Has DDP ruined your dining experience?

[FriendsOfEeyore]

I was thinking back to our first visits. We did lots of planning and booked some PS's. When in the parks, we could go up and ask for a seat at a TS w/o a PS and still have a chance to get in fairly quickly.

It seems as if that does not exist anymore. We usually plan our trips very late. Take whatever room at whatever resort we can get thru DVC, but we are particular when it comes to eating at some of our farvorite TS. When we were the last April, we could not get into any of the sit down restaraunts for lunch or dinner at the MK.

It was an unexpected trip, as my father in law had passed away. He lived just south of WDW. My DW wanted to spend a day @ the MK after the funeral. We were there for a couple days, but only booked the trip a week out and as I said we could not get into a sit down meal.

So, as my title suggests..... Has DDP ruined your dining experience? Or just changed the way that you prepare?

Thanks,

Edward

 

[waltsgirl]

It hasn't ruined our trips at all. We have always planned our meals in advanced anyway!

 

[loribell]

I don't think I would say that it has ruined it. We used DDP for our trip last month. It actually got me to finally try some of the places I have always wanted to try but would never do because of the cost.

I do believe that it has caused some not so good changes, like the standardized menu's, poor service and need to completely plan so far in advance, no room for spontenaity.

We will probably never do it again. But I do now know that we love LeCellier and will go ahead and book it occasionally for trips in the future.

Lori

 

[MINNIE OF TWO MICE]

First, sorry to hear about your FIL. To answer your question, it has changed the way we prepare and more so every trip. However I dont let it get me down. We always have a planned trip to the world. Anything spur of the moment doesnt involve a flight. I can imagine it being frustrating for those that are able to though. I would be.

Our first trip with DDP was a test and did the restaurants recommended by family or friends. (was nice for us but learning) The second time on DDP, we were better prepared and probably our best trip as far as DDP. Third trip with DDP we only had four nights because we were leaving for the cruise. Alot of the ressies that we wanted to make, we couldnt because of openings. Keeping in mind we made our one day after we were able to. We tried some new but still got our most important to us California Grill and Ohanas.

Saying all above, next trip we will make the lastest seating as not to miss our favorite night time stuff and not mess up our daytime stuff because of having to leave early. We always go in December so we have to deal with early park closings. We will have less table service. We have always enjoyed the Character breakfast and that doesnt interfere with anything. We will eat more at the parks and less at the resorts except our favorite two. Ohanas we always do our first night, Cali Grill we have to dress accordingly so I will watch the schedule and plan that right. I will never do just four night again it is not enough time for our family. We will have to alternate years with the cruise and the parks. By the way, it was our first cruise and it is a must do for everyone.

Probably tooooooooooooooooo much info, maybe I should have been on the trip report board! HTH

 

[FriendsOfEeyore]

Not too much info....

You can never have too much info on the DIS.

I was reviewing Deb's site, checking many of the menus and realized that the standardization has occured. I do not feel that this is a good thing.

The part that is probably better for most visitors is that they are signing up for DDP and making ADRs. Most first time visitors may not be aware of such options unless they read the DIS.

I just find it interesting how so many of the restaraunts are at capacity 4 and 5 months out. This is obviously a good thing for WDW, but not so good for us late planners...

 

[wdw4us2]

Not too much info....

I was reviewing Deb's site, checking many of the menus and realized that the standardization has occured. I do not feel that this is a good thing.

I couldn't agree with you more. Many of the restaurants have lost their signature dishes since DDP was instituted. I'm sure that Disney is making a lot more money in that it's cheaper to have the same food offerings at most of their locations, but it has really changed the dining experience.

We have also had Cast Members we know say they are not happy with the changes since DDP was instituted. They are earning less in tips and they are serving more people per day than they used to.

We also miss the spontaniety of our plans. We can no longer count on being able to eat where we like to if we plan a last minute trip. We are finding that we can't get the ADR's we'd like to have unless our trip is planned at least 6 months in advance.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We have always planned ahead so nothing has changed since the DDP.

I am sad, however, at the menu changes but I would hate to automatically blame the DDP for that; though the timing lines up right I'd like to just think that WDW is a money making machine that continues to sacrifice quality and uniqueness in the name of money (the list of things that USED to be at WDW that has been done away in the name of money is very long and didn't start with the menu's!). But I'm sure the DDP played a role in that progression.

 

[blueroses]

dons flamesuit

While I do think the crowds and rushed service have ruined the ambiance of some of the nicer resort restaurants, mostly the DDP has decreased my enjoyment of reading the restaurant boards here at the DIS. It's like you can't talk about the food anymore without some reference to the dining plan. "Is this restaurant worth 2 TS?" "Why can I get a smoothie here, but not there and is it a beverage or a dessert?" "My child doesn't like the food on the children's menu, but I refuse to order off the adult menu because I already paid for the dining plan." "Should I OOP or DDP this?" "I would eat there, but it's not a dining plan restaurant." And so on and so forth. It just gets so tedious.

There, I said it. Flame away.

 

[MINNIE OF TWO MICE]

Its okay blueroses. Everyone has an opinion, thats what makes the world go around!!! Your right also. While I work my way through the DDP, if we wanted to eat somewhere else we would. I dont take pictures of my food but have to say I enjoy the pictures everyone has taken!! Some of the post are trying sometimes and those are the ones I just pass by. No flamesuit needed here. I needed to borrow it from you earllier in the week and but quit the thread instead!!!!!

 

[FriendsOfEeyore]

BlueRoses:

You hit on one of the things that led to ask the initial question. I think that the DIS did us a favor when they created the DDP board.

Another question for everyone:

Do you think that the average Disney visitor knew about PS and / or ADRs prior to the DDP? How about now.... Has the average visitor learned about them? By average visitor, I am not talking about most of the ppl on this board, because most of us anything but the casual visitor.

 

[Bride2Be0705]

I can't say it's 'ruined' anything, but the standardization of menus is a problem, as is the removal of a few of the places we REALLY enjoyed the last time, or the 'cost' going up (and having to use 2 credits vs 1).

Like this time, we wanted to eat at Fulton's & Cinderella's Royal Table; however, Fulton's has been removed (as has Rainforest Cafe- a place not dear to me, but that my niece wanted to eat at) and Cindy's is now a 2 credit experience, with small, uneventful menu.

Many of the menus at places we have enjoyed have changed too, mostly in part, I think, because SO many people are using the DDP. I think the DDP is a great idea, in the sense that it makes things fairly easy and you don't have to try to plan ahead for the cost of meals. We'll continue to use it, but I hope these changes don't continue and force us not to.

 

[GC&S]

Before we had dd, we didn't plan anything about our trips - except the dates. We would go to whatever park we decided when we got up and ate whenever the mood struck us. We rarely made PS/ADR's - and even years ago would get turned away from restaurants (before DDP). Once we were traveling with a child, we planned our days much more. Then the DDP came along and for us, it was kind of a blessing because we really had to get into planning mode which made our trips with our dd go much smoother.

So no, the DDP has not ruined anything. It has made it better for us. Our last trip was Sept/Oct and I can't say anything negative about the service while on the DDP. We were treated wonderfully as was our dd. We tended to get some not so great seating (but we tend to have that problem at home - they see us coming with a small child and we usually end up by the kitchen ). Where did we have the worst service? Portobellos (not on the DDP).

 

[ncbyrne]

It has definitely changed the way we plan - no more winging it- CDRs are necessary every day. But, this change is a good change for us. We have used 2 TS credits for the better restaurants and HDDR, and if we split CS meals, we still get our meals paid for in advance - a major plus.

 

[NMW]

I would say that "no" it has not ruined our dining experience. We have ALWAYS planned far out. In fact, since the OP mentioned DVC, when we bought our DVC membership at the BWV I was completely freaked out by the fact the EARLIEST I could book our trip was 11 mos out. I was a person who booked 12-14 mos ahead. I booked all our dining on exactly the first day I could and rarely changed anything.

We have certain restaurants that are "must dos" for both of us and certain traditions. We also are fairly picky about the resorts we stay at also. To me, I know that if I want a 2 bedroom villa with a boardwalk view, I have to book it early as possible through DVC. Dining is the same way, to get the places/times we want, we have to book early. Going to WDW and having a great time requires planning for our family.

One of my closest friends went with about no planning, in June no less! She booked one thing-a princess breakfast because I baggered her until she did so. Well, as you can imagine they didn't get into any restaurants they wanted. The ones they could get into (I think it was only 2 the whole week) only had times after 9:30 PM. She didn't use fast pass correctly. She waited to get a fast pass for Peter Pan (the 1 ride her 4 yr old wanted to go on) until 1:00 PM-her return time was 10:45 PM. She had a terrible time. She complained about the crowds and the fact that they couldn't eat anywhere was a biggie for them. She said her kids were so sick of hamburgers by the end of the trip because all they ate was CS. They had wanted TS dinners AND lunches. They usually vacation in Aruba or Mexico and say they are never going back to Disney. She can't understand why I love it. I tried to explain to her that if we didn't plan (especially ADR's) we wouldn't have a fabulous time either. She thinks that's too much work and in truth, maybe Disney isn't the place for them. I think I just want everyone to love my favorite vacation spot as much as I do. I should probably just let that go!

 

[CampbellScot]

Sorry to hear about your FIL. That's a sad reason to be near WDW.

To answer your question, I definitely think it's changed the way people prepare. It requires quite a bit of pre-planning. Maybe it's just me, but it's quite a task to plan out 6 months in advance which park you are going to be in which day and coordinating where you are going to eat at what time. Trying to figure out where you are going to sit if you are trying to get a place where you can see Wishes or Illuminations from your table...or when to go to get the best character interaction for your kiddies... This is the dumb stuff I think about anyhow, b/c I know 84,000 other people are doing the same thing! My 180 mark is coming up fast and I'm already writing things down...trying to get organized. Of course I am a control freak so it could just be me!

If you are "last minute" trip people, you are out of luck for most of the TS places. It's the way Disney does business now and oh my I'm sure the money just comes rolling in!

again, sorry about your FIL.

 

[gina2000]

It hasn't ruined it but I would say that it has unfavorably changed it. I no longer believe the creativity is part of the food planning mix. Most restaurants have moved toward more generic ingredients and preparation. Prices have not gone down to reflect less expensive preparation or less exotic ingredients. So when I look at a menu with an entree priced at $35, I know it's an inflated price compared to the quality of the dish prior to DDP. People think they're getting a deal but all they're getting is a generically prepared dish with an inflated price attached to it.

I'm not so concerned about crowded restaurants. I love hustle and bustle. However, Disney has never been known for leisurely meals and I believe the packed restaurants have sped up the pace. Again, that doesn't bode well for food preparation.

Obviously, I haven't been happy with the changes. We don't want to eat at signature restaurants every evening so it has severely limited our choices. Most of the less expensive restaurants seem to have resorted to a formula type menu. We hate it. So it's either counter service or signature restaurants for us with a couple of new restaurants thrown in that we hope will provide better than so-so food. That or offsite.

 

[CampbellScot]

I would say that "no" it has not ruined our dining experience. We have ALWAYS planned far out. In fact, since the OP mentioned DVC, when we bought our DVC membership at the BWV I was completely freaked out by the fact the EARLIEST I could book our trip was 11 mos out. I was a person who booked 12-14 mos ahead. I booked all our dining on exactly the first day I could and rarely changed anything.

We have certain restaurants that are "must dos" for both of us and certain traditions. We also are fairly picky about the resorts we stay at also. To me, I know that if I want a 2 bedroom villa with a boardwalk view, I have to book it early as possible through DVC. Dining is the same way, to get the places/times we want, we have to book early. Going to WDW and having a great time requires planning for our family.

One of my closest friends went with about no planning, in June no less! She booked one thing-a princess breakfast because I baggered her until she did so. Well, as you can imagine they didn't get into any restaurants they wanted. The ones they could get into (I think it was only 2 the whole week) only had times after 9:30 PM. She didn't use fast pass correctly. She waited to get a fast pass for Peter Pan (the 1 ride her 4 yr old wanted to go on) until 1:00 PM-her return time was 10:45 PM. She had a terrible time. She complained about the crowds and the fact that they couldn't eat anywhere was a biggie for them. She said her kids were so sick of hamburgers by the end of the trip because all they ate was CS. They had wanted TS dinners AND lunches. They usually vacation in Aruba or Mexico and say they are never going back to Disney. She can't understand why I love it. I tried to explain to her that if we didn't plan (especially ADR's) we wouldn't have a fabulous time either. She thinks that's too much work and in truth, maybe Disney isn't the place for them. I think I just want everyone to love my favorite vacation spot as much as I do. I should probably just let that go!

I just had to reply when I read this...my husband's friend was saying they had a HORRID time at Disney...everything was booked, they couldn't eat anything but hotdogs and hamburgers the whole time and all they did was wait in line for hours...my husband's reply to him was..."Oh, that's so odd...we always manage to get in wherever and we don't wait in line all that much either...we must be there at a really low crowd time..." Yeah, my husband has no clue how planned out our trips are. They go smoothly b/c I plan months in advance...he actually thinks we just walk into restaurants b/c we "luck out"...

sorry not trying to hijack the post, I just found this funny. I love Disney too, but it's work to make it a loveable trip. I wouldn't go unplanned and expect to have a wonderful time either unless I wanted to eat CS the whole time and wait 2 hours in line for a ride...yeah, I'd go to Mexico too!

 

[Luv2Roam]

The only minor way DDP has changed our eating habits is last minute and making it hard to impossible to get at certain restaurants. But those places were booked ahead before. Now they are just booked even farther ahead.
But for us as locals, the impact has been nil. We pretty much know where we can go locally either off site or on and get right in.
I think Disney certainly provides information for the average guest. Now whether they read it, or even believe it is another thing.
There will always be the guest who thinks during busy season anyone with any size party can walk up to any restaurant and be seated right away. That certainly would be magical.

 

[castleri]

I don't like having to make ADRs way in advance either but have learned that for that special meal or place it is a necessity these days. We will be going for the free dining promotion in September and I am trying to find ways to gracefully not eat with part of our group as they want to eat at 5 or 5:30 and after eating lunch at 12 or 12:30 that is way too early for a big sit down meal. Even 6 would be better. We did this last September( not free dining- we paid for it) and it seemed like everything was based on when and where we had to be by 4:45. The reason is two small children who the mother says usually eat at that time- actually one eats next to nothing at meals and the other seems to adapt - I really think it is that she needs to eat then. End of rant- I have already indicated that DH and I will be eating a couple of meals separate from them. Those I will be booking in February just to be sure. The choices definitely seem more restricted but since it is "free" I will deal with it. We never ate at TS places except for 1 of 2 meals in a week long trip so can't comment on being able to be seated. Guess we were just lucky when we got into the places we wanted to eat. We also traveled at slow times which may have helped. The last time I made an ADR was 1/2 this year. I called at 4:35 and got the ADR for 5:15 - it was a race from SSR to MGM but we made it only 5 minutes late. The time worked that day since we hadn't done a big lunch. The DDP hasn't ruined it for us because we can take it or leave it as far TS meals go but i can see where it may have caused some problems for those people who consider TS dining a huge part of their vacation and who now have to do that advanced planning.

 

[TDC Nala]

I don't really mind the advance planning, I am used to the fact that if you know where you want to go you darn well better make an ADR for it, and make sure you get it ASAP if your trip is in August or September.

I do not like the standardization of the restaurant offerings (I think that is partially due to general cost-cutting and profit maximization and partially due to the fact that the popularity of the dining plan has made the use of cheaper ingredients necessary) or the overcrowded restaurants and the resulting need to turn the tables over as quickly as possible. (I was just in Vegas and the restaurants are the same way out there - crowded and rushed, and you absolutely needed a reservation for dinner - and they don't have a dining plan, so maybe it's the fact that WDW has gotten so popular that I don't like. I bet Disney loves it, though.)