Has the dining plan changed how people eat at WDW?

[chartle]

Last couple of trips I have made an observation concerning the dining habits of people.

Even the last week of February last year during a cold snap, most CS places are jammed for lunch around 11:45 to 1:00, but never for normal dinner times, around 5:00PM.

It has to be one of two things:

• Lunch is 12:00 no matter what but dinner times are more spread out
  
  
• People that have the DDP mostly eat CS for lunch and TS for dinner because thats the way to "get their money's worth" out of the plan.

Any thoughts?

 

[WDWsBFF]

Yep that's exactly what my family does. We do either a QS breakfast or lunch and a TS for dinner. My mom is definitely one of those people who would think that's the only way to get her money's worth.

We also do it that way because we usually split up all day, I go with my fiance at the attacking pace and my parents at the bench pace. I call it the bench pace because they literally go... "Ooh look a bench!" *sits on bench for like 10 mins*

 

[GeorgeG]

I think it has changed the dining in many ways. It used to be a big part of any trip to WDW was the great dining options. In recent years, though, it's been difficult to get into restaurants just to be somewhat disappointed in the food selection and quality of the food. However, it seems Disney has been getting the message that people, especially those who pay OOP, have not been happy. We'll have to see how it plays out.

 

[pugcrazy]

We never eat at home before 7pm (that is 8pm Disney time). We eat breakfast several days while at Disney, but we rarely eat breakfast at home. On those days we tend to eat a later lunch (1pm). So then we are eating an even later supper. We tend to use our CS meals in MK and AK and save our TS for Epcot and HS. So on a MK day we may have breakfast at Crystal Palace and then eat CS the rest of the day. While in Epcot we eat TS for lunch and dinner and use snack credits for a bite of breakfast. At AK we always eat CS at Flame Tree for lunch and then leave the park for a TS at DTD or a resort. HS means Sci-Fi OOP for lunch and 50's Prime Time or Mama Melrose for supper.

Our plans on our next trip will be a little different as we are going DxDDP and adults only.

 

[Mousemom]

With the dining plan our family definately takes advantage of eating dinners out. We are eating lunch at Lecellier this year and we like lunch at the Sci Fi better, but other than those two we are eating late dinners the rest of our stay. We would not normally eat at a TS every night if we did not have the dining plan as well.

 

[Colleen27]

Another factor you didn't mention is that there are simply more people in the park at lunchtime. That's the one meal where the rope drop crowds, the afternoon break crowds, the sleep in and stay till close crowds, all overlap in the park. At dinner time some are done with the parks for the day and some are just returning to the parks after a break, and both those groups frequently choose a resort dinner rather than something in the park.

Also, the resort restaurants draw some people away from the parks for dinner. Aside from Epcot we very seldom eat dinner in the park we're at for the day, preferring the generally quieter and higher-quality restaurants at the park-area deluxe resorts. But most of those restaurants aren't open for lunch and even when they are leaving the park for lunch is much more disruptive to the day, since lunch is only 3ish hours into the park day and we're just not ready for a break then the way we are by dinner time.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

And many DDP and Non DDP's choose to eat table service for dinner. For many people it's normal to have their larger meal or more formal meal at dinner instead of mid day.

I agree with Colleen as well though that the dinner crowd is more spread out - not only to the hotel table service but hotel counter service restaurants as well as off site table service and counter service places - lunch is much more concentrated to the counter service places in the park.

As well - for most people lunch is traditionally between 12-1:30pm (1.5 hour span) but traditional dinner times tend to be more spread out between 5 - 7:30pm (2.5 hour span).

 

[ElizabethB]

Yes.

Everyone uses their CS meal for lunch and their TS meal for dinner.. Most everyone goes to 1TS restaurants for dinner so they have a dinner credit for each night of their trip.

As a result, the 1TS restaurants are much, much more crowded than they used to be. The food is of a much lower quality than a few years ago.

I recall a lovely night some years ago at Chefs de France. We wandered in about 8:20 p.m. We were one of the few occupied tables in the restaurants. We ordered our meal and some wine. The sweet waitress set up a table near the window for our boys so they could see part of Illuminations.

Our meal was delicious, service was attentive and pleasant, ambience was quiet and relaxed and the evening was very memorable.

That could never happen now.

 

[smiths02]

Another factor you didn't mention is that there are simply more people in the park at lunchtime. That's the one meal where the rope drop crowds, the afternoon break crowds, the sleep in and stay till close crowds, all overlap in the park. At dinner time some are done with the parks for the day and some are just returning to the parks after a break, and both those groups frequently choose a resort dinner rather than something in the park.

Also, the resort restaurants draw some people away from the parks for dinner. Aside from Epcot we very seldom eat dinner in the park we're at for the day, preferring the generally quieter and higher-quality restaurants at the park-area deluxe resorts. But most of those restaurants aren't open for lunch and even when they are leaving the park for lunch is much more disruptive to the day, since lunch is only 3ish hours into the park day and we're just not ready for a break then the way we are by dinner time.

I was going to say something similar.

I am sure some of it is the dining plan, but there are other reasons. I agree that without a dining plan, more people would probably have gone to a TS at lunch and CS at dinner (to save money- we do this on vacation often...one day last weekend we had a big lunch and then had ice cream for dinner-much cheaper than if we went to McDs for lunch and that a sit-down dinner)

1) People (in US) usually eat their larger meal at dinner
2) Lunch is a more condensed time frame
3) More people are in the park at lunch time
4) People don't want to leave at lunch time, they haven't been there long enough (Whether or not I have the dining plan or am even on property, I will usually be in the park at lunch time and I will be hungry...I am not going to leave the park to drive to McDs to eat, I will eat at CS in the park) An example would be when we went to Disneyland. Our hotel was literally walking distance from DL. We hit rope drop, ate a "CS" lunch in the park (because we didn't want to walk across the street to a restuarant), a little later we left the park for afternoon, had a nap, had dinner outside the park and walked back into the park

 

[FireDancer]

I think the dinning plan has made a lot of the menus less interesting. I don't go to Disney primarily for food and really I just want a decent healthy meal but the menus have fewer options in my experience.

I also think the DDP causes people to eat a lot more then they actually need to, especially if they have the plan with multiple TS meals throughout the day. Eating when hungry and until satisfied is often replaced with eating the biggest or most expensive thing on the menu to get your value or eating when you aren't really hungry (or having a full meal when a snack would do) because you have to use the credits.

 

[bumbershoot]

I don't know about the dinner thing, but I think that *most* people, regardless of how they are paying, only think to have lunch during traditional lunchtime. You see it at Disneyland, where they don't even have a truly valuable dining plan. Lunchtime is when people want to eat lunch. It's why a person wanting to avoid lines makes sure to NOT eat at traditional lunchtime!

So I can't blame that one on the dining plan...human nature is a much simpler explanation.

 

[chartle]

I don't know about the dinner thing, but I think that *most* people, regardless of how they are paying, only think to have lunch during traditional lunchtime. You see it at Disneyland, where they don't even have a truly valuable dining plan. Lunchtime is when people want to eat lunch. It's why a person wanting to avoid lines makes sure to NOT eat at traditional lunchtime!

So I can't blame that one on the dining plan...human nature is a much simpler explanation.

On not really blaming it on the DDP, more like how the the DDP has made people think differently on when and where they eat.

We really only do CS so it was kind of a observation I was making.

 

[ppony]

Not ever having used a dining plan, I can say that since the beginning of them in full force, we personally noticed the severe decline in the quality and as this, have changed how WE eat at WDW. We used to eat all breakfasts and dinners TS and CS our lunches. Few of the TS are worth the bother in quality anymore and actually was a catalyst for us buying DVC. We still eat CSs for all lunches but punt in our own room for easy and cheap breakfasts and do about half of our dinners TS now and half either off site or in our room (incl, pizza delivery and just easy peasy stuff; NO hard core cooking ). Disney lost a huge chunk O change by putting their quality in the toilet In OUR opinions. Restaurants DO seem far more crowded then they ever used to be. Being early planners though, we always get in where we want to. We just hardly want to get in anywhere anymore.

 

[ppony]

However, it seems Disney has been getting the message that people, especially those who pay OOP, have not been happy. We'll have to see how it plays out.

Really? So sorry I'm out of the loop at the moment. How so?? This is encouraging to hear to be honest. I hope they do!

 

[Peepster]

ppony, I could not agree with you more! We even had the opportunity to speak with Disney's head chef (before his departure) as the dining plan was coming into being and he warned us of the standardazation and dumbing down of menus that was forthcoming. The dining plan has caused us to eat off property or cook in our DVC unit a lot more. We would be dumbfounded if Disney management actually cared about anything except keeping the restaurants and hotels packed.

 

[maggiew]

I think it has changed the dining in many ways. It used to be a big part of any trip to WDW was the great dining options. In recent years, though, it's been difficult to get into restaurants just to be somewhat disappointed in the food selection and quality of the food. However, it seems Disney has been getting the message that people, especially those who pay OOP, have not been happy. We'll have to see how it plays out.

Can you tell me why you think Disney has been getting the message? We always pay OOP and I am excited to hear that.

Maggie

 

[Ramsfan28]

ppony, I could not agree with you more! We even had the opportunity to speak with Disney's head chef (before his departure) as the dining plan was coming into being and he warned us of the standardazation and dumbing down of menus that was forthcoming. The dining plan has caused us to eat off property or cook in our DVC unit a lot more. We would be dumbfounded if Disney management actually cared about anything except keeping the restaurants and hotels packed.

Over the last 10 years, the food at most Disney restaraunts has changed for the worse and I don't have much hope for WDW management to get the hint.

There are very few restaraunts now that are a "must do" anymore for me.

 

[Tara922c]

Personally, I think 5 is a little early for dinner. We don't eat on a set schedule while at wdw. If we eat lunch around noon, we probably wont be hungry for dinner until around 7 or so. I try to plan an either late breakfast/early lunch, and then a later dinner. We aren't big breakfast people, I meal we like breakfast food, we just don't eat the moment we wake up. I make dd cereal in the room, or grab her a something in the morning, eat a real meal around 11:30, and then have dinner later in the evening. If we don't have ADRs we eat when we are hungry. Sometimes we grab snacks, and eat dinner a little later. It all depends.

 

[cajunprincess]

I agree that lunch is probably a more condensed time especially for families with children. They need that routine.

For me personally, I'm just getting into the swing of the day and I don't want to go sit down for a long meal.

We usually do either a breakfast or dinner TS. I prefer dinner and I enjoy going to more of the resort dinners.

Without the dining plan, we wouldn't do nearly as many TS or CS meals (if any). I give props to WDW management for something as clever the dining plan. We can complain about the quality and WDW just trying to fill their restaurants, but I see it as a brilliant business plan. You get people stay at your resorts, pay for your parks, AND snag people for their snacks, lunch, and dinners. They collect on all aspects of people's vacations. Brilliant!!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I almost always do CS lunch with or without the DDP, but I usually eat it as early as possible, since by the time the restaurants open I'm hungry, and they're less crowded if I get there right away.

I also will usually eat a TS meal after park closing (at least for AK and the Studios since they usually close earlier,) since I'm not "wasting" park time when I eat. At least on shorter trips. So that's always dinner.