Disney dining ... let's work on them

[swilshire]

Another thread inspired me to email Disney Guest Relations regarding meal options for those of us that stay offsite.

http://studio.go.com/cgi-bin/gmail/...yworld/form.tpl

It may not do any good, but it can't hurt. I mentioned that eliminating the VKL and Q&C vouchers and making the DDE only good for the more expensive restaurants was forcing my large family to eat elsewhere.

If you agree that we need dining discount options, please email as well. My kids are going to be SO sad if I can't afford to take them to the Pepper Market next trip.

Sheila

 

[Cheshire Figment]

making the DDE only good for the more expensive restaurants

This is not correct. With the exception of Japan, the DDE is good for all the table service and buffet restaurants in the Disney Parks and Resorts. It is also good for the food courts in the value resorts and the PO food court where there is no full-service restaurant, as well as most of the quick service eateries in AK.

 

[swilshire]

But the only time counter service meals are available at a discount is when there is no table service as I understand it. We really don't eat all that much counter service food anyway, but I don't recall seeing the Pepper Market being covered by DDE, which is our favorite. If it is, that's great. Though I'm still not sure we'd eat enough at the sit down restaurants to gain much after we paid the fee.

I don't think the counter service food is ALL that expensive anyway, but would of course take any discount offered.

JMHO.

Sheila

 

[lclark0621]

This is the list of current resturants the DDE is accepted. I got it in email from DDE when I ordered my card 2 weeks ago:

The following is the most current list of participating restaurants offering the Disney’s Dining Experience 20% discount on all food & beverage. Please remember participating restaurants are subject to change. You will be notified of any changes in future newsletters. Certain restrictions apply during Holidays and special events, please check with the restaurant when you make your reservations. DDE discount cannot be used in combination with any other discount. We recommend that you keep this issue for future reference.

Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
World Premiere Food Court

Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
Intermission Food Court

Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
End Zone Food Court

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Boma—Flavors of Africa
Jiko—The Cooking Place
Victoria Falls

Disney’s Beach Club Resort
Beaches & Cream Soda Shop
(excludes take out shop)
Cape May Cafe
Martha’s Vineyard Lounge
Rip Tide Lounge

Disney’s BoardWalk
Bellevue Lounge
ESPN® Club
Flying Fish Cafe
Spoodles

Disney’s Bonnet Creek Golf Club
Sand Trap Bar & Grill

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
Shutters at Old Port Royale

Disney’s Contemporary Resort
California Grill
Chef Mickey’s Restaurant
Concourse Steakhouse
Outer Rim Lounge

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
Maya Grill

Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue
(Late Show Only)
Trail’s End Restaurant

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
1900 Park Fare
Cítricos
Garden View Lounge
Grand Floridian Cafe
Mizner’s Lounge
Narcoossee’s
Victoria & Albert’s (excluding Chef’s Table)

Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Olivia’s Cafe

Disney’s Polynesian Resort
‘Ohana
Kona Cafe
Disney’s Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show
(Late Show Only)
Tambu Lounge

Disney’s Pop Century Resort
Everything Pop Shopping and Dining
Classic Concoctions

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort
Riverside:
Boatwright’s Dining Hall
River Roost
French Quarter:
Sassagoula Floatworks and Food
Factory
Scat Cat’s Club

Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
The Artist’s Palette
The Turf Club

DOWNTOWN DISNEY® Marketplace
Cap’n Jack’s Restaurant

DOWNTOWN DISNEY® West Side
Wolfgang Puck® Café
Planet Hollywood®

Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Artist Point
Territory Lounge
Whispering Canyon Cafe

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
Ale and Compass Lounge
Crews Cup Lounge
Yacht Club Galley
Yachtsman Steakhouse

Epcot®
Biergarten Restaurant
Bistro de Paris Restaurant
Chefs de France Restaurant
Coral Reef Restaurant
L’Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante
Le Cellier Steakhouse
Nine Dragons Restaurant
Restaurant Akershus
Restaurant Marrakesh
Rose & Crown Pub & Dining Room
San Angel Inn Restaurante
The Garden Grill Restaurant

Disney-MGM Studios
50’s Prime Time Cafe
Hollywood & Vine
Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant
The Hollywood Brown Derby
Tune-In Lounge

MAGIC KINGDOM® Park
Cinderella’s Royal Table
Liberty Tree Tavern
The Crystal Palace
The Plaza Restaurant
Tony’s Town Square Restaurant

DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM® Theme Park
Tusker House Restaurant
Pizzafari
Flame Tree Barbecue
Restaurantosaurus

Disney’s Wide World of Sports®
Official All-Star Cafe


Entertainment & Dancing:

DOWNTOWN DISNEY® Pleasure Island:
Half price admission to Pleasure Island Clubs for members and guest
Atlantic Dance Hall - Disney’s BoardWalk:
Admission is free for members and guest

 

[poohj80]

But the only time counter service meals are available at a discount is when there is no table service as I understand it. We really don't eat all that much counter service food anyway, but I don't recall seeing the Pepper Market being covered by DDE, which is our favorite.

Are you confusing the DDE program with the Magic Your Way Dining Plan? You CAN buy the DDE card if you are not staying on-site as long as you are a FL resident or AP holder.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The Pepper Market is a food court at a Resort with a Table Service restaurant (Maya Grill). The only food courts where you can use DDE are those where there is no Table Service or Buffet Restaurant at that resort.

 

[swilshire]

I received a very pleasant phone message from a Disney rep regarding my displeasure at the elimination of the VKL and Q&C Meal Vouchers. She mentioned that they are always evaluating the programs and customer requests, and that it was possible (NO PROMISES) that the Magic Your Way Dining program might be extended at some future time to guests staying off-site.

I know that the DDE is an option in the years we buy annual passes, but we won't do that again for a few years. My family does not usually eat in sit-down restaurants. With six of us, even McDonalds is expensive. The Q&C vouchers were very nice, and the VKL was nice at the Rain Forest and Le Cellier.

I suggest that anyone who would like to see additions to the MYW dining program (such as being able to get it without buying a package when staying on-site, or being able to buy it when you have annual passes, or making it available when staying off-site) email or write to them. The more interest they see from the public, the more likely they are to make it available to more of us.

Sheila

 

[disneyjunkie]

I received a very pleasant phone message from a Disney rep regarding my displeasure at the elimination of the VKL and Q&C Meal Vouchers. She mentioned that they are always evaluating the programs and customer requests, and that it was possible (NO PROMISES) that the Magic Your Way Dining program might be extended at some future time to guests staying off-site.

I know that the DDE is an option in the years we buy annual passes, but we won't do that again for a few years. My family does not usually eat in sit-down restaurants. With six of us, even McDonalds is expensive. The Q&C vouchers were very nice, and the VKL was nice at the Rain Forest and Le Cellier.

I suggest that anyone who would like to see additions to this program (such as being able to get it without buying a package when staying on-site, or being able to buy it when you have annual passes, or making it available when staying off-site) email or write to them. The more interest they see from the public, the more likely they are to make it available to more of us.

Sheila

I can understand offering the dining plan to those who book with an AP, those staying DVC, and those booking room only. But why offer it to those staying off site?

If they do offer it to offsite guest, I think it should cost more than the current rate that onsite guest pay.

 

[wright1baby]

I can understand offering the dining plan to those who book with an AP, those staying DVC, and those booking room only. But why offer it to those staying off site?

If they do offer it to offsite guest, I think it should cost more than the current rate that onsite guest pay.

I agree completely and I am glad you posted this first, your worded it much better than I could have.
The reason they are offering the dining plan to package guest is because we have already spent money at the resort as well as the park. When you add the dining, Disney has just hit the trifecta on my wallet!
I know it has been said before, but WDW IS a business. The dining plan is an incentive for you to stay onsite. Why would they offer it to offsite for the same price? That wouldn't be cost effective for them.

 

[crisi]

Yep. Its designed to make Disney resorts more attractive.

Disney is under no obligation to make the vacation you want affordable to you. (If so, do you think if I write them that they should give me a voucher good for $200 a night suite rooms at the Grand Floridian, it will happen?). They are a business and as a business they are in business to make money. Lucky them, they get to do it in a way that makes so many people happy ever year. But if they don't make money, they can't get capital - and without capital they can't provide improvements.

Some of the reports I'm hearing make it sound like the sit down restaurants they have can't handle the increase in popularity of sitting down when its so affordable under the MYW plan. Before they expand they program anywhere, they need to make sure they don't have a capacity problem.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I can understand offering the dining plan to those who book with an AP, those staying DVC, and those booking room only. But why offer it to those staying off site?

If they do offer it to offsite guest, I think it should cost more than the current rate that onsite guest pay.

I agree. The MYW Dining is a nice perk for those that stay onsite. I'd like to see more dining deals like the AK Meals Plus program. I know that they tried it at the waterparks last summer but I haven't heard anything more about them extending it to any of the other theme parks. That would certainly be soemthing that could be offered to both onsite guests and offsite guests.

Or, how about dining vouchers that are sold by Lobby Concierge in the resorts? It would be a wonderful perk for onsite guests who have APs, leftover passes or are DVC members. I wish that I could buy vouchers directly from Disney, eliminate the middleman and not have to guess-timate how many I needed for my trip.

Yoo Hoo! Are you listening, Disney?

 

[swilshire]

With large families, many of us will never stay on-site, ever, never! That means there is a large segment of us that they are not going to get into their resorts regardless. If I had more money to play around with, I'd be there with the rest of you. I don't see it happening, though.

On the other hand, where we choose to dine can be affected by what Disney does. If they offer us discounts such as the MYW Dining Plan, we might just decide to stay in the parks longer and have dinner there instead of heading back to our condo or to the Golden Corral down the road. So they can get zero dollars or they can get a discounted amount. Only they can decide which is better business for them in the long run. Oh, and if we stay later we have more time to drop a few bucks in the gift shops etc.

My post just suggested that you ask for what you want from Disney (whatever that might be) and that they do at least listen and respond. I didn't expect to start a controversy.

Sheila

 

[disneyjunkie]

With large families, many of us will never stay on-site, ever, never! That means there is a large segment of us that they are not going to get into their resorts regardless. If I had more money to play around with, I'd be there with the rest of you. I don't see it happening, though.

On the other hand, where we choose to dine can be affected by what Disney does. If they offer us discounts such as the MYW Dining Plan, we might just decide to stay longer and have dinner there instead of heading back to our condo or to the Golden Corral down the road. So they can get zero dollars or they can get a discounted amount. Only they can decide which is better business for them in the long run. Oh, and if we stay later we have more time to drop a few bucks in the gift shops etc.

My post just suggested that you ask for what you want from Disney (whatever that might be) and that they do at least listen and respond. I didn't expect to start a controversy.

Sheila

There are many families, both large and small, that will NEVER to get to go to disney. Even staying offsite, disney is out of their reach.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I understand what you're saying, Sheila and I agree that Disney needs to do more to attract the "larger than average" family to it's resorts. But the MYW Dining was created as a marketing incentive for guests to purchase packages, rather than doing it all separately and to attract them to onsite resorts. $10/day for meals for your kids is an awesome price. You cannot eat offsite for that price unless you're cooking it yourself! I seriously doubt that Disney is making much money on the MYW Dining, if they're making anything at all. To offer it to offsite guests does not make good financial sense.

 

[starwood]

I can understand offering the dining plan to those who book with an AP, those staying DVC, and those booking room only. But why offer it to those staying off site?

DVC does not get any kind of a dining discount program unless you buy an AP. The only thing we get is 10% off at a few restaurants and only for certain meals. It also does not include a discount on alcohol like the DDE.

As far as the MYW dining discount - DVC members are staying on site but cannot utilize this.

 

[starwood]

Another thread inspired me to email Disney Guest Relations regarding meal options for those of us that stay offsite.

http://studio.go.com/cgi-bin/gmail/...yworld/form.tpl

It may not do any good, but it can't hurt. I mentioned that eliminating the VKL and Q&C vouchers and making the DDE only good for the more expensive restaurants was forcing my large family to eat elsewhere.

If you agree that we need dining discount options, please email as well. My kids are going to be SO sad if I can't afford to take them to the Pepper Market next trip.

Sheila

The link doesn't work.

 

[swilshire]

And just to clarify, I never mentioned wanting the MYW Dining in my email. I understand the marketing aspects. It was the lady who left me the message that brought that up.

I just expressed displeasure that the VKL and Q&C vouchers were no longer available. I know Disney wasn't losing too much money on those unless they gave the sellers a big cut, because in some restaurants the bill was similar to the value of the voucher. It was just more convenient to use them, and we learned where to maximize them.

I think the AP holders (whether they stay on or off-site) and the DVC members would be the most deserving of those who are not currrently eligible. It just doesn't seem fair that these "good customers" would lose out because they ARE faithful.

Sorry about the link no longer working. I'll look around for another one and post it here if I find one.

Sheila

The only one I've found so far is: https://secure.disney.go.com/wdw/contact/contactUs?id=ContactUsPage
but I'll keep looking. This one is probably too generic.

Here's an email address for complaints and suggestions, but I'll still looking:
wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

 

[callahanjulie10]

I agree that the meals should be more expensive if you stay offsite, since it is supposed to be a "perk." It is unfortunate that some people will not be able to do WDW because of the cost and the size of their families. One of the reasons my DH and I decided to have only 1 child was so that we could still go on great vacations and offer that child more than we could if we had a houseful. Of course, that was one of the small factors but there were actually many like these. I have friends who have 4 children and they manage to do it by putting in $50 a month into a vacation account and then anything extra goes into it by family vote. They also have been on DCL by doing just this. It can be done, but it is a sacrifice. They feel it is worth it and do it yearly. AP's are purchased for birthdays/holidays. They also only eat 1 meal/snack in the world and eat the other meals from things that have brought with them. It doesn't bother them and actually they are a very close family.
My issue with the MYW dining is that I want it and can't get it! I loved the vouchers because I could prepurchase them for a year of trips to WDW (usually 4) and we all have AP's, and before we go, I have already paid for our rooms. We go with no major cash outlay. I don't feel guilty for eating at these great sit downs and it has become a major part of our trips. We always try to eat somewhere different each day for our sitdown meal. We also try and stay at different places. This doesn't always happen because we love POP and AK and opt for those depending on how much time we have. A 3 day trip would result in a value for us since we don't have much time to enjoy, whereas a week, we would try to stay at a mod or dxl. Regardless, we spend $$$ on hotel, let WDW have our $$ in advance for our AP's! and now we have no dining option that will let me prepay This will probably inpact us more on our October trip, time will tell.

 

[frannn]

We could save a good amount of money by not using the dining plan, and just eating counter service for most of our trip, along with a few character meals. I will most likely buy the DDE and use it over two trips. Hopefully we will at least break even. Since we always stay at an AS Resort, we'll be able to use it on breakfast each day at the food court. The problem I'm having is that I would like to have the option to order the dining plan. I am always an onsite guest, although I have only purchased a pkg once. Even though we would spend less on food without the MYW dining plan, I would like to try it at least once. For a little bit more $, we'd be able to try restaraunts that we normally don't go to, mostly because of cost. We would be able to enjoy appetizer & desert, which we normally don't do, mostly because of cost. We'd be able to stay on property for all meals, instead of going to places like Golden Corral, Steak & Shake, Sonic, Sweet Tomatoes, etc. It would cost a decent chunk for me, DH, DD12, and DD3, but I would feel I was getting simewhat of a "bargain" for the added expenditure. That's why I liked the Q&C's (at 11.50) so much. We were spending a bit more than we normally do, but it gave us more of a vacation treat. We are not going till Oct, so WDW has some time to decide to offer the plan to non pkg guests, but I don't think it will happen, at least that soon. I'm sure they want to see how many people choose to purchase pkgs in lieu of booking separately due to the addition of the dining plan. Don't they make more money that way?

 

[crisi]

On the other hand, where we choose to dine can be affected by what Disney does. If they offer us discounts such as the MYW Dining Plan, we might just decide to stay in the parks longer and have dinner there instead of heading back to our condo or to the Golden Corral down the road. So they can get zero dollars or they can get a discounted amount. Only they can decide which is better business for them in the long run. Oh, and if we stay later we have more time to drop a few bucks in the gift shops etc.Sheila

They have no problem filling restaurants currently. If anything, restaurants have gotten overcrowded with the MYW dining program. So they aren't losing any money if you go to the Golden Corral. And if you have money left for souvieniers, you have money to eat without a discount.