, they will. Don't expect that they are doing this to benefit the poor working family (if that were true they would have the offer available when kids are not supposed to be in school)--they are doing it to keep solvent and if someone benefits along the way great but they are not giving things away out of the kindness of their hearts.

Of course they are out to make money, shoot who isn't? Disney offers promotions during times they need people to be there and I for one, am more than happy to take them up on any promotion I'm able too. Not only do I get a wonderful trip, but I keep pennies in my pocket to go the next time too I would never begrudge anyone for taking advantage of the deals Disney is offering and wish others felt the same way.

 

[daisyduck123]

We continue to enjoy our Disney dining experience and look forward to our meals.

So do we.

We'll be using the dining plan for 8 nights this July.
DD14 & I have been meticulously planning our ADRs. We actually enjoy pouring over the menus & picking a few new places to try each trip. This time, we're thinking of trying Jiko and Sanaa.

 

[madameleota71]

I'm not mad, just a little disappointed when they get rid of certain foods that I really wanted to try. I'm not sure if I will be going during free dining this year or later. Either way I will still get the dining plan. I like the convenience and although certain items have disappeared from the menus over time, there are still lots of different foods to choose from.

 

[lugnut33]

Again, I want to reiterate that this thread is not about whether the Disney Dining Plan is good or bad. This thread is supposed to be about how the service, quality, pricing, and availability has deteriorated over the last few years. There are many reasons for that and I listed some of them in my OP, including the addition of Free Dining and the DDP having an effect. Now, I'm not saying they are all serving dog food because there are many good restaurants left inside WDW, but things are changing and not for the better.

It is also my contention that I can get better quality food for a better price outside WDW and therefore that is what I'll be doing in August. Let me give you an example. On Sunday the 16th, for my mothers birthday I will take her (actually there will be 8 of us) to Texas De Brazil rather than going to O'hana at the Poly. The idea is similar between the two restaurants as servers go around the room with skewers of meats and it's all you can eat. However here is the difference, there is a much larger selection of meats to choose from at Texas, including quality choice cuts of steak (filet). Also, there is a 50 item salad bar. Pricing for the two places is actually very similar, around $27 per person. However, I can get coupons for Texas that are going to reduce my cost per person down to $15 per person. Now spread that over 8 people and you're looking at a $96 savings, for one meal only.

And let's face it, the pizza inside WDW is pretty awful and expensive. Actually most pizza in Florida is terrible, so if I'm going to have pizza it better be cheap. Well, I can actually get whole large pizzas at the Hess gas station near downtown Disney for $7 to $8 each. I'll be able to feed all 8 of us for under $24. Compare that to going for pizza at Spoodle's pizza window and a large pizza with one topping costs 19.50 ea. So there's a savings of $35. Now I'll admit, the Spoodles pizza is pretty good, but it's actually not that much better than the Hess pizzas (yes I've tried both).

Of course you can come on here and extoll the virtures of the free food. Yes, free food always tastes wonderful, but in my case we are not eligible for the free dining and I'm not going to purchase the dining plan. I am not going to be an accessorie to the dumbing down of menus and quality in order to make that $40 per day you are spending more profitable to the Disney company.

 

[lugnut33]

Did some menus just recently change?? I do not understand the OP's point. You have free dining. But, will eat off site. Because?? I am probably just tired. from work. So, I just am not comprehending, your point. What drastic changes have they made??

We are using our DVC points to stay at the Tree House Villas, therefore we are not eligible for the free dining program, which is fine with me. I don't want to pay rack rates for the villa we are staying in, that would be $545 per night.

 

[ShannonMB]

I see the OP's point about certain things being taken off menus -- for example, Coral Reef no longer has their king crab legs , and Captain Jack's no longer has their twin lobster tails . I would guess the reason for this is that a lot of people on the dining plan order these, making them not-cost-effective to offer. Then those paying OOP can no longer select these items, either. I think Boma now has a sirloin cut instead of their prime rib, as well.

Can't resist adding, though, that I do LOVE the dining plan! As a PP mentioned, it may just be a perceived value, because in the "real world", our family would never each order a dessert at every meal, etc. But that's what I LOVE about it. It's an adventure!! We get to try a bunch of the different desserts instead of just one or 2 to share! Since we always do the dining plan, it doesn't matter to me what weird prices they put on stuff like $24 lasagne, because it all costs the same. I do sympathize with those who pay OOP and are forced to make up the difference, but I still don't think the prices are that bad for a theme park/resort. How much is lasagne at Carraba's (yum) or Olive Garden? Maybe $8 less?

 

[Lynn5700]

We love Disney Dining. We look forward to the food lol. It is so hard to eat normal food at home after we leave Disney LOL! For real.

 

[Toluca Legs TurkeyCo]

I would never go without the DDP...its an integral part of the Magic and the attraction for me.

 

[JLS]

No, I am not mad at Disney dining. Disney makes changes as a reaction to demand and market realities/factors. Since more recent introduction of the dining plan, the DDP was so wildly popular that Disney realized it could make some changes, raise prices and make even more money. If demand for the DDP and restaurants had plummeted with those changes, they would have adjusted. But that has not happened. Yes, a few things have been taken away off of menus and they have raised the prices of the DDP (primarily by subtracting tip and appetizer), but the dining menus around The World have remained pretty much the same, adjusting primarily for inflation. The Disney sit-down menus have always been overpriced compared to a local sit down restaurant of comparable quality. But that is to be expected. You are paying for location, ambience and convenience. Try going to a sit down restaurant operated on the grounds of any nice resort and you will find the same type of prices, if not worse. They charge what the market will bear. Consumers have the choice not to pay those prices. I don't see it as a reason to get angry, as there is a choice to pay or not pay the prices.

Disney has amazing goodwill with its consumers and people such as those of us who frequent the Dis and plan yearly trips to WDW tend to have warm and fuzzy feelings toward the Disney brand. That can lead to people forgetting that Disney is a large, FOR PROFIT, entertainment conglomerate. Operating decisions are designed to maximize profits for their shareholders first and foremost. A lot of people tend to get "angry" about this when its Disney because that does not match their warm and fuzzy feelings about the Company, where similar behavior from other companies is expected and understood. Its an interesting phenomenon, I think.