Do you see this happening? DP+

[BayouMickey]

The easiest thing - and it wouldn't be difficult at all to implement - would be to issue X amount of credits, then assign values for each food item. Wouldn't matter then what you got, or where.

Not gonna happen though.

well really the easiest thing to do is do away with 2 credit ts.

 

[Rip]

well really the easiest thing to do is do away with 2 credit ts.

Well yeah, but I meant in terms of making it truly customizable.

 

[d1gitman]

if you want it to be customizable and part of the MM+ system, then you would need to pre-order your meal up to 60 days in advance.

 

[BayouMickey]

if you want it to be customizable and part of the MM+ system, then you would need to pre-order your meal up to 60 days in advance.

not that far fetched considering how much people plan these days..

 

[Rip]

if you want it to be customizable and part of the mm+ system, then you would need to pre-order your meal up to 60 days in advance.

lol

 

[Cyrano]

Moving to the Restaurant Boards where dining posts/questions reside

 

[havoc315]

Won't ever happen unless Disney suddenly starts facing lots of empty restaurants.

Disney no longer offers the dining plan as being a "discount." While some people who maximize the use may save a few dollars, most people would be lucky to break even.
Under the current pricing, Disney knows that they make MORE money overall by people being on the dining plan, then by people who skip the dining plan. (The overwhelming majority of guests would spend less $$$$ than the cost of the dining plan).

If you could buy each credit, then Disney would lose a lot of their power, and a lot of their profit.

Let's say you could buy only the exact number of credits you want, at a price per credit.
So let's say you could buy a TS credit for $33....

So you are planning your vacation... you may 5 TS reservations. 2 of the nights, you anticipate the TS dinners will cost $35-$40.
Of the other 3 dinner reservations --- You check out the menus, and the dinner costs should run $20-$30...

So how many TS credits are you going to buy?

That's the thing -- By packaging it all together in 1 mega package, Disney can create a false perception of savings, and they can also spread out the value you are receiving. Even if you save money on some meals, Disney can make sure you are losing money on other meals, so it all balances out in Disney's favor in the end.

But under your proposal, rational buyers would only buy meal credits when it is truly saving them money.

There are lots of ways to make the dining plan much much better for guests.... But most of those ways would cut into Disney profits.

As more people realize that the dining plan is no longer the great value it was 5 years ago... as more people realize it is usually a ripoff, and as fewer people book it, Disney *might* dramatically re-visit the plan. But as long as resort rooms and restaurants are pretty full, the plan isn't going to change dramatically in the favor of guests.

 

[BayouMickey]

Won't ever happen unless Disney suddenly starts facing lots of empty restaurants.

Disney no longer offers the dining plan as being a "discount." While some people who maximize the use may save a few dollars, most people would be lucky to break even.
Under the current pricing, Disney knows that they make MORE money overall by people being on the dining plan, then by people who skip the dining plan. (The overwhelming majority of guests would spend less $$$$ than the cost of the dining plan).

If you could buy each credit, then Disney would lose a lot of their power, and a lot of their profit.

Let's say you could buy only the exact number of credits you want, at a price per credit.
So let's say you could buy a TS credit for $33....

So you are planning your vacation... you may 5 TS reservations. 2 of the nights, you anticipate the TS dinners will cost $35-$40.
Of the other 3 dinner reservations --- You check out the menus, and the dinner costs should run $20-$30...

So how many TS credits are you going to buy?

That's the thing -- By packaging it all together in 1 mega package, Disney can create a false perception of savings, and they can also spread out the value you are receiving. Even if you save money on some meals, Disney can make sure you are losing money on other meals, so it all balances out in Disney's favor in the end.

But under your proposal, rational buyers would only buy meal credits when it is truly saving them money.

There are lots of ways to make the dining plan much much better for guests.... But most of those ways would cut into Disney profits.

As more people realize that the dining plan is no longer the great value it was 5 years ago... as more people realize it is usually a ripoff, and as fewer people book it, Disney *might* dramatically re-visit the plan. But as long as resort rooms and restaurants are pretty full, the plan isn't going to change dramatically in the favor of guests.

I absolutely see your point, but there are some dining offerings where there would be a savings..
take for instance a meal at narcoossees which is a two credit ts:
Crispy Calamari- $13.00
Butter-poached Maine Lobster Tail with Grilled Filet Mignon - $68.00
Almond-crusted Cheesecake - $8.00

that comes out to be 89.00 w/o drink and tax
if you pay for two ts creds, that's 60.00, that's around a 30.00 savings.

Now granted that's not to say you'll have that sort of savings everywhere, but it would balance out eventually.

 

[seashoreCM]

Or mix and match. A regular dining plan together with out of pocket for some additional meals after you run out of DP credits.

I don't think the dining plan was ever offered as being a discount except when it was free or unless you ate like a glutton.

With restaurants being quite well booked these days, many guests won't be able to choose the more expensive meals and this, too, will lead to instances where OOP ends up costing less.

(Note that there are some discounts on room-only reservations too, which clouds the issue about how much you save even with free dining.)

 

[havoc315]

I absolutely see your point, but there are some dining offerings where there would be a savings..
take for instance a meal at narcoossees which is a two credit ts:
Crispy Calamari- $13.00
Butter-poached Maine Lobster Tail with Grilled Filet Mignon - $68.00
Almond-crusted Cheesecake - $8.00

that comes out to be 89.00 w/o drink and tax
if you pay for two ts creds, that's 60.00, that's around a 30.00 savings.

Now granted that's not to say you'll have that sort of savings everywhere, but it would balance out eventually.

That's my point --- You would buy the 2 credits for that meal. But you would pay OOP for the $20 lunch at the Plaza. So you would only buy credits when it worked out for you. So what's Disney's incentive to do that?

Of course, the $30 is incorrect. Under current pricing, it's about $37 per TS credit. So at $74 for a 2 credit meal, that example does amount to savings. So if Disney let you simply buy credits for $37 each, this is a meal you'd buy them for.
But why would you buy the $37 credit when you're planning on a $20 lunch?

 

[BayouMickey]

That's my point --- You would buy the 2 credits for that meal. But you would pay OOP for the $20 lunch at the Plaza. So you would only buy credits when it worked out for you. So what's Disney's incentive to do that?

Of course, the $30 is incorrect. Under current pricing, it's about $37 per TS credit. So at $74 for a 2 credit meal, that example does amount to savings. So if Disney let you simply buy credits for $37 each, this is a meal you'd buy them for.
But why would you buy the $37 credit when you're planning on a $20 lunch?

I would think mostly for convenience. granted I know alot of people cannot afford that convenience, but for me, i'd spend the extra few dollars knowing that i may get a savings on another meal and not having to deal with the math at each restaurant.
like I said before, my synopsis may not be the perfect one lol, but I do believe something needs to fill in the gap between DDP and DDXP.

 

[havoc315]

I would think mostly for convenience. granted I know alot of people cannot afford that convenience, but for me, i'd spend the extra few dollars knowing that i may get a savings on another meal and not having to deal with the math at each restaurant.
like I said before, my synopsis may not be the perfect one lol, but I do believe something needs to fill in the gap between DDP and DDXP.

But now I'm confused --- You'd buy TS credits even for the meals that have no savings? And it certainly isn't very convenient, since it limits your choices and doesn't even include tip.

I'd think most people, would only buy credits for meals that having savings, and would pay OOP for the meals without savings.

If I offered you right now --- I'll pay for McDonald's extra value meals for you --- Just pre-pay me $10 per meal.... would you buy the meals from me? Wouldn't it be "convenient" to buy Extra-value-meal vouchers from me, for $10 each, instead of having to worry about the $4-$8 of each meal each time?

Or using your system, and using the Disney Dining plan:
If TS credits were $37 each...

And you planned on Dinner at Chef Mickey's...
Plus a $85 dinner at Narcoose's...
Plus a $20 lunch at the Plaza..
and a $25 dinner at Nine Dragons...

How many $37 TS credits would you buy?

 

[BayouMickey]

But now I'm confused --- You'd buy TS credits even for the meals that have no savings? And it certainly isn't very convenient, since it limits your choices and doesn't even include tip.

I'd think most people, would only buy credits for meals that having savings, and would pay OOP for the meals without savings.

If I offered you right now --- I'll pay for McDonald's extra value meals for you --- Just pre-pay me $10 per meal.... would you buy the meals from me? Wouldn't it be "convenient" to buy Extra-value-meal vouchers from me, for $10 each, instead of having to worry about the $4-$8 of each meal each time?

Or using your system, and using the Disney Dining plan:
If TS credits were $37 each...

And you planned on Dinner at Chef Mickey's...
Plus a $85 dinner at Narcoose's...
Plus a $20 lunch at the Plaza..
and a $25 dinner at Nine Dragons...

How many $37 TS credits would you buy?

It's a weird situation for sure, I can only speak on my tendencies and experiences, but I'm usually taking into an account that when booking my meals, I'm not only looking for something good to eat but also getting my money's worth.. So when I'm making my ADR's, I'm also not going to waste a ts on a sandwich from the plaza. if that makes any sense at all?

 

[havoc315]

It's a weird situation for sure, I can only speak on my tendencies and experiences, but I'm usually taking into an account that when booking my meals, I'm not only looking for something good to eat but also getting my money's worth.. So when I'm making my ADR's, I'm also not going to waste a ts on a sandwich from the plaza. if that makes any sense at all?

Exactly-- you'd pay for the sandwich OOP. You wouldn't use a TS credit.
Which is why Disney would never sell TS credits in the way you suggest.
They don't want you getting your money's worth on the ddp. ( but they want you to perceive that you are )