Chatting with a CM about sharing DDP

[Sammie]

How is sharing all of our meals spending a lot of time eating...we are eating half of the normal amt. of food! Less to eat=less time eating.

Who eats a lot of food in this heat, anyway?

This was a hypothetical, extreme case to show how sharing is not necessarily a bad thing for Disney. It is tongue-in-cheek..for the record, I don't even eat breakfast.


Plus, I don't even DO the Dining Plan

The last comment I think sums it up very well everyone. Some just like to hypothetically argue the DDP and have no intention of using it.

Problem is all these hypothetical situations are being read by Disney and all of us that would like to purchase the DDP and gladly use it within the limitations set forth by Disney might not get to.

 

[scraptoons]

It's a cookie cutter corporate way of saying:

"You get what you get and you won't throw a fit"

She didn't want to get her self in trouble so she kept beating around the bush by repeating the written rule.

I've stood nearby managers while watching them do the same when I worked retail.

They just stand there with a dumb smile on their face and repeat the policy like a broken record until you eventually give up.

 

[DizGeek]

Everyone has me wrong on this thread. I'm the one that said it was a joke.

 

[DCDisney]

Thursday--B.B. has hangover, so we share bfst again at Grand Fl. Cafe--uses 1 TS; eat lunch at Tony's and share-use 1 TS; eat dinner at Sci-Fi (Billy Bob likes the sparkly lights) and share-use 1 TS

Now, no TS are left. We used 10. We did not eat any food that we did not pay for, right?

Disney got us to pay OOP for 10 drinks that we would have gotten "free" on the DP.

We tipped more b/c we ate at more places.



Now, what's the commotion about? It's a win-win for everyone, right???

But you have taken adrs/tables in 5 extra restaurants than you had credits for and the Jones family of 4 hasn't been able to use their TS credits at all or bought any of those fancy drinks they all love for 5 days. Since all the TS places are essentially booked all the time now any table not ordering up to average is lost revenue for the restuarant and the server. Though you may tip double when you share I would expect that most people do not. If the restaurant can fill the table with 4 paying customers vs 1 paying and 1 sharing I'm sure they'd prefer the 4.

Yvonne

 

[LSUDis]

If the restaurant can fill the table with 4 paying customers vs 1 paying and 1 sharing I'm sure they'd prefer the 4.

Wouldn't they really prefer to charge for those 10 counters and only have to provide 3?

The last comment I think sums it up very well everyone. Some just like to hypothetically argue the DDP and have no intention of using it.

Problem is all these hypothetical situations are being read by Disney and all of us that would like to purchase the DDP and gladly use it within the limitations set forth by Disney might not get to.

Is it wrong to look at what Disney offers and weigh all sides of the issue?

How many of us run various scenarios to see what will work best for us whether it's an AP, MYW tickets, which resort, DP or not?

That is how I came to the realization that the DP will not work for us.

Reaching that point required me to run hypothetical situations, so I just shared the thoughts that I considered while weighing my options. It is part of the planning process. Does anyone out there not run various options through their calculators?

I never said that I had no INTENTION of using the DP; I said that I "don't even do the Dining Plan." I have weighed the current situation and it does work for me since I have APs this year. So, I haven't "done" the DDP.

Remember, everyone, I said that it was tongue-in-cheek. Do you really believe that I or anyone would make and eat at 3 table service restaurants every day????

I was tossing out for discussion a scenario that had not been discussed before, I think, on a Disney Dining Discussion Board.

Can we not throw out topics for discussion, take a view, and explore the possibilities of that topic without "throwing a hissy" as my grandmother says.

Do we have to believe in a particular side of a topic to explore both sides of the topic? That is how we learn and understand both sides of an issue so that we can make a wise decision for ourselves
-or--
if the situation doesn't apply to us, aren't we still welcome to evaluate the topic and bring forth elements that may not been considered yet?? = (hypothetical situations)

This is not life or death....we are discussing the "Happiest Place on Earth," and we are too busy arguing and sniping at each other to carry on an honest give-and-take of thoughts/ideas about how to ENJOY A VACATION!

I'm leaving this discussion.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I don't think it is the food that cost Disney money. That isn't the biggest expense of running a restaurant. So wasting food probably isn't at the top of Disney list on figuring out how to save it.

I guess, I'm not normal because when we go to Disney we are straving from meal to meal. I understand sharing with a child but another adult come on. The portions aren't that big. In fact on our last Disney trip I loss 4 lbs from all the walking. We ate 3 meals a day. We did breakfast in the room and counter service lunch and ts dinner everyday. We didn't snack much. We ordered entree for every adult. My kids didn't share because they don't like to eat the same things. My oldest ate everything on her plate but with my youngest it was a hit or miss.

Umm...depending on the restaurant and what you order, yes the portions are big. DH and I are big eaters, we like our appetizers and will usually share dessert. We went to the Maya Grill, and ordered the same entree. OH MY GOSH! There was so much food, there was no way either one of us could finish it. We left enough over for a full meal. I would share that entree with DH next time, it would be plenty for the two of us.

SOme people like smaller portions and share everywhere, not just Disney, and there is nothing wrong with sharing meals. If DIsney, says no, then fine, people won't share. But there is nothing wrong with it.

 

[Meezers]

These threads are so stressing me out.

DM (65 yoa) and I (44 yoa) are paying for the dining plan in November.

We split meals all the time when we eat out. Neither one of us can eat an appetizer, entree and dessert. If we share then we usually split either an appetizer or dessert and the entree. We don't ask them to split it in the kitchen...just bring us an extra plate.

I can't imagine being told I can't share a meal with my Mom...it's not like I am using child credit for adult meal...blah...blah...blah...

Maybe I should just cancel the whole package deal....

 

[glass slipper girl]

But you have taken adrs/tables in 5 extra restaurants than you had credits for and the Jones family of 4 hasn't been able to use their TS credits at all or bought any of those fancy drinks they all love for 5 days. Since all the TS places are essentially booked all the time now any table not ordering up to average is lost revenue for the restuarant and the server.

This assumes that in the example given (where a couple stays for 5 nights, shares every meal and has 10 TS meals) that this couple would do things differently if they were NOT on the DDP. I would guess that they very well may plan to do just the same thing even if paying OOP in order to be able to enjoy "better" meals more often. If they would do that anyway, they aren't taking up any extra ADRs b/c of being on the DDP, they are taking them up b/c that is how they want to eat. Disney has never had a problem with sharing when paying OOP and has always been very accomodating down to splitting the entree and plating it seperately for you in the kitchen. So Disney has not had an issue with sharing...be it a lost revenue or a "taking up tables" issue thing in the past.

As for the Jones family being unable to use their TS credits b/c ADRs are all booked, I've thought that since doing the dining plan and having more people eating table service, that Disney ought to only be allowing ADRs for say 80% of a restaurant's estimated capacity for each hour to be booked as ADRs thus keeping SOMETHING open for walk ups. It may be a long wait, but a long wait is better than signs at the entrance to the parks saying all table service options are fully booked all day, don't even bother trying. People who book on the phone have CMs tell them to book their dining in advance, people who visit planning sites like the DIS know to do it but there are thousands of visitors who book online and then do nothing in the way of research and planning, or they borrow an older copy of a guidebook from a friend and have no idea that while you used to be able to walk up to lots of places, it's harder to do that now even during slower seasons. Keeping a certain percentage of tables available for walkups also benefits those who plan a last minute getaway and can't book ADRs months in advance b/c they had no clue they'd be visiting at that time.

Unfortunately, the only way to enforce the "per person, per day" rule fairly would be to say each day when you wake up, your card will have a new set of credits available. Use 'em or loose 'em. That rules out options for signature taking up 2 credits but at least it eliminates sharing/banking. If you plan 2 table service meals in a day (we often do "brunch" and dinner) then you have to decide where you want to spend your credit. That takes away a lot of the flexibility the plan was designed to provide and a lot of people won't be as interested in it with less flexibility.