Kids get booze credit on DxDDP and other recent dining experiences

[cobright]

A little of this has probably come up in other threads concerning 2018 changes to the Dining Plan. Even so, some things surprised me on our last trip.

So our strategy when we do a proper trip (as opposed to short stays on the cheap) is to get the DxDDP. Most days we will usually pull breakfast in the form of a pastry using snack credits or pay out of pocket and eat on our feet. Then we use a meal entitlement for lunch in the park and then dine at a signature restaurant later in the evening. I've heard and read that signature dining is never a good use of a dining credit but we track our meal expenses meticulously and in the last 5 trips done this way we have lost less than $10 per person per day compared to paying out of pocket on two trips and came out ahead $10, $12, and $18 per person per day on the last three trips. Close enough that I call it even but that having the dining plan eliminates a lot of hassle. Not meaning to stir up a debate on the DxDDP economic value, some people love it, some don't, but some of the recent changes have shown up as real benefits to its value; for my family at least.

• One change that I noticed right away is the choice of still or sparkling water with the meal. I don't know if this is unique to signature dining or common to all table service meals. I prefer sparkling and would often use my meal drink option to order a common soda fountain sparkling water. This represents a $3 or $4 menu price value. During our recent meal at California Grill we were informed that our deluxe plan now entitled us to a 1 liter bottle of S.Pellegrino each, and having used only 3 during our meal we were invited to take the remaining 2 bottles home unopened. At another meal (can't remember where but perhaps Yachtsman) we were served Voss sparkling water.
• The next surprise may or may not be standard practice, the situation only came up twice. But we found that at least on those two occasions the wait staff was happy to ring up 4 adult beverages against the DxDDP entitlement and write our two children's soft drinks up with the part of our bill paid out of pocket. To be clear, our children are 11 and 14; of an age that we must buy them the adult dining plan but too young to legally consume adult drinks. This was a point of rub for many when the changes to the dining plan were announced, that all would pay more for it even though some would not get all the benefits. At our CG dinner for instance, the wife and I had 2 $12-$15 cocktails each and a bottle of champagne (it was a very long meal), the kids each had a $5 or $6 smoothie or whatever. We expected to pay for 2 cocktails and the bottle of wine out of pocket. Instead, all the cocktails went on the plan and we paid for $11 worth of smoothies out of pocket instead of $25 worth of mixed drinks. Armed with this knowledge, I light heartedly suggested this at our next meal at the Boathouse and the waiter didn't bat an eye. In that case, the kiddos had ordered Sprites or something and the menu value would have been all of $7 total for the both of them compared to the $30 worth of cocktails that went on the plan instead.
• Keep in mind, always, the waiter is working primarily for tips. Anything they can do to get your menu value spending up means a higher basis to calculate your tip against. Putting more onto a prepaid dining plan does them no harm.
• There does seem to be a $15 price cap on cocktail entitlements. We were informed of this when ordering our drinks at Yachtsman and the San Angel Inn. In both cases I showed an interest in a seasonal cocktail that exceeded this cap slightly. Boathouse quickly dismissed my concern and wrote up the more expensive drink. The server at San Angel was kind of a jerk and even drew the line at a cocktail that was exactly $15. This didn't make him a jerk, I wouldn't have held this against him, he had other issues.
• Restaurants definitely track return business. Yachtsman and CG both had "Welcome Back" cards for us on our table when we arrived. Something we had seen only once before at CG.

Dining cost wise, we actually came out the most ahead on our last trip; the first trip with the new DDP policies. On the other hand there have been trips where the weather or other conditions conspired against us and we left with unused snack credits, and I have seen the departing families in the resort gift shop burning up full unused meal credits on treats and such to take home. So I can see it not being for everyone. But I was concerned as anyone on how the changes would affect the value of the DxDDP plan we favored and I'm now quite happy with it.

 

[YesterDark]

That's damn interesting. Didn't think of the child part of the plan. Thanks for the writeup.

 

[sharonabe]

• The next surprise may or may not be standard practice, the situation only came up twice. But we found that at least on those two occasions the wait staff was happy to ring up 4 adult beverages against the DxDDP entitlement and write our two children's soft drinks up with the part of our bill paid out of pocket. To be clear, our children are 11 and 14; of an age that we must buy them the adult dining plan but too young to legally consume adult drinks. This was a point of rub for many when the changes to the dining plan were announced, that all would pay more for it even though some would not get all the benefits. At our CG dinner for instance, the wife and I had 2 $12-$15 cocktails each and a bottle of champagne (it was a very long meal), the kids each had a $5 or $6 smoothie or whatever. We expected to pay for 2 cocktails and the bottle of wine out of pocket. Instead, all the cocktails went on the plan and we paid for $11 worth of smoothies out of pocket instead of $25 worth of mixed drinks. Armed with this knowledge, I light heartedly suggested this at our next meal at the Boathouse and the waiter didn't bat an eye. In that case, the kiddos had ordered Sprites or something and the menu value would have been all of $7 total for the both of them compared to the $30 worth of cocktails that went on the plan instead.

Thank you for confirming what some of us assumed would happen sooner or later with the addition of alcohol and kids who are Disney adults on the plan. If the practice continues and expands to most TS, this will be a game changer for many on the fence with the dining plans.

 

[cobright]

That's damn interesting. Didn't think of the child part of the plan. Thanks for the writeup.

It came up when the changes were first announced. People complained, "what about teetotalers and minors?" Others rebutted, "They can now get the expensive milkshakes!"

Not the best counter argument, even I thought at the time. Sure, a milkshake is tasty but not so much a thirst quencher. Not gonna rehydrate on frozen milk and sugar. Wash down a steak with it... even so, we figured we would come out even as a family, losing a bit of value on the kids and gaining a little on our own.

Side note... I noticed a few places' seasonal cocktails were really weak. Like they had the table placards for them to sorta push them forward but did not want to actually spike that punch properly. Cocktails throughout the parks* are generally weak, and I get that and respect it as a sobriety measure. But in and out of the parks the 'special' cocktails tended weak. I actually sent one back at San Angel asking the bar man if maybe he forgot to load mine by mistake. I almost never send things back.

My new strategy is to have waiter request the bartender's choice or recommendation. Like ordering 'omakase' at a sushi joint. Now the barman is invested in my drink. There is a professional reputation to uphold. He knows I'm a drinker of flexible but developed taste. Always a good cocktail.

*the drink cart in China pavilion is a welcome exception to this general rule. Most of the world showcase drink carts are good. I'm speaking mostly about restaurant cocktails.

 

[cobright]

Thank you for confirming what some of us assumed would happen sooner or later with the addition of alcohol and kids who are Disney adults on the plan. ...

I have had friends relate being shot down on this on their recent trips. I can't say it is a part of policy or just my good luck, goid looks, or charisma. I can say that I've never dined out on any of those three things before so I'm dubious that I'm just that lucky. I can also say that, where it did happen for me, both times were alongside some pretty steep dinner tabs. Like, what they wrote up was a drop in the bucket. Place might not be so generous if the tab wasn't quite so big.

And I'm simply talking plainly the economics of this situation, I dont mean it as bragging. WDW is our one extravagant expense a year. The rest of the year we are a very middle class. I live on a dirt road is what I'm sayin' and not one o them fancy dirt roads.
(That last paragraph is somewhat tongue in cheek. We have friends who will ask about our vacation then chide us for having such a high falutin' time. It's become an inside joke.)

 

[1GoldenSun]

I live on a dirt road is what I'm sayin' and not one o them fancy dirt roads.

Off topic, but I have a fondness for dirt roads. Some of the most interesting places I have been were accessed via dirt roads.

 

[vinotinto]

Well darn, I love sparkling water, and we ate at CG in July on the DXDP, and I don't remember being offered San Pellegrino.

We have kids your age and I was thinking DXDP would not be good on our next trip, but if I can use their drink entitlement, then I may need to think about this...

 

[sullyfam]

We have always done the DXDP and aren't doing it on our upcoming November trip. Trying to worry less about rushing to dining reservations this time. I was curious about the addition of alcohol but that is very good to know. Our oldest is a Disney Adult now so we might just have to splurge on the DXDP on our next trip!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Thanks for providing this feedback. There have been plenty of threads here where people argued this could never happen (adults being allowed to use their kid's drink entitlements). So it's interesting to see it actually happening. Could be a game-changer.

 

[gharter]

Since you paid for it, good to know somebody can use the drink credit and not lose it. Not what I would have guessed would have happened.
Could this be up to each server or is this policy?

 

[cobright]

Could this be up to each server or is this policy?

I'm just speculating to take it this far, but my guess is there simply isn't anything in the POS software that prevents it. The webpage for the dining plan pretty plainly says that each meal entitlement only gets you an alcoholic drink if you are 21 or older. There are plenty of compromises made for the benefit of good customer service.

In most places I've been, it's common to forget to bill about one drink for every 5 ordered, especially if you tip well. So a restaurant willing to dip a toe into the gray area doesnt surprise me. Or it may be a soft policy being 'sussed' out to answer customer complaints about the issue. In which case the policy may eventually be restated to allow this or to more specifically forbid it. As it stands it appears like not a lot of thought was put into it.

 

[TeresaWen]

So rather than 2 glasses of wine & 2 non alcoholic drinks included you get 4 glasses included and are paying for 2 non alcoholic drinks?

Sounds like a win / win. The customer feels like they got something for free and Disney gets the customer to pay out of pocket for something extra. Both beverages cost them so very much less than they are charging so no real loss for them.

 

[Farro]

Now that's nice for you guys with kids!

 

[cobright]

Now that's nice for you guys with kids!

Or any drinker traveling with an adult (or dis-dult?) who is under 21 or otherwise a teetotaler.

But yeah, it translates into an extra 5-10 dollars per non boozer per day. For those of us who drink our children into the background noise now and again, it was quite a treat.