Disney dining ... let's work on them

[MrsPete]

Yep. Its designed to make Disney resorts more attractive.

Disney is under no obligation to make the vacation you want affordable to you.

Exactly. Disney is a business -- not an entitlement program. It's expensive to have a large family (and there are many plusses -- sometimes I wish my daughters had the number of siblings with which I grew up), but it's not Disney's place to be concerned with our personal choices.

They offer a product, and they pay attention to how well it sells. If it continues to sell, they are likely to continue the program. If they see that they are not making money, they will probably make changes.

 

[MrsPete]

With large families, many of us will never stay on-site, ever, never!

Why? Disney's less expensive resorts are not more expensive than decent off-site hotels (though they do provide less space in the rooms), and they offer free transportation that could be very useful to a large family that wanted to split up. I think it'd be perfect for a family with older teens who wanted to go their own way.

 

[MrsPete]

Disney definitely needs to have more larger family accomodations than they do.:

No, Disney doesn't NEED to do this. They're filling their hotels and parks quite well with their current systems. It would be good for your family and many others, so you WANT them to do it.

Disney's a business. You can't be emotional about the financial part.

Larger families also spend more on tickets, food, souvies, etc. Just my 2cents. I'll get off my soap box now.

Without having seen any actual stats, I don't think this is true. Consider:

I was raised in a family of seven. When we travelled, it was usually in a tent. Sleeping bags on the floor were always a factor. Most meals were sandwiches in the hotel room or campground. We had a McDonald's or Golden-Corral type meal a couple times during the week. Souveniers were not in the budget. Aside from tickets, very little money went to Disney.

As an adult, I have two children. We fit into an onsite hotel room, and we like to stay in nice places. We eat some meals from the cooler, but we eat out at least once a day. I still don't buy souveniers, but that has nothign to do with money. Disney makes much more money from my family of four than it ever did from my parents' family of seven.

 

[MrsPete]

Ummm. Let me think about that. I can get two smallish hotel rooms with modest bathrooms, or for LESS money I can stay in a 2 or 3br condo (1300 - 2000+ sf) with a sofa bed in the living room, 3 or 4 TVs (one usually a big screen and/or plasma tv), a fully equipped kitchen, a jacuzzi in the master bathroom, and a nice balcony or deck to sit on in our down time. Tough decision!

So you know your facts, and you've chosen to go for the extra space. In doing so, you are aware that you lose discounts on food. You made your choice -- where's the complaint?

By the way, I made the other choice. I prefer to stay onsite even though we would enjoy the extra space, the kitchen, and the jacuzzi. Why? I like being close to everything, and I like parking my car for the week and using Disney's transportation. I am perfectly aware of what I'm "losing" my making these choices, but I chose what I like best. I have no right to complain about what I don't have.

I saw one group of young seniors who brought in all their own food, ask for plates and extra cups to share the drinks they bought, and got LOTS of stuff from the fixins bars to dress the sandwiches they brought in

I agree that this should be stopped, but it's a completely different topic.

 

[lovethemouse]

MrsPete, I think you missed my point. I agree Disney doesn't NEED to have more accomodations for larger families just because I want it. It's smart on a business stand point. A lot of families with just 3 kids are staying off-site. We are staying in our R.V, but would stay off-site otherwise. Disney discounts rooms because they have rooms to fill- period. I used Universal's on site as an example. Most of their rooms sleep 5. Also, just common sense says if you have a family of 5 vs. 3 you're more likely to be spending more on everything. Of course not in every case , but probably most of the time. It just amazes me the attitude of some. Disney will discount if they think they will eventually see more profit. Why do people care if someone else gets a discount? I think it makes sense with the enormous mark up on food at DW, a little discount to keep folks from leaving the parks the eat would be very appropriate.

 

[Laurajean1014]

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

Sorry but no one is going to feel sorry for you. It is your choice to have a large family; your choice to stay inside or outside WDW. WDW has made is so easy to pick a resort based on $-$$$$. All-Star and Pop Century is a great alternative to outside the park places. Carribean, Coronado Springs and POR (Swan and Dolphin) are great alternatives to Sheratons and Marriotts. OKW, Boardwalk and Beach Club are alternatives to Hyatts and Contemporary and GF are alternatives to Four Seasons, Ritz, etc.

Also, WDW food court or walk up dining has improved a lot from even 10 years ago. They offer veggie burgers, carrots, chicken wraps, turkey legs, etc. You can even get 50's Prime Time to-go! You can also spend a few nights (from a week long trip) having dinner inside the parks as opposed to having every dinner in the parks.

I like to have breakfast in the room, skip lunch and have a wonderful experience at dinner (that my event time). So, we save up each year to accomodate our desires and needs. But that does not mean everyone fits that catagory (higher or lower).

Also, if you wouldn't go to a WDW dining restaurant in lieu of Golden Corral, then WDW would say go to GC. They can fill the seats with other vacationers.

Whichever you decide, enjoy your meal!

 

[crisi]

lovethemouse:

The following Disney resorts sleep five: All Deluxe resorts (at AKL and WL you need to book a Family room that will sleep five), POR, Ft. Wilderness Cabins. All Disney Mods and Values will guarentee connecting rooms for a family of five (up to a family of eight, as each room will sleep four). DVC resorts will now allow five in a one bedroom (according to Member services) they still officially limit it to four in a studio.

With all these options, I think that families of five choosing to stay offsite and chosing to do so for other reasons than just "Disney doesn't have options." Whether you are a family of two or a family of seven, onsite Disney will be more expensive than offiste Disney.

 

[swilshire]

Sorry but no one is going to feel sorry for you.

I must be doing a very poor job of expressing myself if I left the impression that I wanted anyone to feel sorry for me. I have been remarkably blessed in so many ways: a wonderful family, reasonably good health, a job I love for the most part, enough money to take wonderful vacations and still meet my other obligations, and on and on.

My vacations will continue to be a source of joy for my family and I regardless of how Disney runs their business in the future. If I ever disagree with their business plan too much, we'll just spend more time enjoying the other types of vacations we also love and less at Disney. The stockholders will never miss us.

Since we discuss all sorts of budget issues on this board, I just made a simple suggestion. Anyone who thought it was a lousy suggestion is free to ignore it.

Please DO NOT feel sorry for me or my family. We have riches beyond measure in love if nothing else.

Sheila

 

[NMW]

MrsPete, I think you missed my point. I agree Disney doesn't NEED to have more accomodations for larger families just because I want it. It's smart on a business stand point. A lot of families with just 3 kids are staying off-site. We are staying in our R.V, but would stay off-site otherwise. Disney discounts rooms because they have rooms to fill- period. I used Universal's on site as an example. Most of their rooms sleep 5. Also, just common sense says if you have a family of 5 vs. 3 you're more likely to be spending more on everything. Of course not in every case , but probably most of the time. It just amazes me the attitude of some. Disney will discount if they think they will eventually see more profit. Why do people care if someone else gets a discount? I think it makes sense with the enormous mark up on food at DW, a little discount to keep folks from leaving the parks the eat would be very appropriate.

Disney has many resorts that sleep 5! We have 3 children and have always stayed onsite. The GF, POLY, CR, BC, YC, BWI all sleep 5 just fine. As I posted earlier, we bought BWV DVC last year for our family of 5. I'm not saying every family of 5 should stay at these resorts or buy DVC, that's just what we did. We never once thought Disney "owed" us a cheaper vacation because we chose to have 3 kids. We certainly weren't "mad" that we could not stay at a value or moderate resort. I think Disney gives a lot of options to families of 5.
I also could be in the minority and I admit to never having heard of Golden Corral, but I don't think the food at Disney is any more expensive than any other vacation spots (Myrtle Beach, Nags Head, Bahamas, etc.) My parents just spent a small fortune on food in St John. BTW, what IS Golden Corral??

I have never seen the fixin's bar thing! I think everyone would agree that should be stopped! LOL.

 

[kelma]

Oh my gosh! I can't believe the way this thread has gone . The OP, Sheila, merely gave an option for others who felt the same as she does. She did NOT suggest you feel sorry for her, she did NOT say that Disney owed her anything and she did NOT judge YOU for how many children you chose not to have. It wasn't even a criticism of Disney, just a wish on her part.

And as for berating her under the guise of being a Disney shareholder - just give it a break. I'm also a Disney shareholder (how absolutely exciting for me ) and I know that Disney wants to make a buck just as badly as I want them to. They are only going to do what they believe will be best for their bottom line. Anyone can make any suggestion they want to Disney. If you feel soooo strongly about this (although truly I cannot fathom why), instead of berating the OP, email Disney yourself.

Please try to remember that this is the Budget Board, not the Only Go to Disney when You Can Afford to Stay in the Deluxe Hotels Board (and thank goodness, because that's a really long name ) I think the OP's post was entirely keeping with the theme of this board.

 

[CheapMom]

oops double post.

 

[CheapMom]

Kelma- I 100% agree. I can't believe how nasty and ridiculous some of these replies are.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Kelma- I 100% agree. I can't believe how nasty and ridiculous some of these replies are.

It's a real shame.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

I expressed the same thoughts earlier in the thread.

As for the fixin's bar at a few Disney restaurants: do you really think they would continue doing this if they were losing money off the small percentage of people that might take advantage of it? Get real...no one watches the bottom dollar better than Disney. I have eaten at Pecos Bill's several times and have never seen anyone treat it like a salad bar. Next thing you know someone will suggest rationing toilet paper. Onsite guests get two squares, offsite get one!!!

 

[starwood]

I got a response from Disney asking about the dining program for DVC members.

"Thank you for your email. I apologize for the delay in my response.

I appreciate your family's interest in participating in the new Magic
Your Way Dining program that
is being offered to Walt Disney World Resort Guests. Due to existing
system configuration, this
plan is only able to be sold to Guests booking a package through the
Disney Reservation Center at
this time. Since we know this offering would be extremely popular
among our Disney Vacation Club
Members, we are currently working with our Information Technology
partners to change the manner in
which the plan is sold. Unfortunately, we do not have an estimate as
to when this will be
available. Please contact Member Services prior to your next visit for
updated information.

In addition, your comments about the Disney Dining Experience are also
appreciated. This program is
not operated by the Disney Vacation Club, but I will be happy to share
your interest in joining with
the managers in charge of our Member Benefits program.

Thank you again for your message. We are glad you are a Member of our
Disney family and look
forward to entertaining you for years to come."

 

[Mad4Dizne]

I hope everyone can get the discount/program they are looking for!!!! The meal plan for DVC'rs would be great!!!!

One thing though, that I honestly can NOT understand is how when they came out with the Dining Plan that they did not stipulate adult and child dining credits--the fact that you can use the meals for adult meals and pay outright for children's meals makes the plan substantially!!!! better for guests...and unfortunately if the plan is not in your budget/plans you get nothing....( this plan could really pay off!!!!). Anyone have any thoughts?????

This would seem to me a big LOSS to the company--why would they do this?????