Gratuity to be removed from DDP!!

[SnowWitch]

I have to chime in on the issue of service. Last trip we had exceptional serivce at 9 of our TS experiences. Only 1 was poor and it was at the Kona Cafe but we had great service there at the end of the trip from another server. I don't know that its the DDp as much as its just a ad server, plan or no plan.

 

[bookgirl2632]

I have to chime in on the issue of service. Last trip we had exceptional serivce at 9 of our TS experiences. Only 1 was poor and it was at the Kona Cafe but we had great service there at the end of the trip from another server. I don't know that its the DDp as much as its just a ad server, plan or no plan.

I can second this. We had excellent service at each of our 7 TS places while on the DDP. I'm sure some have received bad service at times, but I don't think you can chalk it up to the DDP.

 

[Disney8704]

How do u figure disney isnt loosing money? For just under $40 u get 1 CS and TS meal and a snack, plus tip. Say you go to do this:

CS Meal for Lunch - Cosmic Rays - 1/2 Chicken and BBQ Rib Combination ($13.99), Triple Chocolate Cake ($2.49), Coke ($2.39) = $18.87

Snack - Mickey's Premium Ice Cream Bar - $2.50

TS Meal for Dinner - LTT - $27.99 plus 18% tip = $33.03

TOTAL $54.40

PRICE FOR DDP = $38.99

DISNEY LOOSES = $15.41

And thats just for 1 day.

Quote" You have to think about it. Disney is loosing money with people buying into the DDP. No company, not even Disney wanna loose money."


Get for real ! Disney has never lost money
Thier goal is to keep you on property for all your spending dollars !
Disney is probably just thinking of a typical cheapo thing, that they can impose on thier cast members...

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

Well, that is too bad. I was going to add Disney Dining Plan on our April 2008 trip. But with no gratuity, it does not make financial sense for us.

 

[Jenniww]

Disney is making less but they are not losing money!!!! Thats for sure. Those meals would cost much less outside of the world. Disney does not pay anymore for thier food then other chain restuarants.

 

[rie'smom]

Our trip in a couple of weeks will mark the first time we try the DDP. It will also be the last. The only reason that I booked it in the first place was because it was inclusive. I would have supplemented the tip for excellent service.

 

[marivaid]

How do u figure disney isnt loosing money? For just under $40 u get 1 CS and TS meal and a snack, plus tip. Say you go to do this:

CS Meal for Lunch - Cosmic Rays - 1/2 Chicken and BBQ Rib Combination ($13.99), Triple Chocolate Cake ($2.49), Coke ($2.39) = $18.87

Snack - Mickey's Premium Ice Cream Bar - $2.50

TS Meal for Dinner - LTT - $27.99 plus 18% tip = $33.03

TOTAL $54.40

PRICE FOR DDP = $38.99

DISNEY LOOSES = $15.41

And thats just for 1 day.

But you have to remember that if it wasn't for the DDP a lot of people wouldn't eat on property as much, or even at all. So Disney is making money, though of course less than if everyone paid full price for everything. The food itself doesn't cost anywhere near that much. I'd be surprised if the food at LTT cost Disney more than $10 per person! Seems to me from a business point of view that it's better to get $40 from a guest instead of $55, than to get nothing at all.

IMO the goal of the DDP, combined with Magical Express,is to keep you on property and make sure your money goes in their pockets. Disney is losing money with DME since it's free, they could be charging for it but they wouldn't get as many guests to use it & get "trapped" on property.

 

[mumom95]

I haven't read all the posts on this thread, but I wanted to chime in on losing money with the dining plan.

One thing you have to remember is that alcohol is not included in the ddp. The ddp has more people eating at TS restaurants than if there was no ddp. And more people going to TS restaurants probably means there is a lot more people ordering drinks (because without the ddp the people might be eating counter service instead). So a family sits down, deciding what to eat. They can choose anything they want, it is already paid for. Heck, mom and dad say, lets have a drink, since we don't have to pay for anything else.

Anyway, I have no proof that this happens, but I have a feeling it does. JMHO.

 

[Nancyg56]

How do u figure disney isnt loosing money? For just under $40 u get 1 CS and TS meal and a snack, plus tip. Say you go to do this:

CS Meal for Lunch - Cosmic Rays - 1/2 Chicken and BBQ Rib Combination ($13.99), Triple Chocolate Cake ($2.49), Coke ($2.39) = $18.87

Snack - Mickey's Premium Ice Cream Bar - $2.50

TS Meal for Dinner - LTT - $27.99 plus 18% tip = $33.03

TOTAL $54.40

PRICE FOR DDP = $38.99

DISNEY LOOSES = $15.41

And thats just for 1 day.

That's the price the customer pays. The cost to Disney is much less than that. Disney may not be making as much of a profit when the DDP is used but they have the money upfront and have a guarantee that the customer is remaining on site for the bulk of their meals. I imagine that Disney priced teh plan in order to at least break even. If the customer purchases any extra, especially alcohol, they are ahead.

 

[MarieA]

I can second this. We had excellent service at each of our 7 TS places while on the DDP. I'm sure some have received bad service at times, but I don't think you can chalk it up to the DDP.

We also had excellent service at each of our 8 TS restaurants while on the DDP. I really can't remember having bad service anywhere over the past several years.

 

[Colleen27]

How do u figure disney isnt loosing money? For just under $40 u get 1 CS and TS meal and a snack, plus tip. Say you go to do this:
.

It isn't something that can be looked at in isolation, though. Disney takes that $15 loss on a day's meals to make much more than that on the room that was booked to have access to the dining plan, on any add-ons to the meal (from people like us who like wine with dinner, even if it is $10/glass), and on the fact that more people spend their entire trip on Disney property rather than spending money elsewhere in Orlando.

 

[Praying Colonel]

We also had excellent service at each of our 8 TS restaurants while on the DDP. I really can't remember having bad service anywhere over the past several years.

We're the same way. Here's what I said from our 8/06 dining reviews:

--Service: We were so impressed with the quality of service we received throughout the week at our TS restaurants. We never had to wait longer than 10 minutes past our scheduled ADR time, and we were sometimes seated well before our scheduled time. We were always asked ahead of time if anyone in our family had any food allergies or dietary restrictions. I expected our servers to be at least a little disinterested once they learned we were on DDP, since they were guaranteed an 18% tip. Not only did this not happen, but at several of our meals we received the best service I've ever had at any restaurant. Our servers handled our DDP very nicely, never making us feel like 2nd-class citizens and oftentimes pointing out certain things we could do to maximize our DDP usage. It was really a magical experience.

 

[Disney8704]

OK, you all make valid points. BUT, IMHO Disney isnt loosing money with ME. I bet you anything they are making you pay something towards ME in the room rate, regardless you are using ME or not. They know probably about at least 80% of the people are using ME so therefor they raise the price up of the room to not only include the new year room rates but to also include ME. NOTHING in this world is free. Not even the prizes you win down there for YOAMD. Not only did the trip cost you $ but there is taxes that you have to pay on the prizes. Even those who won just being at home. Still costed them the money for a stamp and a post card or index card.

 

[marivaid]

OK, you all make valid points. BUT, IMHO Disney isnt loosing money with ME. I bet you anything they are making you pay something towards ME in the room rate, regardless you are using ME or not. They know probably about at least 80% of the people are using ME so therefor they raise the price up of the room to not only include the new year room rates but to also include ME. NOTHING in this world is free. Not even the prizes you win down there for YOAMD. Not only did the trip cost you $ but there is taxes that you have to pay on the prizes. Even those who won just being at home. Still costed them the money for a stamp and a post card or index card.

Very true ! Every discount or freebie we get at Disney, we can be sure that we actually paid for it at some point.

 

[Mad4Dizne]

I would have to say we would definately change our mind about the DDP, if this were the case. We like the prepaid nature of it and not having to worry about carrying around extra $$$. We would probably change our plans and do alot more breakfast buffets, counter service meals........

[We LOVE Disney but PS-Disney rarely looses money on anything....look at the annual stock holders report!!!]

 

[Nancyg56]

OK, you all make valid points. BUT, IMHO Disney isnt loosing money with ME. I bet you anything they are making you pay something towards ME in the room rate, regardless you are using ME or not. They know probably about at least 80% of the people are using ME so therefor they raise the price up of the room to not only include the new year room rates but to also include ME. NOTHING in this world is free. Not even the prizes you win down there for YOAMD. Not only did the trip cost you $ but there is taxes that you have to pay on the prizes. Even those who won just being at home. Still costed them the money for a stamp and a post card or index card.

Exactly. By providing ME and the meal plan Disney has provided an incentive to persuade their potential customers that it is more attractive and convenient to stay on Disney property and to spend the bulk of their vacation budget in Disney theme parks, hotels and restaurants than it is to stay off site. There is no such thing as a free ride. By changing the cost structure of any perk, Disney is asking their customers to determine how much they value the incentives they have provided.

There is a cost included in the package, as there is in most things. The question Disney must answer is how much are their customers willing to pay for their free" ride or the DDP.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

If Disney is losing money on the DDP -- how could they offer it for free to thousands of people over the last three years? The issue of removing the gratuity from DDP comes down to one thing...bargaining tactics. It's really a game of politics, nothing else.

 

[kaytieeldr]

NOTHING in this world is free. Not even the prizes you win down there for YOAMD. Not only did the trip cost you $ but there is taxes that you have to pay on the prizes.

OT, I know – but read the list of rules and prizes again. Each (major, aka over $600 value) prize INCLUDES money to pay the taxes on that prize.

 

[IncredibleEdna]

I wouldn't even consider the DDP if the tip isn't included. It will just add too much to our OOP costs that it would no longer be a deal for us. We'll go one last time with it the way it is and will never do it again.

I totally agree with you, if that is the case, I can't imagine that we would purchase the DDP either if they change that. That actually ruins the whole idea of having the plan and paying ahead so that your vacation is paid for ahead of time.

I can honestly say that if that change happens we would probably pay on our own for our meals and just cut back.

 

[IncredibleEdna]

How do u figure disney isnt loosing money? For just under $40 u get 1 CS and TS meal and a snack, plus tip. Say you go to do this:

CS Meal for Lunch - Cosmic Rays - 1/2 Chicken and BBQ Rib Combination ($13.99), Triple Chocolate Cake ($2.49), Coke ($2.39) = $18.87

Snack - Mickey's Premium Ice Cream Bar - $2.50

TS Meal for Dinner - LTT - $27.99 plus 18% tip = $33.03

TOTAL $54.40

PRICE FOR DDP = $38.99

DISNEY LOOSES = $15.41

And thats just for 1 day.

I agree that the DDP is a great deal! As far as Disney losing $$$$....well...I would think that by the time they measure their actual cost on foods and the fact that their restaurants are now booked to capacity a lot of the time, I would think that their bottom line hasn't changed too much. PLUS.....they have your money 45 days ahead of time!!! I remember years ago, before the DDP, I never had a problem getting a reservation.

We used the DDP for the first time this past trip, most meals we shared appetizer's and dessert's as we usually do, skipped dessert on at least 1/2 of our CS meals and left our vacation with 2 CS meals and 8 snacks that we hadn't used. I have figured it out and we still came out ahead, and it was easy because we had paid for it ahead of time. That was the bonus for us.