I miss the old dining plan

[vellamint]

I miss it too...... We do not really desserts and I got tired real quick of having to say NO to appetizers so then THAT was added on...which of course added to the size of the tip....and we couldnt grasp the concept of NOT at least ordering the dessert at least to taste it so.....

Not a good deal for my family anymore..... Gonna pay for QS and do a few OOP

 

[lblume91]

We had the original DDP in '06 & '07 and loved it. When I saw the changes, I emailed Disney to ask why (& maybe complain a little ). I know, I know, it doesn't really do any good but it did make me feel better for a couple of minutes. Anywho, the response I got was that people felt the customer service was lacking because servers were guaranteed the tip. They said they received numerous complaints about the service so eliminating the automatic tip would resolve that problem. Uhm, okay, whatever.

 

[LilyWDW]

We had the original DDP in '06 & '07 and loved it. When I saw the changes, I emailed Disney to ask why (& maybe complain a little ). I know, I know, it doesn't really do any good but it did make me feel better for a couple of minutes. Anywho, the response I got was that people felt the customer service was lacking because servers were guaranteed the tip. They said they received numerous complaints about the service so eliminating the automatic tip would resolve that problem. Uhm, okay, whatever.

Considering the amount of complaints we saw on these boards that said the exact same thing... I can see that Disney also got them. Now, if they received enough such complaints and were already looking to change it, I would not be surprised that this was something chosen.

 

[jsgrand0]

Yeah...I've been thinking lately what a good deal the DP was when it first came out...wow came with an app, and included tip and was only $35!....that's hundreds of dollars more in savings than it is now! This is our family's first trip to Disney, but would have been nice to be able to take advantage of the original plan!

 

[mjohnson96]

Think how the server's feel...they used to be guaranteed a tip when someone came in with the DDP and now they are lucky to get one since many people don't realize the tip is not included. The first time we went after the change I didn't realize that until I saw the ticket, if I had not read it since my mom was not on the DDP and had joined us for dinner that night I would never have known the tip is no longer included.

 

[OneEyedCats]

On our 2007 trip, we really loved the dining plan. It inluded the appetizer, entree, desert, and tip. Adult drinks were ala carte and we added extra tips accordingly. There were also a couple of times we left extra tips for exceptional service. When we went in 2010, I didn't read the fine (okay, bold, whatever ) print and didn't realize the plan had changed so much. We still enjoyed it, but our OOP expenses were a lot higher. We are more appy people than dessert people, so we pretty much ordered one with every TS meal. Plus my DH usually has a couple of drinks. For our upcoming trip, I am on the fence.

 

[courtneylauren]

We miss the old plan too! It was such a steal; $35 for snack, counter service, appetizer, entree, dessert, drink, and tip!!

We actually just found the Dining Plan brochure from 2005 that lists what was included then.

 

[irishdadx4]

I miss the old dining plan, too. And I never had it. Only started going back in 2009.

 

[csharpwv]

I think Disney needs to completely revamp their dining plan structures.

When we honeymooned at Disney in 2006 - the dining plan was fantastic!

Now - look at the quality of the food, the quality of service, and the inability to plan a trip less than 90 days out and still get a decent week of ADR's.

I don't know why the tip/gratuity was ever included to start with - that just seems like a horrible idea!

They have changed the plans so much that they really don't make much sense any more. Like getting a free refillable mug with the Quick Service plan - that makes no sense what so ever - since it IS NOT included in the next plan up.
Why take a benefit away as you move up?

Plus - with a restaurant like Le Cellier going back to 2 credits, what restaurant will be next?

IMO - the quality of food at Walt Disney World has gone way down hill just since 2006.

If you've ever been on a Disney Cruise - the quality of food is much higher.
If you've ever been to Disneyland - the quality of the food is much higher.

In the process of you streamlining the dining services at WDW, someone forgot to monitor quality.

Often times what end up coming out on your place isn't memorable - unique - or worth the price paid.

How many more times can a family go to WDW and eat Pizza, Chicken Strips, and Hamburgers?

The whole 'free dining' craze has taken WDW down a few notches in the culinary world.

There are only about 4-5 meals between ALL of our trips that I would really consider memorable - and we always have at least one table service meal a day on our week long trips.

Time to kick it up a few notches, Mickey!

 

[bluejasmine]

I miss it too.. I dont mind the tip but I wish you could get atleast one appetizer for the table.. I guess that would be confusing and to hard to keep track of..

We buy the plan every yr, I keep my receipts and it always has saved us a couple hundered dollars..

That being said I also use a PIN for room only first and then add tickets and dining..

 

[bookbunny]

When the dining plan first came out, it was great. I paid $60 per person for a 6 night/7 day stay. My neice and I collected all the receipts from everywhere we ate at. For table service you received appetizer, entree, and dessert. We never were able to use up all our credits for the dining plan. When I totalled up all the receipts, it came to over $500 of food for $120. THAT was the best. Now Disney charges $46 per person per night. No more appetizers. List of restaurants is a lot less. I do still see the value of the dining plan but it isnt as much of a savings as when they first unveiled it. I still love Disney and hope to go this fall in Oct or Nov. I just need Disney to extend out the free dining plan.

 

[Becky2005]

the first time we used the dining plan they gave you 1 snack, 1 QS meal and 1 TS meal that included an appetizer, entree, dessert, and tip........I miss that

Definitely nice. I would have LOVED it if the deluxe dining had come out then...that's how we ended up on the Premium plan our first trip! The dining plan had just come out and DH didn't want to deal with counting points but wanted 3 meals a day. The *only* way to get that included was the Premium plan at the time. We didn't need all the extras, so just the 3 meals/day would have been perfect.

It was awesome, we just showed our cards and got everything we wanted and didn't even order a lot of it. I remember about 1/2 through found out I could get tea with my dessert and it was covered. Of course, it was new & nobody knew what they were doing so we ended up with the light-up ice cubes included too. I couldn't tell you how many times cast members looked at our plan brochure to figure it out too!

I know tip will never be included again as that was a BIG, BIG, BIG complaint on these boards about it being included. There were always threads about "if the tip is included how can I be sure I'm going to get good service?, I want to be able to give them the tip I think they deserve", etc.... Basically, the general public didn't want it included, so Disney listened and took it away mostly.

I don't really think it would be cost effective for me to buy it now but we did get it free, so I will see how it goes being on the regular one.

 

[goNDmay9]

We miss it too! We even miss the one from wayyyyy back when it was called food and fun plan or something. You could eat until you popped!!!! And it still came out to a good deal.

 

[Chynasmom]

We miss it too! We even miss the one from wayyyyy back when it was called food and fun plan or something. You could eat until you popped!!!! And it still came out to a good deal.

We had that for our honeymoon in 1997. Fantastic.

I'm still going back & forth on getting the DP for our next trip (2012). DxDP seems like too much, but DDP only gives you 2 meals a day. The kid (she'll be 4, and she can eat like a longshoreman) is used to getting breakfast, lunch AND dinner, thankyouverymuch!