Disney Dining Plan: How can Disney DO THIS?!?!

[!@#$%]

It was TOO good! OK, heres the deal for those of you who dont know. You get 1 snack per person per day, one counter service per person per day, and one table service per person per day. There is simply NO WAY anyone could EVER do this plan and not walk around all week feeling full all the time! When you redeem your meal or snack, you are handed 2 receipts, one has the total amount of the meal, and that one you sign and they keep. The other has the items, and shows all ZEROS to comfort you and assure you it was "free", that is the receipt YOU get.
What I did was I wrote down the total on MY copy, then saved the receipts and added up EVERY single meal and snack on the trip back home. Cali grill was $208.12 alone! We paid $695.00 for 7 days, 6 nights, (Pop Century) and that included one "ONE DAY PASS TO ONE PARK" per person. (Which we didnt use since we have annual passes; save it for future trip). Remember the $695.00 we spent for the whole trip? We ate $905.00 in food during the week!!! If we had tried, we could have EASILY broke the $1000.00 mark (like if we hadnt cancelled France and did Morocco instead).
My question is how can Disney do this and show a profit???

 

[DMRick]

So I guess you are saying maybe all us stock holders should be encouraging Disney to go back to the less expensive AP/general people room discounts, instead of giving away free food LOL?

 

[!@#$%]

Not complaining, just amazed! In a place where everything is "retail on sterroids", where a peanut butter sandwich is 5 bucks, where a spray bottle thats $5 at walmart is $18.00, (we got ours for a buck each on clearance) ... how did they allow this awesome deal to be? Someone goofed!

 

[DMRick]

I sure didn't take it as you complaining LOL (shh..maybe we shouldn't let Disney think we think it's TOO good of a deal). I do think it's funny how many stockholders said they are glad Disney did away with AP rates, but few say a thing about the food costs, other than say how cheap food is because they buy in quantity. But regardless of how cheap they get it, since people now don't have to come in and buy it, it's costing them some big bucks, and you just proved it! I think the AP/general codes would be less costly to them.

Not complaining, just amazed! In a place where everything is "retail on sterroids", where a peanut butter sandwich is 5 bucks, where a spray bottle thats $5 at walmart is $18.00, (we got ours for a buck each on clearance) ... how did they allow this awesome deal to be? Someone goofed!

 

[WillCAD]

How can they do it and show a profit? Easy.

The food you would have paid $905 for at full price probably cost Disney less than $100 to buy and prepare. They buy food in very large quantities for all those restaurants in the parks and resorts, so they get wholesale pricing.

But if you were eating at "rack rate" all week, would you have actully spent $905 on food? You probably would have budgeted and spent less by eating in less expensive places, eating fewer meals, or having your big meal of the day be lunch, which is less expensive than dinner.

And an even better question - if you had not gotten the free dining plan, and had to pay for food, would you have stayed a full 7 days/6 nights? Would you have taken the trip at all?

Trust me, Disney made money from you during that trip. But they did it the old-fashioned way, by giving you a great value for what you paid.

 

[Rpsemont]

I haven't really been paying much attention to the dining plane since we're DVC, DDE and going to F&W...
but don't you pay rack rate for your room? THere have been some great fall room rates. Did you factor in the potential savings you could have had on the room?

 

[!@#$%]

Very good points. We added all this up on the trip back, then made a huge grocery list for back home!!! I noticed that all the "expensive" meals were made using mostly inexpensive ingredients. The main ingredients we seen were carrots, potatos, onions, beans, pastas, and sauces. Not as many meats and cheeses as one might expect. These are the cheaper items in most grocery stores, where the meats and cheeses are more expensive. I agree completely, that it probably didnt cost Disney $100.00, but it did take time to prepare, and that can be expensive. (especially at Cali Grill, though they probably make a signature dish in 30 seconds.) I can see many people getting hooked on this too! I would DEFINATELY do it again if it were free, but if it were signaficantly more, I doubt I would. Besides, in the past I was one of those "El Cheapos" who brought all my own food into WDW. Though I really loved the whole disney eating experience, (it was a PERFECT change of pace), I actually enjoy the bring in your own food idea more, as I spend less time eating, and more time on rides. We would stop at a picturesque spot, (bench facing the lagoon or such) and eat a simple sandwich meal. We would enjoy the food (we brought good food to begin with; deli meats and cheeses and such) and be done eating in about 5-10 minutes. No lines, no "hurry up waiter!", no fancy stuff, just eat then get back to the rides. Guess it depends on your style. I probably gained 10 pounds this trip as I find it hard to waste delicious food! I kept trying to clean my plate!
When we do go back, one thing is for sure, I'll buy more ice cream bars! I had forgotten how good they were!

 

[!@#$%]

Rack rate was $79.00. (value season) Our AP rate (with code) was $59.00. So we were actually paying about $8.00 per person per day for the deal. I think thats right at least. I suppose the more people in a room, the better the deal.
One problem I DID see was the language barrier. Lots of Hispanics just didnt get it. They were trying to do things with the plan that just werent feesible or possible. They didnt understand why they couldnt get 4 bagels and a milk with one counter service or such. Nothing against hispanics, I just think maybe they didnt do their homework beforehand, and many of the servers didnt understand Spanish so it was harder to clarify and explain it to them. I think Disney needs to straighten some kinks out too. Like the smoothies are available at one restaurant and not another. We had 3 different Pop Century employees tell us 3 different things. One said "ONLY SODAS AND WATER! ONLY!" one said "Sodas, water, and milk ONLY" One said "any non-alcoholic beverage!" She was the only one that was correct. The other 2 said I DEFINATELY could NOT get a Propel or fruit juice. They were wrong. I got one the last day.
It also gets complicated when you wonder if a side counts as a dessert, or where a side IS a dessert. LOL
A few bugs to work out, but a GREAT idea. If there are any disney cast members/ CEOs out there reading this... KEEP THE SMOOTHIES!

 

[kellyf2626]

Also....how many souvenirs did you buy because all week you could say "well, we aren't paying for food"? The dining plan is simply used to get people into the parks, and to stay on property. Not all, but I am sure many people may purchase a few extra things to take home during their trip with the mentality that they didn't pay for food. I know I would!

 

[powellrj]

the same reason Las Vegas has all the bargain meals! They want to keep you at the parks spending your money at Disney. You pay rack-rate for your room and you don't leave the parks/hotels to eat any meals off-site. They keep you there spending all your money there instead of off-site meals and groceries!

 

[DMRick]

But does it matter what the cost to Disney was? It's the value that matters. People on the free food plan, aren't all people who would have just eaten as cheaply as possible. These people would have bought food. Usually when we go, the restaurants have lots of people buying food..and those seats are now being taken up with those getting it for free. So the savings of that $20 a night a family by not offering more discounts, is not saving Disney money (even if the food was inexpensive, ordinarily Disney restaurants are filled with people paying). I've never been in Chef MIckey's where it wasn't full. If the greater percentage of those people are not paying, Disney has to be losing. I'm betting that most family's of 4, would spend a lot more than that $20 a day for food for lunch and dinner.
Personally, I think it's great for the people. As the OP said, I don't know how this is a win win for Disney. After all, the reasonig us AP holders give for thinking the room discounts should continue are the same..we'll be more than making up that discount (paltry compared to free food) by the souvenirs, food we spend money on. I can't believe it makes more sense to give free food, than $20 off a room. Of course I'm talking the $20 is value (and they are giving that to all the people who signed up for it..not just the people who may have gotten an AP discount). Different prices for mod's and deluxes..but I wonder if normally people in the deluxes would spend even more on food than values (I spend a lot, and stay values, but I know, for instance, my kids with their kids would spend less when they are there).
So the short anwer, IMO, yes, they can still show a profit, by your souvenirs, but I think they woul dhave made way more off the people if they could have sold them food..as expensive as they charge


QUOTE=WillCAD]How can they do it and show a profit? Easy.

The food you would have paid $905 for at full price probably cost Disney less than $100 to buy and prepare. They buy food in very large quantities for all those restaurants in the parks and resorts, so they get wholesale pricing..[/QUOTE]

 

[DMRick]

I bet I spend a lot less in Disney, than people do in Vegas. They want you to just give your money away there LOL. While Disney will make more by keeping you on property during the day for the free food, the best way to really do that, is to make you pay for the same amount of tickets to the parks..and make them expire with this plan.Otherwise, people will still go off site, and come back for a late dinner.

the same reason Las Vegas has all the bargain meals! They want to keep you at the parks spending your money at Disney. You pay rack-rate for your room and you don't leave the parks/hotels to eat any meals off-site. They keep you there spending all your money there instead of off-site meals and groceries!

 

[Lewisc]

Disney is getting us used to paying rack rate for the room and eating 2 meals a day. Sounds like a good deal for Disney. I suspect the next meal deal will be less generous. Maybe something like buy one meal plan and get one free.

 

[Taja]

I bet I spend a lot less in Disney, than people do in Vegas. They want you to just give your money away there LOL. While Disney will make more by keeping you on property during the day for the free food, the best way to really do that, is to make you pay for the same amount of tickets to the parks..and make them expire with this plan.Otherwise, people will still go off site, and come back for a late dinner.

How funny! I was just reading this and thinking I spend far less on a Las Vegas trip than one to WDW! Then I heard:

DING!

I almost didn't bother checking it, as I've never found anything for the dates I'm traveling, but my natural curiosity has me trained quite well!

I'm currently scheduled to visit WDW Thanksgiving week, but it's looking iffy because of the amount of time involved. So I booked an alternate flight to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving weekend (one-hour flight) yesterday.

Well, DING! actually paid off for once! I saved a bit over $40 on the airfare. I didn't want to contribute any more to Southwest, so I cancelled my Christmas airfare to Las Vegas, booked the DING! Thanksgiving fare, then changed my Thanksgiving dates to Christmas dates! Whew!

Unless I can make an AP work for two trips (which I did 2003-2004) and AP room discounts are significant, WDW is much more expensive for me than Las Vegas. And I have to schedule more time, as I need a travel day on each side of the time at WDW.

Still love WDW and that is my preference for Thanksgiving, but I'll have to see how things are going by the end of October. I'll be visiting either WDW or Las Vegas for Thanksgiving!

 

[kaytieeldr]

But if you were eating at "rack rate" all week, would you have actully spent $905 on food? You probably would have budgeted and spent less by eating in less expensive places, eating fewer meals, or having your big meal of the day be lunch, which is less expensive than dinner.

Honestly? If I were eating at "rack rate", well, I wouldn't have gone in the first place! So Disney got room money from me that they wouldn't have; and I upgraded my current park passes, which I probably wouldn't have done and definitely wouldn't have added on the Plus feature; and I bought stuff that I wouldn't have bought if I weren't AT Disney... Yeah, they got more money out of me with the free dining plan than they ever would have without it!

 

[WillCAD]

DMRick, you're points seem reasonable, until you start looking at the people like Kaytieeldr who really do spend a LOT more money when they get the free dining than they would without it.

The revenue that Disney "loses" by giving free meals to people on the dining plan instead of making people pay for them is an investment, just like when they spend $30 million on a new ride or attraction in one of the parks.

Do any of those new attractions have a direct recovery of their construction costs? Not since Disney abandoned the letter ticket system back in the 1970s. But they spend the money anyway, on the assumption that new attractions bring in more Guests.

Does the revenue at individual restaurants go down slightly because of the free dining plan? Yes, it does. But overall revenue through increased bookings and longer stays rises.

The free dining plan is like a coupon for a free Whopper at Burger King, but on a grand scale. It's a huge promotional expense, one that has even more huge returns.

 

[txgirl]

Also....how many souvenirs did you buy because all week you could say "well, we aren't paying for food"? The dining plan is simply used to get people into the parks, and to stay on property. Not all, but I am sure many people may purchase a few extra things to take home during their trip with the mentality that they didn't pay for food. I know I would!

We are the suckers who did this! It was fun though!!!

 

[MrsPete]

The free dining plan is like a coupon for a free Whopper at Burger King, but on a grand scale. It's a huge promotional expense, one that has even more huge returns.

Bingo! You'll go to Burger King instead of McDonald's (even if you hadn't planned to eat out) because you want to get that free Whopper before your coupon runs out. In your mind you're thinking that Burger King "gave you" a $3 item for free, but the truth is that it cost them about fifty cents, which they can easily afford to do because you bought fries and a soda (and we all know that the soda is the real money maker); oh, and you probably brought a friend along who paid full price. Best of all, you left the restaurant feeling very postive about Burger King because they "gave you" a free sandwich. You'll probably eat there again next week because you feel good about the restaurant. Their final savings comes at tax time: they can write off freebies and promotional items. I studied advertising in college; free stuff is a brilliant ploy, and -- if done correctly -- the company never loses money.

Trust me, Disney did not lose money on your family!

I read once that the cruise lines (where people expect to eat all day and all night too) budget less than $10/person/day for the actual food cost. That shows just how inexpensive food is when purchased in bulk. It also shows just how much profit is being made in the food industry.

You said you spent $$$ on the California Grill. Most people who go to Disney don't bother to do their homework, so they would never end up at these very expensive restaurants. Instead, their "expensive meal" would be Tony's in the Magic Kingdom -- a place that you might just walk into. Your family probably "maxed out" the plan, but everyone didn't.

How many people do you suppose say, "Well, we were going to stay at the All-Stars, but since we're eating for free, let's move up to the Polynesian." I'm willing to bet LOTS.

Same thing: How many people do you suppose say, "I don't usually spend more than X amount on souveniers, but since we didn't pay for food, we'll go ahead and buy it."

"Free food" keeps you on Disney property. While you might be tempted to venture out to Seaworld or Universal, knowing that you'd have to pay for your lunch there might make you choose Disney parks instead. And the more time you spend in Disney parks, the more money you spend: balloons, candy, souveniers . . .

Finally, this deal attracted customers, new and old. People who'd talked about a Disney trip for years went ahead and took the plunge because of the "free food" -- and they were hooked. People who used to eat breakfast in their room decided that eating out is a nicer vacation. People who analyze their bills like you did became convinced that Disney is, indeed a "bargain vacation spot". People who were planning trips for 2006 moved their trips up to grab the great deal (and they'll probably still keep those 2006 reservations). People decided to travel at a slightly off-season rather than mid-summer (which is good for Disney because it evens out the crowds). People decided to stay 8 days instead of 4. In other words, this deal attracted new customers and gave old customers something new to love.

Don't get me wrong, this can be a great deal for the consumer. But don't be fooled into thinking that Disney is losing money on your family. They want you to believe that, but we all know that businesses don't stay open without making a profit. Free dining is a brilliant marketing plan, not a gift to consumers. Use it, enjoy it, but understand the truth behind it.

 

[DMRick]

The revenue that Disney "loses" by giving free meals to people on the dining plan instead of making people pay for them is an investment, just like when they spend $30 million on a new ride or attraction in one of the parks.
.

I understand it's like a perk to get you there, and hopefully you'll come back..but so many people seemed glad the AP discounts were gone, that I had to make the comparison. I personally think they had a lot less using the AP discounts, since the AP discounts aren't advertised like this free food was, an therefore, it didn't cost them as much. Most people know nothing about the general codes, and some AP people didn't realize the perk until it was too late (they bought their ticket once they got there). This discussion reminds me of people saying..hey Disney gets the soda for free, so why can't I bring back my cup (not meaning to turn this into a sure I can, no you can't). But Disney (supposedly) gets the soda in exchange for free advertising. Advertising that would be paid for if they didn't get the soda. So it has value to them. Just like these restaurants would have people who would have paid for meals, if there were openings. Maybe not by those who went free..but by the many who reported how hard it is now to get a reservation. Or those who post that while looking around and listening, many seem to be using points. I still think this is a very expensive venture for Disney, and costs them more than the AP discount (I don't know that for sure of course, since my stock reports don't list this type of thing). I'm not saying it's bad advertising, just that this has got to cost more than the $30 a night off on a room of 4 people. I can only judge this (since I haven't been down since they started it) by the amount of peoplewho appear to have taken advantage of the free food. As far as saying some people wouldn't have gotten as much food if they were paying for it (and that would be me too!)..well that's another thing that has got to be costing Disney more. The people getting more than usual food, because it's free. Remember, the tax and tip is also included, and those have to be paid out, the cooks and servers have to be paid, the cleaners and everyone involved have to be paid..so even if the food was inexpensive to Disney..it's costing.
That said, I'd prob go back and stay on site if they gave me free food..although there is only 2 of us, so it's not as good a deal LOL!

 

[DMRick]

fifty cents, which they can easily afford to do because you bought fries and a soda (and we all know that the soda is the real money maker); oh, and you probably brought a friend along who paid full price. Best of all, you left the restaurant feeling very postive about Burger King because they "gave you" a free sandwich. You'll probably eat there again next week because you feel good about the restaurant. .

Ah, but that's what's different about this..all the food and non alcholic drink is included, as well as tax and tip. I agree about the Burger King..you end up spending more just because you are there (I'm guilty of buying coupons from restaurant.com, and when I go to use them, spend way more, since I'm getting so much off LOL). But this is a little different. And yes, it can come off their taxes, but there are still a lot of expenses other than food involved. I suspect, for them to have a program of this scope, that rooms were not as full as some people led us to believe. A place with filled rooms, doesn't have to offer a program like this.