changes in the dining plan since my last trip

[Princess Tess]

well it went up 2 dollars, there's no appertizer now, and i have to pay for the tip now ? any other changers ? this sounds like we're at the break even point and maybe this is not a good deal anymore ? what do you think ??? please let me know ....... it used to be a no brainer ........

 

[TDC Nala]

When was your last trip? Appetizer and tip were removed from the regular dining plan starting 2008.

Since then, two new plans have been added - the deluxe dining plan (includes appetizers, is also more expensive and includes more meals) and the quick service dining plan.

Starting in 2008, a snack credit could be used only for a single serving item (no more boxes of donuts, large bags of chips or half gallons of milk).

 

[stan_the_man]

Depends on what you consider a 'good deal'?

For us last year, we felt happy we'd paid in advance and worked out we saved about $200 after tallying up the reciepts. Admittedly we paid a bit in tips, so it probably broke even for us. Even if we lost out a bit though, I wouldn't have minded since it took the worry out of budgeting and paying for everything knowing all meals were booked and paid for.

As for removing the appetiser, to be honest there was more than enough food for me and I'm a big eater!!

 

[monami7]

We do both DDP and not depending on the trip. We do wish there was an Apt. or at least a choice between apt or dessert. Mostly we like salads so this is annoying for us. Also the no tip included is annoying. Honestly we would pay $45 a day if it had those options. I would rather pay more than just have no salad ever!

 

[RMulieri]

I still think it is a good deal.Food prices also went way up so the dining plan still ends op being a great value.

 

[mousefan1972]

It's still a good deal for us when we go at Christmas, mainly because of the holiday surcharge that is added to the buffets/family style meals. Our bill at Chef Mickey's for 2 adults and 2 kids ages 5 and 3 for dinner a few days before Christmas was around $120. Crazy! So we saved money on just that meal alone, plus we got a CS lunch and a snack that day.

 

[hippsmom]

The DDP is still a good deal for us and we love the convenience of having our meal prepaid. However, I was appalled at the amount of money we spent on tips! But TS meals are a big part of our vacation so it is something we would continue to purchase.

 

[La2kw]

No deal for us. We would have to change our usual dining habits to really get our money's worth. We don't eat dessert at every meal, and the CS desserts have really gone downhill since the DDP has started anyway. For us DDE (or TIW) is a better deal. We spend less than what the DDP would cost us, we don't have to eat dessert, we can order an appetizer or a salad if we choose. If we do order dessert, we can just order one and share it, because none of us needs that much sugar. We can get a discount on our adult beverages as well with TIW. With the 20% discount on all food and beverages, we make out pretty well. The cost of the TIW card is covered in no time.

I never carry cash at WDW either, so that argument about using the DDP and not carrying cash doesn't hold up either, IMO. We charge everything to our KTTW card, which gets charged to our jetBlue card, which in turn gets us more points towards more flights to WDW. We just pay it off when we get home.