DisneyKidds
<font color=green>The TF thanks DisneyKidds for mo
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2001
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After 20 years of using Disney dining plans, from a Gold Key package on our honeymoon, through Food N Fun and numerous other iterations, to the Disney Dining and Deluxe Disney Dining Plans, we are officially done with Disney Dining. I had always been an advocate of Disney's plans, because I always felt the plans represented a value, at least for my family and the way we eat. Unfortunately, I can no longer say that. Not that we won't eat in Disney restaurants. I still think there are wonderful restaurants and great meals to be had, it's just that a Disney dining plan is no longer a cost effective way for us to have those meals.
The reason we are done is not simply price, although that is the biggest part of it, but also the fact that options for using the plan are being limited more and more. The combination of high price and more limited options has driven us away. I say all of this from experience, as we were at WDW last week. We did use the plan as a matter of convenience (yes, there is still a measure of convenience in prepaying your meals, even if you don't save any money), as we were travelling with another family.
First, let me talk about price. Since our trip last August, prices for the Disney Dining plans are up 18 to 24%. That is a huge increase. Along with that huge increase comes a mug with the regular dining plan. For purposes of assessing value, you can count on a counter service credit and snack being worth $16 a day combined (on average). Taking this $16 off the $52 price of the regular plan, your table service meal is costing you $36 (which includes tax). Will some meals you eat be worth more than $36? Yes, particularly for some character meals. However, many won't, and what you might save on one meal you will likely give back on others. Even if you order a most expensive item (say a $28 steak at Le Cellier for lunch) and add a drink and dessert you will only save about $4, and not every person is going to want to order the most expensive item every time. Mind you, you aren't all that likely to lose money with the plan, but you aren't going to save much either. Now, back to that mug. Even if you just break even, or even save a couple of dollars on meals, isn't the $15 mug worth something? Maybe yes, maybe no. If you would have bought the mug anyway, it has value. If you wouldn't have, it doesn't. I liken the mug to what they did at the Norway restaurant a number of yeas ago. Jack the price and "give" them a picture most people weren't buying. Now you buy the picture whether you want to or not. Same with the mug. Anyone wanna guess what Disney's profit margin is on pictures and mugs? Signature dining on the regular plan? You can largely forget about that, as you will most likely lose your shirt. Your two credit table service meal has to be worth about $72 to break even. Yes, go to Narcoossees and get the surf and turf and you can top that, but that may be the only place/entree you can get value on a signature meal. Sometimes Yachtsman's offers a surf and turf that can also get you that kind of value.
So, you are saying to yourself, what is the problem? You got the plan, and you even saved $3 dollars on each of your table service meals. Why complain? That's a good question, and the answer has to do with ever more limited options, and a bit of nickel and diming. The minor savings a few people might achieve (and again, many won't as they may not want the most expensive items on the menu), for us at least, is not worth the kind of dining the plan forces us into when not sitting down to a meal. Granted we have never been big counter service fan, but there were always decent enough options that we could be relatively happy, because under even last year's pricing we were saving a measurable percentage on our table service meals. What we found this last trip was the options for what you could get with a counter service credit were a bit more restricted. As an example, look at Main Street Bakery. Used to be you could go there at breakfast and get an egg sandwich and a pastry and a drink, or two pastries and a drink, for your counter service credit. Now, it's just an egg sandwich (and a smaller one than they used to have), or one pastry and some fruit (and not very fresh fruit) and your drink. There also used to be other things that you could do to use your counter service credit, or convert them, or whatever, that are now gone. And snacks, those have gotten worse in some ways, too. Take the egg rolls at Yak and Yeti counter service. They sell one for $2.49, or two for $4.49. Used to be you could use a snack credit for the two egg rolls. Now, even though they are an appropriate cost for a snack (must be under $5 before tax), they won't let you use a snack credit because the two egg rolls are not a "single serving"? I'm sorry, but that is nickel and dime BS. And these are just a few examples, but they do show that options and choices are being limited more and more, further reducing the value of the plan.
That combination of higher price and more limited options has finally made me decide that we will no longer be using the Disney Dining Plan.
What about Deluxe Dining, you ask? Well, that is interesting, and Disney isn't stupid. At $85 per night, less the value of two snacks, you are paying about $76 for three meal credits. There are ways that you can use those three credits that will be worth more than $76. A character breakfast and Signature dinner is how we typically would use the Deluxe plan, and you can still save a lot if you use it that way, even with the cost per night up 18%. That is where Disney is savvy....drive people looking for value to the more expensive plan. Thing is, $85 bucks a night is hard to swallow if you are on vacation for a week, and most people, us included, don't need a signature meal every night, or the appetizers and desserts that come with (without apps I gained 8 pounds on my 170 frame last week). So, most people won't maximize the potential value of the Deluxe Dining Plan. For a couple of nights would I consider the Deluxe Plan? Perhaps....but probably not often. Other thing is, with Tables in Wonderland you can achieve similar savings to what the Deluxe Plan might offer......until they do away with that. I wouldn't be surprised to see TIW go the way of the Dodo Bird soon, as Disney can't actually have people saving money, can they?
Perhaps one of the scariest things for Disney I saw last week.......was hostesses trying to get random people to come into the Castle to have breakfast with Cinarella, on a Saturday in the summer season. Is it possible that the combination of higher prices, more required credits, more required credit card guarantees, etc., etc. are cathing up to Disney? There was a time when Cindarella's Royal Table was the hottest ticket in town and was impossible to get...........
The reason we are done is not simply price, although that is the biggest part of it, but also the fact that options for using the plan are being limited more and more. The combination of high price and more limited options has driven us away. I say all of this from experience, as we were at WDW last week. We did use the plan as a matter of convenience (yes, there is still a measure of convenience in prepaying your meals, even if you don't save any money), as we were travelling with another family.
First, let me talk about price. Since our trip last August, prices for the Disney Dining plans are up 18 to 24%. That is a huge increase. Along with that huge increase comes a mug with the regular dining plan. For purposes of assessing value, you can count on a counter service credit and snack being worth $16 a day combined (on average). Taking this $16 off the $52 price of the regular plan, your table service meal is costing you $36 (which includes tax). Will some meals you eat be worth more than $36? Yes, particularly for some character meals. However, many won't, and what you might save on one meal you will likely give back on others. Even if you order a most expensive item (say a $28 steak at Le Cellier for lunch) and add a drink and dessert you will only save about $4, and not every person is going to want to order the most expensive item every time. Mind you, you aren't all that likely to lose money with the plan, but you aren't going to save much either. Now, back to that mug. Even if you just break even, or even save a couple of dollars on meals, isn't the $15 mug worth something? Maybe yes, maybe no. If you would have bought the mug anyway, it has value. If you wouldn't have, it doesn't. I liken the mug to what they did at the Norway restaurant a number of yeas ago. Jack the price and "give" them a picture most people weren't buying. Now you buy the picture whether you want to or not. Same with the mug. Anyone wanna guess what Disney's profit margin is on pictures and mugs? Signature dining on the regular plan? You can largely forget about that, as you will most likely lose your shirt. Your two credit table service meal has to be worth about $72 to break even. Yes, go to Narcoossees and get the surf and turf and you can top that, but that may be the only place/entree you can get value on a signature meal. Sometimes Yachtsman's offers a surf and turf that can also get you that kind of value.
So, you are saying to yourself, what is the problem? You got the plan, and you even saved $3 dollars on each of your table service meals. Why complain? That's a good question, and the answer has to do with ever more limited options, and a bit of nickel and diming. The minor savings a few people might achieve (and again, many won't as they may not want the most expensive items on the menu), for us at least, is not worth the kind of dining the plan forces us into when not sitting down to a meal. Granted we have never been big counter service fan, but there were always decent enough options that we could be relatively happy, because under even last year's pricing we were saving a measurable percentage on our table service meals. What we found this last trip was the options for what you could get with a counter service credit were a bit more restricted. As an example, look at Main Street Bakery. Used to be you could go there at breakfast and get an egg sandwich and a pastry and a drink, or two pastries and a drink, for your counter service credit. Now, it's just an egg sandwich (and a smaller one than they used to have), or one pastry and some fruit (and not very fresh fruit) and your drink. There also used to be other things that you could do to use your counter service credit, or convert them, or whatever, that are now gone. And snacks, those have gotten worse in some ways, too. Take the egg rolls at Yak and Yeti counter service. They sell one for $2.49, or two for $4.49. Used to be you could use a snack credit for the two egg rolls. Now, even though they are an appropriate cost for a snack (must be under $5 before tax), they won't let you use a snack credit because the two egg rolls are not a "single serving"? I'm sorry, but that is nickel and dime BS. And these are just a few examples, but they do show that options and choices are being limited more and more, further reducing the value of the plan.
That combination of higher price and more limited options has finally made me decide that we will no longer be using the Disney Dining Plan.
What about Deluxe Dining, you ask? Well, that is interesting, and Disney isn't stupid. At $85 per night, less the value of two snacks, you are paying about $76 for three meal credits. There are ways that you can use those three credits that will be worth more than $76. A character breakfast and Signature dinner is how we typically would use the Deluxe plan, and you can still save a lot if you use it that way, even with the cost per night up 18%. That is where Disney is savvy....drive people looking for value to the more expensive plan. Thing is, $85 bucks a night is hard to swallow if you are on vacation for a week, and most people, us included, don't need a signature meal every night, or the appetizers and desserts that come with (without apps I gained 8 pounds on my 170 frame last week). So, most people won't maximize the potential value of the Deluxe Dining Plan. For a couple of nights would I consider the Deluxe Plan? Perhaps....but probably not often. Other thing is, with Tables in Wonderland you can achieve similar savings to what the Deluxe Plan might offer......until they do away with that. I wouldn't be surprised to see TIW go the way of the Dodo Bird soon, as Disney can't actually have people saving money, can they?
Perhaps one of the scariest things for Disney I saw last week.......was hostesses trying to get random people to come into the Castle to have breakfast with Cinarella, on a Saturday in the summer season. Is it possible that the combination of higher prices, more required credits, more required credit card guarantees, etc., etc. are cathing up to Disney? There was a time when Cindarella's Royal Table was the hottest ticket in town and was impossible to get...........
As I mentioned before, I really dont think paying out of pocket would work for us. There's no way.
