Disney needs more dining plan options

[FlightlessDuck]

I would like to see a version of each plan that's slightly less expensive and doesn't include the refillable mug my family doesn't use.

 

[tjevans]

We make our own dining plan. We take the amount Disney charges and put it on a prepaid debit card. That way, our dining is "prepaid" and we keep any "credits" we don't use on vacation.

 

[Sandy Fisher]

As someone who never used the dining plans (of any sort at any time) and never was even curious, I have to tell you I think it would be a royal pain in the nec, or elsewhere.....
If you've ever stood in line behind someone (counter service of course) who has 2 to 4 adults and several children trying to make choices according to their dining plan, it's absolutely nuts. Sort of like being behind someone at a checkout who's dawdling over their payment -- should I write a check, etc. -- and taking forever with just a few items.
I'd never bothered to compute what we'd save, but it all looked like too much food to me. And I saw more than one family leaving partially full containers of food at the table when they left. Kids don't generally eat all that much food at one sitting.
Anyway, just my two cents' worth. You can have all the plans.

 

[Ds4angels]

The dining plans work better for us than OOP. Why? Because my husband, who isn't the world's greatest Disney fan anyway, gets enraged at the prices every time he has to pull out his wallet. He complains during the meals and ruins it for everybody. I've found it is much simpler to pay for the dining plan (or better yet go during Free Dining) and enjoy our meals in peace. Another type of plan might be a good thing. We never use all our snack credits anyway.

Yup my dh too!! I know we'll get there he'll see $9 for a burger and be all "I'm not hungry" when he really is, then he'll get a headache and be grumpy.
This is the 1st time we've stayed on site and so the 1st time we'll use the QSDP, but dh seems relieved to know it's already paid for when it comes to food. (plus I've been drooling over the menus deciding where to eat and what to get )
To me it's worth the price to have DH enjoy the meals in peace

 

[maxiesmom]

I agree with what Deb & Bill said early on. The purpose of the Dining plan is to make money, not to meet each and every possible wish of a guest.
I think most of these ideas are just unreasonable, from a business perspective.
Sorry, it is what it is.

Agreed. I also think there is no way for Disney to have a plan that would make everyone happy. As you say, it is what it is.

 

[Ds4angels]

Also we're planning on splitting the meals so eating 4 small meals instead of 2 large ones, so we're not wasting food and feeling over full

 

[kmarie99]

I agree with the PP to just take the money that you would spend on the Dining Plan and put that in a Disney or Visa Gift card or pre-paid debit card and use that for food, that way if you can use it for whatever type of food you want. And if any money is not used you are not out that money because you can spend it at the park.
Another thing to think about is if Disney started to offer 2 Quick service and 2 table services on their Dinning Plan... they would have to raise the price and then it is no better deal than just getting the current Dinning Plan and paying for the extra meal.

 

[keaster]

Simplicity is the key. You can't have a whole bunch of variations as that would really complicate things for the CMs and for travellers.

I'm sure there would be groups or families that would have every single person on a different option and trying to figure that out would drive people crazy!!

Another option...if you are an AP holder or DVC member you can get the Tables in Wonderland card, that gives you 20% off at participating table service venues (including alcohol).

 

[KMcCP]

While I see both sides of the story, I think that finding a way to incorporate a little more flexibility isn't as unreasonable as people say. Say if you had a choice to pick how many QS meal and TS meals you wanted when you book- that would be great. We like the dining plan but some days I don't want to be tied down for an ADR. If we were going for a week, I think 4TS meals would be more than enough, with the rest being QS. Also- the option of an app vs a dessert would be ideal... Honestly I get sick of dessert after a day or two. Not talking a major revamp, but with how much we spend a few more options isn't unreasonable.

 

[JimmyV]

I am here for my fourth time on the DDP, and I can honestly say, never again. I have not had a decient meal yet. ...Do you think this is what Walt had in mind? I don't.

The "What would Walt think about this?" argument doesn't fly. While WDW on opening day in 1971 may not have been exactly what Walt envisioned, having opened so soon (relatively) after his passing, it is fair to assume that WDW in 1971 was much closer to his intentions than what we have today. And I can tell you in no uncertain terms, the food today is 1000 times better than it was in 1972 when I first visited. You really couldn't do better than a "buffeteria" back then. There was no signature dining, and the Gulf Coast Room, Magnloia Room and Top of the World were the cream of the crop, and none of those could compare to what is offered today at the higher end. Granted, the food 15 years ago was far superior to today. But today is still a far cry better than pre-1984. By a wide margin.

Personally, I think having a "select what you want" approach would be the best idea.

There is such an approach. It is called eating OOP. It won't cost you any more, and will afford you complete flexibility. As pointed out above, the current pricing of the DP can result, at best, in very modest savings. Those savings are then traded in for lack of flexibility. While one can debate costs and run comparison spreadsheets until the cows come home, there is one undeniable truth to all of this, and that is that paying OOP will always afford the greatest flexibility. If flexibility really matters to you, then your decision is an easy one. As others have pointed out, sometimes other factors supersede flexibility, such as "hiding" the prices from grumpy guests. If that is a paramount concern, then go with a DP.

I also think there is no way for Disney to have a plan that would make everyone happy.

Actually, there is. See quote below.

We make our own dining plan. We take the amount Disney charges and put it on a prepaid debit card. That way, our dining is "prepaid" and we keep any "credits" we don't use on vacation.

This. Total cost equals the same as the DP, so one cannot debate price. Diner gets to choose whatever s/he wants with total flexibility. Appetizers are back in play and one is not confined to two desserts and snacks everyday. The unused "credits" never expire. And if you run out of money because you spent more than you allocated and have to dip into additional OOP funding, it is easy to then perform a self-evalution of your plan vs. Disney's Plan. In other words, if you pay an extra $150 over the course of your vacation, you get the ability to evaluate instantly whether the flexibility was worth the extra cost. If so, you carry on in this fashion. If you find that the extra money was not worth it, then next time, you know to stick to the confines of the plan.

Frankly, I think that every person who has never done a DP and is weighing the options should opt for the pre-paid gift card option and "pretend" to be on the plan as a test to see how it works for them. Nothing ventured, nothing lost.

 

[kymom99]

Seems like it would work if you could buy bundles of what you want. Like say 10 QS and 5 sit down meals. Or 10 QS and 10 snacks. They could give a small incrimental savings for each bundle you buy.

I used to crunch numbers but have never taken the leap to get the plan. Now they keep raising the price and giving you less. Didn't the QS have 2 snacks at one time for less per night? They get people roped into using the plan then they start raising the price. The regular plan used to cost what the QS costs and it included tips. Now it is more of a convenience and not a money saver. It is also Disney's way of keeping people in their parks and resorts rather than venturing offsite to spend their vacation dollars.

 

[JimmyV]

Seems like it would work if you could buy bundles of what you want. Like say 10 QS and 5 sit down meals. Or 10 QS and 10 snacks. They could give a small incrimental savings for each bundle you buy.

Why would they do that? The pricing strategy of a plan such as this would be simple. The cost of 10 CS meals would be "10 x the average price of a CS meal". What would be the point of making it less than that? Disney is not interested in handing out "freebies", nor should it be. If a plan existed that provided 10 CS meals for the cost of 9, everyone would buy that plan and Disney would be giving away for free 10% of all CS meals served. And you know what would happen then? The average cost of a CS meal would increase 10% to reach break-even status. So in the end, people who are on long vacations who buy 10 CS meals end up paying the same amount as they would have before, and people on shorter vacations who cannot justify buying 10 CS credits would be paying 10% more for their meals. Nobody wins.

 

[bdklein]

The dining plans work better for us than OOP. We never use all our snack credits anyway.

That makes a lot of sense???

 

[elaine amj]

well, the way to customize is to pay OOP for the extras you want.

I know that's not hugely popular though - I hate doing that myself. On our last trip I ended up buying just one thing OOP and everything else I stuck within the plan. I would have LIKED an app here or there and if I really had wanted it, I had mentally prepared myself to pay OOP - but didn't end up wanting it enough while there LOL.

We always go during free dining. We really love how it makes it feel like an all-inclusive vacation. Frugal people that we are - we would normally all 4 split a bag of popcorn for a snack. On Free dining, it's wonderful to splurge and get 4 separate snacks. I don't think I could possibly do that paying OOP - just too big of a mental block.

That said, I've seen all the calculations and don't think we would ever pay for DDP, especially with the way they are raising the prices. The only thing is, we've gotten so used to it (and drank the kool aid) that WDW wouldn't be the same without DDP.

We have a cruise planned next March with no WDW add-on. However the friends we are travelling with are talking about going to MK for one day. I'm debating if we will go with them. We LOVE WDW but I don't know if I can do it that way - 1 day with no dining plan. We're still debating it so we'll see how it goes.

 

[bdklein]

We make our own dining plan. We take the amount Disney charges and put it on a prepaid debit card. That way, our dining is "prepaid" and we keep any "credits" we don't use on vacation.

And if you lose the debit card? Then what?

 

[MHSweb79]

We don't do the dining plan any more. With just the two of us in a room, it works out better to take the room discount rather than pay rack rate and get "free" dining.

Also, I had a mild altercation with a CM who told me I must take a dessert if I was going to use a QS credit. I explained I didn't want or need the dessert and just use the credit anyway. She made me take the dessert and told me "you can throw it away if you don't want it." (Because she had to ring in everything and if I didn't take the dessert it would throw off the inventory. Now I know that I could ask for a bottle of water or a piece of fruit instead, but she never offered any alternative but tossing out the dessert.) I have a real problem with waste of this sort. There's really very little savings using the DP unless you always order dessert with lunch and dinner, and frequently order the most expensive entrees. Many times, like the PP, I prefer to order one or two appetizers as my meal and it's plenty.

Plus, as another PP pointed out, much of Disney dining is not a whole lot better quality than the local Applebee's (or your freezer), at hugely inflated prices. We're at the point where we book 1 or 2 TS meals for the week and eat at our favorite CS places the rest of the time. If we have a car, we'll venture off-site but generally not too often.

 

[Fire14]

I personally wish they had a TS and snack only plan. I personally could care less about CS meals and lack of variety in dessert dept. doesn't help any. I am one who would like to do GC Dp but DH won't go for it.

I also would prefer something along lines of DL meal plan where you get coupons for so many snack, Cs, and TS meals but you could use your coupons in other ways if you wish. For example we had 5 day plan so we got 4 reg TS ( 32.00 value), 1 premier TS ( 40.00 value), 5 CS( 15.00 value) and 5 snacks ( 5.00 value) but we could use our CS ( 15.00 value) to pay for extras at TS meal ( we had a cake for BDAy). or if I wanted app with my meal I could throw in one of my snack vouchers to cover my App. I know you don't get change back so you either use full amount or "throw away" what you don't use but at least I have flexability and Dh has meals prepaid for most part.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I personally wish they had a TS and snack only plan. I personally could care less about CS meals and lack of variety in dessert dept. doesn't help any. I am one who would like to do GC Dp but DH won't go for it.

I also would prefer something along lines of DL meal plan where you get coupons for so many snack, Cs, and TS meals but you could use your coupons in other ways if you wish. For example we had 5 day plan so we got 4 reg TS ( 32.00 value), 1 premier TS ( 40.00 value), 5 CS( 15.00 value) and 5 snacks ( 5.00 value) but we could use our CS ( 15.00 value) to pay for extras at TS meal ( we had a cake for BDAy). or if I wanted app with my meal I could throw in one of my snack vouchers to cover my App. I know you don't get change back so you either use full amount or "throw away" what you don't use but at least I have flexability and Dh has meals prepaid for most part.

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



Personally, I think the idea of them saying, "Okay, we are going to charge $X for each table service, $Y for each counter service, and $Z for each snack. Now you can choose how many of each you would like for your stay. Also, letting people choose between an app or a dessert would be so much better. The more I think about it, the more I think that this would be the best way to go. Also, just like with tickets, you can allow people to add to their meal plan, but not to take away.

 

[gr8tdame]

What makes us book bounce back every year is the FD. The one thing we hardly ever use are the refillable mugs. None of us drink sodas. We prefer water or real coffee. We also rarely eat dessert. No more than once a week at home. However, we would prefer to have the choice of appetizer or dessert and the ability to switch 2 CS for a TS or vice versa.
Our kids are older now and Disney is more about Dining, La Nouba , Segway. Boat rental etc than the rides. It would be nice to be able to go to the different parks to dine and not have to buy a park hopper.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[gr8tdame]

I personally wish they had a TS and snack only plan. I personally could care less about CS meals and lack of variety in dessert dept. doesn't help any. I am one who would like to do GC Dp but DH won't go for it.

I also would prefer something along lines of DL meal plan where you get coupons for so many snack, Cs, and TS meals but you could use your coupons in other ways if you wish. For example we had 5 day plan so we got 4 reg TS ( 32.00 value), 1 premier TS ( 40.00 value), 5 CS( 15.00 value) and 5 snacks ( 5.00 value) but we could use our CS ( 15.00 value) to pay for extras at TS meal ( we had a cake for BDAy). or if I wanted app with my meal I could throw in one of my snack vouchers to cover my App. I know you don't get change back so you either use full amount or "throw away" what you don't use but at least I have flexability and Dh has meals prepaid for most part.

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

Personally, I think the idea of them saying, "Okay, we are going to charge $X for each table service, $Y for each counter service, and $Z for each snack. Now you can choose how many of each you would like for your stay. Also, letting people choose between an app or a dessert would be so much better. The more I think about it, the more I think that this would be the best way to go. Also, just like with tickets, you can allow people to add to their meal plan, but not to take away.

I agree with you both 100%.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards