New Proposed Dining Plan is a Ripoff!

[Tam1067]

Please, receive less and pay more. Where I come from that is a ripoff!!

Pretty funny the unions complained about the tip and got it removed, but I think it will haunt them in the end. So now when I get horrible service I can leave a shiny new penny for the tip!!! Disney is already expensive, removing the tip will definately cost the servers to lose more money IMO. With tip included they always got something. You know there is an old saying, "be careful of what you ask for, you just might get it."

Disney wanted the tip removed and made it part of the package presented to the union members; the union members first voted down the contract with that provision but then approved it on the second vote. However, the union covered under the new contract includes servers and some other workers who are not affected by the elimination of the tip. The servers, in general, were not pleased with that part of the contract, and the vote itself was close, but the other union members outvoted them and approved the contract on its second vote.

Let's not blame the union for Disney's actions to remove the tip and increase their own profits.

 

[danalee]

I agree about the tip thing. I see that hurting some cm's.
I have used the DDP twice and loved it both times and out of everywhere we ate we had bad service only 2 times, and on both occasions I wouldnt have even left the penny!

On the other hand we had excellent service 4 or 5 times that I can recall and we left an additional tip, so next trip, say we get the DDP and I have excellent service, unfortunaly there tip will not be as big. Please dont flame me for being cheap I am not(was a waitress in past life ) but when our service was great and our tip was included we tip another 18% on top of that, now if my service is just as great this time will I tip 36% most likely not maybe 20-25% but 36% Its the difference of it already being paid for and me taking it all out of pocket.

I also would much rather have an appitizer not dessert. We like our "desserts" in the park, popcorn, mickey bars, frozen banana's you get the picture. But I am sure that since a CS meal includes that dessert thingie thats why the dessert not the appy was left on the plan. I would LOVE the choice

Will we use the plan next August, well that depends on what all of you guys say!
The deluxe plan seems like alot dosent it? I mean I guess it could work if you wanted to do, the castle, HDDR, the Luau, yachtmans? Right?
That one has me a little

When will we know for sure when this will go in effect? anybody know?

 

[Nancyg56]

I've never believed that DDP was the driving force behind the standardization of food, and I do not believe changes in the DDP will have any effect on the quality of food. The standardization is an attempt to offset rising costs (of many types, not just food costs) and I see that expanding, not going away.

One way to deal with rising costs is to maximize capacity, and that means making sure everyone can find something they'll eat in every restaurant. The foodies will hate it, but the masses will eat there. In that sense, DDP and standardization sort of work together, but I don't think one is driving the other.

I never saw any evidence that the DDP was the underlying cause either. I see the impact rising costs have had on many of our restaurants as well. While it is nice to have a wide selection on the menu and while it is nice "fine dining" quality available, if the market won't support it, it will not remain. There have been some higher end restaurants in our area that needed to scale back their menus becasue the demand was simply not there. Some enjoyed but not enough to justify the cost of keeping those items on the menu.

The DDP probably has helped Disney restaurants that were not maintaining capacity while seeming to have a negative effect on others.

 

[Redbudlover]

My thoughts on this include the memory of a whole bunch of people talking about how much food was being given away and not eaten on the DDP as it exists now. It was an incredible bargain - $39 for an appetizer, entree, drink, snack and a counter service meal that also included an appie, entree and drink. Lots of people on these boards talked about how there was no way they could eat as much food as was being provided....

My experience was that the $39 was often less than just the real menu cost of the one TS - all the rest was a bonus freebie. I know I ate meals that would have cost more than $50 for the TS - and because I like the signature meals would often pay for the cheaper TS like buffets OOP.

As an ocassional solo traveler, the DDP didn't make sense for me when I tried it last winter because there was just too much food. I felt like an idiot - and kinda guilty, throwing all that food away.

So the new plan is defiinitely not the bargain the old one was. But I am thinking - so I pay $38 per person for me and the second person in my party. We share an appie OOP for say $8. We don't share an entree and dessert - like we might have done under the old plan with only 1 TS per day. So we each eat a full entree and a full dessert and share an appie and spend $8 and our entrees and drinks would have cost us from the menu $70. We still need to spend that day at least $6 to use up what we have paid for the DDP that day. WE will use that on snacks. So the next two meals that day will be free! I will probably eat CS lunches and sometimes CS breakfasts - but half the time I will enjoy breakfast character meals because I like them. So the days without character meals my partner and myself would save approximately $40. The days we enjoy a character meal - at say $17 each for that - we save $55. Not as big a savings, but for someone like myself who counts dining at WDW as wonderful as the rides, the park scenery, the tours, and the ambiance, the DDP still makes a lot of sense..... $55 a day times 7 is $385. Whoo Hoo!

 

[salmoneous]

So we each eat a full entree and a full dessert and share an appie and spend $8 and our entrees and drinks would have cost us from the menu $70. We still need to spend that day at least $6 to use up what we have paid for the DDP that day.

Just a quick bit of math - if you've spent $38x2 for the plan, plus $8 OOP, that leaves you $14 more you need to get from the plan. But that assums you really rang up a $70 tab. At the majority of Disney TS restaurants with the majority of entrees, an app + 2 entrees + 2 desserts + 2 drinks will cost less than $70.

 

[william4192]

Is this new deal for sure? or is it a rumor?

 

[wedance6]

all I have to say is I'm glad I decided to try the free dining plan this year, I don't think I'll purchase it in the future with the changes. If it's free, fine, but otherwise, it's not a great deal anymore. Bummer. Why is this company so money hungry? Greed.

 

[wedance6]

Is this new deal for sure? or is it a rumor?

Yes, it was announced on wdwig.com

 

[salmoneous]

Yes, it was announced on wdwig.com

From Deb's site:

Again, this is UNofficial information. Look for Walt Disney World to officially announce the 2008 packages and dining options in August.

It's a rumor, albeit one from a pretty good source.

 

[n2mm]

From Deb's site:

Again, this is UNofficial information. Look for Walt Disney World to officially announce the 2008 packages and dining options in August.

It's a rumor, albeit one from a pretty good source.

I agree, it's pretty much writing on the wall. Deb would not have posted a rumor unless she felt pretty sure this is a done deal. The only thing left is the official announcement. I agree with a PP, that only free DDP would interest me in the future, but have my doubts about that happening too. It was great while it lasted. Between these changes with the DDP and the "season" room rates changing, I'm not getting a warm fuzzy feeling anymore and am still glad I bought into the DVC 2 years ago.

 

[bicker]

I assume that's your personal opinion?

Yup. It's really a matter that too many people seem to think that anything that is not in the consumer's best interest is therefore evil. It's an unrealistic perspective, and fostering it helps no one enjoy their vacation any better.

 

[bicker]

Please, receive less and pay more. Where I come from that is a ripoff!!

Where I come from, a ripoff is when you pay for something and you don't get it. That's not the case here. You're being told in advance what you're paying for, and then you can choose whether to pay for it or not.

I suppose some people could feel compelled to get the Dining Plan even though they don't feel it is a good value for them, but that's really THEIR problem, eh?

 

[bicker]

Is this new deal for sure? or is it a rumor?

The information is still not official.

 

[salmoneous]

Where I come from, a ripoff is when you pay for something and you don't get it.

Just to get all semantic, your definition is pretty narrow. I think the OP's definition fits well within this standard:

rip-off (rĭp'ôf', -ŏf')
n. Slang.
A product or service that is overpriced or of poor quality.
Something, such as a film or story, that is clearly imitative of or based on something else.
A theft.
An act of exploitation.

 

[Golden Rose]

We're planning on saving receipts on our upcoming trip and then seeing what our daily total would be. That said, the new DDP, as proposed, is utterly uninteresting to us. We like the Signature Dining restaurants best and we love appetizers... so the Deluxe DDP might actually be worth it for us. Most trips (when we aren't on the DDP) we actually do almost all TS anyway. We're not big breakfast eaters to begin with, and we generally stay at Concierge level and eat breakfast in the lounge, so with the Deluxe plan we could do a regular table service meal and a Signature dining meal a day. Perfect.

As long as the Deluxe plan has appetizers and the ability to do Signature Dining meals for 2 credits, it is actually better for us than the current DDP is. Unless they give you the option of appetizer or dessert on the regular DDP, we would never buy it as it stands now.

 

[hansel1]

So I did some math on the costs for the following restaurants. I figured that I would save $20 on 9 days worth of DDP. Not alot after all is said and done. I also worked out that I will have to spend an extra $99.21 for tips, apps and tax. (the amount that I will lose if the DDP changes are put in effect) I go from saving $119.21 to saving only $20. That blows.

Here are my calculations:

These prices include the entree and dessert (unless noted) but not taxes, tips or drinks.

LeCellier - 39.96
Coral Reef - 31.99
Nine dragons - 17.99 (no dessert)
San Angel Inn - 20.25 (no dessert)
Liberty tree tavern - 27.99
mama melrose - 22.18
Garden Grill - 27.99
CRT - 40.99

the total w/out taxes, tips or apps would be 229.34 for 9 meals.

the ddp would be $341.91 for 9 days or TS credits.

If I add 7.75% tax to the 229.34 that would come out to another $17.77 for a total of $247.11

If I add the Average counter service cost of $12.24 before tax for 9 days or credits that is another $110.16

If I add the average price of a large drink for the snack, 2.39 x 9 equals an additional 21.51 before taxes.

Adding the TS amounts plus the CS amounts and the Snack amounts, my total is $361.01 before taxes. I will save roughly $20

I like a salad with my dinner which probably won't be included on the plan. That will run me another 4.50 - $4.99 a day plus tax and tip. so out of pocket I would be paying $40.50 for apps, $3.14 for tax and $48.57 in tips.

Total out of pocket for Table services would be $92.21, roughly $10 a day. Since i am saving roughly $2 a day on the DDP, my out of pocket would be closer to $8 per day.

 

[bicker]

Just to get all semantic, your definition is pretty narrow. I think the OP's definition fits well within this standard:

rip-off (rĭp'ôf', -ŏf')
n. Slang.
A product or service that is overpriced or of poor quality.
Something, such as a film or story, that is clearly imitative of or based on something else.
A theft.
An act of exploitation.

I disagree completely:

rip off

Function: transitive verb
1 a : [SIZE=-1]ROB[/SIZE]; also : [SIZE=-1]CHEAT[/SIZE], [SIZE=-1]DEFRAUD[/SIZE] b : [SIZE=-1]STEAL[/SIZE]
2 : to copy or imitate blatantly or unscrupulously
3 : to perform, achieve, or score quickly or easily <ripped off 10 straight points>


​

Rob? Cheat? Defraud? Those are serious accusations, and that's what Webster's says the word means.

 

[mickey2000]

I disagree completely:

rip off

Function: transitive verb
1 a : [SIZE=-1]ROB[/SIZE]; also : [SIZE=-1]CHEAT[/SIZE], [SIZE=-1]DEFRAUD[/SIZE] b : [SIZE=-1]STEAL[/SIZE]
2 : to copy or imitate blatantly or unscrupulously
3 : to perform, achieve, or score quickly or easily <ripped off 10 straight points>


​

Rob? Cheat? Defraud? Those are serious accusations, and that's what Webster's says the word means.

I am always amazed by ALL your posts and words of wisdom !
Do you work for DI$NEY

 

[DisneyJimbo]

The more I think about this, the more I think Disney is intentionally trying to reduce the uptake for DDP, especially amongst the more bargain-minded. The Deluxe plan is a significant value, but for a smaller and higher-end market. The regular plan is now really aimed at the guest looking for convenience, as opposed to the guest looking for value--it's still a discount, but now a much smaller one, and much closer to the break-even point.

In other words, the people who spent a lot of time trying to figure out ways to stretch their DDP the farthest are exactly the people most likely to abandon the plan now. The people who just walk into their local travel agency and say "Send us to Disney; you figure it out." are still likely to sign up..

I doubt that's accidental.

Interesting take...I agree!

 

[Becky2005]

And as for the proposed Premium plan - 3 ts per day ! when would you fit in the time to do the parks ! I know you can have counter options instead of ts on that plan but if I were to do that I wouldnt be subbing many ts for cs meals

I don't know where the proposed changes are listed at but we went on the Premium in 2005 & the main reason DH chose that over the dining plan is he didn't want to have to deal with figuring out TS vs. CS, etc... Basically if he wanted 3 TS meals in one day he wanted to do that.

I think we might have done some that way...I can't remember but I do know we ate a LOT (however, for DH, getting nice big meals was my only hook to even get him to want to go to Disney in the first place).

Are they now saying it *has* to be TS? In the past, the Premium was just 3 meals/day -- didn't matter if it was counter or table. Also, the Premium was never a good value just for the food, you needed to take advantage of the recreation to even be *close* to coming even.

OK...I just read where the proposed changes were and honestly the "Deluxe dining plan" would be absolutely *perfect* for our family. It is exactly the type of plan we would like. About 1/2 the time we didn't order appetizers when we went because there was nothing we liked in that category. It will just depend on which restaraunts are included.