I guess I am late hearing!

Did you look into the new deluxe dining plan? Yes it's more money, but completely worth it! For only 69.99 a day (19.99 for kids) you get 3 TS meals, 2 snacks and a refillable mug. Okay, the mug is not a huge deal, but the rest of the plan is great! Plus, you can use 2 of your meals a day for a signature. :love: So, you could do breakfast at Cystal Palace and dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse, plus you have 2 snacks for lunch that day. No way that costs less than 69.99 a person! Trust me, we have paid OOP to eat this way at Disney and 69.99 is a DEAL.

Please don't take this the wrong way, because I do think the DXDDP is a good deal, but once you add in the tip, it's more than 69.99/19.99 per day. I'm going to use your example of Yachtsman Steakhouse for dinner and Crystal Palace for breakfast, and assume that you have 3 kids are all under 10. If you're conservative with tips, and leave 15% at YS/10% at CP, you have to add approximately $36 a day to the total cost for your family. If you're more generous with tips (18% YS/15% CP), add another $45 per day. And if you're really generous (20% YS/18% CP), it's an extra $53 per day.

Is it a make or break deal? Probably not for most people. But it's not an insignificant amount--my most generous estimate is more than 25% additional cost on top of the price of the plan. You have to take that into account when you're figuring the value of the plan.
 
I have to agree with the previous poster regarding tips. If tips were included than it would be a good deal. But being that it is not, than you have to add in those dollars too. I would definately consider it, if the tips were included in the price.
 
I have a question, and maybe a stupid one,,,but never the less.....
I am staying 14 nights, family of 4, Can we do the DP for 7 nights? Or do you have to do the DP for the entire stay, no right? UM never thought of that option.
 

I have a question, and maybe a stupid one,,,but never the less.....
I am staying 14 nights, family of 4, Can we do the DP for 7 nights? Or do you have to do the DP for the entire stay, no right? UM never thought of that option.

Only if you have two separate reservations. If you're buying a package you have to get the same package for your entire reservation. By splitting, you can have a 7 night reservation on a package with DDP and a 7 night reservation room only. You'd have to check in again, though.
 
I didn't mean to start a problem. I just think that the plan won't save us any money anymore. I like the poster who said let's just add 18% to the daily cost per person. That makes more sense to me. If Disney was not making money on this, I would think they would have stopped along time ago. I have had more than one person tell me that most people don't use all their credits. I made sure we did.

If Disney is giving the proper tip, then why do you hear so many complain about bad service. Most of the time on these boards it would appear that it is because of the dining plan and tips. It must not be the tips! You can always get bad service even with good tips.

I will wait and see what happens with the plan for 2008. Maybe it will improve before we go in May. I really liked it before and hope it will get better than it appears now. Will have to wait and see.

Sorry if I started a complain thread. Didn't intend to. I was just suprised and upset to see all the changes and none of them good!
 
I am so suprised that someone else hasn't commented. The new less expensive dining plan will still work for us. We are a family with 2 small children. All of our TS are usually character dining such as Akershaus, chef mickeys or crystal palace. These TS cost around $29.99 PP AND 11.99 PP FOR children. This newer plan without an appetizer doesn't even affect places like this or hollywood and vine. We do not use the plan to get the most expensive meal possible. We use it as having most everything prepaid and for the conveinence.
We would still use this plan even with removing the appetizer and the $1 less is just a plus for us.

I can see most everyone's point, but here is another example of how it will still work.

It would be better however if they would let you chose either an appetizer or a dessert because some families like an appetizer but not desert.
 
18% of the cost $38 would be fair !! :lmao:
Never going to happen ........
Actually, that would only make sense if the Dining Plan had only provided 1TS per day, instead of 1TS, 1CS (no tipping) and 1 snack (no tipping). It is important to recognize that this change is almost surely intended to be a net price increase (which makes sense given how much so many guests have noted over the last three years how much of a good deal the Dining Plan has been), but if it was not then a "fair" price decrease to account for the removal of the gratuity (alone -- ignoring the removal of the appetizer) would be $4.32. Regardless, as I mentioned, this change is almost surely intended to be a net price increase.
 
I'm new to the board, so I apologize for starting off negative. The DP is a good deal, but it was a much better
deal with the tip. And let's be honest....getting the DP takes the stress off thinking about money at meals. Now Disney has managed to put the stress back into the meal.
And, the cost benefit for Disney doesn't stop here. Think about it....will you still order anything on the menu, knowing that you're hiking up the cost of your "tippable" meal? Probably not! So, essentially, you will pay around the same as 2007 (minus $1) and probably order "cheaper" food. Personally, I prefer to take it on the chin and would rather just have a price increase on the DP.
I'm not a big fan of the back-ended price increase disguised as just taking out the tip and appetizer! Do they really think we're that stupid.
The pressure needs to go back to Disney in the form of no tipping. Believe me the help is already expecting it and I doubt I'm the only one who feels this way. Disney does not want unhappy guests or unhappy servers, so why not force their hand. Thoughts?:sad2:
 
The increase on the 2008 DDP is approximately 50% (with the elimination of the appetizer and tip). I don't understand why more people aren't upset with this increase. I know we won't be using the DDP for our 2008 trips and will eat some of our meals off site.
 
The increase on the 2008 DDP is approximately 50% (with the elimination of the appetizer and tip). I don't understand why more people aren't upset with this increase. I know we won't be using the DDP for our 2008 trips and will eat some of our meals off site.

Good point ! I also wonder why?
IMO
Maybe Disney will replace the old unhappy people with new guests that have nothing to compare with. Also they will always have the "Disney can do NO wrong crowd" which are always willing to spend more !:rotfl:
 
The pressure needs to go back to Disney in the form of no tipping. Believe me the help is already expecting it and I doubt I'm the only one who feels this way. Disney does not want unhappy guests or unhappy servers, so why not force their hand. Thoughts?:sad2:


I don't believe it's a good idea to take it out on the servers. Try letting Disney know you'd rather eat offsite.
 
The pressure needs to go back to Disney in the form of no tipping. Believe me the help is already expecting it and I doubt I'm the only one who feels this way. Disney does not want unhappy guests or unhappy servers, so why not force their hand. Thoughts?

:sad2:

If the plan does not work for you, then don't buy it. But don't stiff the servers because you don't like the plan. You would only be hurting them and making yourself (and other DDP-ers) be in a very unfavorable light.
 
What we are getting here is the classic take away syndrome, no one likes takeaways. However, they are a fact of life especially if the equation has been out of balance or something external changes to requires an adjustment. The emotion of getting less than you're used to will absolutely push some people away from the plan and away from Disney restaurants. However, many will still choose to the plan and or onsite restaurants.

On the 2008 if I eat dinner at Chef Mickey's it will cost me $5.40 more than in 2007 to cover an 18% tip and $2 price increase. THE EXACT SAME MEAL FOR $5 MORE ON THE 2008 PLAN!

If I went to LeCellier and ordered: Duck Two Ways, Mushroom Filet and Canadian Whiskey Cake it would cost $59.73 out of pocket. If I was on the 2007 DDP this is a steal, as my total cost for a TS, CS and daily snack is only $38.99 and I would get this meal without paying more. [Can you say out of balance?] On the 2008 plan it would cost $20.63 extra for tip and the appetizer. Let's say $26 of my daily DDP fee is set aside for dinner costs, so I am getting the LeCellier meal for about $47, still considerably less than if I paid OOP. If ordered as per the 2008 base plan, no appetizer, the cost for tip is $6.48, hopefully the server is worth it.

Certainly if you add this up for 3-5 family members on a 7-14 day trip it gets costly and even prohibitive. We each have to do what's best for our family. Takeaways always sting, but usually are needed to put things in balance or compete.

Here's hoping that everyone finds a dining solution that works for your family.
 
What we are getting here is the classic take away syndrome, no one likes takeaways. However, they are a fact of life especially if the equation has been out of balance or something external changes to requires an adjustment. The emotion of getting less than you're used to will absolutely push some people away from the plan and away from Disney restaurants. However, many will still choose to the plan and or onsite restaurants.

On the 2008 if I eat dinner at Chef Mickey's it will cost me $5.40 more than in 2007 to cover an 18% tip and $2 price increase. THE EXACT SAME MEAL FOR $5 MORE ON THE 2008 PLAN!

If I went to LeCellier and ordered: Duck Two Ways, Mushroom Filet and Canadian Whiskey Cake it would cost $59.73 out of pocket. If I was on the 2007 DDP this is a steal, as my total cost for a TS, CS and daily snack is only $38.99 and I would get this meal without paying more. [Can you say out of balance?] On the 2008 plan it would cost $20.63 extra for tip and the appetizer. Let's say $26 of my daily DDP fee is set aside for dinner costs, so I am getting the LeCellier meal for about $47, still considerably less than if I paid OOP. If ordered as per the 2008 base plan, no appetizer, the cost for tip is $6.48, hopefully the server is worth it.

Certainly if you add this up for 3-5 family members on a 7-14 day trip it gets costly and even prohibitive. We each have to do what's best for our family. Takeaways always sting, but usually are needed to put things in balance or compete.

Here's hoping that everyone finds a dining solution that works for your family.


I'm tired and have had a rough day :goodvibes , so maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but my first thought in reading your post is that Disney must not be as smart as we all think to "give" us something that out of balance - something so out of balance that 3 years (I think) later they have to takeaway. Remember when the free dining plan was first offered. There were tons of debates on here about whether it was a good deal or not since we were paying rack rate for the rooms. And now, I it seems like I'm reading several opinions that even people paying for the DDP were given too good of a deal, so disney had to do something about it - and none of us should be upset because they "gave us too much in the first place." Hope these thoughts weren't too rambling!
 
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I'm tired and have had a rough day :goodvibes , so maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but my first thought in reading your post is that Disney must not be as smart as we all think to "give" us something that out of balance - something so out of balance that 3 years (I think) later they have to takeaway. Remember when the free dining plan was first offered. There were tons of debates on here about whether it was a good deal or not since we were paying rack rate for the rooms. And now, I it seems like I'm reading several opinions that even people paying for the DDP were given too good of a deal, so disney had to do something about it - and none of us should be upset because they "gave us too much in the first place." Hope these thoughts weren't too rambling!

Certainly not telling anyone how to feel about this topic, that's personal. However, when something is too good to be true, even at Disney, it probably is. I don't have the history of being around 3yrs ago, new to DIS and haven't been to Disney in 5yrs. But I've been on both sides of takeaways and its never a good feeling, but usually there is a rationale beyond greed for doing so.

My latest personal gripe on a take away is airlines charging for curbside check in! To me that's just crazy and I can't see paying that fee. Thank goodness for ME 'cause I'll only have to worry about that one way!
 
What we are getting here is the classic take away syndrome, no one likes takeaways. However, they are a fact of life especially if the equation has been out of balance or something external changes to requires an adjustment. The emotion of getting less than you're used to will absolutely push some people away from the plan and away from Disney restaurants. However, many will still choose to the plan and or onsite restaurants.
Right on-target. I think the mistake some people are making is translating their disappointment into an impression that mistakes are being made. Take-aways aren't necessarily mistakes. They often directly address an existing imbalance between price and value.

On the 2008 if I eat dinner at Chef Mickey's it will cost me $5.40 more than in 2007 to cover an 18% tip and $2 price increase. THE EXACT SAME MEAL FOR $5 MORE ON THE 2008 PLAN!
And computations like this belie the earlier suggestion of the changes to the Dining Plan representing "a 50% increase".

If I went to LeCellier and ordered: Duck Two Ways, Mushroom Filet and Canadian Whiskey Cake it would cost $59.73 out of pocket. If I was on the 2007 DDP this is a steal, as my total cost for a TS, CS and daily snack is only $38.99 and I would get this meal without paying more. [Can you say out of balance?]
Indeed. :thumbsup2

On the 2008 plan it would cost $20.63 extra for tip and the appetizer. Let's say $26 of my daily DDP fee is set aside for dinner costs, so I am getting the LeCellier meal for about $47, still considerably less than if I paid OOP.If ordered as per the 2008 base plan, no appetizer, the cost for tip is $6.48, hopefully the server is worth it.
And just completing the math: Just that one meal -- which is a meal for which these number are the worst (because it is a relatively expensive restaurant, and we're including the cost of additional appetizers and gratuity out-of-pocket) the percentage increase is 37.1%.

So depending on the meal, the increase with the new Dining Plan for 2008 ranges from 13% up to a high of about 40%, so the average is probably somewhere in-between -- let's say around 25%.

Takeaways always sting, but usually are needed to put things in balance or compete.

Here's hoping that everyone finds a dining solution that works for your family.
Agreed!
 
Please don't take this the wrong way, because I do think the DXDDP is a good deal, but once you add in the tip, it's more than 69.99/19.99 per day. I'm going to use your example of Yachtsman Steakhouse for dinner and Crystal Palace for breakfast, and assume that you have 3 kids are all under 10. If you're conservative with tips, and leave 15% at YS/10% at CP, you have to add approximately $36 a day to the total cost for your family. If you're more generous with tips (18% YS/15% CP), add another $45 per day. And if you're really generous (20% YS/18% CP), it's an extra $53 per day.

Is it a make or break deal? Probably not for most people. But it's not an insignificant amount--my most generous estimate is more than 25% additional cost on top of the price of the plan. You have to take that into account when you're figuring the value of the plan.


Yes, it's true that we will need cash for tips, but we would have needed it anyway, not being on the plan. With or with out dining plans our family has eaten the same way every Disney trip-TS breakfast & TS dinner & a few TS lunches every day. The Deluxe plan is great for how we eat and the 69.99 is a deal for what we normaly eat. Would it be a much better deal if the tip was included? Absolutely! I guess the way I'm looking at it is that, you can't have everything. :goodvibes

At least we have a pre-paid meal plan that covers the way our family eats while at WDW. With the old DDP we paid so much money OOP (including tips) for the TS meals the plan DIDN'T cover, it really was a pain. At least now I know that the only thing I have to pay for is a tip and alcohol. We set aside $600 for tips for the week. If we need more while down there, then we need more. :confused3 At least I'm not paying every day for a character breakfast plus tip, TS lunches plus tip, trying to figure out what to do with all those CS credits the old plan had, etc.
 












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