Is the dining plan going to change in 2011

[2Tiggies]

Yes the cover is minnie and a little girl - says official 2010 Travel brochure - second edition on the cover.

Oh, I see that now. Mine doesn't mention edition no. so it is obviously the first one. I will order in that case. As you see from my post, I don't require any unnecessary Disney paperwork .....

My vault (I like that!) is a cardboard box in my bedroom.

It used to be a lever arch binder. It now occupies 4 box files and three such folders. It is totally organized, but I really need to ditch at least 70% of the stuff which is so outdated now. I have actually considered taking a day off work to do it. Yes, seriously!

 

[emmababy]

Why can't they just leave it alone for 1 freaking year. And why do they always take something away but increase the price at the same tiem??? If they take away desserts- then leave the price alone. I am getting real sick of this....

 

[bytheblood]

Why can't they just leave it alone for 1 freaking year. And why do they always take something away but increase the price at the same tiem??? If they take away desserts- then leave the price alone. I am getting real sick of this....

It is frustrating, but I dont beleive that the people making these decisions care about our frustrations or what makes sense for us. Iger needs a huge bonus each year and this is how he gets it.

 

[hroyale]

I think disney is just trying to help me make up my mind about adding the DDP to our Jan trip. Nice of them to want to make my life easier by reducing the number of viable options.

 

[bytheblood]

The thing to remember is: no pricing or options have been officially released yet. We can all get mad in August.

 

[2Tiggies]

The thing to remember is: no pricing or options have been officially released yet. We can all get mad in August.

So true. Also keep in mind that this rumor is based on UK literature. Historically the dining plans bought in the UK have always been a bit more expensive than doing a flat our currency conversion. In addition to this, the prices are adjusted periodically throughout the year and do not reflect the current exchange rate, but are done retrospectively. Don't panic this yet. With regard to the rumored changes, nobody knows. Concerning price increases, this could well be completely irrelevant to US guests. When the plans dropped the appetizer and tips a few years back the prices remained the same. UK prices increased. Hope this calms everyone's nerves a bit.

 

[Praying Colonel]

Why can't they just leave it alone for 1 freaking year. And why do they always take something away but increase the price at the same tiem??? If they take away desserts- then leave the price alone. I am getting real sick of this....

IMHO they will continue to charge more and/or provide less until the public reaches its collective "squeal point" on the DDP. Since the DDP apparently continues to be popular, the public hasn't reached that point yet.

 

[bicker]

IMHO they will continue to charge more and/or provide less until the public reaches its collective "squeal point" on the DDP. Since the DDP apparently continues to be popular, the public hasn't reached that point yet.

Pretty much. Service providers gauge public reception of the pricing and offerings each year, and make adjustments based on the feedback purchasing behaviors indicate. Every year, at least for the last few years, people have expressed concern about removal of portions of the offering and increases in prices. Yet the plan remains popular, and they've not added back appetizers or the gratuity, etc.

There are many folks in this thread who made it clear by their purchasing the 2010 Dining Plan that what they offered in 2010 was worth it, yet there were folks in a similar thread last year that said that what Disney removed from the 2009 plan was unacceptable. (Hopefully, no one who said such a thing actually later did patronize the 2010 plan... that would be embarrassing. )

 

[Anjelica]

Do we know roughly when in August they will release the information regarding the 2011 DDP's?

 

[Tricia1972]

Do we know roughly when in August they will release the information regarding the 2011 DDP's?

I believe that it's usually early in the month. I think last year was around the 10th or so.

 

[bicker]

Does anyone remember how long thereafter were DVC-specific details released?

 

[disneygirl15]

We purchase the dining plan because it is convenient and cost effective for us. The benefit to Disney is that we are less likely to venture off site to other Orlando area attractions since our meals are essentially prepaid at Disney. If the dining plan in 2011 does not seem like a good deal then we will pay for meals OOP but it also makes it easier to spend a few days at Universal or Seaworld. I would think that Disney would want to keep the meal plans attactive since they help keep guests in the parks spending money.

 

[bytheblood]

I see a lot of comments about waste. I think most of the waste comes from having 10-year-olds count as an adult on the dining plan. My daughter is 12 and eats small meals. She is very small, most people think she is 8 or 9. When we go to a place like Le Cellier, she loves Filet Mignon and will order it, but she only eats half. If we go to Coral Reef and she orders the chicken, she eats about a third of it and takes a few bites from her dessert.

It would make sense for Disney to offer the option of a child or adult meal plan for kids between the ages of 9 - 14/15ish...not all people like to eat until the miserable. I do not make my kid finish what is on her plate if she is full. Last thing we want is a "protein spill" on Big Thunder Mountain. People should be able to book and pay for what they plan to eat.

 

[2Tiggies]

I see a lot of comments about waste. I think most of the waste comes from having 10-year-olds count as an adult on the dining plan.

This is true.

It would make sense for Disney to offer the option of a child or adult meal plan for kids between the ages of 9 - 14/15ish...not all people like to eat until the miserable. I do not make my kid finish what is on her plate if she is full. Last thing we want is a "protein spill" on Big Thunder Mountain. People should be able to book and pay for what they plan to eat.

The trouble is that the restaurants have kids options and adult options and the difference in portion size is huge. To offer and in between plan they woudl have to add another whole section to the menus at all participating restaurants. I think if the kids menus as they are offered slightly larger portions and they increased the cut off age to 11 or so it may work. There will never be a plan that suits absolutel;y everyone which is why Disney leaves the option of dining without a plan.

 

[bytheblood]

This is true.



The trouble is that the restaurants have kids options and adult options and the difference in portion size is huge. To offer and in between plan they woudl have to add another whole section to the menus at all participating restaurants. I think if the kids menus as they are offered slightly larger portions and they increased the cut off age to 11 or so it may work. There will never be a plan that suits absolutel;y everyone which is why Disney leaves the option of dining without a plan.

No, no, no, no, no! I am simply stating that it should be an option - do they want a kid meal plan or adult meal plan. That would be no change on Disney's part. It just means the waiter confirms which menu the guest can order from, child or adult.

 

[honeymo78]

If the current aspects of the dining plan don't work for you or require compromise or waste - why are you still buying it? (this is the general you, not any specific person) If the reason to stay on the plan is the great value, then spending a little extra to get meals, items, etc that would make you happy the do it since you are still saving money. If your kids want more food than a kids meal or your adult wants less food than an adult meal, you probably are better off just not getting the dining plan.

I once thought we couldn't live without a dining plan after years of premium and platinum plan use. DDP didn't work because we don't like many CS meals. Deluxe didn't work because we like signature meals and places that aren't on the plan and DH doesn't always want an appetizer. We tried to make both of them them work and found we were complaining about something or another. We now make use of TIW since we have annual passes, but even if we didn't use that, we would just pay OOP since that is a better deal for us.

If the plan changes in 2011 in ways that don't work for you or your family, its okay, just don't buy it. There is no rule that says you have to get it or that you can't eat well without it.

 

[2Tiggies]

No, no, no, no, no! I am simply stating that it should be an option - do they want a kid meal plan or adult meal plan. That would be no change on Disney's part. It just means the waiter confirms which menu the guest can order from, child or adult.

Okay, I am with you now. Just taken my first few days break from work since Christmas time and clearly my head was very eager to get into the slower pace without hesitation

If the plan changes in 2011 in ways that don't work for you or your family, its okay, just don't buy it. There is no rule that says you have to get it or that you can't eat well without it.

I think you have hit on one of the key problems for some (not all) people who like the plans. It is quite easy to get accustomed to liking the plan and after a while may WANT to like the plan. The DDP didn't work for me. I like the QSDP and we are doing it again this year. DD is 8 so she will probably still be 9 next trip. Even with the rumored changes is might still work for us and a break even is fine by me. However once she turns 10 I doubt you will find me paying for her for an adult plan for a few years. Even with free dining, if we go during that period, I would prefer a good room discount. Also, she is starting to show an interest in different TS restaurants now and some of the ones I like are NOT on the DDP so arrows are pointing away from purchasing it at that stage. This is one of the main reasons I like the QSDP. It allows us to do our OOP TS meals wherever we like. Also, since I don't want TS every day, it still works out better than the regular DDP. That said, I don't know for sure what I will do. As with the DDP, I can only speculate what might work for me in the future. The dining plans have and will continue to change. So do the needs of your family. You need to assess afresh with each trip.

 

[KELLY]

Okay, I am with you now. Just taken my first few days break from work since Christmas time and clearly my head was very eager to get into the slower pace without hesitation



I think you have hit on one of the key problems for some (not all) people who like the plans. It is quite easy to get accustomed to liking the plan and after a while may WANT to like the plan. The DDP didn't work for me. I like the QSDP and we are doing it again this year. DD is 8 so she will probably still be 9 next trip. Even with the rumored changes is might still work for us and a break even is fine by me. However once she turns 10 I doubt you will find me paying for her for an adult plan for a few years. Even with free dining, if we go during that period, I would prefer a good room discount. Also, she is starting to show an interest in different TS restaurants now and some of the ones I like are NOT on the DDP so arrows are pointing away from purchasing it at that stage. This is one of the main reasons I like the QSDP. It allows us to do our OOP TS meals wherever we like. Also, since I don't want TS every day, it still works out better than the regular DDP. That said, I don't know for sure what I will do. As with the DDP, I can only speculate what might work for me in the future. The dining plans have and will continue to change. So do the needs of your family. You need to assess afresh with each trip.

This is us. We are paying op for meals that wouldn't be on the regular dining plan also. T-rex and Rainforest also are only adr Garden grill. We stuck with the QSDP I can't have 10 days of adr's and keep everyone happy. We wanted to stay moderate but the regular dining plan isn't for us this year. We have done it 3 times and just don't want to deal with adr's. So we are staying at pop again to get the QSDP for free. DD is so happy since she loves pop. My wallet wants to .

 

[2Tiggies]

We wanted to stay moderate but the regular dining plan isn't for us this year. We have done it 3 times and just don't want to deal with adr's. So we are staying at pop again to get the QSDP for free. DD is so happy since she loves pop. My wallet wants to .

I had a similar predicament. Never been in free dining before. I booked with Disney UK and our deal for FD is no free dining with value, QS with moderate and regular with Deluxe. (Please note, for the avoidance of any confusion or panic, this is not a rumoured change - UK has always done it this way with different offers). I was looking at WL but couldn't downgrade so went with POFQ. Now ordinarily, paying for the plan this would not have been an issue so there are other limitations to the dining plan too. I would love to do Pop while DD is still fairly young, but with the promotion it was cheaper to stay at a mod with FD than to add QSDP at Pop. You really have to check the promotions carefully

 

[starwarsdisney]

Wow, that was a lot to read through and my emotions were all over the board. While I'm not happy about paying more for a little less, I really hope that they are going to leave the dessert with the TS. I actually like the dessert option. While I don't now eat dessert very often, I do want it while I'm on vacation. Isn't vacation about living it up?

I would hope the price does not increase if you are taking things away. I can deal with out the CS dessert. I would eat it, but didn't think it was that good anyway. As long as they don't take away the TS meal dessert it would still make sense for us. When I was first reading through and told my wife we might have to rethink the DDP she was upset. She really loves the plan and the value. I admit that we also eat at some places that we might not if we were paying OOP. It's also nice to not have to worry about meal pricing while we are there. Not big fans of the QSP as we enjoy our TS meals.

We did have free dining in December 2009, but I'll take a 30% room rate discount at CSR anytime over the free dining.

I guess we will see what happens and go from there. I really want to know though so we can make a DDP decision soon before we book our May 2011 trip.

I also hope they don't start changing WS places into signature dining. Then the plan starts to REALLY lose its appeal!