No more segmented vacations for ddp

[CarolMN]

Disney doesn't want value, they want perceived value and profit. The business model for DDP is built on length of stay with Guests paying more for their DDP than food that they would buy OOP.

DVC Members using the DDP every few days cost Disney money so segmenting was halted. If any type of segmenting plan made Disney money then they would modify the DDP rules for DVC Members.

There is more going on behind the stage with all of the recent DVC issues than we could ever imagine. All we can do is wait and see what's next.

Bill

Bill,

I agree with you.

I've said all along that this is about the money. It may have started with MS thinking they could use a feature of the new software to make members happy, but it ended abruptly because of the money. I don't believe that what members have been told so far is anything but spin. That was my point.

That said, I also don't have a problem with them ending it. It's their right. I'm sympathetic to those members who lost out, though. We all love a bargain.

Carol

 

[DHar]

They will if you change resorts or room type. Think of it as a trade off for not having to buy park tickets as part of the package.

i can do it if one reservation is in my name and one is in my wife's name or one of the other people going

 

[Tiger926]

Bill,

I agree with you.

I've said all along that this is about the money. It may have started with MS thinking they could use a feature of the new software to make members happy, but it ended abruptly because of the money. I don't believe that what members have been told so far is anything but spin. That was my point.

That said, I also don't have a problem with them ending it. It's their right. I'm sympathetic to those members who lost out, though. We all love a bargain.

Carol

Yup, I agree with this too, as a possible reason for the abrupt cancellation too.

Allowing segmenting, especially with DxDP and children, saves a considerable amount of money if eating character meals.

When segmenting first started, hubby being a number guy, made a spreadsheet with eating 3 character meals in one day, especially if going during peak season, and the savings was very substantial.

I'm not sure people ate 3 character meals a day, but even if you ate 2, and ate at a more expensive TS, like Tutto Italia, again, you have considerable savings.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the future, and especially with the people who have already paid for segmenting for travel during the next few months.

Tiger

 

[Sammie]

Well I for one blame it all on Jim Lewis, I am sorry everyone but just could not resist.

And who knows it might be true.

 

[Tiger926]

Well I for one blame it all on Jim Lewis, I am sorry everyone but just could not resist.

And who knows it might be true.

Tiger

 

[Sandisw]

Bill,

I agree with you.

I've said all along that this is about the money. It may have started with MS thinking they could use a feature of the new software to make members happy, but it ended abruptly because of the money. I don't believe that what members have been told so far is anything but spin. That was my point.

That said, I also don't have a problem with them ending it. It's their right. I'm sympathetic to those members who lost out, though. We all love a bargain.

Carol

And I just can't imagine they even thought that members would start segmenting into day by day reservations so they could do the DxDDP every other day.

IMO, they may have thought about members wanting to segment off the first or last nights, as you mention previous, or a few consecutive nights and then nothing but nothing that creative.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...I'm not sure people ate 3 character meals a day, but even if you ate 2, and ate at a more expensive TS, like Tutto Italia, again, you have considerable savings....
Tiger

Good grief, who could eat two character meals in one day? For that matter who can eat three table service meals in one day? I was lucky enough if I could get two down for the entire trip - wait, maybe I should have segmented - BUT, I wouldn't have eaten them in one 36 hour period.

Well I for one blame it all on Jim Lewis, I am sorry everyone but just could not resist.

And who knows it might be true.

You know he was behind it started. They had to stop his madness when he was fired. They figured up the cost of lost dues on Aulani and the cost of lost OOP dining and he was gone.

 

[otterpop]

Do you think it was really about money? It sounds like only a very small percentage of members were segmenting their reservations and the money involved was probably negligible (this assumption is based on the previous posting that they had to call about 100 members about the change). Also, on the flip side, do you think members took advantage of doing the dining plan every other day (or only for a few days of their trip) that would have not normally even purchased the dining plan to begin with? That alone probably more than equals the money Disney was "losing" by having some members doing the dining plan every other day.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I think DVC will allow segmenting the Dining plan in the future with a new and improved way of doing it.

I think we all agree that Disney is very good at providing options to guests that allow them/us to spend more money than we normally would and I think that segmenting is one of those...

Evan

 

[castleri]

they wont give you 2 seperate reservations unless you are changing resorts / room categories at the same resort...atleast that is what i was told......

Just got back from a 10 day stay 3 nights BLT 1BR LV, 3nights OKW 2BR, and 3 nights AKV Kidani studio.

The BLT and OKW was listed as one reservation even with different resorts and room types. The AKV nights were made at a different time and had only DH and myself instead of the 5 we had in the other two. The first two were made the same day when the trip was first planned. Don't know how this would play out if I did this again and wanted the DDP at only one or the other of the two resorts on the same reservation number.
This time we had DxDP the first night at BLT and nothing the rest of the time. In Dec we have the DxDP for the first night at AKV.
I must be one of the 100 that had segmented and paid prior to 9/6.

I spoke with a woman on the bus to OKW who had just stayed at POP one night with the premium plan. She was eating two meals at Fultons - don't know about the third and had done the bass fishing in the morning and was doing several tours I think. She was checking into OKW for a couple of days before her cruise. She said they had done away with allowing people to book just one night to get that plan - there is now a 3 night minimum. There is definitely a money issue to this whole thing.

 

[Tiger926]

Good grief, who could eat two character meals in one day? For that matter who can eat three table service meals in one day? I was lucky enough if I could get two down for the entire trip - wait, maybe I should have segmented - BUT, I wouldn't have eaten them in one 36 hour period.

We used to eat 2 table service meals per day - character breakfast and dinner. Two of us have low blood sugar, so we have to eat 3 meals a day, plus snacks. We don't eat fast food, nor do we eat junk food or sugary snacks all day long, so this worked out fine for us.

The few times we've done DxDP, we usually spread it out over 2 days.

Now, we love cooking in our villa, especially at OKW, so we can eat on the balcony! A little slice of heaven...

Thousands of dollars in Disney dining that we no longer spend each year, but we actually were considering doing segmenting this past July, but we had to cancel our entire trip due to hubby's illness. With the kids and character meals, over that 2 week trip, we could have segmented a few times, which would have got us our character meals, and saved a lot of money. Way more savings than using TIW, that's for sure, so segmenting could really save guests money. Not sure Disney really wants that...

Tiger

 

[bastraker]

Do you think it was really about money? It sounds like only a very small percentage of members were segmenting their reservations and the money involved was probably negligible (this assumption is based on the previous posting that they had to call about 100 members about the change). Also, on the flip side, do you think members took advantage of doing the dining plan every other day (or only for a few days of their trip) that would have not normally even purchased the dining plan to begin with? That alone probably more than equals the money Disney was "losing" by having some members doing the dining plan every other day.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I think DVC will allow segmenting the Dining plan in the future with a new and improved way of doing it.

I think we all agree that Disney is very good at providing options to guests that allow them/us to spend more money than we normally would and I think that segmenting is one of those...

Evan

I totally agree! I think they got rid of it because of all the problems they were having at the front desk. I know, because I've done it several times.

Disney's IT department stinks. They should have never offered this if they didn't have a computer program in place to handle it.

 

[csmommy]

Do you think it was really about money? It sounds like only a very small percentage of members were segmenting their reservations and the money involved was probably negligible (this assumption is based on the previous posting that they had to call about 100 members about the change). Also, on the flip side, do you think members took advantage of doing the dining plan every other day (or only for a few days of their trip) that would have not normally even purchased the dining plan to begin with? That alone probably more than equals the money Disney was "losing" by having some members doing the dining plan every other day.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I think DVC will allow segmenting the Dining plan in the future with a new and improved way of doing it.

I think we all agree that Disney is very good at providing options to guests that allow them/us to spend more money than we normally would and I think that segmenting is one of those...

Evan

+1

 

[disneynutz]

I totally agree! I think they got rid of it because of all the problems they were having at the front desk. I know, because I've done it several times.

Disney's IT department stinks. They should have never offered this if they didn't have a computer program in place to handle it.

All indications were that the restaurants and Front Desks were getting up to speed with the segmented reservations. Disney will always come up with a PR reason that blames the other guy or the software or the computer or because Members requested it, but they will never say that a rule or policy was changed because they weren't making enough money.

Disney knows people and they know their business and they count their money down to the penny. I don't believe that segmenting was a mistake or loop hole because they could have plugged the hole months ago and didn't.

They may have tracked every DDP transaction made by Members and the food they ate, what it cost and how much profit it brought in. Either the numbers didn't make sense to them or they are looking at the options.

We might see some sort of segmenting in the future or we may not.

Bill

 

[Dean]

Take this info however you wish.

DVC called me because I had emailed them that I was unhappy they had done away with this. Our August segmented vacation went off without a hitch & we wanted to do it again this May. I had a very calm conversation & this was the info I received:

• At the time, only 100 reservations had segmented & paid for their dining plans, so they felt it was the best time to suspend segmenting as it did not impact a lot of clients.
• They suspended segmenting because of ALL the extra work behind the scenes it took to make it happen. The amount of time it took the fix dropped reservations & DVC point issues we did not see caused them more work then was worth it.
• They also suspended it because too many people had problems while on vacation. He said my August experience was an exception not a rule.
• They are working on ways to make segmenting work within the computer system so they can re-introduce it. However, he did not commit to it being re-introduced.
• If you book 2 different resorts, you are able to have 2 different dining plans.
• If you book 2 different room types at the SAME resort, you can have 2 different dining plans.
• The "loophole", according to him was NOT an issue. Apparently there was a lot of behind of scenes fixing that needed to be done & it was causing the back office more work then anticipated.
  • For those who were told by a CM they could wait to pay & segment later - DVC will not honor that because at the end of the day it was the clients choice to wait.

Hope someone finds this info useful.

DVC is good at patronizing you. Unless we see segmented reservations for the same unit and reservation again, which I doubt, I'll believe there's more to it than just the time and aggravation of administering it.

 

[csmommy]

All indications were that the restaurants and Front Desks were getting up to speed with the segmented reservations. Bill

I pointed that out & he told me that there was a lot of behind the scenes going on that we didn't see that helped make it work.

I have no idea if he was blowing smoke up my skirt & just trying to blame it on something intangable. The guy was nice, calm & polite. He did stress to me that they are working on it & that the return of segmenting was not completely out of the question.

 

[Brian Noble]

Folks, if you are going to disbelieve anything Disney tells you anyway, why bother asking?

If it comes back, it comes back. If it doesn't, it doesn't. My money is on "doesn't", because I can't see what Disney gets out of it. But, I've been wrong before.

 

[keishashadow]

just stumbled across this thread, but must admit I wondered how segmented DVC DP would work out anyway for all concerned when it was announced. We've all waited in long lines in the lobby over the years. I can't point the finger definitively, but have a feeling this might have been tipping the balance unfavorably when so many guests are clamoring around the desk in the morning for various reasons (yes, i do go out of my way to avoid the lines but often observe them when walking thru the various lobbies).

Most likely the segmented offer was a 'teaser' to get those DVC'ers who have been resistant to trying the DP to give it a whirl & get hooked.

I lobbied hard for the DP to be offered to DVC members the 1st year it came out, was thrilled we were permitted to purchase it the next year without any sort of ticket media. I don't always buy the DP, but still consider it the best perc!

 

[jdg345]

Do you think it was really about money? It sounds like only a very small percentage of members were segmenting their reservations and the money involved was probably negligible (this assumption is based on the previous posting that they had to call about 100 members about the change). Also, on the flip side, do you think members took advantage of doing the dining plan every other day (or only for a few days of their trip) that would have not normally even purchased the dining plan to begin with? That alone probably more than equals the money Disney was "losing" by having some members doing the dining plan every other day.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I think DVC will allow segmenting the Dining plan in the future with a new and improved way of doing it.

I think we all agree that Disney is very good at providing options to guests that allow them/us to spend more money than we normally would and I think that segmenting is one of those...

Evan

Probably not about money at all. More likely, it was due to overwhelming member feedback.

 

[Nanapapa3]

Had a successful segmented trip...just read here that it is no longer an option

For those of you interested, we had absolutely no problems with our segmenting and really enjoyed trying the dining plans for the first time. Too bad it is gone, as we would do it again next trip.

Here is what we did:

1. BCV-no DP...ate oop @ Cape May's. Great meal.

2. BCV-DXDP...new KTTW cards under our door in the morning. Fun to have the resort mugs for am coffee. Lunch @ Le Cellier 1 TS each...Wonderful! No problems with credits or room keys.

3. VWL-no DP...breakfast at Whispering Canyon 1 TS each. We did not enjoy this meal and would opt out of using our credits for breakfast again. We did the FREE culinary tour at Boma right before dinner. We were the only 2 there! We ate dinner at Boma and LOVED it! 1 TS each. We ended up at MK's Main Street Bakery for our 4 snack credits and took 2 apple turnovers and 2 cinnamon rolls back to the villa for breakfast the next two mornings.

4. VWL- DDP...picked up new KTTW cards at the front desk on our way to get coffee. We split a meal for lunch at the Grand Floridian Cafe using 1TS credit total. Great steak and service.

5. OKW-no DP...split a main street bakery ham and cheese sandwich and an apple turnover for lunch. 1 CS total. We had a wonderful concierge at VWL who searched each and every time slot for a last minute ressie at O'hana for dinner that night...low and behold we got the coveted ressie! We only had 1 TS credit left, so we paid oop for one meal. Loved this restaurant! We used our last (1)CS credit for a sandwich at Earl of Sandwich wrapped up for the next morning's late breakfast. Also used our last (1) snack credit for some toffee that came home with us.

6. OKW-DDP...picked up new KTTW cards on our way to the bus stop. We had lunch at Mama Melrose. Walked in to check if there was any availability and the manager gave us the "Fantasmic Package" which entitled us to a "free" appitizer and tickets to Fantasmic. 1 TS each. We loved the food, but left half way through Fantasmic...not our cup of tea. Used our snack credits for a dole whip and one last apple turnover! 2 SC total. Upon check out the next day we had 2 CS credits to use with not alot of time before ME came to pick us up. We ended up getting a sandwich at the quick serve place by the OKW pool, not sure what the name was, and boy was that a bad way to end the trip. Needless to say, we wished we had returned to MK's Main Street Bakery for one last ham and cheese sandwich and apple turnover

What a great first trip home we had Can't wait to bring the grandkids for their first Disney World adventure

 

[marko]

I don't think this was a "loophole". If I am recalling correctly, I seem to remember a blurb in the newsletter (before the change) regarding the upcoming changes to the reservation system, and it included information about flexibility for the dining plan. Or perhaps it was on the website. I will do a search and see what I can find.