Disney needs more dining plan options

[nkereina]

The Deluxe Plan has 3 table service meals and one snack per night of your stay. No counter service meals at all.

No. The deluxe plan has 3 credits per night that you can use however you want - table service or quick service. We ate several quick service meals the last time we did deluxe dining. Sure, it's not the best value considering the cost of the deluxe plan, but you can use the credits as quick service if you want. The deluxe plan doesn't distinguish the credits between "QS" and "TS" which makes it the most flexible plan, but certainly the most costly with the most food.

 

[Fire14]

No. The deluxe plan has 3 credits per night that you can use however you want - table service or quick service. We ate several quick service meals the last time we did deluxe dining. Sure, it's not the best value considering the cost of the deluxe plan, but you can use the credits as quick service if you want. The deluxe plan doesn't distinguish the credits between "QS" and "TS" which makes it the most flexible plan, but certainly the most costly with the most food.

I'll have to look at it but I have a feeling it would be too much food and extra cost wouldn't be worth it for us but thanks for bringging it to my attention.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Sounds a lot like my grandmother when we dined at Akershus last week. We had free dining starting Monday, but we had Akershus reservations booked for Sunday for months. We decided that rather than cancel, we would just pay out of pocket. I explained the situation to my grandmother long before we ever left just in case she wanted to cancel. She insisted that she didn't and that she loved the idea of dining with the princesses. So we get there, take our photo with Belle, and are then shown to our table. She notices that there are no prices listed on the menu. Once again, I explain how the meal works, that it is all one price, she has an all-you-can-eat appetizer bar, chooses her entree, and that desserts are served family style. She tells me that she just wants a dessert. I try and go over how the restaurant works again and that you can't purchase the stuff ala carte. Again, she tells me that she just wants a dessert. Losing my patience, I tell her that she is free to only eat dessert, but that she will be paying $50 for that one dessert (again, I had told her about the meal and the cost multiple times before we ever left). "You mean it costs $50 to eat here? Is that per person?" I tell her that yes, it does cost that and that yes, that is per person. "Well let's just leave", she says to me. She folds up her menu and stands up. My mother had to explain to her that we were going to be charged for her at this point because we had already taken our photo. That made her sit back down. Ironically enough, she told me at the end of our trip that that was her favorite meal.

Your grandmother and my mother / father should have gone bowling.

They would have had lots to agree on!

 

[JimmyV]

Also, letting people choose between an app or a dessert would be so much better.

This isn't going to happen because desserts are so much cheaper to prepare. Even if the menu price is close to even, the actual production cost of desserts is mere pennies compared to an app that contains, say, shrimp, or mussels, or meat. Disney would rather "throw in" the $0.50 dessert than the $6.00 appetizer. That said, there is a very good argument to be made that a house "side salad" (not a Chef's Salad or a Cobb Salad) could serve as an "even up" trade for dessert. But don't ever expect to be able to order Beef Carpaccio or Shrimp Cocktail instead of dessert. That will never happen without a significant cost increase.

 

[mom2rtk]

This isn't going to happen because desserts are so much cheaper to prepare. Even if the menu price is close to even, the actual production cost of desserts is mere pennies compared to an app that contains, say, shrimp, or mussels, or meat. Disney would rather "throw in" the $0.50 dessert than the $6.00 appetizer. That said, there is a very good argument to be made that a house "side salad" (not a Chef's Salad or a Cobb Salad) could serve as an "even up" trade for dessert. But don't ever expect to be able to order Beef Capraccio or Shrimp Cocktail instead of dessert. That will never happen without a significant cost increase.

Having an appetizer option or dessert option would also slow down their table turnover, with many groups having some with appetizers and some having dessert.

 

[topmonkeygirl]

I think you should be able to buy the credits you need or want. Signature credits, TS credits, QS credits, and snack credits.

Also like others have said I think you should be able to choose between an appy or desert, who wants desert every night? I think I know why they do it, I just don't like it. If it's you and DH one orders an appy the other orders a desert and you share both there goes money Disney doesn't get to make. If neither of you gets to choose then you have to pay OOP for the appy. Disney makes more money.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[keaster]

I think you should be able to buy the credits you need or want. Signature credits, TS credits, QS credits, and snack credits.
Also like others have said I think you should be able to choose between an appy or desert, who wants desert every night? I think I know why they do it, I just don't like it. If it's you and DH one orders an appy the other orders a desert and you share both there goes money Disney doesn't get to make. If neither of you gets to choose then you have to pay OOP for the appy. Disney makes more money.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Bolding is mine...

If that's the way you want it, why not just pay out of pocket?

If you're thinking a bundle deal to get a discount, I doubt Disney will do that as it will end up with them losing money on the deal.

 

[Farps]

I have crunched all of the numbers, and in my opinion the dining plan is more of a convenience rather than a savings. With the price increase in 2013 upward of 56.00 you really have to order the more expensive entree on the menus to save any money. And even though I am a big eater some times I feel like having the chicken rather than steak. Also some restaurants like 50's prime time cafe which is on our family's must do list, just isn't all that expensive. And all of my number crunching was being done with my appetite in mind, both my Wife and son do not eat as much as i do. So with that being said, if free dining is not being offered next November when we are going I will get a prepaid card and pay for all of our meals with that. This way we can make all of our ADR's in advance and the rest of the time eat what we want when we want for the rest of our trip.
P.s. love this board and all of the advice...

 

[JimmyV]

If that's the way you want it, why not just pay out of pocket?

If you're thinking a bundle deal to get a discount, I doubt Disney will do that as it will end up with them losing money on the deal.

Exactly. People seem to want to be able to pick exactly what they want, and pay 10% less simply by calling something a "bundle". The whole point to the DP is that you save money (MAYBE), and in exchange, you give up some freedom of choice. If you build the freedom of choice back into the plan, why should the savings carry over as well? Where is the trade-off? It's like going to a car dealership at a model year-end sale. You get a lower price for the car that is on the lot. Once you start to pick and choose your own color, options and packages, the savings go away because you are no longer buying the car on the lot.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

No. The deluxe plan has 3 credits per night that you can use however you want - table service or quick service. We ate several quick service meals the last time we did deluxe dining. Sure, it's not the best value considering the cost of the deluxe plan, but you can use the credits as quick service if you want. The deluxe plan doesn't distinguish the credits between "QS" and "TS" which makes it the most flexible plan, but certainly the most costly with the most food.

You're still paying the price for a table service meal, even if you choose to use it as a counter service. With Plus Dining, you can use your table service meals as counter service meals, as well - you are just going to be losing money on the deal.

 

[HM]

It's not been all that long that they've been offering these dining plans. On our first trips in the late 90s and early 2000s, you couldn't get one at all. Then they started offering what is now called the Basic Dining Plan and at a much lower price point and with more components.

What they call a Dining Plan now is just a ridiculous way to get people to pay up front for meals that they may or may not use, just for the convenience. And in the mean time, the prices of all the meals around the World have risen too much (imo).

 

[johde]

If you couldn't tell, could is the key word. I have found, particularly with this year's price increase, it's become very hard to actually save money with the Dining Plans. You're giving up a lot of flexibility and choices to save money. Recently, I did a rundown of the quick-service plan and was shocked by my own results.

http://www.disneyparksplanning.com/qsdiningplan.htm

Saving just over $9 per person seems to be a small amount of money for eating a really, really small breakfast and tying yourself into eating at those particular restaurants.

You're analysis was really interesting. The biggest thing you're missing OOP is sales tax. DDP is tax included where The prices on sites like Allears and WDWIG are plus tax. So you're also saving the 6.5% sales tax in addition to the $9.00 in your analysis, or about another $10.00 onto your analysis.

In my case, I went back and forth several times trying to decide on the QSDP or not. In my case, I'm checking in Dec31 for 4 nights so I'm getting 2012 prices. I'm then going for 3 night near Universal Eating almost exclusively CS, I'll want to eat at the more interesting CS meals. In a week, my goal is no more than 1 hamburger and 1 "Disney Pizza". So, I'm naturally going to gravitate to the upper end of the CS menu.

 

[PA Disneymania]

We have the Disney Visa card and use our rewards dollars to pay for meals. We generally eat 1 TS and 1 CS per day for each of us, and DH also gets breakfast. I prefer fruit or a pastry. I worked out the OOP vs the DDP and there was no way we would have been saving any money. We still order what we want and we don't have the hassle of carrying cash.
As for losing the card, we try to be as responsible with it (or a debit card) as we would be with any credit card or cash.
We are traveling with family who got the DDP and they are struggling to find restaurants where they will get their money's worth. This is their first time to WDW and the kids will be sitting in TS restaurants rather than enjoying the world.

 

[Eliza32]

The Dining plan is to tie you in to being on Disney property so that you spend more $$ in bars, shops etc. The difference in cost between OOP and plan is now negligible. I would never pay for it.

We love Disney, stay on property and have some places we like to eat....BUT......we also to like to eat off site (shocking I know!!!) so the plan is not for us. Maybe because we're from the UK eating off site is more important to us. (We love Bahama Breeze, Cheescake Factory etc)

I would like to see an option to buy X number of snacks or maybe x number of CS meals....that way Disney get their money whether you actually eat or not.

As for the refillable mug...it's the best bargain on site for us, we use it on average 6 times per day.

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

The dining plans make big bucks for WDW. The only changes we will see in the dining plans are price increases.

As a 30 trip veteran, we have seen WDW before and after the dining plans. I have to say, I preferred dining before they started using the current plans. The food was MUCH better and cheaper, not cheap but cheaper. You have to work to see any savings on the plans now. To be honest with you, the food is not good enough to spend so much time trying to figure out how to save a buck on the plan.

We use room discounts to stay on site. We make a few ADRs before our trip, usually 3, a character breakfast that only 4 of us go to instead of the whole group of 7, 'Ohana, and maybe WCC or Boma. We go to the grocery store to get our snacks and food for the room and eat off site at several restaurants that we enjoy, and pay a much smaller price for. Sometimes we eat counter service for lunch and usually share that entree. This ends up being MUCH cheaper for us and we are far happier than when we ate all our meals on site.

And if you lose the debit card? Then what?

Do you lose your credit card or cash or room key a lot? I never have. I wouldn't think I would lose a debit card either.

 

[Hooked On The Mouse]

We are a family of 5 and have always gotten the dxdp. As to how we eat "all that food" it actually amounts to 2 meals a day, we take the snacks home with us and we don't feel compelled to clean our plates if we aren't up to it. It has always worked for us and always been a savings (dh has actually made up sample bills from the menus and added up the prices of what we want to eat). This year we will be paying oop for the first time, simply because our oldest dd has become a Disney adult, and there is no way that dainty little girl is going to eat a quarter of an adult meal at, say, Narcoosee's or Flying Fish. The amount of waste that would involve would be so huge it would just be ridiculous. So we will share a meal between a couple of the kids for the TS and take the loss on the buffets. But the point is, I think it would be near impossible for Disney to come up with menu plans that will work for every family or every guest. I think everybody is going to have some waste either of food or money, or they need to pay out of pocket for what suits them individually.

 

[andyman8]

You're analysis was really interesting. The biggest thing you're missing OOP is sales tax. DDP is tax included where The prices on sites like Allears and WDWIG are plus tax. So you're also saving the 6.5% sales tax in addition to the $9.00 in your analysis, or about another $10.00 onto your analysis.

In my case, I went back and forth several times trying to decide on the QSDP or not. In my case, I'm checking in Dec31 for 4 nights so I'm getting 2012 prices. I'm then going for 3 night near Universal Eating almost exclusively CS, I'll want to eat at the more interesting CS meals. In a week, my goal is no more than 1 hamburger and 1 "Disney Pizza". So, I'm naturally going to gravitate to the upper end of the CS menu.

Well, you'd still be saving $19.45. Again, that's if you go to the restaurant with the most "DDP value". Not to mention, Peco Bills and ABC Comm. aren't nearly the best QS restaurants in the parks. I would much rather eat a full breakfast and have the flexibility for an extra $20/person. Also, are you sure the QSDP includes tax? I honestly don't know.

 

[bookgirl]

Soooo...we now have found the ultimate dining plan: just pay cash. Order exactly what you want, when you want. Skip meals, or have 4 a day. Nothing but snacks all day? Sure, no problem. And never spend a dime on food you don't want just to get your money's worth.

This would be me and my family. We all have different eating issues some picky, (but none of us are picky about the same things), and some of us have different eating styles.

I do maybe 1 or 2 TS a trip, I do some CS for lunch or dinner, I prefer to bring some small things for in room breakfast (bagel/pb or oatmeal), I like multiple snacks instead of a full meal, and except for a couple of items I don't like most deserts. Sometimes we share entrees as well.

There is not a dining plan that would work for me.

I broke down this time and got a refillable mug because I wanted to see if it was a benefit for me, but in all honesty I don't know that I'll buy one again as I mostly drink water and I figured out that I did not drink enough soda or coffee to cover the cost. I did often just fill it with ice and water which was nice, I had a few sodas, and well the coffee sucks so I just did my own ice coffee with via packs.

The mug has been nice for a work cup though.

I figure in the future they would do less plans not more. They will only offer a plan that is profitable to them, something that gives the customer too many choices is not a profitable use of 'discount' to the corporation.

 

[bjscheel]

We'll do a dining plan if it's free, and we love being able to hand over the card, however, we like to eat mostly CS with just a few TS, so none of the plans really fit. And now that our youngest is over 10, there's no way I'm paying adult meal plan for her- she will still want the kid stuff. (Though the year older DD was 10 and we had FD, she LOVED being able to get the adult meals and no worries about cost. Difference in kids.)

Since it still hurts too much to hand over the cash, last time we bought Disney gift cards with a certain amount of money on each. Then we felt like we were still just handing over a card and got what we wanted.

We had several, so if one was lost, we didn't lose the whole amount. Actually we thought we lost one and all we had was partial digits from a receipt. The ladies in the POR gift shop were able to transfer the balance to a new card. Turns out the other one was in his swim trunks pocket. So the "losing issue" wasn't much of an issue.

 

[kaligal]

Just pay cash.

No credits to keep track of. No asking if you can have this or that on your plan.

Eat where you want, when you want and have whatever you feel like having.

It may very well save you money, too. Did for us.