From now on I will never tell them I'm on the dining plan again....

[imthatgirl]

This will likely not endear you to the servers, as they will have to run the entire order again, and might result in more time before you can leave.

It didn't take any more time when we dined at WCC. He was still back with our card in probably 2 minutes. I also don't really care if they dislike me after I've paid them.

 

[imthatgirl]

I wonder if management doesn't encourage this to get the DDP people in and out, as Disney already has their money?

Could be.

 

[TDC Nala]

I do not believe guests are treated indifferently or badly because they are on the dining plan. I think WDW as a whole (but most especially in restaurants inside the theme parks) is moving to the "get em in and move em out" method of pacing seating at restaurants. Either they believe this is what the guests want so they can get back to having fun in the park, or they want to move as many guests as possible through restaurants suddenly in greater demand because there is a dining plan in the first place. If this is the case, withholding dining plan information until the end of the meal will not guarantee you meals without this sort of thing happening. There are equally as many reports of this from guests who are not on the dining plan.

 

[imthatgirl]

I do not believe guests are treated indifferently or badly because they are on the dining plan. I think WDW as a whole is moving to the "get em in and move em out" method of pacing seating at restaurants. Either they believe this is what the guests want so they can get back to having fun in the park, or they want to move as many guests as possible through restaurants suddenly in greater demand because there is a dining plan in the first place. If this is the case, withholding dining plan information until the end of the meal will not guarantee you meals without this sort of thing happening. There are equally as many reports of this from guests who are not on the dining plan.

It was plain to see that she was treating the people not on the dining plan differently then us and another table who were on the plan. I took notice of this. It absolutely, in this case, was because we were on the dining plan.

 

[jdisnut]

I'm not sure what you don't understand. She asked us to order our dessert because we were on the plan...she did not ask the surrounding tables to do the same. It absolutely was because we were in the plan.

Certainly she could have asked us if we were in a hurry. we weren't. To assume so is poor on her part. But again she wasn't hurrying the other tables. she just wasn't interested in serving our table. It was clear.

I'm sorry I don't understand why dining at WDW and dining elsewhere is different at all. Some people will be in a hurry, some won't. All servers deal with this...a good one learns to read her guests and asks good questions. Doesn't matter where they work. I also don't think the fact that you being in a hurry once in a while has an bearing on my meal, I was not in a hurry, plain and simple.

I understand what you're saying, and you absolutely could be correct! It's definitely possible that the server rushed you through the meal because you were using the dining plan, that she actually treated you differently than other tables. It, unfortunately, wouldn't be the first time that happened to somebody, though I argue it happens much less often than most posters here seem to think.

All that said, I don't think it's necessarily to base your judgement entirely on your perception about how this particular server treated other tables in comparison to yours. I'm not sure how you can say it was "clear" that she wasn't rushing everybody in her section, unless you were simply listening closely to every interaction she had with every party around you. If that's what you did, and you know with complete certainty that she only rushed groups using the dining plan, I agree that she was in the wrong. I suppose I could never be that sure, because I'd never spend a meal worrying about how the server behaved around the rest of her tables.

I wonder if management doesn't encourage this to get the DDP people in and out, as Disney already has their money?

I doubt management encourages this practice, but I'm sure some servers take it upon themselves. Regardless, I think the servers have been trained to emphasize speed at every theme park restaurant. Frankly, I think that's the right approach. Most diners in the restaurant want to get in and out quickly. This is nothing new, and it doesn't help that the demand for the tables is at an all-time high because of the dining plan. I remember reading a Disney World from guidebook from 1996 that stressed that the restaurants were about speed over quality, so if you want a leisurely paced meal, make that clear to the server up front. The status quo is to move quickly. And that was well before the dining plan existed.

You are awesome.

Not sure what I did, but I appreciate the sentiment!

This will likely not endear you to the servers, as they will have to run the entire order again, and might result in more time before you can leave.

Excellent point. I didn't even touch that part of the whole situation.

 

[TDC Nala]

It was plain to see that she was treating the people not on the dining plan differently then us and another table who were on the plan. I took notice of this. It absolutely, in this case, was because we were on the dining plan.

You said you were on the dining plan but are annoyed that she asked the other table about appetizers and not you - but you're on the dining plan, it doesn't include appetizers. I am guessing you were either on deluxe or you expected her to ask about appetizers anyway. You apparently, from being a server yourself, have very specific standards about what a server should do, and she didn't meet these standards. Personally if a server asked me to order dessert immediately I'd just have said "no thanks, I'll order it later" and never thought twice about it.

I do not believe WDW in general "discriminates" against dining plan users in any fashion. Likely it may be an issue with individual servers.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

I'm kind of surprised that so many people aren't aware of this happening. This has been mentioned in the UG for years. They state that many of the restaurants will ask for your entire order up front, then deliver your entree before you're finished with your appetizer, and dessert before you're finished with your entree. It's to turn the table as quickly as possible. IF you want a leisurely meal, they advise to say something like "I haven't decided on an entree yet. I'll decide by the time you bring our appetizer".

It didn't take any more time when we dined at WCC. He was still back with our card in probably 2 minutes.

Last time I was on the plan we had dinner at the restaurant in France. I could have swore we told the waitress we were on the plan but she didn't realize it. When she brought us our bill and realized we were on the plan it was a big to-do. She had to find a manager to void out our exisiting check, item by item, then re-ring the order. Maybe things have changed...

I also don't really care if they dislike me after I've paid them.

Really nice attitude...

 

[imthatgirl]

I'm kind of surprised that so many people aren't aware of this happening. This has been mentioned in the UG for years. They state that many of the restaurants will ask for your entire order up front, then deliver your entree before you're finished with your appetizer, and dessert before you're finished with your entree. It's to turn the table as quickly as possible. IF you want a leisurely meal, they advise to say something like "I haven't decided on an entree yet. I'll decide by the time you bring our appetizer".



Last time I was on the plan we had dinner at the restaurant in France. I could have swore we told the waitress we were on the plan but she didn't realize it. When she brought us our bill and realized we were on the plan it was a big to-do. She had to find a manager to void out our exisiting check, item by item, then re-ring the order. Maybe things have changed...



Really nice attitude...

Sorry I just don't care that everyone I encounter likes me. Most adults I find feel the same way.

Again, she didn't ask the people who were not on the plan to order everything at once. so in UG do they mention that this is only policy for people on the dining plan. Why should we be treated differently?

Things must have changed, because it was no big deal, at least to our server at WCC.

 

[imthatgirl]

You said you were on the dining plan but are annoyed that she asked the other table about appetizers and not you - but you're on the dining plan, it doesn't include appetizers. I am guessing you were either on deluxe or you expected her to ask about appetizers anyway. You apparently, from being a server yourself, have very specific standards about what a server should do, and she didn't meet these standards. Personally if a server asked me to order dessert immediately I'd just have said "no thanks, I'll order it later" and never thought twice about it.

I do not believe WDW in general "discriminates" against dining plan users in any fashion. Likely it may be an issue with individual servers.

We were on the regular dining plan. why would that make a difference in her asking us about appetizers? sorry but that makes no sense what so ever.

 

[TDC Nala]

Because guests on the regular dining plan generally do not order appetizers as they are not included in the plan. I find this somewhat logical, although it does not preclude the possibility that regular dining plan guests might want to order appetizers anyway, and I wouldn't consider it "discrimination" against dining plan users. Unfortunately we are now in the "get em in and move 'em out" era in the theme park restaurants so a lot of corners are being cut.

 

[imthatgirl]

Because guests on the regular dining plan generally do not order appetizers as they are not included in the plan. I find this somewhat logical, although it does not preclude the possibility that regular dining plan guests might want to order appetizers anyway. Unfortunately we are now in the "get em in and move 'em out" era in the theme park restaurants so a lot of corners are being cut.

Since when? We always order an app. To not even offer it is poor service. to "size us up" as people who wouldn't just because we are on the plan is absolutely treating us different because we are on it.
I did not order it at that point because I was over the meal there at that point.

sorry but since her job revolves around selling us as much as possible I don't find it logical what so ever.

 

[jdisnut]

Since when? We always order an app. To not even offer it is poor service. to "size us up" as people who wouldn't just because we are on the plan is absolutely treating us different because we are on it.
I did not order it at that point because I was over the meal there at that point.

sorry but since her job revolves around selling us as much as possible I don't find it logical what so ever.

I actually agree with many of your points, but why are you writing with such an argumentative tone? Nobody else in this thread is at this point, and I think a lot of people sympathize with your plight!

At the end of the day (excuse cliche used out of laziness), was your meal truly affected by this server asking you to order dessert up front? It seems like you simply had to say, "No thanks, we'll wait until the end of the meal," and that's the end of it! If the server pestered you or pressured you after you politely declined her request, that's another story. But it seems like she respected your wishes and moved on. I advise you to do the same.

 

[mickeynut1]

I agree that I don't think it had anything to do with you being on the DDP. We have always gotten the DDP and we have never experienced bad service. I have read reports that some people have had mediocre service when the plan included the tip as some felt that the CM didn't have to work for their tip since it was already included. But we have had the DDP both with and without the tip included, and we have never had any troubles.....we've had the same great service whether we had to pay tips OOP or not. I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but I honestly don't think it was due to you being on the dining plan.

 

[jenjifer]

I wonder if management doesn't encourage this to get the DDP people in and out, as Disney already has their money?

Ding ding ding ding ding, I think we have a winner.

We had the same sort of rushed experience at Coral Reef. It was our first meal at Disney, our first time using the Dining Plan, and our server let out an audible sigh when we told him we were on the plan. I figured that was going to be our experience at every meal: fortunately it wasn't.

But I agree, I did witness people NOT on the DDP getting better service than those who are not.

 

[lesabrowning]

I have never felt that we were treated poorly because of a dining plan. We have used the regular or deluxe dining plan on probably 90% of our trips, and we go once or twice a year on average and have for more the past 15 years. I have never felt rushed, never been asked to order everything up front and honestly, can't even think of any terrible service. (sometimes it is just average, but usually it is good) We live in a major US city and dine out frequently in "real life" so I don't think I have low service expectations either. I think there will always be situations where a particular server or customer is having a bad day, but I do not think this is the norm at WDW.

 

[DaniB]

Over 7 months leading up to our first trip, I kept reading posts from people saying they had bad experiences with servers once they said they were on the DDP. For a variety of reasons.

I'm happy to report we never had any issues!! Even though there were a couple of times a server had to redo our bill, either forgetting we were on the DDP or we forgot to mention it.

We did feel rushed at Ohana's, but I don't blame the server. It was crazy busy in there!

I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[Kay1]

I have to say that I have been asked if we're ready to place the whole order when we order appetizers, but I have never, ever, ever been asked to order dessert before eating the meal. But we've never been on the DDP, either.

 

[Wendy5055]

Here is my input...I know you are all waiting...

Whenever I dine out at a table service restaurant (in or out of Disney), I most certainly EXPECT to be asked if I would like to order an appetizer (regardless of what type of plan I happen to be on), entree and at (what I feel) the appropriate time...AFTER my meal...dessert.

That is just MHO. I simply will not and do not tolerate bad service...inattentiveness or rude behavior (including comments). I am not rude or obnoxious or even overly demanding...I want to ENJOY my meal.

Needless to say, I am aware when a server is new and DO display tolerance and manners on my end.

If there is an issue that is affecting the enjoyment of my meal, I will certainly speak with management (and have). The issue is usually resolved to my satisfaction and I do not hold grudges...my DD9 however, holds grudges and remembers people AND names...future husband beware!!!!

 

[MickeyNicki]

That is why I do not tell them about my TIW card until the very end when the check comes.

THey always ask if we are on the dining plan and I say no...they didnt ask if I had the TIW card so technically I am not fibbing.

 

[shalom]

so in UG do they mention that this is only policy for people on the dining plan. Why should we be treated differently?

If I remember rightly, the Unofficial Guide recommends that anyone visiting WDW use that technique to slow things down, not just those on the dining plan. Their argument is that Disney wants to move everyone through as fast as they can, and if you want to slow things down then refusing to order your appetizers until you've got your drinks, or your main course until you have your appetizers is the way to go.

I have wondered if being on the Dining Plan may up your odds of poor service because you can make your reservations ten days before those who aren't staying at WDW -- meaning it's easier to get reservations at the most popular times. If those times are when the restaurants are busiest, or when they're most likely to have overbooked, then that's going to have some negative fallout.