Long Time Disney Dining Fan Officially Done With Disney Dining

[hotcarib]

DDP works for us and it works more from a mental than cost standpoint. If the food is already paid for I can relax and enjoy my meal without fretting over cost. 2 or 3 years ago we tried not using DDP and it was the least relaxing/fun Disney trip we have taken. Also, (and maybe this is just my non-savvy trip booking skill set) we generally travel during free dining, but the few times we have purchased DDP (and booked the room at a 30% discount) outright our costs have been the same......within a hundred dollars or so
So, for us it works~not certain if I would be singing the same song if my kids still lived at home

 

[havoc315]

Anyone wonder if Disney got themselves in a pickle with all the free dining and are trying to kill it via economics instead of discontinuing it and facing a huge backlash? Or thinks they got everyone used to it and can now raise the price w/o most customers noticing?

The latter. They hope you don't notice the cost. They no longer list the price in any publicly available material. Not on their website. If you book it, there is no price breakdown on the invoice. If you ask a CM on the phone, they refuse to tell you the price. (they claim the computer only gives a total package price and no nightly price is available).
Unless you research at 3rd party sites, the only way to know the price of the ddp, is to ask for a package price with ddp, without ddp, and then get a calculator.

So yes, they are hoping you don't notice the exact price.

There are probably some people, having heard of free dining, who click to add the dining plan, and don't even realize its not free for their particular trip. They just see the total price... $3000 for example. And don't realize it would be $800 cheaper if they removed the dining plan.

 

[tartemis]

I hate the disney dining plan for a number of reasons, and would never buy it, but I have to disagree that people are turning away from CRT because of it. For my last 3 trips, I've desperately been trying to get into that place, with no avail. Granted, I'm not calling 180 days out, but this last time (for our trip in October) I did call 90 days out and wasn't able to get a single reservation for lunch or dinner during our entire trip. Not that it probably makes a difference, but we also always stay concierge, and supposedly they continuously try to get us in, but it has never happened.

We have "free" dining coming up for our October trip (I would prefer a room discount, but haven't been able to get one) and I'm already annoyed with it, because it just doesn't fit our dining style--yet I feel compelled to not let it go to waste.

 

[Q-man]

The latter. They hope you don't notice the cost. They no longer list the price in any publicly available material. Not on their website. If you book it, there is no price breakdown on the invoice. If you ask a CM on the phone, they refuse to tell you the price. (they claim the computer only gives a total package price and no nightly price is available).
Unless you research at 3rd party sites, the only way to know the price of the ddp, is to ask for a package price with ddp, without ddp, and then get a calculator.

So yes, they are hoping you don't notice the exact price.

There are probably some people, having heard of free dining, who click to add the dining plan, and don't even realize its not free for their particular trip. They just see the total price... $3000 for example. And don't realize it would be $800 cheaper if they removed the dining plan.

Interesting. I remember all the touting of $37.99 per back in the day.

 

[havoc315]

Interesting. I remember all the touting of $37.99 per back in the day.

They stopped touting the price when it went over $42....
Now they try to keep the price a secret, just sneak it into your bill. That obviously tells you that Disney doesn't even consider it to be a good value for guests, or they wouldn't be deliberately hiding the price.

 

[JLS]

They stopped touting the price when it went over $42....
Now they try to keep the price a secret, just sneak it into your bill. That obviously tells you that Disney doesn't even consider it to be a good value for guests, or they wouldn't be deliberately hiding the price.

Bingo. And the declining value is not just a problem for those who purchase the DDP. It is no secret that hat that Disney has significantly raised the prices on all of the buffets and character meals over the past couple of years - not to mention the "holiday" (including all summer) surcharge. Disney HAD to do that in order to justify the increased cost of the DDP. Its all about perceived value. If the prices of dinner at 1900 Park Fare or Chef Mickey's is now $41.95 per adult, and you "only" pay $53.00 per day on the DDP then DDP purchasers feel like they are getting a great deal. But you almost have to go to those most expensive all-you-can eat meals these days in order to break even on what you pay for the DDP. We went to Via Napoli and I realized that I did not want to burn a TS credit on a pizza that was $18. Its reverse logic from what you normally experience at a restaurant - I found myself hesitating to order something that I actually wanted because it was less than $20.

 

[OThopeful35]

Bingo. And the declining value is not just a problem for those who purchase the DDP. It is no secret that hat that Disney has significantly raised the prices on all of the buffets and character meals over the past couple of years - not to mention the "holiday" (including all summer) surcharge. Disney HAD to do that in order to justify the increased cost of the DDP. Its all about perceived value. If the prices of dinner at 1900 Park Fare or Chef Mickey's is now $41.95 per adult, and you "only" pay $53.00 per day on the DDP then DDP purchasers feel like they are getting a great deal. But you almost have to go to those most expensive all-you-can eat meals these days in order to break even on what you pay for the DDP. We went to Via Napoli and I realized that I did not want to burn a TS credit on a pizza that was $18. Its reverse logic from what you normally experience at a restaurant - I found myself hesitating to order something that I actually wanted because it was less than $20.

I totally agree with this!! I'm waiting to see the price increase on character meals for 2013 as well as the increase on all the other restaurants.