frustrated!

[sscassel]

BTW, I can afford to eat there, but why pay when they offer free? We have been going every yr for 10 days...lovin free dining

 

[Briarmom]

Wow...rude. It's postings like this that have gotten threads closed on the restaurant board.

We absolutely 100% CAN AFFORD to pay OOP for everything. However, if Disney wants to offer the same to us for free, we'll be happy to take it.

I can easily afford to eat at any WDW restaurant. We never get the DDP but if FD happens to become available for my dates I would book it because it would save me a lot more than a room discount since we are a family of 5 staying at a mod.

A 30% room discount would save me $459, FD would save me $1008.

I agree that the menus were better years ago but unfortunately I don't see that changing anytime soon.

I apologize. I did not mean to be rude. I just LOATHE the Dining Plan. I hate having to plan every minute of my vacation. If I (or someone in my family) wants to eat somewhere, I miss being able to just eat there and not have to worry about it 6 months in advance.

The service and the menus have gone way downhill as well.

I have lots of reasons, but will leave it at that.

 

[DisMN]

That is a 15 year span! I would wager 75% of the restaurants in the tourist areas have hacked their menus in 15 years. I don't see it as a free dining thing, its a we need more profit issue. Lobster is long gone from most menus in our area, people were not willing to pay the high price for it. Why have 35 items on the menu if 15 are selling consistently? It would be nice but most places do not operate that way anymore. Without the dining plan or free dining I think Disney would have dumbed down the menus.

Your correct, free dining is NOT free. You are paying rack room rate. But for many it is a savings IF they chose to go that way.

My bad. I was looking at my oldest menu which was 1995, the first year I started collecting them. The menus stayed virtually the same through the 90's right up through the first year of the dining plan.
DH and I saw the menus change a little bit the first year they introduced the *free dining*. The second year of the free dining the changes in the menu listings were dramatic. I mean an entire menu of unusual, fun, different, unique foods, as well as lobster and high end steaks wiped completely off the list. There was a point that year when I started asking the waitresses what happened. All they did was shrug and say things like "Yeah, it really is a big change isn't it. People don't seem too happy with the missing menu items."

I do wish people would at least admit the dining plan completely trashed the menu choices. It is what it is but when I'm sitting here looking right at the old menus and see a gigantic change from one year to the next (when prior to that the only changes would be on weekly specials, or at restaurants where they were serving seasonal items)... well, what's to argue...the changes were a direct result of the dining plan. LOL
C'maaaan, just admit it.

I apologize. I did not mean to be rude. I just LOATHE the Dining Plan. I hate having to plan every minute of my vacation. If I (or someone in my family) wants to eat somewhere, I miss being able to just eat there and not have to worry about it 6 months in advance.

The service and the menus have gone way downhill as well.

I have lots of reasons, but will leave it at that.

I come off rude too when it comes to my dislike of the dining plan so I apologize too. I just hate seeing what's become of restaurants I could escape to and eat different things than I could find at home.

And don't get me started on that 6 months advance meal planning business. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa *insert crazed, wild eyed scream here* LOL




Now I feel I have to apologize to the OP as well, for once again taking her thread way off track. Sorry!

 

[DisMN]

p.s. I'm guessing this thread'll be heading to the Restaurant board soon.

 

[C.Ann]

I don't have any plans to visit WDW in the near future - maybe even never again - but if I did, I would much prefer a really good room discount to the free dining plan..

I also think another incentive for the free dining is to keep people on-site as much as possible.. I've read many complaints - both for and against the free dining.. I guess it all boils down to personal preferences..

As for the Pop Warner week - been there, done that.. Not all that much of an impact on the parks, but their behavior at the resorts was totally out of control.. They either need better chaperones - or more chaperones..

 

[bumbershoot]

OP, glad things worked out for you.

I just LOATHE the Dining Plan. I hate having to plan every minute of my vacation. If I (or someone in my family) wants to eat somewhere, I miss being able to just eat there and not have to worry about it 6 months in advance.

FWIW, we're not doing the Plan, but I have one table service planned for each day, and the rest will be at counter/quick service, or at the villa, etc. Not all that unlike the plans one needs to make to use the DDP. Except for us, if we want to share, we will. (and I actually think that you can share if you're both on the plan, but then you have to worry about using the unused credits)

 

[Jennasis]

I must be the crazy minority. I LOVE planning every detail of our trip, right down to the TS and CS meals each day...yes even six months in advance. DH and I are so nutty about WDW that we even check the menus months out and plan what we are likely going to order! I am also not an adventurous eater so a simpler menu is totally fine with me. In fact, as a kid, I remember how I used to complain about the Disney menus because they were "too weird".

 

[eliza61]

I must be the crazy minority. I LOVE planning every detail of our trip, right down to the TS and CS meals each day...yes even six months in advance. DH and I are so nutty about WDW that we even check the menus months out and plan what we are likely going to order! I am also not an adventurous eater so a simpler menu is totally fine with me. In fact, as a kid, I remember how I used to complain about the Disney menus because they were "too weird".

You're not that crazy. I used to love planning my vacations also. I think that's what's upsetting me about the quality issues at the restaurants. I really did look forward to a vacation of having great meals without cooking. Now I really rather cook in my villa because I know my disney meal (with a few exceptions) will be sad. That depresses me, when my kids were smaller, the 10 days of not cooking and not having nightly "what's for dinner" drama was my vacation.
I would go for a simpler menu if it was a "good" simpler menu. Sorry on what planet is the food they serve at Tony's Town square even mildly good Italian. come on, it's supposed to be a bit better than Olive Garden but it's not.
I don't even look at the menus anymore. outside of the signature restaurants (which are 2 ts) it will be a mediocre event at best.

 

[Jennasis]

You're not that crazy. I used to love planning my vacations also. I think that's what's upsetting me about the quality issues at the restaurants. I really did look forward to a vacation of having great meals without cooking. Now I really rather cook in my villa because I know my disney meal (with a few exceptions) will be sad. That depresses me, when my kids were smaller, the 10 days of not cooking and not having nightly "what's for dinner" drama was my vacation.
I would go for a simpler menu if it was a "good" simpler menu. Sorry on what planet is the food they serve at Tony's Town square even mildly good Italian. come on, it's supposed to be a bit better than Olive Garden but it's not.
I don't even look at the menus anymore. outside of the signature restaurants (which are 2 ts) it will be a mediocre event at best.

Understandable. I haven't eaten at TTS since I was 4 and remember the meal being mediocre back then too. I stick to the higher end places and signature restaurants and places I know I like. There are a couple of restaurants I avoid like the plague (TTS, CP, Sci-Fi Dine-In etc)

 

[Praying Colonel]

The idea that WDW should get rid of free dining is probably one shared by the CFO, who said earlier this year that they want to wean guests off discounts. Unfortunately for him (and those who want it to end), the recent extension of free dining shows that Disney still needs help getting guests onsite and increasing park attendance, so it's not going away anytime soon, IMHO.

It's probably the cheapest way for Disney to increase hotel capacity/park attendance. In order to get the "free" dining guests are not only required to stay on site but also pay rack rate.