Other DDP changes you wish Disney would have considered

[dcibrando]

Let's hear everyone's different options you wish Disney would have considered for the changes to the dining plan in 2008




Here are a few of mine:

$35/person
- 1 snack or breakfast pastry/item (anything $4 and under)
- 1 counter service meal (no desert)
- 1 table service meal (choice or appetizer or desert per person)
I'll live with gratuity not included... or just raise the price to $40 to include gratuity

or maybe this

$40/person
- 0 snack (dining plan just for meals, not snacks)
- 2 counter service meals (no desert)
- 1 table service meal (appetizer & desert)
again... ok I'll live with gratuity not included... or just raise the price to $45(or something?) to include gratuity


what does everyone else think... let's hear some of your ideas and who knows... maybe disney is listening

 

[CarolA]

I think they are going to wish they had made the gratutity mandatory..... I think the servers are going to be unhappy after they get stiffed a few times and unhappy CMs do not make for a magical experience.

 

[sorul82?]

I agree with the app or dessert option.

 

[dcibrando]

can't agree with you more... I think some of the following might happen

- less people going to disney maybe because dining plan was such a huge plus (I know it was for me)

- less tips for servers therefore unhappy CM's

- some not even realizing tips aren't included anymore (those that have done it in the past)

- less people eating at table service meals

- more people eating at counter service meals or more snack purchases

- less people eating in the parks themselves (some may go outside of disney to eat)

- there won't be anywhere CLOSE to as many people doing the dining plan now

- more people may actually look at staying off property now since the previous dining plan in my opinion was a huge perk for staying on site

etc..etc..... regardless... whatever Disney is thinking that this will help... I'm afraid it is going to hurt more




I gotta say... my wife and I started going to Disney in May 2005... and did the dining plan for the first time in August 2005. Since then we have fell in love with Disney even more and have been going more often. One of the BIG things about Disney to us was being able to do the dining plan and trying new places, food, etc. It was another way to enjoy the vacation... in fact we were holding off on buying into DVC until we noticed they had the dining plan option as well. ....and now... the DDP in my opinion is not anywhere close to like it was... and it hurts

I would have rather them keep everything like it was.. and just raise it all the way to $45... i would have still done it... but not now. *sigh*


it would be interesting to see some of the emails disney is receiving after this change to the DDP is out

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

can't agree with you more... I think some of the following might happen

- less people going to disney maybe because dining plan was such a huge plus (I know it was for me)

- less tips for servers therefore unhappy CM's

- some not even realizing tips aren't included anymore (those that have done it in the past)

- less people eating at table service meals

- more people eating at counter service meals or more snack purchases

- less people eating in the parks themselves (some may go outside of disney to eat)

- there won't be anywhere CLOSE to as many people doing the dining plan now

- more people may actually look at staying off property now since the previous dining plan in my opinion was a huge perk for staying on site

etc..etc..... regardless... whatever Disney is thinking that this will help... I'm afraid it is going to hurt more




I gotta say... my wife and I started going to Disney in May 2005... and did the dining plan for the first time in August 2005. Since then we have fell in love with Disney even more and have been going more often. One of the BIG things about Disney to us was being able to do the dining plan and trying new places, food, etc. It was another way to enjoy the vacation... in fact we were holding off on buying into DVC until we noticed they had the dining plan option as well. ....and now... the DDP in my opinion is not anywhere close to like it was... and it hurts

I would have rather them keep everything like it was.. and just raise it all the way to $45... i would have still done it... but not now. *sigh*


it would be interesting to see some of the emails disney is receiving after this change to the DDP is out

I really agree with the staying off property part, at least for my family. We were really looking at staying offsite. We looked at the condos that were a lot more room and a lot less money (since staying onsite for a family of 5 is no bargain). Out of all the onsite perks the dining plan is what sealed the deal. We could eat where we wanted without looking at the price and no worrying about running out of money in the middle of the trip. I think next time we do Disney, we will most likely stay offsite.

 

[CarolA]

You know the "profit" margins may be HIGHER on CS meals... Disney might not mind if folks move to CS They can "turn" more folks thru the resturant, it costs less to run in terms of manpower, take up less "space" etc........

 

[dcibrando]

maybe... then they need to offer more variety in my opinion

I would LOVE to Disney to just have a salad bar somewhere.. like pay $5-$7 for salad bar as a meal or something like that

 

[Tess'smom]

We may not go to WDW as often. We had plans of flying down two to three times in 2008 and doing a package including Dining. Now, we may only do one big trip. I think we are going to try a Universal and Sea World trip in February instead. Disney is still my first choice, but now my rationale about why WDW is so convenient and inexpensive with an all inclusive plan including tips isnt true anymore - my DH wont be as easy to convince.

 

[patsal]

What I would have been ok with

1. Change price to $45. leaving everything as it was

2. Change price to $45, 2 snacks, 1 CS no dessert, TS as was with tip included

3. Give me a $35 plan with 3 CS that include dessert (or a bread product with breakfast), no snacks, no TS

4. Change price to $50 2CS, 1TS (as it was) and no snacks

5. Add $2.00 to the price keep tip on TS, choice fo dessert or app, rest of plan same as 2007

I didn't mind that I was close to breakeven before , and I would pay about $5.00 per person for the convienience of not having to deal with tip OOP, but otherwise I'm out since I could pay OOP for much more variety off site for less $$. I think this will help to clear ou the restuarants if that's what they intended, but I'm not sure empty tables is the result they were looking for.

 

[emma'smom]

I'm really not all that concerned about the tip. I'll leave a tip...but I really am very disappointed about the appetizers being deleted. We took my parents last year and they really loved having the plan. We loved the fact that everyone could choose an appetizer that they really liked (including meeting dietary preferences/restrictions) and this year, I'll be embarrassed to tell them that appetizers aren't included, since they were last year. Of course, we could just order them OOP, but my parents won't let me do that..They just won't eat them...or we'll order just one for the entire group to share.

I would have happily paid 40 or 42.99 or whatever per day for the old plan (with appetizer and dessert) with or without the tip...I don't care one way or the other.

HEY DISNEY- IF YOU ARE LISTENING...BRING BACK THE APPETIZERS!!

As it, we'll probably just use our DDE card and will go to more CS's when we don't. The fun is over!!.....and we really had fun with the DDP....really too bad. I'm not usually this bothered by a silly policy change.

Who can I write to?

 

[Disneytwinz]

HEY DISNEY- IF YOU ARE LISTENING...BRING BACK THE APPETIZERS!!

I could not agree with this more.
I really wish they had just raised the price of the plan instead. The 'taking away' from the plan is what left a bad taste in our mouths.
Charge me more darnit! Of course, we're just a number. :/

This has seriously made us rethink future trips to where we will check out Universal and get that visit into SeaWorld that we have always wanted to fit in but couldn't because Disney was #1. Of course we are going ahead with out 2009 plans but afterwards changing our Florida agenda. Good timing to check out the Harry Potter Theme Park I suppose! Universal's dining plan looks more interesting to us at this point. I checked it out online last night. Hmmmm

 

[bigbabyblues]

I liked the gratuity being included before. I would have preferred they left the plan alone and raised the price a couple dollars if they felt they had to.

I think a lot of people will be eating off property or counter service now, or else just not doing the ddp. We will probably continue to use the ddp, as it works well for us, but we have yet to see what happens to the room rates, which will affect the whole package price; I don't see those going down.

 

[zaxmom]

Part of the big appeal in the DDP is that it is cashless and you do not need to worry over the tip. I am guessing you will somehow be able to charge the tip to your room, though.

I wish they would have taken this time to include a junior menu. A 9 year old boy just does not eat the same as a four year old.

 

[Cindy B]

1) Leave tips on.

2) Give customers a choice of either appetizer/dessert for TS.

3) Take away dessert for CS-- I don't eat two desserts a day at home!


The whole inclusive aspect is appealing to me. I don't want to have to bring cash/card for charging tips.

I also liked another persons suggestion of a CS only dining plan.

Before DDP, we used the Quick and Casual vouchers everywhere... and it was fine!

 

[Twende]

HEY DISNEY- IF YOU ARE LISTENING...BRING BACK THE APPETIZERS!!

I could not have said it better!

I also do not want to have to fool with tips! I liked it inclusive! What a pain. I want to relax completely on vacation. I do not want to HAVE to do the math for tips!

I would rather see the snack credits cut in half. We normally had a few left over each trip. Or perhaps for TS offer a dessert or appetizer. We normally have at least two of us and one could order an appetizer and the other order dessert then we could share.

I would have accepted it better if they had just upped the price a bit and left things alone.

Also it appears that some of our favorites like Raglan Road are not even on the plan!

I just noticed that there is nothing at Coronado Springs at all so no Pepper Market either! PHOOEY!

I was just explaining Disney to four friends who each want to bring their families next year. It saddens me that I will not be encouraging them to try the dining plan now!

 

[rluey29]

They could have just did away with the snack option and raise the price slightly and I would have been fine. Universal here we come.

 

[SuzieN]

I think they need to give kids better choices. Sometimes all they offer on the kids menu is PB&J or mac and cheese. My daughter [5] and son [8] are good eaters who hate mac and cheese and would be really dissappointed watching us eat real food while they were stuck with crappy PB&J! Smaller versions of adult meals would be great! I know the kids plan is a lot cheaper but ask any parent, we would all be happy to pay more so our kids could get decent food too! [Also seriously bummed about the no appetizer thing!]

 

[dcibrando]

bump...let's hear your ideas

 

[marivaid]

I think they are going to wish they had made the gratutity mandatory..... I think the servers are going to be unhappy after they get stiffed a few times and unhappy CMs do not make for a magical experience.

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that way. I see so many posts about this change fixing the problems some have had with servers - IMO it's only going to make it worse.
And if they do go ahead with adding 18% to all bills from guests using DDE then we'll be the ones paying the price for the DDP changes.

 

[NMW]

Our family doesn't really care for CS meals, so the old dining plan did not work all that great for us. For the last 3 years every time I did a survey for Disney I asked for a dining plan that would drop CS meals all-together and give either 2 or 3 TS meals. I know they had the premium plan, but it included a lot of extras we don't do, and was OVER $100 per person. I wanted a plan that just gave you the food, resonably priced. The Deluxe dining plan is completely perfect for our family. I added it yesterday to our May 08 reservation.

I agree that the old, or I guess now, Basic dining plan is not a great value with the appetizer being removed. But how many people on these boards went on and on about how it was too much food? People said over and over that 3 courses was too much food. I personally didn't agree with this, however, maybe some of these people also informed Disney of their opinions. If Disney was going to drop either app or dessert, it makes sense to drop the app. They often take as long to prepare as the entree. Desserts are usually premade and are just a matter of putting it on a plate and dressing it up a little. The Deluxe plan includes the appetizer.

The tip has to do with the servers union and Disney. Nothing much you can do about that.