Going during value season, but premium dining season?

[princesswendy720]

We arrive on 12/15...we leave on 12/20. 12/15, 12/16, 12/17 and 12/18 are all considered "Value Season" at the resorts. However premium pricing on certain meals starts on the 16th. I just don't understand this. How do they differentiate between premium dining season and premium resort season. Why am I being charged the lowest hotel rate but the highest dining rate?

2 of our meals fall into the premium dining pricing/value resort pricing category.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Do those 2 meals happen to be on Dec 19 and 20th? If so that is because most Xmas week rentals will come in on Friday and Saturday

 

[RMulieri]

Because they have instituted Holiday Pricing, which do not necessarily coincide with resort rates .They consider the time up surrounding the Christmas holiday to be an increased demand on disney dining venues and the instituted this pricing to offset cost.

 

[RMulieri]

The dates thus far for Holiday pricing are as follows....!12/16/08-1/3/09
4/5-09-4/18-09
5/24/09-7/11/09

 

[princesswendy720]

I know when the holiday pricing is. The 2 meals that I'm referring to are on 12/16 and 12/17, a Tuesday and a Wednesday. We have 2 other meals that fall into the holiday pricing on 12/19 and 12/20, but as those are "holiday rate" hotel days, I can understand the price increase.

It just seems like total exploitation of a crowded time of the year to me...but that's another topic. What bothers me is that they advertise several of my days as a value time to go, but they are charging me premium dining rates. It just seems contradictory is all I'm saying.

 

[Lynne M]

The resort and dining divisions don't move in lockstep; remember that Disney resort guests aren't the only ones using the restaurants. Lots of locals come for dinner and the Christmas events.

It just seems like total exploitation of a crowded time of the year to me

You've just described "high season". This is not just a Disney thing. It's common in many resort areas. Simple case of charging what the market will bear. People are willing to pay extra to visit and dine during certain times of year, so resorts will take the opportunity to add to the bottom line.

 

[RMulieri]

Um from 12/16 of your trip till 12/20 is holiday pricing.Disney started this last year.Basically it is a time of year that disney has decided is a peak time for the dining venues ( particularly buffets and character venues), so they tack ona holiday surcharge.if you look at my PP I put the dates up that are included.They DO NOT have to coincide with the resort seasons of value,regular,holiday and peak.They are sometimes included in those times.This is not a new concept to restaurant buisnesses.many many places in destinations like La,NYC, and Chicago do this.The difference is they usually change the menus with them, so unless you are a frequqnt visitor you would not notice the increase in price.i personally don't agree with disneys policy either, but it is what it is.

 

[Tricia1972]

It may be too late for you this year, but you can try to avoid Holiday Pricing by avoiding the fixed price menu locations and choosing other Disney venues.

We ran into this the week after Easter in March of this year, where the pricing was announced after we'd already made our ADR's. We had a car so we opted to cancel our ADR's and take our money off site. We found quite a few places that we liked and felt good not giving Disney their pricing. (I am sure our little bit of money didn't affect Disney's profit/loss margin for 2008, but we felt good spending our money elsewhere)

 

[princesswendy720]

Um from 12/16 of your trip till 12/20 is holiday pricing.Disney started this last year.Basically it is a time of year that disney has decided is a peak time for the dining venues ( particularly buffets and character venues), so they tack ona holiday surcharge.if you look at my PP I put the dates up that are included.They DO NOT have to coincide with the resort seasons of value,regular,holiday and peak.They are sometimes included in those times.This is not a new concept to restaurant buisnesses.many many places in destinations like La,NYC, and Chicago do this.The difference is they usually change the menus with them, so unless you are a frequqnt visitor you would not notice the increase in price.i personally don't agree with disneys policy either, but it is what it is.

I'm not sure why you think I don't understand when it is. I know when it is, my point is that it just seems contradictory for Disney to advertise certain times of year as being a "value" (a time that Disney says is less crowded and therefore offers more enticing pricing) when in fact they are charging premium prices for certain things. It's misleading. The dates of my stay that fall into the "value" time and the premium dining time are 12/16-12/18. After 12/18 it's holiday pricing on resorts and dining. I think they should be a little more consistent with what they deam as holiday and value, considering these restaurants are Disney owned.

 

[RMulieri]

I'm not sure why you think I don't understand when it is. I know when it is, my point is that it just seems contradictory for Disney to advertise certain times of year as being a "value" when in fact they are charging premium prices for certain things. It's misleading. The dates of my stay that fall into the "value" time and the premium dining time are 12/16-12/18.

I know you understand...no need to get upset. Disney does it because it can.i know that is not an answer, but that is how it is.The dining surcharge season does not necessarily line up with resort rate season( which is what you keep quoting is value season).Value season for resorts yes, not necessarily for the restaurants.Is it a contradiction? yeah I guess so.But it is what it is.

 

[ntsammy5]

It just seems like total exploitation of a crowded time of the year to me

Bingo!

 

[catne]

two things...one, you could simply avoid the restaurants with the holiday pricing - they don't all have the increase, and none of the counter service restaurants do.

or get the dining plan...there's no surcharge for holiday prices on the dining plan. We've always found it to be a very good value.

 

[cableknit35]

We have free dining from 12/14 12/23....does the holiday pricing affect us in any way? No cm mentioned it when making ADR's?

 

[princesswendy720]

two things...one, you could simply avoid the restaurants with the holiday pricing - they don't all have the increase, and none of the counter service restaurants do.

or get the dining plan...there's no surcharge for holiday prices on the dining plan. We've always found it to be a very good value.

I do have the dining plan. We just have to pay for a couple of our meals out of pocket (Boma and 1900 Park Fare breakfasts). I don't think I should have to compromise where I'm eating, it's not a huge price difference, my point is just that Disney is sending mixed messages.

We have free dining from 12/14 12/23....does the holiday pricing affect us in any way? No cm mentioned it when making ADR's?

If you're not paying OOP for any of the meals that have a holiday surcharge, then it won't affect you. They still remain 1 TS credit on the dining plan (CRT is still 2).

This is the info from allears.net

Recently, Walt Disney World began charging a premium on certain meals and dining experiences during peak seasons. Such seasonal pricing will be implemented at the following dining locations during peak seasons:

-- 1900 Park Fare
-- Akershus
-- Biergarten
-- Boma
-- Cape May Cafe
-- Chef Mickey's
-- Cinderella's Royal Table
-- Crystal Palace
-- Garden Grill
-- Hollywood and Vine
-- Liberty Tree Tavern (dinner only)
-- 'Ohana
-- Trails End
-- Tusker House


Upcoming peak times that will see the seasonal price increases are:
November 22 - November 29, 2008
December 16, 2008 - January 3, 2009
April 5 - April 18, 2009
May 24 - July 11, 2009

 

[septbaby]

If you have the DP then the Holiday Pricing is a non issue. If you are doing some OOP and some DP then you can do one of the following to avoid the surcharge:

1. Pay for non Holiday priced meals OOP and use DP credits for Holiday priced meals.

2. Move one or both those meals to the 15th, Holiday pricing starts later

3. Choose another meal to pay OOP ie. cancel the Holiday priced meal

Finally, you are seeing this as half empty when in fact it is half full. You are getting a Discount on both your food and room due to the DP and the Value rates at a popular time of year. Be grateful that you aren't paying premiums for both your room and your food. Those arriving a week after you will be blessed with that scenario.