Dining plan is excellent!

[valley526]

We just got back from our trip, 16th. of Feb. We were there 7 days, and i never ate so much food. Every where we went, we were served so much food, as far as quantity. They were plates full. Every bite of food was prepared so well. The Dining plan is an excellent idea, because all you had to do is pull out your world card , and it is taken care of, grant you we paid ahead, but we would have not ate at the resturaunts we ate, if not for the dining plan. For Instance , our bill at the Concord Steakhouse at contemporary was $141.00 . we were treated very well, and had excellent service. There is no way we would have chosen that resturaunt. As far as the tips, we were already prepared to pay out tips, any resturaunt you go to, no matter where you live, you tip anyhow. Another thing, our kids, DS 14 , and DD 12, were able to go down, any time they wanted and get a snack on their own, without having to ask for money. they thought that was just fine and dandy. we also got the refillable mugs, helped themselves to the drinks, anytime. there were people that we talked to that did not even know about the mugs, and wish they had got them.

 

[jjohnson]

Thanks for the report. Did you stay at the Contemporary? If so, could you tell me where the refillable mug station is located?

 

[stolidog]

I get the feeling that since the changes were made to the DDP on Jan 1st, 2008, people will not be deciding if they want the DDP based on saving tons of $$, rather if they want the convenience. It was a no-brainer in years past, now the savings are not that great, but my family still decided to go with the DDP for the reason you stated, the overall convenience.

 

[Nikisha421]

happy to see that someone is happy with the dining plan i went last year before the changes and i will be there in may still using the plan.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Thanks for the positive feedback. We were on the dining plan in 2006 and 2007 and had great experiences both times. We decided, even with the changes, that we would purchase the plan for our June, 2008 trip.

Our family is more apt to try new restaurants and new foods when we are on the dining plan. We use our table service credits for dinner, counter service credits for lunch and snack credits mid-day.

I also love the convenience of knowing everything is paid for (with the exception of tips) prior to our arrival.

I have read other posters complaining about being asked if they were going to tip. Did you run into any problems relative to tipping?

 

[christianweecare]

We were at WDW Feb 7-11 with our party of 6 adults. We were all on the DDP. We stayed in a 2 bedroom villa at OKW as DH & I are DVC members. We had breakfast in our villa each morning then had counter service lunches and table service in the evening. I kept up with the actual cost of our meals and snacks. After taking out for the tips we still came out over $80 ahead. We also loved the convenience of paying for everything up front. We charged our tips back to the room which I paid in cash before checking out. Very easy! We had good service from all of our wait staff.

DH & I will be returning in Dec. and we have planned on using the DXDP for that trip. This is our Christmas, Happy Birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, anniversary, etc, etc, gift to each other. We can't wait!

 

[Eoywin]

Glad to see other fans of the DDP

 

[minniekissedme]

Thanks for the positive feedback. We were on the dining plan in 2006 and 2007 and had great experiences both times. We decided, even with the changes, that we would purchase the plan for our June, 2008 trip.

Our family is more apt to try new restaurants and new foods when we are on the dining plan. We use our table service credits for dinner, counter service credits for lunch and snack credits mid-day.

I also love the convenience of knowing everything is paid for (with the exception of tips) prior to our arrival.

I have read other posters complaining about being asked if they were going to tip. Did you run into any problems relative to tipping?

My family of five (3 adults, two kids) did the dining plan on our 2/2-2/9 trip. Saved $500 from menu prices...tips were about $200 so we still were way ahead.
IMO, you will save money if you use the table service for dinners...the food is too good to use on anything else. Kona Cafe was my favorite.
We had no problems with servers, service, tips, tip questions, nothing.
I too had read all of the negative posts of the '08 dining plan. Your plan is exactly the way we did it so I expect you'll save a few bucks!!!

 

[walkerag]

I'm happy to hear that there are people satisfied with the DDP. We will be using it in May. We have 3 character meals scheduled that we would've never been able to do otherwise.

 

[mickey2000]

I get the feeling that since the changes were made to the DDP on Jan 1st, 2008, people will not be deciding if they want the DDP based on saving tons of $$, rather if they want the convenience. It was a no-brainer in years past, now the savings are not that great, but my family still decided to go with the DDP for the reason you stated, the overall convenience.

Convenience was last year when the tip was included and you didn't have to calculate the amount or think about it ! I don't think the new plan compared to the old is one of convenience.
Maybe it should be like a cruise ship and added to your bill at check out

 

[douglisa]

Someone said they ended up paying $200 for tips? Holy smokes! I can not believe how expensive the meals are and am suprised that WDW cannot pay their servers enough to cover our tip??? I make $200 a week mininmum wadge. (while I go to school) I gotta ask....how much are they paying their servers?!

 

[KorieDWnut]

Someone said they ended up paying $200 for tips? Holy smokes! I can not believe how expensive the meals are and am suprised that WDW cannot pay their servers enough to cover our tip??? I make $200 a week mininmum wadge. (while I go to school) I gotta ask....how much are they paying their servers?!

I wouldn't imagine WDW paying their servers any different than a regular server anywhere else. I waitress in MA. We get paid 2.63 an hour. It covers paying taxes, thats it. I don't even consider it when talking about what I make. It is insignificant. No server cares about what they make per hour. And honestly, if I didn't get tips, then I wouldn't be a server.

 

[douglisa]

I know, I was a server for a while. Servers do not make enough for what they sometimes have to deal w/. My point was that I would think w/ the amount a person pays to eat @ WDW they should be able to give their servers better and not make us responsable for their servers quality of life. That is alot of $$ and I wonder how the cut really works out. I am thinking Disney is NOT hurting. Much respect to servers everywhere.

 

[JKYlovesRuss]

Are the refillable mugs free with the DDP? If they are, are they in your room at check in, or do you get them from Concierge?

Thanks!

 

[LizinSTL]

Someone said they ended up paying $200 for tips? Holy smokes! I can not believe how expensive the meals are and am suprised that WDW cannot pay their servers enough to cover our tip??? I make $200 a week mininmum wadge. (while I go to school) I gotta ask....how much are they paying their servers?!

That was a family of 5 for 7 nights (7 TS meals.) Depending on where they ate, what they ordered, etc....that may have been a fairly standard 18-20% tip or a more generous tip but over a week it doesn't seem that bad to me ....granted, I preferred it when the tip was INCLUDED in the DDP!

Our meals are mostly fixed price on our next trip and our tips will run us about $160 for 7 nights for family of 4. (That's figuring 20% and no OOP expenses at the table service meals to incur additional tips. Now if I decide on a cocktail or something, then it'll end up being higher.)

 

[LizinSTL]

Are the refillable mugs free with the DDP? If they are, are they in your room at check in, or do you get them from Concierge?

Thanks!

On the regular DDP, the refillable mugs are NOT included. You pay extra for those.

On the deluxe DDP, the refillable mugs are included, you get one per person in the party and there's a credit on your KTTW card so you can get it on your first visit to the counter service location at your hotel.

 

[Tricia1972]

Someone said they ended up paying $200 for tips? Holy smokes! I can not believe how expensive the meals are and am suprised that WDW cannot pay their servers enough to cover our tip??? I make $200 a week mininmum wadge. (while I go to school) I gotta ask....how much are they paying their servers?!

Servers at Disney make $3.80/hour before tips. It's in their contract, which is published online.

 

[christianweecare]

Are the refillable mugs free with the DDP? If they are, are they in your room at check in, or do you get them from Concierge?

Thanks!

The regular dining plan does not include the refillable mugs--just the deluxe plan. We have not done the deluxe plan yet, but I believe I read from another poster that they received their mugs upon check in.

 

[bedell32]

We did the DDP 1/27-2/1. It was our first time and everyone of our party of 9 loved it. We ordered what we wanted regardless of the price. When I did the numbers, we came out over $180 ahead. That's a nice savings and we didn't miss the appetizer at all. I will do the DDP again because I loved how easy it was. Show your card, redeem a CS, Snack Credit or table service. Simple and easy and paid for ahead. So much better than looking at menu prices! and worrying about cash level in my wallet!

 

[griz4]

We did the DDP 1/27-2/1. It was our first time and everyone of our party of 9 loved it. We ordered what we wanted regardless of the price. When I did the numbers, we came out over $180 ahead. That's a nice savings and we didn't miss the appetizer at all. I will do the DDP again because I loved how easy it was. Show your card, redeem a CS, Snack Credit or table service. Simple and easy and paid for ahead. So much better than looking at menu prices! and worrying about cash level in my wallet!

Can you or anyone else advise me if free refills are included in the DDP? if i order coffe with breakfast, do i get more than just one cup? same with dinner, if i just want a coke with my TS meal, can i get more than just one coke or do i have to pay for the refills?