DDE Not Applicable for Lunch Specials??

[Hieatt]

Just got back from a great trip... on our day at Epcot without the kids, we had lunch at Marrakesh in Morocco. My wife and I both had the luch special. When it came time to pay, I gave the waitress my credit card and our DDE letter. She returned and told me that the DDE was not applicable to the lunch special. I now regret not pushing the issue, as I think that this is wrong... anyone else have this experience here or anywhere else?

 

[Dalpal]

Hi,
I just happen to have the letter that came with my cards right in front of me.....
and the only thing that might be why they wouldnt honnor it with a lunch special is...

This discount cannot be used in combination with any other discount.

A lunch special might be considered a discounted meal....

Sorry...
But thanks for the info...Ill try to stay away from the specials. when I go in July...

 

[Hieatt]

Hi,
I just happen to have the letter that came with my cards right in front of me.....
and the only thing that might be why they wouldnt honnor it with a lunch special is...


A lunch special might be considered a discount....

Sorry...
But thanks for the info...Ill try to stay away from the specials. when I go in July...

I read my letter after we left the restaurant and saw the same thing. I personally don't believe that a lunch special could be considered a "discount." I know it's no big deal (would have saved like $6), but I get miffed when I get the rug pulled from under me on this kind of stuff. I want to know up front what the terms are. I should have asked for a manager.

 

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

I read my letter after we left the restaurant and saw the same thing. I personally don't believe that a lunch special could be considered a "discount." I know it's no big deal (would have saved like $6), but I get miffed when I get the rug pulled from under me on this kind of stuff. I want to know up front what the terms are. I should have asked for a manager.

I agree that I wouldn't think of a lunch special as a discounted meal. Now I know what to look for when I head down there for battle, though.

 

[BCV23]

We used our DDE at Chefs de France and both my DH and I had the French menu which is the lunch "special" there. No problems at all and it was a wonderful lunch.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

Dh was able to use the DDE discount on his lunch special meal at Marrakesh back in May!! I don't think this is right. The lunch specials are not such great deals that they should be excluded from this discount.

 

[DMRick]

We've used our DDE several times on the French menu too...never gave it a thought they we might not be able to.

 

[webray]

The lunch special is a discounted meal.

 

[Hieatt]

The lunch special is a discounted meal.

Webray, you say this with some authority... are you a CM?

I would have to respectfully disagree with you. I consider a discount something you get with a coupon, a membership or the like. For instance, I could not combine my 10% AP discount to this meal in addition to the 20% DDE discount. On the other hand, ordering something from the menu - such as a 3 course lunch special - is not a discount. It is a full meal pulled together by the chef at an attractive price.

At the end of the day, my primary beef is not that I couldn't get the DDE discount, but rather that it I didn't know I wasn't going to get it. If they want to exclude lunch or dinner specials from the program, they need to say "excluding lunch and dinner specials"! I would never have guessed that the discount would not be offered on our order, and had I known I would have chosen something else from the menu, or possibly not even dined there at all.

 

[BCV23]

I agree with you, Hieatt. A special is not a discount although it is sometimes a good deal.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

Oftentimes, the special is something that is seasonal and not on the usual menu. It doesn't always mean a discounted price!!!

 

[Lewisc]

It doesn't really matter what any of us think. The (non-Disney owned) restaurant gets to decide what a discount is. I know many restaurants won't let you use an entertainment discount (or any other discount) with early bird specials or priced fixed specials.

If the 3 course lunch special is the exact same price as ordering the items a la carte you might have a point but if the lunch special is discounted, even a small amount, then the restaurant is 100% correct if they decide not to allow any further discounts. I haven't eaten at this restaurant for lunch so I'm not sure how the lunch special works but if they're giving you a free appetizer or dessert than I'd think the restaurant has a valid point.

Webray, you say this with some authority... are you a CM?

I would have to respectfully disagree with you. I consider a discount something you get with a coupon, a membership or the like. For instance, I could not combine my 10% AP discount to this meal in addition to the 20% DDE discount. On the other hand, ordering something from the menu - such as a 3 course lunch special - is not a discount. It is a full meal pulled together by the chef at an attractive price.

At the end of the day, my primary beef is not that I couldn't get the DDE discount, but rather that it I didn't know I wasn't going to get it. If they want to exclude lunch or dinner specials from the program, they need to say "excluding lunch and dinner specials"! I would never have guessed that the discount would not be offered on our order, and had I known I would have chosen something else from the menu, or possibly not even dined there at all.

 

[gary403]

"Card must be presented when ordering",
then you'll know if your getting the discount and know how to order accordingly

 

[BCV23]

"Card must be presented when ordering",
then you'll know if your getting the discount and know how to order accordingly

Well, duh!!!...that is an excellent point. Hopefully, a server then would warn you if a special doesn't qualify for the DDE discount.

We are guilty of often forgetting to put the card out until we are ready to pay.

 

[DVCLady]

.delete

 

[Hieatt]

"Card must be presented when ordering",
then you'll know if your getting the discount and know how to order accordingly

Not a bad point, but by this point in the trip I had used the card at 6 or 7 restaurants, and by the 4th or 5th I quit pulling it out on ordering because at every single restaurant they told me they didn't need to see it until they brought the bill. Obviously the printed policy is not the actual practice.

 

[Lewisc]

Not a bad point, but by this point in the trip I had used the card at 6 or 7 restaurants, and by the 4th or 5th I quit pulling it out on ordering because at every single restaurant they told me they didn't need to see it until they brought the bill. Obviously the printed policy is not the actual practice.

I don't think it's a requirement that you show the card in advance to get the discount but the last phrase

and know how to order accordingly

would apply. You'd know the discount wouldn't apply to what you were ordering and you could have changed your order.

I think it would have been better if the menu had stated the DVC and DDE dining isn't applicable with the special but I guess it really wasn't required.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Just curious if anyone used it for the lunch special at the coral reef? I was thinking of adding that to my dde dining plans next time in dec.