Is Disney trying to discourage use of the Dining Plan???

[Mousemommy1]

I mean, c'mon!!!! The price increase is crazy. For my family of four, we have paid $900 for the dining plan...the same plan will now cost just under $1200 in 2012....yeah, I'm pretty sure we could eat for far less than that out of pocket. Looks like I won't be doing the dining plan for Feb 2012 unless Free Dining comes out again. And the military discount basically just brings the resort prices down to 2011 regular season prices....oiy!!! Here's hoping for some good discount/deals!

 

[GrammyJudy]

We went oop one year and it cost about $100 more than the DDP...here's hoping for free dining again! The food is expensive at WDW no matter what you eat!

 

[havoc315]

I think Disney sees their restaurants overflowing.... And they conclude they don't need to build much savings into the dining plan. So, they are essentially giving you the choice of paying full price for your meals OOP... or basically paying full price by buying a "plan."

 

[nurtz]

I am not sure they are trying to discourage the use of the dining plans. I think they want people to use them but they are a business and like all businesses are trying to make money. In my opinion, they made the dining plans so appealing to people to get them "hooked" and now they are banking on the fact that people will use them no matter what. How many posts do we see here that say "we will never go to WDW without the dining plan"? A lot. They have succeeded. We personally do not use the dining plans but I do understand why some love them so much. They just don't fit our eating style and the prepaid aspect means nothing to us so we don't use them. We have AP's so we use the TIW card for discounts. I would much rather pay OOP for my meals than pay months ahead of time only to eat what is included in the plan (which I may or may not want). Again, my opinions only!

 

[KB24]

maybe the dining plan makes sense if you have a lot of people in your party but it doesn't for us. we'd rather spend the extra money on club.

 

[fivebyfive]

My thinking is that Disney will be raising the cost of the food at the restaurants to somewhat coincide with the increase. Probably not until 2012 of course.

 

[mommyrosa2]

Not sure they are trying to discourage the dining plan but like someone said, it's a business and they're banking on more folks going with the plan than without. I know that we've gone twice without the dining plan (years ago) and ended up spending more $$ than what the basic dining plan would have cost not to mention the amount of time we spent leaving the parks to find a reasonably-priced place to eat. In the last 2 years that we've gone and this year's trip included, we find it cheaper to go with the DP. We're not big eaters either... we normally will have something small for breakfast like a bagel or muffin with juice, coffee or milk, a lunch of some sort (usually a quick service) but we do like a sit-down meal at dinner and let's face it, the restaurants in all the parks and resorts are not cheap - throw in a character meal or two and you'll see how fast your money will go. Whether or not the DP is worth it will depend on each family's meal needs and the only way to truly see if it's worth it is to do some basic planning and research in order to compare. For us, once we "map" out where we want to eat our dinners, we look up menus and pricing on allears, factor some quick service lunches and prices for breakfast items, drinks & snacks and it's a "no-brainer" for our family. But again, what works for us may not work for others.

 

[rt2dz]

People think the dining plans are such a great deal, when I don't believe they are. I know they might be for some families, but I believe that is the minority of users. People don't look at them right.

Disney is just banking on that. I'm sure restaurant prices will probably be going up too, but I'm pretty sure Disney is just pushing the envelope with what people will pay for the dining plan. Most people overpay for the dining plan as is. You have to eat the way they are designed, and most people wouldn't/don't. Lots of credits go to waste or aren't used at all.

Even free dining usually isn't the best deal--for select groups it is, or when other discounts aren't offered (thinking specifically Thanksgiving week), but the bulk of the time, people could save more by choosing different discounts. And I don't mean by cooking, staying offsite, or bringing food from home (although that works!).

Just see HERE. It takes a look at what you should be looking at with dining plans. THIS tells you how to do an actual evaluation.

 

[mommyrosa2]

People think the dining plans are such a great deal, when I don't believe they are. I know they might be for some families, but I believe that is the minority of users. People don't look at them right.

Disney is just banking on that. I'm sure restaurant prices will probably be going up too, but I'm pretty sure Disney is just pushing the envelope with what people will pay for the dining plan. Most people overpay for the dining plan as is. You have to eat the way they are designed, and most people wouldn't/don't. Lots of credits go to waste or aren't used at all.

Even free dining usually isn't the best deal--for select groups it is, or when other discounts aren't offered (thinking specifically Thanksgiving week), but the bulk of the time, people could save more by choosing different discounts. And I don't mean by cooking, staying offsite, or bringing food from home (although that works!).

Just see HERE. It takes a look at what you should be looking at with dining plans. THIS tells you how to do an actual evaluation.

Great articles and that's what I said in my prior post - a person really needs to do their research in order to see if the DP is a value or not for their family. For us, the basic DP is a value and we do save a significant amount of $$ but that's also because we use the basic DP wisely. We choose all of our TS credits for dinners and choose some fantastic restaurants to dine at. My girls are older (17 & 13) and they no longer want to eat chix nuggets, burgers and pizza for dinner (well sometimes they do but not usually for dinner...lol). They want the more expensive items (steak, seafood, etc.) so we do utilize allears.net and look at all the menus to find a restuarant that everyone will enjoy. But after researching over the years, we found that the basic DP would be the only value for us...neither the QS DP nor the Deluxe DP would be so we would never consider either of them. But again, the DP is not right for everyone, and if Disney continues to raise their prices on the DP it may come to a point that it will no longer be a deal for us either but for now it is.

 

[aubriee]

I've always taken up for the DDPs and said what a great deal they were. I go to WDW several times a year and have used the DDP (either the basic DDP or the DxDDP) every single trip. I prefer TS restaurants, so have no interest in the counter service plan. However, we've found that the DxDDP is too much, but with the basic DDP we usually round up paying OOP for a couple more TS meals and then have a couple of counter service meals left over. We are also not snackers, so nearly always have all of those left over to use up the last day. Consequently for the first time in years, my upcoming Sept and Nov/Dec trips my meals will be OOP. I plan on using the TIW card to get 20% off almost all my meals. Since I'm not a fan of CS and eat mainly TS it works out cheaper than the DDP and I get to eat at restaurants that don't take the DDP and get to order exactly what I want. If I want two appetizers that is what I'll order.

 

[havoc315]

People think the dining plans are such a great deal, when I don't believe they are. I know they might be for some families, but I believe that is the minority of users. People don't look at them right.

Disney is just banking on that. I'm sure restaurant prices will probably be going up too, but I'm pretty sure Disney is just pushing the envelope with what people will pay for the dining plan. Most people overpay for the dining plan as is. You have to eat the way they are designed, and most people wouldn't/don't. Lots of credits go to waste or aren't used at all.

Even free dining usually isn't the best deal--for select groups it is, or when other discounts aren't offered (thinking specifically Thanksgiving week), but the bulk of the time, people could save more by choosing different discounts. And I don't mean by cooking, staying offsite, or bringing food from home (although that works!).

Just see HERE. It takes a look at what you should be looking at with dining plans. THIS tells you how to do an actual evaluation.

Those articles are good, but the prices are outdated. The same logic still applies..... Except that the dining plan is significantly less of a value than it was in 2009. (And that article was questioning the value of the savings, even at that point).

 

[angierae]

I really want to skip DDP for our 2012 trip because I would like to have more than one TS meal a day some days. However, it just makes everything so much SIMPLER than to worry that we might overspend early in our trip and go over budget. DxDP was way too much food when we did it (upgraded from free dining, so at least it wasn't overly expensive) but argh.

Right now I'm just budgeting to eat a few meals OOP and get DDP but it's not ideal, and I keep crunching numbers but I don't know.

And I think I'm exactly the kind of person Disney depends on. I'd rather have the knowledge that the "basics" are paid for and if I want to buy a meal OOP or an app OOP then I can budget for THAT.

Hrm.

 

[rt2dz]

I do believe one of the links I recommended was 2009, I think the other is 2010 though. There is nothing *I* can do about that; I do normally do caution people not to use the prices (to look at the current cost). I must have been being lazy. Sorry.

BUT, I do stand by the general information on how to look at/judge whether or not the dining plan is worth it. What works best will vary, but if you go through it carefully, you'll find the best way for you. And that is the goal--spend the least amount possible. Purchase the dining plan or not, just make sure you choose what is best for you!

 

[havoc315]

I really want to skip DDP for our 2012 trip because I would like to have more than one TS meal a day some days. However, it just makes everything so much SIMPLER than to worry that we might overspend early in our trip and go over budget. DxDP was way too much food when we did it (upgraded from free dining, so at least it wasn't overly expensive) but argh.

Hrm.

Some people find the DDP makes like simpler... for others, it is exactly the opposite.
Instead of just handing over you credit card (or KTTW card) at the end of each meal and worrying about the cost at the end of the trip... You have to keep track of your credits. And if you aren't eating *exactly* 1 CS and 1 TS meal per day.... Then you need to figure out which meals to use credits, which meals to pay OOP..
For example, if I want to do a character breakfast... CS lunch... and TS dinner at Beaches & Cream... Which TS meal should pay OOP.. and which DDP? (For that matter.. with that combo... I could probably eat all 3 meals for less than the price of the DDP)
For the next day.. I want to grab a quick breakfast in the resort food court.. should I pay OOP? Or use a CS credit? Or use snack credits?

At least with the DxDP.... There are enough credits, that I never really need to strategize OOP. So if I was going for lots of TS meals, I would either go DxDP or OOP.
If my goal was simply to eat what I want, and have pre-paid convenience, I'd probably go with a pre-paid gift card.
If my goal was to eat what I want, and save money... I'd probably go OOP, and just not order many sodas and desserts.

 

[StuckInKS]

It seems to me that they are focusing the dining plan on Free Dining times, like maximizing how much it costs to upgrade from QSDP to DDP (especially) or DxDDP; BUT I guess that depends on how much menu prices go up. Once they raise those prices, DDP may look like a good deal again

We were on the DDP this last time, but we still ate at cheaper places (especially on our last 3 days, which were OOP). We found travelling to Boardwalk is a good deal for us, as we can get boardwalk pizza or eat at BRG for $45 to $60. We can also eat at Plaza or get a lunch at LTT for around the same price. This is about as much as it costs us for a Disney CS. So we may be doing more of those types of places instead of getting a dining plan next year.

I will say that this was our first time in 3 trips using a dining plan and we did enjoy the prepayment aspect and simplicity. I mean, you can get a gift card and put the money on it, but I'd still be worried about if we were overspending and running out of money on the card. This way I KNOW how many meals we have regardless of how much we spend on them.

 

[disneymom06]

I think that they are pricing themselves out for us. While I loved the original DDP when tips were included, I liked the next step although it had less value and I now had OOP tip expenses. Now, it is not much of a value,especially if you want to skip a meal, and the QSDP is now just a prepay option for next year. Unless it is free for our trip, then I will just pay OOP.

 

[dmband]

The DP never works for my family
My kids are all under 6 and we typically do quick serve
I found you can break even if you eat the dessert and everything but it is hard to come out ahead cost wise

 

[Colleen27]

I think that the basic & quick service dining plans now are shifting into a role of "promotional item" rather than something Disney really hopes to sell on their own merits, at least for savvy travelers. They're a great deal when they're free and raising the price only makes "free dining" look like an even better offer, but it is difficult to get real value out of them if you're paying full price.

There's still some savings potential with the DxDDP at non-holiday pricing, and I think they sell that one on the "all-inclusive" aspect as much as on the value. I know that's a big factor for us and one that no other alternative can equal; I could buy an AP and a TiW card and put $2500 on a gift card for our dining, but neither the discount or the over-large dining budget would stop DH from balking at Disney's inflated (as compared to what we're used to here in small town middle America) menu prices.

When it comes to holiday pricing, I can only assume they're marketing towards first timers who don't know any better because with only the buffets/character meals having higher holiday pricing the peak season DDP/DxDDP surcharge erases any potential savings in a hurry.

ETA: I personally an not holding my breath on restaurant price increases that will make the new dining plan prices worth paying. The DxDDP went up 10% last year and 8% this year, while restaurant prices went up 2-4%. Disney seems to be very deliberately scaling back the value of the plans, not adjusting the cost to account for higher menu prices.

 

[amber.miller]

We took a 10 day trip at the end of April/beginning of May this year with 3 adults, 2 kids (3 and 1). To add the regular DDP (1 TS, 1 CS, 1 S) would have cost us right under $1600 since half of our trip fell into the Peak Time Rates which are a couple dollars more per person per day. I knew there was no way we would spend that much out of pocket on food so we decided to pay OOP. We charged everything to our room and I kept the printout when we left. We spent $900 on food/drinks/dessert and we ate at 2 character meals and multiple TS throughout our stay. My mom was the 3rd adult who went and she spent $200 in assisting us with paying for food (she kept her receipts). So basically we saved almost $500 paying out of pocket. Of course we did not get dessert at every lunch and dinner, and I only drink water so that cut down on drink costs. Basically I said all that to say, you can easily save money by paying out of pocket

 

[Madonna3]

I've always taken up for the DDPs and said what a great deal they were. I go to WDW several times a year and have used the DDP (either the basic DDP or the DxDDP) every single trip. I prefer TS restaurants, so have no interest in the counter service plan. However, we've found that the DxDDP is too much, but with the basic DDP we usually round up paying OOP for a couple more TS meals and then have a couple of counter service meals left over. We are also not snackers, so nearly always have all of those left over to use up the last day. Consequently for the first time in years, my upcoming Sept and Nov/Dec trips my meals will be OOP. I plan on using the TIW card to get 20% off almost all my meals. Since I'm not a fan of CS and eat mainly TS it works out cheaper than the DDP and I get to eat at restaurants that don't take the DDP and get to order exactly what I want. If I want two appetizers that is what I'll order.

This is long and I'm sorry, but I wanted to comment thoroughly.

Don't forget that the TIW card automatically adds 18% gratuity to every check, negating any real discount. Basically, consider paying full price for your meals and having the tip included.

I've used all the dining plans in the past. The only time I've ever felt that the dining plan was a steal was when I first tried it in 2007 and the tips were included. Now, I constantly analyze the plans. I think 2011 is the last year I will use them. My goal for 2012 is to plan out meals and put the cost on a Disney Gift Card. I know with our habits I can come under the DDP pricing, but above the QSDP price and I'll have a mug for each member of the party included with my precious snacks accounted for as well. I hate spending money on vacation. I am a person that likes everything paid for upfront and enjoy the knowledge that whatever is in my wallet is mine to spend on me.

The regular dining plan isn't enough. I stopped using it the year they stopped including tips and that was the year I used the deluxe plan. I used the DDP for the first time in 2007 when it was offered for free. Then, it had 1 QS, 1 TS, 2sn, and tips included. That's exactly how we ate. We'd snack in the morning, sit down for lunch, get something quick for dinner and another snack in the evening. The enjoyment of "sit and sign" was fantastic. I vowed to use the plan every year.

Then, they took away the tips. When I priced it out, it was still worth it to me, but they took away a snack. With interest in 2 TS credit meals (we did none before) and the loss of our precious snack, I was afraid my family wouldn't have enough to eat, so I decided to try the bigger plan. I used the deluxe one time and while I had an absolute blast using all those credits at table services I found 3 drawbacks: 1. we forced ourselves to eat 2. the tips totaled over $600 3. we spent all day in restaurants because by using all TS we got the most value. If that plan wasn't so expensive, I might do it again just for the freedom of being able to eat, whenever and wherever and never having to worry about it. However, I did not like the feeling that I was "paying" for my meal when I felt I already paid. I know it was just for the tip, but every meal my KTW card was charged and I just didn't experience the same euphoria.

I switched to QSDP the following year, which was the first year it was offered, and I loved it. I got my snacks, my mugs, lunch, and dinner. I didn't mind giving up the TS options because I gained freedom. I never had to rush to a restaurant, I was never late for an ADR, I was never groaning I wasn't hungry yet, and I felt my options were plenty. The plan was a good value. I would purchase 2 QS meals per day anyway, so it's food I would already eat. We also average two snacks a day, so that fit too. Throw in the mug we always buy and it was made for us. The pricing of the plans made the snacks, mug, and one kids meal "free". I was saving money on stuff I would normally buy.

This new change has my beloved QSDP losing a snack. That's $4 a day I am losing. They didn't increase the price by $4, unlike other dining plans, because they took it away instead. The regular plan got an increase of $5 a day, but only got about $1.85 a day in additional value, per person, depending on length of stay. The deluxe plan got nothing more than the sheer enjoyment of paying more for something they got cheaper last year.

If you do a lot of signature experiences or two table service credit meals, the deluxe is probably still a good deal. The DDP is no more a value than it's been since they took away the tips and snack, and that's zero. That is a break even plan. However, people will likely stick with it because they got the mugs back that they've been asking for. I feel the QSDP will be a hard sell.

I used to be a DDP advocate and spend hours showing people how they can actually save money. Now, I don't blame them for doing it on their own. The point of the DDP, in my opinion, was to show people that Disney was more than a few theme parks and nice hotels. Again, this is my opinion, but I feel as if they wanted to start showcasing their restaurants. There were so many on property and they were sitting idle because guests didn't want to pay for overpriced "theme park" food without ever having been to the restaurant. How many years did Le Cellier sit idle? Now, you can't get a table and the quality has actually gone down. Why? Because now people know about it and they plan itineraries around eating there.

In the early part of 2007, I could have walked into Coral Reef and had lunch with no wait. I didn't do that because I thought $14.00 for a lunch entree was a bit much. Now, I fight for an ADR to get in there so I can have my lobster salad lunch. It's completely worth the $14. (It is removed from the menu, but if you ask, they'll make it) I didn't know that until I tried it on the dining plan. It's a place I wouldn't have gone to unless Disney gave me the option to try it for free those years back. Because of that strategy, I tried lots of places I had never ever considered dining at. Now, I whine and ***** when I can't get an ADR.

So, in summary, I feel that Disney isn't necessarily trying to discourage the public from the use of the dining plans, but it is instituting the old "you get what you pay for" motto and they are no longer willing to give it to us for free now that we know what awesome dining options exist. Even free dining isn't "free", it's in lieu of a room discount. I am a bargain shopper, if something isn't discounted then I'm less likely to participate. However, I do enjoy peace of mind and I get that on my beloved QSDP and peace of mind is something I'm willing to pay for - at a premium.