Dining Rehash, only bc I want to know..... :)

[lady danger]

I'm more bothered by the lack of included gratuity than the loss of appetizer (though I agree, I wish they'd let people choose between dessert and an appetizer). I typically don't eat three course meals when I go out to eat anyway, unless a menu has a particularly appealing line up of apps and desserts, so I wouldn't really miss it. But part of the appeal of the Dining Plan (for me anyway!) was that no math would be involved. I visit WDW with friends rather than family, so the draw of the dining plan for us had as much to do with not having to figure out what each of us was responsible for paying at the end of each meal as much as it was for money saving potential. Having to pay for the tip means a return of whipping out our calculators at dinner and that's a bit of a drag. Also, we don't typically carry much cash on us, so that would bring an extra concern of making sure we each had that on hand to tip servers with.

To me, the value of any plan has as much to do with its convenience as its potential savings. The loss of included gratuity has made the plan less convenient. I don't think I'd consider getting the DDP as it is now. Maybe the DxDP because we ate at more Signature restaurants our last trip than 1TS credit restaurants so the extra TS credits would be appealing even with the higher cost, but otherwise I think we'll be sticking to doing things the old fashioned way for future trips.

18% is not the "industry standard". Servers would like for everyone to believe this, but it is not true. Tipping is relative to the quality of the service rendered, and most accept the "standard" to be between 15-20% based on the server's performance.

I may be wrong, but I thought VMK_Mouse meant that it's industry standard to charge an 18% gratuity on "large" parties, and not just 18% being the industry standard for tipping period. I know a lot of restaurants outside of Disney I've been to have similar policies, though most of them have been for parties of 8 or more and not 6 or more.

 

[SandrA9810]

Apparently the dinning plan wasn't giving the servers their fare share, so look on it as making it best for the server and not for disney. Plus if disney was all about share holders my profit would've been more the 28 cents for the year.

And for jack's girl, you could always just order off the child's menu for your son and if you eat at two resturants you could have an extra meal. When I did it I went to all buffets because my room-mate only orders off the kids menu and it would be pointless to be using the DP towards a kids meal, and at buffets she already has to pay full price.

 

[burberryplaid]

Mostly the removal of the gratuity because they went and added the gratuity to the DDE card. Does that makes sense??

I don't mind that they got rid of the appetizer, but it would be better if they said you could have one or the other...your choice, or for example, for 2 people they said you could have one app to share and one dessert to share.

 

[TDC Nala]

They added the auto gratuity to the DDE members' checks, and lowered the size of groups receiving the autograt from 8 to 6, apparently to make up for removing the automatic tip from the dining plan (something Disney apparently was adamant about doing for 2008, and the servers were against it).

If they allowed a choice between an appetizer and a dessert on the basic plan, you'd absolutely get sharing (some party members would order appetizers, some would order dessert, and they'd share). The advantage of eliminating a course (faster table turnover) would disappear. You might as well leave the appetizer in and raise the price to cover it. But they wanted to keep the basic plan in the "affordable" range, apparently.

This belongs on the DDP board.

 

[Em&Bec'sDad]

DISclaimer - this is Em&Bec'sMom replying - I've swiped Em&Bec'sDad's laptop

I would say that I'm more disappointed about the removal of the tip. Yes, it would be nice to still have the app, or at least the choice of app/dessert, but I will really miss having the meals 100% paid for before even leaving home. It was nice to spread out the cost of the vacation in the months leading up and know that the only $$ needed at trip time was for extra food and souvenirs. Now, having to add on the cost of an app (possibly) and the tip (definitely) to either the room charge, the credit card, or draw from a stash of cash, kind of puts a damper on the "I'm on vacation and don't want to worry about the price tag" feeling that I try to have.

 

[Tricia1972]

Mostly the removal of the gratuity because they went and added the gratuity to the DDE card. Does that makes sense??

I don't mind that they got rid of the appetizer, but it would be better if they said you could have one or the other...your choice, or for example, for 2 people they said you could have one app to share and one dessert to share.

Also remember when the tip was included on the DDP then Disney was covering the money paid to the servers.

Now that it's been transferred to DDE Guests and parties of 6 or more, the expense has neatly been transferred to the guests and that money goes straight into Disney's pocket.

 

[apostolic4life]

18% is not the "industry standard". Servers would like for everyone to believe this, but it is not true. Tipping is relative to the quality of the service rendered, and most accept the "standard" to be between 15-20% based on the server's performance.

As for the number of people needed beforg adding automatic gratuity, it is usually 8 at most restaurants (not WDW restaurants). Tips are then added to your bill in varying percentages determined by each restaurant. If you are in a large group then you must contact a manager if your service does not meet the tip added automatically.

I may be wrong, but I thought VMK_Mouse meant that it's industry standard to charge an 18% gratuity on "large" parties, and not just 18% being the industry standard for tipping period. I know a lot of restaurants outside of Disney I've been to have similar policies, though most of them have been for parties of 8 or more and not 6 or more.

Yes, the restaurants outside of WDW generally use 8 as their number designating "large" parties, but 18% is not an "industry standard" as stated. Restaurants set their percentage based on many factors such as dining style (a la carte, buffet, family style, etc.), menu pricing, restaurant capacity, geographic location, average local income, and anything else an owner thinks may factor into the equation. The restaurant will factor everything in so the server can be adequately compensated and so the diner will not feel cheated with the tip percentage. I have been in the industry for years and have seen this number fluctuate all over the place. Some places have gone with 10% for a "service charge" on large groups, some go with 15%, some with 20%; every percentage point in between has probably been used too. I have seen some places just use the terminology "service charge will be added to final bill for groups of eight or more" and they base the percentage group by group (not always right, but it happens)......... in some situations I have seen service charges added to very large groups and gratuity was still expected in addition (granted, these are extremely rare).

 

[aubriee]

I really will miss the appetizers! But, I think the thing that upsets me most is having to worry about taking more money for the tips! I loved having everything paid for and only having to think about having fun/spending money with me!

Ditto! I am thinking about doing the DxDDP for my May trip. I would be doing a TS for lunch and then doing Signature dinners all but one night. I went to allears and figured what I would eat and then figured for just an 18% tip. I figured I'd start at 18% and then increase as service merited it. I was shocked to find that even at just 18% my tips (as a solo diner) would be $134.00 for seven days. I will still tip more if the service deserves it, but that means my tips for the week will be over $150.00 probably. Again this is for a solo diner. For families I would hate to see what the tips would be. I'm taking my mom and me ex to WDW in Sept and we plan on dining the same way, which means just our tips for the week will be over $450.00.

 

[Tricia1972]

Ditto! I am thinking about doing the DxDDP for my May trip. I would be doing a TS for lunch and then doing Signature dinners all but one night. I went to allears and figured what I would eat and then figured for just an 18% tip. I figured I'd start at 18% and then increase as service merited it. I was shocked to find that even at just 18% my tips (as a solo diner) would be $134.00 for seven days. I will still tip more if the service deserves it, but that means my tips for the week will be over $150.00 probably. Again this is for a solo diner. For families I would hate to see what the tips would be. I'm taking my mom and me ex to WDW in Sept and we plan on dining the same way, which means just our tips for the week will be over $450.00.

I agree about the tips, and that's part of the reason that I have them in my DDP comparison spreadsheet. True, you'll pay tips regardless. However, if you're spending much more on food than you would have - you're paying more in tips than you would have also. It's fine, but I think we as diners need to be aware of this before we get there and have sticker shock.

 

[OKW Mom]

Everything about last year's plan worked for our family.

Yes, 4 x $38.99 a day was alot, yet we enjoyed some lovely meals. With 19yr and 22 yr old they tried things we may not have "paid" for. Our lunch at the Corall Reef was excllent, and $190 (before tip) if we had bought it OOP. Right there we saved a bunch.

When the 2 of us visited in Sept. it was romantic and just as enjoyable.

I LIKE IT THE WAY it WAS. I knew when people complained about too much food, etc. Disney would take the cue and cut something out.

I have read so many reports on allears and here about servers asking up front about the tip that I am carrying cash/travellers checks and stating up front that we will be paying cash.

It's a pain in the ars yet I am tired of being played because I am a tourist.

So this March we are abstaining from buying DDP or DlxDP. I am getting the DDE to lower the cost of 4 + 2 visitors dining on the two big meals.

Then we are playing it easy, getting some great stuff from that green grocer . We will not have all the deadlines to make ADR's.

Disney's OKW will be surprised when we check out and we don't have $1100. of DDP charges and Zero restaurant charges.

Will it send a message? I don't know if they will even realize it.

 

[NMW]

I guess the tip being removed is the only thing that matters to us. Unlike some others, the basic dining plan did NOT really work for us. However, the deluxe dining plan does. That is how we eat every trip. With the old basic dining plan, we paid lots of $$ everyday OOP for TS breakfasts every day and a couple TS lunches. The removal of the appetizer makes the basic dining plan even LESS appealing to us. With the deluxe plan, I can't imagine ever going back to the basic plan, even before the removal of the appetizer.

The tip removal is a bummer, just because it makes the deluxe plan less "all-inclusve" But, what are you going to do? We'd eat at all these restaurants without the Deluxe plan and be paying for tips. At least with the deluxe plan we save some money on food (quite a bit actually).